An Agent's Creative Side

Do you ever have those days when too many distractions make writing nearly impossible? Maybe it’s a day better spent researching or working on marketing and publicity or maybe it’s a day you just need to take a break from writing to get those other things done that are clogging your brain?

I don’t know if that’s the way it works for you, but that’s definitely the way it works for me. There are days when, no matter how many proposals are piled on my desk, I just can’t get to them. Editing, reviewing, reading, or writing revision letters for clients is a creative process. When I read those books or proposals I need to be at the top of my game. I need to be able to really think while I’m reading, analyze what’s working and what’s not working, and make copious notes to the author. If I have too many other things going on, things that can make it difficult for me to focus, it’s not going to be good for my client. It means that I’m distracted and that I might miss the fact that the heroine is a complete imbecile or the hero is just plain awful. If I’m distracted it means I can’t do my best work for a client and this is why it sometimes takes agents longer than it should.

If I’m distracted I think it’s better not to read for revisions the minute the work arrives on my desk, but to instead give myself time to get rid of the distractions and give myself a clean plate. Once my brain is clear, I settle in, turn off the phone and computer, and sit down to focus on what needs to get done. Granted, this usually doesn’t take weeks, but can sometimes mean that it takes a few days longer than I want it to. I try to keep my clients honestly informed of where I’m at with things and hopefully I never keep them waiting too long, but an agent’s job has a bit of a creative side too and just like writers, it’s important for us to embrace our own creative process so that we can do the best work possible on your behalf.

Jessica

More on Product Placement in Books

Oh, what a difference a year makes. Last year I wrote a post about the possibility of product placement in books and whether or not authors would consider being paid to include products in their books and how readers might feel about that. At the time, it was a bit of a pie-in-the-sky idea. However, things are changing quickly and dramatically all over the world and publishing is no exception. Now there is regular talk of “enhanced ebooks,” ebooks that might include short videos or links. Think of the implications this could have.

Now instead of simply giving your protagonist a Leinenkugel to drink you could actually link to an ad for Leinenkugel or the Leinenkugel website. The website could be created by the company to sell the product specifically to readers of your book. Obviously this is all speculation, but it makes one wonder about how much books will really change in the future and how much authors could and might benefit, not just from the sales of the book but the potential ad space.

Just a thought. What do you think?

Jessica

Individualizing the Query

I was wondering what you think is the most important aspect of a query. I've read a ton of articles which all cite different things and I get the feeling that rather than emphasizing hook over plot, or characters over events, based on an article, I should strive to find out what it is that each individual agent wants to know. (Or is that wrong in and of itself?)

Is there one thing in a book that captures you more than one thing, and if there is, do you want to see that emphasized in a query? Or does balance and concise explanation of the plot outweigh your own personal preferences?

Unfortunately, I don’t think a query is a one-size-fits-all device. I don’t think the same query necessarily works for all agents or all authors. That being said, I don’t think it should either.

The most important part of the query is the blurb, the part that tells the agent about your book, the part that grabs her attention and makes her want to read more. Here’s the deal, though: What you should strive for is writing the query that best represents you and your book. It should show the reader a bit of your voice and the blurb shouldn’t necessarily be about hook or characters or plot. It should be that one thing about your book that makes it stand out from all others. For some this might be hook, for others character and for some plot.

If you read the query samples I’ve posted on the blog over the years you’ll see how very different they all are and yet, they all worked. A query that works for me won’t work for Janet Reid or Nathan Bransford or Rachelle Gardner, and that’s absolutely fine because the agent that represents you might not work for another author, even those in your critique group.

Stop trying to write queries and books that appeal to everyone. Write a query (and a book) that will appeal to many, but that is your best work.

Jessica

What I'd LOVE to Say

I often start drafts of blog posts and then let them percolate for a while before finishing or posting. Ironically, the week I started this particular blog post I was alerted to this blog: http://slushpilehell.tumblr.com/

I don’t think there’s anything I could possibly add.

Jessica

Firing an Agent

Some months ago I asked my agent about the possibilities of getting my novel adapted as a graphic novel. He dismissed the suggestion, saying that those particular rights belonged to the publisher. After examining the contract, I realized that those rights are mine alone with all the other derivatives (film, dramatic etc). Recently I have found an agent who specializes in Graphic Novel who was interested in selling it, but asked that I get a waiver from the agent of record, since she is not willing to split her commission.

Without telling my agent about this I asked again about graphic novels. After the publisher acknowledged that those rights are mine, he responded that there was no point in trying to sell a graphic novel adaptation, since the graphic novel business was "nascent." Like the movie rights, which he has farmed out to an agent who has done nothing in two years. He admitted that he is content to wait for something to drop from the heavens and refuses to waive any of those rights.

As far as he is concerned, the novel he sold is a spent property, since the publishers is neither going to give up rights or put out any subsequent editions as long as they have a couple thousand unsold hardbacks in their inventory. He is also not interested in representing my current project as it is something the editor doesn't care for.

My agency agreement does not say anything about him keeping hold of unsold rights. Can't I just fire him and take my rights back?

I want to take a step back here. I recognize that you are frustrated and angry and I don’t blame you. That being said, I want to explain some things so that readers don’t get confused about what’s really wrong, or seemingly wrong, and what’s probably really happening. I’m going to address the movie rights first and then I’ll move on to the graphic novel rights. You say that your agent “farmed” the movie rights out to another agent who has done nothing. It’s very typical for a literary agent to work with a co-agent on movie rights, foreign rights, and other types of sub-rights. Just as a literary agent specializes in books, and certain genres of books, there are agents who specialize in certain territories or in movies. I can’t weigh whether or not this movie agent is doing anything, but I can tell you that it’s very, very difficult to get a movie option and not having one doesn’t necessarily mean nothing is being done.

Okay, on to your original question. I’m concerned that your agent didn’t seem to know what rights he held on your behalf. Certainly that’s not material I have in my head for every contract I’ve negotiated, but it’s easy enough for me to find out by reading the contract. To me that’s a red flag.

As to moving forward, if your agency contract says nothing about him keeping unsold rights, and you’re sure of this, then I see no reason why you can’t fire this agent and move forward with any rights in any way you want. What I might suggest, to keep things clean, is that you spell this out in your termination letter. In other words, you say specifically that you are terminating your agreement and that you are free to move forward with any unsold rights with no obligation to him.

Keep in mind, your agent still has the right to receive commissions on any contracts he did negotiate on your behalf and on any rights you licensed in those contracts.

Jessica

Query Recap

One early Sunday morning I sat down with my coffee and attempted to go through as many of the 280+ queries in my inbox as I could before my day started. This time around, unlike in other recaps, I didn’t focus on one day or one set time period. I simply wandered around the inbox opening and reviewing queries at random.

Here’s the count:

Total Number of Queries Read: 33
Total Time Reading Queries: about 30 minutes
Total Number of Queries I Rejected: 30
Total Number of Queries I Requested More Material for: 3
Total Number of Queriers Who Were Previously Published: 3 (note that only one of those previously published authors is in the “requested” category
Total Number Nonfiction Queries: 2
Total Number of Responses I Gave that Offered More Than Just the Standard “No”: 4

We often discuss how a query should give the reader a sense of your voice, and while reading these that flashed into my mind, so I read with a thought to how these queries were written. Overall, I think most writers have done their research and have a sense of how to write a strong query. Most of you are doing a great job of putting your voice (as far as I can tell) into the query. There are definitely some cases where I reject based on the fact that I don’t feel I connect with the voice. And of course many of my requests come because I do like the voice.

Jessica

Which Comes First

This came from the comments on a previous post . . .

There has been contradicting advice on agents' blogs these days about what should come first: the book deal or the website? A web presence before being published, or create a website after you've sold? Any takers on this debate?

Frankly, I don’t think it really matters. Sometimes it’s nice for agents to be able to check you out and see if you have writing posted somewhere, especially if you are an author who’s winning a lot of awards or getting a lot of attention. Sometimes agents will check you out before you even query.

You need a website well before your first book is published. You don’t need a website before that.

Jessica

Length of Time Editors Take

What does it mean when an editor holds onto your manuscript for two months, not passing but not accepting either? Does it mean they are waiting for additional reads, something to change, what? This drives me nuts.

I recently read it took the author of Percy Jackson 2 full years from query to getting an offer from an editor. Why do they hold on so long without telling you what's going on?

Honestly? It means absolutely nothing. The sanest thing you can do when getting a request from an editor, or an agent, is let it go and move on. In other words, continue querying agents and submitting. Waiting for an editor to respond is often like waiting for the water to boil when you’re starving. The best thing you can do is leave the room and find something else to focus on.

What an editor, or agent, is doing with it can depend on a number of things. The most likely, though, is that she just hasn’t gotten to it yet. If you’re submitting to editors without an agent you are at the bottom of the list. That means every agented manuscript that comes into the editor is going to get priority over yours. That includes those manuscripts that come in the day yours was submitted as well as the manuscripts that come in the following days and weeks. Unless you get an offer from someone else or the editor had already read partial material and almost wet her pants she was so excited, you’re going to wait.

Why do they hold onto it so long? Because they’re busy, because agents are coming to them almost daily with manuscripts that have their stamp of approval (so to speak), because they only have so many slots on a publishing list to buy for and those are being quickly filled by the authors they are already publishing and the manuscripts coming from agents.

Two years from query to offer might seem like a long time, but in truth it’s probably not. Keep in mind, you’re saying from “query” to offer. For all you know he spent a year querying agents before anyone bit. Maybe the book needed major work before it even went out to editors, maybe editors took months to consider.

Who knows what happened, and that’s the truth. You don’t. So keep writing the best books possible. And by the way, two months doesn’t even come close to being a long time.


Jessica

Do Agents Have a Voice?

We’ve all talked about voice hundreds of times and have an understanding of what it means when we hear “an author’s voice,” but while reading a book the other day I had a thought: Do agents have a voice?

Let me explain. I was reading this book recently and throughout the entire book I kept thinking to myself, “this sounds exactly like something I’d represent.” The book sounded somehow familiar to me, as if it had come off my own bookshelf. As if it was written by one of my own clients. Now, granted, there are a lot of different voices among my shelves and certainly no two are alike, but if you look at an agent’s client list will you start to see a certain voice or similarity in voice shine through?

I have no idea if there’s an answer to this question, but it is something that has me thinking.

Jessica

An Offer From a Small Publisher

I recently received two very similar questions, and rather than answer them separately I thought I’d lump them together.

I received a contract in the mail from a publisher today. I do not have an agent. I queried widely without success prior to submitting the manuscript to a few publishers that accept unagented material. I have a lawyer friend who has reviewed the contract and says it's pretty standard, but I want (and have always wanted) to work with an agent. The publisher wrote within the offering letter that many elements of the contract are open for negotiation, and I know several items are not worded in my favour and should be changed, but I do not feel qualified to do so.

Should I try to find an agent now? How should I go about doing so? Is it acceptable to contact some of the agents who rejected my query - as these are the people I spent time researching and I know I would like to work with? How do I get my contract offer out of the slush pile?

And

if you submit your work to a small publisher and they're interested in publishing the book, is a small press too small for an agent to be interested in representing a new author? Should the author not accept the publisher's offer if an agent is willing to look at their work and submit it to a large publisher instead?

First off, I think both readers should review the posts I’ve made on similar subjects. If you go to Turn that Deal Around you’ll also see a link to another post that talks about what an agent can do for you if you get an offer from a publisher.

Let me take a stab at these questions. . . .

Whether you get an offer from a small press or a large press there is no guarantee that an agent will want to handle the deal for you. A good agent will want to read the book first before making the decision, to make sure your writing is something she wants to add to her list. That being said, I know there is a myth that goes through writers’ circles not to even bother looking for an agent if it’s a small press because agents aren’t interested in small presses. I’m not sure who started this rumor or why it continues to spread, but it’s just plain ridiculous. Agents are interested in getting good books published and every agent worth her salt knows that sometimes that means going to a small press. We also know that a lot of really great careers start at small presses. Sure, sometimes the money is smaller, but if I’m looking at an author’s work I’m seeing a career, which means, in my mind, the money might start small, but I’m seeing bigger things to come.

If a small press deal comes your way, the time to get an agent is the minute you get the offer. Sure, you can pay 15% to negotiate the contract, but typically once the contract is sent you’ve already agreed to a number of terms, including advance, royalties, and territory. These are the big ones and, frankly, these are what an agent will negotiate to make her money. If you have the contract in hand, those are already finalized. If you’ve had a publishing lawyer look over the contract and negotiate on your behalf, you probably don’t need an agent at this point.

As I said in the previous post referenced above, talk to the agent before you accept the offer. Simply let the publisher know you’d like to bring an agent on board and you’ll get back to her. There are a ton of agents out there and it’s unlikely you’ve actually submitted to them all. The other thought to consider is that it’s unlikely they’ve all read your proposal. For those who only rejected on query you might want to go back to them this time to see if the offer pushes them to want to read your work.


Jessica