I have been hoping you would post about this because I had a question when I read it in the newsletter. How large are these workshops going to be? While the notion of being able to ask questions during the presentation is nice, if the numbers are similar to attendance to your WD seminars, active questions could grind the workshop to a halt.

Totally bummed. I'll be flying to Atlanta for my niece's baby shower. :-(

I really enjoyed your query webinar with Writers Digest so I really recommend this to anyone who didn't attend that. And thanks so much for keeping the price reasonable.

This sounds so awesome! Thank you!

This is perfect timing for me. I attended a webinar from Sara Megibow last year on overall query structure, but I'm now at a stage where I'm not sure if my one-paragraph pitch pops enough. Thanks for putting on this workshop!

Thanks for this informative vlog! I have a question though. Some agents or editors ask for a 1-2 page synopsis, not the up to 10 pages you mention here. How do I decide what to include?

Thanks, Kristin, and have an enjoyable and productive trip to Italy.

Andrea - what I've seen is they usually tell you what they want on their submission guidelines, whether it's a long synopsis or a short one.

I've spent days researching this and you summed it up in 4 minutes and 26 seconds. Your vlogs are a great resource!

Andrea, from what I understand, the 1-2 page synopsis is a play-by-play that focuses on the major points of the novel. You want the story arc to be clear, from beginning to end. And if you can let your voice shine through, you have a winner.

Thanks, Kristin, as always your blog/vlog was informative, clear, and concise.

What a wonderful resource.

Have a great time in Italy!

I was with Andrea up there - 10 pages sure sounds reasonable to me, especially when your actual book is 300+, but (aside from querying on pink perfumed stationery), NOTHING seems surer to get you tossed into the trash these days than over-length on any front - query too long, word count too high, synopsis too detailed. Like Jeff says, though, you can't ever go wrong with following the directions - the hardest part is knowing what to do when explicit directions aren't listed.

But to the subject: great post, needless to say, very friendly and informative. I wonder if the pitch changes at all if you're giving it in person - I've got one of those scheduled in May, and I'm quaking in my boots at the very idea...!

I've always been told the max a synopsis should be is 5 pages... I would LOVE to do one in ten, ha! I take it it's 10-12, double-spaced?

Tex,

It’s been a while, but I’ve done a few conference pitch sessions – it’s actually how I landed Kristin as my agent. I found it best to keep the pitch as short as the one or two lines Kristin describes in her vlog. Start by introducing yourself; briefly include your writing history if you think it works in your favor. If you're a fan of one of the agent's clients or her blog, let her know. The intro relaxes you and gives the agent a second to transition from her last pitch to you. Then give your 1-2 line pitch. If you’ve been making the most of the conference and meeting people, you’ve probably said your pitch 20 times before meeting the agent, so it should come more easily. Then leave the last half of your pitch session (they typically last 8-10 minutes) for questions you or the agent may have. The agent will usually ask a few about your pitch. These minutes go by quickly, so don’t worry that you’ll have to fill the time. If you do have time left, either ask substantive questions you’ve always wanted to ask an agent, or go ahead and wrap up. The agent will probably appreciate a spare minute or two since they do many pitches, all day long. Good luck!

Kimberly:

Let me go a step past the usual and say that that is without a doubt the most helpful thing I ever WILL read. Thank you so much for taking the time to spell it out for me! I will start hammering those lines out right now, so that by the time I actually get up to the agent, I can focus on the friendlier, impromptu side of things, and just whip this out of my pocket worry-free. Much obliged, ma'am!

I love this series, Agent Kirsten! You always seem professional and likable in your posts, and it's lovely to see it confirmed in your videos.

Thanks for being so invested in writers. We really appreciate the help!

Typo. Argh. The worst kind of typo, even! Plus, I can't fix it. Don't hate me. I promise I know your name.

Remember that there's stuff they can sell without selling the company. If they are not in bankruptcy they can sell assets, such as publishing contracts (subject to the terms of those contracts, of course) and inventory.

The "Dear Valued Authors" bit is particularly charming ...

Hmm...I could see Amazon buying up the company, paring it down, and moving it to Seattle to bolster their foray into the publishing industry.

Indeed, that's the UPS Store.

What a horrible mess.

Yes, what a terrible, horrible financial mess. Makes my head spin. If I thought about it long enough, it'd probably give me a headache. I doubt they'll find a buyer, but, they might sell bits and pieces of their assets as somebody already suggested...

Oh wow. Interesting.

Hope you have a fabulous time in Italy! I hope I read that right. If so, that's so exciting!

Nothing says 'sincere' like 'Dear Valued Authors & Agents.' *I'm* convinced.

Must be really cramped, in that UPS mailbox where they're holed up.

Kind of ironic that you’re leaving a city called Bologna while Dorchester is trying to unload itself on people.

Good for you!

I have to say, I love this cover of the book better - I have the original book, but I may have to buy this one for the Kindle. Looking forward to Alternity.

There are lots of things in life you can't control, no matter how much you plan. I'm glad you were able to make the best of the Dorchester situation, and hope other authors will be able to have the same success.

And I'll have to check out TOMORROW LAND! It sounds cool, like a zombified, romantic, road-trip version of DOWN AND OUT IN THE MAGIC KINGDOM, which I loved.

Kristin - I loved, loved, loved Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. In fact, when I was originally writing this book, I emailed with Corey Doctorow to ask him about his experience using a futuristic Disney World in a book. He was really nice! As big a Disney fan as I am, I think, and that's saying something. :)

And I really, really do hope all the Dorchester authors end up with a happy ending. They're wonderful, talented people who don't deserve what happened to them.

Jaycee- I love the new cover as well. That's one of the best things about self-publishing in my opinion! It's entirely up to you!! We went through a bunch of different versions until we all agreed we'd found the perfect fit! Tony is an amazing artist and I feel privileged to be able to work with him.

I know some of the other comments got deleted when Kristin reloaded the blog cause of a problem with Internet Explorer capability, but I did read them before they were deleted! Thanks!!

I should probably know the answer to this, but will TOMORROW LAND be available through other retailers? This looks right up my alley!

Out of the ashes, Mari! It's fun to watch you rise.

How come Razor Girl (mass market) from Shomi is still available for purchase from Amazon? Does Mari get the royalties from those sales?

Hallie- we're actually in the process of determining that - whether we'll widen distribution or stay on Amazon exclusively. More soon! Hopefully eventually we'll be able to offer a print version.

Thank you Mia! Out of the ashes indeed!!!

Cinnamon - I will NOT see any royalties from the mass market book sales of Razor Girl. (I haven't seen any royalties owed to me by Dorch for years.) That's one of the reasons we retitled the book - to make it clear which is the authorized version where I actually get paid for my work. Unfortunately since the mass market books are sold by third party sellers (booksellers and such who probably got a cut rate to buy off Dorch's old stock) there's nothing I can do about them being offered for sale...

Oh wow! First of all congrats on your releases! The covers are amazing and they sound awesome!

This makes me so happy that you were able to get your rights back. Kristin rocks!!

It breaks my heart that this not only happened once but twice. I'm so very sorry. And it breaks my heart that all your fellow authors never received their rights reverted back. That's horrible.

Wishing you much success and happiness.

I have to be completely honest and say that I am not a zombie fan...But I actually want to read your book Marci!

That sounds like a complete mess and a major headache for you and Kristen. I hope that this new release of the book will help make up for some of what you lost!

L.G.

Wow. I've been reading so much about the downfall of Dorchester and it has been a really awful thing to watch unfold. I'm glad you're being so proactive about it though.

I'd like to second all the comments about your book sounding interesting. Have you considered releasing an audio version of them? I love audiobooks and would look for this one in audio. If you have those rights, you might look into Audible's ACX service to get them up on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. I'd love to know about it if you release them in audio!

Best of luck and good on you for being so proactive!

Great attitude and GREAT advice! Their failure is not yours!

Thanks so much for your story. You left me with much to think about, particularly the self-publishing aspect. Congrats!

First of all, I'm sorry you got screwed on your royalties! But I am intrigued, and have added Tomorrow Land to my "Wish" list! How ironic... did you yell at the screen when they went to the Amusement park in Zombieland and made out like it was a whole new take on zombies? :) best of luck with the re-releases!

It's sad to see so many authors losing rights, but companies such as Dorchester are NOT the only offenders, as I've seen complete sections of manuscripts that I've sent to literary agents appear in some of their other clients works.
Because many authors are having this issue, it is a small wonder that so many are going the 'self-publishing' route, and corrupt literary agents share the blame for what will be the eventual fall of the 'traditional' means of getting published.
Unfortunatly, most agents and agencies 'turn a blind eye' toward the shady practices of their brethren, somehow believing that they must protect one another.
That attitude must stop, or the title of 'literary agent' will be just a memory as we advance further into the 'do it yourself' age.

Mari, it is wonderful to see you getting your previous Dorchester titles up (and with such great covers!) I wish you nothing but the best! Unfortunately, Dorchester still has a couple of my titles, but I'm not giving up the fight, and am very happy for those I was able to get back. I hope all former Dorchester authors are able to rise from the ashes.

What an inspiring story - and Tomorrow Land looks fabulous! All the best to you on this new journey!

fabulous, this ischeap designer bags must be great

Thanks all! I really appreciate your encouragement and support as I embark on this new adventure! Bettielee - YES I totally freaked when I first saw the Zombieland trailer. Like, did they read my book? :) Now I fully expect a bunch of people to say I ripped off Zombieland, haha. Oh well - we will know the truth! :)

Farrah - I'm so sorry that Dorchester still has some of your titles. Grr. I hope you keep fighting for them!!

Kyle - I've heard other self-pubbed authors have success with audiobooks. Definitely something I'm open to down the road.

Thanks again everyone - for letting me share!

I have resisted commenting because I know it's not the point of the post, but For some reason, Internet Explorer is not GAH!

"Internet Explorer is not" is a statement in itself. You don't have to say what it is not doing because it is not doing anything. At least it is not doing anything well.

Chrome, Firefox, Safari. I don't care which browser you pick, but ANY AND ALL of them are superior to Internet Explorer. Yes, you may be comfortable with what you know, but it's slow, clunky, doesn't understand half the things it should, and frequently makes beautiful things on the net look ugly.

You can export/import your bookmarks from IE into any other browser. As you start to be more technologically involved, you're going to need a browser that can handle your involvement. It's time to upgrade.

Sad you had to experience this with Dorchester. I'm glad you empowered yourself and did what you had to do!!

Congratulations.

Congratulations, that's awesome!

What a great book to make into a graphic novel. It looks AMAZING! Congratulations to all concerned!

Congratulations! Now off to figure out why it hasn't downloaded to my Nook.

I'm reading Timeless now, and then will reward myself with the graphic Souless.

Congratulations! It's well deserved. I read and reviewed this recently and it was fantastic ;)

Congratulations!

Congratulations! :)

Congratulations! This is exciting news to hear! I really need to check out the graphic novel version of the book soon.

That's really awesome! Congrats! Cool cover.

I love manga so much! I'll have to check out SOULLESS :D

I don't suppose you'll be discussing the PayPal censorship issues, will you? I don't know how much, if at all, that affects your business/clients directly.

I don't suppose you'll be discussing the PayPal censorship issues will you? I don't know how much, if at all, it affects your business/clients.

Oh sweet, it came out already?

I still need to read my copy of the last book, too; it's sitting all pretty on my Kindle waiting for me to finish my current one. Excited!

I just finished reading the novel and really liked it. Congratulations on the milestone.

The cover is beautiful, but shouldn't her touching him return him to human?

Anonymous 8:51

Alexia is wearing gloves. : )

But yay you for catching the potential really small detail.

That's a mark of a true fan!

Kristin, Thank you for your continous insights and commentary. As a "newbie" I learn alot about the literary business by reading your blog. Keep 'em coming. You are much appreciated. *smile*

Yes, that's so true the creditors won't force a filing unless it's to their benefit. I'd imagine that might be even more expensive.

I'm trying to find out exactly who purchased DM. Is it FAA Investments or FAA Investors? And which state? Dorchester might have been in a precarious financial state, but John Backe is not--nor are his many other corporations. I have a suspicion also.

I think bankruptcy courts have the final say on dispersments. It then behooves all those owed money to file a claim in time. You can usually find out if a bankruptcy has been filed by checking the various courts (no one stop shopping here.) The information should be free along with the drop dead claim file date.

I don't advocate force. But if things were done now like they were in the old days, Dorchester would be begging for mercy. They are only getting away with all this because they know they can.

For your writers who got their rights back, have you been watching to make sure Dorchester isn't selling copies or e-copies without the rights? Because I hear of writers who find exactly that going on.

I'm one of the authors who can't get paid and can't get rights back (on numerous books), in spite of working with my agent, and contacting AG and RWA for advice on resolving the issue. I am currently working with an attorney and have a forensic accounting in hand (on my dime, of course) but the situation is beyond frustrating.

So glad your clients made out better. It amazes me that there are so few real, legal protections for authors if publishers simply choose not to honor their commitments or return rights when they can't.

I'm glad for those authors you listed. They're able to move on with their works. But it seems others aren't making out so well. I'm just so speechless about this whole debacle.

Just..Wow.

That's terrible that the authors aren't getting the money that they're owed, especially since they're the ones who wrote those books in the first place. I had no idea that that was happening. Is this something that happens a lot? There's still so much I don't know about the industry.

So awful for those who weren't able to get their rights back. I'm so glad for those who did! They are so lucky to have you.

What a great thing to do, fighting so hard for titles that you didn't represent at the time. Shows what a generous a goodhearted soul you are.
Very awesome!
Congrats.

I feel so sorry for those who couldn't get their rights, it's just not acceptable.

Dorchester has been the dirty little secret of publishing for YEARS with failed payments, creative bookkeeping, abusive behavior toward their authors, and other crappy behavior.

I know I've been warning my writing students away from them for over eight years.

Meanwhile, they've been the darling of RWA with full publisher status and any author who stood up against them was vilified.

There's a lot of blame to go around, and it's yet another example of why authors should ask around before signing up with a publisher.

No bankruptcy filing because they have plenty of [others'] money but they just won't let it go...?

No silver platters here Kristin. Thanks for posting the Dorch paperwork. I've been doing the work and can guess. But let me ask you and others on here if they know who John Backe is? The answer to that might answer a question I had. I contacted 60 Minutes and the NYC CBS affiliate in NYC and many others--well over a week ago. And no response. Is anyone aware of all the corporations involved and the amount of money involved? I'm not saying right now--but it's massive.

I hadn't been following this. I do personal, not commercial bankruptcies. The secured creditors get paid first obviously. So sadly the unsecured creditors, which I am guessing are former clients, get paid really little whether there's a bankruptcy or not..

Too bad. Though anyone filing bankruptcy is in a sad, sad stage financially. I've seen many people who worked all their lives, made good money at times, and have nothing. Saddest when you see it with seniors.

I think I do vaguely remember reading a blog post about this before.

Because publishing contracts state that the contract is terminated and rights revert automatically if the publisher files for bankruptcy?

(not that a bankruptcy court would necessarily uphold that, as those rights are assets)

Does one have to send a termination notice in any case, to the official Dorchester address, in order for the author to move forward to their books elsewhere?

Sounds like the good old "midnight move" to me. (I'm a landlord)

I was one of the authors caught up in the Triskelion bankruptcy.
At least with formal bankruptcy, it puts a formal end to the business and gives the authors their rights back, eventually. The bankruptcy clause in an author contract is worth nothing, because the bankruptcy people are federal, and the contracts are signed under state law. Federal trumps state. So contracts are counted as assets, and are treated accordingly.
Kudos to Siren who bought our contracts at auction and immediately reverted the rights, otherwise we'd have found our contracts sold to the highest bidder.

But when a company just disappears, it's much harder, because the onus is on the writer to prove the company doesn't exist any more. And that can take years. Management should do the honourable thing and give authors their rights back, free and clear.

It's such a shame. I can remember Dorchester being such an exciting company, one that launched the careers of people like Jade Lee and Christine Feehan, and now they are behaving so badly, it adds a black mark to everything they've done.

According to their latest Facebook update, the radio silence is because they've moved to new offices...

See Brian Keene's comments here:
http://www.briankeene.com/?p=10803

Thanks for the warning, Kristin. I left a link to your post on my blog.

I think you were the one who said that Dorchester’s romance line was undermined by e-books. A lot of women love reading romances, but don’t want to be caught dead with the trashy covers. They’re buying romance e-books from all sorts of publishers.

So if you see a professionally-dressed woman in an airport or business lobby reading something on her data device, it might not be a spreadsheet.

Wait--so God is representing him?

Oh no wait. I got it.


Um...

LOL! What will people think up next?

Holy moly.

Speechless...

That's what happens to me when I take off the tinfoil hat for a few minutes. Makes showering extremely prophetic. *nods*

lol!

It amazes me what you people have to deal with. Writers are crazy people. ;)

That made me snort-laugh! Thanks!

A Biblical vision -- priceless!

Holy offer, Batman!

Your WTF posts make for great conversation topics with my friends and family. They get a good laugh out of them. :)

Unfortunately, Elijah won't be able to actually SELL the book until he returns to Earth to help usher in the Messianic age, by which point all print publishers will be dead.

I know, because Joe Konrath told me so.

*removes tongue from cheek*

And here all I got was a form rejection from Christ & Apostles, LLC.

Wowwwww. That's just... wowwww. I don't even know how I'd reply to that.

A psychic once told me I'd be a published writer...but next to THE God, she's obviously a hack ;-) Hilarious! Feel better, Kristin.

Ok. That is all kinds of awesome.

I'm pretty sure that doesn't count in the big wide world of writers, no offence or anything to that person...

Hey, this can only mean that you are the agent that god has fingered for the real bits of this process. There's no way out of this one!

Too bad people waster your time like that. I am glad you read more seriously when you get those type of e-mails. Because I'd definitely want to send you an e-mail like that if someone else ever offered me representation.

O_O

Shocking.

I don't doubt what you say for one minute, Krisin. However, haven't we all read at least a couple of books that have left us shaking our heads saying, "A literary agent actually thought this was good??!"?

I just checked the last two books I queried you on. One, the response came in one day. Another, the response took three. You guys are some of the fastest responders in the business. How much faster do these people want to hear back from you?!

Ohmy.

Well at least he warned you up front that he is going to be trouble....

Oh wow. I'm...speechless at that one, lol.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of publishing, I will fear no deadline: for thou art my agent; thy rod and thy staff they represent me.

That's...uh...that's...wow.

With family, friends, and acquaintances, I'm constantly fighting the stereotype that artists and writers are insane and/or alcoholic. I think I'll stop fighting now...

At least he didn't say God said to represent him or He shall smite you!!

Oh My God, that's funny.

We had somebody stop by IN PERSON to check the status of his submission. Which he had sent about an hour before.

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I have to point out what an amazing compliment it is to you that despite an offer from "above," the person turned it down to pursue your agency. ;)

Actually, this ploy was recommended by a young, recently-signed debut author on her blog. This writer was answering questions from her followers as to how to make sure their submissions were taken seriously & therefore read by agents.

I sort of half wondered if people really did that. I guess I got my answer. Yes, people are that unethical.

I was wondering if anyone had done that before too (I would never risk it). Since some agents take months to respond to partial and full manuscript requests, this ploy might actually work. It would be dumb to do it after an initial query though.

Wow.

My first response was: Wow and then I saw that Red Tash said it too :)

There is just no other word that comes to mind.

Someone asked that question at a conference once, and the answer from (I think) Barry Goldblatt was the only two things you didn't want to do in YA were the 2 B's: boring and bestiality.

Boring and bestiality!!! Haha that's great!

My attitude is that YA readers are going to grow up someday, and many of them are already more grown up than you might think. I think they have the maturity and the need to read about and think about more controversial/difficult topics.

I guess boring bestiality is a no-no then? Here goes my next book idea! :)

Funnily enough, I was thinking about E4's YA sci-fi TV series "Misfits" today and thinking about the question of what, if anything, would be out of bounds for that show. The answer is probably, "Nothing."

As I recall, as a teenager, I can't think of any subject that was actually out of bounds for my friends and me. Which is probably as it should be for enquiring young minds.

While Misfits is a brilliant show, it doesn't hold a candle in terms of "out of bounds", to the UK show The Inbetweeners. And yet, that show feels absolutely genuine and true. In my opinion, that's the key. Make it stem from character and be true to their experience.

I hope there are no off-limit topics in YA fiction - but that they should be addressed responsibly (if a teen girl is going to be handing out the goods to the entire football team, there's bound to be consequences). MG is a bit more questionable, with a similar thought to PG movies.
I do think if an author would like to push the expected boundaries of what is acceptable, the polite thing would be to make it known before the book is read.
Wagging Tales

I think this is not just about being rated PG or PG-13 thing.

It's a basic thing of what your target audience will be interested in.

I remember giving a chapter of my YA novel (very clean chapter) to an eleven year old I'm related to and asking her what she thought of it.

She said, "boring." Then I gave the same chapter to the same girl when she was 14 and I had to get her mother's permission to give her the whole book.

There is sex, pagan rituals, murder, homosexuality, and material that could be considering insulting to three major religions...

Her mother gave her okay and the the girl read it one sitting saying that it was the most fun read she had in years...

The thing is teenagers are interested in those "controversial matters" which are not controversial at all if you ask me.

Not to write about them or editing them out, is lying, and teens spot lies a mile away.

When they become adults they start believing lies but when they are on the cusp of adulthood they still have this innate ability to smell a rat.

Or is it the other way around? Once we lose this ability, we become adults?

Anyway. I'm dying to hear what Kristin has to say!

Come on YouTube!

By the way a whole bunch of social media is experiencing problems. Twitter is as good as down - massive problems.

It's all in the approach...absolutely! MG readers today are the YA of tomorrow. Life is full of wonders and terrors, both awesome and fearsome. For writing to remain true, it must be able to encapsulate the entire spectrum. It's the reason, and the finessing that will determine the author's success. Here's to brave authors creating new work of literary art.

Love the way it's about asking the right question :) I believe anything is acceptable anywhere if it's in good taste; the character/plot development and not just there for the sensational/shot value.

I enjoyed reading your blog. I see you offer priceless info. Will definitely come back for more of this.

I rather like the counter question to this one. What difficult topics are good to include in stories. IMHO, people fall in love with books because the books mean something to them. The stories help them through hard times, or provide them with examples on how to conquer problems. (And if people fall in love with books, they'll buy them and tell their friends to buy them, which is always good).

Good topics for YA? What challenges are YA folk facing today.
* Bullying
* Abuse
* Feeling 'different'
* Feeling powerless
* Sexuality and romantic feelings
* loss

There are many more. I'd say don't hold back. Chat with YA folk, find out the extent of the problems they are facing, and write to that.

Kristin, thank you so much for addressing these questions on YA and MG. I'm really enjoying the Youtube approach.

I had no idea. Obviously I have a lot to learn.

That's very interesting. I also had no idea. I'm heading over there in the spring, maybe I should fill my suitcase full of books to sell...

Is the public just not buying?

interesting

The UK market is a year or two behind the US in terms of the transition to digital. UK publishers are understandably uncertain what to do and when. No surprise they are playing it cautious.

The two biggest book retailers by far are Waterstone's and W.H. Smiths.

Waterstone's is the UK equivalent of B&N. It's been through some bad times in recent years but is under new management and may just surprise us all, not least with a pending partnership deal of some sort with B&N.

W.H. Smiths has more stores but is less book-focussed. Both stores are competing with the big name titles with supermarkets who sell at huge discounts.

But both retailers have digital stores (W.H.Smiths via Kobo - Waterstone's a standalone store) and both are expanding rapidly and competing well with Amazon.

US authors who are selling in the UK via the convenience of Amazon would be well advised to look at the many other UK platforms available.

Readers are buying more books than ever in the UK. If the publishers aren't getting you to them then go them yourself.

Wow, I didn't even know this was a problem, but I can see your point. Thanks for sharing this. Interesting!

Interesting. I discovered through a Google alert that my novel, published as an ebook through Amazon and Smashwords, was featured on what seems to be a Swedish-language Apple iBook page. (Could be Danish or Norwegian. I'm no expert.) So strange things are happening out there in the publishing world and it's hard to keep up with them.

as a writer and a reader based in the UK i mostly buy from amazon as i live in a rural area. given the choice i would go to a book shop and do this when i can.

small indie bookshops are best as the large chains are crammed with 'celeb' books both fiction and bio.

can i assure previous commenter that book buyers in the UK are alive and kicking.

I'm also UK based, and I buy most of my books and all of my ebooks (and I read a lot of books) from Amazon UK. It's convenient and cheap and has better selection (as the previous commenter wrote, chain stores are filled with lots of celebrity memoirs and the like). I very rarely shop at Waterstone's or Smith's or Foyles for books, unless it's something I can't get online for some reason. I do find it annoying that some US titles aren't available here, so it's interesting to learn part of the reason why that's so.

I always try to support my local bookshop. It's tiny. I want to keep it alive. Often they will match Amazon's price just to keep my custom. There are a lot of these little bookshops. And they can order anything you like, often over the phone or by email. Amazon is just too dominant.

As a UK editor, one thing I've found is that UK publishers are finding out about titles too late to publish simultaneously with the US, which means we lose Australia as an exclusive territory because of their copyright laws - and that's a big part of making costs work for a title.

Interesting that you're finding it tough to sell in the UK too! I'm British, currently living in the UK, and my first book is set in England with an all-British cast of characters, and where is it being published? The US. This still boggles me slightly. We're currently shopping it round for a UK publisher as well, but no success so far...

I do think bookselling is in trouble in the U.K., I think. Waterstones might be similar to B&N, but most Waterstones stores are smaller and have less range. WH Smith only stocks bestsellers, like the supermarkets. And there are relatively few independent stores around, and many of them are pretty poor.

There are some good smaller chains, like Foyles, but only in a few places.

And while ebooks are far behind the US, in general, I don't see any of the other stores challenging Amazon. If only on price, they're not close. The WH Smith ebook store, for example, is much more expensive (they seem to add the 20% sales tax on top of the price of the print edition (print books are exempt from the tax) and only then apply discounts). Maybe they'll evolve that, but right now, they are not an appealing ebook retailer.

I'm hoping it'll get better, but...

That's good to know. Thanks for the post.

wow.

"Just another day at the office."

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is why we need agents. Keeping track of it ourselves wouldn't leave writers time to write.

Interesting. Explains why online stores like iTunes, have different books available for different iTunes territories.

Wow! It's so important to stay on top of everything.

Oh, so that's why I still have to ship paperbacks to New Zealand, despite my ereader! Good to know, actually, I've been wondering.

On the other hand isn't it frustrating that people in the UK want to buy the print version but cannot and must wait for rights to be sold by which time they might have moved on? Obviously the author needs to be appropriately recompensed but this seems disadvantageous to all concerned.

Funny.

Or not.

Who would think to look unless they'd had experience in this?

Kristin-

Wow. I've seen my forthcoming debut listed for pre-order on multiple (unauthorized) amazon sites as well as other foreign bookseller webpages and had no idea this could be problematic.

Because of you, I have alerted the proper people and they are 'on it.'

Thanks for providing such great information.

Thanks for letting us know about this. We definitely would need to watch out for this.

This is very interesting because there's quite a vogue in the UK now for bookshops to sell American editions of American YA books. And how about sites like the Book Depository which ships for free worldwide?

Please do a post about how this would be handled with digital only books. I would assume digital books are sold all over the world because the Inernet is global? At least I have many books out that are being sold and read globally and I don't have a clue as to how they are distributed or where the royalties come from.

Interesting! I purchase items from Amazon UK from time to time, and see lots of US editions (print) sold on the site and never assumed this was a serious issue.

Absolutely amazing. Thanks for the info!

Great video! This really clarified the difference of possible word count for me!
~Sarah F.

This is another great post. And I so agree that there are different levels of middle grade. I really think more book review bloggers would enjoy the upper level middle grade if they gave it a chance and could help promote these books more. I'm going to be discussing this on my blog in two weeks because it's been on my mind.

I love Janice's books BTW and interviewed her twice at Literary Rambles last year with book giveaways. She's got a great blog too.

Great post. I always thought middle grade meant ages 9-12. I would never have thought it would go as low as the Magic Treehouse series.

I find my work falls firmly in the upper middle grade.

Question, can a series have a variety of word counts? Say, 20,000for the first book and then 40,000for the second? Is that a no-no?

Brian Clopper

Thanks Kristin,
That was interesting. When you're pitching a book, would you state that it's a "level three" middle grade novel, or assume that an agent could figure it out from a well-written query letter?

Thanks for that. I think I understand the definitions better now, although it's tricky for me as a UK writer who came through the UK school system to get a good grasp of what ages middle grade equates to.

@Kristin,

Would it be possible to elaborate on how the age of the main character relates to which level of Middle Grade your novel would be classified as? I'm currently writing a novel where the main character is 10 years old. Does that automatically put the novel at a level 1 or 2?

Thanks for the post!

Janice's books BTW is really so popular in the College now!

That was really helpful, Kristin! Wish it had been around when I was querying. I've often wondered where "upper middle grade" started.

*facepalms and snickers*

A detachable penis. Sadly, I'm sure you actually received something like that.

No judging here. I've seen what some people post on the internet as their query letters, and I can safely say there's a reason 'The Stamp' came into being.

200K about a detachable penis? Man, sounds like someone had a brutal Valentine's Day.

That was funny.

I just don't get how an agent can read through 150 queries a day! I mean how is it humanly possible to read a book of queries a day AND do other work? And don't the queries all start looking alike after, say, query number 50? lol. Hats off to the agents out there, it takes true talent,

Rashad.

It makes me wonder how many different ways the penis can detach :P *seeing weird dreams tonight*

Dr. Demento used to play a song about a detachable penis in the 1980s. And now, because I actually know that (and have the earworm to prove it), I would like The Stamp for my forehead. Because, seriously.

They needed 200,000 words when King Missile did it in a 3 minute song back in 1992?

So funny. Sad. But funny. I have gone to more than a couple different writers groups and know first hand about the strange and weird.

Thanks so much, Kristin, now I'm going to have that song stuck in my head for the rest of the night.

Heh. 1992, I stand corrected.

What do they say about negative press? I think you just gave more life to the detachable penis than it really has. LOL!

there's a joke in there somewhere but I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole

I don't even know how one could spew 100 words about that, let alone 200,000... Not that I'm keen to find out.

LOL!

Puts me in mind of that silly horror/comedy movie that recently came out, One Eyed Monster.

Guess what it's about... :P

<3,
-J

A 200,000-word novel about an epic penis, however, would be quite understandable and should not get the stamp.

Oh dear...now I have that Detachable Penis song in my head! AHHHHHH!!!!

(Ok, it is a funny song ;))

Marie

Wow. That's some deal.

Nicely done. Lulled me in with some things that made sense as to why ill-researched queries don't get "the stamp". Made me feel good that the well researched ones are far from getting "the stamp". Then you introduced the 200k epic about a detachable penis. Immediately I went, "WTF!?!?!" So yeah, definitely met the criteria for "the stamp"

great post

Interesting post

I remember hearing about that here or on another agent blog--and REPEAT that the "Me and My Dick" soundtrack hit #11 on the Billboard Top Cast Album charts. One person's "WTF" is another person's "This is the shiz!"

Actually, I've had an idea like this in my head for several years - The Complete History of Sperm Art. It might be a great book (if I'm brave enough to write it).
But... I have to finish the one I'm working on first.

Does it make any difference that this wasn't even new in the 80s? :0

There's at least one story about the Native American trickster in which he carries his--uh--personal equipment around in a box, and occasionally lets it out to go have adventures by itself.

The way these things tend to happen, there are probably cave drawings from a prehistoric version somewhere.

Did the author have the last name Bobbit?

Oh wow. That's hilarious!

Ha! That's hilarious! :) Thanks for the evening laugh.

Kristin, you could use these stickers on your contracts maybe?

Emily

Careful...

That is awesome.

There are just waaaayy too many things that stamp could be good for lol!!!

Awesome! LOL

I think I could use that stamp when I'm editing my own manuscripts.

Wagging Tales

Love it. I've got a stamp that says 'staple this to your face', which is a tad too aggressive to use. Well, more than once a week.

Haha! I love it.

I need one of those at work.... I'd use it every day. Every hour, even...

Teaching an on-line class the tool I use the most is "Let Me Google That For You".

http://lmgtfy.com/

I want.

I could use that for my first drafts...

OMG, I totally need one of those for hard copy edits.

Too funny. Kinda sad, but definitely funny.

The main drawback of electronic queries is that your heart gets broken quickly ...and often.

I'm not speaking in specific terms now, nor am I relating this to my own personal experiences. But something like this could come in handy for authors when they get edits back, too.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot indeed!

Ha ha, love it.

Ha! I'd love to have one of those.

You know that the pdf X-Change viewer can do stamps, even in the free version, right? ;-)

That. Is. Epic.

I want it :D I shall stamp it on people's foreheads when they do stuff.

nice post

Great job.. well done!!!

How this played out in my brain...

Kristin: "That's not the right question. The right question is how important is pacing?"

[What was a pause for a text graphic instead is replaced with...]

Sara (jumps into frame): "How important is pacing?!" (Sara jumps out of frame)

Kristin, I'm enjoying these Friday vlogs and learning things I didn't know. But I have a confession to make--I also enjoy tuning in because you wear the most beautiful necklaces. I'm something of a collector and I think they're gorgeous.

Thank you so much. Reassuring to know.

I've been agonizing over word count in both of my manuscripts. One's at ~95K and the other's at ~80K. However, after months of thinking about it, I determined that those lengths were the exact ones needed to tell those stories. More words would equate to meaningless fluff, while less would mean taking out integral character and plot development.

I'm loving these videos and especially this one. Word count is one of my writing demons (usually b/c I info-dump in 1st drafts, then cut out way too much info in the 2nd).

Thank you for the vlog. Very informative.

Since I'm on dial-up, I can only wonder what you said!

This may be somewhat selfish of me, but I'm so ecstatic to have these vlogs at my fingertips. It's like having a sit down with you and getting some great advice.

Thanks for these.

I love the comments on pacing, but you said something close to 'If your MG is coming in fairly short, like 30,000 words, it might simply mean that your world isn't complex enough...'

I know there are lots of great MG's under 45K, and many under 30K (Egghead by Caroline Pignat comes to mind).

Do you simply have a preference for longer MGs? Or is that the current market?

I'm like Angela. I love these vlogs.

It's good to know the range of word count and what to consider if yours isn't in the range. My MG was too long by about 20,000 words and I found cutting out some unnecessary but loved by me scenes helped a lot with the pacing.

Thoroughly enjoying these educational vlogs!

I wonder how many manuscripts have piled up, and how many you can comfortably edit at any given time. Curious.

Where does that leave us guys not named Mike? Well, this is the new reason I give people why I decided to publish my novel on Kindle -- blatant discrimination against the non-Mikes of this world.

Memo to me... include 'Mike' somewhere in my pseudonym...

On the other hand, maybe this run of Mikes means the odds for all the other hopeful Mikes have just gone way down....

Big Log - always loved the mood of that song. Hated the title, but love the sound of it.

To avoid confusion, we'll just call you Mike.

:D

thanks 4 this post

amazing thanks 4 sharing this post with us

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When I was 7, I changed my name to Michael for two weeks. Does that count?

(I eventually had to change it back to Joe because no one would call me Michael or Mike or anything else that would allow me to pretend to be a sword-wielding archangel.)

I'm married to a Michael and there is a family story about the first time he met some distant cousins from another state. My Michael was four at the time and so the tone used by the adult should be suitably patronizing in your mind's ear:
Adult: Hello, and what's your name?
4 yr old: Michael.
Adult: Really? We have a Michael, too!
4 yr old: Yes, most Catholic families seem to have one.

:)

Note to self: change name to Michaela before querying.

The only thing better would have been two Dicks :)

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Darn. That was going to be the personalization part of my query letter: You keep posting about wanting more male clients.

I'm so bewildered by the fact that people would even e-mail in claiming that. It's a strange world.

Strange that such comments would come from men, considering the literary world is dominated by male authors and reviewers:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/04/research-male-writers-dominate-books-world

And if your agency just happens to have a higher ratio of women this year, what's it to them? Are some men's feelings getting hurt? Good Lord...

Best,

Rashad.

I'm sure another literary agency gets the same emails from ladies instead. It all evens out.

I suppose I would be interested in where did they get the idea that your agency catered to women only.

Your FAQ's and Submission info has a lot of great advice, query do's and don't but nothing about being a "women's only" club.

Hmm...

One of those four wanted to use a pic on his bike but I talked him out of it. The leather jacket stuck, though.

It wasn't a Harley... it was a V65 Magna. Much better (and faster!) than a Harley. :D

ooh rah!

Men, the invisible treat.

I must admit when I first visited NLA's site (late 2009), I thought for a moment that you only rep'd female authors. But then I saw Jamie Ford in the list and decided to cancel my gender-reassignment surgery.

Clearly you do rep male authors, but 31 females to 4 males on your client page shows a pretty clear predilection for female authors and isn't really doing you any favors in your quest to appear non-biased.

Indeed, the question "Why don't you rep male authors" is a silly one, since you so clearly do. However, maybe the question should be "Why don't you rep MORE male authors?" 11% male clients is hardly average, I would think.

The question is, why don't you rep REAL men?

:)

I don't think writing is a fifty-fifty proposition, and I certainly wouldn't like to see an agency going to affirmative action percentages--i.e. we're going to rep this many *insert type here.* Nor, quite honestly, do I see a need for it.

Write the book. Send it out. If you're seriously worried about your gender being a factor in judgment, use your initials. My take is that agents have better things to worry about. Like whether you actually wrote a fantastic book or not.

I should think it's more a matter of good writing that applies rather than gender. I say continue to seek out good writing.

Nice--thanks! I'd never heard it explained that way. Now I'm frantically trying to work out whether my ms's fit into that framework. :)

Love it - and also your necklace! Garnets? Nice! Have a great weekend.

What a great way to explain that, thanks!

As you said at the beginning: ten different people, ten different explanations. This explanation, however, was not one I'd heard before. So thank you for the food for thought.

Found it very informative. Shared this one all over. Thanks!

Great perspective, Kristin. I wonder though, how do publishers handle books in a series where the protagonist grows up, e.g. Harry Potter? The first book tends to lean toward middle grade, but by the end you are definitely in YA territory. I've published my first book, and the MC most definitely is still a child at the end, wiser as you say, but hasn't passed that threshold. However by book three in the series, he will. I'm just not sure if I'll be turning off young readers because he grew up, or turning off older readers because the first book is too childish.

Nice explanation! Well done. Thanks. =)

Once again, your timing is perfect!
Thank you very much for your perspective.

Thanks so much for this Kristin! I really love the videos and advice.

This explanation resonates with me. I love the coming-of-age, Campbell-esque hero's journey that distinguishes YA from MG. Having written 2 manuscripts (1 in each genre), this feels true - although when I was creating these stories, this definition was not forefront in my mind! A happy coincidence then :-) Great vlog. Nice to know what you sound like, Kristin.

Great explanation, Kristin. Now I'll have to go back and re-read all those books I used to read with my kids and see how they compare!

Wow - you nailed it. I'm going through the books I've read in my head... and yep, this is true, as far as I can figure. I think that's why I love YA so much, growth and change are crucial to it.

Interesting blog, thank you. I'm just glad young ones are reading in this day and age, what with all the distractions vying for their attention.

Best,

Rashad.

This was interesting. Thanks!

Please feel free to blink more often! Blinking is wonderful!

I've never heard it explained that way - - what a great analysis! THANKS!! :)

Thanks for the explanation, Kristin. I totally agree.

I know publishers don't really recognize New Adult as a genre (yet), but what I'd really like to hear is your opinion on that versus Young Adult. My current work's main characters are 19 and 17, both with a lot of growing up to do.

~May

Kristin,

I loved this post so much that I wrote about it on my literacy blog for educators, writers and book lovers.
https://sites.google.com/a/wbschools.org/literacylink/secondary/grade-6
~Christine

Nice explanation. I'm glad to hear not everyone thinks of age as the be-all and end-all of distinctions between the two, and that some YA can have protagonists who are as young as 12. I'd love to hear your opinion on the so-called "new young adult" category, what would've been considered preteen novels when I was that age 20 years ago. Lately, it seems like there's a big gap between books for older teens and books for older children. I've heard from a lot of people who have been encouraged to age their characters up or down, when back when I was growing up, it wasn't considered a death knell to have characters between the two major age groups.

That's the best explanation I've ever heard. (And the camera loves you, Kristin).

- Doug

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I pre-ordered this book after reading your blog post on it. It arrived last week on the 25th and was a very good read with some nice twists on some hoary cliches.

Congrats Kristen and Kristin. And what a brave and selfless thing for the author to do :)

I'm curious. Did you guys pull the MS to do revisions? Or did you remain confident the whole time that the book would eventually find its perfect editor match?

Good luck to all involved - hope the book kills. That said, 2 observations:

1) Anyone who thinks editors know everything (or ANYONE knows anything for that matter) in publishing are smoking something. Harry Potter got rejected numerous times as did many others. Perseverance is your best friend in this business. Some editor will 'get it' if it's a good book. It might take years, it might not be the advance you want and it may never earn out, but someone, somewhere is bound to 'get it'.

2) Not to be a downer, but that is about the worst cover I have ever seen! Hope it just didn't come out well as a scan or something. Yuck!

It's good to hear stories like this. Keeps a girl going. :)

Kristen/kristin <---agent lol I had to do that at first I kept mistaken the spelling. What a great ending I can imagine the emotions that were involved during this process.
This was heart warming for me because when I get an agent I too want that individual to believe in my vision, even when doubt grows when hit with rejections.

Although I have somethimes loathed this word Subjective, I have come to terms that when my time comes I will have to be patient and hope someone will be subjective to my novel and actually love it...although I will be prepared for plenty of no we don't love it and other things like you mentioned above that editors may say.
Kristen wishing you plenty of sucess=0)

William Goldman said it best: Nobody knows anything. Loved this post.

SQUEE! Congrats Kristen and Kristin! I remembered seeing your 'Story of An Underdog' post months ago, and when this one popped up on NetGalley I JUMPED on it. I LOVED this book! I think I was expecting something akin to Gail Carriger's Soulless, but no! It's something completely different--and just as fabulous! So, SO pleased this one found a home with an editor who loved it,so I got to read and love it, too!

Thanks so much for sharing this story--it's so encouraging, and inspiring, and I kind of want to hug you both!

Conrats!

Thank you so much for sharing this story. I needed some encouragement today :)
Also thank you to Kristen C. for allowing you to share her story. It takes guts to put that out there. Best of luck!!!
PS: I actually really like the cover, I thought it was quirky and gothy. :)

Thank you for sharing that. I hope the book is a great success!! (btw... I LOVE the cover!) =)

Happy ending to a great story! Congrats to both of you!

Congrats on the release and all the fantastic blurbs, Kristen. I think the cover's gorgeous.

Hearing about this story just makes me so glad to hear about agents who fight for their clients.

This story sounds interesting. I can't wait to read it. :D

Congrats!! It's funny to see editors say they're afraid it won't sell well (but then, I have the luxury of seeing it done with all these great blurbs!). Even I am going to seek this out, and it's not normally what I read.

Special thanks to Kristin for allowing us to see snippets of her rejections. Somehow, that helped a lot - to see what that looks like. Seeing all the comments about the voice makes me very eager to read it and form my own opinion.

(Oh - and I liked the cover, too!)

Thank you for posting about this process. I've been seeing rejections very similar to these on my own book and it's started to get me down. Luckily my agent hasn't let it get her down, and seeing that it is possible to still sell after so many rejections gives me hope I might sell this yet. We just need to find that one right editor.

Congrats on finding that right one and I hope the book does very well.

I think it's interesting that these editor rejections sound a lot like agent rejections! Of course, the parallels are real because, as we can see, the reasons an editor will pass on a project are very similar to the reasons an agent will pass. And this only goes to underscore the point that this business is subjective. In the end it's about writing the best novel we can write, and then finding that one agent and that one editor that's right for the book.

I don't know about anyone else, but this encourages me. Thanks!

The list of rejections made me ill. What does a writer do when people can't (don't) see the worth of a submission?

Ah well. I must stop whining and get back to writing now.

*still a little sick but checking on the book :)*

Kristen, I'm so happy this story had a happy ending! I remember hanging with you at RWA Nationals in Orlando and hearing all you'd been going through with this book at the time. I had my fingers crossed for you and I'm so glad it all worked out! Can't wait to read the book.

Thank you for bravely sharing this list of rejections. It helps!

I think the annoying thing for a writer would be the way that these rejections aren't couched in very subjective language. (That's the annoying thing for this writer, anyway.) Everyone speaks with such absolute and utter authority, like they're using friggin' palantirs or something. I get "I didn't connect with the voice" as an agent's critique, because you'll have to be the book's biggest cheerleader. But an editor should know better than to make his/her subjective tastes equivalent to what will sell. As someone earlier in the thread pointed out, editors did this to Harry Potter and you have to wonder if--and why--they still have jobs.

Congratulations Kristen and Kristin! I'm glad lots of readers will have a chance to enter Miranda's world.

Love the pic--both of them! :-)

Congratulations!

Lucy

I've been fascinated with this book since your first post about it. I'll definitely been picking it up! Thanks for the peek behind the scenes. Once again, it confirms how subjective this business is.

You must feel like a proud mama :-)

Looking forward to reading my copy even more now.

The cup hath spoken! lol! :) I admit, it is very nice to see a Happy Release Day post for Firelight. Thank you, Kristin, for your tenacity and unfailing belief in this book -and me!

I also wanted to add that I agreed to put my rejections up in public, in all their blunt glory, because I thought it might give other writers some comfort. Rejection is a part of our lives, be it during the query stage, submissions, or a negative review. There is no shame in rejection. Opinions are not fact but taste, and we should not let anyone end our dream because of them.

Best of luck to my fellow writers!

So of course i'll read this book. But what in the world is more subjective, apparently, than the world of agents, editors and publishers? Oh, maybe the judging world of ice skating....I don't like her costume, or her lipstick or her too wide hips....oh! you mean I should be judging her skating??? I am sooo grateful for your blog and for showing these rejections. Sounds like the world of children....I don't like the green crayon, or watercolors, or india ink drawings....never mind that there's great work to look at...I feel no shame in rejection. I do admit to shaking my head at the reason. Or reasons. I've chosen to frame and hang my rejections. In the bathroom. Thanks so much for hanging in there with this author and for your dedication to your own belief in her work. It is so encouraging to the rest of us that somebody does believe in something. To all of us who find this weird world daunting: find the laughter, people. Much of it is just a joke to work through to find the one who gets what you're saying.

It's amazing how those editorial rejections all focused on the same two things -- the voice and the lack of connection. I'm not a reader in this genre, but frankly, if I was, I'd rely more on the editor's responses than the responses of the authors, who could be blurbing only out of professional courtesy. Saying that, though, I wish this book and its author all the luck in the world.

RG

Rejections happen, it's all part of the big, subjective picture, and congratulations on having found a home for Kristen's book!

Best,

Rashad.

Perseverance and belief: this is where I see the correlation between being a writer with being an athlete. It's the mental journey that truly distinguishes those that succeed from the rest. Inspiring. Congratulations to you both in receiving your due validations.

Thank you. It sounds well thought out, ethical, and fair.

The only comment I'd like to add is that authors who agree to other venues fully understand that most sales of digital books are generated through Amazon. Or through digital publishers web sites. In other words, an e-book can be sent from one venue to another but the sales still come from Amazon as it stands right now.

I think the whole kit and kaboodle is genius. And I've been wondering for a while when an agent would embrace in something like this.

I hope you have great success with this model.

This is really interesting to see, and I hope it works out well for you and the authors who decide to use the service. It sounds like you've spent a lot of time and effort to work the kinks out in advance and to maintain your ethical standards. I'm pleased to see an agent who's looking to the future and attempting to find ways to help authors publish ebooks in more venues.

I've only seen this from the consumer end, where I'll want a book in a particular format and not be able to obtain it, even though it's readily available in another, similar format.

I'm a librarian, and we're pretty much stuck dealing with Overdrive (and their, in my opinion, terrible system) and our patrons don't understand why we aren't getting ebooks in the formats they prefer, nor why we keep using a system that doesn't function well. We can finally get Kindle books, but it's been a long battle and there are a lot of issues still to be resolved.

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This last year, I decided to self-pub the middle grade novels I'd written (2 series novels and 3 related short stories), and I'm currently editing #3 for uploading.

And NLA's DLP would be something I would jump at. Like anything new, there is a HUGE learning curve with self-publishing. I know numerous authors who are doing well and making decent money at it.

Many of them have a few added advantages:
1) a known name (published traditionally)
2) writing in an established genre (romance, erotica, etc). MG is relatively new in ebooks because the parent is still monitoring downloads and most kids don't have an e-reader(though they were big gifts this last Christmas!)
3) a networking platform that reaches out to potential readers, prior to SP endeavor.

I've had a tough time finding reviewers for my MG novels. In fact, I've been on one waiting list for over 7 months. Having an agent who has access to numerous reviewers would be wonderful.

Finding a designer for cover art is hard . . . and a crap shoot. What I want to see on a cover isn't necessarily what sells the cover. To that end, I LOVE my covers.

Don't even ask me about foreign sales. True, Amazon has opened new shops in numerous countries, but they want to read TRANSLATIONS and not the English version. Finding (and paying a translator) is totally out of my abilities.

I'm sure there are a few more points I'd like to make, but I need to walk my kidlet to school!

This is a very intriguing offer, in my opinion. I recently read about another book that used a similar idea, where the agent offered help for it.

I personally am hoping to go the traditional route, but something like this is just as viable to me, for example, if no publishers show interest.

My question is, how do you choose people to use this service? I know the author elects to do so, but do they need to query you first, specifically for it? Or is it a case where the book didn't sell to a publisher, and you offer to give them this sort of representation?

:-)

Off topic...

I just wanted to say that I really liked your entry for Erica's contest. It's delightfully awful!

And if Blogger eats my comment for the third time, I want to know why. :D

Just to say I think this is a great model, Kristin, and I love the idea. Thanks for all you do to support your authors. Even if I'm not one of them, it gives me the warm fuzzies to see an agent so involved.

I find it interesting that a new type of service is still compensated by the "old" standards.

Why 15%? Why put in the loophole of having a two-year minimum in your liaison agreement to cover your risk? Why not price the service for what it is?

I'm still waiting to hear about that "fresh new idea" from an agency on how they can help the writer in the e-market. (Gee, haven't we heard that request before?)

I've followed this blog for quite some time and appreciate all the insight you've provided. Please keep this conversation going. The agent's role in the new way of publishing has yet to be clearly articulated and NLA is an agency who could make this happen.

Thank you, Kristen, for your honesty and putting yourself out there in the best interest of all writers, not just your clients.

Lisa