An Agent's Time

Why are there never enough hours in the day? I know everyone feels this way and I’m certainly no different, however as I watch the submission piles grow and the equeries come in I sometimes wonder what I do all day. How come I can’t get any of it done? So out of curiosity I tracked myself. How long do things actually take around here. Keep in mind this is not necessarily one day’s list, but an idea of how long different projects might take me.

• Reading and responding to 25 equeries: 1 1/2 hours on a Sunday morning
• Reading and editing the first 100 pages of a client’s next project, including sending it back with a letter: 3 hours
• Reading and editing a client’s proposal (synopsis for three books only): 1 hour
• Attending the BookEnds weekly meeting: 45 minutes
• Reading daily publishing news that comes to me through email: 10 to 20 minutes (depending on how many links I click through)
• Breakfast with a client: 4 hours (including travel time)
• Introductory phone call with an editor newly assigned to my client: 15 minutes
• Receiving a phone call from an editor with an offer: 10 minutes
• Calling and telling a client that she’s just made her first deal: 15 very excited minutes
• Read Publishers Weekly: 20 minutes
• Writing a blog post: 20 minutes
• Brainstorming phone call/career discussion with client: 1 hour, 20 minutes
• Reviewing a contract from a publisher: 1 hour, 30 minutes
• Lunch with an editor: 3 hours, 30 minutes (including travel time)
• Career planning conversation with client: 40 minutes

So there you have it. A peek into what I do with my time.

Jessica

A Home for Latina Writers

Is there much of a market of Latina writers? I should clarify that I do not write chicano literature nor do I write my stories in Spanish. I don't write "chica-lit," either, a la Dirty Girls Social Club. I do not have a political or social agenda, and my writing reflects that. I am not interested in advocating immigrant rights; if I did, I'd be a sociologist or a politician--and I still probably wouldn't know what the right solution is. All I want to do is to take my readers to another country and introduce them to another culture and its people, while we're there, we'd enjoy a story with Latin magic. We would remain in Central America until the story ends, of course. If we talk about genre, foreign culture not withstanding, it would probably fit in General Fiction--or Women's Fiction. FYI, while immigrants do bring some of their culture with them, we must remember that with time it loses its authenticity as it melds with other cultures--they don't remain pure for very long. I'm not interested in telling stories about this process. I find it boring. I like to tell about the 'real' people that live their lives in oblivion of the United States. No offense meant. And, since you are on the other side of an agent's desk, I'd like to ask if this is a bad time in the market for Latin stories and their writers. Are the editors you know even remotely interested in this kind of fiction? How about editors in general?

Oh my goodness, yes! Absolutely. I meet with editors all the time who are actively acquiring Latina lit in all varieties. While some are looking for books set in Central America or other Latin countries, I believe a huge number of them are looking for books featuring Latina culture here in the United States, and that doesn’t mean it can’t be very cultural. I think the challenge you’re up against is that most editors are looking for stories of Latinas here in the U.S. Does that mean you can’t set it in another country? Not at all, it just means that the job you are facing might be a little more challenging and that the writing might need to be a little more literary.

And don’t discount Latinas here in the U.S. Writing a story of the culture clash many have faced and continue to face can be just as interesting as the “real” people you’re talking about.

Multicultural fiction is always very popular. I speak with editors regularly who are looking for it and the genre you’re targeting—general fiction or women’s fiction—is perfect.

Jessica

Rejected by Your Own Agent

The reason for this email is, I'm a little (okay, a lot) heart sick over the fact that my agent has turned down my most recent book. I'm feeling embarrassed and I'm starting to think, oh my gosh, what if I lost my mojo? What if she's sorry she signed me?

Can you tell me what it really means since my brain is clogged at the moment? Have you ever had to do this?

I should also mention that we have one ms on submission at the moment.

I’m so sorry to hear that. It is very frustrating and very scary when you feel like your agent might no longer be on your side. I’m afraid though that this is an impossible question for me to answer. The only one who can really answer this question is your agent. You still have something on submission so that’s a good thing. As long as she’s actively working on that submission it means she believes in you and your work and is working on your behalf.

I think the first thing you need to do is find out exactly why she rejected your most recent book. Does she think you lost your mojo? Does she think it’s the wrong direction for you? What’s missing? I’m sure my clients will happily pipe up to share stories of all the books or proposals they’ve written that I’ve rejected. In no way has it meant that I’ve rejected them, but many times it means that for whatever reason I think they could do better. Either the book paled in comparison to their other works or wasn’t up to the standards I knew they could write. Sometimes it was the hook. Whether it’s a fresh submission or a new change in career direction, hook is important. Was it a hook that would propel them in the direction we were both seeking to go?

There are millions of reasons an agent might reject a client’s work and the only way to know why is to ask. From that point you have to determine the next steps yourself. Do you agree with the agent? Do you want to stick with the agent? Ultimately only you and your agent can address your concerns.

Jessica

Is the Kindle the Wave of the Future?

It seems like it’s the only thing book people talk about, the Amazon Kindle, the Sony Reader, and how they’ve changed their lives. From editors, authors, and agents we hear about the revolution of ebooks and how paper books are coming to an end. But is that really the case?

I have jumped on the Kindle bandwagon and I’ll admit that so far, so good. It’s not perfect and you can tell it’s not made by Apple (of which I’m a huge fan), it’s just not that fancy. It doesn’t have the bells and whistles that an Apple "ibook" would probably have. But it works and it works remarkably well. I haven’t yet used mine to read a purchased book, but I have used it to read a number of manuscripts and it’s made my life so much easier. Just imagine traveling with one small book containing four manuscripts rather than shipping the manuscripts to my destination (which is what I used to do).

What has been really interesting to me is the reaction of others when I tell them about my Kindle. One friend, a real techie (he waited in line for hours for his iPhone the day it was released) immediately asked me my thoughts and wanted to know details. He is not much of a book reader, although he did have one remarkable year when his goal was to read a book for every letter of the alphabet. He started with an author whose last name began with “A” and went through the alphabet until he hit “Z.”

Another friend, a former publishing colleague, and someone I consider incredibly well read, had no idea what I was talking about. He’d never heard of the Kindle and knew nothing about ereaders.

My mother, who is an avid online shopper, including Amazon, and a huge reader, had never heard of it.

My assistant had never heard of the Kindle until she started working here and saw the one Kim purchased. Obviously she loves books and is an avid reader.

Now of course all of these people had these reactions before Oprah made her recent announcement (and devoted a half hour of her show) that the Kindle is one of her favorite things. However, if you watched the reactions of those receiving their free Oprah gift you might also notice that for every person who was overjoyed there were two who were confused and a fourth looking for her car.

So what does this say about the future of ebooks? It says that I have a very, very small sampling, but it also says that the future is a lot farther off than many are predicting. Even with Oprah’s powerful stamp of approval? you ask. Yes, because I remember very clearly just a few short years ago when the Sony Ereader was one of Oprah’s favorite things.

While true publishing professionals and Oprah have quickly latched on to the idea of an ebook, there are still many, many people out there who have no idea what we’re talking about. Will ereaders be the end to books in the same way mp3s have been the end of CDs? I can’t think that way. It sounds so negative and dour and I just don’t believe that if it happens it will happen anytime soon. For one thing, mp3s have a different music quality. Ereaders are unlikely to change the quality of the written word and I have yet to see an ereader that will make reading a children’s picture book as enjoyable as a “real” book. The graphics just are not going to translate. Yes, it’s clear changes to the publishing industry need to be made and will be made, but let’s not think of it as an end to anything, but as a fun new addition, the same way mass market paperbacks were once new.

Jessica

Selling Statistics

Once I have an agent, how likely am I to be published? Do you have any books that you really like, but just can't sell?

This is a great question and one that I’m surprised I haven’t addressed yet. In fact, just the other day I was mentally going through the list of some of my clients, processing those I sold, those I never sold, and those I sold but it wasn’t the first book I went out with. Frankly, I really thought that the numbers of those I sold but not the first book we went out with was going to be a lot higher than it was.

Here is an entirely unscientific look at my own facts and figures. And keep in mind these are just a random selection of my clients over the years and not necessarily everyone. For example, I only looked at fiction and didn’t include those clients who came to me with a book deal in hand.

• Sold first book: 9 clients (and in all cases have sold multiple books, sometimes to multiple publishers)
• Sold later works: 5 clients
• Haven’t yet sold: 5 clients that I could think of off the top of my head, but 3 of them disappeared after the first book didn’t sell and 2 of them I have all the confidence in the world we’ll be selling very soon.

So to answer your question, there is no guarantee that you’ll be selling that first book an agent takes on, but if you stick with it and work with your agent there is a very, very good chance you will sell. I think that 14 sales out of 19 clients are pretty good odds. That’s nearly a 75% sell rating, and I know that I’ll be able to shift those figures around as long as those clients keep writing.

One of the things I did notice was how much persistence played into it. Those clients who only gave me one chance (they never sent me a second book) had lower odds of getting published. But those who were willing to stick with me, as I was willing to stick with them, were likely to get a book deal. Remember, I take on a client for her voice, not a book. If I love your writing I will do everything in my power to find a place to get it published. In fact, I took on a new client earlier this year (February, I think) and while we weren’t able to sell that book, I just made a three-book deal for her for something new, different, and, more important, something she’s excited about writing.

Oh, but to answer your last question, yes, absolutely. I have definitely had books that I can’t stop thinking about. In fact, one of them is being reworked right now and we’re going to sell the dang thing if it kills me, because I love that book.

Jessica

Call Me Professor

I have just accepted a position to teach in NYU’s Continuing Education program and I’m incredibly excited and nervous all at the same time. First of all, how cool is that? I’m going to be an adjunct professor at New York University! Second, what the heck have I gotten myself into? Sure I’ve taught workshops and this blog is definitely a teaching device, but an entire semester, two-hour classes, grading? I’m nervous.

So to help ease my concerns, introduce myself to academic teaching, and write a syllabus—which, if you’ve never done it, is really, really hard—I took a two-class, five-hour workshop on Effective Teaching, because besides being a teacher I’m a regular workshop presenter, and I think we can all benefit from honing our craft from time to time.

The workshop was fascinating and I learned a number of teaching devices that I’m going to incorporate into my own class as well as into some of the workshops I do at writers' conferences. And since I know many of you give your own workshops and presentations, I thought I’d pass along some of what I’ve learned. Here are six quick tips to think about when giving a workshop, teaching a class, or speaking in front of a group.

1. Use writing as a tool. When asking a question of the class, don’t just throw the question out there. Instead, give your students time to process and think about what you're asking. For example, have everyone begin by writing down three things they are hoping to get out of the class. Give them about five minutes to make the list and then open the room up for discussion by asking if anyone is willing to share some of the thoughts they had. You would be surprised at how giving people the time to think allows them the freedom to answer. It allows those people who don’t think well on the spot time to process and others who are shy time to come out of their shells.
2. The three-second rule. Some of you may have heard of this, but it was brilliantly new to me. When asking a question of the class, slowly count to three before moving on to answer it yourself. It’s amazing. In my class I would watch the instructors stand there, counting in their heads, and just as they were about to move on someone would raise a hand, and then someone else, and before long you had a lively discussion.
3. If possible sit with the group and even in a circle. Teaching is not preaching and can be so much more effective if you are able to sit together and look at each other. Obviously this might be tricky in a room with 300 people, but very effective in a small group. I know that I for one try to avoid standing behind a podium if possible. I much prefer to get out in front of the table or podium and wander the room a little.
4. Allow the students to direct the class, in theory. Each class should have a syllabus or some guideline as to what students should expect, but teachers themselves need to be more flexible. We need to let the style of learning be guided somewhat by the class. If, for example, I was expecting to teach “marketing your book” to a group of published writers and walk in to discover that only five percent of the students are published, I’m probably going to need to adjust my plan in some ways.
5. Get people moving and talking right from the start. The sooner you can get your students talking and interacting with you and with each other the livelier and more active they are apt to be throughout the class.
6. Students as teachers. Students can learn as much from each other as they can from you. Don’t be afraid to make room for group discussions and don’t be afraid to ask your students to get up and mingle and share their own thoughts on what others are doing.

I’m looking forward to incorporating what I’ve learned into future workshops and of course into my class, which by the way is titled "How to Get Your Book Published." And for those of you in the area who are interested, I believe you can register or learn more at the NYU Continuing Education website.


Jessica

I Finished!

Back in July I did a post on Resistant Reading, those books that you’ve been carrying around with you for months but for some reason can never get yourself to read. It seems like I always have one of those books. Typically a book that everyone else loves and you hear about constantly, but for many reasons just can’t get yourself to read beyond the first few pages. Well, I did it! It took me nearly four months, but I finally read that book, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

In July’s post I promised that it would be the next book I read and it was, sort of. Typically it doesn’t take me four months to finish any book, so why did I take so long? I did pick up Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir as soon as I was finished with the book I was reading at that time, but I also picked up at least one other book and at least five client manuscripts as well as a large handful of submissions. In other words, other things continued to get in the way, and for me that’s always a bad sign. Anytime I can put down a book and not immediately feel the need to rush back to it, it’s a bad sign. In fact, I’m not so sure I would have finished this book if I hadn’t made such a public promise to do so.

So what were my thoughts? I liked it on a global level. I really liked her voice. I found her charming and relatable and liked her writing style immensely. The story was at times nice and interesting, but it dragged at other times for me. Sometimes I wanted the whining to end and at other times I really wanted to learn more about other people besides the author. I know, this is a memoir and so it’s about the author, but even in a memoir we want to get a glimpse of the rest of the world. And there were definitely times the story really dragged for me. There weren’t really any parts that stood out to me as amazing, and while it was fascinating to literally watch her change on the page, you could even feel the changes through her writing, it wasn’t enough to make me fall in love. My final verdict is that this is a book that I think is worthy of its bestseller status, it’s just not a book I will spend weeks and months thinking about and smiling over.

Now it’s your turn. Did you finish that book you’ve been promising yourself you’d get to, and what did you think?

Jessica