Finding Your Voice

Today’s inbox yields another question inspired by the article I wrote for the March/April 2010 issue of Writer’s Digest, “Lessons Learned from a Writer Turned Agent.”

In the comments section of my last post, Constance writes, I’ve been reading your great article in the latest WD and came upon something I wanted to ask you about. You say “…there’s no reason you can’t get to know whatever people you need to get to know…”   I write and illustrate children’s books, belong to the SCBWI and am about to attend my third SCBWI conference. So I know conferences are one way to get to know editors, but what else do you recommend? I sometimes friend editors on Facebook, though I do wonder if this is considered intrusive. I always read “no phone calls!” on web guidelines and other places, but do you recommend going against this advice? 

But what does “with attention and effort” mean, exactly?

First, yes, I recommend against calling up editors and agents unless you already have an established relationship with them.  There is nothing more intrusive than a phone call (unless it’s someone showing up on your doorstep) and you can’t really establish a good rapport with an editor or agent you’ve just annoyed.  Plus, many agents and editors simply don’t answer their phones if they don’t recognize the name of the person who is calling (every one of us has had the off-putting experience of being ambushed by someone who just wants to ask us how they can get published).  If it’s hard to establish a good rapport with someone you’ve just annoyed, it’s impossible to establish one with their voice mail.

Personally, I am not a fan of Facebook, and don’t do much with it.  I know a lot of people prefer to keep their FB information and updates available strictly for their friends and family.  I’m on LinkedIn, which is where I connect with anyone I know professionally, and I would suggest that may be a less intrusive way to connect via these kinds of social media networks.  But friending editors and agents on FB or LinkedIn isn’t exactly what I’m getting at when I encourage writers to get to know the people they need to know to be successful in this business.

What I’m getting at is this: use the opportunities that arise in your life and your work to connect with members of the community of writers, editors and agents.  That’s all.

One of the simplest ways to do this is by pitch (query) letter.   I sold something like my first 17 books to publishers without having an agent.  All of the editors I sold to had never heard of me before.  (Once they’d acquired one of my books, though, we had a relationship, and they were more easily persuaded to publish another of my books.)  The publishing world has changed since I started writing books fifteen years ago, but the mundane pitch letter is still worth a lot more than most writers realize.  The pitch letter is the cornerstone of a lot of relationships. 

If your pitch letter ends up yielding a request for pages and eventually an offer, yay you.  More often, though, you get a form rejection, which is just discouraging.  But sometimes you spark an editor’s (or agent’s) interest, it’s just that this book isn’t the one.   That is a tremendous opportunity for you.  An editor who says, “not this book but maybe the next one” is one you need to treasure — and to send the next book to.  The agent who says, “this doesn’t quite work for me, but if you revise, I will look again,” is a treasure, too.  Don’t underestimate these kinds of exchanges.  Editors and agents don’t say these things lightly. It’s way easier to say, “thanks, but no thanks” and then not have any further hassle.  So I’m always amazed at the number of people I make encouraging noises at who then fall off the face of the earth.  

Now, not everyone who queries me is going to want to sign with me even if I make an offer,  and not everyone is going to want to revise the way I think their work needs to be revised, and so on.  But here’s the thing:  Someone who is interested in your work is a colleague to be cultivated, not ignored.  So don’t ignore signs of interest.  Build on them.

Like this writer.

Conferences, which Constance mentions in her question, are a good way of meeting editors and agents face-to-face, though it’s important to realize that most of the time you’re not going to get a publishing or representation offer from one of these events.  I also like good, professional writers’ groups (which may be more affordable than flying off to conferences), especially local chapters of well-established organizations.  You’re not necessarily going to meet an editor this way, but you’ll meet other writers, and maybe they’ll connect you with their editors, or let you know that a certain agent they know is looking for new clients, or what have you.  I met my current agent through a writer friend. 

Some of these groups are online, and that makes them even easier to join and “attend.”  Many of my clients are members of an online writers’ organization.  We got to know each other as colleagues and when I made the move to the Salkind Agency, several of them signed on with me.  The world of publishing is really fluid this way: editors become agents, writers become editors, etc.  You never know what the next step of someone’s career will be.  Being friendly and helpful with colleagues pays off not only in a warm fuzzy feeling, but it may actually boost your career.

Just as important as any of that, though, is being out there in the world, hanging out with writers and other creative types.  If you’re on Twitter, follow editors and agents.  Comment on agent’s blogs.  (I’m more likely to recognize Constance’s name now if it comes on a query letter, and that will probably translate to “oh, right, she had the good question on my blog; she is not an idiot” which is a good impression for me to have when I start reading a pitch letter.)  Start a blog of your own.  Have a website.  Make it easy for people to find out about you.

How have you connected with the important people in your writing career?

In my inbox today:   “I never thought to follow up like you suggest in this month’s Writer’s Digest. Dare I go back after all this time to find out what happened or should I just move to the next on my list?”

The writer mentions that she has had some queries sitting at agencies for a while with no response.   So, yes, I would suggest sending a follow-up.  Before doing that, though, I would double-check and make sure that you actually sent a pitch — that is, a query letter outlining what your book is about, plus a few details about you.  I get a lot of e-mails from people asking me how to pitch me, or how to pitch someone else, or how to make it in the business without an agent, or whatever.  Things that aren’t actually pitches.  I respond to all pitches.  I’m hit-or-miss about anything that’s not a pitch.  So if you sent a pitch, and got no response after a reasonable amount of time (maybe a month or so), then following up is fine.   Don’t be a stalker, and do include your original pitch in your follow up.

The writer asks a second question — “or should I just move on?” — and my answer is “follow up AND just move on.”  When I was working in academia, I thought it was the slowest-moving business in the universe.  Ha.  Publishing is the slowest business in the universe.  Keep your queries out there and pitch more than one agent at a time (I always suggest about ten per batch so you can edit your letter if you get no interest.)  You need to keep moving or you’ll drown.

In my inbox: I have an agent who is new interested in my manuscript.  Based on her existing clientele, I feel I have a good chance of sparking this woman’s attention. I also have a well-known agent sitting on a full of one and a partial of a second.

In the event that either one of them should contact me. . . especially the former. . . I don’t know what to ask her to help me make a decision.  Obviously if they both are interested in the same manuscript, I would probably go with the larger name and proven track record of sales.

But can you offer any guidance as to what I could ask, what I could look up, what I could possibly do, to decide if I would want to work with this new agent?  The way I see it, things could go one of two ways:  I take the chance and allow her to build a clientele (everyone has to start somewhere) and it works out.  Or, I take the chance, and next year I’m still waiting.

I’ve read where she has contacts [at major publishers].  Another client has gushed about her.  But how do I learn if this woman (who has no track record in the industry), really can get it done?

My thoughts:

With agents, having a bad agent is worse than having no agent at all.  By “bad” agent, I mean everything from a scam agent who takes your money and doesn’t do anything for you to a well-intentioned individual who just doesn’t have the contacts and industry-savvy to succeed. 

To rule out the scam agents, I would check out the Bewares and Background thread on absolutewrite.com, and the information at Preditors & Editors. Also check out Writer Beware.

Assuming that you only queried legit agents in the first place, you’ll want to make sure that your prospective agent can do the job.  If the agent is new, this is harder to judge because of a lack of track record.  (On the plus side, new agents are more open to taking on clients).  What’s important is that the agent has experience in the publishing industry and understands how it works. 

Good agents are often former acquisitions editors. Sometimes they’re former sales reps, and occasionally (like Neil Salkind and me), they’re book authors who’ve been in the business a long time and know something about it.  What you don’t want is someone who thinks that what works in another field (for example, used car sales) is going to work in publishing.  Someone whose experience in publishing is tangential (worked in a bookstore) or only with smaller publishers isn’t your best bet, either.  This is not an entry-level position.

A new agent at an established agency is a better risk to take than a new agent who sets up her own agency.  An established agency has connections in the publishing industry and can help the new agent through every aspect of recruiting clients to selling their books to negotiating their contracts and beyond.  This has been my experience at the Salkind Agency.

When deciding between a new agent and a more experienced agent, you’ll probably do better with the agent who has a record of sales in your genre – and I say this as a new agent with just a few sales under her belt.  Yes, if the choice comes down between me and someone who has sold two hundred books in your genre, pick the other agent.

However, I will add a few caveats.  Assuming that both agents are competent, then you really have to go with who is going to be a better fit for you.  It’s true that going with the more established agent who has a longer track record makes sense, but it’s also possible that your book wouldn’t get the attention it needs from someone who has lots of other clients who themselves have track records and are thus easier for the agent to sell. 

The only way you can get a handle on this is by having a conversation with the agent.  Ask what her process is, ask what her dream client is/does.  Think about what you need.  Do you need a lot of guidance, reassurance and hand-holding?  There is nothing wrong with that, but an agent who doesn’t have time for it isn’t going to be a good fit (which is not to say a new agent will have time for it and a more established agent won’t; that’s just a matter of personality and priorities). 

Questions you can ask: How would the agent pitch your book?  What is her pitching process?  Are you comfortable with it?  I have a friend whose agent said, “I want to pitch this as YA, is that okay?”  My friend had never considered her book as being YA, but when she thought about it, she realized that was an absolutely appropriate thing to do.  But if she’d hated the idea, she and the agent would have had a problem. 

Beyond that, I think you have to go with the agent who is most excited about your project and about representing you.  It’s a tough slog, especially these days, and you need a lot of enthusiasm to carry you through to the sale.  You need an agent who isn’t going to give up after the first five tries. 

One thing I always suggest is to ask for a few days to think about an offer of representation.  Then you can let anyone else who has a partial or full know you have an offer and let them make their move if they’re going to make it.  It also gives you some time to think of questions you didn’t think to ask and to check with colleagues to find out what they know.  You can also see about talking with other clients of the agent before signing on. That can be a good way to get a sense of what it’s like to work with an agent.