 | | | | | | | | | |  | "Doug Abrams has a truly rare gift; he has the ability to read the book market with shrewdness while at the same time gauging with accuracy and concern the spectrum of needs present among us both individually and in our culture at large. For almost ten years now, I have watched with respect as he has conceived and then successfully brought to general trade readership books and book projects that richly and efficaciously inform these issues."
-PHYLLIS TICKLE, EDITOR, PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY | | | | | | | | | | | | "Doug Abrams has a unique ability to capture an author's inner purpose and to develop it for general readers. He has a vision for projects that have real inherent value and can make a difference for our society, and he is willing to go the distance to make them happen."
-LYNN C. FRANKLIN, AGENT, LYNN C. FRANKLIN ASSOCIATES, LTD | | | | | | | | | |  | "With their combination of winning trade and serious non-fiction publishing experience, and a host of best-selling books between them, Cancellaro and Abrams are perfectly situated to help authors navigate their way through proposals, manuscripts, and, perhaps most importantly, the ever-changing book industry. Gravitas and commercial savvy find the perfect union in Idea Architects."
-NIKO PFUND, VICE PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER,
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS | | | | | | | | | | | | "Doug Abrams is one of the most creative people working in publishing today.What's most unique about Doug is his ability to take a smart, even intellectual concept, and make it appeal to as broad an audience as possible. He has worked on several projects of mine as developmental editor and each time he has greatly enhanced the value and quality of the book. I couldn't recommend him more highly--as much as I am loathe to share him with other agents!"
-SCOTT WAXMAN, AGENT, SCOTT WAXMAN AGENCY | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | |  | "Doug’s recognition of the need for a service like Idea Architects is a great example of his creative mind at work. If you have an idea, Doug will help you make it happen. I am constantly amazed at his ability to turn my "fuzzy" ideas into clear and practical plans. Working with Doug is truly a stimulating experience. After each conversation with him I am more excited and more energized than ever to make my dream a reality. His years in the publishing and media world have allowed him to make our projects more successful and more saleable, but it is his innovative thinking and personal passion that make working with him an inspiring and gratifying experience."
-SUSAN GOODWIN, Ph.D. CO-AUTHOR OF BABY SIGNS | | | | | | | | | |  | "In the early spring of 2002, I received an email from Doug Abrams, who told me he had much liked my book Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape. Bonobo apes are generally considered the hippies of the primate world with their extensive love life and egalitarian societies and are equally close to humans as chimps. Doug felt something more could be done with my research by focusing it on the eternal question of human nature.
"His suggestion came at a time that I was considering broadening my message. Until then I had authored books about the primates I work with as a professional zoologist and primatologist. I was beginning to feel that they focused too much on the primates and too little on human behavior. So, Doug hit a chord and we were off to many stimulating discussions of what could be done with my material and insights to reach a wider circle of readers, readers most interested in the human primate.
"In the meantime, I joined a new agency, which included Idea Architects as co-agency, and soon we were writing a detailed book proposal. In this, I found Doug a very stimulating and well-informed collaborator, who gently nudged me in a direction that he knew would fly best with publishers. He also showed me how a serious proposal is put together, with advance blurbs and all. The end product was something much more substantial than I had anticipated: very professional and appealing.
"Our book proposal took the publishing world by storm. I was on the phone with many large publishing houses before the auction. I heard from many editors what a great and well thought-out proposal it was, and the final bid was of a magnitude that blew me away: many times larger than the largest sum I had ever had before. This occurred about eight months after Doug's first email to me.
"The book will be published by Riverhead Books (Penguin, Inc.), and will look at human nature and human evolution from the perspective of our closest relatives. The goal is to show a more balanced picture of human nature than what is found in most of today's writings, which emphasize our violent and selfish qualities.
"It is fair to say that even though by now this book seems a logical one to write, a proposal to this effect would not have been put together without Doug's sparking of the idea and helping me put it on paper. I found dealing with him constructive in every way, and am convinced that he and Idea Architects have a great future"
-FRANS DE WAAL, PRMATOLOGIST, AUTHOR OF OUR INNER APE | | | | | | | | | |  | "Doug Abrams was the very man who approached me about writing a book on the Sherpas and about my experience in climbing Mt. Everest. Doug helped me with the concept and ideas and guided me throughout the process of writing the book. With his personal interest and determination I was able to get this book out to the world. He was also instrumental in helping me to get an extremely good deal with Harper Collins and in making sure that the book received the greatest possible backing. Without Doug's help, support, and inspiration I would not have been able to write this book. I would personally like to thank Doug for everything he has done for me and my family with this book."
-JAMLING TENZING NORGAY, CLIMBING LEADER OF
THE 1996 IMAX EXPEDITION
AUTHOR OF TOUCHING MY FATHER'S SOUL | | | | | | | | | |  | "It was a pleasure to work with Doug, who effectively made the book happen. He set the shape and narrative of the text, then provided guidance when I occasionally -- okay, frequently -- found myself at a loss. His work goes beyond editing. He is a developer, shaper and leader -- the literary and organizational equivalent of the Sherpa guides that Jamling and I were writing about."
-BROUGHTON COBURN, CO-AUTHOR OF TOUCHING MY FATHER'S SOUL | | | | | | | | | |  | Doug Abrams and Idea Architects have offered me essential assistance in developing my new project--Doug is the perfect conversation partner: he brings to the table his own wide and learned reading and a sharp critical sensibility. He is always generous and insightful, and the experience of working through his suggestions and ideas has been invariably helpful."
-ROBERT ORSI, HARVARD UNIVERSITY
AUTHOR OF THE MADONNA ON 115TH STREET AND THE
FORTHCOMING BOOK GROWING UP CATHOLIC | | | | | | | | | |  | "Doug Abrams was extraordinary in teaching me how to communicate to a broad audience that included scholars as well as the educated public. Indeed, he is the brightest editor that I have encountered and is masterful in matching ideas with markets."
-DON MILLER, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | | | | | | | | | | 
| "We had been thinking about a book for years but struggling to figure out how to structure a book about the universe and its meaning," explained Nancy Abrams. "We did send out a proposal with a top science book agent in New York a few years ago, but he shopped it around for a week, got several responses of ‘too complicated,’ and dropped it immediately. He made no effort to help us improve it. We met Doug in late 2002, and over the course of a year, working over our ideas with him, we re-conceptualized the book and learned from Doug how an effective proposal is written.” "Doug presented the proposal to publishers in mid-September 2003," said Joel Primack, "and just one week later a bidding war was on between two of the biggest publishers, and both were offering very high six figure advances. This was at least an order of magnitude more than we had expected. We realized we couldn’t decide between them on the basis of money alone. We wanted to meet the people behind the offers, so we flew out to New York with Doug. With Doug’s brilliant negotiating skills, in the end we were able to structure a deal where we got our dream publisher." "We are tremendously impressed by Doug’s combination of talents: he is smart enough to understand whatever your book is about; he has a vision of how your book can help the world, and he helps you shape it so that it can; he is endlessly patient as a negotiator, never losing his cool, never forgetting a detail; and though clever and tactful, he is absolutely honest with everyone on all sides. We trust him completely, both in his business dealings and in his personal and artistic judgment. Meeting him has transformed us as authors, and we are very grateful."
-JOEL AND NANCY PRIMACK,
THE VIEW FROM THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE |
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