A little while ago, in this post, I addressed the issue of manuscript assessors and agents existing within the same body. Full disclosure: the agency I work for is a member of the Australian Literary Agents Association and bound by codes of conduct. Therefore, we can never accept a fee payment to assess a manuscript in addition to performing our agent duties. However, more than once I have wondered at the economic wisdom of that in a market the size of Australia. It is extremely difficult to make an agency business work here because there's just not that much money in it, and it would certainly make life economically easier if we could charge for editorial advice. But there is some murky water there.
In response to the post I received the following from Sally Bird, which I'm publishing in the interests of a balanced view. Thanks to Sally for her permission to do so.
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Dear Agent,
Not having read your blog for some time I've just had a squiz and feel compelled to comment on the issue of agents and manuscript assessors 'in the same body'. I have thought long and hard about even contacting you because you have the luxury of anonymity and I am 'exposing' myself here but I have also thought long and hard about this issue and I do not believe it is one about which you can generalise.
I was invited to join ALAA when it was first formed and I was still living in Sydney. At that stage my agency business was very much a part-time operation while I was a salaried employee in the book trade, which is the way I understand quite a few agents began. You may recall at the time ALAA was set up that there were murmurings about the conditions for membership from manuscript assessors?
While I do understand that reputable literary agents do not charge any upfront fees I do not feel that agenting and assessing need to be mutually exclusive. In my own case, the decision to take on manuscript appraisal came partly out of financial need. More importantly though, having seen a number of so-called assessments sent to me by potential clients, I felt that I could provide a more professional service - one that would at least give the client an honest opinion and not be a financial rip-off. Some of these 'assessments' were merely a synopsis, many were semi-literate and/or littered with typos and at least one was done by someone listed on the AALA website under 'Literary Contacts', so there is no quality control there either.
I do many assessments myself but I also have two Sydney-based senior editors I can and do call on for assistance or to do the entire report. If I liked a manuscript enough to think that I could find a publisher for the author I would offer representation and, on securing a contract with a publisher, refund the fee the author had paid for the assessment. I have a note (under Submission Guidelines) on my website stating the reason I am no longer a member of ALAA and that as an agent I do not charge a fee. I decided against stating that manuscripts considered outstanding would be offered representation as I didn't want to open the floodgates! I don't know whether you have thought of this 'scenario' - it would seem not because you appear to assume that anyone asking for a fee is a charlatan and I object to this and would like to see your comment/reply to my email on your blog.
Sally Bird
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The reality of picture books
I have created a children's picture book with watercolour paintings, colour pencil sketches, digital media and hand-stitching. The language is intentionally simple and direct, so as to be read by children. However there is great symbolism behind the story, as I desired the book to educate both adults and children, like how Saint Exupéry's acclaimed children's book The Little Prince, could educate adults about life and human nature.
I followed the links to Australian literary agents on your site. However after reading through the conditions provided by individual agents, it appears that there is very little interest in children's books. I honestly believe my story holds potential due to my detailed illustrations and subtle, but powerful messages to adults.
Do you believe I have a good chance of getting published? If so, I would greatly appreciate it if you could recommend certain steps I should take, so as to interest agents and publishers.
There are two parts to this question and, thus, its answer.
Part one: the agent thing
It's not true that there's no interest in children's books amongst agents. We love children's books, but it's hard to sustain a business doing too many of them - particularly picture books (see part two for more information). I'm one of those agents who adores children's books but it's unlikely I'll ever look at picture book submissions again, unless they come through a recommendation. It's not all gloom though: a lot of publishers will take submissions directly from the public so you don't necessarily need an agent for children's books, not the way you do for adults' books.
Part two: the picture book thing
Picture books for children are arguably the most competitive category of publishing at the moment. Every second writer I hear from is doing a picture book. But hardly any picture books are published in this country (relatively speaking) so there are a lot of disappointed people out there. Even major publishing companies won't put out more than six picture books a year, and for some it's more like two. And, even then, it's safe to say that a lot of those books are by previously published authors. So the chances of becoming a debut picture book author/illustrator are very slim. You need to have an exceptional book.
Now, not having seen your book, I can't say if it's exceptional or not. But I will say that it sounds hard to produce - 'hand-stitching' and 'digital media' are the red flags. Picture book production is labour intensive compared to that for other books - the illustrations have to be scanned on appropriate machines, the pages have to be colour matched and proofed, the books need expensive paper and they have to be printed offshore. They also can't be given to any old editor to look after - because they're so different to other books, they need a specialist, if possible. In other words: a picture book is a not inconsiderable undertaking for a publisher. So they're very judicious about what they take on and if you give them any reason to think twice - hand-stitching would be one reason - then they will. They'll expect that you want your final book to be hand-stitched too, and have digital media included, and that will just sound like a nightmare in the making. Their default answer is 'no'. You need to give them a reason to say 'yes'. And the overwhelming reason is if you have a fantastic story and beautiful illustrations. Again, not having seen your book, I don't know if it has either of those things so I can't comment on your chances of publication. Your next best step would be to research your market - go to a library and look at all the picture books; find out who publishes what. Then approach the publishers you think may be a good match. You could also get involved in programs like CYA (Brisbane) which give you direct access to publishers. Your local writers' centre would be the best place to find out what's available.
I followed the links to Australian literary agents on your site. However after reading through the conditions provided by individual agents, it appears that there is very little interest in children's books. I honestly believe my story holds potential due to my detailed illustrations and subtle, but powerful messages to adults.
Do you believe I have a good chance of getting published? If so, I would greatly appreciate it if you could recommend certain steps I should take, so as to interest agents and publishers.
There are two parts to this question and, thus, its answer.
Part one: the agent thing
It's not true that there's no interest in children's books amongst agents. We love children's books, but it's hard to sustain a business doing too many of them - particularly picture books (see part two for more information). I'm one of those agents who adores children's books but it's unlikely I'll ever look at picture book submissions again, unless they come through a recommendation. It's not all gloom though: a lot of publishers will take submissions directly from the public so you don't necessarily need an agent for children's books, not the way you do for adults' books.
Part two: the picture book thing
Picture books for children are arguably the most competitive category of publishing at the moment. Every second writer I hear from is doing a picture book. But hardly any picture books are published in this country (relatively speaking) so there are a lot of disappointed people out there. Even major publishing companies won't put out more than six picture books a year, and for some it's more like two. And, even then, it's safe to say that a lot of those books are by previously published authors. So the chances of becoming a debut picture book author/illustrator are very slim. You need to have an exceptional book.
Now, not having seen your book, I can't say if it's exceptional or not. But I will say that it sounds hard to produce - 'hand-stitching' and 'digital media' are the red flags. Picture book production is labour intensive compared to that for other books - the illustrations have to be scanned on appropriate machines, the pages have to be colour matched and proofed, the books need expensive paper and they have to be printed offshore. They also can't be given to any old editor to look after - because they're so different to other books, they need a specialist, if possible. In other words: a picture book is a not inconsiderable undertaking for a publisher. So they're very judicious about what they take on and if you give them any reason to think twice - hand-stitching would be one reason - then they will. They'll expect that you want your final book to be hand-stitched too, and have digital media included, and that will just sound like a nightmare in the making. Their default answer is 'no'. You need to give them a reason to say 'yes'. And the overwhelming reason is if you have a fantastic story and beautiful illustrations. Again, not having seen your book, I don't know if it has either of those things so I can't comment on your chances of publication. Your next best step would be to research your market - go to a library and look at all the picture books; find out who publishes what. Then approach the publishers you think may be a good match. You could also get involved in programs like CYA (Brisbane) which give you direct access to publishers. Your local writers' centre would be the best place to find out what's available.
Fantasy author overseas
I'm an author of young adult fiction about time travel, adventures in prehistory and lost civilizations. The first book in the series has been published twice. Since I currently live in South Africa (tiny market, no agents, small publishers), I'm looking for a capable literary agency and an international publisher. My current publisher is willing to license the publishing rights. A major publisher in London are currently assessing the material as well as agents in London and Sydney. I'm showered with praise, but one publisher in Frankfurt said that they are too small on the fantasy side and one agent in Sydney is too ill to represent me.
I just need more options. What do I do? Can you recommend a good agency that can represent me or advice me on how to approach this?
The only advice I can give it to keep querying agents, especially in the US. Fantasy (for adults and young adults) is not a big genre in Australian publishing - only Voyager (HarperCollins) and Orbit (Hachette Livre) have any kind of commitment to it. Accordingly, not many agents look at it - we have to run a business, and it doesn't make sense to specialise in a genre that not many publishers will publish. The agency I work for has recently made a decision to no longer look at fantasy (for adults or children) for this reason and also because, frankly, most of the books are too long - staring down a 200 000 word manuscript makes my spine go cold. I just simply don't have the time to read enough fantasy books to become an expert or enough fantasy manuscripts to be able to tell what's good and what's not. It's not because I don't believe in fantasy novels - they make a lot of people happy, and that's always a good thing. I just simply don't have the time.
So the answer is: go to a bigger market, and that means the US. Try agentquery.com to work out which agents you should approach, and tell them that you're a published author. It will take persistence and application, but I'm sure you'll get some interested parties.
I just need more options. What do I do? Can you recommend a good agency that can represent me or advice me on how to approach this?
The only advice I can give it to keep querying agents, especially in the US. Fantasy (for adults and young adults) is not a big genre in Australian publishing - only Voyager (HarperCollins) and Orbit (Hachette Livre) have any kind of commitment to it. Accordingly, not many agents look at it - we have to run a business, and it doesn't make sense to specialise in a genre that not many publishers will publish. The agency I work for has recently made a decision to no longer look at fantasy (for adults or children) for this reason and also because, frankly, most of the books are too long - staring down a 200 000 word manuscript makes my spine go cold. I just simply don't have the time to read enough fantasy books to become an expert or enough fantasy manuscripts to be able to tell what's good and what's not. It's not because I don't believe in fantasy novels - they make a lot of people happy, and that's always a good thing. I just simply don't have the time.
So the answer is: go to a bigger market, and that means the US. Try agentquery.com to work out which agents you should approach, and tell them that you're a published author. It will take persistence and application, but I'm sure you'll get some interested parties.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Querying publishers and agents at the same time
I understand it’s not necessarily bad form to query more than one agent simultaneously, but if an agent, having read a submission, decides to represent someone, how might s/he then react to the news that the submission currently sits on the slush pile of one or more publishing houses?
Most Australian agents would probably expect that authors are sending things to publishers at the same time as they send them to us, since some publishers do accept submissions from the public. The kosher thing to do is mention in your query letter - to all parties - that you are submitting the manuscript to other agents and publishers, just so there are no surprises. If the agent doesn't like that, then they don't, but it doesn't really make sense for authors not to take advantage of publishers' open submissions if they're offered. Having said that, if all the publishers have said no, it makes it less likely that I'll offer to represent the author because I won't have as many options for submission.
Most Australian agents would probably expect that authors are sending things to publishers at the same time as they send them to us, since some publishers do accept submissions from the public. The kosher thing to do is mention in your query letter - to all parties - that you are submitting the manuscript to other agents and publishers, just so there are no surprises. If the agent doesn't like that, then they don't, but it doesn't really make sense for authors not to take advantage of publishers' open submissions if they're offered. Having said that, if all the publishers have said no, it makes it less likely that I'll offer to represent the author because I won't have as many options for submission.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Jonathan Lyons Q&A
I missed posting this in time to encourage any of you to submit a question (I blame the Sydney Writers Festival) but here 'tis anyway ...
US agent Jonathan Lyons just had a marathon Q&A session on his blog, and all the goodies can be found here:
http://lyonsliterary.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!
US agent Jonathan Lyons just had a marathon Q&A session on his blog, and all the goodies can be found here:
http://lyonsliterary.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Rules for submitting to awards
A question that comes up amongst writers (after an honest dose of vino), is whether or not they should enter competitions, such as the Australian/Vogel, and still submit the same work to either other competitions or publishers at the same time. With the Australian/Vogel, for example, it says,'It cannot be under consideration to any other publisher or award.' Whilst it is pretty clear what publishers would prefer, is it realistic to tie your work up for so long with only a snowflake’s chance in hell of actually winning that competition or otherwise being taken up commercially? In my case, it’s my last shot at the Vogel before I turn the dreaded 35. I did have a big publishing house editor ask for my novel when it was finished, but I get the gist from other posts on your blog that this isn’t necessarily a ticket to ride either (and it could take some time to find that out). If, at the time of submission, the entry isn’t under [serious] consideration (under offer, as opposed to sitting on a slush pile) anywhere else, is that sufficient? After all, if it looks like it might win a comp, one could withdraw the submission from other places, surely? The goody-goody in me says don’t do it, but the aging realist would like a second opinion.
Entry requirements like that are very restrictive for writers. My inclination would be to say that you should submit it to an award even if it's under consideration elsewhere, and if it makes the shortlist then you should withdraw it from the other place/s. Of course, there's a conundrum there too: if you don't win the award then you miss out on it being considered at the other place/s, with no chance of resubmission unless someone in-house really wants to champion it.
Award rules favour the ruling body - whether that's an award committee or a publishing company - so you should really use your conscience about what serves you best. If you're about to turn 35 then enter the Vogel, leave it at the other publisher for the time being and just see what happens. If you make the shortlist and whisk it away from the other publisher, it's unlikely that anyone at Vogel headquarters will ever find out it had been there all that time. Of course, if you get an offer from the other publishing house, you can withdraw it from the Vogel - and you don't have to say why.
Entry requirements like that are very restrictive for writers. My inclination would be to say that you should submit it to an award even if it's under consideration elsewhere, and if it makes the shortlist then you should withdraw it from the other place/s. Of course, there's a conundrum there too: if you don't win the award then you miss out on it being considered at the other place/s, with no chance of resubmission unless someone in-house really wants to champion it.
Award rules favour the ruling body - whether that's an award committee or a publishing company - so you should really use your conscience about what serves you best. If you're about to turn 35 then enter the Vogel, leave it at the other publisher for the time being and just see what happens. If you make the shortlist and whisk it away from the other publisher, it's unlikely that anyone at Vogel headquarters will ever find out it had been there all that time. Of course, if you get an offer from the other publishing house, you can withdraw it from the Vogel - and you don't have to say why.
Why assessors and agents should never live in the same body
I recently received my fiction MS back from an assessor. The assessment was favourable, and the assessor has offered to act as agent for my MS. I'm elated in one sense, but cautious in the other. Should I be wary of a 'part-time' agent, who, as far as I can tell, makes most of their living from MS assessments? A part of me wants to accept the offer, because I know that if I begin submitting to agents now, it might take up to 6 months to have my MS accepted - at least this person has read my MS and is enthusiastic about it.
You are right to be cautious - the agents who appear on Writer Beware's 'worst agents' are usually trying some combination of assessing, editing and agenting. These functions should never be contained in the one person or company - in your case, the assessor has taken money from you and is now offering to agent your book, which is tantamount to taking a fee for their agenting services. This is in violation of the ALAA guidelines. As tempting as it may be for agents to take money for manuscript assessment - it would help us cover the costs of the hours spent reading - we just don't do it, because it's too ethically tricky. How do you know if the assessor really loves your writing or is only offering to agent the book because you've paid them for the assessment? And are they a member of the ALAA? How many published authors are on their list? If they have none or only one published author, plus they're not known as an agent, it's unlikely they can do much for you anyway. You could spend the next six months - time you would spend waiting to hear from proper agents - believing that this assessor can help you, only to find out that they can't.
Certainly, it takes a long time to hear from agents - that's because we have clients, which means we're bona fide. Although I can understand that you're impatient to get things going, six months is really not much in the scheme of publishing cycles. But if you do want to go with this assessor, ask for their credentials - which publishers they deal with, which other authors they look after. If they're legitimate, you'll be given this information. You're about to make an important business decision, so treat it accordingly.
You are right to be cautious - the agents who appear on Writer Beware's 'worst agents' are usually trying some combination of assessing, editing and agenting. These functions should never be contained in the one person or company - in your case, the assessor has taken money from you and is now offering to agent your book, which is tantamount to taking a fee for their agenting services. This is in violation of the ALAA guidelines. As tempting as it may be for agents to take money for manuscript assessment - it would help us cover the costs of the hours spent reading - we just don't do it, because it's too ethically tricky. How do you know if the assessor really loves your writing or is only offering to agent the book because you've paid them for the assessment? And are they a member of the ALAA? How many published authors are on their list? If they have none or only one published author, plus they're not known as an agent, it's unlikely they can do much for you anyway. You could spend the next six months - time you would spend waiting to hear from proper agents - believing that this assessor can help you, only to find out that they can't.
Certainly, it takes a long time to hear from agents - that's because we have clients, which means we're bona fide. Although I can understand that you're impatient to get things going, six months is really not much in the scheme of publishing cycles. But if you do want to go with this assessor, ask for their credentials - which publishers they deal with, which other authors they look after. If they're legitimate, you'll be given this information. You're about to make an important business decision, so treat it accordingly.
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