Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Wish I Knew Wednesday

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Today's Wish I Knew is one of my favorite finds of ALL time.

It's Publishers Lunch and Lunch Deluxe. Have you heard of it? A daily newsletter all about the industry. The basic version of Pub Lunch is free. Just go here to sign up.

But - when you are ready to query, I'd highly suggest finding a friend with the full membership of Lunch Deluxe (like me!) or signing up yourself. It's not free. In fact, it's a little on the pricey side at $20/month.

However -

It has an amazing feature that I recently figured out and really, really wish I had known about before.

You can search past deals by agent or author.

So what? you ask....

So this:

if you are considering agents to query, you can actually search out their deals and see how many they sold last year or the year before -- and you can see exactly what they are selling and to whom.

Believe me, if you are going to hitch your career to an agent, this is fantastic information to have.

and, in the daily deals feature, you can get a brief summary of what has sold recently, to whom, by whom and a wide range of for how much.

it's stalking in it's highest form :D


Questions: Do you get Publishers Lunch? Did you know about the search function? Ever used it? Do you see what an amazing tool this would be when considering agents to query? You can even search out your favorite authors and see what they are selling. How fun is that?

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34 comments:

Corey Schwartz said...

Wow! That is awesome!

storyqueen said...

Sooooo cool. I always wondered what this was, having heard about it often. Thanks for the link!

Shelley

Michelle said...

I have gotten the free version of Publisher's Lunch for a couple of years. I so rarely have time to read it closely, so I hadn't considered the Lunch Deluxe in a while. I may reconsider, given your glowing review. :)

Mary Aalgaard said...

Thanks, Tess. I'm getting connected.

Tana said...

OK, never even heard of it, must check it out, thanx!

Davin Malasarn said...

Tess, I'd heard of Pub Lunch before but I had no idea what it was. I really do have to check this out! And, it's great to hear from someone who used it successfully, so thanks!

Amy Allgeyer Cook said...

I didn't know about Publisher's Lunch, but I'm happy to know I can now stalk YOU and you can tell me all about the agents I plan to query.

:)

Lynnette Labelle said...

I've heard of it, but never signed up. Now, I will. Thanks for the reminder.

Lynnette Labelle
http://lynnettelabelle.blogspot.com

lotusgirl said...

Yeah. I'm a full member and love it. I've used all the cool features and plan on giving them a serious workout in the next month as I start searching for agents to query.

Elana Johnson said...

Stalker at it's best!! Ha ha! I do get the Lunch and I know someone who lets me use their subscription. It is a great tool, and I've used it a lot!

Anonymous said...

I knew about publishers lunch and I will use that tool when it's time for me to query. Best $20 a month I could spend, right?

Tess said...

so glad this has been of some help -- I'd be happy to share my subsription by looking anything up for any of you guys :D

Tamika: said...

Awesome information Tess! Thanks you are the hub of helpful information. I'll have to bookmark this post.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Thanks, Tess. What a great tip.

Cynthia Chapman Willis said...

Wow! Thanks, Tess! I've heard of Publishers Lunch, but never subscribed. Interesting stuff.

Cindy R. Wilson said...

I've never heard of that before but it sounds useful. I'd like to know which authors are with certain agents--it would definitely help in knowing who to query and what kind of work they represent (if you can't already figure it out by their website).

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

I haven't heard of that site. I am a premium member of http://www.QueryTracker.net

It has great information on it too. There is a free level.

Jill Kemerer said...

I've heard of it, but I'm so cheap! You make it sound totally worth it, though. Hmmm... :)

Jennifer Shirk said...

Stalking--LOL!! I've thought about doing it when/if I start querying agents.

Crystal said...

Hi, Tess! Yep, I've gotten the free version of Publishers Lunch for the last 2 years or so, and plan on signing up for the full membership before I launch my queries. But in the meantime, I use the basic (free) Publishers Lunch quite often to get up-to-date profiles on many children's lit agents.

And, Tess, thanks SO MUCH for offering to share your subscription--I just may take you up on that! You have such a generous heart, girl! :)

Kelly H-Y said...

Oh my! I've never heard of it ... I'm off to check out your link! Thanks for the heads-up!

* said...

Tess, you rock.

I'd heard of it before but this is a great reminder. And thanks for the inside scoop!

Heather Kelly said...

I have heard of this--and had forgotten to sign up for it (free version). I'm looking forward to a time when I can really utilize the upgrade. You know, that querying stage--if I finish revising any time soon!

PJ Hoover said...

I dropped my membership recently, but before that I used it all the time! It is a great resource.

Robyn Campbell said...

I had heard of Publishers Lunch, but never heard of the paid Lunch Deluxe. Hmmm, it sounds great. But right now not in my budget. If we have two or three hospital visits to Chapel Hill in a week. That's at least $150.00 a shot. Gas, breakfast, supper(we skip lunch). No way, not right now. So $300.00 a week for two visits. Can't do it. It sounds really great though.

I didn't do my Wish I Knew this week, because my cat died. I'll be back next week. This is a great one Tess. Thanks for sharing. You go girl!! Have a great weekend. :-)

Robyn Campbell said...

I'm back. I meant to ask if you'd stop over and tell me what you think of the trailer for SEVENTY TWO HOURS. When you get a chance. Thanks. :0)

lisa and laura said...

We LOVE PM. But you knew that already. The best days are when we get to see listings for our friends!!!!

Sherrie Petersen said...

I do read Publisher's Lunch, I've just been too much of a cheapskate to pay for the Lunch Deluxe. I wonder if you can sign up for a month, stalk it every day for past deals, then cancel? Oh, yes, the cheapo in me is coming out!!

Susan Fields said...

Great tip, Tess! (As always - seriously, how do you find out about all this stuff?) And thanks for the offer to share your subscription - you're such a sweetheart and I may need to take you up on that.

Unknown said...

You are made of awesome

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much! I am actually going to start sending out my query in a few weeks! I need all the help I can get!!!

-Alisa Hope

dellgirl said...

Oh boy, this is great stuff. Thanks for sharing. As usual, you've provided us some valuable tips here.

I hope you're having a wonderful week-end.

Theresa Milstein said...

Thanks for the information, Tess. Although I'd just be happy to have an agent, it's important that I do my homework.

Tess said...

glad it was food for thought for some -- again, if anyone wants me to search the deals of and agent (or two or three) - you can contact me off blog at tesshilmo(at)comcast(dot)net.