Page Created: 09/25/10. Last Updated: 10/27/10. Last Google Group Page Update: 07/09/09.
DONALD MAASS
Books:
The Carrer Novelist
The Fire in the Fiction
Writing the Breakout Novel
Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook
The Donald Maass Literary Agency website is: http://www.maassagency.com/.
HOLIDAY PARTY / POT LUCK DINNER
MEETING SUMMARY:
Meeting Date: December 8, 1990.
Meeting Site: Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Official Attendance: 20.
Meeting Program: Talk by literary agent. Pot Luck Dinner.
Notes:
Meeting Memories:
Newsletter Account:
The following account is reprinted with permission from THE STARSHIP EXPRESS Copyright 1991 Philip De Parto:
The December 8, 1990 meeting of the Science Fiction Association of Bergen County was held in the Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church in Upper Saddle River. Literary agent Donald Maass, who represents a number of people both within and outside of the science fiction field, was a last minute replacement speaker.
The meeting got off to a very slow start, but eventually enough of our members dropped by to give us a respectable turn out. For some reason, there was less food on hand than usual, but things worked themselves out. Sharon Archer won the door prize. Ray Cooper made one of his rare appearances at our group. John Upton brought along photographs of masquerades at some recent conventions.
Mr Maass read from an unpublished article about "Who'll Get Rich Writing Fiction in the '90s" (this article has since appeared in the May 1991 issue of SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE), answered questions, and discussed the state of science fiction publishing in general.
Among the interesting things he said was that in many ways it's easier for an average writer to sell a first novel than a second or third. Apparently publishers are swinging for the fences, and writers who fail to hit a dinger after one at bat are not going to get another time up. They prefer to take a chance with a new batter.
A lot of the economics of the publishing business were discussed. Mr Maass and a number of other agents are pruning their client lists in order to devote more time and energy to a smaller clientele. This surprised many of us. Something our members indicated to him which flies in the face of generally accepted publishing wisdom is that we are resisting the spiraling price of books by becoming more selective in what we purchase.
All in all, it was a fairly informal meeting with a lot of give and take. Mr Maass welcomed the opportunity to do a little "market research" with people outside the publishing industry. He was able to address matters from several vantage points as be has been both and editor and a writer (two Nancy Drew books and a couple of romances) as well as an agent. A number of people expressed a great deal of satisfaction with how the meeting turned out.