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I heard through twitter that it's Agent Appreciation Day today, and I can't pass up the opportunity to love on my agent, Michael Bourret of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

When I first started agent hunting in 2006, I ran across Michael and read his bio on the DGLM website. It was short, simple, and funny, and he liked all the same books I liked as a kid. I took an instant liking to him. I was told at the time (by people who had agents) that there is no such thing as a "dream agent" but I kept coming back to Michael. I sent him a query for my first manuscript. Sadly, I never heard back. (We discovered later that he remembered that query, asked to see pages, but his email to me bounced because my server was messed up. Proof that email fails, people -- never let an unanswered query sour you on your dream agent!)

That first manuscript never made it, but a few months later I had WAKE ready to query. Michael was in my first batch of emails for that query, and the first to respond requesting the full manuscript. Five days later, amidst other agent interest, we became a team, and I can't imagine a better fit for me.

Michael is savvy and smart, he's on the cutting edge of technology, and he has incredible passion for books. He's also extremely personable, yet doesn't hesitate to fight on my behalf when necessary. He's an incredible agent, born for this job. But he's so much more than an agent. He is a confidant and friend. I am the luckiest author in the world to have him on my side.

In case I didn't say it today yet, you rock, Michael!

Michael Bourret Visits Editor Unleashed...

Today at 1 p.m. eastern time, agent Michael Bourret of Dystel & Goderich will be the guest in the forum on Editor Unleashed. Stop by and ask him a few questions. (I just may be there too.) (And I assume it will be in the Guest Agents & Authors area.)

Agent Interview: Michael Bourret...

Michael Bourret, an agent with Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, is interested in a wide range of books, from middle grade and young adult fiction, to arts and entertainment, to serious nonfiction. His clients include the National Book Award Finalist Sara Zarr, author of Story of a Girl; Ellen Klages, Scott O'Dell award winner for The Green Glass Sea; Doug Lansky, author of the hilarious Signspotting and its sequel; Anne Rockwell, the acclaimed author/illustrator; and Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak, whose I Love You Through and Through has sold hundreds of thousands of copies.

You’re open to unsolicited submissions, correct? Are there common mistakes you see in submissions from writers, things that drive you crazy?

I am, indeed, open to unsolicited submissions. Simple mistakes are misaddressing the query, which happens all the time; misspelling the agent’s name; sending the query to more than one agent at the agency (most agencies have a policy that you can only send to one agent within the group); addressing an e-mail “Dear agent,” which tells me you’re sending it to everyone and his brother; sending an e-mail to yourself and BCC’ing the agents, because again, I know you’re sending it to everyone in town; other than that, the only real crime is a boring query letter--make your book sound as unique as it is!

What are the chances that you’d actually find an author in your slush pile? That you’d find an author at a conference? (Do you have any upcoming conferences?)

The chances are good! Sara Zarr, Lisa McMann, Heather Brewer, and Joe Fenton (a great author/illustrator you don’t know yet but will shortly) all came through slush. Suzanne Selfors and Jill Alexander (another one you won’t know yet but will next year) both came through conferences. I don’t have any conferences in the next few months, but I’ll be at the Desert Nights, Rising Stars Conference at ASU, and I hope to be at the New York SCBWI conference.

In your SCBWI presentation on building a career over the long haul, you said that ultimately an author’s goal should be to become a “brand.” Is there anything a newer author can do to set that in motion, or is it simply the result of publishing a number of books that catch on with readers?

The key, I think, is to establish yourself as a writer of something. I think it’s tough to establish a brand when you’re jumping from one category to another or from one genre to another. You want to give readers what they expect while still satisfying your own muse. It’s a balancing act, but being an author and having a career as an author are two different things.

YA memoirs and middle grade are two areas you’ve said you’re interested in. Are you simply not getting many of these manuscripts or are you not getting good ones? Is there anything else you’re looking for but not getting?

I very rarely see YA memoir, so that's one I’d really just like to see more of. It’s such a great category in adult books, and Tweaked has proven that it can work well for teens. I actually think some adult memoirs, like Smashed, for instance, would work really well in a teen-specific edition. As for middle grade, I just think it’s a tough category to write for, and I’m so picky about it. All I can say is, keep it coming!

Do you have any quirks as an agent—have you ever been on an agent panel and heard all the other agents agree on something that you don’t?

Oh, I have so many quirks, but probably not as an agent. I do disagree with people on panels sometimes, and sometimes vociferously, but not because I’m quirky, just because we all have different ways of doing things and different preferences. That, and I’m one opinionated sun-of-a-gun. That’s a trait that runs through both sides of my family.

Tell me about the DGLM blog.

The DGLM blog is something that we’re really proud of--it’s something we do to give back to the writing community. We pride ourselves on being open and honest about the process, about teaching writers how this process works so that it isn’t some big mystery. The better educated the writer about the business, the better they are as a client. That’s our way of thinking.

Anything to add in the way of advice for unpublished or unagented writers?

Be patient, do your homework, and be open to new things!

Michael Bourret: The Long Haul...


Michael Bourret, an agent with Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, offered this session in the Published Author Track on how to maintain and build a career over the long term. He feels the career writers need three things: focus, diversity and openness.

In terms of focus, he suggests one's goal as an author is to establish a brand--think Sarah Dessen or Bruce Coville--so buyers and librarians will know how to position your books, and, ultimately, readers will know what to expect from an author. His rule for the authors he represents when they are starting out is that they must publish three books of the same type before they can branch out into other areas.

In terms of diversity, Michael is a believer in writers keeping their day jobs and being involved in other things. It's unhealthy to only talk to other writers, he says. He also cautions against telling anyone the terms of your book deal and details about contracts. He advised keeping up with networking. He told writers to be open to doing revision. And he warned against over-publishing, suggesting no more than one book a year in most cases (talking about trade books).

It takes time to build a career in children's publishing, he said, and publishers are willing to stick with you, even if you don't have stellar sales the first time out if they believe in you as an author.

What's he want in terms of submissions? He'd love a fantastic YA memoir. He loves great middle grade novels and says there's a real market for MG fiction--it's the one place in the children's market that is growing and continues to grow. He's desperate for literary writing for teens. And he wants more books for boys.