tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post1387013540045625184..comments2023-07-22T04:51:00.772-07:00Comments on Jennifer Represents...: An EPIC POST about the Submission Process, from an Agent's POV.Literaticathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513424208149456614noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-76858089176827095482015-04-03T17:56:26.513-07:002015-04-03T17:56:26.513-07:00Hi, I'm not sure if you're still monitorin...Hi, I'm not sure if you're still monitoring this blog, but thank you for your post! My agent didn't give me a list of the publishers he submitted to, which I assume could be normal procedure depending on the agent. The thing is, he's from a very reputable agency, but has virtually no publishing credits, despite years in the business in one capacity or another. How much does the agency matter to editors versus how much does the agent himself matter? Like, would an editor ignore a submission from an agent from a large established agency if the agent is an unknown? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-32889133158670054192014-11-25T03:44:00.795-08:002014-11-25T03:44:00.795-08:00I really enjoyed your post and replies to those co...I really enjoyed your post and replies to those commenting, Jennifer. You are so very gracious!Dionnanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-48579857606818951762014-11-18T16:42:09.189-08:002014-11-18T16:42:09.189-08:00Thanks for the post. Seems reasonable enough.
What...Thanks for the post. Seems reasonable enough.<br />What you said about focusing on your core audience makes a lot of sense. It's also about who you are writing for. I write for the smart girls, my contemporaries.<br />So my audience appears to be largely made up of over 40 women who've discovered size and endurance matter - all kinds of size and endurance. Brains, heart, soul, fire, experience, imagination, charm, style and yeah, all the rest too...basil papademoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10070199250639424278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-4684745665740773572014-11-18T11:22:43.976-08:002014-11-18T11:22:43.976-08:00I can't speak to your individual situation - a...I can't speak to your individual situation - and I'd hate to advise anyone to do anything when I don't know specifics and both sides of the story! <br /><br />But I do think 3 months is certainly time to nudge. "Rushing them into a no" would be saying "HEY, we need your answer BY NEXT WEEK" -- THAT I wouldn't do -- but saying "HEY, have you had a chance to peek at this?" should not be a problem. <br /><br />(And sometimes you don't get responses to nudges, but hey, usually you do get SOMETHING even if it's a "haven't gotten to it yet" -- I don't know any editors who would be *pissed off* at a gentle nudge)<br /><br />That being said, again, I can't tell from here whether there is more to the story or extenuating circumstances or not . . . Literaticathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15513424208149456614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-11189701309881064842014-11-18T11:03:36.195-08:002014-11-18T11:03:36.195-08:00Thank you for such an insightful post. After a sma...Thank you for such an insightful post. After a small initial round 9 months ago where we wanted to wait for all the responses, we went wide 3 months ago, and haven't gotten a single reply from a dozen editors. And a couple editors have had my MS for the full 9 months (I had to practically beg my agent not to wait for the last 2 to reply to go wide).<br /><br />My agent has sales and works at a reputable agency. Is this a slow time of year? I always thought early fall was very active in publishing, so I'm surprised by the total lack of response. I've checked in with my agent, and the issue isn't that she's uncommunicative or not sending responses along. <br /><br />I'm starting to worry my agent doesn't have very strong relationships with these editors, and my MS is sinking further and further down the pile as time goes on. She doesn't want to bother them and rush them into a "no." Is this something I should be concerned about?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-82039158194370349662014-11-17T13:03:45.157-08:002014-11-17T13:03:45.157-08:00Depends on the book.Depends on the book.Literaticathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15513424208149456614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-61243125575900576022014-11-17T13:02:29.039-08:002014-11-17T13:02:29.039-08:00This is very helpful! I just have one question tha...This is very helpful! I just have one question that I don't think was answered: How many editors do you send the manuscript to in the first round? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-62652190145181581162014-11-17T12:56:25.040-08:002014-11-17T12:56:25.040-08:00This is so, so, great. You are great.This is so, so, great. You are great.Dahlia Adlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02265012593385220677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-82222537634287838722014-11-17T12:55:43.788-08:002014-11-17T12:55:43.788-08:00I really don't think that is necessary. Of cou...I really don't think that is necessary. Of course I have sold things because a relationship exists already - but it's usually a relationship that has been developed over years working on BOOKS together, not hanging out at conferences together. I would say 95% of new authors start with zero contacts of any kind at publishing houses, and that's fine.Literaticathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15513424208149456614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-68057191702958397782014-11-17T10:30:02.653-08:002014-11-17T10:30:02.653-08:00Thanks for your insightful post! I'm wondering...Thanks for your insightful post! I'm wondering if there's anything a writer can do to help gain stronger editor interest. For example, does conference networking with editors help? Or is the submission process really just between the agent and editor? Thanks! KellyCalabresehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16200441264129141667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-48975489645591637772014-11-17T08:32:09.241-08:002014-11-17T08:32:09.241-08:00Well, I started as an agent at the same time the e...Well, I started as an agent at the same time the economy collapsed in 2008. So my agent friends who had been in the biz during the "salad days" were like moaning and groaning about how awful it was after the collapse -- but since I was a recession baby, I never noticed anything wrong. :-)<br /><br />I'd say that I sell more books each year... but I'm not sure how much of that is due to the overall publishing landscape being rosier, and how much is to do with my own list getting bigger.<br /><br />As for the offers themselves... well, I think many/most/all pubs are probably a bit more conservative now about both how much they acquire and how much they spend to do it than they were in the olden days. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.Literaticathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15513424208149456614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-16084267153650533472014-11-16T12:34:36.371-08:002014-11-16T12:34:36.371-08:00Many thanks Jennifer. Incredibly helpful. Not sure...Many thanks Jennifer. Incredibly helpful. Not sure if this is outside the scope of your post or not but thought I would see. Is there anything that's different (on average) about offers you're seeing than say, three years ago? Picked 3 years at random, i'm just curious if things seem to be changing at all? Thanks!Daniel Kenneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11607594747105799701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-63533819362507832372014-11-15T22:46:29.421-08:002014-11-15T22:46:29.421-08:00They'd probably end up in different hands if t...They'd probably end up in different hands if they were significantly different in tone -- but there might be some crossover. (Paula Stokes's editor at HarperTeen, for example, handles both her romcoms like ART OF LAINEY and some others forthcoming, but is also doing her mystery LIARS, INC. -- however her "cyber thriller" type books will be published by an entirely different house)<br /><br />Hope that helps!Literaticathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15513424208149456614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-10942715831614327562014-11-15T22:32:13.733-08:002014-11-15T22:32:13.733-08:00Would three contemporary YA books with three diffe...Would three contemporary YA books with three different feels all end up being pitched to different editors, or do all contemporary YA books pretty much end up in the same hands? I guess I'm asking how specific contemporary YA imprints are. Are there some that are only light and fun romances, some that only do edgy stuff, some that focus on mysteries? Or are is "contemporary" as specific as it gets? I'm just curious. Thanks! This was a really informative post!Nikki Trionfohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08857040571222466022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-75773028217067411592014-11-15T17:48:17.649-08:002014-11-15T17:48:17.649-08:00Thank you for sharing your submission process. Ver...Thank you for sharing your submission process. Very helpful!Manju Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18043840425498808764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-82943313068858173582014-11-15T15:40:46.468-08:002014-11-15T15:40:46.468-08:00Thanks so much!Thanks so much!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-64080600330680925332014-11-15T09:16:12.779-08:002014-11-15T09:16:12.779-08:00I guess that depends what you mean by "newer ...I guess that depends what you mean by "newer agent." <br /><br />So I can speak to my own experience only: I was once a new agent at a well-established agency. My senior colleagues worked closely with me until I kinda knew the ropes and had established some contacts. If I didn't know somebody, I'd introduce myself, and because I was at an established agency, they would have context for who I was. <br /><br />I would say, when I was new and still now, on any given submission -- let's say I send to 20 people. One or two will end up just never responding at all. They then go on my "Black Hole" list and they do not get further submissions, ever. I have NEVER had the experience where literally nobody responds to me. <br /><br />Now - if it is a new agent at an agency that they themselves just created and they have no contacts and nobody to help them establish contacts... I can see that being a problem. But I don't know from your post if that is the situation!<br /><br />Assuming your agent is at a legit agency, and is making OTHER sales (so you know they aren't just some scam artist somewhere pretending to be an agent!) -- I'd ask them what THEIR assessment of the problem is. Is the book or the pitch turning people off in some way? Is the market seriously saturated with _____ whatever your book is? Has he/she gotten on the phone with any of these editors to ask them WTF? And then, based on all that -- it is time to maybe back-burner this manuscript or possibly revise, go out on another round and try again?Literaticathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15513424208149456614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-5789440478049232022014-11-15T07:50:53.056-08:002014-11-15T07:50:53.056-08:00This was extremely helpful. Thank you for putting ...This was extremely helpful. Thank you for putting it out there in such great detail.Anita Saxenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12444339735834716979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-26765321145633241272014-11-15T03:39:54.373-08:002014-11-15T03:39:54.373-08:00Awesome post!Awesome post!WendyMcLeodMacKnighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04830981147524921562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-31664780475978814042014-11-14T20:02:34.590-08:002014-11-14T20:02:34.590-08:00Brilliant post! Thanks for taking the time to des...Brilliant post! Thanks for taking the time to describe the process in such detail.Tom M Franklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05168232678401202091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-90062667412080559212014-11-14T19:08:31.619-08:002014-11-14T19:08:31.619-08:00Maybe this is outside the scope of this post, but ...Maybe this is outside the scope of this post, but is it normal for newer agents to not hear back from editors? Like say, months go by and no editors have replied to a submission round. Would you ever send out a new round if you've had zip-zero replies?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-11331447757720742912014-11-14T18:39:52.804-08:002014-11-14T18:39:52.804-08:00You've provided a wealth of information. Than...You've provided a wealth of information. Thanks so much! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-68082614521973307302014-11-14T18:28:37.361-08:002014-11-14T18:28:37.361-08:00Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. ...Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. Have a great weekend!Ana Crespohttp://www.anacrespobooks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-72313840968321628262014-11-14T17:25:21.997-08:002014-11-14T17:25:21.997-08:00This is a can of worms I'm a bit leery of gett...This is a can of worms I'm a bit leery of getting into but... I guess I'd say... Not really, and Kinda? I'd give the editors the number of competitors in the auction, but not names. And I'd give the details about what rights we MUST keep (say, film/tv, merchandising/commercial, translation, whatever) and anything else that is a dealbreaker from our end -- but not specific details of the offers of others. When fine-tuning an offer, it is usually more effective to use agency precedent with that publisher to get more favorable terms on a given contract, rather than to bring another publisher into it. If that makes sense. Literaticathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15513424208149456614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-57860765714116793992014-11-14T17:12:25.932-08:002014-11-14T17:12:25.932-08:00To quote the post above: "I have sold books i...To quote the post above: "I have sold books in less than a day... but I've also sold books that took a year, two years, or longer, over multiple rounds with revisions and tweaks in between. Sometimes it just takes a long time to get to that yes!"<br /><br />And yes, I have definitely sold books to editors who were holding on the ms, for one reason or another, a supremely loooooong time. So long in fact, in at least once case both the author and I had forgotten the editor even had it! Literaticathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15513424208149456614noreply@blogger.com