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Blog: BookEnds, LLC - A Literary Agency (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: BookEnds, jobs in publishing, Add a tag
Blog: BookEnds, LLC - A Literary Agency (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: queries, agents, submissions, BookEnds, Add a tag
The other day I read a submission that I thought was really strong and had great potential. However, given my already busy client list I didn't think I was going to be the best agent for the project. This book needed someone who could be truly passionate about it, who had a love for the genre and who had the time and desire to really work with the author on the project. Instead of just passing however, I passed it on to another agent at BookEnds. Someone who fit every one of the criteria I thought the book needed.
When I do something like this I often wonder what the author will think. Does the author later think less of the offer she receives because it isn't the agent she submitted to, although it is the agency? or Does the author think this is a great opportunity because her project definitely landed in the right hands?
As we see when we receive responses to rejections, every author is different. Some will be offended that the agent they first submitted to didn't want it in the first place and others will be elated that the agency as a whole felt so strongly about the book.
Like everyone else, an agent only has a finite number of hours in the day and can only represent so many clients and give them the attention she feels they deserve. When reviewing submissions, we at BookEnds are reviewing for ourselves first and the agency second. We all work very closely together and that doesn't just mean bouncing ideas off each other, it means working hard to get as many great books published as we can, and helping each other build a strong career as an agent.
When we pass a project on to another agent within BookEnds it doesn't mean we didn't think it was great and are tossing our trash onto someone else's pile. In fact, it's the complete opposite, we think the book has some real potential and were excited about its possibilities, but feel it needs to be with the right agent, not any agent.
I'm going to pre-empt some questions here and say that we don't always pass everything on so if you feel there are two agents at BookEnds who might be right for your book feel free to query them both. Never at the same time, but if the first passes there's no reason you can't try the second. Just don't tell anyone else I said that. ;)
--jhf
Blog: BookEnds, LLC - A Literary Agency (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: BookEnds, Add a tag
We are off for the weekend celebrating Independence Day and hopefully taking some time for relaxing reading. I'll be finishing up Charlaine Harris's Midnight Crossroad and considering what I should read next.
Have a safe and happy holiday!
--JHF
Blog: BookEnds, LLC - A Literary Agency (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: A Day in the Life, BookEnds, Add a tag
I wanted to let you all know that I'll be out of the office today. I have an appointment to have my ta-ta's checked.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, not that I probably need to tell you that, and coincidentally it's also the month for my annual mammogram. This is not normally something I'd share with my readers, but it's important. Really important.
If you're not getting exams or doing exams please add it to what I'm sure is already a very busy list of things you need to do. Make sure your mother, your daughter, your best friend, your wife, and your neighbor are getting them. Ask them. And men, this isn't just a woman's disease. Ask your doctor about breast cancer too.
We can save lives by getting an exam. Let's do it.
Blog: BookEnds, LLC - A Literary Agency (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: BookEnds, Add a tag
It's Friday and it's been another great week at BookEnds. To celebrate I'm going to share the recipe for one of my favorite drinks . The Moscow Mule. I discovered this quite a number of years ago and it's my go-to. I've also managed to make it a favorite for a number of friends.
1 oz vodka--whatever your favorite brand works
1/2 oz lime juice--I always recommend fresh squeezed
Ginger Beer--for those who don't know this amazing drink, ginger beer is not in fact a beer but a soda. More along the lines of root beer. Depending on what brand you buy it can be very tangy and spicy. You might want to try a few different brands to find your favorite. We prefer Fever Tree.
Traditionally the Moscow Mule is served in a copper mug. We use rocks glasses. Add all the ingredients over ice, stir, finish off with a lime wedge and enjoy. I think you'll like this one.
Skol!
--jhf
Blog: BookEnds, LLC - A Literary Agency (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: BookEnds, Add a tag
The last in a five-part series introducing the BookEnds team.
Blog: BookEnds, LLC - A Literary Agency (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: BookEnds, Add a tag
Blog: BookEnds, LLC - A Literary Agency (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: BookEnds, Add a tag
Blog: BookEnds, LLC - A Literary Agency (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: BookEnds, Add a tag
The first in a five part series introducing the BookEnds team.
Blog: BookEnds, LLC - A Literary Agency (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: BookEnds, Add a tag
Today, for lack of any really official date, BookEnds is celebrating 15 years. While I never doubted we'd make it this far and this long, I can't believe it's already here. It feels like just last week I was riding the subway in Brooklyn hashing a scheme to get out of the rat race and do things the way I wanted to do them. Thankfully Jacky Sach was a big enough sucker to think I had a good idea.
Blog: BookEnds, LLC - A Literary Agency (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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This is probably harder for me to believe than it is for you, but after more than two years and lots and lots of thinking I've made the decision to come back. Well I've made the decision to test the waters a bit and see if coming back to blogging is something I really want to do.
First let me start by thanking all of you who have read, are reading, who have come back to read the blog. I especially want to thank those who have stopped me over the years to tell me how much you loved and missed the blog. I can't even begin to tell you how much it has meant to me. As writers yourselves I imagine you have some idea of what it feels like to have a reader express appreciation for the work you do.
A lot has changed in the publishing world in the last two years, a lot was changing when I left. I have no doubt that because of this changing world my posts are going to be a lot different from what I wrote about 8, 5 or even 2 years ago. I'll probably write less on query letters and more on industry news. Maybe. I don't know.
In other words, I really don't have any idea what I'll be writing about or how often I'll be writing. What I can guarantee is that whatever I write about it will be the same me you've gotten to know over the years. I'll say it the only way I know how, truthfully and directly, and I'll probably get myself in trouble a time or two.
So let's get the ball rolling. Welcome to all of you who are here and please, in the comments, let me know what you'd like to hear about or what you'd like to hear me rant, rave, or generally drone on about.
It's good to be back!
--Jessica Faust (JHF)
Blog: First Book (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: summer reading, Bookends, Literacy Links and Articles, Early Ed Watch, Imagination Soup, New America's Early Education Initiative, Together Time 4 Families, Books & Reading, Add a tag
Together Time 4 Families seeks to reinforce the importance of books and reading in the home. Activities shared on this blog are a great resource for parents looking to involve the entire family in literacy fun.
First Book’s Post Pick: Early Literacy Summer Activities
Early Ed Watch is a blog from New America’s Early Education Initiative which pays special attention to news and resources which promote early literacy in children up to age eight.
First Book’s Post Pick: Infants, Toddlers and Precursors to Literacy
Bookends is a blog created by two middle-school librarians who write well-structured and concise reviews on select books. Reviews are organized very well and the site itself is well navigable.
First Book’s Post Pick: Dinosaurs!
Imagination Soup was created by author, parent and teacher Melissa Taylor who provides great links for all types of learning styles, topics and abilities.
First Book’s Post Pick: Early Readers Read the Pictures
Blog: Day By Day Writer (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: publishing, query letters, literary agents, Jennifer Jackson, Jessica Faust, BookEnds, finding an agent, re-querying agents, Add a tag
In my blog reading the last few days I’ve noticed a number of agents talking about people sending them query letters that are in their “do not represent” genre list, or writers sending multiple query letters after they’ve received a rejection. A few days ago, Jessica Faust at BookEnds agency posted a message entitled Please Stop, and it was about a writer who had sent her the same query letter “at least 20 times” from different email addresses and sometimes daily. Jessica says she has already rejected the query and has asked the writer to stop sending them. And if you read through the comments, Jessica isn’t the only agent who has been getting these emails. One agent apparently emailed the writer asking him or her to stop and the agent got a reply that said, “The queries will continue until ELIZABETH [the name of the book] is published.”
As a writer trying to get my own work published, it boggles my mind why a fellow writer would think this approach would work AND why someone would want an agent who is only representing them to stop harrassment. (Of course, perhaps it’s not a writer at all and just someone with waaaaayyy to much time on their hands.)
Anyway, today, agent Jennifer Jackson started a discussion on re-queries, whether it’s ok for a writer to re-query an agent if they have already been rejected. There were lots of thoughts in the comments from writers saying no they wouldn’t send a query again after a rejection, or maybe they would if they had made extensive changes to the manuscript.
Personally, I think the polite and professional thing to do is to re-query only if the agent said he or she would like to see it again if changes were made. Other than that, I wouldn’t query again for that project. If the project got rejected completely by all of my top-tier agents, then it probably wasn’t ready to submit and I’d try again with the next project and I think it’s fair to re-query an agent with a totally new manuscript.
I posted a comment saying roughly this and more on Jennifer’s blog post and I wanted to re-post it here, because I think it’s important for writers to really think about what they’re doing when they query. You want a career-long relationship with this person, and you want someone who believes in your book as much as you believe in it. If they don’t, they won’t be able to sell it properly. So, don’t just blanket-query to everyone under the sun. Not only does it waste the time of the agents — not to mention clog up the system for other writers — it also wastes YOUR time, and, in my opinion, undervalues your work. If you’ve worked so hard to make your book the best that it can be, editing and revising, making every word the best word, the characters and story strong, then given your query and synopsis the same attention to detail, don’t stop now. Research agents, and if one rejects you, don’t take it as a personal slight. Writing is subjective. Move on to the next agent in your well-researched list.
That’s pretty much what I said in the comment on Jessica’s blog post, but I’m including it here too in case you want more details. Bottom line: Don’t short change yourself. Find the best agent for you, not any agent.
I’m not an agent, and I really think it’s up to each agent to make his or her own guidelines for submissions.
But as a writer, given what I know about the industry and what I want out of an agent-writer relationship, I wouldn’t re-query an agent unless that agent had said, if you make changes, please send it to me again. That’s the only time I would re-query an agent on the same project. If I didn’t find an agent on my first project and was now going through the process with a completely different book, I think it’s fair to re-query with the new project.
As a writer, here’s my thoughts on why I would never re-query an agent on the same project unless it was invited. I want an agent who really loves my work, and no matter how much re-writing is done, the basic story or idea of a project isn’t going to change. If it does, that’s a new project. So, if an agent reads my query for Project A and doesn’t think the story has merit enough to ask for a second look after some re-writing, then in my mind, that agent isn’t that in love with the story. If the agent can see promise in the story, he or she would have asked for a second look. And, if they’re not that in love with Project A, that’s ok. Someone else might be, but either way, perhaps won’t be a good fit.
So often, I think writers feel desperate to get an agent, any agent. But they should be trying to get the right agent. There are lots and lots of wonderful agents in this business. The agent that’s right for Christopher Paolini might not be right for Ellen Booream, or whoever. Both of those writers’ agents, I’m sure, are equally wonderful, but they’re equally wonderful for those particular clients that they find a connection to through their writing. That’s what you want in an agent.
The thing is, and I’m addressing this to any writers who don’t research the agents you submit to and just send out query after query even after you’ve gotten a rejection, there are lots of agents in the business and lots of them who specialize in your particular genre. You want to find an agent with whom you can have a career-long relationship. You want someone who’s going to be your advocate, your salesmen. And for them to really want to sell your book and get you the best deal you can for your career, you want them to love your work. They should love your work. If an agent you query doesn’t LOVE your work, that’s ok. There are other agents who might love your work.
If you’ve spent all this time writing your book, revising it, editing it, having it looked over by critique groups and editing it some more, don’t stop working on it now that you think it’s ready to be published. Don’t short change it by sending it to every agent on AgentQuery.com. Do the work, do the research. Find the right agent for you. If one doesn’t get your work, that’s ok. There’s nothing wrong with that. Writing is subjective. There are lots of people who don’t like Harry Potter. Move on to the next agent on your well-researched list and query to them, and then the next until you find the agent who does LOVE your work.
Now, there’s also the fact that many writers submit their work before it’s really ready. I’ve been guilty of that. And if you get rejections from every agent on your well-researched list, that’s ok too. It just means you need a little more work. Perhaps this project isn’t the one that will get you started as a published writer. Perhaps this project is the one that gave you the experience to write the book that WILL make you a published writer. Perhaps, as is often the case with writers, this project will be published after your second book is already a success.
The point is, sending out query letters to agents who don’t specialize in your genre or who have already rejected you is a waste of your time as well as theirs.
So, do the work, be patient and be smart. Be smart for yourself. Aim for a career, and a life-long partnership with an agent.
Write On!