Redhammer founder and agent Peter Cox said: “I was very impressed with what Andrea did for Canongate, and felt that she’d be a terrific fit with Redhammer’s ethos.”

He added: “Other agencies are busy plundering their clients’ digital rights. By contrast, we’re busy creating more value for the client, the publisher and the reader. That is the only way for literary agencies to grow in the future.”

The Clan, at www.jointheclan.com,  will also feature a “wiki” which site users can contribute to, aiming to be the biggest repository of knowledge about Paver’s writing on the internet. The site currently has almost one million posts from more than 20,000 members.

Puffin will publish Paver’s next series, Gods & Warriors, in 2012.

Peter Cox writing in The Bookseller

Half the adults in the wasteland that used to be the great American city of Detroit now cannot read.  We’re not talking about their failure to perceive the finer nuances of Jonathan Franzen’s latest flight of fancy.  No.  They can’t read a bus sign, a pill bottle, or a McDonald’s menu.

If that doesn’t scare you, nothing will.

With our libraries falling at a rate not seen since Caesar sacked Alexandria, and our public wealth being nasally ingurgitated by sociopathic bankers, the most we can expect on this issue from our rulers and masters are homilies without substance and  platitudes without resources.

Things will get worse.

Today, there is an air of urgency in the bookselling business that I’ve never sensed before.  It’s not just about the money; it’s about fighting for our society and culture.  We can all sense the darkness at the edge of town, I think.  Getting people into bookshops is today a moral issue.   But – how?

All retailers study the science of footfall.  Independents are disadvantaged in this respect, with less in the way of resources compared to their larger competitors.  Even so, some creative thinking can go a long way: challenging times call for exceptional actions.  Here are five of the best, least expensive, ways to boost bookshop traffic.

1. Get into the street.  Scientologists do it, chuggers do it, Starbucks do it – we should, too.  Get right into your customers’ faces, every daylight hour. Take a survey, give a bookmark, read a poem, offer a trade-in – any excuse to talk to passers-by.  It’s basically a numbers game: the more you pitch, the more you’ll profit.
2. Develop atmosphere.  Many bookshops feel sepulchral. Chill the vibe (ambient, not Four Seasons), sex up the decor, chiaroscuro the lighting (yes, the customer still has to read – but this isn’t Sainsbury’s is it?). Entering a bookshop must be an adventure, a moment of escapism. Create some magic!
3. Build loyalty.  There are few urban businesses so cutthroat as coffee shops, and they’ve long understood the power of loyalty schemes. Try collaborating with other local shops: punters must get their card stamped by six different retailers to be entered into this month’s prize draw for a hamper.
4. Get a patron.  Bookshops aren’t merely businesses, they are local cultural institutions. As such, they need patrons.  Your patron should have media clout, a great social network, be prepared to MC events and proudly speak out on your behalf.  Better yet, get two.
5. Free is the most powerful word in marketing.  Every successful business on the net was built on it. Free Fridays (second-hand books taken as trade-ins)… free instore classes… free storytelling… this is one F word you can’t overuse.

We can win this battle – as indeed we must, if we’re to save Western culture before it’s closing time.

This column first appeared in The Bookseller on the 24th June 2011

Illustration by jinterwas

Contract checking - for free

If your agent becomes your publisher, who will check your contract for you?  Redhammer will – for free

“There is a rights grab going on at the moment”, says Redhammer’s Peter Cox, “that puts the California Gold Rush in the shade.  Faced with an uncertain digital future, some literary agents have chosen to abuse their special position of trust with authors, and grab the authors’ digital publishing rights – for themselves.  That’s legally dangerous, morally wrong, and tarnishes our whole profession.”

Redhammer’s position is clear.  You cannot be both an agent to your author and your author’s publisher.  To do so creates a massive conflict of interest.  Redhammer believes in the increasingly vital role of the literary agent today as the author’s friend, business advisor and  champion.

“The author whose agent becomes their publisher effectively loses an agent”, says Cox.  “Who is going to give them impartial advice about their publishing contract?  Well, as from today – we are.”

Redhammer’s Project FreeAgent allows authors in this position to confidentially submit details of their proposed publishing contract to Redhammer for evaluation.

This service is entirely free.  Redhammer expects no compensation, nor any commission on the deal.  “There are zero strings attached”, says Cox.  “We feel this is simply the right thing to do. For authors, it’s like getting a second opinion – a confidential check to make sure the advice they’ve received is sound… and not heavily biased in the publisher-agent’s favour.”

“I’m sure we’ll lose money providing this free service,” says Cox.  “But if we succeed in jolting a few agents into realizing that they can’t just plunder their authors’ publishing rights willy nilly – it will be worth it.”

How To Use This Service

You must currently be an author whose agent proposes to digitally publish your work himself or herself in order to use this service.  We’re sorry, but we cannot check other kinds of publishing contracts for free.

The information you send us on this form will be treated confidentially.  We will use it to contact you and make arrangements for the review of any proposals you may have been presented with for the digital publication of your work.

By contacting us and using this free service, you agree that our opinion will be treated in confidence, i.e. not shown to any third party for whatever reason.

The digital publishing realm is developing and changing very quickly.  What is the norm one month may not be so the next!

Our opinion is for informational purposes only.  Under no circumstances will The Redhammer Management Ltd or anyone acting on its behalf be liable for any loss or damage of any kind, however arising and whether caused by tort (including negligence), breach of contract, defamation or otherwise, even if foreseeable.  We disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any opinion we may give you.

by Peter Cox

A major debate is going on in publishing circles at the moment, and you need to know about it.

Frequently, these things are a storm in a teacup.  What excites publishing folk often leaves the rest of the world… a bit limp.  “Inside Publishing” isn’t always as exciting as… watching leafcutter ants.

This time it’s different.

This issue is enormous.  Because it will affect every book deal, every publication contract, from now until the end of time.

Click for the full article

It affects every author who has an agent, or who would ever like an agent.  It goes to the heart of what being an agent is all about.

In a nutshell, this is the question:

Should your agent also be your publisher?

In recent weeks, there have been a spate of agents who have cut deals on behalf of their clients with… themselves.  One such involved the agent to the estate of the late author Catherine Cookson.  According  to the Daily Mail, the literary agent didn’t even inform the author’s publishers, Transworld and Simon & Schuster, that she’d done a deal – with herself – to digitally publish 100 of the author’s titles.  “I haven’t told either firm about the deal”, she said, “and I am sure they are going to kick up a fuss about it”.

Yes, I bet they will.

As should any author whose agent says to them – come on – let’s cut your print publisher out of the picture… give me those lovely digital publishing rights, and I’ll publish you myself!

No doubt many agents will jump on this particular bandwagon before it overturns.

It’s Not OK To be Your Client’s Publisher

Let me be absolutely candid with you.  Although various excuses have been put forward by agents for doing this – it’s mostly about lining their own pocket.

Not that I’m against agents making money – how could I be?

But this isn’t just about making money. It comes perilously close to what is termed in law “self-dealing“, and it is both ethically wrong and legally very dangerous. In taking this fateful step, those agents who choose to do this are in danger of crossing a line that is legally and ethically of immense significance.

“The law is very clear…An agent must at all times avoid conflict of interest”On a matter of law, the situation is very clear.  An agent must at all times avoid conflict between the interests of the principal and his or her own.

Once you become your client’s publisher, you then become a principal in the transaction.  This means you can no longer function as the client’s agent.

Agency law makes it clear that an agent must not engage in self-dealing, or otherwise unduly enrich himself from the agency.  Nor must an agent usurp an opportunity from the principal by taking it for himself.

I really doubt whether any agent can legitimately claim that it is in the author’s best interests to be published by their literary agent.  It’s like the ref in a game of footie being paid by one of the teams playing.  It raises huge issues – and it just doesn’t feel right – does it?

Also, I don’t believe any agent can declare, “I couldn’t find a digital publisher for my client, so I had to do it myself.”  No.  The fact is, the internet is full of digital publishers, both large and small. Digital publishers are everywhere, and they are keen for our business.

It’s A Rights Grab

We have to be honest with ourselves, and say that this whole issue is about one thing, and one thing only: opportunism.

“Most agents don’t have the resources to be publishers. Especially now, when publishing has never been a more difficult or demanding profession”It feels like a rights grab.  Looking after Number One.

The problem is this.  If you become an agent, the author should be Number One.

Maybe those agents who have cut these sort of deals haven’t really considered all the implications – I don’t know.  I certainly hope they have great liability insurance.

I also hope they fully understand how to publish their clients effectively in the digital domain.  I hope they have all the necessary technical and marketing expertise and resources to do a great online publishing job.  I hope they won’t stint on the advertising and marketing budgets.  I hope they won’t favor one client ahead of another.  I hope the contract will have a review period which will allow the author to go elsewhere if the agent makes a hash of it.  Fingers crossed on all those points.

Frankly, I just don’t believe that most agents actually have the resources to be publishers.  Especially now, when publishing has never been a more difficult or demanding  profession.  Most “traditional” publishers I know face massive challenges currently.

Any agent who thinks that it’s a soft option being a publisher today is incredibly naive.

Opportunities Without Pillaging Clients’ Publishing Rights

There are plenty of new opportunities for agents today without pillaging clients’ publishing rights.  The agency Conville & Walsh has just launched a speakers bureau for its clients.  Good thinking.  Make more money for the client, and you’re making more money for yourself.

I like that idea.  Let’s have more like it.

If you’re an agent reading this – please pause for a moment.

Our authors need us now more than ever to guide them through the treacherous waters ahead. They need us for our good advice, expert knowledge, and  selfless counsel.  Agents need to evolve into good business managers.  Some of us may have to learn a pack of new skills to do that.  Nevertheless, that is the way forward.

So – are agents to be driven by short-term opportunism – or by the longer term interests of authors?  Every agent has to take a decision on that for themselves.

But you know where I stand.

Firmly on the author’s side.

Peter Cox

To contact me, mail peter [at] redhammer.info

Flynn said: “This light and dark collection of poems is a funny, honest and often moving account of Martin’s life and experiences.”

Icon will publish as a £9.99, B-format hardback on 1st December.

” Being a children’s author means that I visit many schools across the country”, she says.  “Being a governor gives me an extra insight into what’s happening in our secondary schools.” Watch her video below, and read more on the MG Harris blog here.

Paver met international publishers at the fair to give details of the new series, set in the Mediterranean region during the Bronze Age. At a presentation this morning, Paver told publishers she chose the era because it was a “rich, spectacular, exciting world to inhabit, with chariots, ocean-going ships, slaves, warriors, myths and magic”.

The new series will tell the story of Hylas, a lowly 12-year-old goatherd in the Greek mountains, whose adventures take him far afield to Crete and Egypt, and involve him, like Torak in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, with animals—in the new series, a lion, a falcon and a dolphin.

Paver moved to Puffin with her new series, after publishing the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness books with Orion. Elv Moody, editorial director of Classic Puffin, promised international publishers a “global sharepoint to share ideas and resources” for the launch campaign for the first book, as yet untitled, in the autumn of 2012.

Author and public relations expert Mark Borkowski, knew McLaren well. What intrigues mark is not just the success, but the myths that have evolved around this highly manipulative man. An intriguing programme about fame, the media, and why the truth should not be confused with an easily believable myth.

Elv Moody, Editorial Director for Puffin Books, secured the global deal for five books from Peter Cox of Redhammer Management Ltd.

The new series, entitled Gods and Warriors, is set during the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean.  Famed for her vividly-imagined exploration of the prehistoric past, Michelle Paver has already begun research for the new books, the first of which will be published by Puffin in the autumn of 2012.

Francesca Dow, Managing Director of Puffin, said, ‘We are thrilled to be publishing Michelle Paver. She is the real thing – a true writer whose books have huge appeal and lasting value. Puffin will publish her new series with all the ambition and creativity it deserves. We can’t wait!’

Peter Cox of Redhammer Management Ltd said, ‘The decision to move to Puffin wasn’t taken lightly.  Tom, Francesca and Elv are part of a team that feels excited by the future, not daunted by it.  This willingness to engage with the future – and indeed to make it their own – is the essence of today’s successful publisher.  I’m entirely confident that Michelle’s new publishing home is the right place for her to be in the years ahead, and I feel as excited about it as the Puffin team are.’

Paver’s Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series is published in thirty eight countries and has achieved huge international success with a total of 1 million copies sold in the UK alone. Ghost Hunter, the last book in the Chronicles series, recently won the prestigious Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize 2010 and Michelle’s adult ghost story Dark Matter has just been published to wide critical acclaim.

Michelle Paver said, ‘I’ve been overwhelmed by Puffin’s passion for GODS & WARRIORS.  As a child, my bookshelf was crammed with Puffin paperbacks, and I’m thrilled that my next series will become part of that tradition.’

Chair of judges, Julia Eccleshare, said: “It’s relatively rare for a book late in a series to win a major prize, but the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness is such a towering achievement, as a whole as well as in terms of the individual books, that it was our unanimous choice.”

The Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize was founded in 1967 and is unique in that it is judged by children’s authors themselves, and noone can win it more than once.  This year’s panellists were Linda Buckley-Archer, Jenny Downham, and last year’s winner Mal Peet.

The judging process was shadowed by young critics, who described Ghost Hunter as “a thrilling story of love, friendship and terrifying evil” and “the perfect book for anyone who likes adventure, prehistory and survival”.

The series is set in prehistory and tells the story of a boy Torak, his female friend Renn and his lupine companion Wolf.  Research for Ghost Hunter took Paver to Finnish Lapland, where she snowshoed on the trail of elk and reindeer, and to the UK’s Wolf Conservation Trust.