But let's move on to the exciting stuff! JenFW wanted to know: When editors search the internet for further info about a potential author, what are some things that make an impression, good or bad?

Well, I saw something like 14 editors, plus scouts and authors, and though I didn't put the question to all of them, I did ask it a lot, and I think I got some interesting answers.

One editor put her answer in writing: It's almost always a good sign to me, when an author has an online presence. Whether it's an actual website, a Facebook or MySpace page, or a blog, it's a signal to me that the author is savvy, culturally aware, and plugged-in. The only real negative to me would be if there was any questionable--that is, offensive or hurtful or wildly inappropriate for young readers--content on the author's page. If the author had published any material online that was offensive or harmful in any way, that might make me question pursuing them.

Another editor expanded on a similar answer, urging aspiring writers to be aware that ANYTHING you say online can be tracked, and editors do search -- either just Googling, or more intense searches on forums and comment threads. You should always behave as if you're on a job interview. Do you want an editor to see you dissing an agent or another author online? Don't just hide your thoughts behind an online nickname, just think if what you're saying is something you can imagine saying to that agent or author's face. If not, consider if it's appropriate to post.

And as for Googling, the majority of editors I spoke with said they do it, so have a website up there! Even if it's on a topic other than your writing -- if an editor can see you are informed, professional, and eager to update, even if you're talking about knitting, it's a good sign.

More tomorrow!

Back to my reading...

• I'm a little late with this one, but thanks to kt literary client Suzanne Casamento for pointing out Mother reader's latest challenge: comment on five KidLit blogs a day to build community!
• Meanwhile, Day-By-Day Writer reveals she's using an Ellen Booraem writing tip when she's stuck during NaNoWriMo. How are you doing with your novel-in-a-month?
• Newish HarperCollins imprint The Bowen Press has a blog! And contributing blogger Molly O'Neill shares her awesome falling-in-love metaphor. Enjoy!
• Speaking of Ellen Booraem, School Library Journal reviewed The Unnameables, and said "it has a style and charm of its own."
• Completely unrelated to books, did you hear about the pictures that were taken of a planet orbiting a sun? Next stop: life on other worlds!

Neck pillows, books, iPod, snacks, sleep masks... whatever. Spill your secrets, and I'll be back tomorrow with some Editor Answers.

Have I ever discussed the weird "feeling" I get about a manuscript? Roughly, I sort of know I want to take on a manuscript I've been reading when I start talking about it to editors, even if I'm only halfway through. So far on this trip, I've done that to two partials. We'll have to wait and see if the full manuscripts live up to that early promise. If so, I look forward to adding to the kt literary roster of clients!

I'd grab lunch with The Year My Sister Got Lucky author Aimee Friedman -- oh wait, I just did!

Of course I'm joking. Mostly. I mean, if John gets a Storm for free through the internets, it's a win for all of us beggars of new and exciting stuff, right? Look at all the book bloggers out there who like books, write about them, and then get MORE free books. It's a win/win!

So answer me this -- as I'm late in the day with my post and running to yet another meeting, this time with friends -- if you could harness the power of the internets to get free stuff, what would you ask for?

P.S. I still totally want a free Blackberry Storm. Please please please please please, Blackberry or Verizon people. I promise to never ask for anything again!

P.P.S. Until the next new and shiny toy comes out. Then I might.

Anyway, I've been getting some interesting answers to Jen's OTHER question, and I'll look forward to sharing them when I'm back in the office. In the meantime, a poll: of my readers who have blogs or websites, what do you have? Your own domain, or do you use blogger, livejournal, typepad, or something else?

I had the pleasure of working on his foreign rights for almost ten years at my previous agency, and though his email messages were always short and to the point, the man himself was a towering wordsmith. I remember sitting at my cubicle one day when he came by the office, and realized that he was leaning down on the top of the cubicle wall, resting his elbows at the height of my eyeballs. The man was tall, people.

And so talented -- say what you will about the movies made from some of his books, but the books themselves are the kind of smart pageturners James Patterson wishes he were writing. Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, The Great Train Robbery, Sphere, Eaters of the Dead, Congo, State of Fear -- I defy you to pick up any one of them and put them down without finishing them.

I have a special memory about Timeline. At the time it came out, I was studying stage combat pretty ambitiously, and in hearing that there was a character named Kate in Crichton's new book, AND she got to fight with a sword, I remember saying something about it to Crichton's assistant, who I was in frequent contact with about foreign deals with my boss. The next time Crichton came to the office, I got a signed first edition of the newly released book, with a personal note: "To Kate, the only sword fighter I know."

I've worked on a lot of books in my more than a dozen years in the business, but that copy of that book has always been a treasured possession. Today, it feels a little more so.

Thank you, Michael Crichton, for countless thrills.

But I'm here! Hooray! And I'm looking forward to asking your questions of editors. In other news, I'm delighted to announce the sale of Italian rights to Matthew Cody's debut novel POWERLESS to Mondadori. Multo bene!

In other news, a flurry of internet activity for kt literary authors this week. Speaking of Let It Snow, a copy of which Jen wins, Pinot and Prose calls it "THE book to read with the holiday season coming up -- it's light and frothy in the most heartwarming way. A thoroughly enjoyable read." And mango_firefly praises the "YA Dream Team" of Green, Johnson, and Myracle, writing, "each of these three phenomenally talented writers brings their own special flair for wit and language to the party."

But that's not all! For any of my Minnesotan readers, Ellen Booraem will be reading from The Unnameables at Gustavus Adolphus College (open to the public!) and St. Peter Middle School (private -- those lucky kids!) in St. Peter, MN on November 13th. I bet it'll be cold. Why don't you warm up with Medford and The Goatman?

And there's more! kt literary client Catherine Cheek has a wonderful short story with the exciting title "She's Taking Her Tits to the Grave" in John Joseph Adams' zombie anthology The Living Dead, which was just named to Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year list!

Who else has good news to share? I declare this a good news day (as may be obvious by my explosion of exclamation marks), and all are welcome to join in!

JenFW asks, When editors search the internet for further info about a potential author, what are some things that make an impression, good or bad?

And Margay wants to know, What is the number one thing an author can do to make an editor's job easier?

Finally, Beth wonders, Cory Doctorow, and now Neil Gaiman, are giving away copies of their books for free online. From an editor's money-making business point-of-view, is this a good idea? Does it really help sales, as Doctorow suggests? Or does it only work on select cases and with select (or famous) authors?

Let me know which of these three questions you most want answered, and which lucky reader gets a copy of Let It Snow! As for those questions that didn't make the top three, I'm going to do my best to respond to them between meetings, at least from an agent's perspective.

New laptop!!
It's super shiny, and the keys make an awesome clicking noise when I type -- but beyond that, I've spent the entire day so far making sure all my settings are as near as I can make them to how things were on my old laptop, restoring files, moving stuff around, and reinstalling programs. It's keeping me busy, in a good way. And I'm sure will continue to do so all weekend as I keep playing around with it -- I mean, making sure all of the options are to my specifications.

But I'm curious. When you get a new computer, how much do you play around with the new programs that are on there, and stuff that's new to you, and how much to you stick to what you know, even if that means getting rid of the factory settings? Sing out in the comments, and don't forget, you have until MONDAY to leave me a comment here with the question you think I should ask all the editors I'm meeting with in NYC next week!