A look behind the veil at what literary agents are thinking and some tips and tricks for writing.
Why Do Agents Go to Writers’ Conferences?
Adjectives are not your friends. They’re like too much salt.
A few weekends ago I attended New England Crime Bake, a jolly mystery conference filled with talented published writers, attentive newbies and convivial agents and editors.
If it turns out I found a new talent there, I’ll be thrilled. But that’s not why I went. Every year it makes sense to attend a gathering of writers and fans and colleagues; I always walk away with tidbits of new knowledge. I had breakfast with my old pal Brendan DuBois, for instance, who is having such a good experience with James Patterson’s Book Shorts line. His happy success in this fresh category of publishing was interesting intelligence to me.
And I refined my editorial skills as I listened to pitches and was read first-page manuscripts by six aspiring writers. Each writer had talent, but I found myself saying often, “Cut those adjectives. Every one of them. Eliminate them from your first three pages of text.”
Adjectives are not your friends. They’re like crabgrass. They’re like weeds. They’re like too much salt. I know this is advice you’ve heard before, but before submitting a manuscript to a publisher, please go through it one more time and clean it up. You probably don’t even notice them anymore, but to a professional editor they’ll jangle like an off-key voice in an otherwise competent choir.
Thinking of submitting a manuscript? Feel free to send it our way.
Take a Field Trip and Get To Know Your Types of Reader
Which titles would your book be snuggled up against?
Here’s something else that you should do: Take a field trip and get to know your types of reader.
One of the things of which I’m mindful is the process by which Barnes & Noble orders the books they then stock onto their shelves. Each book category is assigned to a “buyer.” So there’s a buyer for nonfiction, health, travel, mythology, literature, fantasy, mid-grade, YAs. You get the idea. B&N buyers fill the shelf space, and books need to fit into the bookseller’s already-established categories. If there is no place to shelf the books, the titles won’t be purchased.
Take a trip to Barnes & Noble or to any large independent bookstore. Which titles would your book be snuggled up against? What kind of cover would your publisher put on your book? Which authors give quotes for these titles? I find that walking through rows of books is always illuminating. But much the same impact can be had by pawing through Amazon’s “customers who bought this title also bought” carousel.
Don’t ignore this step! When you write your query, you need to tell the agent which types of reader your book is for. Your editor will want to know. So will the publicist. And the sub-rights department. Please note: The correct answer to the question of who your book targets is never, “Everyone!”
Etiquette for Authors
Write out a list of questions that will minimize surprises later.
When should I call my agent or editor? One of the many common author questions.
Many authors are nervous about protocol. An agent takes you on, and then for some reason, you feel uncomfortable about asking questions.
Remember, the agent works for you. She (or he) gets paid only if she sells your work. She hasn’t done you a favor by sending you an agency agreement to sign. She loves your work and wants to invest her time in selling it.
On the other hand, you do want to be organized and thoughtful in what you expect from your agent. After she’s made you an offer of representation and before you’ve accepted, write out a list of “author questions” that will minimize surprises later:
* Do you think my book needs more work? If so, how will we handle editorial matters? Will you write me a letter? Will we talk these ideas out?
* Once my book is ready to submit, who will you be submitting it to? (This a general question about the types of publishers the agent will be submitting it to. Don’t expect to receive a list of editors at this point. And don’t do your own research and start sending in ideas for the perfect editor at specific publishers. Editors will worry that you’re spending your free time digesting Publishers Marketplace instead of working on your book.)
* At what point do you give up sending my manuscript out?
* What’s the best way to contact you? E-mail or phone? I like to schedule calls in the beginning so I can focus on the interaction. Other agents prefer e-mail.
After a manuscript has been submitted, ask for a list of publishers and editors.
* Ask if the agent will send rejects as they come in or if they’ll hold them. (I prefer to hold them until I have several in hand.)
* If you have one question, wait a few hours; maybe that one question will turn into several.
When the contract arrives for a new publication…read it. And then go over it clause by clause so that you understand what deadlines you’re committed to and what rights the publishers will be selling.
Should I Hire a Publicist?
Whatever you decide to do, decide early!
Another of the popular author questions. In general, no, it’s probably not a good idea. At least for (most) fiction. Publicists can do fabulous things for authors. But now that so few newspapers or major media review books and, instead, digital media has blossomed as the prime engine for publicizing books, it really doesn’t make sense to take a good portion of your advance and hire a publicist who will come in five months before pub date and do all the things that an in-house team — who will be meeting and planning your book’s strategy together — will do.
If you’ve written several books, it might make sense to hire an assistant rather than a publicist. That assistant can work out a promotion plan for you that rolls out year-round. She (or he) can help you with social media, with Twitter, and with getting out an e-mail newsletter to fans and bookstores. An in-house publicist can invest about six weeks getting out the word on your book. After that, it’s time for her to move on to other projects.
Authors of nonfiction (and historical fiction) should discuss the value of a publicist with their agents and editors. Certainly there are a lot of practical ways that a dedicated publicist may make a significant difference for nonfiction titles. But unless there are good reasons to conclude that your publisher doesn’t have sufficient manpower and/or enthusiasm to promote your book, it’s probably best to stick with your publisher’s team.
Whatever you decide to do, decide early! Don’t hire a publicist two months out from publication. Start looking for someone seven or eight months earlier.