10 Ways NOT To Get An Agent: Guest post by Eric Ruben

My awesome literary agent, Eric Ruben was kind enough to visit my blog and share the ways authors ruin their chances for landing an agent.

Agent cat says: "Follow Submission Guidelines!"

"Ten Ways NOT to Get an Agent" by Eric Ruben

1. Send a query that violates the agent’s submission guidelines. 

This tells an agent that you are either lazy or arrogant.

2. Send a query or manuscript with spelling or grammatical errors. 

This tells the agent not that you're uneducated, but that you have no eye for detail.

3. Send a lot of emails. 

This shows you to be high maintenance and without a clue as to an agent’s daily workload.

4. Call. 

This shows you don’t understand how agents work and that you need a lot of attention.

5.  Talk poorly of an agent on social media or be complicit by forwarding or retweeting negative comments. 

This tells us you are not business savvy and untrustworthy.

6.  Misbehave at a conference. 

Get drunk, loud, obnoxious and/or fight. There IS such a thing as bad publicity.

7.  When meeting us, make us uncomfortable with over-familiarity or inappropriateness.  

This let’s us know we have zero chemistry.

8. Bad mouth other authors. 

This shows us you do NOT play well with others.

9.  Complain about the business. 

This lets us know you will be a problem client and hard to handle.

10.   Finally, don’t work your craft. Don’t understand the art form or seek to improve. Send us mediocre work at a time when even great work is hard to sell.

  I really don’t want anyone to do these things. It’s my hope that this list helps people see some ways to actually GET an agent.

I NOW HAVE AN AGENT!!!!

OMG OMG OMG you guys, I finally have an agent!

My new literary partner in crime is Eric Ruben of the Ruben Agency. He's SO freakin' awesome. My heart stopped when he told me he was going to call me...and I had a Zoology test right before we were due to talk.

Somehow I managed to not sound like a chipmunk on meth when we talked. Holy crap, he is EXACTLY what I've been looking for in an agent. Represents paranormal romance? Check. Represents historical romance? Check. Has experience working with my publisher? Check X 3! He reps three other Sourcebooks authors which is awesome because I ADORE Sourcebooks and love working with them.

And then there was the fabled "click." I'd heard of this phenomenon from other authors but was skeptical. Dude, they weren't lying! Our personalities seemed to mesh perfectly. After an awesome conversation about book and agent-ish stuff, we complimented each other's pictures and talked about our cats. Yes, he's a cat person and that just scores even more points in my book. His cat even has its own twitter account. :) Oh, and he likes my name AND my top hat.

Anyway, in only two conversations he's made me feel damn good about the future of my writing career.

So that's my big news and I'm off to celebrate!

The Crazy Tale Of My 3-Book Deal!!!

Crazy as deep-throating a whole cake...with lit candles.

You guys have NO idea how hard it was to act like everything's been normal the last 2 weeks. Whew!

What am I talking about?

For those of you who missed my announcement on Twitter and Facebook this weekend: I ACCEPTED A THREE-BOOK OFFER FROM SOURCEBOOKS!!!!

How did I get it? Mostly by accident, with a lot of craziness....and a ton of hard work to write the manuscript and get it in its best possible shape.

Oh, and did I mention that I kinda-sorta wrote that book on accident?

I'd lost my career and my mother (that part was the worst) in five month's time and my attempts to query an earlier novel failed miserably. Half mad from grief, I took a gamble with my small inheritance to take a year off, research the industry better, perfect my craft, and write a better, more marketable manuscript.

I replaced my dinosaur computer with a laptop and got the internet. Wow, I learned a ton. The first thing: A writer NEEDS the internet. :) But I had little idea as to what to write.

I tried a brief stint as a financial adviser and though I learned a ton about finance, I was a complete failure at making a career out of it. But... I got THE idea.

My coworkers asked me what I wrote and I explained what paranormal romance was. Then I heard, "Oh, like TWILIGHT?" for the 100th freakin' time. As one who'd cut her teeth on vintage Anne Rice, Maggie Shayne, The Lost Boys, and the Subspecies movies, it kinda irritates me when people think TWILIGHT is the first vampire craze ever. I knew about Bram Stoker, but I was pretty sure the history went further back.

That's totally what Louis would think. :)

I took out my "Encyclopedia of the Undead" that my aunt got me in my goth days and found out that the first vampire story in English was written in the REGENCY period by none other than Lord Byron's physician, Dr. John Polidori. In fact, the story evolved from a ghost writing competition with Byron, Percy Shelly, and Mary-freakin'-Shelley. Frankenstein was another story birthed from that fateful night.

Polidori's tale spawned a vampire-craze all over western Europe long before Dracula, The Vampire Chronicles, Twilight, etc.

And he was CUTE too!

I adore regency romances! I've read Judith McNaught and Johanna Lindsay like an addict. Virginia Henley and Eloisa James are my heroes. I love rebellious heroines with unconventional dreams. I got to thinking....why was this vampire craze never mentioned in regency novels? Or Mary Shelley's work, for that matter?

I did a little more digging. How far had feminist literature progressed by then? In Georgian times, a famous work was: A VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN, by Mary Wollstonecraft. She was none other than MARY SHELLEY'S MOTHER!!! It was too delicious for words.

Imagine a regency heroine idolizing those women and wanting to write horror novels of her own. Then I got to thinking again about vampires. Wouldn't Polidori's story piss them off? Especially one trying to pose as a member of London Society?

As Stephen King would say: POW!!! And it all started with me trying to prove a point to people who probably didn't care.

Stephen King's my hero, too.

In a state of giddy delight, I finished the rough draft in less than three months. It was the most FUN I've ever had writing. Even better was that my beta readers had fun reading it.

I polished it up and wrote the query. I got a ton of requests right away, most complimenting the title....which was ALSO an accident. While writing the novel, I had no clue what to call it, so I gave it a joke title. My vampire was a duke, so I called it "BITE ME, YOUR GRACE."

But when I threw it out on Twitter, people loved it so much, even going so far as to say they'd buy it due to the title. So it stuck.

After having fulls with 8 agents, I signed with one. The others passed because the manuscript wasn't awesome enough...which proves I yet again queried too soon. Because the agent I signed with turned out to... Not really be much of one.  (I ask that you click on that link so you get that story without me having to make this post longer than it is.)

After that relationship ended, I took another gamble and inquired on the status of my submission with a few publishers and queried a few more. I didn't expect to get far with the inquiries, but figured I'd find a home for BITE ME, YOUR GRACE with a small respectable house. Still, both inquiries led to full requests and the editor of Sourcebooks even emailed me personally when she received it to say she loved the title. Then a smaller house requested the full...and offered a contract within two days.

I was totally stoked. The publisher loved the book, their terms were appealing, their authors were great (in fact, a few were former clients of my ex agent) and I admired their cover art. However, Sourcebooks was still considering the manuscript. Following protocol, I informed the editor of the offer and asked for two weeks for a response. I fully expected her to pass, being so busy. To my surprise, she didn't.

For the next week and a half, my inner voice vacillated between "Hurry up and reject me already!" and "Could they REALLY be considering it?" I doubted it, the reasons outlined in my "no longer have an agent" post. (See, I told you to click that link.)

But after a bunch of crazy emails and exciting phone conversations, Sourcebooks counter-offered with a three book deal. "I just couldn't let that book go," said the almighty DEB WERKSMAN.

It was like that microphone had been replaced by...um...me.

As much as I liked the other publisher, it was in my best interest to take Deb's offer.

And as a gangster-skater hybrid from the 90's would say, "Shit just got real, Yo."

With hard work, a multitude of happy and unhappy accidents, and untold support from friends and family, my dreams have begun to come true.

That's my crazy story. The next post will be on said shit getting real, "yo." :)

Why Self- Publishing Is Not For Me...at least for now.

No hidden meaning intended with this picture, I just thought it was funny. :)

I have many friends who have embarked in the world of self-publishing. Many have had great success with it, in fact. As they watched me through the disastrous situation with my former agent, they've begun trying to lure me to the "other side."

Despite the triumphs of my friends, I am still refusing to go that route and before I drown under the cries of "join us, join ussss!" (Sorry, friends, I gotta tease ya a bit.) I feel compelled to state my personal case. Here I go, in no particular order.

1.) Self-pubbing the "Right way" costs money. Yeah, anyone can throw their work up on Smashwords and other sites, but the most successful self-pubbed authors hire editors, cover artists, and pay for various forms of promotion. My funds are limited in that capacity. Speaking of promotion.

2.) All authors, whether commercial or self- pubbed, have to spend a lot of time and effort in online promotion. But I've noticed that the best self-pubbers are almost superhuman in their web presence. ::cough Jamie DeBree::cough Between my job, my family, and my writing/ editing schedule, it's enough for me to keep up with the blog/ twitter/ facebook. Still, I think I'm doing fairly well.

3.) Security. All respected authors have specific lines that the reader trusts to get what they expect from. i.e. unknown authors become an insta-buy for faithful readers of specific imprints. I would feel far more confident and honored for my work to be among a successful imprint.

4.) I WANT AN EDITOR!!!! A good editor supports your work and is behind you 100% ....but she won't let you go out in public with your fly unzipped, figuratively speaking. ;) There is so much I don't know about the industry and I would feel much more comfortable for an expert's advice on keeping my readers happy.

5.) I want a team behind me. Besides an editor, commercial publishers have marketing/ publicity departments. They do a bunch of mathematical calculations and secret magic ceremonies to determine the most profitable circumstances for your book release. Like, X-genres sell best in the fall, X types of titles are trending...or X author has a new release that month so let's do a different month so she won't overshadow you. How cool is that?

6.) I want a profitable cover. Yes, I've seen some really bitchin' covers in self-pubbed books, but a publisher's art department has even more resources. They have their own magic ceremonies to determine what cover will attract readers. Bold colors or pastels? Embossed or flat font? Topless guy (mmmm) or embracing couple?

7.) A GOOD agent would be a godsend. I know jack about negotiating contracts, subsidiary rights, foreign sales, or when it would be appropriate to approach the editor about a new project. And hopefully my agent would help me get my manuscript in its best shape before the editor sees it.

Yes, self-published authors get to keep the majority of their profits, but for me, the benefits of commercial publishing I listed above are well worth the reduction of my royalties.

I no longer have an agent, but maybe that's okay.

For those of you who haven't yet heard, Tribe Literary Agency is no more. The agent closed shop due to family obligations. For a few of the clients, this was an unpleasant surprise, but for others, like myself, it was a good thing because we'd already sent out "intent to terminate" letters and thus no longer have to wait 30 days to get back in the game.

Instead of launching into a vitriolic rant about my experience with this agency, I've decided to share the positive things I got out of it.

1.) I'm cured of the "I MUST HAVE AN AGENT NOW" fever. There seems to be a persisting attitude online that you're nothing without an agent. Those who have one seem to be held in higher esteem. They often have more followers on Twitter, their blogs get more traffic, etc. It seems they have it all, and the thrill when their book sells is vicariously exciting.

Once I had an agent, it seemed there was a huge empty spot in my life that had been taken up by querying and stalking my inbox. I dedicated that time to what should have been priority #1: focusing on my writing and perfecting my craft. I ended up fixing a previously broken novel and completing another, along with 2 short stories and a novella.

2.) I made a lot of new friends. Part of what drew me to the agent in the first place was the awesome bond she helped form between her authors. When she quit, that closeness remained and we were able to comfort each other.


3.) The manuscript being "shopped" was not the best way to launch my career with a big house. BITE ME, YOUR GRACE is a historical paranormal. It's a really fun book, but the problem is, I don't have any more historicals at the moment. That would have been awkward, had I landed a multi-book deal.

4.) My manuscript wasn't really ready. I recently won a critique from the awesome Ashley March and she pointed out a bunch of stuff that needed fixed. On the bright side, there was nothing wrong with the story or the flow, so it'll be an easy fix.

So, what am I going to do now?

For starters, I am NOT going to rush straight into hunting for an agent. I am going to step back and really do my homework.

While I polish up my urban fantasy romance series, I am going to shop my novella and short stories to get more credentials. I may even find a home for BITE ME, YOUR GRACE. It's such a fun book and a lot of people loved it. It feels wrong to let it die because of my poor decisions.

In the end, I think I'm going to be okay. I think I came out of this experience stronger than ever. I would like to give special thanks to those who were with me through all my doubts and turmoil. I wouldn't have made it out as well without you.

On Queries and Researching Agents

I made a TON of mistakes while querying my first novel. I have since learned from them and the results of my submissions for my current novel have much improved. I figured I'd share what I learned. Get your paper n' pen & hold on. You'll need em even more after reading this.
An important thing I learned is that the internet is almost a must if you are an aspiring author. And not just because many agencies now only take e-queries)
Oh, and if your manuscript is not complete and polished to its very best, QUIT READING NOW AND GET BACK TO WORK!

First off, perfect your query letter. If you think it is perfect, you are probably wrong. There are multiple sites and blog posts on how to write a proper query letter. There are some that show examples of good and bad ones including comments about what an agent loved or hated about a query. QueryShark is a great one! You can find a lot of info when you just Google "query."

Find people to critique your query: The best site I've found for this is Querytracker.net. You have to join to be able to post your query on their forum for people to critique, but joining is well worth it, for there are multitudes of other great resources on that site, which I will mention soon.

While working on that, it is time to research agents. QueryTracker and other such sites have vast online databases in which you can look up agencies based on genre. But DON'T stop there. It is a big waste of time for you and the agent to just willy-nilly pick agents off these lists and go straight to the email address listed to send a query. These databases almost always include a link to the agent's website. That's because you're supposed to check that first!

Take some time to study the agent's website: Don't just skim through the submission guidelines and then jump into "compose mail" in your email program. Agent websites are filled with priceless gems, including more specific info about what they are looking for, links to their blogs and recent interviews, and articles about perfecting your submission.

Research a prospective agent's clients: Besides the fact that it is important to know if an agent HAS published clients, it is very useful to know how close the books they rep will fit in with yours. When an agent says they rep Romance, that doesn't tell you enough. For example: An agent expressed interest in my previous novel, which would fit in with novels like Sherrilyn Kenyon or JR Ward. I'm not querying her with this one because it is more along the lines of Judith McNaught-meets-Virginia Henley-meets-Maggie Shayne.

Enter contests! Contests are not only a great credential if you win, but they are also a great opportunity to receive agent feedback. Many blogs, such as QueryTracker and Miss Snark's First Victim have them regularly.

I entered Miss Snark's First Victim Secret Agent contest last year with my previous project. Not only did I get great feedback from the agent, but when she was revealed, I discovered that she sounded like an excellent fit for my current novel. Needless to say, after further research she was bumped to the top of my query list.
And last January QueryTracker hosted a contest for romance, and that very agent was the judge! And.......I WON THIRD PLACE!!!! She read my material not only gave me great feedback, she also recommended me to 2 other agents.

Follow agent blogs and follow them on twitter: You really get to know agents as people as well as get priceless information on their response times, their pet peeves (Many hate the .docx format because it's a pain in the rear for them to convert) and valuable tidbits on the publishing industry. Many agents get together often on twitter to host an "#AskAgent" session. You can ask them anything but questions about queries. Follow that hashtag! (That’s the # sign)
But remember, for the love of God, DON'T PITCH YOUR NOVEL TO THEM ON THESE SITES! They hate that, and for good reason. Agents tweet and blog in their rare personal time and get their chance to be people. They don't want it ruined by some schmuck who can't follow the rules.

Be professional, courteous, and patient in your query as well as everywhere else online. Agents receive 100's of submissions a day. They also have to work with their existing manuscripts, pitch to editors, and attend conventions and conferences. And they somehow have families and personal lives, which I have no idea how they pull that off. Don't bug them EVER about the status of your query and only nudge on partials and fulls if you have waited long past the agent's stated response time.
As for your online presence, i.e. facebook, twitter, blogs, etc. Remember: AGENTS DO THEIR HOMEWORK TOO. If they Google you and see that you are posting rants whining about rejections or waiting time, they will likely hesitate to work with you. And if you tweet "Dude, I was so WASTED last night!" EVERY day, well, a few might frown on that too. Still, don't be too scared to be yourself. Agents do want to know who you are. And if they dislike you for your political leanings, spiritual beliefs, or sexual orientation, then they likely wouldn't be a good fit anyway. Still, it would be best to keep your bedroom habits and other too-personal details to yourself.

Handle rejection gracefully: First off, don't publicly rant about them and DON'T SEND ANGRY HATE MAIL! This will not do you any favors and will damage your chances at a writing career. I can't believe how many agents still get regular nasty letters. This is why they don't give personal rejections most of the time.
Rejections are not only depressing, but they can also be infuriatingly mysterious. One of the main reasons for rejection is when the author did not follow submission guidelines. Typos are another one (one time I revised my query with a kick-butt closing sentence- and then sent it off with 2 mistakes! I still garnered a request, but the agent said I almost blew it and I should have known better.)
If you rack up a lot of rejections with very few requests, it is likely a sign that you need to revise your query and/or your manuscript. And be sure to double check your revisions as I learned earlier.
A scary theory on some rejections: I don't know about you, but I have book cravings. Sometimes I want something dark and deep. Sometimes I want light and cheerful, other times I want a tough heroine and blood n 'gore. Maybe agents also have cravings and your submission didn't fit that day's craving. Of course, maybe some cosmic force helps with that to ensure you get the right one =) I can dream, you can't stop me.

Anyway, there is a lot more info on agents and valuable resources at your fingertips, so go out, do your homework and do your damn best to be sure that your submission is in the cream of the slush pile. Good luck to you all!

Success Story! Lynn Rush scores a deal with Crescent Moon!

If you haven't heard yet, one of my fellow authors at Tribe Lit landed a book deal! Lynn Rush is here to tell the awesome story!

Hi, Brooklyn, thanks for having me here to help celebrate the recent contract for my novel, Wasteland (http://lynnrush.wordpress.com/my-novels/wasteland/). Boy, telling this story never gets old, that’s for sure. I still feel like it’s a dream!

Oh, but I do have a dorky confession…as soon as I got the email stating they were interested in offering me a contract, I started writing every detail down.

Just so I’d remember.

Dorky, right? But anyone who knows me knows I forget EVERYTHING. And I never want to forget a second of this experience.

I wrote Wasteland in December of 2009. I just loved the idea of a half-demon who was half demon against his will! Anyway, the story spent quite a bit of time with critique partners to get it whipped into shape for submissions.

On February 17^th, 2011, I pitched the book in a chat-room pitch session with Crescent Moon Press. It was organized for the Savvy Authors (http://www.savvyauthors.com) members. ***Oh, and if you’re not a member of that group, quick, go now and join. It’s worth it!***

Here was my pitch:

Bound by a blood oath his human mother signed four centuries ago, half-demon, David Sadler, must deliver fifteen-year-old Jessica Hanks to his demonic Master or suffer unspeakable torture. But as he learns more about her, he discovers she may be the key to freedom from his demonic enslavement.

The only obstacle—Jessica’s distractingly beautiful Guardian, Rebeka Abbott. He must not give into their steamy chemistry, or he will lose his humanity. But fresh off two centuries of sensory deprivation as punishment for not retrieving his last target, he may not be able to resist temptation long enough to save what’s left of his human soul.

From that I got a partial request. I sent it out the next day and figured I’d be waiting months.

But within a couple weeks, I got an email from Stephanie, another editor from Crescent Moon Press (http://www.crescentmoonpress.com/). She requested the full, so I sent it straight away.

Needless to say, I was ecstatic when I saw an email from her the very next morning.

Yep. The very next morning. 6:55am to be exact. **I’m a dork, remember?**

The email stated she wanted to offer me a contract.

Okay, at that time, my legs morphed into the consistency of wet noodles, right? Oh, and I was ironing, too. So, I set the iron down…and managed not to put it down on clothes and burn holes in them…and walked over to my hubby.

He was sitting in a chair in the living room. I think the look on my face startled him because he immediately asked, “What’s wrong?”

Yeah, I’m thinking I kinda went pale.

I told him about the email.

A smile filled his face, and he pulled me into the best hug ever.

I couldn’t believe it. Of course I texted Super Agent, Cari, (http://tribelit.com/) right away, and she pretty much took over after that. They discussed the contract, talked about changes, and a couple days later the end product was a signed contract.

What an exciting time. I couldn’t have done it without my Super Agent. She helped with all aspects of the pitch and handled everyone with the contract—all the while making herself available to my every question.

So far I’ve been assigned an editor at Crescent Moon Press (http://www.crescentmoonpress.com/), and she’s reading the story with a critical eye to get me my first round of edits. I’m looking forward to her input because I know Crescent Moon Press has great editors and will help make the story shiny!

Thanks for sharing in the excitement with me, Brooklyn. I’m honored to be a part of Tribe Literary (http://tribelit.com/) with you!

Stay in touch with me as the journey continues:

Catch the Rush: http://www.lynnrush.com

Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/LynnRushWrites

Facebook Profile: http://www.facebook.com/LynnRush

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/LynnRush

Agents and Conferences

As an aspiring author, I am constantly researching agents and the publishing industry. I check an agent's credentials and the genres they represent before I query. Then when I get a request I also check out the "buzz" on that agent and their response times. One thing I learned very quickly is that there are a ton of impatient people out there. It seems that many believe that an agent who doesn't reply to their query within a week is somehow doing something wrong. I once saw a post somewhere where the person was thinking of disregarding an agent because it had been 2 whole days!

I see people complaining if an agent tweets or blogs too much...or not enough. But one pattern of complaints has me baffled because it's illogical and silly.

I've seen a lot of aspiring authors complaining about an agent attending conferences.

What is their logic in this? From what I've seen most of the reasons are:

1.) "The agents are yet again too busy to read their query." Reading queries is not an agent's primary job. Selling books and protecting their clients' rights is. Why do people keep forgetting this?

2.) "They are worried that the authors attending the conference will get preference over the slush pile. " I can understand this one a little. The nearest conferences that happen in my area are 400 miles or more away. Still, one must understand that good writing is what the agent cares about, not the fun time they had with you sipping cocktails.

3.) "Agents who attend conferences all the time are somehow 'shady.'" I don't remember where I read this, but I found that post to be excessively silly. Many of the best agents in the business attend conferences regularly.

So far, I've never heard any complaints on conference attendance from agented and published authors. Why? I assume because they believe that conferences are a good thing. I'm sure there are many reasons, but I think one is sufficient.

Editors also attend conferences. Imagine this scenario: Your agent is at a conference. She is sitting at a table with the editor of your dream publishing house. Dream editor says, "I'm looking for...." and proceeds to describe your book.

Your agent smiles and says, "As a matter of fact, I have...." and she launches into an enthusiastic description of your work.

The editor grins and says, "Would you mind sending that along?"

Your agent hides her triumphant grin behind her wine glass and replies, "I'll send it on Monday."

The Little Things

When I started the insane journey of seeking publication, I encountered roadblocks right away. Not the agent's genre, poorly written, unlikeable characters, confused plot, etc.

These were all great lessons and I have since been able to solve the majority of those problems in most of my projects.

Now I'm much closer in my journey. I've had times where I was millimeters away from getting representation, but was turned down in the end. I've received enough feedback to learn that I missed my chance due to some of THE LITTLE THINGS.

Those little things can make you or break you. Here a few:

1.) WORD COUNT: I did a post on it

here: http://paranormalpretties.blogspot.com/2010/06/word-count-it-does-make-difference.htm

2.) Character motivation, (Even the little ones): If a character does something that doesn't make sense, that could be your death knell.

3.) Typos/ punctuation errors: Agents and publishers are getting less "editorial" every day. The closer a manuscript is ready to be set in type, the better. Also, you want to look like a professional, right?

4.) Wandering away from the story: Stephen King says that editing is "Taking out all the things that are not the story" This is where your betas achieve sainthood, but you must also be vigilant. Don't let side characters hijack the story.

5.) Adverbs and cliches: An agent once said about one of my projects, "The fine line between satire and cliche was a bit indistinct for my taste" Though I was like, "Score! She spotted the satire!" I went back to work on making the manuscript more original. Adding depth to the characters and their motivation really helped with that.

In short, your manuscript must be perfect when you submit it. Not just "pretty good" but perfect. Scared yet? Good, I'd love the company! :)

I LOVE IT WHEN AGENTS....

I’ve only been online for a little over a year now. So I missed out on the epic events of #queryfail and its response #agentfail. I have read all of the posts and responses and I have agreements and disagreements with both sides. I noticed on the #agentfail comments, several people wanted to do an #agentawesome session for the agents that are professional and courteous to writers. I think that’s a great idea. Let’s focus more on the positive, people!

I love it when agents…

Thank the writer for thinking of them in their correspondence whether it’s a request OR a rejection. Agents need writers and it’s good to know when we are appreciated.

Acknowledge receipt of requested materials. It is a big load off our shoulders to know that our work didn’t get lost. This whole process is stressful enough as it is.

Give an estimated time for a response to materials and respond courteously to inquiries when that time has lapsed. We know you are busy, but we really appreciate knowing where we stand.

Blog or twitter. Some writers complained about this and I heartily disagree with them. Besides the wonderful fount of useful information about writing and the industry, I like getting to know them as human beings. It gives me a better idea on who’s a good fit.

Give details on their website/blog/twitter about what they represent and their tastes. Though it’s sad to see “If I see another vampire book I’ll scream” it is nice to know so I don’t waste time. I also love when they list some favorite authors.

Have an auto-reply with an estimated time if they are non responders. I think authors hate the “no response means no” policy more because they have no way of knowing if the agent received their query.

These next three go above and beyond in my opinion.

Do the #askagent sessions on twitter. Every agent who participates should get daily cookies and massages. You are awesome incarnate when you give up your personal time to help us.

Give us a reason why you passed on our project. Even one sentence can help me figure out if improvements are needed.

Recommend our work to other agents when they pass. I want to hug you and bake you cookies.

Thank you so much, awesome agents. You have my undying gratitude and respect for all the hard work you do on our behalf.

Making use of Rejection.

So, those keeping up with my news know that I have been floating on cloud 9 lately with all the partial and full requests I've been getting for my manuscript.
So, here's the latest development. I recently received another request from a much-desired agent. We exchanged a lovely email conversation back and forth. She sounded very excited about my work. I was breathless with excitement, thinking that this might be THE ONE.

A week later I have a message from her in my inbox. I'm thinking, "this is it!" because many of the stories say the agent read it quickly and fell in love.

Alas, it was the dreaded R, not only that, but it was my first R on a full. She was very sincere and kind. She sounded almost as disappointed as I was. Some comments were helpful, and some were vague.

After a moment of self pity, I was able to find some cheer in this tragic event. I have gone a step further in this crazy publishing game and I have learned a few new things as well as been reminded of others.

1.) The rejection rate is still pretty high on full manuscripts. Hell, I'll bet it's still high on agented manuscripts with publishers.

2.) Agents are like every other book lover. Their tastes vary.

3.) My book may still not be ready.

And finally,
4.) A writer should have a backup plan in case all fulls are rejected.

And here is mine:
As I have a few more fulls out with other lovely awesome agents, I will wait as patiently as possible to hear back from them.
If they all pass on it, I will not cry. I will send it out to another group of betas and give it another overhaul. Then I will query a fresh batch of agents and get back in the game. I feel that this novel is close. And if it fails, I'll just have to start over and write another one!

Are you prepared to get THE CALL?

When I first embarked on my quest for publication, I used to daydream about getting THE CALL, otherwise known as an offer of representation. Most of the daydreams involved me jumping up and down and squealing like a lunatic, “yes!” like a movie heroine receiving a marriage proposal from Prince Charming.

But throughout my learning experience from agent research and chatting with authors online, my head has been pulled from the clouds. Aside from being stuck with a "bad" agent, there are other reasons not to jump right into a contract when offered representation. I won't discuss “bad” agents in this post for the simple fact that at this stage an author should have done their research on prospective agents before querying them in the first place. I did a post on that earlier:
http://brooklynann.blogspot.com/2010/01/on-queries-and-researching-agents.html

Another great source to check out agents is Preditors and Editors.

Now, back on topic. An online author-friend of mine recently received three offers of representation. Her decision was difficult, for all three agents had solid reputations and sales-records. One was from a huge agency that many would give their eyeteeth for; another was a rising star in the business with plenty of awesome deals under her belt, and the last was from another solid agency, though not as much was known about her. She spoke on the phone with all three, and ultimately went with agent number two. Why didn’t she go with the super-duper giant agent? I have no idea how the author’s phone conversations went with these agents, but I have a few guesses.

When an agent calls to offer representation, they are doing two things: They are considering a long-term business relationship with you, and are feeling out your personality. A wise author should be doing the same. As mentioned, this is a LONG TERM relationship. You want to make sure that you see eye to eye on the most important details of your career.

How do you do this? You ask questions. According to some authors I asked about THE CALL, the conversation should be about 20 minutes, so it would be good to have your questions prepared in advance.
I’ve found some good questions here on these links:
Rachelle Gardner’s post: http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/04/getting-call.html

http://caseylmccormick.blogspot.com/2010/02/call-or-what-to-ask-literary-agent-when.html

AgentQuery: http://www.agentquery.com/writer_or.aspx This article does a great job of covering the situation of multiple offers and counter-offers as well.

There are a lot more than 20 minutes worth of questions in these links, & I wouldn’t recommend asking them all. Besides being time consuming, many of the answers to these questions can be found on the agent’s website, and many sound like a rehearsed script. I believe that your questions should be more customized, not only to keep in line with your priorities, but to give the agent a better impression of who you are.

As you are speaking to the agent, keep your mind and heart open to feel how well you click with her.

Since I now have a few full manuscripts with agents, there is a chance that I could be getting THE CALL. I’d like to be prepared, so here is my shot at my questions for my future agent. Any helpful feedback or suggestions would be appreciated.

1.)How extensive are the needed revisions? Do you believe that it needs any major changes? Except in very rare cases, all novels require some revisions before going out on submission to publishers. Your agent's answer will reveal 2 important things: If there are changes she wants that would kill you to do, and a rough estimate on how long it will be before she starts shopping it to publishers.


2.)What is your basic plan for submitting/ marketing my novel? This is the best question of all because it answers so much more than the obvious. The manner and the extent to which the agent describes her plan for your novel will not only reveal her enthusiasm for your work, but how much she has thought of it.

3.)How will the expenses be handled? I've heard that many agencies charge for some expenses such as copying the manuscript and other things. I want to know how much, and whether the agent expects this money up front, or if it will be deducted from my advance.

4.)How often will we be communicating? As a new author in the big-bad publishing world, I would like a little hand-holding. A brief phone call or email once a week would be desirable.

5.)What can I do to help promote my work? Not only do I believe that this will show the agent that I am serious about my career as an author, I don't want to do anything that would harm my career.

6.)At what stage would you like to discuss my other (or future) works? Since I am working on a series, I think this is especially important.

7.)Though the novel you are offering to represent is a historical, I also have a few contemporary works. Do you think it would be more commercially viable for my next novel to be another historical, or would a contemporary be okay? I'm not completely sure if I should ask this question right off the bat, and I would really like to word it better. But I do believe that it's important, so that I know which book in my head I should work on next.

Again, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

On Waiting.

I've finished my manuscript, I've been through rewrites, I've perfected my query and sent it in to agents that I feel it would fit with. It seems that I have done things right this time around, for I've garnered much more requests for fulls and partials than for my last novel. With some agents I very well could be at the stage where I'm either offered representation, rejected, or offered to revise and resubmit. I have long since learned that the wheels of the publishing industry turn slowly and patience is more than a virtue. It is a necessity.

But that doesn't make the waiting suck less. Especially since it is getting close to time when I can reasonably begin to expect some responses, but nowhere near the time when a polite nudge would be appropriate.

I'm sure all aspiring authors have heard the amazing miracle stories where an awesome agent requested a writer's full manuscript, read it right away in one sitting, and offered representation the next day....oh, and maybe the part where there book was sold in a week was added too. Though such stories are inspiring, I often wish that I had never heard them, for they can be misleading, not because I believe them to be untrue, but because it is even more rare for things to happen that quickly than it is to make the bestsellers list.

What does one do to make the waiting more bearable? First I can say what NOT to do, because thanks to research and agent blogs, that information is readily available. But I've learned a few things that really seem to help and will gladly share them.

1.) DON'T nudge until the appropriate time frame. When is that? Some agents will say on their websites, blogs and on twitter (always check there first), but the usual guideline is 3 months on a query, and six months on a full. As for partials, I've heard anywhere between 3 and 6 months. The best way to encourage a rejection is with constant emails asking, "Didja get/read it yet?"

2.) NEVER call an agent. Agents have phone numbers for clients and editors. The unrepresented masses should pretend agent phones don't exist until they get THE CALL.

3.) DON'T pester an agent about your manuscript on twitter or on their blog. I hear about it happening once in awhile and never can believe that someone could be that unprofessional. Especially after an agent has requested material. At that stage, many will be googling you, reading your blogs, and checking your tweets/ facebook/myspace updates to see if you'll be a good fit. Don't blow it by flaunting your impatience.

4.) This one may garner a little disagreement. One agent said it was a bad idea to talk about your rejections online. I was a little surprised because I see writers doing it all the time, and many have gotten representation since then. Still, I'm inclined to agree with her because:

A.) It could make you sound whiny/petulant and therefore undesirable to work with.

B.) Agents hang out together and talk to eachother. If you announce online, even in a professional manner, that so-and-so rejected you, another agent that was considering you might think, "Hey, so-and-so and I share similar tastes so this person likely wouldn't be good for me either."

I may be paranoid here, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Now that I've depressed us all with all the restrictions, let me share the things I've been doing to keep myself from obsessively stalking my inbox.

1.) Indulge in your other hobbies. I've been working two jobs, so I haven't had time to paint or work on my cars, but I have turned away from my computer to go play darts, prepare a new dish, and now that spring is here, I'll go fishing.

2.) Read! Not only is reading a joyous escape from the trials of life, it is necessary to make a better writer.

3.) Work on your next novel. This is most the most important tip of all because most agents expect you to anyway. Nobody wants a one-hit-wonder unless it's Gone With The Wind, which was #2 to the Bible in sales shortly after its debut. Even Harry Potter didn't touch that! And even if something is preventing you from putting down words, you can at least begin brainstorming, research, and daydreaming about new plots and characters.

4.) Spend some time with friends and family. They likely missed you when you were locked away with your keyboard and your muse, and will miss you more once you are busy working on the revisions that your agent will likely be requesting.

5.) Keep up with your web presence/ platform. Keep tweeting, keep blogging, keep facebook/myspace-ing. The more potential book-buyers you can bring to the table when an agent offers representation, the better.

6.) Begin compiling your list of questions to ask a prospective agent when you get THE CALL. Though many of us are at that stage where we would be tempted to fall at the agent's knees immediately with a resounding "yes," your homework should not be complete, for a long-term relationship is in the balance. You need to make sure that you are right for eachother. I've found a lot of useful information about what to do when you get THE CALL, and will do a post about it later.

I'm sure that there are a hundred other things writers do to abate the agony of waiting. What do you all do? What keeps you from stalking the mailman and clicking on your inbox every five minutes?

On Queries and Researching Agents:

I made a TON of mistakes while querying my first novel. I have since learned from them and the results of my submissions for my current novel have much improved. I figured I'd share what I learned. Get your paper n'pen & hold on. You'll need em even more after reading this.
An important thing I learned is that the internet is almost a must if you are an aspiring author. And not just because many agencies now only take e-queries)
Oh, and if your manuscript is not complete and polished to its very best, QUIT READING NOW AND GET BACK TO WORK!

First off, perfect your query letter. If you think it is perfect, you are probably wrong. There are multiple sites and blog posts on how to write a proper query letter. There are some that show examples of good and bad ones including comments about what an agent loved or hated about a query. QueryShark is a great one! You can find a lot of info when you just google "query."

Find people to critique your query: The best site I've found for this is Querytracker.net. You have to join to be able to post your query on their forum for people to critique, but joining is well worth it, for there are multitudes of other great resources on that site, which I will mention soon.

While working on that, it is time to research agents. QueryTracker and other such sites have vast online databases in which you can look up agencies based on genre. But DON'T stop there. It is a big waste of time for you and the agent to just willy-nilly pick agents off these lists and go straight to the email address listed to send a query. These databases almost always include a link to the agent's website. That's because you're supposed to check that first!

Take some time to study the agent's website: Don't just skim through the submission guidelines and then jump into "compose mail" in your email program. Agent websites are filled with priceless gems, including more specific info about what they are looking for, links to their blogs and recent interviews, and articles about perfecting your submission.

Research a prospective agent's clients: Besides the fact that it is important to know if an agent HAS published clients, it is very useful to know how close the books they rep will fit in with yours. When an agent says they rep Romance, that doesn't tell you enough. For example: An agent expressed interest in my previous novel, which would fit in with novels like Sherrilyn Kenyon or JR Ward. I'm not querying her with this one because it is more along the lines of Judith McNaught-meets-Virginia Henley-meets-Maggie Shayne. I couldn't find who reps those lovely ladies, but I found some McNaught fans =)

Enter contests! Contests are not only a great credential if you win, but they are also a great opportunity to receive agent feedback. Many blogs, such as QueryTracker and Miss Snark's First Victim have them regularly.

I entered Miss Snark's First Victim Secret Agent contest last year with my previous project. Not only did I get great feedback from the agent, but when she was revealed, I discovered that she sounded like an excellent fit for my current novel. Needless to say, after further research she was bumped to the top of my query list.
And last week QueryTracker hosted a contest for romance, and that very agent was the judge! And.......I WON THIRD PLACE!!!!

Follow agent blogs and follow them on twitter: You really get to know agents as people as well as get priceless information on their response times, their pet peeves (Many hate the .docx format because it's a pain in the ass for them to convert) and valuable tidbits on the publishing industry. Many agents get together often on twitter to host an "#AskAgent" session. You can ask them anything but questions about queries. Follow that hashtag!
But remember, for the love of god, DON'T PITCH YOUR NOVEL TO THEM ON THESE SITES! They hate that, and for good reason. Agents tweet and blog in their rare personal time and get their chance to be people. They don't want it ruined by some schmuck who can't follow the rules.

Be professional, courteous, and patient in your query as well as everywhere else online. Agents receive 100's of submissions a day. They also have to work with their existing manuscripts, pitch to editors, and attend conventions and conferences. And they also have families and personal lives, which I have no idea how they pull that off. Don't bug them EVER about the status of your query and only nudge on partials and fulls if you have waited long past the agent's stated response time.
As for your online presence i.e. facebook, twitter, blogs, etc. Remember: AGENTS DO THEIR HOMEWORK TOO. If they google you and see that you are posting rants bitching about rejections or waiting time, they will likely hesitate to work with you. And if you tweet "Dude, I was so WASTED last night!" EVERY day, well, a few might frown on that too. Still, don't be too scared to be yourself. Agents do want to know who you are. And if they dislike you for your political leanings, spiritual beliefs, or sexual orientation, then they likely wouldn't be a good fit anyway. Still, it would be best to keep your bedroom habits and other too-personal details to yourself.

Handle rejection gracefully: First off, don't publicly rant about them and DON'T SEND ANGRY HATE MAIL! This will not do you any favors and will damage your chances at a writing career. I still can't believe how many agents still get regular nasty letters. This is why they don't give personal rejections most of the time.
Rejections are not only depressing, but they can also be infuriatingly mysterious. One of the main reasons for rejection is when the author did not follow submission guidelines. Typos are another one (holy crap, so I revised my query with a kick-ass closing sentence- and then sent it off with 2 mistakes *headdesk* I still garnered a request, but the agent said I almost blew it and I should have known better)
If you rack up a lot of rejections with very few requests, it is likely a sign that you need to revise your query and/or your manuscript. And be sure to double check your revisions as I learned earlier.
A scary theory on some rejections: I don't know about you, but I have book cravings. Sometimes I want something dark and deep. Sometimes I want light and cheerful, other times I want a kick-ass heroine and blood n'gore. Maybe agents also have cravings and your submission didn't fit that day's craving. Of course, maybe some cosmic force helps with that to ensure you get the right one =) I can dream, you can't stop me.

Anyway, there is a lot more info on agents and valuable resources at your fingertips, so go out, do your homework and do your damn best to be sure that your submission is in the cream of the slush pile. Good luck to you all!