Agent Roundtable (VA Festival of the Book)

So this is my final post about this year's Virginia Festival of the Book. Hopefully you're not sick of them yet!!

The last session that I attended was an agent roundtable where four agents discussed what they look for in writers and offered insight into the author-agent relationship. Here's who and what they had to say!

Simon Lipskar (SL) is a partner in and an agent for Writer's House. At Writer's House they work with a boutique approach. He follows passion, not trends, and compared agenting to a marriage. He also explained that the publishing industry is in a tough transition right now.

Jenny Bent (JB) has been an agent since 1992. She recently opened her own agency, The Bent Agency, and was recently joined by Susan Hawk (who reps MG/YA). Susan has 15 years in the publishing field. Some of you might remember that this was not my first time seeing Jenny. For details about the first time, click here!

Laura Rennert (LR) is a senior agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Andrea Brown also follows a boutique approach to agenting. Laura's been an agent since 1998, and specializes in Picture Books through Young Adult. She holds a PhD in English Lit and taught at the college level for 8 years.

Erin Cox (EC) is a part of the Rob Weisbach Creative Management Team, an agency that opened its doors a year ago. Erin has a background in PR (fun! just like me! Okay, well KIND OF. I majored in it during college anyway...) The Rob Weisback Creative Management Team is a group of five people who concentrate on public relations, film, acquisitions for production, and editorial services. Erin prefers literary fiction, memoir, and non fiction.

So here's what they had to say!

About finding an agent:

SL: There are fantastic agents working at every kind of agency. Look for:

• Experience
• Knowledge
• Passion
• Real interest in your work

You should never pay an agent. They make money when YOU make money, not before.

Also, check out the Association of Authors' Representatives (AAR). Agents who join must follow a Cannon of Ethics. The site's also a good place to find questions to ask agents who offer you representation (there's a list of questions in the FAQs).

About ending agent relationships:

Be open and honest.

Before you leave, try and work out whatever the problem is. Communication is key!

About the agent-author relationship:

LR: Both parties should be honest about what they hope to achieve.

SL: It's a business marriage. NOT an at home marriage--please don't do unscheduled drop-ins, whether or not you're a client.

LR: Educate yourself! (About the industry and the way things are done.) It makes the relationship better.

JB: Have a list of questions to ask.

SL: Don't forget that writing is a job and you should treat it as such.

About QUERIES:

SL: Do NOT say you're novel has movie potential. He's not a big fan of traditional queries--he really likes to know the Voice of the author through the query. If you query him, send it through e-mail. SLipskar(at)writershouse.com

JB: Be yourself, don't lose your Voice. She's a fan of gimmicky queries. She can be reached at Jenny(at)thebentagency.com.  Her website is http://www.thebentagency.com/.

LR: Looks for Voice. Also wants to know who, what, where, and why should she care? For YA, why is the longing different than what's already out there? Do you have visibility? She wants to know if your blog has a large following! She can be reached at LJRennert(a)mac.com, or you can find her at http://www.andreabrownlit.com/.

EC: What will make you stand out? One line opening pitches are good, followed by a short description of what the book is about.  She can be reached at Erin(a)robweisbach.com, or http://www.robweisbach.com/.

SL: It does help to know people. Also, you should spend more time writing a good book and less time worrying about finding an agent.

Other notes:

The first three chapters need to raise questions. Don't wait til chapter 5.

Lots of agents have other day jobs.

Alright, so in the query section--did you notice the repeated word? VOICE. Agents want queries that let your Voice as an author shine through. You know who can help you with that? CJ REDWINE! She offers two week query workshops specifically designed to help your Voice come out through your query. I can not recommend you take this workshop enough. Seriously, by the end? You'll have an agent-ready query. It. Is. So. Worth. It.

Check her query workshop out here: http://queryworkshop.blogspot.com/ And if you get there fast, you could still nab one of the 3 spots left for April's workshop.

PS. CJ didn't ask me to plug her--I'm doing it on my own because her workshops are amazing.

Still reading? Wanna see some pretty pictures of the DC Cherry Blossoms? Check out my other blog! I've been posting pictures all week! http://simplysaradise.blogspot.com/

Here's a sample:

♥ me

How to Write a Query In 40 Easy Steps (Friday Funny)

Thanks to the ever fabulous CJ Redwine for allowing me to steal her post... For the original, click here. (And be sure to follow her blog. She's funny, likes loves Johnny Depp/stilettos, and knows her sheeyat. For reals.)

How to Write a Query in 40 Simple Steps

A query is the one-page letter you send to agents and publishers pitching your novel.

1. Pour yourself a small glass of gin & tonic.
2. Sip slowly, savoring the taste, as you carefully list your novel's main characters and conflicts.
3. Struggle to label your work with the appropriate genre.
4. Pour more gin and tonic to boost brain power.
5. Craft a first sentence that both grabs the reader's attention and conveys the essence of your novel.
6. Re-read first sentence.
7. Acknowledge that first sentence is absolute crap and delete the entire thing.
8. Pour more gin and tonic, minus the tonic.
9. Skip first sentence and dive into character descriptions.
10. Re-read character descriptions.
11. Acknowledge that character descriptions cannot be three paragraphs each and delete all but a few sentences.
12. Drain gin bottle.
13. Toss in a few sentences describing the conflict.
14. Re-read sentences describing conflict.
15. Acknowledge that the conflict sounds rather weak.
16. Toss in a conflict that isn't actually in the novel but could be, if the agent asks for a partial.
17. Wander to the kitchen for more gin.
18. Wonder what idiot put that wall in your way.
19. Return to desk.
20. Re-read query.
21. Drink two swallows of gin straight from the bottle.
22. Decide that "I have a fiction novel that totally kicks Dean Koontz's sorry keister" is an acceptable first sentence.
23. Study the problem of deciding on a genre.
24. Take a few swallows of gin for fortification.
25. Realize you now see two keyboards on your desk instead of one. Choose which one to use.
26. Type madly for thirty seconds before realizing you are simply banging on your desk.
27. Swallow some gin and choose the other keyboard.
28. Decide that literary-paranormal-romantic-suspense-thriller-with-historical-sci-fi-elements is an acceptable genre for your novel.
29. Re-read query.
30. Insert adverbs generously and prolifically throughout to spice up the prose.
31. Print.
32. Spend five minutes cursing the foul beast of a computer for refusing such a simple request.
33. Turn printer on.
34. Print.
35. Sign name.
36. Realize you've misspelled your name.
37. Curse the gin.
38. Apologize to the gin.
39. Re-print, re-sign, seal in an envelope.
40. Send query.

You don't even have to tell me this made you laugh. Because if you've ever tried to write a query, I KNOW it did!  

Um, and for the record, CJ gives these super awesome query/synopsis critiques/workshops--for, like, practically nothing. So sign up if you need help. I just finished her query workshop and she friggin' ROCKED it!  Check her offerings out HERE.

♥ Sara

Friday Funny

Before we get to the funny portion of today's post, I just wanted to remind everyone that it's Twitter Tattoo Avatar Weekend!!  Use a picture of your favorite tattoo (or one you want to get) as your twitter avatar this weekend! And use the hashtag #twittertattoo

Want to see mine? Check it out!  @saramcclung 

Ooooo and remember yesterday? How I mentioned the awesomeness of CJ Redwine's query/synopsis workshops?  (Click here and scroll down for what I wrote; it's highlighted, which is appropriate for CJ--she's the highlighting QUEEN!) Well, she's got a query workshop coming up March 1-12. AND she's giving a spot away for FREE!! (As if her passion for shoes didn't already make her cool enough?)

I'm actually already signed up, so if I win I'm going to give the spot away to a friend (that's SO allowed, btw). And if you enter this contest and don't win? You should sign up anyway. If her query workshop is anything like her synopsis workshop (which I've been told it is) it will be the best $40 you've spent in a while. And make sure to tell her I sent you!

Link to CJ's blog!
Link to CJ's query workshop blog!

And now... 

The Friday Funny! 

Because it's been a long week and you DESERVE to laugh!

This is totally worth watching the entire way through :-)

♥ Happy Friday ♥

♥ me

Got Query Queries?

.
I did too, but not anymore!  Because...

I participated in a totally awesome Query Letter training workshop today!!  It was given by Jane Friedman of Writer's Digest, and I learned SO much. (There are several other webinars coming up and if the quality matches up to the one I took today - I suggest you check them out.)

I now feel completely prepared to query.  (Except for the teensy tiny fact, of course, that my manuscript isn't yet complete.) 

Participants were allowed to e-mail drafts of their queries beforehand.  During the workshop Jane critiqued each one and gave a wealth of information about the things that make query letters successful.  Right now, I'm kind of on cloud 9 because guess what - SHE LIKED MY QUERY!!  She even said I had a "killer" final line.  (And before you think it, no, that didn't make me biased about the quality of the presentation.  Even if she'd marked through every line of my text, I still would be raving about the workshop.)

Here are some of the things I took away from the workshop about queries:

• Keep your query tight - BRIEF IS BETTER
• Only highlight the very key points of your manuscript
• It's okay to leave an agent guessing - you want to leave them wanting more
• Don't tell the entire story - or what happens in the end - the agent should want to ask for more information, not be told everything up front
• If you're a part of an association, or writing group, tell the agent in your credentials - it shows that you're putting time and effort into your writing career

And the hook is the most crucial aspect to the query.  Here are some things I took away about the hook:

• The hook should introduce the agent to your protagonist, by name.  It also needs to tell the agent what the protagonist's challenge is, (be it change or conflict).
• The hook should be kept to the point - conciseness is really important.
• Think about reading a movie summary on a Netflix envelope... that's how short the hook should be.
• Ideally, the hook should be 1 paragraph - no more than 150 words, and
• it should comprise of at least 75% of the query.

Can you break the rules?  Of course, every rule can be broken - as long as the letter is crafted with enough skill to be worth the rule break :)

Obviously, I'm no expert on the matter - as I have yet to send any queries out.  There are tons of other, great resources out there.  But I still wanted to share some of what I learned!  (There was a lot more, but I don't want to give away Jane's material - you should DEFINITELY take her workshop if/when it's offered again!)

PS I'll totally show you my query draft if you want to see it - it's just that I recently downloaded Paint.Net and am having SO much fun playing with all of the effects :) 

♥ me