Is this something you believe to be true about agents?

I'm not sure literary agents are the right way to go, as their interests are bizarrely narrow, and seem to be looking continually for exact replicas of successful works from the past, rather than compelling untold stories.

Passing a Submission to Another Agent

The other day I read a submission that I thought was really strong and had great potential. However, given my already busy client list I didn't think I was going to be the best agent for the project. This book needed someone who could be truly passionate about it, who had a love for the genre and who had the time and desire to really work with the author on the project. Instead of just passing however, I passed it on to another agent at BookEnds. Someone who fit every one of the criteria I thought the book needed.

When I do something like this I often wonder what the author will think. Does the author later think less of the offer she receives because it isn't the agent she submitted to, although it is the agency? or Does the author think this is a great opportunity because her project definitely landed in the right hands?

As we see when we receive responses to rejections, every author is different. Some will be offended that the agent they first submitted to didn't want it in the first place and others will be elated that the agency as a whole felt so strongly about the book.

Like everyone else, an agent only has a finite number of hours in the day and can only represent so many clients and give them the attention she feels they deserve. When reviewing submissions, we at BookEnds are reviewing for ourselves first and the agency second. We all work very closely together and that doesn't just mean bouncing ideas off each other, it means working hard to get as many great books published as we can, and helping each other build a strong career as an agent.

When we pass a project on to another agent within BookEnds it doesn't mean we didn't think it was great and are tossing our trash onto someone else's pile. In fact, it's the complete opposite, we think the book has some real potential and were excited about its possibilities, but feel it needs to be with the right agent, not any agent.

I'm going to pre-empt some questions here and say that we don't always pass everything on so if you feel there are two agents at BookEnds who might be right for your book feel free to query them both. Never at the same time, but if the first passes there's no reason you can't try the second. Just don't tell anyone else I said that. ;)

--jhf

The Summer Slowdown & A Submission Update

Summer is killer for me. It feels like I'm constantly running around trying to get things done, but never actually able to get things done. Vacations and the general "slow-down of summer" can be partially to blame for this. Naturally a lot of people vacation in the summer and because of that it always seems like it takes days instead of just a day or two to get the answers you want. 

In addition to summer vacations however, there are summer conferences. RWA and Thrillerfest are the two biggies that I'll be attending. I'm excited to go to both and will have a lot to celebrate at both, but there's also no doubt that they're exhausting and time consuming. 

The weirdest part of all of this is that because of all the running around I'll be doing this summer I'll be less likely to get to submissions in a timely manner however because of all the running around I'll also be getting a lot more submissions. 

If it weren't for a recent Kindle glitch, I'd be reading more submissions, but that's not helping things either. 

So, I'm caught up on all queries through the end of June. I'm caught up on all requested submissions through (gulp) the end of March. If you sent something that should have been answered by now please feel free to resend. If you sent material or a query in the time periods that I have not yet gotten to I thank you for your patience.

--jhf 

Why Agents Don't Go That Extra Mile

You've heard a million times that agents won't give feedback on submissions, even if they requested the full, or reject queries (no reply means no). You've also heard that you should never, ever, ever respond to a rejection. Once its rejected you move on.

Recently I was reminded why agents have all of these rules.

I am the agent who will sometimes reply if an author asks me a question after I reject her material. Don't ask me how far I read though because the truth is that really doesn't matter. That doesn't necessarily mean that's the point where your book fell apart. It just means that's how far I read.

Recently I had a small exchange with an author. She had some questions, because I had expressed some concerns that she had self-published and it would be difficult to find a publisher who wanted to take something that was already published. In the end the author felt that because I hadn't given her the answer she wanted, or because she hadn't changed my mind, I was, "lame."

Fair enough, but she asked me.

--jhf

Confidence is a Key Component of Success

When starting a business of any kind, whether its a literary agency, a law firm, a retail store, a coffee shop, a bakery, mechanic garage or a publishing career confidence is one of the keys to success. I strongly believe that you'll never make it if you don't believe in your work and in yourself.

That's why emails like this turn me off and almost always result in a rejection:

Thank you so much for letting me submit to you I know that you are very busy and probably don't really have the time to look at my manuscript. I understand if you decide to pass.

And yep, I actually receive emails like this all the time.

I get how stressful submitting is. I get that you worry that it's not good enough and that the agent might be too big for you or have a client list that's too big for you. But you also need to remind yourself that you are a contender too. If you want other people to treat your book like it has real potential and is worthy of publication than you need to treat it that way as well.

Stand by what you've written and if you can't, maybe you need to rewrite it.

--jhf

New Ways to Annoy Agents

Maybe I was just in a bad mood, but I recently received a request that set my teeth on edge. I mean this really irritated me.

Not too long ago I received an email from a writer I've never heard of with a request that, frankly, I was astonished by. While I'm not quoting her email verbatim to protect her identity it was basically this:

Dear Ms Faust, I hope you don't mind me writing to you like this. My debut novel is a romantic comedy with a strong 'career girl' angle. It was released as an e-book by [redacted] Publishing recently. It would be a huge boost, were you to do me the kindness of a tweet of the link below. [title of book and description redacted]. Very sincerely, [author name redacted].

#TitleRedacted  [links redacted] via @[AuthorTwitterAccount Redacted]

I've never heard of this author, to the best of my knowledge we've never met, she never queried me and I definitely do not represent her.

This is one of those instances where someone has lost sight of how best to publicize and promote a book. Requesting that people you don't know Tweet about your book is offensive and ridiculous. It's equally annoying to receive email (I receive a lot) announcing your book when, again, I don't know you. This is all called spam people. Don't be a spammer.

--jhf

Prioritizing Your Submission List

This question came from a reader:

I was wondering your thoughts about prioritising agents for querying? I've got a list of agents who represent my genre. Based on the authors they represent and what I've read about them I have 6 of those agents at the top of my list. How should you query to give you the best chance of landing a top-of-list (TOL) agent:

• Send to your top agents first and work down?

• Send to the other agents first so you can edit your query based on the outcome of those queries before sending to your TOL agent?

• Send a mix to TOL and other agents?

I think the best people to answer this question are probably other authors. Since my submission pool (editors and publishing houses) is a lot smaller than an author's my process is a little different. That being said, I have some thoughts.

I think you should make a list of Tier I, II and III agents. That doesn't necessarily mean the agents themselves are better or worse than each other, but make the list based on how you think the agent will suit you. What kind of books does she represent, have you ever met her and what was your rapport like, what have you heard from others about the agent.

And then I would divide them up. If you have 15 agents on each list I would take five from each for your first round of submissions, five from each for your second round, and so on. That allows you the possibility of editing while still reaching your Tier I agents, but also gives you the opportunity to explore agents who might end up quickly moving to that Tier I slot.

I also think you set a timeline for that next round. Don't wait until every agent from your first round responds, instead give them about 2-3 months (whatever works for you) and then send your next round. There are agents who don't respond, those you'll never hear from and those who are just slow. You can't let them dictate how quickly you move.

--jhf

An Agent's Definition of "A Lot of Work"

In response to last Friday's post on Thoughts on Sending Rejection Letters there was a great comment from a reader that I thought would be better addressed if I broke it up and posted it for the audience at large.

E.L. Wagner said...
I've heard these kinds of comments before, and as someone who is out in the trenches querying a novel, of course, it's hard not to get discouraged when an agent says they liked your book but it wasn't quite what they need for their list at the moment, but they're sure someone will end up repping it.
Out of curiosity, why would an agent feel that they personally couldn't sell a well-written and marketable novel (or get it a deal that does it justice), but another agent might be able to? It may seem like a naive question, but it's one that I've wondered about.
I get the "this is promising but it needs a lot of work yet" rejections some people get. All else being equal, who wouldn't prefer to take on a manuscript that needs a minimum amount of polishing before shopping it to publishers? But all else being equal, what makes an agent think they personally can't sell a given manuscript when someone else might be able to?

In yesterday's post I discussed why an agent might think another agent could better sell a book. Today I want to address why an agent doesn't seem willing to work with an author editorially.

Why if, "this is promising but it needs a lot of work yet" won't an agent take on the job. If this is the rejection you're getting it means that it doesn't need a minimum amount of polishing. It means that book still needs good, intense revisions, and possibly a couple of rounds of them.

I'm working with a new client right now. She just completed a very intense round of revisions for me. When I offered representation I thought the book was in great shape and of course I absolutely loved it. I did have some concerns and I addressed them with the author when I first offered, so I thought we both knew what we were getting ourselves into, but as what often happens, once I sat down to read with my editor's cap on I found a lot that was going to need revising. And let me tell you something, when an editor or agent tells you a lot needs to be changed, you better expect to move mountains. I always tell authors that "minor revisions" to an editor or agent mean something completely different (and usually much bigger) to an author.

She dove in, but I will tell you right now that book is, in some ways, a completely different book. And we might go another round or two before I'm ready to submit. And that's a minimum amount of polishing.

If an agent is telling you you have a good idea, but it still needs work you need to take a close look at the manuscript because it probably needs a good rewrite or two (or something close to that).

--jhf

The Many Reasons an Agent Rejects a Book

In response to last Friday's post on Thoughts on Sending Rejection Letters there was a great comment from a reader that I thought would be better addressed in a post to the audience at large.

E.L. Wagner said...
I've heard these kinds of comments before, and as someone who is out in the trenches querying a novel, of course, it's hard not to get discouraged when an agent says they liked your book but it wasn't quite what they need for their list at the moment, but they're sure someone will end up repping it.
Out of curiosity, why would an agent feel that they personally couldn't sell a well-written and marketable novel (or get it a deal that does it justice), but another agent might be able to? It may seem like a naive question, but it's one that I've wondered about.
I get the "this is promising but it needs a lot of work yet" rejections some people get. All else being equal, who wouldn't prefer to take on a manuscript that needs a minimum amount of polishing before shopping it to publishers? But all else being equal, what makes an agent think they personally can't sell a given manuscript when someone else might be able to?

I can imagine that as a querying author there is always so much to get discouraged about. I know I feel it myself when I'm submitting my client's work and get those second reads that don't pan out or an enthusiastic editor that can't get the support of the rest of her team. That being said, I also know that finding someone who has some level of enthusiasm is another positive step in the right direction. It means there is something there and that the author and I are on the right path. I'm also painfully optimistic that good things are always around the corner.

There are a ton of reasons an agent might personally feel she couldn't sell something. It could be that she likes it, but doesn't have the vision for it (I think I'll talk more about this tomorrow), it could mean that she sees the potential marketability in it, but also worried it's not quite there yet and doesn't have the time or enough enthusiasm to take the risk.

Different agents have different specialties and strengths. One might love editing and working on revisions while another feels she's better at selling and working with the author on the back end of things. Both might do mysteries, but one might feel her strength is historical while the other is a female protagonist. It could be a connection with the voice or a certain knowledge of just two editors who happen to be looking for this thing. Or, it could just come down to level of enthusiasm and how full an agent's list is.

There are so many different things that come into play when an agent rejects a work and its rare an author will ever know them all which is why it's best to take the good news when you can and run with it.

--jhf

Thoughts on Sending Rejection Letters

I'm not going to lie to you. More often than not I send a rejection letter without even thinking twice. In fact, sometimes I send a rejection with some relief. Relief that there's one less email for me to attend to.

Last week however the great authors in the universe got revenge on me by handing me two manuscripts that I felt I had to reject, but did so with much regret. Now to be fair, both of these manuscripts had been sitting on my Kindle for quite some time and in both cases I'd read a good chunk, but had put them down for one reason or another.

In the end, the fact that I had put them down and not rushed to get back to them, or thought about them since, was a huge factor in why I decided to reject these works. There were also some other issues/concerns I had with each book, but I don't need to get into those details here.

Rejecting a book isn't always easy. There are plenty of times an agent feels that a book needs more work than she's ready to take on or can clearly see why she wouldn't be able to sell the book despite the fact that she loved the writing, was riveted by the voice and maybe even finished it well after she knew she was rejecting. 

In both of these cases I won't be at all surprised if some other agent jumps on board and sells the book. Proof that I just wasn't the right agent for either of them.

--jhf

Manuscript Read Times

The other day I received an email from an author checking on a manuscript that was submitted two weeks prior. Two weeks. I'm lucky if I get to the pressing things on my to-do list in two weeks, but submissions? Doubtful.

Anyone submitting to me can clearly see on our website that it takes me 12 weeks to respond to partial and full requests. I know that's a long time, but we discussed it in detail at BookEnds and decided we'd rather list the longer end of our response times to eliminate disgruntled authors after 8 weeks. That being said, as of this writing, I'm backed up on requested material to the beginning of the year. I have one or two from last year, but that's because they are going through some second reads.

I'm slow. I'm not going to lie about that. I also have an incredibly full client list, one that keeps me very busy, so when I do sit down to read and offer representation it's because I'm really, really, really excited about the book.

When submitting I can't stress enough how important it is to pay attention to reading times posted on an agent's website. Most agents will tell you, via their websites, that it takes a certain amount of time to read queries and an even longer amount of time to read requested material. Unless you have an offer of any sort there's no reason to contact the agent before that read time is up and, even then, I would suggested buffering it by a week or two.

If an agent doesn't have reading times posted I would assume 8-12 weeks for everything you send. While I suspect some agents are faster, and most are faster than me, 8-12 weeks is probably the standard rule.

--jhf

Saying No to Exclusives

Years ago, I mean back when I was a baby agent, I sat on a conference panel with about three other agents. During the panel the question of exclusives came up. Since this has always been a (odd) passion of mine I spoke up to say how wrong I felt exclusives were. Another agent disagreed.

She spoke up and said that she always asked for an exclusive. Her reasoning was that it was a waste of time not to because if a "bigger" agent offered, writers were going to go with the bigger agent and she wasted her time. First, I was shocked that she didn't believe in herself enough to think authors would benefit from being with her and second, I was shocked that she actually justified locking authors in without any options.

So we argued. And it wasn't pretty, but I bet it was fun for the conference attendees.

Agents still ask for exclusives and authors still need to respond to that. My advice on saying no to an exclusive is you kind of don't.

When an agent asks for an exclusive I would still send the material and simply say in my letter, "I'm afraid I can't offer an exclusive since I have queries/requested material out elsewhere. However, I will gladly keep you informed should another agent come forward with an offer."

Simple and straightforward and my guess is that the agent will read your material anyway.

--jhf

How Exclusives Harm Authors

Last week I wrote a blog post about exclusives and I received a lot of great comments and questions. Rather than answer in the comments I decided to use the opportunity to write another blog post, or a few blog posts. That way anyone with the same questions can see the answers and I have filled yet another day (or days) on the blog :)

For those who might not know, an exclusive is when an agent asks for you to submit material exclusively to her. That means you stop querying other agents and if you do get a request on a query that is already out you must wait to either hear from the agent with the exclusive before sending to other agents, or wait until the exclusive time period is up.

Why is this a problem?

1. We all know how long agents can take with submissions. It's not because they want to take forever, it's because other things come up. Contracts must be negotiated or reviewed, an author's manuscript needs to be read or edited, or lunches with editors must be lunched. All of these things mean the submission pile grows and before long said agent (ahem) looks at her list and realizes she has requested material from as far back as February 1 (sorry about that).

2. Giving an exclusive, even with a strict time period, means that you've already committed to this agent. You've said, "yes I want you to read my work and if you like it and offer representation I'll sign with you because I have no other options." This is the part about exclusives that tweaks me the most.

When you commit to an agent you are hiring someone to work with you. Repeat this: YOU are HIRING someone to work WITH you. Would you ever agree to have a landscaping company give you a quote only if you give them an exclusive on that? Meaning you can't ask any other landscaping company to give you a quote. I hope not. And that's just to have someone cut your lawn.

By offering an exclusive you are giving someone the opportunity to manage your career, your dream career, without the chance to interview the right person for the job. And that's a big mistake.

One more analogy. You're a business owner. You have a vision for your business and you need to bring on a partner to help make things happen. You find about 10 people you'd like to interview for the job, but one of them tells you she wants an exclusive interview, which means that you eliminate the other 9 people without even having the chance to talk to them.

Would you do it? Because I've just described exactly what an exclusive is.

Later this week I'll discuss how to handle an offer in more detail. As for Exclusives:

Just Don't Do It.

--jhf

Why You Should Resist Giving Agents Exclusives

I can't even begin to think about the number of times I've written on this subject. One search of exclusives on the blog will probably bring up a ton of posts. And yet, I still get emails like this:

I'm sorry for bothering you, but I wanted to check in with you on the status of my romance novel, SECOND CHANCES. I first submitted the book eight weeks ago and I'd like to know if I should continue to wait or start querying other agents. Thanks again for this opportunity. 

Aaaaaaaaaaaah!

Why, oh why are you waiting for me to respond before querying? I never, ever, ever asked for an exclusive and I don't think I've ever asked for an exclusive. There are very few agents who will ask for an exclusive these days and if they do, ignore it and send your queries out anyway.

Your search for an agent is about finding the best partner for your career. Waiting months for a response from one person at a time is never going to help you kick that career off the ground. So query and submit widely, talk to as many agents as possible and choose the one who is the absolute best fit for your work.

--jhf

I Might Be Getting Soft in My Old Age

I've been thinking about writing this post for a few weeks and was finally pushed into it when this comment was left on a six-year-old blog post:

Gourgandise said...

I understand that agents are swamped by queries but really, if I knew that my future agent was getting annoyed by tiny little things like an e-mail attachment or the "it's not addressed to me personally", sorry but red flag, this agent 1)has an ego that I won't be able to deal with 2) sounds rather lazy and opted for comfort a long time ago. So I'll be glad to be sent to the recycling bin actually, nobody will have wasted the time of the other. If I have to go on a business adventure with somebody I might as well pick a lovely person. I'm sorry, you might be lovely in real life, but you sure don't sound like it in this post. (Before somebody says anything, English is not my first language and I don't write in English. I was just passing by, checking what happens on the other side of the fence.)

The power of the blog. Where a post never goes away and you'll be skewered for something you wrote when you were, frankly, a different person.

This particular comment was left on the post I Stop Reading When.

As I'm reading queries these days I'm sort of amazed at how much I'll forgive. Am I getting soft? Am I getting old? or do I just care less about the minute details of life? I'm not sure there's a precise answer, but I am sure that I've become far more forgiving when it comes to queries.

These days I reply to almost everything. I reply to queries that you send to the wrong address, I reply to queries that are addressed to me, Kim, Jessica, Beth and every other agent and even their mothers. I reply when there are clear typos and I even reply when it's not really a query at all, but something that simply says, "read my book." I've established a system that makes it a lot easier for me to reply to all of these things and sometimes it's just as easy to hit delete.

Of course, just because I'm getting soft doesn't mean everyone else (or anyone else) is. I'm pretty sure The Shark will never soften on us and that's ok, a good thing even. We all need to be held to higher standards and pushed to be the best we can be. Query and submission guidelines should be part of that push.

You should also know that while I'm getting soft and answering all of you rule breakers, it doesn't mean you're getting the answer you want. Most of them are rejections.

--jhf

The Secret to Sending Updated Material

It's no secret that agents tend to take a while to read submissions. I'm currently backed up to December on requested material. That's almost three months which, in the grand scheme of things, I don't think is so bad. Recently though, because of my slow response time, I've been getting a rash of authors resending material because they've since revised it and believe it's much stronger. And for a long time I was at a loss on how writers should handle a situation like this.

I think I've come up with a solution and this is based almost entirely on how I would handle a similar situation if I had material with an editor that we since decided to revise.

1. The first thing I'm going to say is that revising material that's already out on submission just shouldn't happen. Why? Because, once you decide a book is ready to go you've more or less put it away and started work on your next book. The first book is dead to you as far as revisions are concerned.

2. I'm an idiot and that's completely unrealistic. If you have a good book and you're close to getting that elusive publishing deal #1 just isn't feasible. At some point, some agent, is going to reject your book, but give you some real feedback that flips the switch. It was the one thing you needed to hear that will make your book shine. So no matter what Jessica Faust has told you, you're scooping that book up and revising.

3. So what do you do about those agents who are reading the material you previously sent, but now feel is flawed? I think you pull it from submission. Instead of rushing through revisions in the hopes the agent doesn't read the first round in time or clogging her inbox with multiple copies of what is essentially the same book I think you email the agent, explain that you received advice that will make the book stronger, and let her know that you'll resend the material once it's been revised (don't ask if you can, just do it). She can simply delete what she currently has.

Is every agent going to be happy about this? Nope, probably not, but I think you will and I think the agent who is unhappy with the new Jessica Faust plan wasn't happy when you sent a second copy of the book because it's been revised.

So go forth and write, but remember, don't even start submitting until you've started the next book.

--jhf

The Foolproof Guide to Submitting to BookEnds

One of the best things about having an agent is that she usually knows the little details about editors and what they like. An agent knows that Editor Jane has a thing for firefighters and Editor Fran is so claustrophobic she can't even read about tight spaces. She also knows that Editor Brad loves anything to do with the Civil War, especially from a Northern perspective, while Editor Lois is conservative politically and not interested in anything from the "other side."

It's hard for authors to do know these things though. While agents might give some insight into their interests through Twitter or agency guidelines, most don't usually get into the nitty-gritty of what makes a book stand out in their particular genres of interest. So we thought we'd change that. Here is some of the nitty gritty on BookEnds. These are the types of themes that stand out, as long as they fit the genres on our submission guidelines.

If you’re writing…..                                                                                                                           Submit to.....

   dark, creepy and very nasty serial killers                                                                                                    Jessica F

   billionaires/sheikhs/princes/CEOS                                                                                                              Jessica A   

   shy, awkward girl who ends up with tattooed, motorcycle-riding, misunderstood badass                           Kim
   dark & gritty with tough, unusual female leads                                                                                    Jessica A/F

   LGBT                                                                                                                                                           Beth

   military or secret agent heroes                                                                                                                    Jessica A

   spaceships, teleports, and/or cybernetics                                                                                                   Beth

   suspense or mystery set in LA Bayou                                                                                                     Jessica F

   blind/scarred/crippled, bitter, reclusive heroes                                                                                            Kim/Jessica A

   gory or macabre                                                                                                                                          Jessica A/Beth

   siblings or old friends with a deep, dark secret                                                                                           Kim

   medical examiners or forensic anthropologists                                                                                           Jessica A/Beth

   cabin romances (hero/heroine stranded together)                                                                                      Kim

   international romantic suspense aka Homeland M1-6 or Mossad agents                                                  Jessica A
   voyeurs                                                                                                                                                       Jessica A/F
   female-driven books about bibliophiles                                                                                                      Kim/Jessica F
   protagonists with memory loss                                                                                                                    Beth
   four Weddings and a Funeral style romance                                                                                              Jessica A
   psychological mysteries                                                                                                                              Beth/Jessica F
   curmudgeonly Mr. Rochester-type hero                                                                                                     Kim/Jessica A 

And keep in mind, we keep an eye out for everyone at BookEnds which means we're always passing queries and manuscripts back and forth. If I feel something I receive might be better for someone else I'm going to happily pass it to her.

Looking forward to seeing what you've got!

A Word on Submissions

I know not every agent works this way, not even in our office, but I want to put it out there that if I send you a helpful rejection I am alway happy to see the material again should you make dramatic changes based on my suggestions.

In fact, my guess would be that most agents would rather see a query again than hear later how the book sold, with another agent, based on the suggestions she made.

So even if I fail to ask you send the book to me again, the door is open. Because I hate to lose out on something I liked enough to give revision suggestions on.

--jhf

Having Rejector's Remorse

I'm usually incredibly well organized, at least that's what I tell myself. But even the organized lose things now and then.

Well not long ago (okay it was probably last Fall or earlier) I read this mystery I really liked. I even called and talked with the author about it. At least I called in my head, maybe I only emailed. Anyway, I asked the author to keep me in mind for revisions or any other books. That damn book has been haunting me. I want to read it again. To reconsider. I want to see it again.

I can't find it. I've checked my "Authors to Track" file. I've checked my deleted files. I've searched and searched and I can't find it anywhere. I'm sad.

That's today's Rejector's Remorse.

--jhf

Making It Up

I've said before that writing the query letter, or at least the blurb for the query, should be the first step you take when writing the book. The hardest part of writing the query is that sometimes you don't really have enough of a hook, or enough of a book, to write about. So if you start with your query, often you'll define your book before you start writing it (which will save you a TON of time).

The other day I was working on my pitch to editors and I started writing the query. This was taking days. I was struggling and struggling until I realized what the book really needed or really needed to be and I just wrote that. I told my team that I was, "just making shit up." And I kind of was, because my pitch didn't exactly match the story the author had written. What it did though was give me exactly what I needed as an editor to go back to the author and make sure it was the story that it needed to be.

Now I didn't make any huge changes to the story, and I didn't ask the author to rewrite. What I did though was I found what the story was missing to give it that extra oomph. From now on, when doing edits, I think I'm going to start writing my pitch. It was a huge help.

--jhf