GumboWriters.com

Scott Kaufman -- Kolstein Agency

2009-01-11T17:52:00.003-05:00

GumboWriters.com had an opportunity to interview literary agent Scott Kaufman from The Kolstein Talent Agency's new literary agency division. What makes this agency unique is that their focus for many years was for actors in film, television and stage but now they're on the look out for fresh new writing talent in their boutique division.

What's your official title, Scott? I head the literary agency division of the Kolstein Talent Agency. I've been with this agency for a year. I mainly handle film and television writers but am also on the look out for book writers as well.

How did you get started? I started in film and television production with independent films and television specials for PBS. After working in the production area, I decided that I wanted to get into the agency side of the business. I've always had a love and passion for the entertainment industry.

How many clients do you handle? What's great is that I only handle about 20 clients whereas other literary agents may handle a much larger number. Having a smaller number of clients allows me to work one-on-one with each individual.

What are you currently looking for, Scott? Two specific genres that I am looking out for are comedy and horror, because they provide audiences with the opportunities to laugh and escape. I'm also looking for character driven, lower to mid-level budgeted projects. As an agency, we are always looking to package our projects.

What are you not looking for? Right now, I am trying to avoid high priced, tent-pole movie scripts. Another aspect that is very important to me in terms of submissions is proper formatting, because I believe it reflects a writer's level of professionalism and experience.

Why you a writer sign with you, Scott and not someone else? I work with a select group of writers whose abilities I truly admire. Once they are signed with me, I give my clients the attention and time they deserve. I am aggressive, hungry and always working for them. By working one-on-one with each client, we are able to come up with "out-of-the box" ways to attain their goals.

GumboWriters -- How to Sell Books Fast

2009-01-10T23:19:00.001-05:00

One of the fastest ways to sell books is public speaking. What's great about speaking publicly is that you see the results immediately. You speak to a small group of people, could be as few as 10 or 20 people and immediately afterward you sell your book in the back of the room.

To begin with you must know who your target market is because generally if your book is about Biology you stand a better chance at selling books to biologist than basketball players but not necessarily because many people will buy your book because they want your autograph. They may never even read your book but they want to brag to their friends that they met "a real author".

But how do you set up a public speaking event? I say, why waste your time setting up an event from scratch when there are many groups that are begging for speakers to speak to their people and they've already lined up the people. A great organization to start with is are Rotary Clubs. You can google them and find the local chapters in your area. They're a wonderful organization of business owners that join together to network and more importantly do charitable work in their communities. They're always looking for speakers and if you can tailor your book's message to fit their needs they would love to have you speak.

You begin with a simple short email to them introducing yourself to them and what your message will be. They will usually respond within a few days and you find out what day(s) they have available. You arrive early, introduce yourself to the moderator who booked you, be friendly to all the people as they enter and set your stack of books up at a table that is strategically placed right next to the door so that after you speak they HAVE to pass by you in order to speak.

You give a short speech that inspires them and keep it at about 15-20 minutes and allow for questions and answers. Then, afterward you speak.

I suggest you let the Rotary Club members know how much you normally charge and what kind of discount you're offering them and if a portion of your proceeds are supporting a charity even better. Remember to also mention to them that your book would make " a great gift" and that you'll autograph it for them. You'll be surprised at what a positive response you'll get. In my experience at least 50% of the people I speak to end up buying the book. It's an instant way to sell more books and see the results immediately.
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Jeff Rivera: If you need help with your book promotion contact gumbomarketing@gmail.com and we'll find a way to help you within your budget.

Julie Hill - Literary Agent with Julie A. Hill & Assoc.

2008-12-30T14:52:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Julie?
15 yrs, and i started with other writer friends materials..actually becoming an agent was their idea for me. i too was writing then, but for periodicals and the internet. actually, i started with agenting not with books, but with screenplays. i went to the UC Berkeley Publishing Course after awhile, just to get my book skills honed, because i found I really loved working with book authors most of all. Since then, I have expanded to television work for my authors, or whatever other projects can be spun from their books. I also consult with authors who just need advice, or just need a contract negotiated after selling their books themselves. I really enjoy contract negotiation.

What makes your agency different than any others?
I'd say the above...all the work I do around books, not just the books themselves. Authors can make new generations of their material if they have the interest, and I'll consult on all phases of such projects. I have a great entertainment attorney I work with, Jason Poston, who is the late comedian Tom Poston's son. He keeps me up to date on the latest legal twists and turns, plus he used to be a book editor.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?
More materials from and about under 35's. I think this "Obama generation" is the next octave of their boomer parents. Change the World people, but in their own unique way. I think the under 35's in this country will have alot to say in the near future.

Julie what are you tired of receiving?
Bad novels. submissions without the right components, esp. lack of proper competitive title analysis.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?
One way is to have an MFA in writing. (I heard a statistic yesterday on NPR that over 50% of the writers being bought have MFA's, don't know if it is true, but i do notice a big difference in the quality of material from writing program grads). Know your craft, know the system, know the protocol. One huge way to help yourself to have read Jeff Herman's Writers Guide to Book Publishers, Editors and Literary Agents and put it into practice. I cannot recommend that book enough.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?
Keep providing quality competitive work, and keep promoting yourself to the outside world. Have a very active internet presence, be willing to travel frequently to give talks and signings, and be creative about getting public attention for your work. Having a publicist is a very big plus.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Julie that they don't seem to?
I care about writers' careers as well as their books. I am a career consultant for my authors as best I can be. If I can find other work for them, I do. If I have an idea about how they can make more money, get more exposure, I tell them. Most agents just sell books and career counseling is out of the picture. I don't decry that, its one way to make a living, it's just not who I am. It's tough to make a big living as an author, and you have to be thinking all the time about what else can be done to feather your nest, pump your platform, spin your ideas into other media and markets. Writers who stay home and hope for the next big idea to dawn won't thrive in this business.

Felicia Eth - Literary Agent at Felicia Eth Literary

2008-12-29T23:35:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Felicia?

I've been an agent for 25 years (that makes me sound ancient). 10 in N.Y. at Writers Hosue, 15 or so here in the Bay area, with my own agency, Felicia Eth Literary Reprsentation. Initially I started working in the movie business in N.Y, in the Story Departments of Palomar Pictures and Warner Brothers, where properties get selected. I was the conduit for NY. publishers, so worked with sub rights people and agents who mostly handle movie/tv rights. I found I was much more interested in books as books, than as properties with potential for being translated to the screen. Oftentimes the best books make the lousiest movies and vice versa. But it was a great way to learn who was doing what.

What makes your agency different than any others?

There's only so many ways to be different, and given how many agents there are, I can't speak of myself as wholly unique. I'm a New Yorker on the West Coast so I bring both sensibilities to anything I work with. I'm sort of intellectual, but came out of a movie background, so there again I've a dual perspective, I'm a one person office, but as someone who knows the business for many many years, I work with books of diverse interest - from quirky narrative nonfiction to literary fiction. I try to be ahead of the curve in terms of what's hot, but not avant-garde, since no one in N.Y. wants that.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

I wish I could find more literary writers who knew how to write incredibly compelling stories, ie. stories with dramatic drive and narrative and a plot that kept yo riveted, even as you are held by the writing.

I'd love to see more narrative nonfiction that was less memoir about someone's life, and more about someone's foray into exploring something that impacts all of us.

Felicia what are you tired of receiving?

I'm tired of receiving memoirs by people who've overcome tough personal situations. I admire them for it, but don't necessarily want to read another book about it.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

Be smart, be funny, show you've done your homework, have publishing credits or support from names who might ring a bell with me (and others), whether they be teachers of yours, friends of yours, other writers, etc.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

That's easy. I run a small, personal agency, where I'm always happy to talk with a writer, so long as they hear me when I say I can't talk now, and respect my personal and professional needs.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Felicia that they don't seem to?

That our interests coincide - books that I say aren't for me, aren't and thus I'm not the best person for them. Books that I say need work, do, and not because I'm trying to make a writer's life hard, but because if I see problems the editors will too and so following my direction makes sense for both of us. That I try to get the best offer all around so that the book will be well published and the author will be happy. If I advise an author to take a deal, it's not because it serves me, but because it serves the author.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

Email is fine for a query, but not for a proposal or partial, hardcopy is fine for a query with sample pages and proposal (not a complete ms), and phone is rarely preferable since it's great if you are articular and smart and ideally that will make publishing the book more successful, but I sell books, so how you write and present yourself in writing, is first and foremost what I need to see.

Paul Cirone - New Interview with Literary Agent at Friedrich Literary Agency

2008-12-29T23:28:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Paul ?

I began my publishing career as in intern for the Aaron Priest Agency. I worked my way up to assistant for Molly Friedrich and I've been with her ever since. I technically started agenting in 2000, while I was still a full time assistant. That's when I discovered Leif Enger's PEACE LIKE A RIVER and Edgar Award winner, Megan Abbott. Molly subsequently opened her own agency in 2006 where I joined her as a full fledged agent and foreign rights manger.

    What makes your agency different than any others?

While we're small in size-- we're a three person operation-- we pride ourselves in really taking care of the writers. We don't have a lot of celebrity writers, at least not those that are celebrities first. We do have a lot who were writers first, that went on to become celebrities, like Terry McMillan, Sue Grafton and Frank McCourt to name a few. Our relationship to the client really is an all-encompassing one. We're not just there at the sale, we're present for the author's entire publishing experience. But, we're the opposite of corporate–our authors don't get lost in the fray. Everyone does feel completely taken care of.

    What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

I'd love to see more non-fiction that's funny and well-written. I really like to learn new things about topics in history, current events, pop-culture---but with a humorous slant. Though, funny is probably the hardest thing to pull off. I'm also always a sucker for well-written historical fiction. Something that takes a lesser known footnote from history and imagines a whole universe around it.

    Paul what are you tired of receiving?

Books that are poorly written! Books about ancient societies and uncovered texts that are poorly written.

    How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

By having some short-stories published in literary magazines or by writing for blogs. The more they're out there as writers the better. This business of writing is no longer a solitary one. Writers have to be marketing conscious and pro-active.

    How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

By being respectful of my weekends and by effectively communicating their needs, so that the professional relationship is always strong.

    What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Paul that they don't seem to?

That we don't get paid for the reading and evaluating of writers before we take them on. If we take the time to write a personal response ---and our agency has a great reputation of doing that–and it's a no, they really need to respect that it was a no and leave it at that.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

Email is best. I read everything on my kindle these days. My back muscles are very happy.

Vicky Bijur - Literary Agent at Vicky Bijur Literary Agency

2008-12-28T23:42:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start, Vicky ?

I have been an agent since 1986, when I started working with the Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency. I have had my own agency since 1988.

The first client I took on in 1986 was the mystery writer Margaret Maron, and she is still my client. She won the Edgar for Best Novel in 1992. I've sold about twenty-five of her books.

I went to work with Charlotte after nine years in the New York office of Oxford University Press, where I worked on books of history, film studies, literary criticism, architecture, musicology, and so forth.

What makes your agency different than any others?

Every agency operates differently. What's important to me is the long relationships I have with many of my clients. As I mention above, my first client is still with me. I have worked with many of my clients since the 1980s and 1990s.

Some agencies specialize, but I love working on a broad variety of books: mysteries, literary fiction, journalism, cookbooks, graphic non-fiction, health, parenting, biography, self-help, memoir, and so forth.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

Novels and memoirs that grip me from page one. I still remember the first page of Laura Lippman's first book, BALTIMORE BLUES, which I read in 1995 or 1996. Last spring I picked up a self-published book called STILL ALICE by Lisa Genova and couldn't put it down. I sold it to Pocket Books, which is publishing it in January.

I am interested in seeing graphic fiction and non-fiction. I represent Larry Gonick, a pioneer in graphic non-fiction (THE CARTOON HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE, THE CARTOON GUIDE TO STATISTICS, etc.), and would love to represent others in that field.

I am also interested in hearing from journalists. I represent Steven Greenhouse, the New York Times labor reporter and author of THE BIG SQUEEZE (Knopf, 2008) and would love to see more journalism.

I am always interested in writers who work in a variety of literary forms. Laura Lippman writes novels, short stories, journalism, reviews, essays, and so forth. James Sallis writes novels, poetry, biography (his biography of Chester Himes was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year), literary criticism.

Vicky, what are you tired of receiving?

It would be nice not to ever again get a query letter that starts, "I've written a fictional novel."

Also, in the days before email queries, prospective clients kept their query letters to one page. Emailed queries often go on for much too long. If you send a query via email it should be no longer than the equivalent of a one-page letter.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

A great cover letter. I must admit I love it when a prospective client comes to me and says, "I'm not talking to any other agents."

I take special note when a prospective client has done some research either by going to my web page (http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/vbijur/) or even listening to a radio interview from a few years ago: http://www.barbarademarcobarrett.com/writersonwriting/audio/Vicky_Bijur_Nov-06-2003.mp3

If you want to write non-fiction, it is a great help to do a formal book proposal before approaching agents. I often recommend HOW TO WRITE A BOOK PROPOSAL by Michael Larsen. Writers find it very helpful.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

All my clients are on my radar. Perhaps my clients are a particularly charming and personable group, as I have never thought about this question.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent, Vicky, that they don't seem to?

I focus more on trying to understand my clients than on what I want them to understand about me.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

Either email or snail mail. Not faxes or phone calls.

Harvey Klinger - Literary Agent

2008-12-27T23:47:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Harvey?I started my own agency in October, 1977. I worked for an agent prior to that for a year and a half who taught me how not to be an agent, which was quite instructive.

What makes your agency different than any others?I would say that we're a "boutique" agency. All of my associates and myself included work very closely with our clients and do a fair amount of editing and revising their material before we even start making submissions to publishers.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?Narrative non-fiction, interesting history, biography, science and I'm always looking for terrific new fiction; I'm just not seeing anything that I've liked lately.

Harvey what are you tired of receiving?Queries from writers who keep trying to sell themselves. The material should speak for itself. I'm tired of seeing disease-of-the-week stories, people writing about donating kidneys to relatives (or strangers), people announcing they've got the next Harry Potter, and there's still too much chick lit floating out there; the genre's been glutted to extinction.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?Writing something wonderful, fresh with a unique voice or a non-fiction project that's insightful and timely without trying to act like a salesperson at a WalMart.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane? By not calling and just occasionally emailing to check-in.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Harvey that they don't seem to? That I'm not a miracle worker, but work hard for my writers and expect them to do the same for me. Despite all the hard work though, there are no guarantees in the publishing business, particularly in the current economic climate. Even if I think a proposal (or a novel) is in perfect shape, there's still no saying that a publisher will agree and even if they do and publish it aggressively, success can be a rare and elusive thing. You give it your best shot and let the chips fall where they may...but at least it gets me out of bed every morning!

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?EMAIL!

Laney Katz Becker - Literary Manager with Folio Literary

2008-12-27T14:30:00.000-05:00

How did you get your start Laney ?
[LKB:] My background is highly unusual: Prior to becoming an agent, I was an award-winning advertising copywriter, a freelance journalist, and a published author (of both fiction and non-fiction). When I had children, I made constant *adjustments* to my writing career, in order to spend as much time at home as possible -- hence all the various hats! But when my kids got older and prepared to leave home, I decided it was time for me to do the same. (TRANSLATION: I didn't want to spend the second half of my life alone, in my basement office, writing books.) I (re)evaluated my skills, my interests, my passions -- and the rest, as they say, is history. I think my past writing and marketing experiences really helped me hit the ground running when I switched gears and started agenting, and frankly, my skills come in awfully handy when I work with my authors to get their projects ready for submission. Of course the obvious is also true: Having been "the author" I know what it's like to be in their shoes, which is not a bad thing at all!

What makes your agency different than any others?
[LKB:] Folio takes a very different approach to supporting our authors. We have a marketing department, a speaker's bureau and relationships with various licensing agencies. We offer these additional services to our authors in order to supplement all the outstanding work publishers do to promote authors/books. It's really exciting and incredibly successful. (www.foliolit.com)

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?
[LKB:] I've been reading for (many) decades. I'm not excited to read something I feel like I've read a million times already. I love things that are fresh and smart. On the fiction side, I'm partial to book club fiction and psychological thrillers. On the non-fiction side I love memoirs. But again, I gravitate toward stories that expose me to something new. I also do a limited amount of prescriptive non-fiction and am always on the lookout for gripping narrative non-fiction. To see more about what I'm looking for, check out my bio page at http://www.foliolit.com/s-laney.php

Laney what are you tired of receiving?
[LKB:] Long, rambling query letters for topics I don't handle.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?
[LKB:] A concise, well-written query that follows the guidelines on my bio page. It really is that simple. No kidding. I've signed authors from the slush pile, and I've sold their projects for 6-figure deals. It really can work that way. Promise.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?
[LKB:] All my writers are on my radar because I'm very selective about the authors I sign. I intentionally keep my list small; that's the only way I can give my authors the time and attention they need/deserve. That said, the author/agent relationship is like a good marriage. Communication is key. So, if an author is doing something that's annoying, it's part of my job to let the author know that's not how I prefer to work -- and I expect them to do the same.

NOW, I know the question is about a "signed writer," but let me tell you what drives me INSANE about unsigned writers:

* Writers who argue with me. I pass on something because it's too commercial for me (they've sent me a 3-book mystery series, for instance, and that's not something I handle). The author then sends back a rant about how commercial is what sells and don't I want something that sells?

* Writers who send back a note alerting me that I've just passed on what is sure to be a huge best-seller. (The fact the author bragged like that in his original query is probably why I passed in the first place. Why would I want to work with someone who has such an over-inflated opinion of himself? Especially since he's never been published before. This author is already broadcasting that he won't be easy to handle/deal with.)

* Writers who apologize. "I've never been published...you probably won't be interested in this...I know you probably won't even take time to read this..."

* Writers who tell me that they've given their project to all their family/friends/students to read and everyone loves it. (First, your family and friends should tell you it's great; they're you're family and friends! And even if you've given the book to strangers -- their taste and mine may be very different. I'm not just looking for things I love, but for things I can sell. How could your strangers know that?)

* I could go on, but I'm sure you're catching my drift.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Laney that they don't seem to?
[LKB:] This is a business. And while it's true there are a lot of emotions that get wrapped around anything as intimate as writing, it is still a business, and it is my job as an agent to sell. So there's no reason for me to sign a project I don't love, or a project I don't think I can sell. And no amount of begging/pleading will convince me otherwise. And you'll just have to trust me: You REALLY don't want an agent who is not super passionate about your project.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?
[LKB:] Email. I read and respond to every query. lkbecker (at) foliolit.com

Ben Barnhart - Editor at Milkweed Editions

2008-12-27T01:26:00.000-05:00

How did you get your start as an editor? Why become an editor instead of say, a fighter pilot or computer engineer?

I got my start the old-fashioned way, by taking out a contract on a senior editor and then being well-positioned to pick up his unfinished projects. Okay, not exactly. I started as an intern at Milkweed Editions several years back, and then hired on as the editorial assistant, then assistant editor, associate editor, and now just plain editor. This is a business ideally suited to the form of apprenticeship, and at each stage I've been fortunate to work underneath a senior editor who was able to provide advice.

Curiously enough, if you'd asked about my career ambitions at eight and twelve respectively, I would have said fighter pilot and computer engineer (I'm not making that up). Perhaps there's a progression here I'm not aware of. Coming out of college I knew I was interested in literature and working with writing, and suspected that a literary editor might be a good track for me. It appeals to so many competing passions—a desire to work in a creative field; close, collaborative work with authors; the solitary pleasure of reading; the challenge of making an artistic expression palatable within a consumer culture.

What are some of the exciting books you've acquired that you're most proud of?

I'll always think fondly about one of my first acquisitions: Gary Amdahl's Visigoth, which is a collection of stories so potent and visceral I can't read them without laughing and recoiling, sometimes at the same moment. More recently I'm very excited about a book by David Rhodes called Driftless. I was fortunate enough to stumble across his out of print novels (originally published in the 1970s) and get in touch with him. Almost by chance he'd just finished the manuscript that became Driftless, and we were able to publish that along with a reintroduction of some of his older work. His is a great story of a deeply talented, but neglected author finally receiving his due attention.

When you receive a submission what about it really grabs you and excites you to the point that you'd like to acquire it?

Like almost every other literary editor, I read first and foremost for voice. A good story runs a close second to voice, but without that distinctive voice a book loses my attention quickly. I don't care how experimental or traditional a narrative is, I need to have a vivid sense for the people populating the story.

What makes you decide to read a submission overnight compared to it rotting on the bottom of your slush pile?

Having a manuscript recommended to me by one of my authors is probably the best vote for getting something onto my desk sooner rather than later. Otherwise, a cover letter that shows familiarity with our books will accomplish the same thing. I'm deeply impressed by writers who are also good readers, and demonstrating that in the cover letter is one of the best things an author can do (to my mind).

What's the best way for a writer to contact you? Query letter?

For some reason, a lot of the query letters addressed to me don't actually make it to my desk. Perhaps our interns are a little too discerning. As Milkweed Editions has an open submission policy, I often recommend simply sending along the manuscript. If that's not possible, I'm happy to hear from authors via email. Sure I'm drowning it, but I still take time to review queries that come in via email.

Are you open to receiving submissions from self-published authors?

Yes, we're happy to accept submissions from self-published authors. But I think the author has the added difficulty of explaining why another publisher (in essence) needs to publish this book. If it already exists in the world, there needs to be a very compelling reason to bring it out a second time.

Are you open to receiving unagented submissions?

Milkweed Editions is happy to accept unagented submissions. We receive just over a thousand a year and we read everything we receive. Discovering a gem in the slush pile is one of the great joys of this business.

What are you personally doing in order to adapt to the changes in the marketplace? (Changes meaning: lower print runs, shrinking book review outlets, oversaturated market and chains stores being more selective about what books they put on their shelves)

There are a lot of challenges, aren't there? First, I'm dedicating as much time to editing each book as I can to make them truly remarkable. I'm a firm believer that great books stand out in crowded marketplaces. There's more to it than that, of course, but without a great book no amount of advertising or word-of-mouth will propel it in the marketplace. Beyond that, we're being very strategic about where we put our resources, but giving each book as many opportunities as we can to establish it among readers. It's rather old-fashioned, but we rely on reviews (increasingly moving to book blogs), awards, and advertising where it benefits the book (using Facebook's targeted ads, for instance).

Book Publicity Departments are often overworked and overwhelmed, how do you personally make sure the books you acquire and shepherd get the attention they need?

It's true that publicists are overwhelmed, but we try to keep this manageable by limiting our annual list of titles, which is the right place to start. We publish between sixteen and eighteen new books a year, and that's proven to be very manageable for our publicists and marketing manager. Beyond that, I'm constantly in touch with them to make sure we're taking advantage of any opportunities the books have, and, if need be, I'm pitching in to do some of that work myself. The benefit of a small press like Milkweed Editions is that there's a lot of opportunity to play different roles in any given day, and sometimes the line between editorial work and marketing work gets a little blurred. In the end, everything is driving toward publishing the books as well as we possibly can.

What about the publicity and promotion departments in houses is not working and what suggestions do you have to make them work?

I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer this, both because I haven't worked for another publisher, and because I'm not truly close enough to our own operation to have a cogent critique. I'll only say that I think publicists are put in a difficult position of promoting books they may or may not believe are good/worthwhile/enjoyable books. Granted, that's part of the business, but I often wonder what would happen if editors were required to run publicity for each of their titles. Editors might find that it's not quite so easy to gain attention for their own books, or perhaps would be a little more selective about which projects they acquire.

How much of a books decision has to do with the talent and how many books similar to it have sold great numbers?

I'm not sure I'm reading this question correctly. Are you asking whether acquisition decisions are made on the basis of talent rather than the sales performance of similar titles? If so, here the decisions weigh much more heavily on the side of the literary merit, or talent. Publishing by trend is something we're not interested in doing (it takes a massive infrastructure, for one), so we tend to overlook that information when making a decision about whether or not to publish a book. Of course, it comes into play later on when we're trying to convince our sales reps that this title has the potential to sell X number of copies and stack up against these other titles in the bookstores.

Is it becoming necessary for fiction writers to have their own platform too? If so, if not, why?

Sadly, I think it is becoming necessary (or may already be considered necessary). I say sadly because at heart I'm something of a purist and believe that a good book should stand on its own merit. But, realistically speaking, we're a culture obsessed with creators, so the author is put in a difficult position: either let the work stand on its own and risk alienating a readership, or act as an advocate for the book and build a community of readers around their work. There are examples of both kinds of authors having successful careers, but more and more it's difficult for a debut author to simply publish a work and stand back while the work receives recognition.

If a writer came to you with their own fanbase that they built online, or verbal agreements from a Quick Pick Committee to nominate the book, or significant letters of agreement from stores that they would purchase the book once it's out, is that pretty much a slam dunk for you to walk into an acquisition meeting and convince the team?

We're probably an anomaly in the industry, but these factors would all be secondary in that acquisition meeting. Without a solid book, none of these details would amount to much for us. However, if we're weighing two manuscripts, both beautifully-written and compelling, support like this would certainly make it a more attractive project.

GumboWriters Interview with Literary Powerhouse Agent, Tina Wexler from ICM Talent

2008-12-26T22:00:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start, Tina?

I got my start at the Ellen Levine Literary Agency in 2001, assisting agents Elizabeth Kaplan (who's since started her own agency) and Louise Quayle (who's now Director of Domestic Rights at Doubleday). I then moved to the Karpfinger Agency for a brief stint in foreign rights before landing at International Creative Management (ICM) in 2003, where I started building my own list of clients.

What makes your agency different than any others?

ICM is one of the world's largest talent and literary agencies, with offices in New York , Los Angeles , and London . ICM represents creative and technical talent in the fields of motion pictures, television, books, music, live performance, branded entertainment, and new media. Our clients include the only living American Nobel Prize winner – Toni Morrison, recent National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winners – Richard Ford, Cormac McCarthy, E.L. Doctorow, and the most lucrative writer in publishing history – Dr. Seuss. We also represent a high portion of today's consistent #1 bestsellers – Patricia Cornwell, John Sanford, Suze Orman and Carl Hiaasen.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

I'm always looking for new ideas backed by top notch writing, but who isn't looking for that? In general, in the adult marketplace, I'm interested in up-market women's fiction, accessible literary fiction, memoir, and other narrative nonfiction, particularly re: popular science, gender issues, pop culture, and food (not cookbooks). In children's, I'm keen to acquire middle grade and young adult fiction, with the occasional non-fiction project thrown in. I'd really like to see more action/adventure stories or mysteries with ensemble casts. I love magical realism, but am up to my neck in fantasy. I enjoy tall tales or fairy tales retold for contemporary readers, but don't know that Cinderella can handle any more re-imaginings. I love near-future dystopia stories for both markets, and would love a great gothic love story.

Tina, what are you tired of receiving?

I'm tired of receiving first drafts, manuscripts that aren't nearly as well-crafted as the query letters that prompted me to ask for pages in the first place. I'm also not sure why I keep getting queries for political thrillers or screenplays, neither of which I represent.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

Take the time to do the work. Read what's being published within your genre (and outside your genre). Finish the manuscript. Revise. Revise. Revise. Take time writing the query letter. Be courteous and professional while dazzling me with your ideas/story. Research agents, our interests, our clients. Realize that getting published is an undertaking, not something done on a whim. There are books and websites and conferences and graduate programs and retreats and writers groups and magazines all dedicated to the craft of writing and getting published. There's no excuse, with all the information out there, for not knowing. Educate yourself. Someone who's taken the time to learn about the business while honing his or her writing skills will always get my attention, even if the project he or she describes isn't right for me.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

I'd hope that my clients always feel comfortable contacting me, regardless of the frequency at which they do so. Indeed, if I haven't heard from a client in a while, I'll drop him or her a "Just checking in, hope you're well" type of email, and I appreciate it when they do the same. Beyond that, I think it's common sense. No one wants to feel badgered. At the same time, no one should be so afraid of contacting his or her agent that important information or updates aren't passed on.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent, Tina, that they don't seem to?

I wish writers understood that agents aren't the enemy. I know it can feel like we're the bullies of the publishing playground, refusing to let you join our game of t-ball. But we're not. We're book lovers who are doing what we can to get the manuscripts we feel most passionately about published in today's competitive market. Trust me when I say, I want to fall in love with your manuscript. I want to get that tingly feeling in my gut when I realize I'm holding something wonderful. I want to stay up far too late reading your pages. I want to make that phone call offering you representation.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?
Writers may contact me by sending a query letter either by email (twexler@icmtalent.com) or post: ICM, 825 8th Avenue, New York, NY 10019. Please note: I do not open queries sent as attachments, and I do not follow links to online queries. Thank you!

Peter Miller - Literary Manager

2008-12-26T01:30:00.000-05:00

PETER MILLER, PRESIDENT

The Literary Lion, Peter Miller

Known as "The Literary Lion," Peter Miller has been an extraordinarily active literary and film manager for more than thirty years. He is President of PMA Literary and Film Management, Inc. and Millennium Lion, Inc.; he and his company have successfully managed more than 1,000 books worldwide, as well as dozens of motion picture and television properties. These works include eleven New York Times Bestsellers, and eleven produced films that Miller has managed or executive produced. Three of those films have been nominated for Emmy Awards: Goodbye, Miss Fourth of July (The Disney Channel, with four nominations); A Gift of Love (Showtime, two nominations); and Helter Skelter (CBS, one nomination). In addition, Miller has a number of film and television projects currently in active development, with some nearing production, in association with Warner Bros. Features, Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros. Television, DreamWorks, and many other producers and production companies.

Peter Miller spends most of his time in New York or Los Angeles, but he also frequently tours the country to speak at writers' conferences and workshops. He regularly attends publishing gatherings such the BookExpo America Convention and the Frankfurt Book Fair, as well as various film festivals including those at Cannes, East Hampton, and Sundance.

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Peter?

ANSWER: I started working as a literary agency in the fall of 1972 and founded Writer's House, Inc. with Al Zuckerman and then formed The Peter Miller Agency in 1974, and then The Peter Miller, Agency, Inc. in 1982 and the PMA Literary and Film Management, Inc. in 1992 when I also founded Millennium Lion, Inc. (my film production company) and I also co-own The Story Plant (www.TheStoryPlant.com) with veteran author and publisher, Lou Aronica.

What makes your agency different than any others?

ANSWER: We are a mgt. co. that specializes in long-term relationships with authors that write cutting edge fiction and non-fiction with global marketing potential and well and motion picture and TV production potential. NOTE: Attached recent press releases.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

ANSWER: WE look for authors who not only are great writers but are willing to promote their work and who also understand the enormous sea changes in the industry. It used to be 75% about how good the book was and 25% about the marketing but now it is 75% about the marketing and 25% how good to book is. I am developing a large library of Transformational information presently.

Peter what are you tired of receiving?

ANSWER: I am only taking on major clients with platforms so I am tried of seeing run of the mill novels by wanna be authors and non fiction book proposals that should be magazine article.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

ANSWER: It always begins with a terrific pitch letter and a great idea vs. the God given talent that is necessary to get published today.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

ANSWER: The authors that make the most money and have the most fun are the ones that let me do my job. Clients sometimes forget that if we don't place their book(s) my company doesn't earn any money. I will not allow any author to annoy my staff or me and if they do I ask them to find another representation. We are blessed with a stable of talented authors and I will only grow my companies with winners and not losers,

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Peter that they don't seem to?

ANSWER: I am not an agent but a manager because I also produce film and television productions. We are only taking on major clients and we prefer clients to projects. However, I would not turn down the opportunity to man age Angelina Jolie's autobiography.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

ANSWER: visit our website; www.pmalitfilm.com my email address is Peter@pmalitfilm.com

GumboWriters Interview with Literary Power Agent: Donna Bagdasarian Part 2

2008-12-25T17:44:00.001-05:00

Jeff Rivera: Okay . Do you find to having a platform is more important that it was maybe five years ago and if so, why?

Donna: Platform is crucial. To a publisher, a platform speaks to audience. The reason why it is crucial now is that any Tom, Dick and Harry can get up there and say, "Hey, I got a great idea and I know I can make it work." For instance, an author recently pitched me who is not a doctor claiming he had figured out heart disease, why? Because he was suffering from heart disease and he devised a holistic plan on how to eat and live and now he is heart disease free. That is nothing. I mean who is going to listen to him? You know, that is like me saying if you eat two mangoes a day, you will be 120 pounds, that might work for me but I have no basis of any source that that would be for anyone else and why would anyone listen to me?

So first, you need the credentials. Second, you need to form some sort of grassroots following. You need people that are saying ‘Yes, this guy is right” and you need the exposure that grows from such. You start it very locally - you start it in your community, you start it first to your immediate circle, then into your community. Then, hopefully, it spreads virally and you then get print attention. From there, maybe national print attention or national radio attention then, ideally, you get television attention. At that point, the platform can start to take on a life of its own – if for instance the Today Show or some such hears about you or the New Yorker hears about something from this little town in Bussey, Iowa and they report a “Oh, there is a doctor” story, even if it’s in a small fashion, it can spread globally due to the reach of such venues.

Jeff Rivera: So, ideally somebody could actually, come up with this heart disease intervention thing and then hook up with a doctor who already has the credentials or whatever and they as a team…

Donna: That is exactly what would need to happen.

Jeff Rivera Okay.

Donna: So, let us say you would find a way the beat cancer yourself. You were terminally ill and you figured out that if you ate, you know tulips and sunflower seed four times a day, then you are cancer free. Well, what you would need to do then is go to some leading oncologist and have him get that and then, have him get on board and then both of you work together. He with his credentials and his authority in the field and the practice and you with your proven success and that would be the way to do it.

Jeff Rivera All right. Okay, great. That is wonderful.

Donna: When publishing, an industry whose numbers are very, very tight, is looking to see as if they can “back” a non-fiction book with a theory, they are looking to see if there is a built-in audience. If there is not, it is as that old adage goes: if a tree falls in the woods who is going to buy it?

Jeff Rivera: Right. And would you say it like in order of priority, would you say okay, first is the concept, second is the writing quality, third is the platform; or would you say platform is number one; I mean, like what would you say…

Donna: A) there has to be integrity to the idea, integrity to the author. B) it has to be veritable, C) it has to be supported, and D) it has to be well written and explicated in a way that everyone can access it. Meaning, I do not want diagrams and calculus equations to explain your theory or else no one will understand it. If all of that is in order, then you need to build some sort of following - a platform.

Jeff Rivera: All right.

Donna: And then, it is up to publishing to package a book in a way that holds together without needing string and paper clips and a bunch of glue. Yes, I mean, seriously – the celebrity factor can always help further a project because celebrity itself defines a built-in audience. That is what celebrity means. However, if the concept is not veritable, the project inevitably fails being all frosting and no cake.

Jeff Rivera: Right. Let me ask you one more thing about… if you are a journalist because Media Bistro engages a lot with journalists, how is that an asset in terms of platform?

Donna: Oh, that is built-in platform. A, expertise is already there. B, audience is already there. C, credentials are already there. So, if you are writing for Media Bistro and the Miami Herald, you are already credited. You already have the audiences. You already have expertise. You already have some sort of following. So, for example, if you are a Cuban-American news reporter for the Miami Herald writing a piece on growing up in the Cuban-American community in Miami , you are de facto credible, with a built-in readership.

Now, if you are writing for Media Bistro that is one of the most well-respected publishing websites that we have. So, let us say, you want to write a book about building platforms and you are already a columnist from Media Bistro talking to authors and publishers and agents, you are already on the platform path.

Jeff Rivera: Interesting.

Donna: Now the other aspect of platform building that is growing more and more important by the minute is via non-traditional media – electronic or internet media. Whether it is exploiting MySpace, Facebook, Goodreads, Safari, Amazon, blogs, ‘zines, and all the rest. It seems to be an answer to how to begin to build platforms or garner audiences, or even how to grow existing platforms or audiences in a viral way. Newer technology can be exploited quickly because readers, en masse, receive the information almost instantly. Authors are really trying to capitalize and harness these things as they grow and expand.

Jeff Rivera: So should they come to the table, if they come to the table and they are writing it, "Okay, it is alright," but they come to the table with I do not know, which is another thing just to talk about, but come to the table like 5000 fans from subscribers and that is a big platform you could…

Donna: Yes, absolutely or let us say you have a blog, let us say you write about Puerto Rican vampires having sex in The City. Well if you have a website, "Puerto Rican Vampires Having Sex in The City," and you are getting 10,000 hits a day or 20,000 hits a day, and then one day it is 100,000 hits. In addition, all of a sudden, you find yourself selling your Puerto Rican Vampire having Sex t-shirts and people are then talking about your PR Fang in the City daily update blog. And now it is real. And you can count it. That is platform building. One person talking about something specific. Then an audience starts to follow this one person blogging about something. Then bigger blogs start talking about the small blog. Then all of a sudden it reaches some sort of critical mass and everyone on the planet knows everything there is to know about PR Fang in the City. And from there? Copycat projects! Armenian Fang in the City! Italian-Country Fang! You get my point, I’m sure.

Jeff Rivera: What number like how if I come to you and I say, I have 200… I mean what number is it like, "Okay, that is impressive. That I could sell," or what number you are like, "Not so much,”

Donna: Well it is not even a quantitative thing. It is more of a qualitative thing. For instance, when these blogs start to become part of the mass consciousness of a target audience and usually for electronic or online things we are talking about a youthful demographic, when it starts becoming part of mass consciousness it is at that breaking point. I Can Has Cheez Burger is a great example.

Jeff Rivera: Which one I am sorry?

Donna: http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Jeff Rivera: Okay, yes.

Donna: The site where people post cute pictures of kitty cats and bunnies, right?

Jeff Rivera: Right.

Donna: And then putting captions on them in this weird lexicon. Like this little kitty speak of some sort. For some reason, it took off and it took off so well that they started having knock-off sites, and now there is this whole movement where seemingly everyone now knows that language, “noming,” for instance. “Noming” means to eat something. How do I know that? I am old as Methuselah’s wife and I know! The second something literally becomes part of our pop culture continuum then you know it is almost too late for a book. The Cheez Burger people? Their book is on the NYT list!

Jeff Rivera: Wow.

Donna: The real question is what do people actually consider a commodity? This question and how can you affect such is really the same as any other marketing or publicity technique that has ever been used. It is just a faster trajectory, if it catches on.

Jeff Rivera: Right, right, very cool. Thank you so much, Donna. This is great advice!

____________________________________________________________
Jeff Rivera: If you need help with your book promotion contact gumbomarketing@gmail.com and we'll find a way to help you within your budget.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T04:43:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas, everyone! May you have a beautiful one, take time to enjoy the moment because once it's gone it's gone. May all your dreams come true and may you do something kind for a perfect stranger to make their Christmas a special one too.

JEFF RIVERA author www.JeffRivera.com

Cheryl Kaye Tardif - Author Interview Part 3

2008-12-23T14:15:00.000-05:00

What are some definite no-no's?

Definite no-nos for booking a signing:

Showing up looking like you just crawled out of bed. If you can't make an effort to look professional for a meeting with the manager, what's to stop you from looking this way during signings.

Not understanding how the industry works, in particular, expecting every store to stock your book on shelves. It just doesn't work this way. Stores don't have room.

Showing the manager a book with a terrible cover, typos and spelling mistakes on the back cover and generally poor writing inside. Make sure your work has been professionally edited. Traditional publishers have their own in-house editors who are skilled. If you've self-published you'd better pay an editor if you don't want to be laughed out of the store.

Over the past 6 years I have organized many multi-author events and I've seen some terrible no-nos at book signings:

Showing up looking like you just crawled out of bed. Need I say any more? :)

Shoving your book into someone's hands and telling them it'll be "the best book" they've ever read. Not only will this turn out to be a lie, it's rude. It's one thing to have confidence, another to sound egotistical. And no one likes to be force fed. Encourage them to look at your book, tell them they can read the first chapter, offer the book to them and let them know they can read the back cover. Or simply offer it to them while telling them about it. Most people will take it automatically if you hold it out. Same with handing out bookmarks.

Standing with arms crossed over your chest, sitting with your head down, reading at your table (yes, I've seen authors do this!) -- these are all signs that you aren't interested in speaking to anyone, that you're unapproachable or bored. Watch the body language. Smile, greet people. You're their personal shopper--they just might not know that yet. Sit for a bit but always be handing out bookmarks. Stand, sit, stand...create excitement.

Yapping at them while they're reading the back or inside text. If they're reading it, do not interrupt. Hand bookmarks out to others as they pass. When the reader is finished, resume your conversation, ask a question. Right now one of the best questions you can ask is: "Are you looking for Christmas gift ideas or something good to read?"

The biggest no-no is having nothing to hand out to people. Bookmarks! Bookmarks! Bookmarks! They are the best investment for signings. Not only do they encourage after sales, they remind people of any other books you might have. I gave up gicing out business cards years ago. They don't work for readers. They'll just file them away or chuck them. Give them a useful bookmark with colorful cover pics and text that intrigues. And of course, have your website URL printed on it.

What mistakes did you make in promotion that you would do all over again if you could?

The biggest mistake I made was when Whale Song was first up on Amazon.com for pre-orders. I thought it would be more beneficial to wait until the launch date to really promote it. I did let people know they could pre-order, but I could have worked that better. It's very important that a new book gets "out of the gate" right away, for Amazon rank averages and for word of mouth advertising.

My other main mistake was that I should have found better ways to contact book clubs--ways that weren't expensive and were more effective. Whale Song is perfect as a book club pick because there are so many aspects of it that a group can discuss, from racism to bullying to death to native legends to belief in reincarnation. There is even a discussion guide available on my website for book clubs that select Whale Song. My thriller The River is also a very good choice for a book club. It really makes readers think about where our technology and science is going, and how far should we go. It also explores a very wild and dangerous area of Canada's north, an area referred to as the "Bermuda Triangle of Canada", so you can just imagine book club conversations. Even my paranormal suspense thriller Divine Intervention makes for a good book club read. Members can talk about their own belief in psychic abilities, whether law enforcement agencies should use psychics, and so much more. I now offer book clubs free bookmarks and signed bookplates (stickers for their books) for their group if they select ANY of my novels to read. And I'll even be happy to participate by phone or email when they're ready to discuss the book. Any book club interested can simply email me with their request.

Do you have any other advice on how to market books?

The best piece of advice I can give is this: identify and really know your target audiences, and then find them! This means thinking outside of the box or doing something new. I recently decided to write a novel titled Finding Bliss, a novel that would appeal to teens and adults, especially females. That's my target audience--anyone 13 to 113, especially female. That alone isn't newsworthy. I've decided to write this novel on my new iPhone 3G and I sent out press releases locally and via the internet. News of my creative endeavor spread fast and on the first day I participated in 3 media interviews. More interviews were done on TV, radio, in newspapers and online. Even now I am still being contacted about my "iPhone novel".

Writing Finding Bliss on my iPhone started off almost by accident, and then almost as a joke. It was my husband's idea. I'm just not sure he expected me to run with it. But run I did. I found a way to create buzz, and the book hasn't even been written. I'm doing something that no one else has ever done. Although a text novel craze started off in Japan, I'm the first author to attempt to write a complete novel using the Notes application on my iPhone 3G, and now the world knows about this. I'm already getting emails from people who want to read it. :) You can learn more about Finding Bliss and how this idea came about at: http://www.findingblissbook.com

News of Finding Bliss led the Founder of Textnovel.com, Stan Soper, to contact me. He personally invited me to contribute a story to his readers and he wrote about my participation on his site. You can read my suspenseful novelette Remote Control or my short story OUIJA on Textnovel.com for free.

Be daring, bold and creative, and carefully consider which marketing strategies are working for you and which aren't. Don't be afraid to try something new or different. You never know where it could lead. :)

Do you have an agent? If so how did you land one?

Yes, I have an awesome agent. Jack Scovil is with Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency in New York. He has been hugely supportive and encouraging and is now pitching my latest novel Children of the Fog. I already have a line up of fans waiting for this thriller, so I'm hoping Jack will have some good news for me in the new year.

I have spent years searching for an agent and have countless rejection letters to show for it. After every completed novel, I'd resume my search, to no avail. Until I met someone who worked on my query letter with me and changed how I'd always viewed them. I always felt I had to stick to the "rules" of the game, which meant sending out one query at a time and including everything possible in that query so that the agent or publisher knew everything about me and my work. I thought I was being helpful. What I was really being was boring. :)

I have since learned that short query letters, ones that inspire the recipient to email back with questions, is far more effective. I used my new friend's query service and the result was truly overwhelming. I had so many requests for partial and full manuscripts that I had to answer them in a kind of "triage" order--ones I was most interested in and who seemed really interested and wanted the fulls first; then the others. I think it was only 1 or 2 weeks after I sent out my query that I signed with Jack. I selected him because he seemed to really understand what my work was about, what I wanted from my career, and he was genuinely enthusiastic about my writing. An agent is your partner, cheerleader and representative all rolled into one. That's what I wanted. I now recommend my friend's query service to authors whom I know are ready for this next step.

What are the names of your books? What is your latest one about?

I've had 4 novels published. Whale Song (2003), Divine Intervention (2004), The River (2005) and Whale Song (expanded, revised edition, 2007).

Whale Song is a story that resonates with so many people, a story of family, love, loss, grief, and forgiveness. It's the story of Sarah Richardson, a young woman who moves to Vancouver as a child, and whose life is turned upside down when a terrible tragedy occurs. The result is partial amnesia for young Sarah and haunting visions that lead her to an adult life where she has emotionally shut down. Whale Song is a story of re-discovery, of finding lost memories and truth--even if it hurts--and it is a novel that will change the way you view life...and death.

"Whale Song is deep and true, a compelling story of love and family and the mysteries of the human heart. Cheryl Kaye Tardif has written a beautiful, haunting novel." -- NY Times Bestselling novelist Luanne Rice, author of Beach Girls

"Tardif again leaves a lasting mark on her readers...Moving and irresistible." --Midwest Book Review

"Cheryl Tardif is a new addition to the ranks of Margaret Atwood." --R. Kyle, Amazon Top 500 Reviewer

And a recent review from a 2-time war veteran compares Whale Song to The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.

How can we find your books?

Whale Song (2007), The River and Divine Intervention are available at your favorite online retailer, including Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, BarnesandNoble.com, Chapters.ca and more.

You can also ask your favorite independent or chain bookstore to order these books for you if they don't have any in stock. Please ask them also to stock Whale Song on their shelves, so that they'll have them when you recommend Whale Song to all your friends. ;-)

Anything else you'd like to add, Cheryl?

I'm glad you asked, Jeff. :) You can learn more about me and my novels at http://www.cherylktardif.com. I blog regularly at http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com. I also have pages on the social networks mentioned above so please add me as a friend. I love chatting to people about books and writing.

Also, a special offer just for your readers, Jeff:

The first 3 people to email me at cherylktardif@shaw.ca and tell me they read my interview on this site will receive a free copy of Whale Song. (US and Canada entries only). I will also separately send out bookmarks and signed bookplates to the winners. So, hey, don't assume someone's already emailed me! Do it now--you never know. :) P.S. You must mention where you saw my interview!

Cherry Weiner - Literary Agent

2008-12-21T01:33:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Cherry?

I have been an agent for over 30 years and am still plugging away. I started when I had worked for a big NY Agent who fired me. HIS clients pushed me into opening my own agency. It took them 2 years of nagging and finally they just recommended me to authors and I came home to about 5 manuscripts sitting on my front porch. I have never looked back.

What makes your agency different than any others?

I honestly don't think it any different from any other agency. All the agencies work at giving our authors our best and getting them sold and published in the best possible way. I am a small agency... just me, so that might be where I differ. Most agencies have at least two or three people working them.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

I don't know what I am looking for specifically. I hope I will know it when I read it. What I do know I want is good writing; a story that has me turning the pages without me stopping and something that I can sell so the author is happy and excited and already working to having more books published.

Cherry what are you tired of receiving?

To start with - The basics. And believe me there are people out there all the time that do the following:

Query letters from people that do not know how to submit a query letter and have done no research. People who submit and tell me they will finish the book when they get a contract. Queries and manuscripts on topics I do not handle and yet the letter says ***I know you do not...... but here is my work. I know you will make an exception***

Manuscripts themselves -- badly typed or printed... again not researching and following format by submitting single spaced and/or both sides of the page.

As for the writing.... that is subjective... so the topic, unless it is not something I handle, may or may not work for me. That's up to the writing.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

Right now I am pretty stable with my list, so I generally don't take on any new people unless I meet and talk to them at conferences. After talking and discussing their work, if it is something I would like to see, I will be very specific about the way to get it to me.

The only other way is if the author comes to me recommended by someone I know and who knows the way I work.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

My authors never drive me insane. Each of my authors know that when I am working on his/her work she/he is **the only author I have** When I have done all I can on his/her work, I move onto the next author who **is the only author I have**. When I have something I want them to know... I am in touch with them. If they have questions for me, they are in touch with me and I answer -- usually within 24 hours.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Cherry that they don't seem to?

All my authors understand who I am and what I do for them. I wish that other authors, trying to get an agent, would understand that when I say *NO* I mean it. Most of the time it is because the writing is not something I can get super excited about. I understand the urgency of getting an agent, but if I have said no and not specifically said *** send me something else*** then don't continue to query me. NO IS NO.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

As I said earlier.... either at a conference and ask for a meeting to talk to me about your work. Or through a recommendation from someone who knows me and whose judgement I respect. Other than that... I am really not open to new authors querying me.

Jessica Regel -- Literary Agent with Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency

2008-12-20T23:56:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Jessica ?

I started as a summer intern at Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency (JVNLA) over six years ago. I found the internship through cold-mailing my resume to agencies I'd researched in The Guide to Literary Agents. I've always been an avid reader, but before picking up the guide (I was working as a librarian at my local library in Iowa and I shelved it one day), I had no idea what a literary agent was. After reading the guide, I knew that I had to try for it. The idea that I could spend my time reading books, talking about books, and having a hand in building an author from the ground up sounded like a dream job for me-- and I was right! After the summer ended, I knew I wanted to be a lit agent. Lucky for me, a subsidiary rights position opened up at the agency and I jumped on it! A few years later I started acquiring my own projects. I started with young adult fiction, because it was a genre that I loved to read. It was also a very healthy genre and no one at the agency was specializing in this area, so it was a great place for me to start. I now handle adult fiction as well as non-fiction (narrative and memoir).

What makes your agency different than any others?

JVNLA takes on authors for their career, not on a book-by-book basis. We're really looking out for the long-term career of our authors. We think about the big picture. We're passionate about our authors and we stick behind them.

We're a very close-nit group. There are five agents at the agency and we all know each other's clients and projects.

We have a fantastic subsidiary rights department-- and I'm not just saying that because I still handle sub-rights! Jennifer Weltz handles the foreign rights for all of our authors and I handle the film, audio, and UK rights. We are very active in pitching and submitting our entire list of books (and we've been around for 30 years, so we have an insane back-list) when there is a viable opportunity.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

Big concepts that are extremely well-written. That's kind of a no-brainer, isn't it? It's a tough market right now and I'm not taking on as many passion projects these days. If I'm taking on a new author, I really need to feel 110% confident that it will sell. There needs to be an obvious audience and the writing really needs to stand out.

Jessica what are you tired of receiving?

Stories that don't have a strong voice, or a plot that has been done before.

I'm tired of seeing the "kid with powers" novels, military conspiracies, religious conspiracy, animal stories (which I've never liked), great nonfiction ideas from writers with no platform, rhyming picture books, memoirs without an original story, picture books (it's rare that I represent a picture book to begin with), any children's book writer that can't capture the kid's voice.

I could go on, and on, but the truth of the matter is that if it's an original story, with unique characters, and a writer with a strong voice I would take on the project. I know this opens the door for every writer, because we all "love our babies", but that's the beauty of this job: it's SUBJECTIVE!

You can get a good sense of my tastes through the books that I represent: THE PATRON SAINT OF BUTTERFLIES by Cecilia Galante, 6 SICK HIPSTERS by Rayo Casablanca, THE SEPTEMBER SISTERS by Jillian Cantor, and WONDROUS STRANGE by Lesley Livingston (just to name a few).

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

This is simple, email me a well written query letter. The letter should be two short paragraphs: one paragraph that describes your book and one paragraph the describes yourself. The description of your book should get me to want to read more. The description of yourself should detail why you are the person to write this specific book.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

By sending me updates on what they are doing that is relevant to their project: magazine articles they've written, speeches they've given, and so on.

I keep in regular touch with my authors-- they know who is reading their project, who has passed on it, and what each editor has said. My writer's won't hear from me unless there is news.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Jessica that they don't seem to?

That I understand how hard it is to break into the industry. I understand that they're frustrated by rejection. Trust me, we get rejected too!

That I know when I've seen a query more than once (even when you change the title).

That being rude gets you nowhere and, in fact, just reinforces the fact that I was right to pass on the project.

That I read projects I request pretty quickly. If you don't hear back from me within a month, you should feel free to send me an email asking me where I'm at with the project. Don't email me every week.

That even when they don't hear from me, I'm working!

That I don't work for free. I spend my time reading the query letters (yes, I read them all myself) because I hope to find a project that I can sell. If I've passed on your project, I'm not going to spend time explaining why I've passed or who else you should contact. It's not out of nastiness, it's because I just don't have the time. If I spent all my time dispensing free advice, I wouldn't have any left to find and sell projects. I wouldn't be able to stay in business.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

By email: jregel@jvnla.com

Glenn Yeffeth - Editor with BenBella Books

2008-12-20T02:00:00.000-05:00

How did you get your start as an editor? Why become an editor instead of say, a fighter pilot or computer engineer?

I'm really a publisher first, an editor second. Leah Wilson, our lead editor, is a brilliant editor, and does the heavy lifting, editorially. I became a publisher, very simply, because I love books, love ideas, and love reading. Plus I have a short attention span, so the fact that there is a continual flow of new projects is perfect for me. And, while publishing is a very old business, book promotion is continually changing and new. So it's a wonderful combination of old and new.

What are some of the exciting books you've acquired that you're most proud of?

I'm still very proud of the first book we put together, Taking the Red Pill, which is a collection of essays by philosophers, scientists and other scholars on The Matrix. The Matrix is old news, but the essays are still brilliantly interesting, especially the essays by Bill Joy and Ray Kurzweil. We recently put out a book called The Cure for Alcoholism, which presents a real, science-based solution to an age-old problem. This book will make a real difference for many people, and I'm very proud of it. Similarly, we have book entitled Health at Every Size that reveals the myths about dieting and nutrition that have become part of our culture, but must be re-examined in light of the research.

When you receive a submission what about it really grabs you and excites you to the point that you'd like to acquire it?

I particularly like books that can make a difference for people, and are based on substantive science or research, like our book The China Study, which showed definitively the importance of a plant-based diet. I also like books that are particularly fun for fans, and I'm thinking in particular of our Smart Pop series of non-fiction essays on pop culture topics. A proposal should be (at least) as fun and easy to read as the book will be. If the proposal isn't an exciting read, it's unlikely the book will be.

What makes you decide to read a submission overnight compared to it rotting on the bottom of your slush pile?

Nothing rots on the bottom of our slush pile, I'm happy to say. Since we focus on non-fiction, I can usually tell from a paragraph or two whether the general topic is one that interests me. If it does, then it's a matter of the strength of the materials and the credentials of the author. I usually get back to authors within a month and often much less.

What's the best way for a writer to contact you? Query letter?

A short e-mail with the topic and author credentials is a fine.

Are you open to receiving submissions from self-published authors?

Yes, but I'd rather see it before it was self-published. Once the book is published, unless it's a huge success, this diminishes my interest.

Are you open to receiving unagented submissions?

Yes.

What are you personally doing in order to adapt to the changes in the marketplace? (Changes meaning: lower print runs, shrinking book review outlets, oversaturated market and chains stores being more selective about what books they put on their shelves)

[Glenn Yeffeth Replies] We're getting more creative and aggressive in Internet promotion. We're also looking for authors who are more willing and able to support creative promotion.

Book Publicity Departments are often overworked and overwhelmed, how do you personally make sure the books you acquire and shepherd get the attention they need?

What about the publicity and promotion departments in houses is not working and what suggestions do you have to make them work?

In my view, most books that become big sellers do so on the basis of word of mouth. Ultimately, if the book gets in the right hands – the target audience– in sufficient quantity, then word of mouth will take off. Or it won't. This is the X-factor for every book, but if a book is unique, well-written, and meets a real need for its target audience, then it has a chance of taking off based on word of mouth recommendations. I think of word of mouth as the logs, and everything else we do – reviews, publicity, on-line marketing, advertising, etc. – as the kindling. The kindling needs to be lit, but if the logs don't ignite, all kindling in the world won't sell that many books.

So having said all that, the point of all our efforts is to get word about the book out to the target audience. I've found the most effective marketing we've done is focused, and this primarily means online marketing. Very few books truly are "news." When they are, it's important to go whole hog in obtaining publicity. But when they aren't, a lot of effort goes into finding and generating newsworthiness for books that really aren't really news in an effort to get general press coverage. We do this ourselves, but are focusing more and more on niche marketing, which can be incredibly effective. So I think less effort on trying to get general press for books that don't really merit it, and more emphasis on creative ways to find and get the word out to your target audience.

How much of a books decision has to do with the talent and how many books similar to it have sold great numbers?

If by talent you mean the quality of the book, then this is by far more important. If the book is very good, and it clearly meets a need for an audience, I'd rather there were no similar books.

Is it becoming necessary for fiction writers to have their own platform too? If so, if not, why?

If a writer came to you with their own fanbase that they built online, or verbal agreements from a Quick Pick Committee to nominate the book, or significant letters of agreement from stores that they would purchase the book once it's out, is that pretty much a slam dunk for you to walk into an acquisition meeting and convince the team?

[Glenn Yeffeth Replies] These help a great deal, but I still have to like the book and think it has word of mouth potential as described above.

Rita Rosenkranz -- Literary Agent with Rita Rosenkranz Literary Agency

2008-12-20T00:02:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Rita?

I started my agency in 1990 after having worked as an editor at a number of major New York publishing houses. I began with a few unrepresented authors whom I had edited, and built up my business from there.

What makes your agency different than any others?

I think agents are expected to manage carefully many more details of an author's project as well as career. I try to package the proposal as fully as possible before submitting to editors. Since all categories are so crowded and competitive, it's important to make obvious a work's strength and market, and the author's ability to reach that audience. I work on the projects myself rather than involve freelance editors.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

I call my list an omnivore's delight because it is so wide-ranging, from FORBIDDEN FRUIT: Love Stories from the Underground Railroad by Betty DeRamus to GET KNOWN BEFORE THE BOOK DEAL: Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform by Christina Katz to THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME: The Definitive Guide to the Cooperstown Experience by Bert Randolph Sugar with photographs by Bruce Curtis. I look for authors who are well paired with their subject for personal or professional reasons. I am interested in projects that help further our understanding of a subject.

Rita what are you tired of receiving?

Many submissions are for projects that are interchangeable with others. They lack distinct characteristics to set them apart, and it's difficult to get excited about them.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

I can tell when an author has researched the category and understands--and argues well--how their book is different and better. The author is giving me a reason to take the submission seriously by establishing where their book will fit in the category.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

I think it is easier for me to work effectively for an author when he or she uses my time well, weighing in when necessary and not excessively. With more and more details to manage, I appreciate when authors respect the basic protocols of a relationship.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Rita that they don't seem to?

Authors should research my areas of interest before submitting to me to make sure I'm soliciting books in their category. That saves everyone time and spares a writer unnecessary rejection.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

My submission guidelines are noted on my Web site: www.ritarosenkranzliteraryagency.com.

Jennifer Graff - Literary Manager with Niad Management

2008-12-19T00:04:00.000-05:00

How long have you been a manager and how did you get your start Jennifer?

I've been a manager for almost seven years. I started as an intern with the company I work for now. I did a six month internship and was promoted to an assistant. Two years later I was promoted again to manager and now I am part owner of the company. Wendi Niad, the president and founder of the company, has been an excellent mentor and helped me learn a lot when I first started.

What makes your management company different than any others?
We are a boutique management company. There are two managers, Wendi Niad and myself, and we take pride in the amount of time and attention we give each of our clients. In order to do this we make sure we never have more clients than the two of us can handle. Our clients are promised individual attention and we deliver on that promise. Each client can always get one of us on the phone, we read every draft of a script they're working on, watch every taped audition, discuss wardrobe for an audition, etc. Basically we really get into the details with our clients. That is what a manager is for, we guide our clients through the maze of this industry, hold their hands when necessary and help them in whatever way we can to further their careers.

We are one of the few management companies that does lit and talent management: we rep writers, directors AND actors. Our lit connections help us know about projects for our actors before they're released in the breakdowns. We know about projects before the scripts have even been written. For our writers, we do development with them. When working on a new script we read and do notes with our writers to get their scripts ready to go out to producers. We keep abreast of what's being done around town so when our clients come up with new ideas for scripts we can let them know if that idea is being pitched already or sold as a spec.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?
I would like to read more laugh out loud comedies. I want to find a really funny broad comedy that makes laugh out loud while reading it. I think those are very difficult to find.

Jennifer what are you tired of receiving?
Query letters telling me I'm about to read the best script ever. If a query letter says that usually a script is not amazing. Let the writing speak for itself.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?
A writer can get my attention by sending me a query letter with a solid logline and short synopsis. A well written query letter most likely will lead to a well written script.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?
We are extremely selective when we sign clients. We want to work with people who are talented and who will be good to work with. So we don't represent people that drive us insane. We've had bad experiences in the past and have learned from them. But basically, if a client is doing their job--working on their craft constantly, and networking, then it's difficult for that person to drive us insane. They'll be too busy working to call us more than necessary.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as a manager Jennifer that they don't seem to?
I work for free until my clients get paid. All the work I do for my clients is for potential paychecks. Every draft I read, every note I give, every lunch meeting and phone call, they are all unpaid until the writer or actor gets a paid writing/acting job.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?
I can be reached through our website, www.NiadManagement.com or at jennifer@niadmanagement.com

Adriana Dominguez - New Interview with Freelance Editor (Former Harper Collins Childrens Executive Editor)

2008-12-18T23:53:00.000-05:00

A Hispanic Heritage Moment ...

I had the opportunity to speak with one of the most well-liked and respected executive-level editors in publishing today. She is a real and true Hispanic Hero in book publishing. This interview was conducted before Ms. Dominguez left Harper Collins Children's Books to pursue new opportunities. She remains a true force in the industry to reckon with.

Jeff Rivera: Hello, Adriana, can you tell us what it is that you specialize in?

Adriana Dominguez: My formal title is Executive Editor at Harper Collins Children's Books and Rayo and I specialize in children and young adult books, particularly for the Latino market. I work on books in Spanish, English and bilingual format.

Jeff Rivera: And why young adult? Why children? Why not nonfiction? Why that group particularly?

Adriana Dominguez: Why children? Well, it is my background. I have been working in the children´s market now for about 10 years. So, this is not necessarily something that is new to me. I sort of started with children's literature because that happened to be where the opportunity to work in publishing came from. But after a while, I realized that I was very lucky to have landed in exactly the right place. When I arrived in the U.S., I was 12 years old and immediately put into a bilingual program at school. I did not speak a word of English at that time. I felt very alienated, and it was a real challenge for me to figure out where I was going to fit in this new culture. A bilingual teacher helped me to feel that I belonged, and knowing that I could have books in my own language also helped tremendously.

So, I feel that I identify with kids who are reading the books that I help to produce. I know the feeling of being a newcomer, and I am able to encourage and help authors to write from a point of view that these kids can really identify with. In short, I feel that, beyond a career choice, my work is a reflection of my personal growth, and of what I have achieved since arriving here as a child. I hope that my work will help to bring the same opportunities to new generations of Latino children.

Jeff Rivera: Well, let me ask you this: When you came to this country, you did not speak any English?

Adriana Dominguez: Not at all.

Jeff Rivera: So, does it kind of surprise you when you step back and look like, "Wow!" It hasn't really been that long and clearly and obviously you speak excellent English and look at what you have accomplished!

Adriana Dominguez: Yes, thanks. It surprises some folks, but there is still a part of me that feels like an immigrant. I will always remember something that happened when I finished junior high school: I had to do a speech in front of my entire school because I had done so well and my teachers and the school's administrators wanted me to set an example for the other students. The speech was very short, a poem. I still had a very thick accent at that time, and some kids in the front row made fun of my accent. I still remember that event, not necessarily because it is a hard memory, but because it inspires me to help kids who are going through similar experiences. I recently volunteered at a local school and told some fifth-graders my story about first arriving here. I mentioned that I did not speak a word of English at the beginning, and one of the kids in the classroom pointed to a girl sitting at the opposite side of the room and said, "Oh, she doesn´t speak English either." When he pointed to her I thought, Oh, my God. He just singled her out in front of everyone else! I knew what that felt like, so I went over and I spoke with the girl in Spanish for a while. It is very gratifying to be able to help a child that way.

So I always had a goal to first learn English and assimilate in my own way, so that I could give back to the community that shares my native language and culture. That is what I am hoping that I have done, and what I I will continue to do.

Jeff Rivera: Do you find that, and I find this because I lived in Miami and because my stepfather is Filipino and he did not speak English too, this is my personal question, do you find that there is a little bit of distaste from some Americans that person might be a second class citizen just because they do not speak English?

Adriana Dominguez: Well, that is a tough question. I think that the reality for Latinos now is so much different than it was when I arrived here over 20 years ago. With the growing list of Latino celebrities and award-winnign authors such as Oscar Hijuelos and Junot Diaz, our contributions to to mainstream culture are now more obvious, and I hope, appreciated. This was not always true, of course. I do remember being very self-conscious about speaking Spanish in public when I first got here. Now, it has become fashionable to speak Spanish, and our language and culture integral part of this country's make up. That is something I never thought I would see some two decades ago.

So, I think that we are in a different place now, and that the evolution of the publishing industry and other industries that are now catering to Latino consumers shows that. I hope that this trend will continue. We are changing the face of this country; the numbers do not lie. One in four kids under five years old in the US is of Latino heritage. So we need to look forward, and to continue to look for ways that we can contribute to this society, because we are growing.

Jeff Rivera: That´s very interesting. So, let's talk about submissions in particular. What do you find is really, really in demand or in need from houses or the houses you used to worked with?

Adriana Dominguez: Well, what I had been telling folks for as long as I was at Harper is something that to me is kind of self-explanatory for anyone who is sort of familiar with Latino literature and the way Latino literature has evolved particularly in the children´s market. There was a time when folks were writing books about what it meant to be Latino and sort of explaining who we are, and dispelling myths and stereotypes and so on. There were also plenty of books a few years ago that were in fact, reinforcing stereotypes in an effort to do away with them. This was done without the authors or editors realizing it, because there were so few Latinos working in the publishing industry. Those books were not being edited, acquired, or promoted by Latinos, hence there was no one on staff who could point out these problems.

Now we have an entirely new set of fantastic Latino editors who are looking to tell our stories; rather than "explain" who we are. What I tell my authors is that I don´t want stories that describe who we are. I want you to tell your stories because everybody has a story, and if your story happens to be a Latino story, that is fine and if it does not, that is fine too!

What I was mostly interested in doing during my time at Harper was to help Latino authors get published, regardless of whether their content was Latino or not (whatever that means!), because Latino children and young adults need role models, they need to know that people like them are writing books, and good ones at that! The content of the story to me, is a personal choice. The fact that you are a Latino author should not determine what type of story you write. Write what you know, whatever that is.

Jeff Rivera: So, your personal taste is definitely based on a great story that happens to be written by a Latino.

Adriana Dominguez: Yes, right. There are other considerations as well. When I was at Harper, I concentrated on acquiring bilingual picture books. I think that bilingual books are at least the immediate future of Latino publishing for the younger set because right now, we are in a situation where we have four or five different generations of Latinos living in the country at the same time, and bilingual books are useful to all of them; the ones who want to pass their language and culture to their own children (and who may not fully know it themselves), and the ones who just arrived and don't want their children to lose it.

Beyond that, there are quite a few non-Latinos interested in learning Spanish, and they use bilingual books as language learning tools. Many caretakers add them to their kids' libraries because they also want to raise their children's awareness of other cultures, especially when those cultures are quickly blending with their own, as is now the case with Latino culture in the U.S.. So, I believe that bilingual books carry the potential to become all things to all people, not to mention that they are fun to read and to produce! There is a whole set of amazing authors who write them often, such as Monica Brown and Pat Mora, both of whom I have worked with.

Additionally, the 2007 Texas Bluebonnet Award went to a bilingual book, which is kind of a big deal, since the winning book is chosen by kids, some 170,000 of them! This was the first time a bilingual book won the award, and considering Texas' Latino demographics, one may say that it was about time that happened! I was lucky enough to be there when Joe Hayes, who is not a Latino, but has been writing Latinos stories for a long time, received the award. Joe is a real trailblazer, he has been writing bilingual books for a long time. When he got up on stage he did what he does best: he told a bilingual story. And that was really great, but the best part of the ceremony for me was when a group of kids got up on stage and began telling the audience why they had chosen Joe's book: a little kid standing on this huge stage in this auditorium full of librarians and publishing folk went up to the microphone and said: "What I love about this book is that I can read it with my mom." That gave me chills, but then he went on to say: "She can read it to me in Spanish, and I can read it to her in English. It is something that we can do together." "This," I thought, "is the reason I do what I do!"

Let's not forget that literacy is a very important issue for Latinos. Latinos still have the highest school dropout index of any other group. So we need to give them books that they can use in any whatever language they need them, and we need to read to them from the time they are babies. And for parents who are monolingual, bilingual books—and books in Spanish for that matter—will make a world of difference. As parents read with their kids, and become more involved in their education, we may see a change in this sad trend. Again, from personal experience, I know that my mom could not really help me as much as she would've liked to when I was in school because she really could not navigate the system or speak the language very well. Books that parents enable parents to read to their children can bridge the tremendous gap that now exists between school and home for Latino parents, and the achievement gap for Latino students.

Jeff Rivera: What about submissions as far as what you do not like to see and that you wish that people would stop sending you?

Adriana Dominguez: There are a lot of authors out there who are not familiar with the Latino market, or who think that the present Latino market is still what it was 20 years ago. It is not. What I always say to those interested in Latino publishing is "please read the literature". Authors need to read in order to become familiar with whatever area or genre they want to work in.

For instance, if you want to write young adult books, you better have read every single young adult book in the New York Times Best Sellers list, so that you know what sells, and what the large publishers want, because that list is often guiding their choices of what to acquire. And the same goes with the Latino market. There are awards like the Pura Belpré Award and the America´s Award that are given every year and have helped to launch the careers of previously unknown Latino authors. Know who those authors are, and what they did to get to where they are now.

Monica Brown is a perfect example of a rising Latina author. When I first signed her on to the Rayo list, she had not yet won the Pura Belpre Honor for her book on Celia Cruz. She won it about six months later. Now, Monica is a superstar with many more books under her belt, and I know that she will continue to grow. She has three books coming out with Harper, one of them better than the next. She is one of the authors that you need to know if this is what you want to do, the same goes for young adult books. For this category, I would love to see a Latino Sherman Alexie, whose book won the National Book Award in part because it appeals to all audiences, despite the fact that its author is Native American.

There is so much that you should learn before you even begin to write. You cannot contribute into something that you are not fully aware of. So for Latinos writing, be aware of the award winners—at the very least the Pura Belpre winners. Librarians are still some of the biggest supporters of Latino books out there, so go to your local library and ask them to recommend some books to you. You'll be glad you did!

Jeff Rivera: And as far as non-Latino stories that you might take a look at, what would you say you definitely would like to see more of?

Adriana Dominguez: I would love to see another innovative graphic novel, like American Born Chinese, since I love that genre, and librarians and award committees have also embraced it. It really is great to see how award committees and librarians have begun to embrace non-traditional genres. Young adult literature is beginning to really open up.

There are also a lot of authors who try to do things online now, create new projects that have an online component or that somehow appeals to an online audience. The Internet is becoming increasingly important in the world of publishing, particularly to children's publishing, since we know that kids spend so much time online. So, I'd love to see a project that uses this medium in a new way.

As an author, you have to first figure out what your forte is. One of the things I find myself saying to writers over and over again is "write what you know." You want to know about the trends and be familiar with them, in part, because you want to write for the right market, but that does not mean that you should write with only the market in mind, completely disregarding what you know and what your strengths are. Trends come and go, and by the time you finish writing the "next" Harry Potter, Twilight, etc. (as if that were actually possible!), the trend will be long gone and publishers will already be looking for the next "big" thing.

On the other hand, if you are true to your own voice, you will write the best book you can possibly write. A good example of this is adult authors who are trying to make the transition to young adult literature. Somehow, many of them had come to the conclusion that the way to write for kids is to "dumb down" the narrative. This is of course a mistake. Those authors are not really writing stories for young adults, they are writing dumber versions of adult stories!And they are not getting published, of course! Who'd want to read that? Besides, teens are more aware than adults will ever be, so they can see right through that. So again, learn as much as you can about the young adult market and read and absorb it as much as possible before trying to write into it. A teen voice is not easily achieved, and the reality of it is that some people just cannot do it. This is why I applaud the adult authors who have made that transition successfully into young adult and middle grade literature; because doing so requires a whole new different set of skills, and finding a whole new voice within yourself. That is why Sherman Alexie's book is so brilliant: because it's genuine. And the fact that it came from an "adult" author, makes that so much more impressive.

Jeff Rivera: I have a few quick questions to ask you about formatting. In terms of submissions, if I want to submit a picture book, how do I do that? How many pages generally should that be? Should it be with illustrations?

Adriana Dominguez: That is an excellent question and I am glad you asked it. For picture books, one of the things that you have to realize is that often times, it is the illustrations that inspire someone to pickup a picture book at the bookstore, since they are in fact the first thing they "see," before they read the text or find out what the book is about. I mention this because if you are an author and not an illustrator, you should not attempt to illustrate a book. However, if you are an author and illustrator and you feel that as an illustrator you have something to contribute, something that is perhaps new and exciting, by all means display your talent fully in your submission!

Jeff Rivera: Should it be submitted in terms of almost like a self-published book or how should that be done?

Adriana Dominguez: Well, generally speaking, publishers hire their own illustrators for their picture books after they have been acquired, hence if you are an author, and not an author/illustrator, you should only submit the text for your story in a word document, and not attempt to illustrate it, as mentioned above, or to make it "look" like a book. A publisher has a large pool of professional illustrators to choose from—many of them award winners— so they don't need your assistance with that portion of the project. They may consult with you during the process of looking for the right illustrator, but they will not need your help visualizing the story, since they probably have their own vision of it, and decided to sign your story to make that vision a reality. You should know that ultimately (with few exceptions that generally don't apply to first time authors), the publisher will have the last word on who illustrates your book.

If you are an author/illustrator your forte is probably illustration. If your forte is illustration, you should know how to illustrate for children and who the best children's illustrators are, and why they are the best. If you belong to this category, you will want to display your artwork and your idea for the story as fully as you can, as mentioned previously. This does not mean that you should attempt to submit a finished book however. What you want to do is submit your manuscript along with an excellent sampling of your work. Do not try to bind the book, or self publish the book; you will never achieve the level of production quality available to a mainstream publisher. You will instead make your submission look amateurish and lead the editor to think that you know nothing about children's books, or how they are produced. Whenever I saw that type of submission, my first thought was always: "This person has no idea of how the publishing industry works," and if you do not know how the publishing industry works, chances are, you probably have not done enough research, or read enough children's books and that also tells me that you are not ready to write a book for a mainstream publisher. So, be very professional and know that as an author, what is expected of you is to submit a manuscript. For the most part, a picture book is 32-pages long.

Jeff Rivera: Double-spaced pages?

Adriana Dominguez: No. A picture book, on the most part, is anywhere from 32 to 40 pages long, and they have about three lines per page. So, you are talking about an average of a thousand words or less. When I get a picture book manuscript that is single spaced, three or four pages long, I know that its author has no notion of how picture books work because I could fit four picture books into that amount of text! So submit it in a way that clearly lets the editor know that you know the standard format for picture books, and that the goal of that format is to visualize the text, hence, you probably want to divide it into pages remembering that each page should have only a few lines. Doing that will also help you realize what the picture book would look like and whether it will work in that format, before sending it to an editor.

Jeff Rivera: Thank you so much, Adriana. This is very helpful information that I think writers, especially Latino writers will find very useful.

Marlene Kim Connor - Literary Agent with Connor Literary

2008-12-18T00:10:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Marlene?

I have been an agent since 1985. I began in book publishing after attending the Radcliffe Publisher Course (which is now at Columbia University). I joined Random House in Subsidiary Rights and hated it. I heard through the grapevine about a job at S&S and joined them in editorial. I loved it and learned a great deal about commercial book publishing with quality. S&S had no policy of promoting from within unless you wanted to force the issue, and then they would drive you mad. So, I took a position at the Literary Guild/Doubleday. This exposed me all the companies and was a very powerful arm of book publishing. After several years there I decided I missed working with writers directly but didn't want the self-esteem crusher of working for someone else. I was also beginning to think about one day having a family and wanted to be independent yet earn a living. That is how the Connor Literary Agency began. I sold my first book, a novel, to Pocket Books before leaving the Guild.

What makes your agency different than any others?

My agency has traditionally been very focused on commercial nonfiction. We've repped everything from astrology to cooking to books on black hair and books on sewing. We've represented Essence Magazine and Simplicity Pattern Company, so we're unique in bringing corporate entities to the bookstores. We have also produced books and sold finished copies to publishers. But essentially we're a traditional agency, looking for good fiction and nonfiction. With two new associate agents, our fiction capabilities have expanded.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

I would like to see writers of color write nonfiction. They should be thinking about their writing skills as something other than just writing skills. In other words, if you're a great teacher, or a wonderful homemaker, or a strong psychologist -- and you know something that no one else knows -- write a book about it. People of color don't think enough about sharing their wisdoms in self-help books or books related to business or simply to share something they know better than others. Lisa Akbari, author of THE BLACK WOMAN'S GUIDE TO BEAUTIFUL HAIR knew that she knew more than the average hair stylist. She uses a microscope on every client, to analyze their hair strand, before beginning work on them. She has grown hair where there was none prior because of bad practices. I convinced her to write her book. Thelma Balfour had a short excerpt about sexy astrology in an anthology. I called her and said my dream was an astrology book for African Americans. Her sales are terrific after ten years. We simply need to examine ourselves more and begin to share our thoughts. Not always fiction. Not memoirs. Books.

Marlene what are you tired of receiving?

Girlfriend books.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

This may sound flippant but I mean it. A great read. A good book. A well-written, well researched, confident proposal. Confidence is worth it's weight in gold. Confidence is not, "This book will sell like crazy." Confidence is demonstrated in the way something is written.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

All my writers are in my radar. I am a small agency and know all my clients.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Marlene that they don't seem to?

Agents are people. We are paid for good judgement and access. We can't make an editor buy a book they don't like.

All of us have a job in the process of book publishing: Writers have a job and that is to write a book publishers want. Agents have to find the right house and editor and make the deal, then negotiate a good contract and then be a great go-between and source of information for that writer. Publishers are supposed to publish the hell out a book. That's their role. Today, publishers don't publish the way they used to. They don't make you a star. You have to already be a star or just on the brink. It's an unfortunate reality. So that means writers should come with awards or having been published in magazines, or television/radio exposure, or they have a website and blog or a column or something. But while I say all of that, I'm a sucker for a great story, well told, that hasn't got a chance of being published in a big way. My downfall is that I am very focused on the major houses, so if I take on a smaller book I might not be able to find it a home. I certainly give it a try, though.

Daniel Bial - Literary Agent

2008-12-17T00:11:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Daniel?

I've been an agent for 17 years. For the first 14 years of my career, I was an editor--at Holt, Harper, and Longmeadow Press (an imprint of WaldenBooks). I then made the switch to being my own boss.

What makes your agency different than any others?

Not sure. I've only worked at my own agency.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

Well, the obvious answer is big books. Publishers are less and less keen on mid-list books. They love the books they know they can sell and distinctly unexcited by books that are iffy sellers, even if the quality of those projects might be high. So the things I'm looking for especially are books by people who are acknowledged experts in their fields, and who have the wherewithal in order to promote them and get attention paid to them once the book comes out.

Daniel, what are you tired of receiving?

Books by people who have self-published unsuccessfully. If they couldn't get professionally published to begin with, and if they were only able to sell a few hundred copies, thinking that suddenly someone will come along and give the book the attention it needs is basically delusional.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

That's not hard. I look at everything that comes my way. It's not necessary to use day-glo color paper or send a cookie with the query. In fact, I don't think I've taken on any author who has used a gimmick in order to get noticed.

I do appreciate people who've taken the time to learn about the business and know what a professional proposal looks like. And I'm turned off by people who boast about how little they know.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

I'm pretty even-keeled. And thankfully, my authors don't seem to try too hard to drive me insane.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

I'm fine with snail mail or email queries. My email is dbialagency@msn.com. Snail mail is Daniel Bial Agency, 41 W. 83rd St., Suite 5C, New York, NY 10024. Website is www.danielbialagency.com

Kate Epstein - Epstein Literary

2008-12-16T00:25:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Kate ?

I started agenting in 2005. I was an editor at Adams Media prior to that.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

I'd be glad to see more hands-on, how-to business projects. In general I'd like to see more advice and less memoir. But I like the advice to be promise specific benefits--nothing as murky as "happiness" or "self actualization"--and preferably backed up by a platform or credentials.

Kate what are you tired of receiving?

I'm most tired of receiving fiction since I don't represent it. I do represent a fair number of memoirs but not nearly so many as I receive--probably about 10 a week or so.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

The best way is to review my website and make reference to one of the books I've represented.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

I honestly don't find that "driving me insane" is much of a problem--I don't have a lot of authors over-communicating. I'd rather not get forwards of jokes and inspirational stories and whatnot, but the delete key works. I like updates on progress--more information is usually better.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Kate that they don't seem to?

Everybody's so different! Some people don't understand that it puts them at a disadvantage to submit to me on hard copy. Some people don't understand that I really get a LOT of submissions. Some people don't understand that if I don't have feedback after reading their partial it's usually because I don't think it's something they can solve. But I hope everyone can understand that I LOVE my job and that the writers are what makes it so worthwhile.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

Email, definitely.

Tom Dark -- Literary Agent with Heacock Literary

2008-12-16T00:22:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Tom & Catt?

Hi, Jeff, it's me, Tom. Er, Tom Dark. I do adult fiction/nonfiction. Catt does young adult and kids' books. She's tied up with whom she's got, including our 80-million seller Stephen Cosgrove. Catt got her start interning with her Uncle Jim Heacock, who founded the agency with his wife Rosalie 30 years ago. She worked for SONY and Warner Bros. as a supervisor in the interim. I started officially last March. How I got here may be worth a book in keeping with the agency mission statement. Someday maybe. Such books aren't selling now. Otherwise, I was an editor for 10 + years before now and independently brought a few of my people to some pretty big deals. Too bad they screwed them up. This time, no screwballs.

What makes your agency different than any others?

The mission statement. Otherwise Heacock has sold around 1100 books so far, Rosalie tells me; a few big hits and some venerable authors, like Wilferd Peterson.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

Highly concentrated writers with highly concentrated personalities. Specifically. Genre doesn't matter, tho' I sure could use some people who know how to be truly funny. Don't know if I can't take you on right now, but I wanna know who you are. Maybe down the road we can do business.

Quality Caveat: I picked a crime writer because he holds the record: 35 RICO convictions in a row against mafiosos. His fiction knows whereof it speaks... An action Sci-fi adventure guy for whom we'll have to change those phone numbers before we publish: they're the ones he used to call at the Pentagon, running their guided missile system... A Jesuit priest who researched Francis of Assisi for 25 years before his totally documentable historical novel... An Indian who has photographic memory of Indian history back 3500 years to apply to his present-day novel... An MD who puts the odor of the hospital up your nose while telling what would really happen to a doctor who discovered he had natural healing powers. All my fiction writers are like this. Including the lady with the multidimensional love story.

Nonfiction: a real physicist PhD, not a creationist, reconciling the screwy beliefs between religion and science. A microbiologist smart enough to solicit the essays of everybody from the Amazin' Randi to a Nobel Laureate on the subject of consciousness, adding observed behavior in microbiology and from other documented academic papers suggesting the "brain" people are full of crap and consciousness IS independent of matter. An independent thinker whose original theory of gravity -- including experiment to prove or disprove -- got him a multimillion funding pledge from the Hudson Institute, and will point the way to faster than light travel if the experiment works. A 40-year ad executive chronicling major ad agencies and their jaw-dropping behavior. A travelogue by a scientist on the Gondwanaland expedition, forced to conclude that Darwin was probably nuts. People like this, who've been there and know what they saw. They can all write like crazy. I'll help, but only if you can write like crazy to start.

Because of the wording on the website, we get lots and lots of "channelers" whose Great Entities From Beyond have Instructed Them to Save the World with a somewhat tedious raft of platitudes and clanky buzzwords and a "workshop" business on the side for the always-improving-but-never-quite-getting-there crowd. Real writers write because they have to, not because Bisbo from the Higher Bisbonian System told them to. One suspects a dissociated ego inflating its way to the Great Beyond, fizzling with little plagiarisms.

Amen I say unto you lot, read Jane Roberts' work and read it thoroughly, all of it. I don't appreciate queriers who've copped those ideas and don't mention it. Your notion about improving or capitalizing on work like that is likely 99.9999999% ignorant, and I'm pleased to offend most objectors here. Get jobs.

Same to psychics and "self-realized spiritual teachers." I don't care what Eckhart Tolle sells or which blind are praising the blinder. I've got a guy who's broken 27 world athletic records -- real ones, not hula-hoop contests -- 22 of them after age 39, using what he learned from Plato. Now there's a real mystic using genuine powers of the soul. If you can demonstrably top that in any fashion, I'm interested. Who did my grampaw used to be in the 16th Century, and which grampaw was it? Answer that correctly and you get a contract. We need people who do, not teach mainly how quickly is parted a fool from his money.

What are you tired of receiving?

Contrived stuff from people who think all they have to do is copy some popular idea, stick it in the slot, and out comes fame, fortune and Oprah. Don't take this to mean that, now that you've been found out, all you have to do is come up with some dumb idea that's NOT like what's out there, and voila, here comes the attention and limousine you've always deserved. Still being clever? Don't strain around for ideas to write about at ALL. You're still just looking for a way to get around working for a living. Some think that worked for the Beatles, but it hasn't for writers since Washington Irving and even he wouldn't kid himself too far.

Oh. And lots of people think that since they pulled themselves out of a jam, the world should reward them with book sales. Bear in mind, especially you ex-druggies and ex-cons and ex-alcoholics and ex nut-cases, that the world AND agents also wonder how you could be so dumb to get there in the first place. And another thing: there aren't a fraction as many "secrets" to this, that, or t'other that will make everybody healthy, wealthy and wise just like you, as you keep insisting. Success is no secret to quite a few people already running loose. Not even Karl Eller's book did so well, and I liked it okay. We want real writers, not ephemeral spielers.

Vonnegut was right about real writers not making jack, even tho' they do now and again over star-distances not calculatable by marketing departments. Also, kinda sick of spam and junk mail over here.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

You'll know me and I'll know you.

Angry replies to form rejects don't bother me. Sometimes I answer them and we make friends. Sometimes not. Sometimes they're memorable.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

One of my favorite people on the planet so far was an African guy named Simeon Toko. They keep calling him the Messiah 25 years after his death, and he's probably still hollering at them from wherever he is, saying, stop that, I am not. He coined the phrase "I am crazy, you are crazy, but everybody else is even crazier." Works for me.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent that they don't seem to?

Not interested in what writers understand about me. Am interested in what they understand about their art, craft and the world they know.

Mind you writers, the most common rejection note I'm getting on your behalves lately is "this is not a right fit for our list." Neither were the Harry Potter stories, Kerouac, Melville and 'way back. Even Percy Bysshe Shelley had to self-publish, as he didn't fit anybody's list either. Samuel Johnson cranked out his own little periodical. Also I just lately learned they were afraid of Dr. Seuss, too, except for Bennett Cerf. I so far haven't encountered any Bennett Cerfs. Nobody's wearing a cocky smile and recognizing genius. I smell polite fear ekeing stiffly out of my computer. I can loosen people up on the phone, but that odor is even stronger.

Because of the news I got when I joined here -- overall industry profits last year were .03% and the average author sold 500 books at 7% royalty (and lately, returns are unprecedented and "alarming," so says an editor friend at a Big House) -- I warn you all as much as myself, wipe those falling stars from your eyes. If you don't have to write, don't. Same as in going to the bathroom. If nothing else for those who must, fool around on the internet. Big changes are coming of necessity. Not sure what, but there are inklings here and there. Supposing you can waft your work from an ivory tower into a truck waiting to distribute it to the world is a bad idea. I'm pretty sure "demographicized garbage out, money in" isn't working. I speak to a lot of smart young men and women and learn their favorite authors have largely been dead for years, and they're not buying what's on the stands. They're reading each other, though. Literacy will always be here no matter what the "New World Order" has decreed from its sinister headquarters -- and no matter what Steve Jobs thinks.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

Dreams? Otherwise, e-mail's fine.

Jonathan James - Literary Agent

2008-12-15T01:13:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Jonathan ?

I've been in editing and publishing for over twenty years, and opened my own agency in 2002.

What makes your agency different than any others?

I focus on a small roster of clients who are professional writers. The books I've helped get published are above all else literary. I'm not interested in genre fiction, handle very little nonfiction (only CNF), and also represent poetry. These sorts of works are given shorter and shorter shrift by profit-driven agencies these days, and so I guess I'd say the projects I'm most interested in are probably those that would appeal the least to another shop.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

Book-length MSS that have heart.

Jonathan what are you tired of receiving?

Form-letter queries.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

Find out how to write a real query letter before sending me one.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

I don't take on so many clients that any of them fall off my radar.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Jonathan that they don't seem to?

That I'm not interested in work designed to make a huge profit. For one thing, it's near-impossible to predict what would sell well anyway.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

Email.

Rima Greer - Above the Line Agency

2008-12-15T00:28:00.001-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Rima?

I started agenting in the summer of 1984. Before that, I worked as an assistant at the WGA, William Morris, and Writer & Artists Agency. The folks at W&A had me work as an assistant for a while, and then moved me up. There's nothing like working a desk to learn your bosses' job. In 1994 I left W&A to start my own company. I'm not much of a corporate/staff meeting kind of person, so running a small, selective agency is just right for me.

What makes your agency different than any others?

My partner, Bruce Bartlett, and I have very different taste, so we end up representing a broad range of clients. I'm not sure our agency IS all that different, except in that our client list represents our personal taste. After all, that's what it's all about. If you have taste that the buyers respond to, then you're successful. If you send out material that other people don't like, they'll stop reading. Agenting is all about personal passion. If we don't love it, we can't sell it.

On the other hand, you also have to understand client relations. If you don't talk to your clients, you're not going to have enough of a relationship to weather the tough times (EVERYONE hits a snag once in a while, right?)

What Bruce and I try to do is (a) have material that buyers consider to be top quality (whether it fits their needs or not) and (b) choose clients we personally get along with so we can build a strong relationship based on trust.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

Buyers. There really isn't a shortage of good material, and our voice mail and e-mail are constantly flooded with more requests to submit. What there is a shortage of is BUYERS. When I started agenting there were 12 studios, and now there are 5. It's harder to sell stuff when you have less customers.

However, a person who is a real self-starter, who's willing to do what it takes, is ALWAYS of interest. If you're a writer, you need to be constantly churning out material. If you're a director, you need to be out there all the time shooting film for u-tube until you "make it". We're always looking for a person who has done their homework, and knows how to play the game.

Rima what are you tired of receiving?

Letters from people who say they have a "commercial" or "unique" idea. Anybody who says they know what "commercial" is, is either stupid or lying. And NO idea is unique. Besides, it's not about ideas. Everyone's already heard your idea. It's about execution, your voice as a writer or director.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

A referral is always great. If a friend of mine says, "READ THIS", I WILL read it.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

By not BEING insane. If you don't act crazy, I'll talk to you all day long.

Hollywood is a very feast-or-famine place. If you're planning a career in Hollywood, I would suggest that you invest in ANOTHER business right now. Buy a shoe store. Start a lemonade stand. Something. Because the film biz is a place where you can starve to death right before you make your first million.

You can't make good decisions if you're desperate for cash. Get your cash flow together, and THEN go for a film career. Then you'll have the luxury of making good creative decisions, instead of wasting your life taking crappy meetings auditioning for crappy jobs that pay crap money. Anyway, the competition for those gigs is just as stiff.

One of my fave producers recently said to me, "In this business, you can't make a living, you can only make a killing." He's right.

SO, get your life together, and THEN tackle Hollywood. THAT is the kind of client I love to have.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Rima that they don't seem to?

People sometimes forget that agents don't get paid until their clients do. I'm NEVER dragging my feet if I really think there is money to be had. If I AM dragging my feet, it's because, in my 25 years of experience, I don't think there's a chance in hell we'll get paid.

So, the next time you're complaining that an agent is dragging his feet, ask yourself WHY doesn't this agent think there's any dough to be had??? Addressing THAT issue will be way more effective than whining or nagging.

Point of view is VERY important. That's one of the reasons I wrote the book: Most folks don't understand how agents think.

Once you understand our priorities, it's easy to figure out why we act the way we do:

All we want is:

1. look smart in front of our clients

2. look smart in front of our buyers

3. get our clients paid

4. everything else

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

There are two ways:

1. Referral. Find a producer, executive, or lawyer who I know, and ask them to call me on your behalf. Those folks go to the top of the pile. Yes, yes, I know.... but hey, if it was easy, EVERYBODY would do it!

2. www.abovethelineagency.com No kidding. We actually DO read the submission info we get from the site. We get a giant spread sheet once a month, we take the top 5 submissions based on our scoring criteria, and request scripts. I highly recommend you go to our site and submit there.

Geoffrey Brandt - Literary Manager at Course Management

2008-12-14T01:24:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Geoffrey?

Agent for 25 years, manager/producer the last 5

Started in the mailroom of the William Morris office

What makes your agency different than any others?

We act as the plug and play management/production company for

many of our top end writers, producers and directors where we are

involved in all phases of development even when our clients are off working for hire.

Thus as an example, a director who is working for 6 months will return to an active inventory of material they want to work on next as opposed to having to start the machinery up from scratch

I believe the name COURSE MANAGEMENT best describes what we do

Yes it is borrowed from the same terminology in playing golf. Sometimes we are

aggressive from the start, other times we are more patient in the planning and execution stage.

Possibly the biggest difference between my company and others is we don't need

any additional clients. We enjoy working with those we are committed to.

So often larger companies need to sign, sign, sign but when they do they loose

focus on their core clientele. We only make a commitment to artists and individuals

whom we have vetted inside of the industry. We believe in their talent and whom they are as people, regardless of reputation.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

Truly original non-derivative material

Geoffrey what are you tired of receiving?

Passion projects which will never see the light of day.

Someone's true story of how their family survived the Holocaust

of the next version of Mad Men.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

Known industry third party referral -- entertainment lawyer, studio exec

producer, writer, director, network exec

How can a signed client (writer) stay in your radar without driving you insane?

We work with a select group of artists whom are hand picked by me.

They are all professionals regardless of their current financial level

They all know it is best to email me for immediate response or to phone

me in the afternoon when I would have more time to give them the attention they require.

What do you wish more client (writers) understood about you as an manager (agent) Geoffrey that they don't seem to?

Representatives are human too. We live and die with the successes and failures of our

clientele. If they have a good day or shoot then so do we. If they have a bad one, well

then we need to do damage control at point of problem ....none of us can wait for

tomorrow.

Amy Tipton - Fine Print Literary

2008-12-14T00:32:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Amy?

I joined FinePrint Literary Management (formerly the Peter Rubie Literary Agency/Imprint Agency) in the Summer of 2006. I came to the agency after working as a literary assistant and office manager at several literary agencies including JCA Literary Agency, Diana Finch Literary Agency, Gina Maccoby Literary Agency, and Liza Dawson Associates. Peter encouraged me to start agenting a little over a year ago and I couldn't be happier.

What makes your agency different than any others?

We are a full service agency, and do both foreign and dramatic sales for our clients when they are available (though many agencies do this). We also have an eclectic group of agents—each of us slightly overlapping in literary taste—who support and work well together. All of us at FinePrint are editorially inclined and hands-on with our authors. We definitely believe in providing editorial input; our role as an agent is both career guidance and editor.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

Of course I'm looking for well-written books! I am attracted to strong characters, and projects with cool concepts. I am always on the lookout for unusual and remarkable (reality-based) YA and middle grade.

Amy what are you tired of receiving?

I hate books that jump on already-tired bandwagons—like right now, it's vampires; a while ago it was wizards.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

There's no formula for an attention grabbing query; for me it's about the story being presented, the fact that there is an attention grabbing voice, and, of course, it helps if you have writing credits but it's not at all necessary.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

I love my clients! Usually, they do not drive me insane. I welcome communication—I enjoy hearing from them.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Amy that they don't seem to?

That one of the biggest misconceptions is that all an agent does is sell the book—that's only a small part of the job. When I take on a project, I'm a big believer in that author and that book. I do more than just sell; I'm a champion and advocator for writers and reading.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

I accept email queries: amy@fineprintlit.com or queries by snail mail: 240 W. 35th Street, Ste. 500, NY, NY 10001.

GumboWriters Interview with Publishing Attorney Daniel Steven - Part 3

2008-12-13T19:54:00.002-05:00

Jeff Rivera: And if I do I mean I was told that there is I a thing called like a local trademark or something that you can get at the local county clerks office with that…

Daniel Steven:No, well they are state trademarks but the same rule apply, you cannot trademark something unless you can prove that it has been used in commerce and it has enough currencies of the people identify the book just with that title. For instance, Star Wars. Star Wars is a trademark name. You cannot publish a book called Star Wars but look at it, that is because it became such a titanic hit, alright. You have to do that first and if you did have a state trademark, it will only be good for that state anyway.

Jeff Rivera: So, does this mean if I am a writer and I am paranoid, do I need to copyright every single draft of my book?

Daniel Steven:If you are paranoid, you mean register. It is to copyright but remember, automatically copyright it. It is just a matter of proof after that. If you feel like paying a lot of money for registration fees, by all means but otherwise, it is not necessary until the book is published. Your editor and agent are not going to steal your book. How long, if they copy it and reproduce it, how long will they be in business if they started stealing their clients' stuff and publishing it as their own. It does not happen and until the book is published, who will see your manuscript except your publishing house or your agent and they are not going to steal.

Jeff Rivera: Right. Well, a lot of people will sometimes and by the way, you know I am asking these ridiculous questions because these are things that I hear all the time.

Daniel Steven:I know and I have heard them many times and that is why I wish I am trying to be as vehement as I can because it is such an illusion.

Jeff Rivera: Right. I am so glad that we talked a little bit about the importance of copyright bill but with people putting a lot of stuff on my like[13:09 worries on my ebooks in order to build an audience and what not and they worry that someone is going to that their idea and then run with it. I mean that is why I asked.

Daniel Steven:Yes, you can. If you are going to put something online then you are publishing it are you not. So it might be worthwhile to register. Remember I said you do not have to register until you publish but that is publication. So, yes you certainly might want to register it at the time you post it online. Now, you do not have to, if you are publishing, there is another website material, it is a whole lot of different issue. Basically, we advice clients with websites to file copyright registrations four times a year, every quarter because basically you can file, remember what I said before about three months of publication, within three months?

You do not want to have, because website changes everyday. You do not want to be registering everyday for every change. So what you do is you take a snapshot of the website as it exists four times a year and that, as long as you, the infringement was within three months of that last snapshot, you are going to be entitled to attorney's fees and statutory damages, alright. That is only for the paranoid. Typically what happens if someone rips of your website is it is not a publisher, a legitimate publisher or someone of that sort. They do not do that. They do not want to get sued. They are not in that business. It is going to be some schmuck who is just stealing your work and you send them a Cease and Desist, you are not going to file a suit against them because there is no money to be gotten. Okay, let us be realistic. You send them Cease and Desist and if that does not work, well at the same time if they post their stuff online then you use the DMCA, the takedown notice. You go to their ISP and they will take them down.

Jeff Rivera: What is it called?

Daniel Steven:It is called the DMCA, Digital Millennium Copyright Act. DMCA has a procedure called the takedown procedure. Every website is required to post the name of what is called the designated agent on the copyright.gov website and if you feel that website has or is infringing on your material, you send a notice to the designated agent and there is a procedure that the website then has to follow or you can get them the ISP to take them down. This is a whole another discussion but the point is, and you can look at, go to the copyright.gov or just Google DMCA and copyright infringement and you will get it all.

Jeff Rivera: And that is D as in dog, M as in Mary, C as in cat, A as in apple.

Daniel Steven:It is also in the book Street Smart Writer that I coauthored with Jenna Glatzer with all the information about how you do that.

Jeff Rivera: Street Smart Writer, okay and you can get that…

Daniel Steven:Street Smart Writer and you can get it on Amazon, anywhere. It is a book about publishing scams and includes information about copyright infringement and so forth.

Jeff Rivera: Well let me ask you one more question about protecting your work. What if I am an independent publisher and I am also an artist and I have created great cover book design. Can I copyright that at the same process?

Daniel Steven:Absolutely. Copyright applies to not only writing but to music of course and to art and even to architecture. So, same thing but there is just a different form you have to use; for text your work you used it was called a Form TX. For music you use Form PA, for performing arts and so on. It is all on the website and it is all meant to be self service. You can do it all yourself. You can hire a lawyer to do it for you but it is silly.

Jeff Rivera: Right.

Daniel Steven:Just go to the website and you do it; but absolutely what you will want to do if you are a self publisher, what you would want to do is file two forms or maybe more, one would be the TX forms the text of your book and one would be a PA for the graphic artist. And if someone stole your work, you would have the right to sue them and get an attorney's fee and so forth but again, it is very rarely is worth doing against anyone other than a depocket[17:53].

Jeff Rivera: Right.

Daniel Steven:Because what are they going to do.

Jeff Rivera: Right. I think you bring up a very valid point because I think that a lot of writers are spending so much of their energy worrying about these people stealing their work. They are not writing and they are not doing the other things [18:10] unless if they are in order to get.

Daniel Steven:People have such a high value of themselves. What makes them think their work is going to be stolen in the first place? I mean it is absurd. If your work is that great, it will sell and if someone steals it, you will sue them but to worry about it before it is even publish before you even sold it, again it is just people in the publishing industry like any other industry they are professionals. They do not go around and ripping you off. Now there is a slightly different aspect of this for screenwriters as you have mentioned, because ideas cannot be copyrightedeither. You could go in and pitch a great idea for a screenplay, and because it is not copyrighted, there is nothing that really would prevent that producer or whoever it is saying, "Hey, what a great idea for a film. Let's just do it," and cut you out. They would hire someone else to do a script on that idea. You cannot prevent that and because you cannot prevent that and because it is so easy to sue someone for saying, "Hey, you stole my idea," as you know, unless you have an agent, no Hollywood production house or studio will listen to any idea from you unless you first sign a waiver.

So, it becomes a nonissue. In order to get your idea looked at without an agent, you are going to have to sign a waiver saying you will not sue them. So, how do you protect yourself? Well, if you have a really good idea, you do not have an agent then what you can do is you want to go and pitch something to a story editor saying, "Will you sign an NDA?" a Non Disclosure Agreement simply saying. They are not saying they will not use your idea. They are saying they will not disclose your idea because remember you cannot steal an idea. Ideas cannot be copyrighted but you can sue them for violating a confidentiality agreement. So, that is the other side but again as you know it is very tough to get a teleplay or screenplay looked at by anyone who could produce it unless you have an agent.

Jeff Rivera: Right. Well speaking of agent, let me ask you this. What if someone is in a contract with an agent and it is just a total nightmare, how in the hell do they get out of this contract?

Daniel Steven:Well first you have to look at the contract, the literary agency agreement. What does that say? There should be literary agency agreement. Any reputable agent should do that. If they are a member of AAR they have to do it. AAR is Association of Author Representatives. They are trade association for agents. You have to have sold I think 7 books in order to become a member. The great majority of reputable agents are members of AAR . However, there are some very good agents who are not, simply because they do not need to be and they will say, "Screw that I do not pay any dues. I am a very successful guy. " But generally those people also have literary agency agreements and the agreement would say what are the terms under which you can end the contract. It will either be a term of years, then after certain of period of time there will be a 30 days notice or whatever. A lot of this stuff by the way is on my website publishlawyer.com, go to the article and you can see a lot the stuff that I am talking about. It is all there in little articles.

Jeff Rivera: Publishlawyer.com.

Daniel Steven:Publishlawyer.com.

Jeff Rivera: Okay. So what if I have a writing partner, I mean do I need a contract..?

Daniel Steven:Yes.

Jeff Rivera: Even if it is like my sister or something?

Daniel Steven:Absolutely. I mean you should always have a collaboration agreement and you can get one from a foreign book, you can have a lawyer do it obviously I think it is better to have lawyer to do it but some people just do not want to spend their money; but the key thing on the collaboration agreement is it sets forth what ownership there is, typically joint ownership and the copyright or not and what percentage of royalties are going to go whom. In order words, let us say you are collaborating with a graphic artist who is also going to write some text. You might say you are going to get 35%; I will get 65% of the royalties. You put that in writing and that is how you will present it to the publisher and they will then split it up that way but even more importantly what happens if one of you later dies or becomes disabled? Will it go to your, do you want the other person to have full ownership or do you want the joint ownership or whatever percentage of joint ownership to go to your heirs? What happens if the publisher wants a revised edition in the future and what if he does not want to work on the revise edition? These are all things which should be covered in the collaboration agreement.

Jeff Rivera: And how to get out of it if it is a nightmare situation.

Daniel Steven:Right. Well, once you have written a book, there is no way about[23:29] it. I mean there is ownership and then you should typically is that one of you can buy out the other but those are, you can also have provisions if before the manuscript is completed if one party leaves, you can have provisions there and because typically you say, "Well, I still want something for my time up to that point."

Jeff Rivera: Well, let me ask you this because one writer asked me, they have signed a contract let us say it was a three-book contract and they fulfilled the third book and then they have the editors said, "We have made a verbal agreement to do a fourth book," but there is nothing in writing and the situation turned out to be totally a nightmare. They want to get the hell out of a situation like, does the verbal contract still stand and can they get out of it and how does it work?

Daniel Steven:The verbal contract is worth the paper it is written on.

Jeff Rivera: Okay.

Daniel Steven:It is ridiculous. I cannot, no, any publisher who tries to enforce that is out of luck. Yes, you could, it is not going to happen. First of all, you cannot force someone to write a book for you and secondly, if you do write a book and you cannot have an assignment of copyright, an exclusive assignment unless it is in writing that is in copyright act. So, that is ridiculous I mean I would tell the publisher to take a hike.

Jeff Rivera: Right. So if that email is back and forth indicating, but there is no written contract…

Daniel Steven:Well, you did not say email. That is different.

Jeff Rivera: Well, okay.

Daniel Steven:That is not verbal. You can have a contract; it is greatly dependent upon state law. Most states however will allow you to prove a contract by showing offer in acceptance in writing and emails are now accepted in that way. So if I send an email to you, I will buy your car for $1000, okay and you send me email back, sold. That is a contract.

Jeff Rivera: Yes.

Daniel Steven:I mean I can prove it. I got emails.

Jeff Rivera: Right.

Daniel Steven:If it was verbal, I would say, "Hey, he never said that," and there is no way, it is one word against the other.

Jeff Rivera: So can somebody record somebody legally in standing court or like if someone, if I was recording a conversation and I did not tell you and you said something naughty and I wanted to sue you, could I bring that?

Daniel Steven:No, well in Maryland you could not do that because it is against the law to record someone without their permission. So you would be in violation of the criminal law and so you probably you would not want to put that out.

Jeff Rivera: Because then you could get prosecuted.

Daniel Steven:Yes.

Jeff Rivera: Right, I just have two more questions for you because I know your time is valuable. I wanted to ask you about celebrities. Suppose I wanted to get celebrity testimonials or I want a celebrity to write a passage in my book or something like that, do I need a release form..?

Daniel Steven:Need what, I am sorry?

Jeff Rivera: Some type of a release form from them to say, "Yes, you can definitely go ahead and run my testimonial or you can go ahead and run my.."?

Daniel Steven:Well, you are going to have something in writing from them anyway and as part of that, you do not have to perform a release. Typically, you are simply to say, "Will you blurb me?" and they will give you something in writing and the mere fact that they give you something in writing addressed to you is obvious I mean you might want some celebrities, most of them, if they are real celebrities you are not going to be dealing with them anyway. You are going to be dealing with their manager or agent and they will parse it out very carefully. They will say, "Yes, we will give, we will allow you to put this on your book but in no other place," and they will all that for you, they will make it quite clear. And if they are not a celebrity, I mean but just someone that you want to blurb you, you just be very careful when you confirm in writing, "Thank you for agreeing to say xyz about my book which will be used only in this following way."

Jeff Rivera: Right.

Daniel Steven:And if you say, I want to use, if you want to use in on your website as well as on the book then you say that.

Jeff Rivera: Okay. The last question I have is what if I am worried, I have gotten a book deal or what not and I am worried that something is going to happen to me like how do I make sure that the royalties or whatever go to my family?

Daniel Steven:Well if you signed the deal already then automatically it will go to your estate; and if you have a will that will determine it, but if you do not a will, it will go by the laws of intestacy of your estate which means it will go to your nearest relatives. If you have not yet signed a contract then puff, it is gone.

Jeff Rivera: Right.

Daniel Steven:So but if you take a look at your contract, any typical publishing agreement like you have had, you will see language in there usually it is at the end that this agreement show also go to the survivors and assigns of the parties and that is you. So if something happens to you, the contracts it says right in there that it goes to your heirs or your survivors.

Jeff Rivera: Okay so if someone wants to…sorry, go ahead.

Daniel Steven:Plus your copyright. Copyright also if something that goes to your estate for the period of time that it exists. Copyright right now for not a work for hire exists for your life plus 70 years. What happens after your life? You die and there is still another 70 years of copyright, correct?

Jeff Rivera: Right.

Daniel Steven:Who owns that copyright? Well, if you have not said in your will, then it would go to your spouse, if you do not have a spouse, it would go to your children and then if you do not have children, it would go to your next of kin and they would own that copyright until the 70 years are up.

Jeff Rivera: Okay.

Daniel Steven:Obviously there are not many books that get valuable for 70 years.

Jeff Rivera: Right. Well, great. Then how do people get a hold of you if they want to ask you questions, get your services, that sort of thing, what is the best way..?

Daniel Steven:Well go to my website, publishlawyer.com.

Jeff Rivera: Okay.

Daniel Steven:Yes. That has a mechanism. Look under the contact information.

Jeff Rivera: Great. Well, Daniel thank you so much for this and what I was going to do actually, I think it will be kind of cool; I will put this on my blog and I might even include like a question or two, and if there are few kind of writers and newsletters and stuff like that and I can put down like, can I ask Daniel, ask Attorney Daniel kind of column type of thing or something and then with all your contact information, that would be a great way to kind of bring them over to your site to and what not.

Daniel Steven:Well, yes except I do not really want to answer questions.

Jeff Rivera: Okay.

Daniel Steven:I do not have time for that.

Jeff Rivera: Well not questions but on the terms of your services.

Daniel Steven:Yes, that is fine. Right and I already write a monthly column for the Mystery Writers of America which is a Q&A and so that already takes a lot of my time. One of the other things that you can put in my credential is I am Chairman of the Contracts and Grievances Committee of the Mystery Writers of America, Inc.

Jeff Rivera: Okay.

Daniel Steven:So I see a lot obviously of what is going on in the contract world with problems with authors because Mystery Writers is a very large group of the active members are all or some of the most prominent thriller mystery writers in the country.

Jeff Rivera: Thanks for the interview, Daniel!

Jennifer de la Fuenta - Literary Agent at Venture Literary

2008-12-13T00:40:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start?

I graduated from UC San Diego with a degree in literature, and had no idea what I was going to do with my life. Then I saw an ad in the paper for an assistant position with The Dijkstra Agency in Del Mar, and applied and got the job. Until that point, I had no idea what an agent really did, or how the publishing process worked, but I did know that I loved books and I considered working with authors to be a dream job. After The Dijkstra Agency I moved on to The Gersh Agency in Beverly Hills, but took years off when I was having and raising our three young children. I've been back at work as an agent with Venture Literary for a little over two years now.

What makes your agency different than any others?

I consider us a very full-service agency, focusing not just on the sale of the book but an author's overall career as well. I also think that we're good at thinking creatively—putting the 9/11 report in graphic form, for example.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

I'm always looking for that novel that is a mix of smart, literary style and captivating plot. A book like Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin, for example, which I read in one sitting and still can't forget. And I'm always captivated by a strong voice, whether it's nonfiction or fiction. One of my favorite novels will be coming out this January from Dial Press: The Slide by Kyle Beachy. And I feel very passionate about my clients' nonfiction titles: The Lolita Effect: The Media Sexualization of Young Girls and What We Can Do About It by M. Gigi Durham, which is mandatory reading for every parent, and Hump: True Tales of Sex After Kids by Kimberly Ford is a totally entertaining (and titillating) read.

At our agency we handle a wide range of genres: narrative nonfiction, sports, business, memoir, politics and history, fiction, parenting, pop culture, health.

What are you tired of receiving?

I feel like we see a lot of queries for thrillers, and they all sound a little bit the same to me, so I'd love to see some kind of fresh, smart, character-driven thriller. I also feel like I've reached my saturation point with addiction memoirs; I think it must be part of recovery that you have to write a memoir, because I get what feels like a lot of queries about addiction and recovery.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

The best way to get my attention is to write a decent query letter. It's amazing how many people don't know how to do this, so a good letter really stands out. I think having published credits, whether it's short fiction in journals or newspaper or magazine stories, is always going to get my attention. I like the idea of growing a writer… finding them in a literary journal, selling their first book, and then all subsequent books.

In the end this is a business of people, and it's more personality driven than most writers probably realize. So in addition to looking out for fresh talent and marketability, I'm also looking out for people I want to work with, with whom I will be able to communicate easily and who will make the process fun and enjoyable. Life is too short for anything less.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

Email is great for this—it's so easy to bing a question to me and I'll bing right back with an answer. But I haven't had much issue with being driven insane by clients, since I truly enjoy everyone I work with. I think we're all trying to walk that line of being proactive but not being annoying; it's something I have to do with editors all the time.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent that they don't seem to?

When there's a situation that is disappointing—either a book doesn't sell, or doesn't sell for what we had hoped for—it's important for the writer to know that it's disappointing for me as well. Often times I've invested a huge amount of time and energy into a project, and I don't get paid for that. It truly is a labor of love.

I also think it's important for writers to realize how busy agents are, and to be respectful of that. Sometimes people expect me to remember a novel they submitted months before, but they don't realize that I've read quite a few novels since that time.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

We do everything electronically, so the best way to reach me is via email. Our submission guidelines are on our web site (www.ventureliterary.com).

Ken Sherman with Ken Sherman and Associates

2008-12-12T01:16:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Ken? Started at The William Morris Agency representing actors for television.

What makes your agency different than any others? My company is called a 'boutique agency'---small and personal in our work approach.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of? Scripts and books that are pre-edited before being submitted. A writer, specifically a first-time writer, has one shot when a script is written here in LA, and book editors don't have the time to edit as they did 25 years ago. Agents are the clearing houses for both and we need to be sure-footed and send in only the best of material and writers with every submission. Our clients represent us and if the material isn't top rate we won't get the buyer on the phone as easily the next time. There's, of course, no explaining taste

Ken what are you tired of receiving? Scripts and books with little drama or passion and ones derivitative of the latest trends. There's nothing like an original writer with a personal style to help launch their careers. Often the script or book won't be right for a particular studio or network or publishing house but if their writing is of first-calibre the potential buyer will ask for more and hopefully a meeting. That's how careers start.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way? Come to my agency by referal and know the story, the characters, be able to pitch them and to have me sit up and say, wow, I want to read your work. Most often, though, I read before meeting. And referal means someone I know who's read the work and has a solid and positive opinion about the work.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane? By email or a call in a reasonable way........that, of course, is based on the personal relationship.
We have to respect each other and find out how best to work together. Nothing like a talk about this exact subject when starting into the relationship.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Ken that they don't seem to? I'm as idiosyncratic in my taste and work habits as they are and we need to find a balance. And I don't always have quick answers but will try to work things and think things through with each client.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you? By referal only, or at a writer's conference, or a class I might be teaching at UCLA or USC, through other clients, attornies and studio people I know, other agents...........I often co-represent other agents' clients...they might sell the book and I sell the film/tv/stage rights. These things are fluid

Mary Sue Seymour - Literary Agent

2008-12-12T01:03:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Mary Sue ? 1992 - i was a teacher, and also a writer - had three different agents, began my agency as a hobby - the first book i sent out sold a 4 book deal to Bantam - quite my teaching job and just agented

What makes your agency different than any others? Since i am a christian, i genuinely care about my clients - they are very real people to me - i enjoy travelling to conferences [ i do one a month] meeting with them and taking them out to dinner

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of? Inspirational fiction - mainly in-spy romances

Mary Sue what are you tired of receiving? Material i don't handle

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way? A postive one page query that demonstrates great writing

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane? Email

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Mary Sue that they don't seem to? I handle inspy romances mostly - that's my bread and butter

What's the best way for a writer to reach you? Email or paper query

Sara Goodman - Editor at St. Martin's Press

2008-12-11T00:55:00.000-05:00

How did you get your start as an editor? Why become an editor instead of say, a fighter pilot or computer engineer?

I moved to New York in June of 2001 from California thinking I wanted to work in magazines. Upon my arrival, I interned at a few publications and cocktail waitressed at night to pay the bills. Then 911 happened and I was like, "I need a full time job with benefits! The world is too crazy right now." I answered a listing on MediaBistro for a job in "media." I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Even after my interview I wasn't entirely sure what the company did! But finally, when they hired me, I realized I was working at a literary agency, and the rest is history. I tried my best to become a high powered agent, but I realized that it just wasn't quite the right fit. Editing books is more my thing, so in 2007 I decided to change careers. I'm now at St. Martin 's Press and I couldn't be happier.

What are some of the exciting books you've acquired that you're most proud of?

HOT GIRL by Dream Jordan is a young adult novel that just came out on November 11^th, and I'm really proud of that one. It's the story of a young girl forced to survive the travails of the Brooklyn foster care system, which she does with grace and wit and incredible strength of character. Also, on December 23^rd, CRACKED UP TO BE by Courtney Summers will be coming out. This is also a young adult novel, and it's amazing. Without giving too much away, it's the story of a young girl who's witnessed something truly terrible, but is too afraid to admit it. As the book unfolds, the reader is given small clues about the event as you see her slowly break down and ultimately confess.

When you receive a submission what about it really grabs you and excites you to the point that you'd like to acquire it?

An editor almost always knows if a book is publishable right from the very beginning. A good opening line, an immediate sense of place, and good pacing are always a good sign. I also keep an eye out for that plot that's going to hook me from the very beginning. As an author, you want to keep your readers up all night. You want them to start the book and not want to put it down until they've turned the very last page!

What makes you decide to read a submission overnight compared to it rotting on the bottom of your slush pile?

If an agent calls me up and can't stop talking about how wonderful a book is, I'm going to look at it that night. If I get a query letter that immediately piques my interest, I'm going to look at it that night.

· What's the best way for a writer to contact you? Query letter?

I'm currently only looking at agented submissions.

· Are you open to receiving submissions from self-published authors?

A lot of bestsellers have been previously self-published, so absolutely. Though, I really do prefer that they come in to me from an agent.

Are you open to receiving unagented submissions?

No, not at the moment.

What are you personally doing in order to adapt to the changes in the marketplace? (Changes meaning: lower print runs, shrinking book review outlets, oversaturated market and chains stores being more selective about what books they put on their shelves)

Firstly, I'd say that I'm trying my best to acquire fresh voices with fresh ideas. I don't understand the desire to write something that has already been done before. Secondly, I'm working closely with my authors to help them promote their own books, especially using online resources. For first-time authors, this is so important. I have an author who made her own book trailer, for example. She's posted it on her blog, her Myspace page, and on her Facebook page. The internet is an amazing and FREE marketing tool if used correctly. Also, for the young adult market especially, the wonderful librarians out there have done great things. Get a librarian to read and love your book, and you're doing great! I think in general we all have to be much more creative about getting our books noticed. It's just a matter of adapting and utilizing the resources we do have.

Oliver Munson - Literary Agent with Blake Friedmann

2008-12-11T00:46:00.000-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Oli ?

After completing an English Literature MA from Edinburgh University I wasn't 100% certain what I wanted to do career-wise for the next 50 years of my life but had a suspicion that the world of publishing might be right up my street. Not really knowing where to begin but wanting to get an overview of the whole industry, I signed up for the Publishing Studies MA at City University in London. As part of the course one student has to undertake an internship with a literary agency and after a few months I'd already decided that my ambitions were more suited to the agent side of the fence rather than being an editor. I wanted a job where I could freely represent and work with clients without having to answer to the whims of the sales and marketing team.

So I was the student selected for the agency placement, I came to Blake Friedmann, and haven't left since. Carole Blake's assistant left when I was a month into my internship, I got called up to fill the gap and then two years later I was representing my own clients. That was nearly six years ago (but fortunately doesn't feel like it!).

What makes your agency different than any others?

Firstly, out the ten people that work here in a London based agency, only three are fully British. We have a real League of Nations – I'm half American and grew up in Dallas but we also have two South Africans, a German, a Greek Canadian, a Canadian and a Jamaican. I think that international flavour is represented in our client list and the importance we give to translation rights. Because we don't have an in-house dedicated foreign rights department, the agents here can decide when they send books out to overseas market. A foreign rights dept will usually send things out only when there's an English language sale but that's not always in the author's best interest. For example, over the past year I've been selling a novel called THE NOSTRADAMUS PROPHECIES by Mario Reading. I'd sent the book out in the UK without any success but had also sent it to our co-agents who represent our list in foreign markets. By September this year I had 13 international deals and then finally one day I received a call from Ravi Mirchandani at Atlantic who wanted to make an offer for World English Language rights. Traditionally speaking it's not really an Atlantic book which is what made their proposition so interesting – this is Atlantic going commercial and we're all really excited about next August's publication. But without the international buzz maybe Ravi wouldn't have offered and had I waited for an English language deal to get the ball rolling elsewhere, I could still be waiting today.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

Interesting sports books which can work in more than one market! Something like IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE. I'm a big fan of sports on either side of the Atlantic but it's really tricky to find a sports book that appeals to both sides and beyond.

Oli what are you tired of receiving?

Email submissions that are just an author carpet bombing 200 agents without really caring where an agent's interests lie. A bit of homework is always appreciated and in this day and age it's hardly difficult to do.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

If they can explain why theirs is a project or story I would personally be interested in and if they have some idea of people I already represent. Get the basics right: spelling, punctuation, the agency's name. All things which if correct show that you're at least making an effort.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

By having an understanding of the natural rhythms of our job, particularly that there are two times in the year when we as an agency are particularly busy (September/October for Frankfurt Book Fair and March/April for the London Book Fair). My client list isn't big enough to result in me having to be chased when an author has a query but I think once a book is sold to a primary editor, it's important for me to be cc'd in author/editor discussions just so I can use that information for the bigger picture – the rest of the world.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Oli that they don't seem to?

That's a tough one, not being very enigmatic. I don't feel personally misunderstood but I think all agents would like unsolicited authors to have a better appreciation of the number of submissions we receive each day and that it does take time for each one to get a fair crack of the whip. Chasing after a week is probably the fastest way to get rejected.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

Enquiry email in the first instance is appreciated.

Dear Jeff: The future of publishing?

2008-12-09T04:11:00.004-05:00

Dear Jeff:
We hear about all these changes in the industry with people being laid-off. What do you see happening in the future?

Linda

Well, first of all, I don't see why all these talented people who were laid off at the publishing houses haven't put their differences aside and brainstormed a way to form their own companies rather than being at the mercy of a media conglomerate.

I forsee in the very near future a large percentage of authors skipping the entire agent to publisher route and publishing their books as ebooks directly. This could be through Kindle or whatever the IPod for books will be.

I forsee them hiring outside experienced editors, publicists/e-marketers and book cover designers (perhaps some of these talented people that were laid off?)

There will always be the scared authors who'd rather stay under the umbrella of an agent or a publishing house but the other half who "get it", those that realize they need to be more than just authors and more like author-preneurs will take the reigns in their career.

Does this mean that we will no longer need agents if authors choose to simply upload their books on a Kindle type device? Not for the really smart agents who will expand beyond representing simply the World & Foreign Print Rights and realize the real money will be in representing the authors as a whole entity. This will mean agents representing them for their speaking fee tours, sponsorship packages, film and television, web content and all the other ways author-preneurs can make money.

Other authors will opt to simply hire an IP attorney to negotiate and make sure their rights are exploited properly. They may hire an outside firm at a flat rate to take care of the other money-making opportunities, along with their outside editors, publicist/e-marketers (once again, likely with some of these talented laid-off people). Perhaps literary agencies and managements companies who have not done so already, will restructure their companies to include such services or merge or co-represent authors for these other services all-inclusive.

And if were an agency I would think of a way to start representing these recently laid-off editors, book designers, sales people, etc. and somehow have a division (without dealing with conflict of interest issues) to start procuring more work for them as freelancers.
Jeff Rivera

Testimonial Letter #2 - A Happy Query Letter Client

2008-12-04T19:05:00.002-05:00

This is a letter I received today from a client that received over 150 agent requests for her non-fiction book. In less than a week she received quite a few offers for representation. It can happen to you too. Let us know how we can help you.

So far 7 agents want to represent my new book. I'm still interviewing agents and making my decision. It's fun! I can be a coquette and play hard to get.

Thanks so much for everything. I'll keep you posted!

L. H.

Julia Richardson - Editorial Director of Children's Paperbacks at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group

2008-12-03T00:58:00.003-05:00

How did you get your start as an editor? Why become an editor instead of say, a fighter pilot or computer engineer?

Becoming an editor was more of a happy accident than anything planned. I moved to New York City after college to go to grad school at NYU. There I got a masters in political science. My plan at the time was to do something helping children. Beyond that, I didn't have a clue. The only thing I was sure of was I wanted to stay in New York City. I absolutely loved it.

So, as I was ending my studies for my masters, I started sending out resumes. I must have sent out two hundred. After no luck getting even an interview, I went to a headhunter. She sent me in to interview for the position of marketing assistant at Macmillan Children's Books. Publishing had never entered my mind before then.

But I was offered the job and took it. In an odd way it fit me. First off, it was working for kids if not actually with them. Second, my mom is a reading teacher and a storyteller. But most importantly, I have loved books since I could read. I remember reading WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE over and over when I was about six. I always got scared right before Max got to the place where the wild things lived. Seriously, no matter how many times I read the book, I would get a nervous feeling in my belly. But then Max tamed the wild things and all was well. I read it so much I knew what was going to happen, but it still got me every time. By the time I was in middle school, I was a huge Stephen King fan. Then I read Katherine Paterson's JACOB HAVE I LOVED. This story has stayed with me all my life.

This may sound melodramatic, but I remember holding a copy of RETURN OF THE NATIVE and thinking, all I have to do is open up to any page, and there's a story going on that I can be completely immersed in. It felt like magic.

So, when I got the offer from Macmillan, I knew it was the right choice for me. After a year in marketing I switched to editorial. I loved kids' books, andI wanted to be more involved in creating them.

The only other profession I ever considered was a professional dancer. But my body just isn't the right shape. Besides, I like eating, though as an editorial assistant living in New York City, I couldn't afford to eat too much.

What are some of the exciting books you've acquired that you're most proud of?

Being in paperbacks, I've mostly worked on reprints, so the originals, both in paper and hardcover, would probably be the ones I'm most proud of. But even that isn't completely true. I love books. I love bringing them to kids. I love taking a hardcover and writing some great copy and re-working the cover (if it needs it) and filling out all the paperwork, so it can become a paperback. Even without being a part of the editorial process at the beginning, I still find it very rewarding.

For me, it's mostly about the authors. I've been lucky in my career in that I've worked with some of the best. Ellen Hopkins, Garret Freymann-Weyr, Lauren Baratz-Logsted, D. J. MacHale, Jennifer Armstrong, Anne Ursu, Mary Casanova, Hilari Bell, Ann Rinaldi, Roland Smith, Gary D. Schmidt, Linda Sue Park, Pat McKissack, Terri Farley, Lynda Sandoval, Niki Burnham, Willo Davis Roberts--the list goes on. All these people are so talented and they're also such wonderful people. Working with them in whatever capacity has been a joy. And I can't leave off the list Scott Loring Sanders, Marley Gibson, Jake Halpern, Peter Kujawinski, and Kim Antieau. I feel blessed to have worked with so many wonderful people. I feel like I have friends all over the country.

I'm even working with an entire family on a series of books! Lauren Baratz-Logsted wrote the Sisters Eight, a new series coming out in December, with her daughter, Jackie Logsted (She's only eight!), and her husband, Greg Logsted. I know I'm biased, but I have to say they did an awesome job. The books are fantastic, and I think it's because they each brought a unique perspective to the books.

When you receive a submission what about it really grabs you and excites you to the point that you'd like to acquire it?

A combination of the voice or rhythm of the language and the story. The writing has to grab me right from the beginning, but without a good story, I can't necessarily acquire it. I have said to folks I like your writing, but the story just isn't right for me.

I also have to feel that there's an audience for this book. I first met Ellen Hopkins when I went to Reno to speak at their book festival. She had arranged for me to do some critiques for the local SCBWI chapter while I was there. So, we were talking over breakfast before the critiques were to begin and we started to talk about the manuscript she had sent me. Well, here was a case of the above. She had sent me a picture book written in verse. I loved the writing, but I wasn't interested in this story. So I said if she had anything else, I would be interested in taking a look. It just so happened that she was starting a novel in verse about a girl who is addicted to crank. I knew immediately that this was a book that would find an audience. When I was young, one of my favorite books had been GO ASK ALICE and I knew it was still hugely popular. But also, I had just read an article in ROLLING STONE about meth and the havoc it was wreaking in rural communities.

I'm pretty sure I remained calm on the outside, but inside, I felt like I was going to blow a gasket. I wanted this book. I knew it would be huge and that Ellen could write it. At first I told her I needed to see the entire manuscript. But after she sent me the first fifty pages, I signed it up.

What makes you decide to read a submission overnight compared to it rotting on the bottom of your slush pile?

A good pitch helps. If the story sounds intriguing, I'm more likely to start it right away. But I also have to say it's my schedule. Sometimes I'm just so busy with day-to-day responsibilities that I can't find the time to read new things.

What's the best way for a writer to contact you? Query letter?

I prefer writers go through an agent.

Are you open to receiving submissions from self-published authors?

Yes.

Are you open to receiving unagented submissions?

This may sound harsh, but I'm going to have to say no. I need to know manuscripts I receive have already gone through some sort of weeding out process.

What are you personally doing in order to adapt to the changes in the marketplace? (Changes meaning: lower print runs, shrinking book review outlets, oversaturated market and chains stores being more selective about what books they put on their shelves) I'm more vigilant than ever that the books I take on are ones I feel strongly about. Whether it's the writing or plot or characters (hopefully, all three), that this book is the one I'm willing to fight for.

Jerry Simmons - Former Time Warner Book Executive

2008-12-03T00:53:00.003-05:00

Jerry, what is wrong with publishing industry today, and how do we fix it?

Publishing is the only business I know that operates contrary to the laws of supply and demand. As demand has declined over the past fifteen years, supply has increased as well as the cover prices for books. This is one big problem, the other is that the major publishers are afraid to take chances. They resist change simply because they are old school and the senior executives have spent their entire careers in the business and fail to act because "that is not the way it has ever been done." Plus after spending years in publishing and attaining a top level job those in a position to make change will never rock the boat. The big New York publishers answer to falling sales is to revert back to what they have always published, just more of it. For example: James Patterson no longer writes his own books, he has co-authors, and he now publishes multiple hardcover titles each year. This is a case where the publisher is trying to sell more of what sells, but they in fact are doing nothing more than selling a brand. Is the consumer really getting what they pay for, a new James Patterson novel? Or are they buying the name and brand of James Patterson? I truly believe that consumers of books, readers, are tired of the same old thing and higher and higher cover prices. If publishers would start to focus on the book and author, instead of generating revenue, then publishing would start to correct itself. As it stands, the big media mentality prevails and they are in the business of making money, not publishing good books. The fix lies with the smaller houses who concentrate on publishing good books and growing good authors. The bigger companies are losing their ability to be a change agent in the traditional world of book publishing. The hope is that the smaller companies will not follow the footsteps on the bigger competitors, but instead will price books not according to the market, but to the demands of their audience. If this happens, then I believe more people will buy and read more books.

Jerry D. Simmons

Author, Publisher, Speaker

www.WritersReaders.com

Free eNewsletter TIPS for WRITERS from the PUBLISHING INSIDER

www.NothingBinding.com

Author of What Every Writer Needs to Know About Publishing

Also available as an eBook

JEFF RIVERA author www.JeffRivera.com

Wendi Niad - Niad Literary Management

2008-12-02T14:46:00.002-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Wendi?

I am no longer an agent. I left agenting in 1997 to start my own Management firm which allowed me to work more closely with my clients in terms of their career development and growth rather than focusing solely on their next job and paycheck.

What makes your agency different than any others?

My Management firm is different from others in several respects.

1. We do not hold ourselves out as producers which other Managers tend to do with their clients.

2. We have a small exclusive client list and do not wish to grow any larger.

3. The desire to grow comes from growing our clients' careers, not our staff and our positions.

4. We are accessible.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

Hard workers and writers who write! The writer who is willing to go the extra mile. Those are the ones who get the jobs.

Wendi what are you tired of receiving?

First drafts! Unresearched, poorly structured, laden with typos!

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

Write a well written letter! If you're a writer, you should be able to write a decent letter: from the basics of spelling my name correctly, using proper grammar appropriately and proofreading to having and getting across your unique voice and tone.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

Keep writing and coming up with new ideas. One script/book does not make you a writer. A writer writes...and writes and writes some more. A writer should constantly be giving me new material all the time.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Wendi that they don't seem to?

I wish clients would understand that I make 10-15% because that's how much work I should have to do. The 85-90% left over should be done by the client. That does not mean handing over your written work and your finished. That should be just the beginning. I have seen many a great writer NOT have a career because they had horrible or negative or no personalities. You need to win people over. Network. Get people to want to hire you for more things, buy your next thing before you even write it. Be available to take the meetings that I set up for you. Have things to pitch to the executives in these meetings. Make sure the pitch is pitch ready! These people that I send your work out to may not buy your work (only one person can buy it if it even gets bought) but if they are fans of your writing, there will be an open door for a different sale. It is only up to you to whether you walk through it or not. I will set the general meeting. But YOU need to make the sale in the room. That is YOUR job. To WOW the executive. I need to get that phone call after your meeting from the executive who says, "I MUST be in business with your client." Only you can accomplish that. My only job is to open the doors for you. Your job is to walk through them and to sell yourself and your work.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

E mail. Wendi@NiadManagement.com

Pat Tucker - Professional Ghostwriter (Read this if you think you're too busy to write)

2008-12-02T14:39:00.001-05:00

For anyone who says they don't have time to write, this interview is for you. Pat Tucker is an author, a full-time journalist, a mother of two (including a newborn baby) and a wife yet she has made the time to ghost write 2 NY Times Bestselling novels and sold over 100,000 copies of her own books.

How did you get started ghostwriting?

Jeff, first thank you so much for the interview. My ghostwriting career actually started by accident. An author friend of mine was on a very tight deadline and asked if I could help by cranking out 20k words. I got all of the information needed, and two days later, forwarded the subplot. Once it was turned it-said friend got rave reviews from the editor and wha-lah, a ghost was born! From there I helped another author friend, then my then publisher had a few leads and things took off from there.

How can others break in?

If you want to break in, I suggest you network, network, then network some more. For me, it began with doing a few projects here and there to help a friend then word of mouth spread about both my speed and ability to pick up the author's voice. The important thing to remember is, this story belongs to someone else. It's that person's voice, their vision, It's their marathon, I'm just the boost that help them make it to the finish line.

What are some of your success?

I've had a project go to the New York Times bestsellers list... not to mention one being optioned for a movie and a project that helped a client secure a very high profile agent. But I think my greatest success is my ability to keep my clients names private. For purposes of proving I'm not making it up, I of course share necessary information with my agent, but I don't make it a habit of name dropping, it's important that a potential client know their secret is safe with me. I think the trust factor is a huge draw when one is hiring a ghostwriter.

How much should someone charge if they want to ghostwrite?

The going rate is always negotiable. I tell people to research and set a competitive rate based on the equivalent for their work. I have even had colleagues charge a portion of royalties. So I say it's all negotiable. But whatever rate you charge, make sure everything, from all charges, to who is responsible for edits and rewrite and all other details are spelled out in the contract. Nothing hurts a business relationship than confusion about what is covered under a specific rate.

Tell us about your latest project.

My latest ghost project is still being worked out. I'm not ready to reveal details just yet. You don't want to jinx something in the works. But of my own work, I recently completed an erotic short for the new epublisher Ravenous Romance. Hip Hop Heat, is by Tricia Tucker and will be released by Ravenous December 3rd. It's hot! The publisher goes on line December 1st.

Your known as a prolific writer but you're a wife & mother too and a full time journalist how do you schedule writing?

Most writers I know do more than just write. Even full time writers I know, (a few) do other things on the side. For me, family life, my 9 to 5 and life in general helps in my writing. I don't schedule time to write, I write to escape real life and it's issues. Most of my writing is done at night after the family is off to sleep, early in the morning before I go to work and during my down time at work-lunch breaks and such. I can't imagine scheduling time to write. Some of my best ideas have come while doing other things.

What tips do you have for people who procrastinate?

I'm a recovering procrastinator, so I'm not sure I'm the best to dole out advice here, I've been on the wagon for several years now, but it's a daily struggle. The biggest problem as it relates to procrastinating with writing is that some of my best work was produced under pressure. Because I write quickly, if something is due December 1st, I'll get 70 percent of it done November 30th. So while I know this disease is not good, the rush it gives me makes me an addict, but, hey I'm in recovery! I even procrastinated with this interview:)

What schedule do you have for writing?

I write whenever I can. I keep notepads all around the house, next to my bed, in the car, in my bag, when something hits me, I want to be ready, and most times I am. I have a desk top, a lap top and a mini lap top I carry in my bag, so I can crank out a chapter while I'm in the waiting room at the doctor's office!

How can people reach you if they're interesting in hiring you as a ghostwriter?

I can be reached at itstriciat@yahoo.com

John Paine - Freelance Editor (Highly Recommended)

2008-12-02T14:35:00.002-05:00

Thanks for joining us on GumboWriters.com, John. You've been in the business for a long time. How did you get started and what is it exactly that you do?

Not surprisingly, I started as an aspiring young writer. I decided at age 30 that I really didn't have the talent to be great, and I moved to New York to get an editorial position in publishing. I rapidly rose through the ranks and created a unique position for myself as a manuscript editor, or a house doctor. That's because those years of writing gave me a good intuitive feel for what writers try to get done in their stories. For 20+ years I have been helping authors both with large-scale story structure and with line-by-line, intensive editing. Depending on the project, especially in the field of nonfiction, I have served as virtually a ghostwriter.

Tell us the difference between line editing, copy editing, development editing, and what would you say is your forte?

Actually, the ranking is developmental editing, line editing, and copy editing. Developmental editing consists of helping authors to direct their characters and their plots to become stronger. I usually write page-specific notes that amount to roughly 15-20 pages, giving suggestions for new scenes, what scenes might be cut for better pacing, where more character background might be inserted, and which scenes might be moved around for a solid, building story. Line editing is what it sounds like: using a pencil line by line to prune and add to an author's text so that every sentence is crisp, using action verbs and effective sentence stem-dependent clause structure. As a former writer, I often write in phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to make sure the scene doesn't turn in unexpected directions that lose the reader. Copy editing is much more minor, consisting of a grammar, spelling, and punctuation check. A good copy editor will also help with sentence smoothness.

Why should a non-fiction editor write a book proposal first? And is that something you can help them with?

Today 95% of nonfiction books are sold through proposals. These are selling documents that give an outline of why an editor should buy the book. They come in pieces that are fairly standard, although proposals do not follow a strict template. They should contain an opening overview roughly 3-5 pages long that should capture an editor's attention right away. An author bio section is necessary, because most nonfiction authors are also speakers or have media contacts that will help sell the book. A competition section, with five or so competing books, lets the editor know (1) there is a market for your book and (2) why your book is different from what's out there. A section that contains a summary of each chapter is a vital part, because that's where you can show what the book will actually contain. Finally, 1-3 sample chapters are provided to provide a glimpse of your style, since a vast difference exists between a popular self-help book and a serious academic work. And yes, I do write (and sell) proposals regularly, as you might have been able to guess by now.

Why should writers work with you when they have thousands of other choices? What makes you so special, John?

I think there are many good editors, at least the ones who have New York publishing experience or the equivalent. My own approach is to keep the author in the driver's seat as much as possible. That means using constructive criticism that is politic in making its points. I like being nice, and I seek a good rapport with an author. I think I give sound advice, both for large-scale plot issues and for character enhancements. I know I'm an excellent line editor, because that's how I established my reputation in the first place. Judging by now many authors come back to me for their later books, I believe I provide a service that genuinely helps them learn how to write books. Finally, a word of caution to authors: Beware of these guys hanging out on the Net; a lot of their backgrounds aren't even close to being acceptable. Everybody is a self-appointed critic in the world of writing, so look closely at their credentials.

Is there anything wrong with having an editor edit your work before you send it to an agent or an editor? Is that cheating?

Seeking help as a writer is a wise decision most of the time. Seeing the forest for the trees in a book is probably the most difficult decision-making area in the arts. There are just so many words. In my profession, what often happens is that a writer who uses me the first time experiences a marked learning curve, one that tapers off in the second and third books as he or she applies the structural/character-building methods that I have taught them. By the fifth or so book, if you've been paying attention, you don't need an editor anymore. I know for a fact that agents like authors who have shown true desire by hiring an editor before they make their submission.

Won't agents and editors be disappointed that you didn't come up with the brilliant manuscript by your own doing?

Publishing is a business, by and large. If you are the next Norman Mailer or Alice Munro, you aren't going to hire an editor anyway. You'll be making those editorial decisions yourself. But that includes less than 1% of all writers. If you're writing for the popular market, an agent or editor is less worried about your artistry than your ability to keep readers on the edge of their seat.

Are there any famous or successful authors who work with editors before submitting their work to their agents or editors?

The more famous the author, the less editing he or she will accept. You could call it the diva equation. That's not to say they wouldn't benefit by editorial help, but they're fawned upon by their publishers, and they're making millions, so why should they bother?

Who are some of the best-known authors you've worked with?

I have worked with dozens of well-known authors. Anyone who is interested can visit my website, johnpaine.com.

How many books or book proposals would you say you've worked on that have ended up being sold? And what are some of your favorites (i.e., most well-known)?

Every year I help roughly 10 authors sell their books. I also work for publishers, so that number is doubled, in terms of published books I edit annually. I take a lot of pride in what I do, and I don't work on books that I don't think have a chance of being published. This summer, on the fiction side, I helped a debut author sell his psychological thriller, and that gave me a great deal of satisfaction, because he is so talented. On the nonfiction side, I helped turn a doctoral thesis into a history book that was bought by Harvard University Press, and that also was a challenge that gave me a great deal of pleasure.

How much do you charge for your services? Will authors have to re-mortgage their house to pay for it? Do you take payments?

It depends on the book. A ballpark figure is $10 per double-spaced manuscript page. I work in phases anyway, so a payment system is already built in. I'll charge for the read and initial editorial letter; then a retainer; the developmental edit; and the line edit. I will work out a payment schedule if needed, but obviously I'd prefer that the invoices be paid in full.

If we're interested in using your services, what is the first step and how does the process work?

The first step is to visit my website: johnpaine.com. That serves as my resume, so an author can check my credentials. The last page on the site has a contact sheet. I ask that an author send a 1-2 page synopsis plus 25 pages of the book so that I can evaluate whether he or she really should be spending money on me. I then call the author for a preliminary discussion of the book, plus my editing procedures, fees, timing, etc., at no cost. If the author decides to go ahead, the first step is my reading the entire manuscript and then a phone call to discuss which directions the editing might take, followed by a written editorial report. Along with that is an estimate for the entire edit, with fixed maximums for the different stages of editing.

Nicholas Croce - Literary Agent with the Croce Agency

2008-12-02T14:28:00.003-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Nicholas?

I've been in book publishing for about 10 years, first as an editor, then as a manager. I started as an editor at the literary journals Conceptions Southwest and Blue Mesa Review and went on to work in the editorial department at John Wiley & Sons. After that I became managing editor at mid-sized New York publisher. I eventually started my own eponymous house, which was named by Writers Digest as one of the top 50 publishers for first-time authors. The Bob Grant Show, Men's Health magazine, Inc. magazine, ABC and CNN and others all covered my books. Building on that experience I started the agency in 2007.

What makes your agency different than any others?

I like to think of us as "author" representatives, as the agency tag reads, not just representatives of individual titles. I look for career-spanning relationships and have a comprehensive approach to representation. I help my authors develop their manuscripts and continue with selling the remaining rights to their projects after publication as well as try to aim their future books in the right direction.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

I'd like to see more genre fiction with fresh (and I stress "fresh") angles and characters. New approaches to categories such as chick lit, mystery, suspense, horror have so much potential for series and franchises, especially now in today's platform-agnostic book world. I'd also like to see more narrative nonfiction. There's a lot of film potential there at the moment.

Nicholas what are you tired of receiving?

I get a lot of literary fiction. It's wonderful to read but very hard to sell so it really has to stand out. In general though I don't like to see submissions that are sloppy or unprofessional. It reflects poorly on the writer. For me, the quality of the submission carries nearly equal weight to that of the writing. After all, I work with authors as much as I do their books so professionalism is important.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

Author credentials and platform are key for nonfiction. Are you an expert in the field? Where can you promote your book? For fiction I look first for a unique author voice, more so than story. You can edit a story but voice, in my opinion, is something you're born with. On the more practical side do your research. It's not enough to just have a wonderful book any more. Study the competition and explain why your wonderful book is different from and better than all the other wonderful books out there. Finally, stake your category. While it may be innovative to straddle genres it also dilutes your book and makes it very hard to sell to an editor and then a Barnes & Noble that can only place it on one shelf.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

Open communication is important in any author/agent relationship. I believe that. I almost always respond to my authors immediately. However, understand my workload. As an agent I get shovels of email a day so gratuitous questions can quickly become disrespectful and unproductive for everyone.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Nicholas that they don't seem to?

Please understand that I carefully read every submission, which is why it takes so long to respond. Occasionally it takes more than my four-to-six week estimate. Writers should know that a delayed response is in no way a sign of disrespect or disinterest, but rather the opposite.

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

Everything should go through email. I used to receive submissions by snail mail but after my slush pile grew bigger than me I set up submissions@thecroceagency.com.

Don't forget to Watch!

2008-12-02T14:20:00.003-05:00

Don't forget to watch Hallmark Hall of Fame movie on CBS Dec. 7^th based on a book, Front of the Class, by literary agent Sharlene Martin's first time author, Brad Cohen. For more information go to: www.ClassPerformance.com

It's a real fairy tale story…..

Cheryl Kaye Tardif - Author Interview Part 2

2008-12-02T14:14:00.002-05:00

There were a few things that were recommended to me by others that I found to be a total waste of time:

One recommendation was to focus on the controversial angle of assisted suicide in one of my novels, and try to become known as an expert on that topic. Honestly, this doesn't work for fiction unless the author is already an expert in that field. People who read fiction want fiction. If you write non-fiction, then you'll have a more easily defined platform and can go this route. Fiction readers want the story to be believable, but they don't want an in-your-face platform, and after many early attempts to situate myself on this particular topic, I realized that I am not comfortable with sharing my views, and I'll never be an expert on assisted suicide. I did however convince one organization to promote my novel on their website, since it does deal partly with the topic of assisted suicide. The novel is Whale Song and there are definite benefits to reading it if you have experienced death, loss and grief. Whale Song also explores topics of bullying in school, racism, sacrifice, forgiveness and much more, but I would not profess to be an expert on any of these topics, although I will speak about this when I do school talks--if appropriate.

Another recommendation was to mail the libraries an information package on a new release. I found this to take up far too much time and it was far too costly, with very little results. After I sent a few dozen with nothing to show for it, I started emailing libraries instead. I found I received far more interest this way, and it didn't cost me anything but time. My emails also resulted in invitations from local area libraries to speak to various groups.

How were you able to book so many book signings year after year?

I am pleased to say I have a very good reputation as an author and promoter in the Edmonton area. Some store managers have said I'm the only local author who really sells much; some have said I'm their favorite (even though they shouldn't have favorites); and some have said I am one of few authors that comes prepared to sell and then does it; and one local store only allowed me to sign books, no other authors. I think that all of this says a lot. I've worked hard to create good relationships with store staff and to be an author that requires little work on their part.

My first signings were done professionally from the start. I had bookmarks and business cards made, a table cloth, posters for some of the stores (those that would put them up), and I invited everyone I knew. Very few of my invitees showed up, which left me with the regular customers. The very first signing taught me that, outside of a book launch party, I could not rely on those I invited, and that everyone who walked through the doors were MY customers, my invitees--whether they knew it or not. That is how I look at every signing. I don't need a lineup as soon as I get there. That would be icing, but the real cake are the hundreds of people who walk through the doors during the time I'm there. In my mind, they're there to meet me, learn more about my books and buy some. lol

I also consider myself an extension of every store I'm in. For those 3 or 4 hours I am part of the staff (again, in my mind), so I welcome people to the store, help them if I can, plus tell them why I'm there. If I am at a table near the doors, I prefer to be the only "staff" there so that I'm not fighting to catch the attention of customers with some poor girl handing out coupons. I become the greeter, and if I can I'll hand out the coupons myself, tell them of any specials and show them my books. I find this approach works best for all. Customers don't get mobbed, the real staff can walk the floors, and I get to do what I love--meet people and talk about my books. :)

It is because of what I do at a signing and how I do it that I am asked by managers to come back and do more signings. Some have called me to find out when I'm coming back. I'm usually one of the first authors they'll call if they're having a huge event too. I believe that's because they know I'm genuine around people, I consistently sell books, and I'm easy to work with. All I need is a table near the entrance, a comfortable chair and my books.

Tip: The best time for book signings is October to December. Christmas shoppers are looking for affordable gifts, espeically now.

I've written a couple of articles on book signings:

Book Signings Are Your Best Friends and Book Signings - Do I Sit or Stand?

What are the specific first steps in getting booked at a bookstore?

Dress for success. Before meeting store managers, dress the part of a successful author. Semi-casual is perfect.

Introduce yourself to store managers. I think the best thing I did in the early days was go into my local bookstores and introduce myself to store managers. I told them who I was and what I'd written.

Show managers your book. I showed them my novel and let them browse through it. Some wanted to read it first before commiting to a signing, so I left a few samples. Let them keep it and encourage them to pass it on to other staff members. You want them hand selling to customers, and that only happens when they have read or know about your book.

Show them you know the business by asking smart questions. I asked which days were the busiest, which days were best for signings, how close to Christmas they'd book authors, and what could I do to ensure a good signing.

Find out how other author signings have gone. I asked what their other authors sold on average, or what the last author sold. The numbers were mostly low and I knew I could do better. I told them that. "I believe I can sell more."

Respect the manager's time. Keep your first meeting brief and to the point. Let them know that you know they're busy and make sure it's a convenient time to talk to them. I found I had more success popping by unannounced than trying to set up appointments.

Cheryl Kaye Tardif - Author Interview Part 1

2008-12-02T14:12:00.002-05:00

You're known as one of the most savvy authors in the business, does that trait come natural or did you have to work at it?

Gosh, thank you, Jeff. I'm not sure if I'd call myself savvy or just plain stubborn. I refuse to give up on something I love doing, which is writing. I believe it is every author's responsibility to do everything they can to ensure the success of their work, otherwise they'll only have regrets. I don't want to look back and think "Crap, I should've sent my books to Oprah." So I mailed them to her as each was published. She's never replied, but at least I did it. And I'm not giving up. One day I will catch her attention! :)

Much of my business sense comes from the different types of careers and jobs I've held over the years. My job background has been richly varied and gave me experience in advertising, marketing, copy writing, direct sales, telemarketing (don't hate me, people--it was a job), management, and motivational speaking. Even then, I had to learn how to be good at these things mostly on my own. I was the youngest salon owner back in the mid-80s and I had no one to teach me how to run it. I made it more successful than it had ever been, mostly because I was creative. I have been self-employed in various business ventures over the years, which is where I learned a lot about self-promotion.

I think I have a natural sense of creativity and a flare for the dramatic. I also have the ability to imagine very clearly how I would like something to work. Then I go after finding out how to make it happen. I've been practicing the "law of attraction" before I ever knew that's what it was called. There are so many tools available, especially online, that authors who want to learn how to market their books CAN. It does take work, lots of it. It's not always easy, but then again, nothing in life worth having ever comes easily. It takes dedication; you can't just try twice and then give up. If something doesn't work, find out why. Then do it again, only this time learn from mistakes and do it better. If I didn't truly believe all this and that I could learn how to market my books consistently better with each one, I wouldn't be an author who has published 4 novels and has a New York agent pitching the next one. When it comes to marketing, I am ALWAYS learning how to do more, and how to do better.

What have you found works in book promotion and what is a total waste of time?

There are many things that work and for me some of my favorites are:

Virtual book tours or VBTs - The VBT I held in August 2007 made my latest novel Whale Song an overnight success and Amazon bestseller, and it has continued to sell steadily ever since. This VBT also brought success to my other novels--The River and Divine Intervention--as a result. Virtual book tours can be very effective, but they must be done right. That means they need to be organized and advertised properly so that readers can find these events and feel like they're participating. One of the common mistakes I've seen when authors do a VBT is that they don't keep a schedule, so readers have no idea where to go each day. VBTs are not difficult to organize but they do take time and diligence. I've written an article on how to organize a virtual book tour (aka guest blogging, virtual author tour, online book tour...) that explains step-by-step what I did that resulted in a very successful VBT.

Online social networking groups - Getting involved with social networks such as Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, MySpace and Facebook result in one of the best marketing tools an author can have--word of mouth advertising. These networks encourage relationships. This is where an author can meet readers, chat with them and enjoy the company of other booklovers and authors. This is where readers go to find new books and new authors. I've written a 5-part article that shows authors how they can use online social networks as part of their marketing strategies.

Blogging regularly - Having a blog that is updated at least a few times a week has the ability to interest and hold onto readers. I try to give an assortment of tidbits, from sharing news to sharing some of the reviews I've received, and also to write about myself so that my readers and fans get to know more about me. Blogging is something I recommend to anyone who enjoys writing. In fact at a recent book signing a woman told me she'd been thinking of writing a book but was unsure whether she was any good as a writer or if she could even do it. I suggested that she start a blog, experiment, gain some readers, get some feedback. Blogs are a vital tool, next to an author's website.

Book reviewers - I found it very worthwhile to send out review copies to book reviewers, most of them just avid book readers. I contacted Amazon Top Reviewers, found other reviewers online, and used the social networks above to find people who would read my novels and review them on various review sites. Sales resulted from these reviews, from their recommendations and from comments left on review pages.

Literary Agent, Alyssa Eisner Henkin from Trident Literary Group Answers...

2008-12-02T13:32:00.002-05:00

ALYSSA, HOW CAN A SIGNED WRITER KEEP YOUR ATTENTION WITHOUT DRIVING YOU CRAZY?

When I sign up a client he or she does not need to work to stay on my radar screen—he or she is there by function of being my client! I pride myself on being able to respond to his or her needs in a timely manner. If the project needs editorial work, as many projects do, before going out to editors on submission, I aim to get that client my editorial feedback as quickly as possible so that he or she doesn't loose time in waiting to revise the project. And once projects are out the door, I always keep clients abreast of editorial feedback and passes, as well as deals, so that they have a record of who has read their work. Once a client's work has sold and he or she is in the revising phases, I'm always on hand to make sure the relationship with the client's editor is going well. Since I used to be an editor I know how the publication side of the process works well, and so I'm able to give my two cents on marketing, jacket treatment, publicity, sequel ideas, and a variety of other things that often ensure a book's success in the marketplace.

GumboWriters Interview with Publishing Attorney, Daniel Steven #1

2008-12-01T11:42:00.004-05:00

GumboWriters had the opportunity to talk with Publishing Attorney, Daniel Steven. We asked him the difference between a publishing attorney and an agent and if you even need a literary agent anymore. Here's what he had to say ...

Jeff Rivera: Tell me a little bit about yourself and tell me what you specialize in and maybe a little bit about some of the people you have worked with or the type of projects you have worked on.

Daniel Steven: Well, I am a publishing attorney with a background in publishing as an editor and as a publisher. I was in a publishing company that I ran at the end which had P&L of about $28 million. It was a nonfiction publishing only professional. It was a division of RI, Research Institute of America which is part of the Thompson Corporation which is a big multinational. And I have also of course practiced law for almost 35 years so I have been on both sides of the publishing coin because I am also an author as you know Jeff. I have written four books with three books and coauthored one. Two of them novels, one is a textbook and one is an informative book for writers along with Jenna Glatzer.

So, there is very little that I have not seen in publishing either from the author side or from the publisher side. I have reviewed hundreds and hundreds of publishing agreements, have written them myself of course when I was in the publishing days and have acquired books as an editor. That is about it. I mean well I teach writing, I teach, I lecture and I am panelist to writers groups on the business of writing. I do some agenting for existing clients. I do not hold myself out as an agent because I do not need a 150 queries a week but I do, when I have a referral to me that looks that it somebody, someone I could represent as an agent, I do so but that is not my main business. I mean all publishing attorneys will end up doing some agenting, which is it just goes with the territory but if we wanted to be agents, we would be agents.

Jeff Rivera: Right.

Daniel Steven: So, that is a different thought.

Jeff Rivera: Well, let me ask you this because things are changing so much in the publishing industry. Why should someone maybe choose or should they choose maybe an attorney over an agent or in addition to an agent?

Daniel Steven: Well, I do not really think you have to choose. Instead I think if you have a good agent or a good publishing attorney, either one is going to do exactly the same thing if they know what they are doing. They are going to place the manuscript with editors who will hopefully buy the book. It is the third option where there was some kind of situation that you need both an agent and publishing attorney and basically, that depends of the size of the deal. If you have the typical first novel contract or a typical $10,000 to $15,000 advance or less, the issues are not usually there. Any competent agent should be able to help you although I have found that many agents are willfully ignorant of many of the legal aspects of publishing agreements. They just follow what they knew, what they were told as editors because most agents of course are former editors. But if you have a chance for a bigger deal, then it definitely behooves you to get somewhat a legal eye as well as an agent, unless the agent is an attorney in which case…

Jeff Rivera: Right.

Daniel Steven: You are fine. There are people like that who are either have been attorneys or educated, have law degrees and are full time agents and that is the best of both worlds really. But it depends on the person.

Jeff Rivera: Well, does it not save an author money though in a sense because I mean with a publishing attorney, I know that you have a great kind of system that you look on a flat rate for specific things. Does it not save an author money to pay a flat rate for someone to negotiate the contract or review contract rather than to continue to pay royalties and what not to an agent?

Daniel Steven: If you have the book placed, of course or you can place it yourself. Remember that the agent, if it is simply the issue of negotiation then you are always better of with the publishing attorney, but if the issue is can the publishing attorney get you the book sold; and some can, some cannot. Some do not do that; as I said I do it because I have contacts in the publishing industry for certain genres of books. I would not attempt to try to sell for instance a romance book because I do not know any romance editors. So, if you have a romance book, and if you have a good agent who is familiar with that genre, it is still worthwhile to have an agent because a contract is, you have to get the book sold in order to have a contract. But if you are able to place the book yourself, then absolutely you are better off paying a flat fee to a lawyer or an hourly rate depending on the lawyer instead of taking 15%, having the agent take 15% for the duration of the book being in the print.

GumboWriters Interview with Agent, Jamie Brenner with Artists and Artisans

2008-12-01T11:07:00.002-05:00

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Jamie?

I've been in book publishing for 12 years. I've been an agent since early 2007. I had been scouting for film companies prior to that. Part of my job as a film scout was meeting with different agents to see what projects they had that might work for film. That's how I met Adam Chromy, my colleague at Artists and Artisans. One day he called me about a book project and we started talking and ...I started working for him about a week later. Best professional decision I ever made.

What makes your agency different than any others?

I think Adam's background and attitude make it different. He has a business background and that makes him extremely strategic in the way he approaches an author's career. He understands branding and the big picture more than anyone I've ever met. We understand that the decisions we make for an author today aren't just about the one book we happen to be trying to sell at the moment, but that each move will have an impact on the future. We also encourage and help authors to learn how to be their own best publicists/brand developer -- not to wait for the publisher or an outside publicists to do that for them.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

I'm looking for fiction that bridges commercial and literary. I like stories about moral crossroads, passion, betrayal, suburban ennui. I like things that are slightly dark and edgy. I am always interested in a coming of age story set against a unique background.

Jamie what are you tired of receiving?

I'm tired of stories about women in their twenties trying to get a guy in a big city. Those stories have merit, but they have been done to death and I just can't get excited about them.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

Email a great query. And by great, I mean that they are able to convey the hook of their story within the first two paragraphs of the email.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

My clients have all been pretty great about trusting me to get things done. I always welcome a call or email to check in. When I am going out with a client's project, I try to explain the process so they know what to expect in terms of updates and I try to understand what they need to make them feel comfortable as well. Some people need more hand holding than others, and I understand that.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Jamie that they don't seem to?

Great question. I think writers need to understand the extreme volume of material that we have to read at any given time. It's not just submissions -- it's our clients manuscripts and revisions or maybe an article they are writing that they want an opinion on. When I pass on a manuscript, I just don't have time to a detailed critique of what isn't working. Sometimes I do, but only if I think the manuscript is really close and I see very clearly what could be done to improve it. I also think writers need to remember that this is a business, not a resource for workshopping their project. I also wish writers would know that every agent I know truly loves books and writers, and we take no pleasure in passing on manuscripts. We wish we could sell everything that crosses our desks!

What's the best way for a writer to reach you?

Email: jamie@artistsandartisans.com. And please, please don't call about what kind of work our agency represents. Our website has all that info: www.artistsandartisans.com

GumboWriters Interview with Publisher, Jeremy Townsend from PublishingWorks

2008-12-01T10:37:00.002-05:00

What is Publishing Works exactly?
We call ourselves an independent publisher because we work very closely with each author independently. In some cases we develop an idea for a book or series with an author. Also we handle every aspect of publishing, including the distribution and sales. That's very unusual for a small press.

When did you begin and where do you see the company going?

I've been in book publishing since 1981, and started PublishingWorks in 2003 originally as a subsidy press for local authors. We rapidly grew and changed our model to include standard contracts and rights sales. We incorporated in 2007 and bought out our sister company, Revolution Booksellers, to bring the marketing, publicity and sales in house. We also added a digital color printer and now have a digital black & white printer, a perfect binder, and full design staff to handle ARCs and small runs of poetry or memoirs.

We are working to expand our sales efforts by adding traveling sales representation next year. We want to be able to service independent booksellers more readily and with fewer hassles and returns.

What makes Publishing Works different than any other publishing company?

We approach each author and project individually, and specialize in bringing out debut authors. And we don't abandon our authors after the first book. Instead, we strive to build a long-term relationship with each author.

How are you modifying your business decisions based on the rapid changes in the publishing industry?

We feel we are somewhat ahead of the game because our business model is different from most other small and medium presses, so we are not modifying as much as continuing with what is working. We are moving (slowly) into eBooks, but do not see that growing too much in the coming year.

What do you see most of the publishing industry doing wrong and what are you doing to rectify the situation?

I've always been amazed at the amount of money book publishers will throw towards "established" authors in terms of advances and advertising budgets, while neglecting the unknown but potentially good selling authors. We work with our authors to find the best way to get a book out and into the marketplace, and rely on our authors to do a great deal of marketing and sales work. We also develop our contracts to be mutually beneficial. The standard contract most publishers use is outdated and not at all motivating to the author or publisher.

Is Publishing Works a POD publisher or a vanity press in any way?

We do have the facilities to do very short runs for poetry or memoirs (that are not for retail). We have not done POD books, however, because we are really too small for that type of production, and there are plenty of outfits out there who can offer services like that for very little money.

We are not in any way a vanity press; however, we do different types of contract arrangements depending on the author's experience, the type of book, and what rights the author wants to retain.

What type of books are you looking for at Publishing Works and what type of authors?

We are open to almost everything! We are looking for more mysteries, middle reader series (especially those aimed at boys, African Americans, or other "neglected" groups of readers), as well as quality nonfiction. As I mentioned above, we need authors who are go-getters and willing to put themselves out there to push their books. They can't be shy!

How do writers contact you if they're interested in submitting?
E-mail or phone is best: jeremy@publishingworks.com or 603-778-9883. We will first want to know about the writer, then see some samples or a synopsis of the proposed project. We also need to find out what the writer's goals are and how he/she plans to meet those goals, and where a publisher would fit in.