The Writing Center

We haven’t checked out the Kindle for ourselves yet, but this Wall St. Journal review is necessary reading for anyone thinking about it.

For writers with agent questions (and for anyone else who misses Miss Snark), check out The Rejecter (tag line: “I don’t hate you. I just hate your query letter”), a blog by an assistant at a literary agency (who says that on average, “I reject 95% of the letters immediately and put the other 5% in the ‘maybe’ pile”). While no one can replace Miss Snark, this blog offers the same inside view of an agent’s life and covers issues including advances, rejections, the latest scams, and whether a writer’s looks really do matter.

Simon & Schuster announced today that it will “dramatically increase the amount of recycled fiber in the paper used to manufacture its books.” It plans to increase the level of recycled fiber in its paper from 10 percent to 25 percent or more. The company also “will endeavor to eliminate the use of paper that may contain fiber from endangered and old-growth forest areas. It has set a goal that by 2012 at least 10% percent of its purchased paper will derive from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).”

Of the 70,000 tons of paper that Simon & Schuster purchases annually, 70% of that paper contains some recycled fiber content. At current production levels, the shift to 25% recycled fiber will result in the saving of approximately 483,000 trees annually and a reduction of nearly 85 million pounds in greenhouse gases — equivalent to pulling 7,600 cars off the road each year.

This is excellent news — and I hope it’s a trend that we begin to see throughout the publishing industry.

Simon & Schuster UK is expected to adopt a similar environmental policy. You can check out the complete Simon & Schuster paper policy, plus details of other environmentally friendly actions in its publishing practices, offices, and distribution facilities, at the Simon & Schuster web site.

We just got word that Metro client Robert Hamer has sold his book, THE LAST UNDERCOVER, to Hachette Warner’s Center Street imprint, with a publication date of October 2008.

In a true-crime account of his work as an undercover FBI agent, Bob recalls a dozen undercover operations that provided him with the necessary experience for his successful infiltration of NAMBLA, the North American Man/Boy Love Association. Last year, Bob appeared on Oprah to discuss his undercover work inside NAMBLA, and the book continues his insightful and important story.

We’ll keep you posted on further details as the pub date nears … stay tuned!