By Emily Williams NEW YORK: Parts one, two and three of my series on scouting looked at American efforts to sell American books overseas. Today, this fourth and final installment of the series looks at the other side of the equation and brings us to a question most scouts run into sooner or later, often posed by one of their …
Is the Cliche of the Culturally Insulated American a Myth?
By Edward Nawotka Today’s lead article by Emily Williams looks at the question of why so few foreign writers make it into print in the US. It’s by know become well known that approximately 3% of books published in the US are translations (and I would guess that number would be significantly smaller as soon as you factor in self-published …
Inside the Secret World of Literary Scouts (Part III)
By Emily Williams In Part I we looked at the essentials of how scouting works and in Part II we discussed the changes scouting is going through. Today we look at what the future might hold for scouts. The close professional ties scouts develop with their clients, sometimes over decades, are key to the role those scouts play in helping …
Inside the Secret World of Literary Scouts, Part II
By Emily Williams Part II: Scouting Changes with the Times NEW YORK: Last week in Part I we looked at the essentials of how scouting works. Many of these essentials—recognizing a great manuscript when it crosses your desk, cultivating a wide network of close relationships across the industry, understanding your clients’ needs and serving them well—will always remain the same. …
Inside the Secret World of Literary Scouts
By Emily Williams Part I: How It Works NEW YORK: For five years I was an international literary scout. That means for five years I groaned inside whenever anyone asked me what I did. Scouting occupies a strange niche in book publishing, itself a rather inscrutable business from the outside, and after a time most scouts resign themselves to working—very hard—at an …