Tuesday Lunchbox Forum

Agents 101 – The Basics

August 25, 2009

 

Mary Rosenblum:  I wanted to talk about agents this morning. As  the publishing world changes, agents are becoming both more and less important in the overall scheme of things.   A lot of books are going to move to ebooks and small, print on demand publishers.  The agents are already nearly universally the gatekeepers of the big traditional -- mostly New York -- publishers.  That does not mean that you cannot market your work directly to the NY houses.  But it is going to require some specific work on your part in order to do that.  A very few publishers will accept 'over the transom', that is, unsolicited, submissions from authors, but generally, you’re going to wait one to two years to hear back from them, unless your book gets rejected instantly for really bad writing or formatting.  

Alas, we are also developing a major gap in legal aid here.  People are signing contracts with small publishers without legal advice and without really understanding what they're signing.  This leads to some really unfortunate results.
Wait  a second.. you send in a proposal..then a two year wait to hear if it is a go or not??
Mary Rosenblum:  If you send it to a major NY publisher who accepts 'over the transom' submissions, David. That's not true for agented work.   I would not advise a new writer to submit to a major NY house on his or her own.  You're better served to spend the energy acquiring an agent.  It is daunting to query agents. You're going to do a LOT of querying and get a LOT of 'no thanks'.
[Mary Rosenblum ] 10:12 am: But you want an agent to say no if he/she isn't going to spend a lot of time selling your work, so those honest 'no thanks' are to your benefit.  And you have to be a consumer, and a savvy one.

 A whole cottage industry has sprung up -- 'agencies' that prey on novice writers.  They have nice letterhead.  They sound very professional.  They often buy mailing lists from writers magazines or vendors that sell, say, writing software. They send out a very nice letter. 'A friend in the publishing business suggested that you might be looking for an agent. Allow us to offer our services'.  They imply that they're very selective, but they'll look at your manuscript.  Now if you have been sending work around, why not believe that one of those editor saw promise and contacted these folk?  In reality, they'll charge you to send your mss to every publisher in the phone book, regardless of whether they even publish what you write, and they'll charge you for each submission.
So how do you really query?
You go to the Association of Authors Representatives website.
That's the professional association of agents. They have a FAQ page that explains what an agent does and what questions to ask.  You can find member contact information on the website, but also use the market list books to find agent listings.  Not all agents want their contact info on the AAR website, especially those, like my agent, who only accept new writers on a very limited basis.
Business in NY is done over lunch.  You want an agent who lives in or near NYC.  Some agents do live as far out as Philly and commute by train to Manhattan once or twice a week. Or they live in New Jersey. But Ohio, Texas, Oregon...no. They don't have the face to face lunch-time that gives those Manhattan agents the edge.
What are the odds of finding (and pitching to) a "reputable" agent at a writing conference?
Mary Rosenblum:  About as good as sending in a by mail query, Gail. What I see is that a lot of agents (and agents are mostly very nice people) hate to turn people down to their face. So if your pitch is publishable at all, they'll often agree to look at the mss.  Most of them, from what I’ve heard back from conference participants, end up rejecting those mss. So it's not a guaranteed yes if the agent agrees to look at it. But you also get right-now feedback on your pitch and you can ask questions. Which you can't with a by-mail query. I think they're well worth it for the novice writer.
If a writer lives far away (days drive plus) from NYC would he she need to go to NYC and take prospective agent to lunch to have descent shot?
Mary Rosenblum:  David, agents do work through the mail and by fax and internet. If your distant agent is publishing clients regularly through one or more of the NY publishers, then she has a relationship with that publisher. And if it suits your book, it's fine.  But she may not have a strong relationship with any other publisher.  Also, some very well known agents may move out of Manhattan after some time. And they keep up their relationships. You need to look at who the agent has published recently and for what houses. If your agent won't divulge his/her client list I would worry. A lot.
I recently gave a thumbs up to an agent a student had queried.  That agent lived in Boston. But he had been a Knopf editor for years and knew everybody.  The publishers he had a working relationship with suited the student's book. That was a good match.
I’ve come across some writers who have self published books. Would they not be at big disadvantage versus those who went to an agent?

Mary Rosenblum:  No legitimate agent will handle a self published book, David.
I saw that at the last conference I went to. It was the end of the day, Donald Maass clearly wanted to go home, and a new writer went up and asked if he could send his manuscript. His facial expression was enough to tell me he wasn't interested, but he said sure - send it to him.
Mary Rosenblum:  Yeah, Sonya, I've seen that happen. He didn't want an argument, he was tired, he wanted his dinner. It was easier to deal with it at the office.

If attending a conference to pitch a MS to an agent or publisher, what should a writer bring with them? The MS, obviously, but what else?
Mary Rosenblum:  Gail, you can leave the mss at home!  Who wants to pay extra baggage fees to lug paper back to New York?  An agent might ask you to send the mss. What is MUCH more important is a prepared 2 minute pitch. That's as much as they're likely to want.
Sounds  like spending the money for conferences if the goal is getting an agent is a lost cause
Mary Rosenblum:  If your only reason to go to a conference is to get an agent, jrp, save your money.  Conferences offer a LOT more than that! A good one is well worth the money, but that's another forum!
Nothing gimmicky, just a knock-out 2-minute pitch?
Mary Rosenblum:  Gail, you can bring a synopsis, but more importantly, be prepared to deliver that synopsis, less than five minutes.  An agent is going to want to know what your book is like and what readership it's going to appeal to.  The brief synopsis will tell him/her enough, but have the paper copy in case he/she is in a rush and says, 'give it to me, I'll read it after dinner'.
So do you think it's worth it to sign up for pitch sessions with editors and agents?
Mary Rosenblum:  Yep, Gail.  You get an agent's professional feedback. Why isn't he going to say yes? If he tells you that you miss the market that your YA won't work with that older character, you've gotten some useful feedback.  If he tells you it's great but nobody is buying this right now, more useful feedback. If he tells you send it, he might take you on.
So how do we find a reputable agent?  

Mary Rosenblum:  Jrp...you find a reputable agent by looking through the market lists for agents, deciding if they handle the type of book you're writing, and then querying them.  I recommend that all novice writers stick to agents who ARE members of AAR. They have a code of ethics and must abide by it. If they are NOT members, why not? Oh, some will give you nice reasons why not, but most legit agents are members and scammers are not.
Mary Rosenblum:  Sonya, looking at the bookstore shelf is not a good guide.  Those books were mostly bought two years ago.  Looking at 'publishing mags' that list books acquired is one way to find out what's hot in NY right now.

How much (if any portion) of the pitch should be: I'm the best choice of writer to write *this* book?

How do we know what publishers are buying?   If you're writing a nonfiction book, you need credentials. This happened to me. This happened to my brother. I'm a world expert on this.  If you're writing fiction, focus on the story. That's critical.  Your credentials are usually secondary.
How do we locate "publishing mags-books acquired" on the internet?
Mary Rosenblum:  Google around. Publishers Weekly should have some of that info.  Locus is the gold standard in the SF universe.  Historical Novel Society for historical fiction.
Credentials? Is this something other than previously published writing?
Mary Rosenblum:  Well, lady, for example, my friend Anne write a mystery set in a zoo. She's a career zookeeper.  While that did not sell her book to Poisoned Pen, it probably was a factor as the editor considered the book.
Mary, author Carrie Vaughn over at Genreality yesterday said that her short fiction credits helped get her a better response from agents when she was querying. Do you see short fiction credits helping in this way with agents who handle sf/fantasy/horror novels?
Mary Rosenblum:  Absolutely, Dale.  That was true with me, too.  I had a solid reputation with short fiction, quite a lot of strong critical reviews. It made it much easier for me to acquire an agent.
Regarding the latest publishing trends...I "follow" several publishers and editors on Twitter, and keep an eye on what they're currently reading and commenting on. Twitter isn't just about "what I had for breakfast." It's a wonderful tool for many media and businesses to stay atop current trends and issues.
Mary Rosenblum:  That's definitely true, Gail. And so are publisher blogs and agent blogs. Just take all posts with a sprinkle of salt. :-)  Every agent and editor is always positive that this is The RIght Thing.... And they often totally contradict each other. They are only human.
You're SO right! I've noticed the contradictions on several occasions.
Mary Rosenblum:  But the publishing world is very tight right now. Short fiction publications are a good thing if you're pitching fiction.

Mary, if the story is in a regional setting - the south, Appalachia, the west..can one have any hope that a NY City agent would be interested. And are there any regional options?

 Mary Rosenblum:  JRP, New York publishers are ONLY interested in what readers want.  If your Appalachian story is one they think readers would love, they'll buy it in a heartbeat.  But if you don't connect with a big house, then by all means look at regional publishers.  The small press world is really growing, courtesy of cheap Print on Demand technology. Another writer friend of mine has had good success publishing her two books on Oregon history with a regional small press house.
Are you referring mainly to SF as short fiction or are earthlings represented, too?
Mary Rosenblum:  Oh, I'm talking about all genres, unless I specifically mention one in particular, Jrp.  Nonfiction tends to do things a bit differently, but there, your nonfiction publishing credits are equally important.

 Can you look into your crystal ball and comment on what the future may hold for novice novelists with the advent of the EBM & Espresso book-making machines? Better odds of publishing contracts, perhaps?
Mary Rosenblum:  I think it's part of the trend we're now seeing, Gail. That is, a decentralization of publishing, where authors publish in much smaller venues, but publishing is much easier.  Sales figures are going to depend a lot more on personal advertising and word of mouth propagation. The numbers will likely be small for most people, but books can stay in print indefinitely.  And agents will probably see a reduction in numbers as fewer people publish with the big houses.  However, we have a gap that needs to be filled here in terms of the agent's role. That is in contract vetting.  Agents are vital. You own a LOT of writes when you complete a mss.  If you are not educated about rights you can lose most of them by signing that first contract.
An agent keeps you from making those mistakes -- that's why you want a GOOD agent. But agents won't handle small press publishing right now. Not enough money in it for them, since they don’t offer big advances.  I have seen some contracts that curl my hair!
Hopefully, we'll see more publishing attorneys who take on work by the piece.  Daniel Stevens does that now. I've referred several people to him with troubling contracts.
I think the writer's guild has legal assistance for contracts. I that service helpful at all?
Mary Rosenblum:  You mean Authors Guild?  I haven't used theirs. My agent takes care of my contract stuff.
  They have a strong legal department.
But Mary, did you have an agent when you were just starting with short fiction?
Mary Rosenblum:  You have no reason to have an agent for short fiction, moosie.
So those contracts aren't so carnivorous?
Mary Rosenblum:  Not usually.  You can submit your own work. Contracts are pretty straightforward. Why pay 15% of not a lot of money to someone?  You should educate yourself on what you own and what you do and do not want to part with. SFWA has excellent copyright information on their website.  I do Forums and articles on rights all the time.  Rights, Rights, Rights, What Do You Own?
Mary, tell us how you got your agent and how long did it take? you to find someone to represent you. How long had you been writing?
Mary Rosenblum:  JRP, I’d been publishing in Asimov's and F&SF and the like for about a year. Several stories. I was getting nice reviews in Locus and other review mags. I started querying agents when I had completed a novel mss. I think I got turned down by three or four before I got a yes. That agent got AIDS and quit the business, and I then was picked up by my current agent.
Now I only got three or four 'no thanks' but I was publishing in the top mags and getting VERY nice reviews by the critics. If you're not kind of in the spotlight like that you should expect, these days, about 20 no thanks. That's been the experience of people I’ve talked to recently.  But one person, who got the 'yes' on her 20th turn down, and then had her agented novel turned down by most of the publishers, eventually ended up in an auction and is doing quite well with the series now. The moral of this story is --  never let yourself get discouraged enough to quit.
Mary, to loop back to the beginning of your talk-I know of a couple of authors who successfully found an editor (from Tor no less) to accept their respective manuscripts after attending World Fantasy back in '01. From what you were saying about the current lengthy wait times at publishing houses, is meeting an editor at an event like World Fantasy no longer a viable approach for getting your novel consideration? Better to go with querying agents?
Mary Rosenblum:  Oh it's a perfectly valid approach, Dale.  If you can go to the conferences and conventions, you can indeed get into a conversation with an editor and get a 'send it to me' request.  You have to use social grace though. You get a real negative response when you pounce on someone in the hall and shove a mss at him of her! A conversation over the beer you just bought for him/her is a much better idea.  And then you can by pass the agent. If the editor decides to buy the book you won't have much trouble finding an agent to represent it. :-)

Should I send off queries one at a time, or can I send out a lot together?
Mary Rosenblum:  Read their submission guidelines, lady.  I'd send off about twenty at a time. :-) But some agents for some reason, have 'no simultaneous subs' in their submissions guidelines. Whether you mind their little rule or not is up to you. I probably would not, scofflaw that I am. :-)
Do read the Association of Authors Representatives FAQ page. I'ts a must read education. http://www.aaronline.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=10336  And always feel free to send a copy of a contract to me...the Newsletter is full of email links!  Remember that what one agent tells you is the 'only way' to send in a pitch, another agent will totally contradict. So I figure there's no one perfect way.
Remember:   http://www.aaronline.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=10336