Susan Berger is the author of Jamie's Dream, a children's picture book she collaborated with her son, Christopher Corbin.
Did you always want to be a writer?
No. I wanted to be a ballet dancer. Then I wanted to be a nurse. (I was reading the Cherry Ames, Girl Nurse Series) Then I wanted to be a reporter. (I was reading the Beverly Gray, Girl Reporter series.) In my defense, I did not want to be everything I read. I never wanted to be an inventor (Tom Swift Series) or a detective (Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys) In my daydreams I wanted to be queen of the world so I could end all hunger and give all the orphans good homes. Then I wanted to be an actress.
By this time, I was twelve and knew myself for a fickle person since I wanted to be so many things.
I did not want to be a writer. I knew I was a writer. I won my first writing prize at St Cyprians School in Cape Town, S. Africa in 1955. It was a very nice story about the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. It began... "Far away in the land of Holidays, where no mortal child has ever been, lived the Easter Bunny...." I wish I could remember the rest of it.
In 8th grade, in Westport Connecticut, I had a poem published in anthology of high school poetry. I suppose I wrote some more after that, but it must have been schoolwork. By the time I was in 9th grade, all my extracurricular activity was acting.
When I started to write again in 1992, the first story I worked on was Jamie's Dream with my son Christopher.
Tell us about your recent release. What was your inspiration for it?
I was attending the 1992 Pacific Northwest Writers Conference. They gave out an exercise. "Write about a saying as if it were real" i.e. 'There is a skeleton in my closet.' I chose "Buy a Dream". I came home and discussed it with Christopher. I asked him "Where would you go to buy a dream?" He gave me that LOOK that children give grownups when grownups are being particularly stupid. "Dream's R Us, of course" he answered. And so our collaboration began. Chris was 9, but he was going to a school where writing was highly valued. His school mornings began with 20 minutes of creative writing. Then they read their work aloud. They critiqued each other, just as they did in my adult writer's group. He was a great partner. Over the next 12 years, Jamie was sent out many times. It was rewritten at least 16 times. Then Guardian Angel said they wanted to publish it. The joy of that moment is equaled only by the moment I first saw Kim's Illustrations.
What are you working on now?
This week I worked on Disasters Happen: Earthquake which will be published by Guardian Angel in 2008. It is a non fiction book for the science series. It is aimed at first - third graders. (What causes earthquakes? Can we predict them? Where do they happen? How do we prepare for them? What to do during a quake? What happens afterwards.)
I am also working on a storybook called Brittany's Wall, (Needs a better title.) and a mid grade chapter book called Tasha the Magnificent. Brittany is going into its 8th rewrite. Tasha is going into its 9th rewrite. I have contacted the SCBWI for a new critique group for Tasha. I find re writing to be both drudgery and magic. When I finish a story, I am always convinced that I have written the best story I am capable of writing. It is amazing to see how much better it can become.
What is the best writing advice you have ever received?
It is not your business to question your talent. It is your business to show up at the page. (okay, it's short, but it's great advice.)
Do you have a website or blog where readers may learn more about you and your works?
http://jamiesdream.com/ links to my live journal and to mine and Christopher's IMDB.com pages. I am looking forward to making another website where I can list other books as they come out and link to other authors.
What is the IMDB?
It is the internet movie data base (http://imdb.com/) It is a wonderful site. You can look up any movie or TV show and see the full cast and credits. You can also look up any actor and (hopefully) see what movies and TV shows they have done. I say hopefully because I cannot seem to get my Hannah Montana Episode added. I don't have a large Movie and TV resume. Most of my professional work is theatre.
Is there anything else you'd like to say to our readers?
Andrea says to Melina in The Magic Violin, "I'll tell you what's magic-believing in yourself. That's magic!" Jamie says in Jamie's Dream "But mom, you said I could do anything I believed I could do." I think Andrea and Jamie's mom give very good advice. May you always find the magic.
--Interview by Mayra Calvani
I recently completed my first novel, which I submitted for a contest. The first prize is a publishing contract and the contest organizers require that the book submitted not be under contract. I am wondering though, should I wait until the contest results are announced in January to start looking for an agent? Or should I try to find an agent now, and then ask them (if I am so blessed to get one) not to submit my work until the contest results are out?
Get out there now and look! Since I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to contests I’m not exactly sure which one this might be. I can tell you, however, that most contests that come with publishing contract in hand come with a non-negotiable publishing contract. Wouldn’t you rather have an agent on your side to try and turn that into something that can be negotiated? Maybe even sell it to another house? If you don’t find an agent before you win the contest, you can then use the contest to help you find one. However, I would start the hunt now.
Again, I want to defer to readers on this one since I know many of you have been in similar situations. If so, how did you handle it?
Jessica
I’ve been asked and I’ve seen many message board posts on whether or not agents pitch projects before even offering representation, and the answer is yes, sort of. As an agent I can only do my very best if I know exactly what the market wants and needs, and sometimes that means calling an editor or two to feel them out first. Does that mean I know for sure whether a project can sell or will sell? No, it only means that I know the potential for the project at one or two houses.
This is not something I do with every project, but only something I do if I have concerns about marketability. For example, if I have a cozy mystery submission that I like but question whether or not the hook has been done (meaning someone has already published this brilliant “cooking with grass” cozy mystery series), I am very likely to call one of my editor contacts to see whether or not they’ve already tried this or have this concept on their list. Why would I do this? Since there are so few publishers selling cozies right now it gives the author and me both a better chance if we know what we’re up against right away. It also gives me the edge as an agent over an unagented author. Part of why an agent can be so important is that she has the ability to feel things out before you waste your time to write the book. While this is difficult for unpublished or unagented authors, it’s definitely a plus for agented authors. More times than I can count I’ve called editors to feel them out about the market in general or a particular project before I even get the author to start writing. This way we can decide better whether or not we want to spend time on it.
Keep in mind that calling an editor to feel her out about a project does not mean I’m "pitching" the project. The editor is usually very aware that this is a conversation about a potential project and never do I give out the exact title or author name. And never, ever, ever would I actually send anything to an editor without having talked to the author first. So if an editor says no, does this automatically mean I say no as well? No. In some cases I have talked to the author and explained that the hook isn’t viable, but asked if there are other ideas or ways to spin the proposal to make it more marketable. In fact I have more than one client who became a client this very way.
More important, though, does this hurt your chances of selling the book? Not at all. It only gives me an idea of how I feel about repping it. Another agent might have other contacts that are more enthusiastic about the idea or she might be braver than I. In other words, it might not matter to her that Cozy House already has that book because she’s happy to send it to Almost Cozy House and Mysteries R Us House instead. Or she might know something about Cozy House that I don’t. Maybe they want two series on “Eating Grass.”
Being an agent means having a number of resources at my fingertips and yes, some of those resources are editors.
Jessica
For a comprehensive list of contacts withing and around publishing: Click here....
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Rebecca OUP-US
Hanna Diamond, author of Fleeing Hitler: France 1940, is Senior Lecturer in French History at the University of Bath. She lived and taught in Paris for many years and has spent her career researching the lives of the French people during the twentieth century. Fleeing Hitler shows how the mass exodus from Paris was a defining moment in the war for the French. In the original piece below Diamond reflects upon how difficult it was to get into the French psyche.
When I was approached by OUP to write a book on the exodus in France I had already read Irene Nemirovsky’s Suite Francaise and I jumped at the chance. Aware that official archives, police reports and other documents drawn up by officials were not likely to be available since most had left their posts along with the rest of the population, oral history seemed an ideal way of reaching this experience. (more…)
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If you've ever done any sort of agent research at all you should know to be aware of the scam agent—those “agents” who prey on unsuspecting authors for money only. People in the publishing business preach constantly about scam agents. You can read in-depth on how to avoid them on Preditors & Editors, the amazing Writer Beware blog, and of course the esteemed Miss Snark. What I don’t think we talk enough about, though, are bad agents. Not the “agents” who are looking to scam you out of your money, but the agents who are just incompetent. While one will take your money and make you feel the fool, the other has the ability to cause some short-term damage to your career. While the damage is rarely irreparable, it is harmful nonetheless.
An incompetent agent is much more difficult to spot than a scam agent because she usually follows the rules. In other words, it’s unlikely she asks for reading fees, or “suggests” you hire outside editors. No, Bad Agent often has the best of intentions. She really does want to sell your book, she just doesn’t know how. She doesn’t have the contacts, the knowledge, or the publishing experience to truly be what an agent should be for you. If she does sell your book it’s probably a fluke and unlikely that her contract negotiation skills are really going to benefit you in the way an agent should. In many instances the author could have done just as well negotiating the contract as Bad Agent. Bad Agent also fails to realize that her job doesn’t end there. In fact, there’s a lot more she needs to do than just sell a book. Bad Agent doesn’t have a clue when it comes to marketing, market advice, or strategy, and rarely can she advise you on where you should go from here.
And what harm can Bad Agent do? Well, like I said, it’s not necessarily irreparable, but it can be endlessly frustrating. Since Bad Agent doesn’t have contacts within the industry she doesn’t know where to even submit your book. In fact, in all likelihood she doesn’t know much more than you. What she does know is what you already know—what editors are buying according to their listings on Publishers Marketplace. While that's a good start to making new contacts (and editors contact me through my posts all the time), it can't be your Rolodex. Contacts are those people who call you back and read work quickly simply because they know your letterhead. Any agent who tells you that Publishers Marketplace is the key to her selling strategy is not the agent for you. No good agent is going to start her submission process by posting your listing on the Publishers Marketplace Rights Board. She doesn't have to. She knows that she'll be more successful sending your work to her contacts. Bad Agent doesn't have contacts, and that's evident by the fact that her submission process means first posting your book on the rights board. She doesn't know how else to do it.
If Bad Agent does sell your book, it’s probably a fluke, and since it’s a fluke, it’s unlikely she has any knowledge of contracts. Any agent should know how to successfully negotiate the obvious things, like your advance and royalties, but Bad Agent thinks it stops there. She doesn’t have the proper understanding of things like option clauses, warranties, or subsidiary rights. She doesn’t think she really has to. While none of this will kill a career, a badly negotiated contract can certainly slow things down considerably. Bad Agent’s strategy is probably to negotiate the advance and maybe royalties, talk about the option clause, and add her agency clause. That’s it. In fact, in most cases Bad Agent’s “boilerplate” looks very similar to the publisher’s.
Publishing experience would probably have helped Bad Agent. If she had worked for a larger agency or a publishing house she would know who to call and how to negotiate a contract. More important, though, she would understand this very bizarre business. Do not be tricked into believing that because Bad Agent took a publishing course she knows the ins and outs of the industry. While publishing courses can be helpful, they do not teach the things an agent should know. (I’ve never taken a publishing course, so maybe someone can chime in to talk about what they do offer. I do know from talking to others that the biggest benefit was getting a job.)
So how do you avoid Bad Agent? How do you know, when there aren’t distinct warning signs like there are with scam agents? By carefully checking out every agent you query.
The biggest warning sign is that no one knows who Bad Agent is. When asking your writing groups (RWA, MWA, SFWA, etc.) about Bad Agent, you’ll get nothing but silence. Bad Agent doesn’t have a reputation, good, bad, or otherwise, because no one knows who she is.
References for Bad Agent will also be nonexistent. While no agent will give you contact information or a list of references, with a good agent you should be able to find a reference easily. A quick Internet search or a review of an agent’s Web site usually gives up client names. Once you find that, it’s not difficult to find an author Web site and contact information. Clients of good agents will happily give references. Clients of Bad Agent will be very, very difficult to find. If you do find clients of Bad Agent, pay attention to what she’s sold. Bad Agent will often claim client sales that were previously sold through another agent. Make sure that you ask references not only if Bad Agent sold the books for them, but if they were happy with the contract.
Bad Agent also won’t be able to tick off the publishers or agents she’s worked with, because they don’t exist. In fact, she’s likely to tell you more about her previous career as a marketer or car salesman.
Most important, though, with Bad Agent you’ll get Bad Vibe. It won’t feel right and yet you’ll do it anyway.
The worst part about Bad Agent is that by the time you realize you have one, you’ve probably already signed with her. My advice? Get out while you can. You know who she is and it’s important to remember that no agent truly is better than Bad Agent. The minute you know you have Bad Agent, there should be no looking back. Chalk it up as experience and move on.
—Jessica
Susan Berger is the author of Jamie's Dream, a children's picture book she collaborated with her son, Christopher Corbin. 
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most contests that come with publishing contract in hand come with a non-negotiable publishing contract
And every time I read the small print, I wonder why people enter them in the first place. If the first place is a boilerplate contract for a smallish advance, then what makes this 'contest' (for which I am supposed to pay an entry fee, and often a fairly steep one) better than simply sending it to the slushpile? It gets read by the same people, and if it's good enough, it'll go forward - but if I go through the slush, I get the chance to involve an agent and vet the contract.
Sounds like the better deal to me...
Since the odds of actually winning the contest are so high, and the contract not to your favor, keep looking for an agent. Even finaling in a BIG contest will only get you so far. I finaled in the Malice Domestic contest and that book is still sitting on my shelf, unpublished.
From what I've seen entering contests is paying to get into the slushpile, which I can do for free. Therefore, the only time I enter contests is if there is a promise that I will receive constructive critiques by the judges. The way I see it, that is what I'm paying for because the odds of actually winning are so high.
There are some legit contests out there that promise publication. However, some of the new ones produce a product that is so inferior it's an embarrasment. Pretty cover, but coloring book paper inside. Makes regular paperbacks look high-end.
And they own the book. So you're stuck.
You should have an agent.
I'm not very familiar with contests that offer contracts. But I think Jessica offered some great advice, look for an agent now.
I am a firm believer in contests and since I sold twice and got an agent as a result of contests, I congratulate you for entering. Sure there are deals you shouldn’t take, but you won’t maybe you won’t know until you get close enough to check them out.
A smart writer once told me that this business is too tough to pass on any avenue to achieve publication. I found that to be good solid advice.
CC
I'm wondering if this is the St. Martin's Best First Novel in a Mystery Series contest?
I've seen first hand how these winners were wooed by top agents
(I sat in the bar eavesdropping on Donald Maass as he pitched himself to a contest winner).
I've seen some of these winners go on to greater things - more books in the series published (for hopefully better money) and more awards thrown at them. I've also seen winners tank after their prize winner came out in print, and how their second book was rejected by the publisher - at least they had that 10K prize money to show for their trouble.
I've also seen one previously published mystery writer who was dropped by their publisher due to low sales, and tried to pass himself off as a "first time" unpublished novelist in order to win that St. Martin's prize (tsk, tsk).
Re: the St. Martin's, I've often wondered if the winner had a choice to turn down the award (and St. Martin's publication) and shop it else where.
Christine: Great advice!
I was actually wondering if this was the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, which I entered. However, I'm still out shopping for an agent.
Why? Because that one is picking a 1-in-5,000 winner. So if I'm the lucky one who wins $25,000 and a publishing contract, great. If not, I'll still need an agent.
This could be the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest, with a $25,000 advance (contract is not negotiable) and no entry fee. The rules there say if you make it through to the semi-finals (up to 1000 manuscripts can be declared such) in January, then Penquin holds exclusive first-pub rights and must be negotiated with first either until the ms is eliminated (March 2 or later) or until April 22 if the ms is a Finalist.
Shouldn't be a problem for an agent to negotiate first rights of review/publish, but if you're submitting the ms directly to a publisher during the time it's held up in the contest, that could create some ill will if everyone jumps on the novel at once.
Keep things in perspective, though. Odds are, with a recently completed first novel, you won't have an agent by January anyway, even if you started submitting to agents last week. Even if your query letter is read before the holidays and a partial is requested, your partial probably won't be read for another month, and then it'll be another month or two before a requested full is read. Things moving faster than that are an exception.
Christie:
A smart writer once told me that this business is too tough to pass on any avenue to achieve publication. I found that to be good solid advice.
A number of career writers have told me the opposite: look carefully where you are going and decide whether it fits in with your career plan or not.
Knowing Christie, I think she didn't mean the silly avenues. There are those to be avoided at all costs. But Harlequin often does contests, and then will read the work. Sometimes they reject, other times they buy. There is no fee to enter. If you have a book geared for them, by all means get it into a contest. It's a guaranteed read if you get to the end.
bTW, I never won any contests and sold the first book I wrote, which took 26th in a three way tie in the only contest I entered, so pretty much dead last.
Worst case scenario is that you have an agent's offer in one hand and a winning contest entry in the other.
Not too shabby.
Boy, I wish these things came with an Edit button for comments! (Or maybe I shouldn’t type while my cat is vying for my attention.)
I’m in total agreement that are some raw deals out there for writers and some have Writer’s Beware stamped all over them. I stated in my paragraph above that quote, (which had a typo in it, too. Yikes! Kitty is locked out of the office for good now,) “Sure there are deals you shouldn’t take.” And it goes with out saying that one has to know where she/he is going in this business.
What I actually meant to say, instead of “achieving publication” was… “A smart writer once told me that this business is too tough to pass on any avenue to SEEK publication.” And by that, she meant to enter contests, make appointment with editors at conferences, make appointment with agents, query agents, query editors.
Sorry for the opps.
CC
I don't know much about these types of contests, but I do have a friend who entered a small press contest, won, and is having her book published through them. Sometimes, she questions whether it is a blessing or a curse.
She did not get an agent. She accepted the basic contract and has been dealing with a less-than-professional publishing experience as a result. I'm convinced she'd fare better with an agent on her side.
I would definitely query if I were you. Then, if you find an agent before the contest is over, that agent can advise you as to what to do if you win, or if you don't. And if you don't find an agent before the end of the contest, that's fine too, but it sure doesn't hurt to put yourself and your book out there.
Great advice, Jessica. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.