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Showing posts from 2015

When to offer representation

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While working with one of our agent apprentices, we discussed how and when it's appropriate to offer representation and how do we know if the author is going to be a good fit for both the agent and the agency. It's important to be mindful of our time and resources when we know the quality of the work is there from the author. So, I put together a quick list of questions I ask myself when I find that manuscript I love and want to offer representation. Photo by Ben Terrett When I read a manuscript for representation, I'm not just reading for fun. I'm looking at a lot of different factors and deciding on whether I'm the right fit for this project. So I ask myself: Is the work engaging? Does the author have an established platform? Does the work need a lot of editorial work or just a quick polish? Do I have the time to devote to the editorial needs of this work? Do I have the time to devote to the needs of this author? Off the top of my head, how many edi

In Publishing, patience is not just a virtue, it’s good business.

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Image by Saritza Hernandez (c) 2015 In publishing, the hurry-up-and-wait method of getting to publication can be frustrating and defeatist to a new author or to a new agent advocating for her clients who have little to no patience. As an author, you’re racing to the finish line of this manuscript decathlon you’ve poured your heart and soul into then rush your beta readers and critique partners to provide you with the feedback needed to make this book even better. You rush to make a list of editors and agents to query then… you wait. You sit on your hands itching to check in with those publishing individuals whose emails you reached out to just the day before wishing and hoping they’ll respond with that coveted offer of publication or representation you’ve been dying to receive since you began your authorial career six months prior. It doesn’t work that way. It can’t work that way. It shouldn’t work that way. Image by Saritza Hernandez (c) 2015 My grandmother used to s

Does your work stand out?

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Image by Saritza Hernandez Have you watched Pitch Perfect 2 ? We ended up seeing it twice this past weekend and while I love the songs and found myself singing along (especially in that scene with Rebel Wilson and Adam DeVine) the scenes that struck a chord with me the most were with Keegan-Michael Key who plays Becca's b oss, an award-winning music producer. The first time we see his character on screen he's calling a staff meeting and asks everyone to give ideas. To just shout out anything that comes to mind and no one says or thinks of anything productive to say. As he walks away, he tells them they have one minute to wow him. "My time is like a toddler in a tiara, people: short and precious." – Keegan Michael Key I thought about how many times I think the same thing when going through pitch appointments or going through the query inbox. Your query needs to grab my attention quickly and hook me. In one of my workshops: "It's All in the Hook

Hungry, hungry authors

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Image Courtesy: WikiCommons I'm in historic Charleston, South Carolina attending the PubSense Summit and, as always, I spent a good part of my afternoon yesterday, sitting quietly taking it all in. People-watching. You can learn so much about where people are, where they're going, what they hope to accomplish just from sitting quietly and absorbing your surrounds. The hotel has a Starbucks in the lobby so after picking up my grande soy Oprah Chai Tea latte and an egg and cheese sandwich, I went upstairs to the mezzanine and sat down to enjoy my vittles. It was my only moment of anonymity and I cherished it as much as I cherished my Starbucks semi-healthy meal. I watched people move from one panel to another, talking about their projects, what they were working on next and talking to the panelists who had just finished their session. It was a great way to get to know the people in attendance and sort of prepare myself for the panel I would be on shortly. Image Courtesy:

A typical day or why agents drink

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I know that I have to get better about my time management (evidenced by the fact that I’m writing this blog post instead of continuing to check off items in my daily to-do list) but I think it's important to note that a day in the life of a literary agent is long and sometimes difficult to manage. I've made posts about "my day in the life" before  but it doesn't hurt to reiterate, right? On a typical day, my work hours are 14-16 hours long and consist of so much “brain work” that I often need a nap around 4 PM. (Much like a toddler or a Golden Girl.) So, what do these 14-6 hours consist of, you ask? Email: 3-4 hours are usually spent replying to, composing and forwarding emails emails from clients (sounding a lot like “are we there yet”) emails to clients (royalty summaries, editorial letters, marketing/promo ideas, what are you working on next) emails about clients (buzz-building) emails to editors (proposals, negotiations, general “how-do-you-do”

Twins Come Out to Dad

I watched this video the day they uploaded it and was surprised to see that, at the time, it only had a few hits (at my viewing of it, it had less than 1k hits). It was picked up by Upworthy and a few other LGBTQIA websites and it has over 14 million hits today. I love this video for many reasons but the moment that I think resonates with so many is when both twins break down and hide their tears and voice from their father. They're so vulnerable at that moment that you can see them as the children they were and not the young men they are. It's a moment that's very real for all of us when we have to confront the fear of rejection by a parent. The father's reaction is beautiful and honest without being overly emotional. It's a great video and I know I've already shared it on social media but I had to post about it on my blog too. Have you ever had a moment that resonated so much with you that you just had to share it with everyone? Tell me in the comments

My Obsessions

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If you know me at all, you know I get obsessed with things quickly and completely immerse myself in these obsessions in a way that may seem unhealthy to my psyche to non-fandom, non-geeky individuals: aka, the straights but is perfectly normal to the rest of us. In realizing this about myself, I've found that part of our self-identity and, in turn, our self-awareness lies greatly in the things we enjoy. The things we obsess over. I have a very addictive personality so I know to steer clear of things that will suck me in and keep me from accomplishing my goals but once in a while, I throw my addictive personality a bone. These are a few of my current obsessions: Cooking Shows Chopped I currently have over 80 episodes recorded and just love watching what people can make with the crazy basket ingredients. I don't know what it is about this show but I've got everyone in my family now watching the recorded episodes late at night when we're not playing tabletop games o