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Andrea Cascardi

Day two of my reports from the Austin SCBWI conference, and here’s what literary agent Andrea Cascardi from the Transatlantic Literary Agency had to say about getting and working with an agent.

Like fellow speaker Mark McVeigh, Andrea was an editor before she became an agent. She worked in editorial at Houghton Mifflin, Scholastic, Crown/Random House, Hyperion and Knopf. Some of the authors she is now the agent for are Shana Burg and Christine Ford,

As an agent, Andrea said that each author/agent relationship is unique. Agents and authors each have different personalities, tastes, etc., and because of that, authors and agents need to find the person who will be a good match, so they can work together productively for the long term.

Before authors submit to an agent, they should decide what kind of agency they want to be with. Andrea said writers should consider whether they want to be with a big agency or a small boutique, whether they want an agent who likes to communicate by phone or texting, the agent’s experience, whether the agent likes to edit, and what kind of sales the agent has had.

Once writers have decided what kind of agent they want, they can research the agents online, look at blogs and/or Twitter feeds, interviews and deals on Publishers Marketplace.

Andrea also warned that both the agent and author should be passionate about what they’re doing, because in the publishing industry, lows can be extremely low and highs stratospheric. The agent helps the author through both.

She explained that agents are the advocate of their client always, whereas an editor must straddle the needs of the author and the publishing house.

Because of that, authors should trust their agents, because agents have the big picture knowledge of the industry.

With their agent, Andrea said, writers should:

• Form a plan for submission of the manuscript.
• Be well informed about contracts.
• Give agents a heads up before sending in a finished manuscript so the agents can plan.

Honesty is the best policy when working with agents, Andrea said, and if a writer isn’t happy with his or her agent, he or she should talk to the agent about the problems.

Stay positive but realistic, she said.

Great advice.

I talked to Andrea at the conference, and she graciously said she would do an interview or guest post for Day By Day Writer. So, stay tuned for that.

Come back tomorrow to see what Arthur Levine Books editor Cheryl Klein had to say at the conference.

Write On!

7 Comments on Andrea Cascardi on getting an agent, last added: 2/4/2010

I spent my Saturday at the fabulous Austin SCBWI conference, which offered a great lineup of speakers. Over the next week, or as long as it takes to cover them all, I’ll post what I heard.

First up is literary agent Mark McVeigh, who has his own agency, The McVeigh Agency. Mark knows something about children and the children’s literary industry. He taught sixth grade for four years and was in editorial at Golden Books, Scholastic, Random House, HarperCollins, Dutton and as the editorial director at Simon & Shuster’s Aladdin imprint. There’s a great interview with Mark at Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Cynsations blog.

Mark gave a candid but encouraging talk about the current state of the publishing industry. “There is good news,” he said, explaining that the industry is in a time of transition.

Middle-grade, early chapter books and young-adult are on the verge of breaking out in digital books, he said, adding that he thinks people will ultimately make more money and sell more books in digital. He buys e-books himself, and said that if he likes it, he also buys the hardcover to have on his shelf.

He encourages people, if they can afford it, to buy books, whether digital or print editions, to keep the industry going.

That said, he’s still busy. Mark was late to his presentation because, he admitted, he was working on his speech in another room. He explained that he has been getting up at 7 am and working til 3 am.

He advised that, especially now, writers need to defend their muse. “Rejection is not necessarily a reflection of your work,” he said, pointing out that good books are getting turned down right now because publishers feel that they can’t afford to take any chances.

To defend your muse, he said, be true to your writing. “I want clients who are warriors,” he said. Be brave. And, he said, write every day.

He also said to have tough love in critique sessions and choose writing friends carefully with an eye toward learning to get better.

He suggested writers keep up with what’s going on in the industry, for example, by reading Publishers Weekly, and network at conferences and online, through blogs and community forums. He even said writers can make a name for themselves by creating and posting videos on YouTube, whatever it takes to make yourself known.

Other advice Mark offered:

• Sign with an agent because publishing houses are becoming less and less inclined to buy from writers who are not agented.

• After they’ve got a deal, writers shouldn’t turn down paperback original. Despite the fact that some reviewers still refuse to review paperback books, people are buying paperbacks more than any other format right now. “Genius will show through no matter what the format,” he said.

• Have a good lawyer read your contract.

• And most of all: “Keep working on your craft.”

Great advice.

Tomorrow, Andrea Cascardi with Transatlantic Literary Agency.

Write On!

2 Comments on Mark McVeigh on publishing, last added: 2/2/2010