Book Proposal Delivered by E-mail

Jim Milliot |

Oct 09, 2000

News
Book Proposal Delivered by E-mail Jim Milliot -- 10/9/00 Leslie Morgenstein, co-president of the Alloy Online subsidiary 17th Street Productions, has found another way to use the Internet to help his book-packaging efforts. Morgenstein sent the proposal for his latest series via e-mail to publishers, who could then click to 17th Street's Web site where details of the series are posted. The series, tentatively titled Gossip Girls, will follow the lives of four senior girls at a prestigious New York City private school. The material could be aimed at girls 14 and up or in the 12-year-old range, depending on who buys the program, Morgenstein said. Before the series is sold, Morgenstein said he plans to launch an anonymous column on the Alloy.com site that will address teen issues; the column will eventually be tied into the books. Morgenstein said that 17th Street has "stepped back" from the book business and is focusing on the creation of content that could be delivered in a variety of formats. Gossip Girls, for example, could be done as e-books. Morgenstein is also looking to license characters to television production companies before publishing related titles. 17th Street, which was acquired by Alloy in January, recently released its first four nonfiction books in the new AlloyBooks imprint published through Penguin. Fiction titles are set to be released in January. Alloy reported that sales for the first six months of the year ended July 31, 2000, jumped 133%, to $14 million, while its net loss increased to $13.2 million from $5.6 million.

News

Book Proposal Delivered by E-mail
Jim Milliot -- 10/9/00

Leslie Morgenstein, co-president of the Alloy Online subsidiary 17th Street Productions, has found another way to use the Internet to help his book-packaging efforts. Morgenstein sent the proposal for his latest series via e-mail to publishers, who could then click to 17th Street's Web site where details of the series are posted.

The series, tentatively titled Gossip Girls, will follow the lives of four senior girls at a prestigious New York City private school. The material could be aimed at girls 14 and up or in the 12-year-old range, depending on who buys the program, Morgenstein said. Before the series is sold, Morgenstein said he plans to launch an anonymous column on the Alloy.com site that will address teen issues; the column will eventually be tied into the books.

Morgenstein said that 17th Street has "stepped back" from the book business and is focusing on the creation of content that could be delivered in a variety of formats. Gossip Girls, for example, could be done as e-books. Morgenstein is also looking to license characters to television production companies before publishing related titles.

17th Street, which was acquired by Alloy in January, recently released its first four nonfiction books in the new AlloyBooks imprint published through Penguin. Fiction titles are set to be released in January.

Alloy reported that sales for the first six months of the year ended July 31, 2000, jumped 133%, to $14 million, while its net loss increased to $13.2 million from $5.6 million.

A version of this article appeared in the 10/09/2000 issue of Publishers Weekly under the headline: