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I'm delighted to share an early #pblitreview...
“What a delightful book! The first sentence, Dee and Deb, twin sisters, were always together – Crib mates to playmates is great! The exploration of the awful "I'm alone in Kindergarten" feeling makes this a great book for pre-schoolers and about-to-be kindergarten kids.
<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE <![endif]-->
Jack Foster's colorful illustrations are a perfect compliment to the text.” Susan J. Berger, children’s author of Earthquake
Visit Susan at:
Wishing you daily inspiration!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Best wishes,Donna M. McDineMulti Award-winning Children's AuthorIgnite curiosity in your child through reading!Connect with Donna McDine on Google+
Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters ~ December 2015 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Reader's Favorite Five Star ReviewPowder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Historical Fiction 1st Place, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star ReviewHockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention Picture Books 6+, New England Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star ReviewThe Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist
By:
Mayra Calvani,
on 2/13/2008
Blog:
Mayra's Secret Bookcase
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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
It would be great if writers had the power in deciding the agent/writer relationship. Some writers do. Most don't. Agents will tell writers, "It only takes one yes." But if that one yes is all a writer gets, options are limited. While Jessica is, commendably, afraid of doing a disservice to a writer she's not 100% behind, which is worse to the writer's mind: a disservice or no service at all? If options are running low, I'll take the disservice any day.
And I agree with you . . . to a point. I suspect it is very rare that an author gets the benefit of having multiple agents vie for her attention, or more important, her contract. I think that most of the time the author gets one agent interested and that’s the one and only person who offers representation. That being said, it does not mean that a bad agent is better than no agent. An agent who does you a disservice could damage your career. Having no agent just means it’s going to take you longer to find someone willing and able to work with you successfully.
I think that many readers can easily share (anonymously of course) stories of when they thought exactly as you do (and I hope they do). Grabbing that agent was the most important thing, no matter who the agent was. In the end, though, I think many can tell you they would have been better served to wait a little longer for someone who could actually do the job right.
Jessica
I hear it from authors all the time and frankly I don’t understand it. You have an agent, she was excited and passionate about your work and you signed on with glee. She submitted and kept you updated on what was happening, but for all of her enthusiasm and all of your hard work the book didn’t sell. Now she’s gone. You haven’t heard “boo” from her and can’t get a response via email, phone or even telegraph (if that were possible).
Why do agents do this and is there any way to predict that this might happen to you down the line?
To the best of my knowledge I’ve never ignored a client, whether published, unpublished, or a pain in the butt. It only makes me feel guilty and causes more stress than just answering the phone or email ever would. But that’s my Minnesota Nice upbringing. Based on what authors tell me, this does seem to happen a lot, and in my opinion (although I’ve never asked agents why they do this) I think it’s the agent’s way of firing a client. Face it. If she’s not returning your calls or responding to your emails she’s just not that into you. She just doesn’t want to be the bad guy. She doesn’t want to be the one to break up with you so she simply makes herself inaccessible and becomes, well, rude. So what can authors do to stop this behavior? You need to tell those agents that you’re not going to take it. Quit sitting around and hoping the phone is going to ring. Whether the book has sold or not this agent works for you, and if she’s not responsive, if she’s not giving you the time of day you deserve, especially after repeated attempts, than get rid of her! Or him.
Don’t wait for months for an answer. How long did it usually take her to respond in the past? If you’ve called more than three times and she hasn’t returned your call, if you wrote more than five emails and she hasn’t responded (and keep in mind all of this should not be done in one day), then it’s not working. You know when it’s not working, you’re just waiting for me to tell you. You don’t need me. Trust your gut. You’ve done it before and it worked so do it now. When you feel that you need to ask this question it’s long past time to send that certified letter. Why do you want to have an agent who is clearly not that into you?
How do you know ahead of time that you are signing with an agent who’s answer to you is no answer? Well, there really isn’t much you can do. I guess you could ask the agent what happens if your book doesn’t sell and if she’s ever acted this way, but you probably won’t get a straight answer. Your best bet is to talk to the agent’s clients. Find out from them how they feel they’ve been treated and whether they know of any instances of said agent behaving this way. If you aren’t talking to other writers now, about agents, writing, and publishing, you should be. When it comes time to choose an agent they can often be your best resource. Just remember to take it all in and know that the more you talk to people the more you learn that with every agent and every publisher you’ll hear a little good, a little bad, and even some ugly.
Jessica
Not too long ago I received the following email:
I write to you, not as a perspective client, but as a young writer in need of counsel. (I find your blog most illuminating!)
Last summer, I sent out a number of query letters for my new nonfiction book. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of interest in my material and, within six weeks, I had secured an agent.
Let me mention here that I have no memory of ever receiving this proposal, but I suppose I can let that slide.
Initially, I was quite impressed with his speedy response. Unfortunately, as the months wore on, our correspondence slowed quite a bit. (I realize this industry is slow, by nature, but this has become a bit extreme.)
He spent the fall (August through November) editing my manuscript and nonfiction proposal. I called, several times, to check in (he's never been spectacular about returning e-mails), and he always claimed to be "backlogged" or "totally swamped." Fair enough, I thought. After all, he operates a one person agency. And, at 24, I'm just lucky to have an agent.
Wow! Four months just to edit? I think the first warning bells should be going off. Now I know I’ve sat on a client’s material for far too long, but never have I led them to believe that I was editing for that long. That’s crazy. As for being backlogged or totally swamped? Who’s not? We’re all very, very busy people and we all have those weeks when we are backlogged, but my reasons for being totally swamped are usually because I’m taking care of my clients.
And by the way, don’t think that your age has anything to do with anything. You have an agent because you have a book worth selling, not because you’re 24 or 42 or 240. How old you are or what you write, or how much money you make (or don’t make) does not, ever, excuse an agent’s rude behavior. A good agent should treat every single client as if she is her top client. Never do I want any of my clients to feel that they are less important than any others.
Finally, in mid November, he returned my (minimally) edited manuscript. (Comma here, semicolon there.) I made the adjustments, sent him ten copies, and we were off.
Ugh! Four months for commas! I’m the first person to admit that I’m comma illiterate (among many other grammatical difficulties) but it takes me far less than four months to figure out where they go. If anyone—agent or editor—is taking four months to actually edit a manuscript, then that thing better be rewritten by the time it lands on your desk. Now sometimes it might take four months to get to the edits, but never four months to actually edit.
Three months went by before I heard from him—at which point he forwarded me five rejection letters. Now, there's obviously no rush to pass along bad news, but some of these letters were 8 weeks old. Couldn't he have called, or sent an e-mail update? (I asked him to drop a line, in the future, when he heard from publishers—just so I could keep track of the progress.)
He could have and he should have. It’s one of the things I mention to authors when hiring an agent. Find out how communication is going to be handled. I try to update my clients very, very quickly when it comes to submissions. Especially since I know how nerve-wracking the process can be.
Several months went by. Nothing. I decided to e-mail, just to check in. No response. Two weeks later, I followed up. No response. Two weeks later, I called. Again, he claimed to be terribly "backlogged." "I was going to call you today," he said.
Uh-huh.
Reason being: he had received an offer (lord knows when) on my project. Unfortunately, the offer was terrible—the publishing house wanted to reshape the entire book, and have me spend an additional year traveling across the country, doing research. He advised that we turn them down.
Nevertheless, shouldn't he have called me as soon as he got the offer?!
I asked him for an updated list of rejections and prospects. He couldn't find my file, and promised to e-mail me "in a couple of days." It's been over a week. I've heard nothing.
He is always very friendly when we talk, and we often have nice chats. But, because he's so poor at correspondence, I'm concerned that perhaps he's not working very hard to sell my book.
What do you think I should do?
My response: I think you already know what you should do, now you just have to do it.
Honestly, though, I never understand why authors stick with agents who obviously don’t communicate. I know it’s great to have an agent and scary to think of starting over, but do you really have an agent if she’s not working with you?
I also have a few additional concerns. Since this is only one side of the story we don’t really know how long the agent had the offer for. I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume it just came in. What I am concerned about is who made the decision to turn down the offer. It sounds like it was mutual, but I hope it’s not something the agent did without checking with the author first. That would be criminal in my mind.
Again: No agent is better than a bad agent, and a bad agent isn’t necessarily someone who acts illegally, but someone who simply isn’t working for you in a way that’s comfortable for you.
Jessica
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
Doesn't this all come down to research? Investigating the agent who works with your genre and has a good track record? I was at an author talk last week with Jonathan Mayberry. He said he went through all the books at the store in his genre and read the dedications to find out who their agents were and thats who he queried.
Now, what about the question of whether one needs a New York agent over one in another part of the country? Would a NYC agent have better connections? The only ones who I've heard say it doesn't matter are those agents not in NYC. But I have to wonder???
I’ve always believed finding an agent is a cross between finding a husband and finding a good pair of jeans. You need to find one who loves you, who feels lucky to have you, and at the same time they gotta fit “you” and make your butt look really good . . . to editors. You have to respect them, trust them, but never be intimated so much that you don’t state what you believe in or what you want concerning your career. (It also helps if they don’t leave the toilet lid up.) The funny thing is that I have friends who have divorced certain agents and have dubbed them bad agents, and then I know someone else who is with the same agent and thinks they are better than sliced bread.
Hey, how many of us have divorced a spouse and someone else came along and married them? (Of course, we think they are idiots, but the truth is . . . maybe they just weren’t the right one for us.) And I think the agent/author relationship is just like a marriage. You have to be honest about what each of you want and expect from the other.
Christie Craig
Good points, Christie.
No one ever knows what happens inside any relationship except the persons involved, and that includes writer/agent.
No, no, no to what the anonymous writer said. Yes, yes, yes to what Jessica said.
I used to think that any agent, any at all would make me happy. I was wrong. I went through two agents who were poor fits before I found the right one.
Funny, the whole time I was going through the bad agents, I was still writing, still learning, still working on my craft. By the time I was done with bad agents, I was on book #4. That one got mulitple agent offers right away, when my previous books had gotten only one after a long time.
So, keep writing, keep querying. Your next book will be better and the next one even better. Sooner or later you will write a book that is so good it will practically sell itself and you won't have agent agony issues.
Research doesn't tell you if your personality will mesh well with an agent. Some agents are more hands on than others. Just because an agent has a bunch of sales doesn't mean that agent will be a good fit for you...and how do you know until you sign on the bottom line? I can see how some authors go through a few agents before they find one that suits them.
Imagine deciding that a random person will be your best friend. Does that mean you will instantly get along and see things eye to eye? No. I would guess the same would be true with an agent/author relationship. It is two strangers coming together for a rather intimate thing...writing. And if that intimacy is awkward, well, another agent would probably better suit.
I learned the hard way that the only thing worse than not having an agent was having an agent! A "bad" one that is.
I got my agent at a screenwriting conference - he requested fulls from a lot of attendees, but only took on a handful of clients from that group - including me.
Woo-hoo!
Had to be one of the happiest days of my life - getting that phone call - it was a Saturday afternoon and I remember doing the "happy dance" in my kitchen! Of course, I was too naive and giddy to ask
him any of the questions I should have (I know better now).
He was new to agenting after having just left Hollywood to move to FL. As the son-in-law of a Hollywood legend, and a former film producer - he was the real deal, alright - not a fake or a scammer - but after I signed the contract, he made it seem like he was doing me a favor just by taking my calls, never kept me posted on any submissions, never sold the script.
Out of frustration, I started sending out my script myself (!) and got a serious bite from Aaron Spelling's film production company - they gave me a "slow pass" - Hollywood speak for "Almost but not quite good enough."
It took me years to agree that my script was less than perfect, and accept the fact that screenwriting is the toughest of all the writing gigs to crack - so I moved on to writing novels, and eventually severed my contract with my agent.
It's not that he was a "bad" agent, like many are, but just not
in it with me for the long haul - since my script didn't sell in the first submission - he lost interest in me and my MS pretty quick.
Lessons learned, and an important rite of passage to have gotten through. I am all the wiser for having done so.
Regarding legitimate agents, there aren't many complaints from writers whose agents have done what the writer wanted -- i.e., sold the book. Most complaints are from writers whose agents have not sold their books, or don't communicate.
(There's a whole side issue about writers and agents who grow apart, have personality conflicts, or split for business reasons.)
Perhaps the agent recognized raw talent, but the book didn't sell. The writer gets frustrated because his hopes were raised, and the agent, who for other clients is terrific, is suddenly a bad agent. It's much easier to blame the agent for not selling the book than blame the book.
It takes growth, like the poster above commented, to see deficiencies in your own work.
Jeez, Christie. It's hard enough to find jeans that make MY butt look good!
I'll get right on it. All in a day's work....
The most frustrating thing for me is not to use up all my bridges. What happened to Angie is rare, but luck favors the well prepared.
I don't want to query all the editors I could, because if they all pass, there is no place for an agent to send it, but I don't want to query all the agents I could because I do have two requests out with great publishers, and if one comes back with a contract offer, I want some of the agents on my A list to still be there for me to contact about it.
It is the worst kind of catch 22, and at the same time, I'm happy for it, because I'm so very very close I can taste it. I have a book I can sell. Now it all feels like a big chess match.
The question is, do I have the guts to "reject" a good agent if it is the only offer if I get a bad vibe about it? I hope I'd have the strength to break up later if it doesn't work, but when you are a girl and prom is only a week away, and no one has asked you to the dance, well...
STRONGLY disagree with you, Ara. As a multi-published author, I can tell you selling is not the end-all in the agent/author relationship. There's a whole other aspect that kicks in once you've made that sale. And how are "growing apart, having personality conflicts, or splitting for business reasons" a side issue? It all comes into play and, believe me, I've known more authors who split with their agents because they're bad after the sale is made, not before.
I agree with Anon 9:43. A bad agent is someone who has the unique ability (even after they've sold your book) to treat you dismissively, talk down to you, and make you feel like you don't know what you're doing. Slowly they chip away at your confidence and make you second guess every damn word you put on paper.
A good agent is someone who (before and after a sale) treats you with respect, and more importantly respects your WORK. To be able to communicate with you on a professional level during revisions or rejections is absolute gold because then you are learning more about writing as you go instead of just being tossed around in the winds of someone else's bad personality.
I think that what this comes down to is that agents are asked to be the "Gatekeepers" for the industry, and the resulting workload is simply unreasonable for them to sift through.
The process of identifying talent is left to a few sentences, which really doesn't make any sense at all. Identificaton and development of talent are one in the same.
In baseball, this is handled through the Minor League system. An agent's role is not as large, and therefor they can do it well. There are coaches that handle the rest.
In the current system, people who (for whatever reason) are hellbent on being a published author won't wait for the right agent. If you get your foot in one door, after many years of knocking, you won't take it out. It doesn't matter if it's the right agent or not, really. Getting an audience with one is very difficult to start with.
I think that things are broken enough that it is essential for us to start to think about what tasks are essential and who can do them the best. The system as we know it has produced a rather sick industry. Someone is going to shake it up one way or the other eventually.
I have to agree entirely with what Christie said, in her own inimitable style! And to take her analogy even farther, (further? WHEN will I get those straight? Thank goodness for copy editors!)there is a definite honeymoon period followed by the reality of marriage. I was lucky enough to find an agent who is a good match for my rather warped personality, but there are so many intangibles that make an author/agent relationship work--very much the same as a marriage. And, as with any long term relationship, it takes work from BOTH parties, but when it does work, it's wonderful.
The question is, do I have the guts to "reject" a good agent if it is the only offer if I get a bad vibe about it?
Chessie I HEARTILY disagree.....to continue your analogy, do you really want to go to the prom with the guy who has sweaty hands and picks his nose? NO NO NOOOOOOO
I recently had this conversation with a friend who met an agent this last weekend at a conference. She said she didn't really think this particular agent was the one for her but if she offered...and I said to her what I'm saying to you...DONT DO IT! This writing life is hard enough without a bad agent fit dragging you down.
The system is bad.
Agents, good, bad or indifferent, work on spec. They put in hours of free labor, and even if there's a sale, fifteen percent of the average sale doesn't compensate adequately for what a writer expects in terms of service.
How can you expect Nora Roberts' level service if you generate a $1000. book advance, and paid your agent $150. of this?
It makes sense that if agents catch a whiff of a manuscript that might be a "big" book, they're going to leap, especially if others have the manuscript. Even agents gotta eat.
It's the only system in place, and it sucks.
There's got to be a better way.
Yeah, that is what I'm saying. I have to have enough confidence in my own work to reassure myself that I will find someone who loves it as much as me and that I'll be able to work well with.
If I get the vibe that I wouldn't work well with this person, I'm the type that is crazy enough to reject an offer from the only agent that has called.
That said, I'm pretty darn easy to get along with, so I'm not skaird.
Okay, maybe a little. Which is where the prom analogy is. No matter if you are the type of girl who can haul up your bootstraps and go by yourself, (or with a gay guy *cough* Shoot, I'm not complaining, he was fabulous.) It still absolutely stinks not being asked to the prom, and it hurts like Hell, especially when you know you have a rockin' hot dress.
Kate . . . you are so right. There is a honeymoon period with an agent. The first few months you walk around with a silly grin on your face, thinking..."She loves me...She really loves me." Then you spend time getting to know the other’s style of doing business. And not everyone's style is the same.
I remember one of Jessica’s blog about how her relationships with her authors vary from author to author because each one has different needs.
I think that’s a sign of a good agent. Look at Kim, she’s out trying to find me a pair of jeans that does wonders for my backside. (smile) (Kim, make sure it makes me look a size smaller, too!)
But seriously, I think when you research agents, you need to get insights to how they do business. Ask questions so you’ll know how they work and what you should or shouldn’t expect. And be careful that your expectations are realistic. I know some authors who have moved around to a lot of agents, looking for the perfect one, only to learn that their expectations were not reasonable. Not that the fault lies with only the writer, I’ve heard horror stories of bad agents, too. I think what you hear mostly is about two people whose views on how the career of the writer should go just don’t mesh anymore. Or two people who didn’t understand the other person’s expectations in the beginning. That’s why communicating is so important.
Faye Hughes and I are doing a workshop for RT about the Great Agent Hunt. We've interviewed a lot of published authors about the right questions to ask before signing with an agent. We're also going to be talking to agents about the right questions to ask, and how to best make the author/agent relationship work.
Great post Jessica.
Question:
If/when the day comes that an agent actually loves my work and wants to sign me: What are the questions I should ask her/him before I sign???
Recent sales?
Length of contract?
Details?
Favorite color?
I have a feeling my mind would go blank when I finally get that call. I was tongue-tied enough when I met Jessica at the NJRWA!
To me, one of the most important aspects of the relationship is communication. Too often I think that authors think agents are doing them a favor and are afraid to speak up and be clear about their expectations or to ask questions. No one wants to be the problem client who is always badgering the agent, but authors need to treat the relationship professionally. I think that a lot of authors who leave agents or who sign with bad agents do so because they don't communicate properly.
After being contracted and burned by a small publisher, I was determined to get the "right agent" for my next project. Unfortunately, I was being too cautious and wasn't thinking clearly because of fear of making another mistake.
In the end, I did my research and went with my instincts in choosing an agent.
So far it has worked for me. I only queried two agents because I did not want to have to choose between many agents (should I be so lucky). Also, I wanted an agent to have enough desire to represent me without her having to compete against other agents.
My agent did sign me quickly and so far I'm pleased with the results. She has a great personality and a great track record. Did I get lucky? Yes.
If writers tend to look at their novels as "babies", who can imagine letting just anyone help you raise that baby? I certainly didn't settle for just "any" father for my son, and I'm not going to settle for just "any" agent to help guide my novels and my career.
If/when the day comes that an agent actually loves my work and wants to sign me: What are the questions I should ask her/him before I sign???
Aimless, BookEnds covered this topic on September 26. I believe that Kristin Nelson at PubRants has covered this, as well.
As for the main topic here, I appreciate everyone who's chimed in. This is such an important subject.
The problem is, it's so damn hard to get an agent, that even if you're not sure you'll be a good fit, you still say "yes." After all, the agent looks good on paper: she's experienced, works for one of the big NY agencies, loves your novel, and has a track record in your genre.
But when your novel doesn't sell and she stops responding to your emails--of course you wonder if you should have listened to that little voice.
Jessica,
Maybe I'm out of line asking this, but could you give us a feel for the percentage of clients you take under contract whose work you go on to sell to a publisher?
Maybe someone needs to create an independent, self-reporting database for authors to register their sales success rates with various agents. I'll consider hosting it if enough people think it's a good idea.
Note to self: don't read Christie's posts while drinking Diet Coke. I should know better.
I agree that it doesn't make sense to sign with an agent you don't think you'll mesh with. Don't even query anyone you’re not sure about, or you might just get a call from your ideal agent a month after you've signed with a not-so-perfect choice.
And, I know this part is painful because I’ve experienced it, but if the book doesn’t find its way to the right agent, perhaps the next one will. This past spring, I’d written a mystery that I think is pretty darn good. I sent it to my dream list and received a lot of requests for fulls, and lots of lovely personal rejections. An agent I really respect wrote an epistle of a rejection letter, citing what he thought I needed in the book and ending it by saying the book would probably be picked up by an agent and it might even sell, but he didn’t think it would be the breakout book I needed to launch a career.
I could have kept sending it out, maybe signed with an agent lower down on my list. But a horrible thought kept niggling at me – he was right. Darn it all. For all of the agonizing it cost me, I knew I had to stop submitting that book and fix a few things. But first, I had to finish this paranormal that I’d fallen in love with.
The paranormal sold, the mystery is still in my back pocket. But when you’re a writer, you have to keep writing, keep believing in your work and keep submitting to agents that will give you career the time and attention it deserves.
Just a few of observations:
--As part of your research, talk to some of the agent's clients. This is especially true if you actually have an offer in hand. I think most writers are willing to help.
--As I think we've said here before, not all writers want the same things in an agent. Some want hand holding, some want a agressive salesperson, etc, etc. What is important is what YOU want.
--The first contract is just the tip of the iceberg. Jessica never actually sold one of my manuscripts--I came to her with (second) contract in hand. Career planning and management is MUCH more important, IMHO.
--Communication is key.
Okay, back to the book that is, mysteriously, not writing itself.
What do you think most commonly makes someone a "bad" agent (other than shady business practices)? Would it be just your initial first impression, the amount of time it takes to return your calls, how agressively they market your manuscript, etc? I know all these things come in to play, but I'd like to know what one thing most people commonly encounter in a "bad" agent.
Bran fran...I agree. I am on book #3 and even "I" love my writing better, so keep writing and the best is yet to come...
aimless writer....I agree with doing your homework researching agents.
Going with the agent that accepts your query first is not necessarily the way to go. It's like the old saying....anything that's worth having should never come too easy.
I don't understand why anyone would query an agent one wouldn't be thrilled to have represent them. What is the purpose? Practice? I wouldn't waste my postage.
Of course you query people that you think might be good for you. All the agents on my list have fabulous reputations and track records, but what if when talking to one of them I think, "Oh my God, she's my Mother."
That is not a professional dynamic I want to get going, even though I love my mother very much. I'm not sure I'd want to step into a relationship where I got a vibe that I wasn't a full partner, but a child that needed her head patted and to be told what to do.
Now this is all speculative, because it hasn't happened, and I don't know if any agents out there are like my mother, but I'm still pretty young, (30) and often people I'm trying to develop a professional relationship with have a couple of years on me. I deeply respect those years, but I don't want to be dismissed because of them. I want an agent to trust that I'm strong, capable, and smart. I want to feel like my agent believes I can handle things.
If I get head patting, it's going to turn me off, big time. Any one of my agents that I query could be a head patter. I don't know, until I can talk to them personally. And some authors are looking for a good head patter. More power to them.
It isn't right or wrong, it just doesn't work. In that situation, I don't know what I would do. I'd have two choices, try to establish the dynamic I want with the agent by being clear what my needs are, or not sign with that agent at all.
You can probably make the relationship work by being clear and honest about what you need as a writer, but if the agent turns out to be a consummate head-patter and there is no getting around it, for me, it probably isn't a relationship that would last. I'd have to be wary of that.
But none of it has happened, so I can only think about it so much.
A "bad" agent is worse than no agent, because a year later my book isn't sold but it went out to at least 20 publishers so I'm sure there's no point in shopping it around to other agents because they won't want to take on a book with a history of rejection. Even though it's fabulous.
Was my agent a bad person? No, of course not. I think maybe he just didn't have great relationships with editors, and was unable to make the right match. Happens every day.
But if you are not 100% excited about an agent, don't sign with them. (This situation was a little weird because he took me over from the agent I'd originally signed with, who left the business. I had the choice of being switched or looking for someone new.) The wrong fit is WAY worse than continuing to look for representation.
"a year later my book isn't sold but it went out to at least 20 publishers so I'm sure there's no point in shopping it around to other agents because they won't want to take on a book with a history of rejection."
Uh, have you considered it might be the BOOK?
An agent can get your book read.
Your agent cannot force an editor to buy a book. Your book must sell itself.
I don't understand why anyone would query an agent one wouldn't be thrilled to have represent them. What is the purpose? Practice? I wouldn't waste my postage.
Of course you research the agent's client list and sales, check out online interviews, and troll the Absolute Write boards for tidbits. But this kind of research can't tell you whether or not your personalities, working styles, and goals will be a good match. Talking to the agent is the only way to find out. And you can't talk to the agent until they've offered representation.
Interesting point about the fabulous book that went out to 20 editors and didn't sell. Some posters seem to think the book isn't all that fabulous and that may be true. But I think it's quite possible it's the most wonderful book ever written and was the victim of a poor agent.
I'm no expert, but my limited observations are that many fabulous books probably don't sell--you need a fabulous book in front of the right editor at the right time. Your agent is a big help in getting your book to the right editor. (No one can do much about the zeitgist--however you spell that--unfortunately.)
Here's two ways I think the scene could play out:
Good agent--Hey, this is a fabulous book. It's a killer (ha,ha) romantic suspense. House A, B, C, etc. publish RS very well. Hmm. I could send it to editor Z at house A, but the book has a cat in it and editor Z is allergic to cats--she breaks out at even a feline thought, so I'll send this to editor Y. (Well, maybe first I'll call and feel Y out.) But the book is also a bit cutting edge. I think I'll send to three good houses now and see what they say. (Later, after three rejections, good agent is on the phone to fabulous writer.) "Fabulous," good agent says, "I've submitted your book to House A, B, and C and all my contacts say that it's great, however, it has too many aliens. Aliens just aren't selling. What do you want to do? I can submit to E, F, and G, or you might think about toning down the aliens and going for for something else...talking radishes maybe..." Or maybe it's time to put this fabulous book away and and wait for the market to change, meanwhile working on even more fablulous book.
Bad agent: Hey, this is a fabulous book. I bet I can sell it in a snap. Let me get down my Writers Market. Hmm. Twenty houses sell RS. Why waste time? (And hey, I have to pay the cat food bill, so I could do with a quick sale.) I'll just send this out now to all twenty. One of these houses is sure to buy it. And one editor is as good as another, right? A sale's a sale. Let me just package this up and get it in the mail... After 20 rejections, bad agent doesn't respond to email or phone calls.
Just saying...this business can be a little crazy. Oh, and communication is key.
Oh, it's absolutely possible the book didn't sell because it wasn't good enough. But if the agent can't explain why they choose to send it to one editor over another, and can't produce any feedback from editors other than "they didn't think it was quite right", even after 20 rejections, I think it's also absolutely possible that the agent didn't have the right relationships to get editors to give it a serious read. And now I'll never know whether it was the book or the agent, but if I'd done my homework better, maybe I'd be able to tell.
Don't worry, whether the agent was weak or just not a good communicator, I do recognize the mistake was still my mistake.
Aimless, if you don't know what questions to ask, you haven't been in the business long enough to be submitting to agents. I don't mean that in a mean way--you're asking here, which is the right thing to do, but the point is that writers who have not yet learned what questions to ask should not be submitting. If you don't understand the rules of the game, don't play. Sit on the sidelines and watch until you learn.
There are a lot of questions to ask:
Will an agent do split payments? (Why should your agent pay you? Why should you be the one to wait for the money?)
How does the agent handle day-to-day communication? Email? Phone? Blackberry?
What can the agent do after the sale? Have them walk you through the process and give examples.
Contact other clients of this agent and ask about the above.
Someone asked about agents who don't live in NYC. My agent is in California. I'm multi-published and have hit both the USA and NYT lists. My agent's location only means I take business calls late at night. Otherwise, who cares? In today's world of internet and frequent flyer miles, location makes little difference.