On Agency Agreements

Twitter-Q: What sorts of clauses should we watch for in the agent contract? Do authors ever have an attorney review before they sign?

I've been asked a variation of this question several times in recent days. I can trace the current anxiety surrounding this issue to a specific blog post from last week, this one from agent Kristen Nelson. I could have sworn that I'd written about this topic before, but I couldn't find in the blarchives, so here's my take:

I prefer to call the document in question an "Agency Agreement" rather than "contract" -- it is a contract, of course, but in my experience it is a much gentler, more genial, and much less confusing document than a publisher contract, and "agreement" more accurately fits the tone of the thing. Plus then it doesn't get confused with all the actual publishing contracts we will be negotiating on your behalf down the line. :-)

The agency agreements I've seen have been quite short and easy to understand. There should be nothing "gotcha" or secret about the terms set forth in the agreement. You should not need a team of lawyers or experts to parse the language, in fact, since the terms of the agreement are often so simple ("this is our commission" for example), they are often non-negotiable, so a lawyer would be a waste of your money. (That said, of course you may spend your money however you like... I'd just look at it before you start getting lawyered up.)

The agent you are signing with should make time to walk you through the agreement. If you feel totally freaked out by the complexity of the agreement, and are too scared to ask questions, or don't understand the answers... you might be signing with the wrong agent.

Here's are the big points an agency agreement should contain, and things to watch out for. NOTE: Some agencies have no agreements at all, it is all verbal/handshake. Some agencies will have more or less items, or have these worded in different ways, or in a different order, but these are in general items that should be covered either in your written agreement or in your conversation pre-"handshake" deal:

1. Scope of Representation: What is the agent repping? (books? short stories? magazine work? subrights? everything?) Is this a one year contract, or open-ended? I know that some agencies do a year at a time, and the contract renews (or doesn't) each year. Some do a book at a time, and the contract renews (or doesn't) when there is a new book. It is my experience, however, that many or most agents are "at-will" - in other words, we are your agent until such time as either party decides to part ways. Make sure you know what the agent is going to rep for you, and if this is a contract that has a specific term, or if it is open-ended.

2. Commission: How much the agent gets paid, and for what, and how the money will be distributed. Notes:

* Agents typically get 15% on regular book sales, and 20 or 25% on subrights that involve one or more co-agents (ie, Hollywood or foreign). I've heard of slight variations on this, but wildly different commission rates would set off major alarm bells for me.

* Money typically goes from the publisher to the agency, they take their commission out and forward your part to you. It is my understanding that legally, this has to happen within 2 weeks of the agency receiving the check. There may be exceptions to this arrangement, in which the publisher sends your portion of the monies directly -- for example, if you live in a foreign country, this might alleviate some of the bank fees. Doesn't really matter either way, but you need to know how you're going to get paid, and I would want this in the agreement.

* Expenses: If you request unusual services such as courier, overnight delivery, etc, you may have to pay for such expenses (I have never once had to charge expenses in this fashion, because my clients don't request unusual services. Regular postage, office supplies, etc, I pay for). In addition, you may have to pay for shipping of your own book overseas for foreign sales. This is normal. Any such charges should be well-explained to you, and documented/invoiced. NOT NORMAL: Requiring you to go out of pocket for special 3rd party editors or "consulting services" or similar. Major. Red. Flag.


* Agents typically get their commission for any book that they sell, for the lifetime of that publishing contract. When the book goes out of print and rights revert to you, 20 years from now or whatever, you've gotten a new agent and she sells the book to a publisher who re-prints it, the first agent should not get any % from that sale. Likewise, the new agent will not get any % from the first agent's sale. I have clients who sold their first book with another agent, or by themselves - I get no % from that. But if I sell that book to France, that is a new contract, and I get the %. Make sense?  However THIS is where the "in perpetuity" problem that K.N. talked about in her blog post comes in. Do make sure that the agency is only receiving commission for what they actually sell, not on the book in any permutation in perpetuity. UNLIKE K.N., I have never actually seen this wording in an agency agreement, but I have no doubt that it sometimes exists.


3. Termination:  This will set forth how either party can "break up". It will probably say something like, you must notify the other party in writing (or possibly by registered mail). Some agencies, you are able to move on effective immediately,  BUT any and all work subbed by the first agent will continue to be repped by that agent. So, you can get a new agent tomorrow - but if we get an offer because of work that I did and a submission that I made, I will negotiate that contract and your new agent will have nothing to do with it.

At other agencies, there may be 30, 60 or even 90 days built in here where the agent can tie up loose ends, withdraw books that are on submission, and during which you would be obliged not to get new representation. This is just an additional guarantee that the agent will be protected should you decide to go rogue after they've made a sale for you. Make sure you understand what is involved if you decide you need to part ways with your agent. You don't want to cause bad blood, or worse, get in a situation where two agents feel they have claim over your work. If the agent is asking for longer than 30 days "leeway", I'd ask to shorten it.

Annnnnd... that's pretty much it. Pretty straightforward stuff. Again, some agencies might have NO formal agreement, or more clauses in their formal agreements, but none of it should baffle you, and if it does, that is what asking questions is for. There are a lot bigger and scarier contracts in your publishing future, so you need to know that your agent will be able to translate for you if necessary. Sometimes an agent might use shorthand or throw around jargon that you don't know. And yeah, Google will help, but when it comes to something as important as your career, as my lawyer parents taught me:

NEVER, EVER, SIGN SOMETHING WITHOUT READING AND UNDERSTANDING IT.

AND NEVER, EVER, BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS!

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Pants on Fire

Every year or two there is a story about a nonfiction writer who just made up a bunch of bullshit and called it his life story, or copied a bunch of info from other books without any attribution, or a fiction writer who lifted paragraphs or chapters from other books and called them her own.

We know that lying is wrong, and that copying other people's work is cheating. That's still covered in like, kindergarten, right? But still... writing a good book is HARD. And cheating can seem easy, and painless, by comparison. Particularly when there are thousands (or even millions) of dollars riding on your whipping up a good story on a deadline.

Publishers can't exactly compare every line of your book to every other book ever written, or make you take a lie detector test to prove you climbed the Himalayas that one time. But they do make you sign a contract. And that contract always includes a Warranties & Indemnities clause. This section is easy to gloss over because it doesn't contain any $$$ signs, but it is interesting and important to know about. Of course it will differ from publisher to publisher, and can get quite long and complex, but in general, it looks like this (LIBERALLY TRANSLATED):

a) You promise that you aren't plagiarizing this.  You haven't stolen any of it. You aren't committing libel.  This is not a violation of any obscenity laws.  This has never been published before.  You wrote this all by yourself and you have the right to publish this.  The book does not contain recipes or instructions for anything that might cause somebody harm.  ("Timmy read Magic Under Glass and learned how to bring the grandfather clock to life, and then it strangled him!")

b) You assure the publisher (and by extension anyone the publisher works with, foreign publishers, movie producers, whomever) that you really, really told the truth just now and they will not be sued for any reason because of something in your book.  If it turns out that you were lying about any of that stuff before, you have to pay the damages and attorney fees.  (Um, so don't lie.)

c) Provided that you DIDN'T lie before, you are covered under the publisher's insurance policy, so if for some reason you are sued, they will provide legal counsel and you are required to work with them to defend the case.  (Generally, if you also want to hire your own lawyer you can at your own expense, but the publisher's lawyer has to be in charge of the case.) You still might be liable for some expenses, but otherwise you are covered -- unless of course it comes out that you were lying about any of that stuff that you promised you didn't lie abut before, in which case the insurance is off, and your publisher will leave you to twist in the wind, and did you know that lawyers in New York are very expensive? They are. 

Aside from the financial burden, you will of course also ruin your reputation, and become a laughingstock and/or a pariah. Though it doesn't mean your career is necessarily over (bad pennies do keep turning up), people in publishing do loooooove to gossip, and media likes to get ahold of these stories when they are big, too, so it is safe to say that there will be repercussions far into the future.

Also, you will make your agent cry. :-(

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No, Really. Finish the Manuscript.

Twitter-Q: "[I] would love to know why a full mss is always required, it would save time and heartbreak to know five chapters in the book sucks"

I get variations on this pretty much every day, like so: "Do I have to finish my ms before querying?" Yes. "But ... do I REALLY have to finish my ms before querying?" Yes. "OK, but, let's say I query before I finish my ms..." Don't. "But it takes so long to get an agent, and I've got a good 50 pages finished..." Sigh.

See the thing is, I just can't critique your work, or tell you if you are wasting your time, or whatever. Really. I think you are great, but I can't help you with those things. It is not my job.

Sort of like, when the landscaper comes to your house, you don't show them into the attic and leave them there. (Well... I guess you might do that, but it would be super weird, and probably lead to a bad lawn and possibly a lawsuit.) It just... isn't their job to talk to you about insulation. They are outdoor folk.

I am not a critique partner. I am an agent. I take your (finished) manuscript, help you polish it, then play "matchmaker" and sell it to a publisher. So I am looking for a manuscript that I not only love, but that I think I can sell. I am not making a match between your random, unwritten notions and a publisher, much in the same way that modern matchmakers generally make the match between two consenting adults, and don't marry off unborn children. If you are sending me unfinished material, you are not even close to giving me what I am looking for, because I can't sell it.*


*This advice void if you are already well-published and/or famous.

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April Showers Open Thread

It's the top of the month which means that it is time once again for a brand-new open thread!

Have agentish questions? Need advice or encouragement? Want to talk about the new Sweet Valley High book?  Have wacky pet pix to share?  GO ON, THEN, COMMENT!

Short answers I will take care of in comments, longer ones may become blog-fodder.

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When Your Agent Isn't Feeling the Love

Q: I am agented and my agent has sold several books for me. But he told me last week that he really doesn't like my latest book and he doesn't think he can sell it. I don't know what my next step should be. I really like working with him and trust his opinion, but I have to say... I love this book and it might be my favorite thing I've written. And he hates it??? Ack. My confidence has really taken a hit. I'm freaked out. What do I do?

Oh sweetie, this is a tough one.

The fact of the matter is, no matter how sympatico a client and agent might be in terms of taste and and personality, there are bound to be some occasions where you don't quite see eye-to-eye. This is normal, and OK. Agents aren't always right... but by the same token, manuscripts aren't always good.

Sometimes your agent will advise you to drop a project because it is something that they think they cannot sell. Other times they are thinking of your career as a whole, and how this book might be problematic for you in a big picture way. Or they think that this particular effort is just not good enough, and they want you to always put your best foot forward. And of course, sometimes they simply don't get it, are dead wrong and missing the boat.

In any event, getting an agent was likely a relatively fraught process to begin with. You may have a lot of time invested in this relationship, and it isn't something you want to throw away. But you need your agent to be out there confidently representing you and your work, and if he HATES it... well, that's no good.

So I think you need to do a gut-check.

1) You adore this manuscript. Why? Do you love it so much because it is truly the best you've written, or is it a pet topic or theme that you might have an attachment to for some personal reason, but that other people may not "get"?

2) Have you shown it to trusted crit partners or beta readers? Ones who tell the truth? Have they also had reservations, or have they loved it as much as you do?

3) After a day (or three), having had the chance to calm down and breathe, have you had a heart-to-heart conversation with your agent? Does he ACTUALLY hate it, or were you over-reacting? Does he have a problem with the topic, or the execution, or does he object because he thinks it will be bad for your career, or what? Does he think it is unredeemable, or does he just think it needs some work and the problems he sees are possible to tweak with revision?

4) Would he be willing to at least shop it a few places, perhaps editors you've had close calls with in the past? Maybe if the book starts to get good feedback from editors he trusts, it will make the him feel more excited about the possibilities, and more comfortable sending it widely. Alternatively, maybe if the project gets BAD feedback, it will be enough to convince you to chill out on it for a while or rework it.

5) Do you really trust your agent? Do you think that he has generally good taste and good advice?

6) Are you willing to put this manuscript away for a while, or perhaps forever?

If the answers are YES this is really the best book you've written, YES your unbiased readers agree, YES you've had a talk with your agent, but NO he doesn't think you should bother revising, and NO he won't send it out, and most of all NO you don't trust his judgment and NO you aren't willing to set the book aside... well then it is time to part ways. I'm sorry. It's a sucky situation to be in.

But the good news is, if having to find a new agent is the worst thing in your world, you are lucky. And if your manuscript is really that damn-hell awesome, you'll have no problem getting a new agent.

Otherwise it is probably a good idea to work on something new and let this one rest for a while. Then later, try coming back to the project with fresh eyes. See if you still feel so strongly about it, and if any of your agent's comments made sense. Perhaps you will decide to revise, or if you can't revise it, maybe you can cannibalize it for parts. Whatever you do, remember that any manuscript you write, whether you sell it or not, is something you will learn and grow from as a writer. No manuscript is a waste.

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Tweet-a-Query Challenge & Conclusions

Earlier this evening, I issued a unique challenge to my tweeps: Tweet me a query, including type of project & a killer log-line, in less than 140 characters. The project could be real or fake - the challenge was to come up with something irresistible in the short space given.

An hour and literally hundreds of tweet-entries later, I've come to some conclusions. Of course this was just an exercise for fun, and some of these projects are jokes, but I think the lessons here are applicable to the regular query process too:

* You only have a few words. Use the right ones, and make them all count.

Transplantee Mishca's heart is not her own, now someone wants it back. Fight's on where she's most venerable - her dreams.-- Venerable? or Vulnerable?  Totally different meanings, totally different stories.

* When you introduce a bunch of foreign or peculiar words & names, the reader gets lost fast.  

Krishani brings war to Avristar and the girl he loves sacrifices herself to save him. Wait, what? Perhaps pick a word to tell us what kind of person (?) Krishani is, and what Avristar is, to ground us in the situation?

Can L`Arc live with Maria in happiness or will The Sodalis end it all again? -- Huh? Am I supposed to know what L'Arc or The Sodalis are?

* Remember that the book you sell today will probably not be released for a year or more.  

Tabby isn't a terrorist but when her bro blows up a genetics lab she might as well be. She's accused and in 2012 that = death. -- Really? 2012? Like, less than a year from now? I know it's an election year and all, but um...

* Premise is not the same as problem. Sometimes a unique enough premise can be enough to pique interest in a book (Werewolf Roller Derby!)... but usually we need a bit more than that.

 Eccentric family of inventors live in a zeppelin & fly around the world solving weather-related mysteries. -- OK, this is a setting, but so what? What happens? What is the problem? (And yes, I am interested in eccentric families, inventors, mysteries and zeppelins... but I still need to know that something happens in the book.) 

* Beware the List of Awesome  

A mashup of scifi, gaming, jedis, genetically enhanced heroes from space, a girl, an evil Mistress and a guy named Scrappy.  I am totally guilty of doing this "list of awesome things" pitch myself - and sometimes it works, particularly to set the scene or give a feeling of tone. But a list of awesome things, no matter how awesome they are, can't take the place of telling us what the problem is.

* Cliche is a shortcut, but it's also a crutch and your query will be stronger without it.

All Miah brought home from band trip was a hungry mosquito's gift of lycanthrophy. As if high school wasn't bad enough.  -- The first sentence was pretty hot, actually. But then the second ruined it. It would have been much better to introduce a specific reason or reasons why high school sucks for this kid, or to introduce it by saying what the kid EXPECTED to get out of Band Camp. ("Summer band camp was a break from getting slushee facials in the hall, but..." or "All he wanted from Band Camp was a shot with the sexy clarinet player, but instead...")  

* Don't Editorialize.

The heartwarming story of a Mathlete turned Sexpert. -- This is one of my clients books, full disclosure - and I think she is a great writer. But this is problematic as a pitch, primarily because of the "heartwarming story." Don't editorialize with "hilarious", "uproarious", "heartwarming", "pageturning", "unputdownable" or similar. Heartwarming? I'll be the judge of that. I'd have rather she used this space to tell us a tiny bit more about the Mathlete, or the Sexpert, or the setting, or what MAKES the Mathlete turn into a Sexpert.

 * It has to make sense. Beware derailing & straying too far from the point.  

4 new grads get first real jobs, find they can't cook, & set out to learn, while figuring out the mystery at work. -- I am not sure how any of these things have to do with the other. Is the problem that they can't cook and have to learn? What does that have to do with getting jobs? What mystery, and what does that have to do with cooking? They all work at the same place? Why didn't you say so? This leaves me with a lot of questions.

Taken by humans and made into a sex slave, 15 yrs old Effie struggles with PTSD and the deadly butterflies that consume her.  -- If she's taken by humans, that implies that she is NOT a human... so please tell me what she is. Does she have PTSD because of being taken and abused, or did she have it before? Are the deadly butterflies real, or imaginary? Are they literally consuming her? I am confused.

All that said, there were a few that made me crack up (Dude Looks Like M'Lady made me laugh for like, a full minute) -- and a lot of really fun sounding entries. These were my favorite, and I am going to let YOU guys vote on the winner. Please pick one (1) of the following & vote in comments or by tweet. Winner gets something nice:

1. BLOOD OF WOLVES is a reverse Beauty and the Beast tale set in a pre-steampunk world of ice, alchemy and monsters. 
2. Boy finds blank book, when he touches it it fills with his life story. Will he commit to his destiny or rewrite it? 
3. 12yo overachiever leads world's worst boy scouts in earning toughest merit badge yet - saving the world from alien invasion.
4. A student at one of the most competitive schools in Paris by day, a jewel thief on the city rooftops by night.
5. Werewolf Roller Derby. Splitting hairs, bones and wheels for the sake of the pack.

ETA: Based on extremely scientific polling data here and on twitter (ahem), WE HAVE WINNERS - #3 is the winner, #5 is the runner up. Books are on their way! Wooohooo! :D JL

 

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My Kinks

These are elements of a story that I am a total sucker for. I do love regular old contemporary YA and middle grade stories too, and I love plenty of stories that have NONE of these elements -- but these are my (not-so-secret) kinks. Seriously - if any of these are present I am almost guaranteed to like the book/movie/tv show/story, or at least give it a huge chance.

TIME PERIODS / SETTINGS:

* Regency / Victorian / Edwardian Era - UK, Europe and US (1811-1910)

* WW1 / between the wars / WW2 / Blitz / Relocated Children - England

* 1920's - 1940's USA (especially Hollywood & NYC)

* Wiemar-era Berlin  (or anything with German Expressionist flavor)

* British Raj / Partition India

* Boarding School / Prep School / Drama School

* Secret Societies / Insular Groups different from "norm" society

* Ensemble Performance / Behind the Scenes - in other words, the reality behind busy restaurant, theatre, hotel, newspaper, sports team, movie set, etc.

ELEMENTS / PEOPLE:

* Girls Dressed as Boys / Drag Queens / Dandies / Disguises / Secret Identities / Cross-dressing

* Makeovers

* Fashion Shows / Modeling / Clothes & Fabric

* Star is Born / Rags to Riches stories (Or even better: Riches to Rags to Riches, a la Little Princess)

* Theatre / Circus / Vaudeville or other Artist/performer

* The Olympics / Olympic-level training (esp: Skating, Gymnastics and similar 'artistic' solitary sports)

* Charismatic Older Men Taking Care of Young Girls and Vice-Versa (think: The Professional, Daddy Long-Legs, Paper Moon, True Grit -- or, Bela Karolyi & Nadia Comeneci)

* Con Artists / Art Fraud / Grifters / Mafia

* Prostitutes / Dance-Hall Girls / Rough Trade

* Gypsies / Fortune Tellers

* Servants / Butlers / Governesses "goings on below stairs" stories

* Assassins / Spies / Sleuths / Genius Problem Solvers (Sherlock, Dr. Who, Jeeves)

* Golems / Manikins / Androids / Humanoids / Automatons

--

What about you? What are the 'kinks' that you tend to go for in a story?

ETA: I am cheating - my client Jackie Dolamore did her own post on the subject, and I want to take all of her answers too!  LOVE!

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No Fighting, No Biting

In case you have been snoozing in a sunny hammock for a week (in which case, may I say a hearty grrr to you), you've probably noticed rumblings about the supposed "YA Mafia." I am totally not going to get into it here, as it has been pretty well discussed and dissected by everyone everywhere, and the topic is done as far as I'm concerned.  YA Highway has a great roundup in case you missed any of the kerfuffle and are still interested.

One sort of side-tangent that has been mentioned by a few folks is the rumor that AN AGENT WON'T TAKE YOU ON IF YOU PUBLICLY HATE THEIR CLIENTS WORK.  Am I missing something? This doesn't seem like a threat, it seems like a very obvious and non-scandalous fact to me.

But the reaction I'm reading seems to be that such agents are obviously short-sighted, crazy, "in the pay of the YA Mafia", idiots, etc etc. 

Uhh...

I'm extremely passionate about any book I rep. I LOVE IT.

Besides the author themselves, I was probably the first person to be a total champion for the book. I've read it many times, sometimes over the course of years. I might have helped edit it, or at least thought about it hard, possibly through multiple drafts. In some way, maybe a big way or maybe a small, I helped that book be what it is. I am quite proud of them; each book really means a great deal to me.

If you love my books too, we might have very similar taste. The chances are good that if you are an excellent writer, with taste similar to mine, we might be a very good fit.

If you love some but are ambivalent about others, or like a couple but are "meh" about some, or even thought some were fine but privately disliked a couple, hey, that's cool, not everyone can like everything, everyone has their own opinion, that's what makes the world go round. (Well that and like, science.)

But if you totally hate a book of mine, like seriously detest, and have gone out of your way to slam it publicly...why would you even want me as an agent?

Your agent is your partner, hopefully for many years and through many successes (and yes, often failures as well.) You will be talking to them quite a lot. You have to be able to trust that they understand and "get you."

Your agent also needs to trust that his or her clients are relatively stable, happy, and not going to turn on each other or start getting into online (or real life!) monkey knife fights with one another. Drama creates a hostile work environment for all and can escalate to toxic levels quickly, which results in a loss of productivity, which results in a loss of money. Feh. Not for me, thanks. I would rather have fun, sell lots of books, and make money.  Wouldn't you?

You will also more than likely be in situations where you are in a group of your fellow-clients, out at a dinner, at a conference, or a school visit, or on a retreat. These are your colleagues, again, hopefully for many years. If you totally hate their work... ugh, awkward!  Why would you possibly want to knit your future together with people you hold in contempt?

Basically, if you loathe the books I represent, we clearly have very different taste. That isn't bad or good -- it's just a fact. Pick an agent who seems to like the same kind of stuff you do. Obvious, right?



*ETA: I am not suggesting that people should not blog, or be honest, or censor themselves, or anything of the kind.  I have book bloggers as clients.  Go forth and blog!  I am just saying, you put out into the world what you want to get back.  You can't say you HATE something, but then turn around and want to be just like that thing. 

Like, I like gold, and I like lemon yellow, and I like orange, but I hate certain shades of the color yellow (to wit: Goldenrod). Seriously. Worst. Color. Ever. I've said it on my blog, and I will say it to anyone who asks. I'd say it to Yellow's face. I am not allowed to be surprised if Yellow doesn't hire me as its spokesperson.

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Facebook Stuff

Hey there -- For those of you who are interested in keeping up with ALL SORTS of news about my authors (from interviews, upcoming events, new book releases, book reviews etc) - and want to know when my upcoming conferences and similar are - I've started a Facebook page just for that purpose.

This way my friends and family won't have to read about my work all the time, and people who want book news won't have to wade through baby pictures and such. ;-)

Yes, big stuff will probably still show up in my personal Facebook, and on this very blog, but The Page will be really specifically a catch-all location. So clients, if you have news to share, let me know and I will post it!

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Link Roundup

There have been a lot of goings-on lately - time for a LINK ROUNDUP!

A totally phenomenal review of the reissue of Lizard Music by Daniel Pinkwater, from B&N Review.

Should you be blogging to help your writing career? Or is it a big waste of time?

A lengthy interview with me at the wonderful Shrinking Violets blog, about self-promotion, introversion and more.

A slightly more goofy interview at the Middle Grade Ninja, with fave movies and more - as well as what I am looking for.

If your local Borders is closing, you might take a look at this list of nearby indie bookstores.

Finally (and perhaps most importantly) - 22 Manly Ways to reuse an Altoids Tin - from tiny bbq to electronics lab!

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Namedropping in Picture Books

Q: What is the general rule regarding naming movies, song titles, book titles in a manuscript? For example, in a PB manuscript, mentioning that the MC loves to pretend she's Fancy Nancy or reads Madeline?

It can be OK to namedrop characters, movies, songs (provided you aren't quoting directly from songs, or if you are, you have the proper permission) in a middle grade or YA. I can think of dozens of examples of main characters who are bookworms, for example, and who reference real books that they've read.

Picture books are a different story.

I assume you'd be using these examples as a sort of shorthand way to show the sort of kid your character is.  To me, this shorthand of referencing somebody else's character almost feels like cheating; you've let the other author do the heavy lifting on characterization. Plus, what if the actual young readers enjoying your book haven't gotten to Fancy Nancy or Madeline yet? The shorthand won't work for those kids, and you'll have lost them.

Even more importantly, though, picture books are just... sooo... short. Most that sell nowadays are less than 500 words long. The picture book is like a very small, very well lit stage. Every single word has to mean something and be there for a reason, because every single word will be measured and judged and tweaked and pondered over. There is no room for anything extra, any word that is not moving the book forward or in some way doing work.

You are creating your very own tiny world here, and you have so very little room to spare... why drag somebody else's world into it?

That's my opinion. Doubtless I am forgetting some big huge example that will prove me wrong. Readers, can you think of any examples of picture books that have referenced real movies, songs or picture books by other authors (in the text, not in the illustrations) successfully?

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March Madness Open Thread

OK so I am done with February. I know there are a couple days left, but I can't take it anymore, I'm calling it a wrap. 

Also I want to amuse myself, and I'll be away from home when March actually begins. SO. I call upon you, dear readers, to divert my attention with whatever you like. Agentish questions for me to answer.  Funny pictures of animals. Good news.  Jokes.  And more agentish questions for me to answer!

I'll handle questions in the comments, unless they require a LONG answer, in which case, I'll do a post about them. 

Forward, March!

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Thank you

Thank you everyone for your wonderfully warm condolences and for posting your memories of LK Madigan. It has been really amazing to see how much she touched so many people - a fact that I knew intellectually, but didn't really process until I was able to see the flood of posts from all corners of the writing and reading world.

Lots of folks have asked how they may help Lisa's family.

A trust fund has been established to benefit Lisa's son; donations may be sent to the Nathan Wolfson Trust, c/o Becker Capital Management, 1211 SW Fifth Ave., Suite 2185, Portland, OR 97204.

Her husband Neil posted this info on her blog; I know that any donations would be extremely appreciated.

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A Very Sad Day

I'm heartbroken to report that my beloved friend and client Lisa (LK Madigan) passed away this morning.

Lisa was not only a dear friend but a truly remarkable writer. I had the great privilege to help bring two of Lisa's books into the world, and I hope that through those stories, many many more readers will have a chance to be touched by Lisa's brilliance, humor, heart and generosity of spirit in the years to come.

I know that many of you knew Lisa, at least online or through her books, and had her in your thoughts during her illness. She cared deeply about her readers and her community of writers, and I feel certain that your support and good wishes meant, and continue to mean, a great deal to her and to her family. And to me, as well.

Plans for a memorial will happen in the coming days and weeks. Meanwhile, I think that Lisa would encourage you all to give great big hugs to your friends and family, and follow your dreams, as she did.

Thank you all so much, and please take care of yourselves.

Love,

Jennifer

For more about LK Madigan, please visit her blog.  For the adorable story of her first book deal, go here. For the possibly even more adorable story of her long-awaited Mermaid Book, go here.  For the entries where she memorably channeled Tim Gunn, go here.  For an interview where she dishes about the Morris Award and more, go here.


To buy FLASH BURNOUT or MERMAID'S MIRROR, follow the links or visit your local independent bookstore.

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Crafting the Editor Submission List

I often get asked how agents create editor submission lists. I can't speak for everyone, of course, but from where I sit this is almost like a puzzle or game, and while I enjoy doing it, it is not always exactly simple.

First you must know that an "imprint" is a division within a large publisher. Various imprints specialize in either different styles of book, or a particular editor's own aesthetic. Like, for example, Simon Pulse is almost always going to be highly commercial, edgy YA fare. Puffin is almost always going to be paperback reprints. Little Simon is always going to be board, pop-up, novelty and picture books for the PreK-K crowd. Arthur A Levine books might be anything from Picture Books to YA, but will almost always be special, literary books with something of a timeless feel.

You can get to know the types of books each imprint publishes by looking them up online of course (here's a list of all Penguin imprints with each one's history, and here's a list of Harper childrens imprints) - but to my mind, nothing beats spending a lot of time in the bookstore or library and keeping your eyes peeled for the publishers colophon (fancy publishing word for logo) on the spine. You will see, as you read more and more and pay attention to who publishes what, that most imprints really do have their own discernible style. 

Here are some examples of children's and YA imprints, by publisher.*

Macmillan - includes FSG, St. Martins, Feiwel&Friends, Holt, Roaring Brook, Tor among others

Penguin - includes Dial, Dutton, Putnam, Viking, Razorbill, Puffin, among others

HarperCollins - includes HarperTeen, Katherine Tegan Books, Rayo, Balzer&Bray, among others

Random House - Knopf, Bantam/Delacorte/Dell, Schwartz&Wade, Wendy Lamb Books, RH Kids, among others

Simon & Schuster - Atheneum, McElderry, Little Simon, Beach Lane, Pulse, among others.

Scholastic - AAL, Scholastic Press, Orchard, among others. 

Then there are places that I consider "one-and-done", where the editors seem to work together more and don't really have significant divisions, including Candlewick, Bloomsbury/Walker, Chronicle, Egmont, Hyperion, Little Brown, Flux, Sterling, Sourcebooks etc. They might have different lines for different types of books (like Sourcebooks Fire YA line, Little Brown's Poppy line or Candlewick Sparks early readers) but those don't quite constitute their own departments with their own dedicated staff.

Within each imprint there may be anywhere from one to a couple to a conference-room-ful of editors. Every one of those editors have different tastes and specialties.  There may be only one editor at an imprint who likes fantasy, or nonfiction, or whatever it is, or there may be several. We want to target the book not just generally ("This seems like a Knopfy kind of book") but also specifically (Who at Knopf is looking for a book like this? Whose taste would this suit? Who has something too similar in tone already?). That is why it is so important for an agent to know not only the style of each imprint, but the tastes and preferences of as many editors within each imprint as possible.

Some publishers allow simultaneous submissions to multiple imprints, some do not. But actually, even when it is theoretically allowed, it is not a practice I am personally fond of. Unless there is some pressing reason to submit a project to two imprints at once, they both won't be able to offer, so I feel like that can just cause bad blood and political wrangling that is not worth it.

Still, even if one can only submit to one editor at an imprint at one house at a time, that is still a lot of imprints, right?? RIGHT???  Welllll... not exactly. Because we also have multiple PROJECTS going out at once. I personally try hard not to send two projects to the same editor at the same time because I don't want to "burn them out" (though frankly sometimes it is just unavoidable). This might be my own personal issue - I feel like it is really hard for anyone to seriously consider two projects at once. What are the chances that they are really going to buy both of them?  My projects have enough competition from the outside world, thanks, I don't need to create my own competition.

I also hate to send the exact same kind of project to an editor in quick succession. I feel like, if they reject a paranormal romance from me, and then the following week I come back to them with another paranormal romance, that is likely to elicit a big sigh.

And, if you are talking about a non-debut author, they might have existing relationships with certain houses or editors. Perhaps their editor moved to a new publisher... Or perhaps their publisher declined to make an offer on a certain manuscript... these scenarios can certainly affect the list.

As I am sure you can see, that means that the available-editor list is getting smaller and smaller. Let's say I have two fun fantasy projects going on at the same time, and I don't want to repeat any editors. One of them might go out to 8 editors and sell right away (yay!) but the other one goes out to a different 8 and doesn't. I end up going a second round of editors, or even a third. Eventually I am going to run of editors. And if during that time another big fantasy project comes along, but I still have project B out with a bunch of folks, and I just sent project A out not so long ago... Yeah. Gets a bit intricate.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my list-making hidey-hole!


*ETA: this list of publishers & imprints is for example only, and is by no means exhaustive. And I am referring only to USA children's book publishers.

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How Slow Can You Go?

At the writer's conference over the weekend, I dazzled (or possibly terrified?) attendees with stories about just how long some books take from the point of selling them to the time they actually appear on bookstore shelves.  Especially picture books (though all aspects of publishing can be slow.)

I know folks who have waited 3, 5, 7 or more years for a bought-and-paid-for book to be published, because the publisher couldn't choose an illustrator, or the chosen illustrator had other things on their plate, or the first (two) editor(s) left the company, etc etc. You just never know how long a book will take and it depends on numerous variables that are mostly totally out of the author's control.

Quick example from one of my own clients. Keep in mind that none of these is especially slow or unusual. I just think it is interesting because the one I sold first is coming out last:

• In early 2008, I sold a picture book called OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW by Kate Messner. It will be on shelves in time for Christmas of 2011. (4 years, 1 editor)
• Some months later, in Spring 2008 I sold a chapter book called MARTY McGUIRE by Kate Messner. It will be on shelves this coming May, 2011  (3 years, 3 editors)
  
• Some months later still, in Summer of 2008, I sold a middle grade novel called BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. by Kate Messner. It came out in hardback in early Fall 2009, won the EB White Readaloud Award in spring 2010 and appeared in paperback in Fall 2010. (1 year, 1 editor)

Anyway, after the presentation a nice man came up to me and asked a question. "Why, in this age of modern technology, do books take so darn long to come out?"

At first I will admit that I was a bit brusque with him. "That's just the way it is. Because." I said. But really, there are lots of reasons, and I know some of them. So I thought it might be nice to share them with you so that man will not think that I am always such a big meanie.

The Joy of Sketch

I love illustrators. But they are involved in the making of a book, that book will always take longer than a novel. Why? I guess because they are making great art by hand, that's all, what do you want, sheesh!

Anyway, once a short-list of illustrators is chosen and one accepted (a process that in itself might take an age, as many illustrators might say no for any number of reasons), it will probably take six months to a year for an illustrator to finish a book. Now imagine that there are three books in line ahead of yours, each of which has to go through sketches, and changes, and final art, and changes, and the illustrator sometimes is allowed to get up from his easel and eat, too. And once all the art is done, the book still has to be properly put together, so it will be done early enough (see below).  It all adds up, yeah?

Life Gets in the Way

Have I ever mentioned that pretty much every step of the way to publication takes a long time and input from multiple people?  Well, at least one of those people is always on her honeymoon, on maternity leave or at a conference. Fact.

Timing, Timing, Timing

Each publisher will have their own timeline of when things should be done. But in general, your book will be in fully copyedited and ready-to-go form 8 months (or even more) from publication date, to prepare for bound galleys that can start appearing anywhere from 4 to 6 months (or even more) early. Why should the book be ready so early? Well, maybe so that you can get blurbs from great people in time for them to make it onto the finished book. And so bookstores, who order quite early, can see the book first, all the better to fall in love with it and order lots. And so that reviewers can read it and write intelligent reviews. And so that librarians, booksellers and other big-mouths have a chance to get their hands on a copy, read it and start buzzing about it, of course

The calendar matters, too. If you have a poetry book, it might be a good idea for it to come out in early March to take advantage of the fact that April is National Poetry Month.  If you have a Get Ready for School book, it is a good idea for it to come out during the summer, to take advantage of First Day of School displays. All of this seems obvious, right? But just how many poetry books can one small publisher crank out in March?  This brings us to...
 
Juggling to Fit the List

As the months pass, your season will begin to actually hover on the horizon. "Spring 2012" (or whatever) are words that have beat a tattoo on your heart for the past year. But what the publisher meant by "Spring 2012" when they said it back in Spring 2010 might have been more like "Oh, Spring 2012, or so, we'll see how it goes when the time comes."

Yes, your date is subject to change. This is (probably) not because everyone hates you.  Rather, when the time comes, the good folks in charge at the publisher will actually take a hard look at what is on the upcoming schedule for all the imprints at the publisher. They want their lists to be dynamic, full of books that are different enough that each will make a splash, not too heavily weighted toward one type of book. So if they feel that two books on the list might compete with one another to the detriment of either, one of them might get moved.  Like for example, if they realize, OH HELLO, we have two realistic middle grade dog stories slated to release within a month of one another, yeah, it is very possible that one of them will get moved to a later date.

This is not a bad thing. How pissed would you be if your charming THE DOGS OF CAMP FRISKY that you spent a year writing came out a month after Suzie Q. Author's THANK DOG IT'S FRIDAY, from the same publisher? All the bookstores who ordered from a catalogue chose Suzie's book over yours (because they don't need two different new dog books at the same time, and hers was first in the catalogue), and the publicist pitched both books to media but people went for the first one, so your book was in no stores and nobody was talking about it and Suzie won the Schipperke Fanciers Book Prize and you got screwed?  QUITE pissed, I imagine.  So let the publisher move things around if they need to, to maximize opportunities for both books.

So you Sold? So What. 

I know, I know. Getting a publishing deal is really big. It will change your life FOREVER and nothing has ever been as important and OMGYAY the universe has a new axis around which to spin. Right? 

But the thing is, from the publisher's perspective, this is a cool book, and yeah, they are happy, but guess what? They have lots of cool books that they are happy about. Like... LOTS of them.  You have to get in line, because only so many can come out each season, or they risk getting completely lost in an already way overcrowded field.

Get some perspective. Your book isn't the most important, it is just the most recent. And, as we've seen above, it isn't coming out for at least a year and more likely a couple of years. So, no matter how excited the editor is that she got to buy your book, as soon as the celebratory mini-bottle of champagne is done being quaffed, she has to return to her regularly scheduled programming: dealing with fires that need to be put out RIGHT NOW for books that are coming out way sooner than yours.

Yes. Lots of extremely busy people in a far-off metropolis are ignoring your baby. I bet it makes you feel like one of those moms on Toddlers and Tiaras. Don't you worry, Mama, your little princess will have her time to shine! Just not quite yet. This is where yogic breathing and making a pretty new baby  writing a great new book will come in handy.
 
Make sense?

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Conference Wrap-up

I had a terrific time at SCBWI's upstate NY "Cabin Fever" conference in Syracuse NY.  Home of the world's largest snowplow. (No, really). The icicles were sharp, the snow was swirling, but the company was totally delightful. Thanks to superstars Amy Emm and Ellen Yeomans for the hard work and kindness!

My talk was fun, but I totally ran over time and could have gone for another hour probably with Q&A. For those who are curious, here are the topics I covered in AGENTS 101

1. Who the hell I am, anyway, and what kind of books I represent

2. What is "trade publishing" and how does it differ from educational markets and others? What are "the big six" publishers?

3. How is has the recession, etc, affected publishing?

4. What does an agent even do? How do they help authors navigate the publishing world?

5. How do you get an agent?  How to do the research, a bit about queries, synopses, publication credits, personalization, submission guidelines and the like.

6. On rejection, and what "subjective" really means.

7. Why it is a terrible idea to compare your path to others, how each book has its own way of being sold and published. I had copies of about ten of my books up there and I gave the unique circumstances and timeline of each, bumps along the way, and gave the "shock-and-awe" portion which is how very long it can take for some books to make it to print.

8. MYTHBUSTERS!  I gave each participant a quiz in their handout - 20 myths that I hear over and over from published and nonpublished writers alike - and went through each one and busted them. (Some came from my summertime Mythbusters blog post, some were new.)

and then Q&A!  I got one very interesting question that I have never addressed here, which I hope to get to in the coming days.

Anyway... now I have a train to catch, the real world awaits. But thanks again, Syracuse!  MWAH!   *waves*

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Agents 101

Hey all -

Time for you to give me some advice.

Next week, I am doing a talk at an SCBWI event in Syracuse. It is to be on the topic AGENTS 101 - as in, questions and issues that an absolute newbie would bring up, along with some stuff for people who have been around.  It will be a mixed crowd, probably mostly unagented.  (But I am actually guessing about that a bit.)

I've given similar talks before and felt that maybe I was going over people's heads a bit, so this time I want to have an outline of topics and thoughts at hand that I can choose from, so that I can make it a bit more interactive and don't either bore or bewilder the majority.  (Possible anyway, but.)  In other words, I can say, "OK, who here knows what an agent does." - and if only two people out of a hundred raise their hands, that would be the place to start.

So I'd like you to give me ideas of topics to cover. What would you have liked somebody to explain to YOU when you were a newbie?  What have you always wanted to know, but were afraid to ask?  No question or topic idea is too silly -- and even if you are repeating other people, that is OK, I am interested to see how much certain things come up.

Thanks in advance!

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Snow Day! OPEN THREAD.

Hot Cocoa & Jammy Time           

It is the first of February which means it is time for a brand-new OPEN THREAD. Feel free to ask agentish (or any other) questions in the comments to this post.

I will likely be snowed in for a day or two so I'm curled up with manuscripts and hot cocoa, and I'll take breaks to answer. Short answers will be in comments, long answers may make the blog.

And if you're going outside in this weather, dress warmly, drive slowly, play nicely and don't stay out too long.

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One arrow to shoot at the target?

Q: If you are only supposed to submit/query one MS at a time, how will an agent know whether you have the ability to write more books and build a brilliant career. Especially since it is in an agent's interest to find clients for the long haul.

It feels like authors have one arrow (the MS you're submitting) to shoot at the target. What advice can you offer?

To be clear before I start: I AM NOT COMPLAINING ABOUT READING. I like to read, and I like that so many people want to submit material to me. Just the thing is, as I mentioned in my last post, agents can get overwhelmed fairly easily when dealing with submissions from people that we have no knowledge of or stake in. See, if a client writes to me a million times or asks follow up questions or gives me a bunch of stuff to read at once, well... I'd tell them to knock it off, probably, but I'd mean it with love, and they'd know that.  If a stranger does it, the much more likely response is automatic shutdown of my brain systems.

So my suggestion is, to query with what you think is your VERY STRONGEST piece of work, and only that. You may choose to mention (in one brief sentence, at the very end of your query) that you have other picture books, or another MG work in progress, or whatever, but this is not a must and don't hit it too hard. 

When the agent falls in love with that piece of work and has an email or phone call with you, you can talk about some of the other projects you have cooking, and they will likely ask to read some, particularly if they are picture books.  At this point they already like you and are paying attention, so they are going to go into reading the material with a positive attitude.

Now, while you are querying, you should be polishing up some of that other work, so that you have more material with which to dazzle. If your quest doesn't work out the first time around, you will have another VERY STRONGEST thing to offer, and you can begin again. 

WARNING! WARNING!  WEEEEWAAAA WEEEWAAAA (that was a siren noise). The following scenario happens all the time. WEEEWAAA WEEEWAAAA WARNING! WARNING!

Moxie wouldn't stand for this, unfortunately 

DO NOT. I REPEAT. DO NOT respond to the rejection of the first book by saying "that's OK, I've revised it, here's a newer version!" or "that's ok, what about this one?" and attaching another manuscript(s).  Even if we've said we'd be happy to consider something else in the future.  Not only is this exhausting (didn't we JUST get done thinking about this and saying no? Seriously?) - but if you are responding to the rejection, you are likely to just end up getting thrown away because we won't know it is a new thing.  And if you are going to query a revision, make sure it is really completely different now - that is not something that I will believe can be done overnight.

Give it some time. Allow our feeble brains the opportunity to recuperate from thinking. Then, after a month or two (or six, or twelve), take another shiny arrow out of your quiver, and aim again.

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