Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.

This week we’ve talked about a few of the ways the publisher-author relationship can go askew. It’s not that anyone intended that to occur; it’s just that life looks very different from inside the publishing house and outside the publishing house.

As someone who has worked within publishing houses for more than a decade, I understand the dynamics of what happens when an author: oversteps boundaries; doesn’t believe in boundaries; or, at the opposite end of the spectrum, believes being silent despite disappointment makes the relationship work (not!).

What should you do if you find you’ve not realized where the boundaries were?First, being honest with everyone involved should go a long way toward clearing the air. Once a relationship develops problems, it’s weird how everyone offended closes up (or discusses the problem among themselves but not with the offender). So giving people permission to admit you’ve been driving them crazy is a good first step.

Of course, you have to be ready not to be defensive when they agree that, yes, you have been a pain to deal with.

Second, talk about how the relationship went wrong for you. There really are two sides to this story (at least two sides; lots of people are involved in publishing your book). It’s good for staff at the publishing house to think about how the inciting incident(s) looked from your side of the fence.

Third, come up with a plan to resolve the problem. Just acknowledging that all did not go well is not the same as finding a solution. That solution needs to be dreamed up with the publishing personnel, the author, and the agent. Once the plan is agreed to, then the agent can oversee its implementation and that the plan is followed up on.

In many ways, your relationship with your publisher is like any other relationship. Apply good relational principles, and you’re likely to come out looking better than ever to your publisher.

Have you or someone you know had communication problems with his or her publisher? How were they resolved?

Or were they swept under the carpet?

What ultimately happened?

Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.

Friday!

We made it!

I like to use my Fridays as reading days. I enjoy reading and look forward to it, so it’s a nice, end-of-the-week treat. I read manuscripts and proposals by authors that I’m considering representing, but I also read proposals and manuscripts by my current clients. Some agents don’t bother to put in the time to read over a proposal before it’s submitted, but my reputation is on the line. I like to be sure that everything is in place so the project has the best chance of selling.

While I read, I’m looking for a clean manuscript with tight writing. For fiction, I also want a smooth, believable plot that interests me and is likely to have broad appeal in the market. A proposal must have a clear statement of what the hook of the book is and a detailed author bio (including details about why this writer is qualified to write the project).

In nonfiction proposals, I also like to see a marketing section and a market comparison section. The marketing section shows how the author plans to help to distribute the book. The market comparison section is a compare/contrast with other books that are on the same topic. It’s important to show how a nonfiction book is unique.

In novel proposals, I look for a synopsis that covers the beginning, middle and end of the story. Yes, I want to know how the story ends.

Happy Friday, everyone! Take some time this weekend to read, too!

Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.

Thursdays are often spent making phone calls to editors, clients, and potential clients.

I always have at least one phone conversation with a potential client before I’ll represent him or her. So, yes, that means I’ll represent someone I’ve never met. (I still have about half of my clients to meet.) While a phone call isn’t as good as meeting in person, I can get a feel for an individual’s personality and how he or she works with others. This is also a good time to discuss expectations and dreams.

When I talk with my clients, we brainstorm together or discuss schedules for deadlines, releases, etc. Sometimes we put together a plan of action for the author’s future. In our agency, an agent will help an author to figure out how many books  he or she can produce and market while balancing life.  We’ll also direct an author toward ideas within his area of expertise that we believe we can sell to a publisher. And sometimes we need to advise a client as to which publishing house we think is a better fit for her book, if two or more are interested in purchasing the project. We bring insider knowledge about the marketing department, editors, contracts, ability to create an effective cover, level of interest in maintaining strong relationships with authors, and more that we balance to make a suggestion to a client. (Notice that the decision isn’t always about which publisher is offering the most money. We view that as a shortsighted reason to use solely in choosing a publisher.) All of this falls under “career counsel.”

When I talk with editors, I like to discuss what kinds of projects they are looking for. This is a great way for me to get up-to-date information for my clients, and I also use this information when I’m requesting projects from my query pile.  I’ll also talk with editors about concerns my client or I might have about a project in the works with that publishing house.

When agents have “phone days,” it does cause the rest of the work to pile up, but these calls are so important!

Yes, I had coffee today.

Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.

Wednesdays are usually the days when I do a little bit of everything, with coffee in hand, of course! The email box and query box are full (always), so I pop into both of those; I often have Wednesday phone calls; and I catch up on sending pitches and proposals.

Wednesday is also a good day for negotiating contracts and book offers because, if a phone call is required, most people are in the office on Wednesday. Phoning the contracts department is necessary if some wording in the contract isn’t clear or if the two parties can’t agree on a few points.Typically, negotiations are done via email attachments using the track changes feature and the comments feature in Word.

Negotiations are a major part of an agent’s job. It’s important for us to take the time to read and review the contracts multiple times. Many contracts are changing drastically these days as publishers respond to the perceived threats of electronic publishing and print on demand, so there’s no assuming that a publisher’s contract  is unchanged from the last time we negotiated with that house. Even a few words changed can make a significant difference to an author’s ability to live with what we’ve negotiated.

We pay special attention to the out-of-print clause, the subsidiary rights that are claimed by the publisher, and the e-book royalty rates, among other things. The advance and trade book royalty rates usually are agreed on before the contract is pulled together. That happens in the “offer stage” while the sale is being finalized.

Negotiating a contract can go quickly, taking only a few hours; but then some contracts cause shivers to run down an agent’s spine. Some really messy agreements can take weeks–or even months–to finalize. Thankfully, I work in an agency with three amazing agents who are willing to teach me everything they know about contracts! I’ve learned so much in the last four+ years.

Thank you Janet, Wendy, and Etta.

Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.

An agent’s Monday starts out much like yours, I bet, but you tell me. Here’s a typical Rachel Monday:

The alarm clock rings, and I hit snooze. This process repeats itself until I know that if I don’t get out of bed, I’m going to be seriously late to work. I already sacrificed the time for my shower two or three snoozes ago. Good thing the people at work understand and also usually look a little rumpled on Monday.

I get ready for work and grab the most important meal of any Monday–my coffee–then it’s off to the office.

On arrival, I take a quick inventory of my workload.

Email box full? Check!

Query box full? Check!

Stack of mail at least two feet high? Check!

My calendar is pretty clear today. Personally, I don”t like having Monday phone calls because I need Mondays to get revved up for the week. If there’s an emergency or if there is no other day that could work for a call, I’ll of course have a Monday call, but if I can avoid ‘em I do.

I typically spend my Mondays clearing queries. At Books & Such, this used to involve hours of sending individual replies to each author. This last year we made a change; we now inform authors on our website and with an auto-reply that we’ll only reply to the queries that seem to be a good fit for our agency and that intrigue us enough to ask to see more. This was a necessary step because queries were eating away our work time (we can’t earn a living just by reading queries), and it has really freed us. Now query review is as simple as reading queries and sorting them into the appropriate email folders. If I see something I like, I send a request for a proposal. If the book isn’t a proper fit for our agency, we put it in a sub-folder marked with the current month and year. The time we save by using the standard reply allows us to read the letters we receive more thoroughly, too.

I also spend time on Monday answering emails from the authors I represent. Their notes are very important to me, and I try to answer them as quickly as possible.

By the time 5 pm rolls around, Ive worked up an appetite and am ready for dinner.

Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office

Weather: A sunny Friday

We’ve talked about avoiding the too-clever query and giving too much information. We’re going to wind up this week by talking about those queries that fail because they are filled with hyperbole and cringeworthy braggadocio.

Here are some quotes from actual queries I’ve received:

Over the past nine years, I’ve been working on a project to bring world peace.

Hmm. World peace. It would be wonderful if it were to happen but too often those things are out of our control as authors. My advice to this writer would be not to over-promise.

We’re talking about a literary masterpiece spanning over 1,000 pages.

Try to avoid using words like “masterpiece” when describing your own work. I won’t even go into the impossibility of the book length.

I can assure you, if you pass this opportunity by, you will grieve the loss of millions of dollars.  I must stress, however, that I must absolutely find the best book deal possible, and I will be contacting several literary agencies in order to find it.

I don’t even think I need comment on this one. Don’t dangle the commission you expect the agent to make from your work– it comes off as crass. The agent is the one who knows the business and has a good sense of the relative value of projects.

What must I do for you to take on my book and run with my idea?  (When you get the full scope of my idea, you will be amazed, I promise you!)

Rather than be “amazed” in the future, it would have been nice to have been given the scope of the book in the query letter. Too many query letters talk about the book in superlatives but neglect to ever say what it is about. If you are afraid someone will steal your idea you’re not going to be able to find an agent or sell your book.

I think Ralph Waldo Emerson summed it up best: “The mark of the man of the world is absence of pretension. He does not make a speech; he takes a low business-tone, avoids all brag, is nobody, dresses plainly, promises not at all, performs much. speaks in monosyllables, hugs his fact. He calls his employment by its lowest name and so takes from evil tongues their sharpest weapon. His conversation clings to the weather and news, yet he allows himself to be surprised into thought and the unlocking of his learning and philosophy.”

Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office

Weather: Warm and sunny

In the comments yesterday I mentioned how important it is for me to know something about the author in the query. When I agree to represent a new client I am representing that writer for a whole career, not just one book. I need to know who you are and what you’ve done. That said, however, it is important not to give TMI (too much information). Keep it succinct. Again, pique my interest. If you’ve been referred by one of my clients be sure to mention it.

What is TMI? Let me give you a few real-life examples– carefully redacted so as not to identify the writer.

Besides the book I have published (not a good publisher I ended up getting, I was young in the industry without much knowledge or business experience) . . .

Don’t denigrate another agent or publisher in your query letter. There’s enough time later to do a post-mortem of a failed book or a troubled agent/author relationship, but when you are just meeting someone it comes off as judgmental, blaming, and whiny. Your assessment may very well be true but you need a deeper relationship to risk the way it sounds.

As you can see from the following material, my wife and I are desperate. Our bankruptcy is in Federal Appeals Court (headed for the Supreme Court?), and our attorney, [name of attorney] aware of my intellectual property [name of manuscript] has advised me to offer it on the open market. Perhaps you can help.

Mentioning your financial need could well be the death knell for a query, no matter how wonderful the book. This industry moves slowly and a potential agent knows that, like any new business, it will take a number of years for an author to break even. A client who is financially strapped tends to write too fast out of desperation and make terrible decisions out of need that harm a long term career plan.

My name is [Jane Doe], I am a 41 year old divorced mom, (former victim of emotional and verbal abuse) dental hygienist, lecturer, home sex toy party sales person and author. My X husband lost his job 1 week after our “D” was final.  After years of hearing you’re nothing, how wrong he was.

Ignoring the sex toy sales job (way, way TMI), an agent is looking for a professional. It’s sad, but too much drama tends to get in the way of a writing career. Yes, we all have stuff in our past, but we need to have worked through that  before we take up pen to share universal truths through story. Even if you haven’t quite worked through your personal angst, don’t share it in a query. If you are writing a book in which your personal experiences form the basis of your expertise then that’s a different issue. Just be sure to be professional and emotionally detached in a query.

I am a new writer and have never, ever submitted any work to any agent or publisher.  But I had prayed about writing a worthwhile book and an idea just popped into my head one day.  I have been working on that idea for 2 months now and am planning on completing it by the fall. It is an excellent idea…straight from the mind of God Himself and I am humbled He gave it to me, of all people!

Anyone who knows me knows I believe God sometimes does inspire us but do not put it in a query. It’s one of those things you should silently ponder in your heart. As soon as you claim it in order to sell a book it makes it seem trite. A couple of other things from this query: a writer of only two months should not be querying agents. It’s time to begin studying the market, learning the craft and getting to know other writers. And do not denigrate yourself in your query like saying “me, of all people.” Writing a query letter is like applying for a job. You have to believe in yourself or you will never make it in this crazy industry.

As for marketing the story, I was hoping that would be your expertise; otherwise, if I had enough money, I would publish it myself.   I would make it a paperback, so it would be more affordable to parents with young children.  It would have glossy pages, so their sticky fingers wouldn’t ruin the book.  The book should be at least an 8-1/2 by 11 or larger, so it is visually appealing to the boys and girls and with large type so they can read along to some extent.  To add interactive play with the book, you could sell it with a stuffed toy that is accompanied with outfits.

If an agent asks for marketing ideas for a query do your homework. (Most agents do not want this in a query. Save it for the proposal.) Though most agents do help some with marketing ideas that is not our expertise. Also, by saying that if she had money she’d self-publish, it makes it appear that traditional publishing is this author’s last choice. And, above all, do not give directions for designing the book. That would even be presumptuous of an agent to say to a publisher.

I read only one book, when I was 6 years old, and it was 12 pages long. I went to the kindergarten, and read them my first and last book. Sure, I had to read when I went to school, and at work, but I would skim through everything and look for the most important things in the book, or in any manual. I have paid the consequences in my life, by not reading anyone’s books in my life. I am telling you the truth; I haven’t even read an entire magazine before!

This one was too sad. I think we can all read between the lines and see that this potential author must have a learning disability which does not in itself disqualify someone from being a writer. I represent a bestselling author who suffered from dyslexia in school. What does disqualify someone is if they don’t read. Even if one is reading-challenged, there are tried-and-true methods that can be employed to overcome it. It is imperative to read widely in your category or your genre. If you are not a reader, you cannot be a writer.

These are just a few examples. Have you ever wondered if you might be giving too much information?

Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office

Weather: 82º (Ten degrees hotter than yesterday)

Great comments so far on queries. Today we are going to get into some dos and don’ts. Let me say again, these are not rules, they are suggestions and they are subjective. My don’ts might just be another agent’s dos. But discussing it will only help us examine the process further.

When you are sending a query, don’t try to be clever. I know you want your query to be memorable, but humor is the most subjective art form there is. Think about what makes you laugh out loud. I’ll bet you have a friend who is annoyed by the very same thing. I love Garrison Keillor. If I could chose a spiritual hometown it would be lake Woebegon, but I have friend who finds him obnoxious. Go figure.

The only exception to this “rule” is if you are writing humor. Then your query needs to reflect that. Other than that, beware. Let me show you some carefully redacted “clever” queries. None of these even hinted what the book was about so don’t worry that I’m divulging any intellectual property.

My name is [John Doe] and I’m an enigma. I’ve also written a [umpteen] word manuscript or else this query would really be a waste of your, mine and our time.  I believe in capitalism but don’t want to work for the man.  I believe in freedom but don’t want to fight for it.  I’m against war but stay silent, mostly, on America’s practices of exploitation.  I grew up in an anti-Communist America, but think the government should help me out while staying out of my personal life.  In short, I am conflicted.

<SNIP a ton of superfluous details>

Suffice it to say, my [describes book]. It is stupid in its brilliance and brilliant in its stupidity…tragic in its verisimilitude and verisimilitudey in its tragicness…It is both an indictment of the vapidity of pop culture and a sentimental journey through a mind obsessed with it.  In short my new friend, my book saves lives.

<SNIP another two pages of stuff>

Right now—at this very moment—I am entering the stretch run of my college career.  I am [00] years old and am about to graduate from the [a university].  {The aforementioned dog is graduating from the [another university], with a degree in aeronautics or barking or something…it’s probably barking, which is where we dropped her off}

Okay. Clever? Did it appeal to you? Do you see the risk the writer took in trying to be edgy? Picture an agent trying to squeeze in queries at the end of a long, trying day. This doesn’t work. Clever is a huge risk. It may have worked for another agent but for me— it just made me cranky.

So how about this clever one. It’s a reply to the email I sent this writer telling him he just queried the wrong address and offering him the correct address:

Whatever. You have a “finger” right?, you can send it cant you? Geeeese. Just forward the message. This is one of the greatest stories EVER told. I dont have time to waste.

Now that’s certainly a humorous way to endear yourself to an agent. Or how about this one?

It’s almost not fair. Actually it isn’t fair. It’s so not fair.  Here I am, left with a page, one page, just one page, to grab your attention and set aside my query letter from the rest of the hundreds and maybe thousands that you get on a weekly basis, so you contact me back to read my manuscript. But that’s what they say about life right? It’s not fair, or is it that it’s like a box of chocolates? No, that was Forest Gump, good movie huh? If it was a true story then it’d be a great movie. I wanna be like Forest Gump, but I’m not slow, so I’ll be the smart Forest Gump and go on and do great things(have I gotten your attention yet?) Well If not then let me keep going….

You don’t know me, as an author, but you should. You know why you should? Well do ya? I’ll tell ya why, because I am a best selling author. That’s right a best selling author, if this was 8 to 12 months from now.  Ooops, I know I’m not supposed to say that, boast about the books. So I just broke the rules of querying an agent with that one. But hey I gotta get your attention some how right?

Well now let me stop making you laugh…be boring and briefly tell you about those several books I have.

Does this help you understand why agents get cranky about queries? I’m not disparaging these writers. I understand they are trying to find a way to be distinctive, but humor is subjective and therefore risky when querying.

Don’t do it.

Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office

Weather: Return to May sunshine

Great responses yesterday.  You communicated the limitations and frustrations of the query system. Truthfully? It’s one of my least favorite parts of this job. I agree that you can’t capture the essence of a book in a page. The best you can do is pique the interest of your target agent enough to make him ask for more. Katie mentioned that she met her agent through a writing conference. That’s where I’ve connected with the bulk of my clients. There’s nothing like having time to eat a meal together and look at more than a page or two. Contests are another way to get your work in front of agents and editors. But conferences and competitions aren’t possible for everyone so the query remains your introduction.

Before we get into specifics, let me address some common misconceptions. Just remember that these are my opinions and preferences– there is no one size-fits-all when it comes to agents.

Myth #1: When I get a form letter or no response at all, it means either my book is no good or my query was no good. Debunking that Myth: You cannot make that leap. You don’t have enough information. In a perfect world you’d receive  a response telling you why the agent passed on your query. Unfortunately we live in a fallen world. There is not enough time to answer the sheer volume of queries. Not even if I worked twelve hours a day– which I sometimes do. And even worse, if, in a moment of weakness, I have taken time to give a reason for passing on a query, I invariably get a return email asking for clarification, seeking help, proposing rewrites, arguing with me or just striking up a relationship. We’ve all learned we cannot risk opening the dialogue. Sad, but true. So what does the form letter or no response mean?

• It could mean that the agent can’t think of a particular editor for your book at the moment. It might just be that the editors in her particular Rolodex aren’t buying that kind of book right now. Could it change tomorrow? You bet.
• It might mean that the agent’s client list is full or nearly full. It takes a huge chunk of time to take on a new client. The agent needs to set up files, become familiar with the body of work and all the projects underway. It’s a significant commitment to take on a new client. We open up our calendars and think long and hard before making that decision. No agent reads a query and asks to see a partial on a whim.
• It could mean the market is not right for your subject or genre now in that agent’s opinion. And of course, this is subjective. And even if you knew this it wouldn’t help because the next agent may be looking for that exact thing.
• It could mean that the book just doesn’t interest that agent. Again, totally subjective. Nicole commented yesterday that she wished agents would give a list of books they love to help writers unravel this subjectivity. It’s an interesting idea and we do it here on the blog with our “What I am reading” feature, but. . . I represent a wide variety of books and authors. My personal reading tastes are far narrower than the breadth of wonderful books I represent.
• It could mean the crafting of the query indicates that the writing may not be good enough.
• It could mean that the writer didn’t do his homework and the query represents a book outside the agent’s area of interest. I can’t tell you how many queries I receive for books on generic “spirituality” or novels with “hot, hot sex.” *rolls eyes*

So what do you do when you don’t get any information? You keep doing research and you keep sending queries. After a number of passes, you may want to revamp the query in case that is the problem. You’ll also want to hedge your bets by saving your pennies to attend a writing conference and enter writing competitions that are judged by agents and editors.

Myth #2: If I don’t follow the rules for a query an agent will dismiss it out of hand. It’s easy to debunk this one. You will make yourself crazy trying to find the secret decoder ring for the perfect query. Every agent is different. If you follow agents on Twitter, note what they call a #QueryFail one day. You might see them say the exact opposite the next. For me, it’s more about grace than the letter of the law. I may not like queries that open with  rhetorical question but I sure wouldn’t discount a promising book and author on that one point. Don’t obsess about the “rules.” Write a query that uniquely represents the book and the author.

Myth #3: Agents remember the queries they receive. If I sent an amateurish query early-on to an agent I’ve got that mark forever against me. I’ll speak for myself here. There may be agents with photographic memories but I am not one of them. I do not keep a log of rejected queries. I remember stories so yes, I may remember seeing a particular query if I receive a duplicate but I will never remember the author’s name. You can always count on me to see you with fresh eyes.

I’ve only skimmed the surface here, but it’s a start. Any other things you’ve heard about the query process you’d like me to address and possibly debunk? What do you think is the one most important thing to know about the query process?

Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.

Last week I spent most of my time working with clients in preparing proposals for submission to editors. As I interacted with various clients, I observed a truth I’ve seen time and time again–each of us has a preconceived notion about our projects that can make us intractable on certain points. And that inability to see a project with fresh eyes can keep us from finding a publisher for our work.

Two cases in point:

1. A client has a stunning idea with much potential. Tied to a key event in our country’s history, a book on this topic could make a significant contribution to the nation’s conversation. Yes, really. But the author is  convinced a publishing committee will understand the importance of such a book and therefore doesn’t  need to read the first two chapters of the book that set up the project’s importance. Instead, the author is submitting chapters starting with #3. May I just say that I have no confidence in an entire team at a publishing house “getting it”? My hope is that enough editors will ask for the first chapters to make my point. Wouldn’t it just be smarter to write those chapters?

2. Another client has a strong idea for a project, but the competition is stiff. I’m trying to get her to understand that she needs to more tightly focus her idea so it clearly is differentiated from books by well-known authors who have written on the same topic. But she’s so intent on her perception of her proposal that she can’t hear what I’m saying. It’s like deciding to open an ice cream shop but refusing to recognize that the three already established ice cream shops in town present a major roadblock to your success. Maybe you need to add clowns and free balloons to differentiate your shop. Whatever you choose, be smart about it; make your project stand out from a field crowded with celebs.

So what’s with this inability to listen? We all have blindsides, but these authors aren’t grasping that I’m pointing out significant issues that can make or break their next projects. It’s rather like the emperor who has no clothes. Plenty of folks will pretend right along with you that you’re regally garbed. And it can be dangerous to point out the, uh, naked truth, but somebody has to do it; wouldn’t you rather it be an astute critiquer or your agent–or even your mother–than an editor who chooses not to take your project to committee or a publishing committee that gives your project the thumbs down?

If you want to break out, you have to have a discerning ear: Whom should you listen to? Is it worth forcing yourself to put the brakes on your enthusiasm and refine your project? Or is the “naysayer” wrong, and you should barrel ahead full steam?

I’d say in the two examples I’ve just given that I’m not asking either writer to rethink an idea but to more thoroughly think about the idea. To take it to the next level. Now, that’s what makes a project one likely to break out–or break into a publishing.