Nelson Literary Agency June/July Newsletter

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June/July 2009

IN THIS ISSUE:

In the News

Agent Insider

New Releases

Read A Good Book Lately?


	Happy Summer to you all! Due to a technical glitch, we are releasing the June and July newsletters as one - enjoy! I have to say that in this publishing climate, it's more important than ever for writers to have agents who feel the love for their work. In other words, an agent who is passionate about what you write and is willing to go the distance for your writing – even if you are falling on some bumpy times. For me, I follow this maxim, so even if a writer came to me with a project that already has an offer on the table or a film option (let's say), I don’t offer representation unless the work specifically speaks to me. My thought is that I want to take a writer on for his/her entire career and if the work isn't my taste, that's hard to do. Now I know that lots of agents don't necessarily operate this way. Many agents would be willing to take on an author who has a current offer or option. The agents might not even read the work that's in question; they'll just sign the authors looking for rep. It's no work and easy monies. This is one way of agenting. It's not particularly mine, but it's one way of doing things. That's why it's so crucial for writers to know in advance what kind of business relationship they would like to have with their agents. If you just need someone to get the job done at this moment in time, then fine, do that (but be sure to have a clearly stated out in your agency agreement – as in you can give 30 days' notice you are moving on, etc.). But if you are looking for a long-term partnership, you'll want an agent who gets your work – someone who would have taken you on even if you didn't have that previous offer or film option on the table. Otherwise you might be stuck with an agent who really isn't right for you, doesn't love your work, and isn't going to be the best advocate. Best, Kristin Nelson Agent

We are celebrating an exciting time in Nelson Literary Agency history. With the sale of Simone Elkeles’ next two novels, the agency has officially sold over 100 books! Yippeee! Many of those books have gone on to literary fame like hitting the New York Times Bestseller list or winning the RITA award. That’s one of the reasons we announce news each month — we love to celebrate with our authors as they win awards and earn accolades. After all, it’s not just about great books — it’s about readers who love great stories. And, there are now over 100 of those stories available on the shelves!

SOLD:
FICTION: YOUNG ADULT
Author of Perfect Chemistry, Simone Elkeles’ currently untitled sequel and another young adult novel to Emily Easton at Walker, in a good deal.

FOREIGN RIGHTS: FICTION
Foreign rights to Simone Elkeles’ PERFECT CHEMISTRY to Venetia Gosling at Simon & Schuster UK, at auction, and in Germany to Susanne Stark at Bertelsmann Jugendbuch Verlag, also at auction by Whitney Lee of the Fielding Agency on behalf of Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary Agency.

A huge congratulations to Ally Carter!

Ready for some "make-your-dreams-come-true" kind of news?

Upon release, the third installment of Ally's bestselling Gallagher Girls series called DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER was immediately ranked on:

The New York Times Bestseller List
The USA Today Bestseller List
The Indie Bestseller List
The Publishers Weekly Bestseller List
The Wall Street Journal Bestseller List

Woo hoo! There aren't enough congratulations to go around for such an exciting project. I guess the biggest thanks goes to all you readers and Gallagher Girls fans out there who have made this such an exciting release.

Do we have any Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans out there? (Of course!) Felicia Day, of Buffy-fame, is a big fan of books by our bestselling author Lisa Shearin. Felicia’s blog is called “Books I’m Reading” and she recently highlighted Lisa’s April release THE TROUBLE WITH DEMONS. TROUBLE is the third book in Lisa’s successful fantasy series about a heroine named Raine Benares. Want to hear what a TV superstar has to say about this book?

“I think I love this series so much because: a) It’s written in the tone of all the popular urban-fantasy that are the rage now, but it’s set in a believable, not cheesy “olde fantasy” world. Not many series pull that off. The magic system is well thought out and the elves aren’t poncey. Bonus.”
--Felicia Day

Felicia goes on from there, singing the praises of great fantasy and of Lisa Shearin’s trilogy. This blog is a fun read and it’s exciting for us to see THE TROUBLE WITH DEMONS enjoying such fame. Congratulations Lisa on such an enthusiastic review!

From the back cover of THE TROUBLE WITH DEMONS:

“My name is Raine Benares. I’m a seeker. People hire me when they need something found. I’m not usually the one being sought. But that all changed when I found the Saghred, a soul-stealing stone of unlimited power–and the bane of my existence. Now mages and madmen have me in their sights, not to mention demons…

An opened Hellgate leads to a demon infestation on the Isle of Mid, and while there’s never an ideal time to face down demon hordes, it’s hard to imagine a worse one. Already fighting the influence of the Saghred, Raine discovers she is also magically bonded to a dark mage and a white knight, two dangerous and powerful men on opposing sides – and Raine’s stuck in the middle.

But with demons pouring through the Hellgate, Raine can’t afford to be distracted. Turns out, the demons want the key to unlock the Saghred. As a seeker, Raine should be able to find it first. As the axis of light and dark powers, she’s a magical cataclysm waiting to happen…”

The blog “Want My YA” recently reviewed Lucienne Diver’s VAMPED. It looks like they liked it as much as we did! Congratulations Lucienne — this is a great write-up!

“Lucienne Diver's VAMPED has so much going for it. There's vampires, romance, action, mystery, horror, really this book cover all the genres. Given the way the book ended, I have to assume more is to come and I'll be first in line to get the next book, I'm telling you that right now.

So run, drive, bike, however you choose to get there, just get to your nearest bookstore (preferably Indie, but otherwise I recommend Borders...lol) and pick up a copy of VAMPED from Lucienne Diver today.”
--HeatherMarie, Want My YA

The Prism Award is a highly recognized award honoring writers of outstanding futuristic, fantasy and paranormal romance. We are thrilled to announce that Linnea Sinclair’s SHADES OF DARK has been nominated and is a finalist for the Prism Award in the Futuristic Category. Congratulations Linnea!

The winner of the Prism Award will be announced at the national RWA conference in Washington DC in July. Linnea, we’ll be cheering for you and SHADES!

TIPS FROM THE SLUSH PILE by Sara Megibow
Here’s an interesting statistic:

The agency received 124 email queries yesterday (100-150 is average right now). Of those, a whopping 36 were for vampire novels.

I saw queries for stories in which the vampire hero falls in love with a mortal woman, the vampire heroine falls in love with a mortal man, the entire world was made up of vampires and even one in which a vampire virus was transmitted via peoples’ pet rabbits. So, I thought I would mention the trend and take a stab at posting some helpful tips for all you vampire writers out there.

1) First of all, I love paranormals so I’m not being dismissive. If the book of your heart is a vampire story, then bring it on! I might add that if the book of your heart is NOT a vampire novel, but you think you need to write a vampire novel in order to get noticed, I would disagree. Sure, it’s a hot sub-genre, but it’s also well-covered at this time. Check in with yourself. If you’re writing just to follow a trend, it may be more of an uphill battle than writing what really speaks to you.

2) Yes, of those 36 vampire submissions, some of them did make it past the query phase to the sample pages phase. In each of these cases, my decision to ask for sample pages had to do with the quality of writing and not the vampire twist itself.

3) Get your sample pages up to snuff and make your query letter as competitive as possible. I know you’ve heard it before, but those of you who take the time to research an agency before submitting are putting yourselves ahead in the stack. Likewise, query letters that have been polished to a professional level stand out in the crowd.

4) Visit evileditor.blogspot.com and queryshark.blogspot.com to learn how to spot (and write) competitive query letters.

5) Try www.writers.net or www.bksp.org to network with other writers and find out how they are marketing their vampires (or werewolves or whatever).

6) Attend a writers conference or join a writers club (www.sfwa.org for science fiction/ fantasy writers or www.scbwi.org if you writer for younger audiences, or www.rwanational.org if your novel is a romance). RWA in particular hosts myriad resources for writers who want to know more about publishing trends and successful submission suggestions.

So, happy writing to you all and keep ‘em coming! We will keep posting tips and observations in this newsletter, on our website and at Kristin’s blog (pubrants.blogspot.com). Ready your sample pages and query letters and we’ll be here to read them!

Sincerely,

Sara Megibow

WHAT’S HOT by Kristin Nelson
Yesterday, Kerrie Flanagan from the Northern Colorado Writers Conference gathered three Denver Agents for lunch: Me, Kate Testerman, and Rachelle Gardner. She asked us to tell her what was selling.

We all started laughing – which I think was our way of holding back the tears. If we didn’t laugh, we’d be banging our heads against some walls.

The answer to this question is not much. This year I’ve done many terrific deals for already established clients. I have not seen a drop off in monies or the like, but for new writers with no previous history? Stuff ain’t moving. Editor read times are slow – sometimes months before a response. It’s not uncommon right now for 2 or 3 months to go by (and I was previously used to pretty fast turn arounds – like two weeks). Those were the good old days…

We agreed that for some of our projects, a year ago an editor would have bought the novel and then worked on some revisions with the author. This year, editors are passing and asking for the revisions first before reviewing again and then taking a chance on a buy.

Because the environment is so cautious, editors want submissions to be perfect. That’s a tough climate so your job as writers is to keep that in mind and really focus on creating the absolutely strongest, most perfect manuscript you can.

DON’T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER by Ally Carter

When Cammie “the Chameleon” Morgan visits her roommate Macey in Boston, she thinks she’s in for an exciting end to her summer break. After all, she’s there to watch Macey’s father accept a nomination for vice president of the United States. But when you go to the world’s best school (for spies), “exciting” and “deadly” are never far apart. Cammie and Macey soon find themselves trapped in a kidnapper’s dangerous plot, with only their espionage skills to save them.

As her junior year begins, Cammie can’t shake the memory of what happened in Boston, and even the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women doesn’t feel like the safe haven it once did. Shocking secrets and old flames seem to lurk around every one of the mansion’s corners as Cammie and her friends struggle to answer the questions, Who is after Macey? And how can they keep her safe?

Soon Cammie is joining Bex and Liz as Macey's private security team on the campaign trail. The girls must use their spy training at every turn, as the stakes are raised, and Cammie gets closer and closer to the shocking truth...

REAL LIFE & LIARS by Kristina Riggle

Sometimes you find happiness where, and when, you least expect it.

For Mirabelle Zielinski’s children, happiness always seems to be just out of reach. Her beautiful oldest daughter, Katya, clings to a stale marriage with a workaholic husband and three spoiled children. Her son, Ivan, so creative, is a down-in-the-dumps songwriter with the worst taste in women. And the “baby,” impulsive, generous Irina who lives life on a whim is now reluctantly pregnant and with a man who is twice her age. On the weekend of their parents’ anniversary party, lies will be revealed, hearts will be broken…but love will also be found. And the biggest shock may come from Mirabelle herself, because she has a secret that will change everything.

I SHOT YOU BABE by Leslie Langtry

Coney Bombay is one hot assassin with an Ivy League PhD who travels the world operating carnival rides. He also likes to knit and has a pet guinea pig named Sartre. Even in his wild family of killers, Cy stands out. But after a series of run-ins with perennial grad student Veronica Gale, the cool cat is starting to feel a little hot under the collar.

In her research, Ronnie Gale has seen a lot. Problem is, she’s never actually done a lot. The mysterious Cy Bombay seems about to change all that with a whirlwind adventure that will take them from a small-town county fair to the outer reaches of Mongolia. But when love is on the line and there’s a murder to be solved, will Ronnie really be willing to climb out of the ivory tower and get a little down and dirty?

PRIME TIME by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Emmy Award-winning television reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan brings readers into the world behind prime time news, where you’re only as good as your last story and everyone’s watching.

In the cutthroat world of television journalism, seasoned reporter Charlotte McNally knows that she’d better pull out all the stops or kiss her job goodbye. But it’s her life that might be on the line when she learns that an innocent e-mail offer resulted in murder, mayhem and a multimillion-dollar fraud ring. The last person to ask questions is dead… but that won’t keep Charlotte McNally from poking around.

All too soon her investigation leads her straight to Josh Gelston, who is a little too helpful and a lot too handsome. Charlie might have a nose for news, but men are a whole other story. Now she has to decide whether she can trust Josh...before she ends up as the next lead story.

THE STORY BEHIND THE SALE by Kristin Nelson
With four releases this month alone, I certainly had a multitude of Behind The Sale stories I could tell but I have a special fondness for telling stories about debut writers and Kristina Riggle is indeed my debut for this month.

Kris came my way via a client referral. I think aspiring writers often believe that a referral is the only way to get an agent but honestly, I’ve only taken on three clients via a referral. All the others came over the transom via a query letter. Now I certainly give referrals first priority but it’s not a guarantee that I’ll fall in love with the project and take the writer on.

But back to Kristina and her debut. When she was referred, the title of the novel was indeed REAL LIFE & LIARS. I remember being a little uncertain about that title. It didn’t grab me right off but as I read the novel, the meaning of the title was revealed. It was perfect for the story.

So we went out on submission to editors with that title. HarperCollins bought the book and her editor, Lucia Macro, asked us about it. Were we wed to it? Being that Kris and I had already had that discussion, we were open to a change. Kris was the brilliant one here. She came up with a new title that we both loved and so did Lucia. We renamed the novel ALL HAPPY FAMILIES after the opening line in Anna Karenina: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” This new title was also perfect for the story.

Then sales conference happened. HarperCollins sales reps actually loved both titles but leaned more toward REAL LIFE & LIARS. We were happy with either and so when the original title won the most popular vote, the title was changed back to the original.

And now it’s on shelves. And folks, this really is a tremendous debut from a writer with a lot of talent. There are four shifting POVs in this novel and to be frank, such a multitude of POVs usually doesn’t work – especially not from a debut author. But Kristina nails it perfectly.

Enjoy!


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	KRISTIN’S BOOK CLUB When my book club meets to discuss our current title, my fellow book clubbers are always so amazed at how well I remember the novel. I’m going to let you guys in on a little secret but you have to promise not to tell. I’m a fast reader. You can’t be an agent and not be a fast reader. It’s probably the single most important tool an agent has. But that’s not the secret. The real reason why I always remember the books in such great detail is because I often don’t read our book club book until a day or two before we meet. Literally. We always meet on a Sunday night so I start reading the club pick on Friday night (sometimes Saturday morning) and finish up Sunday only an hour or so before the meeting begins. Consequently, I have phenomenal recall for events in the book. Grin. So, we are meeting this Sunday. I’m writing this entry on the Friday before we meet so guess what I’ll be doing tonight? I’ll be reading Markus Zusak’s THE BOOK THIEF. I do hope you’ll read along with us! I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things concerning this book, and I’m looking forward to discovering it for myself. ON SARA’S NIGHTSTAND I’m not usually much of a murder mystery lover (usually too gruesome). This month I stepped out of my comfort zone, though, and read THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson. This book has gotten a ton of press and amazing reviews, so I couldn’t say no. And, I can see why it is so successful - wow! Intense, interesting, unique - I loved it. Yes, it was definitely gruesome, but combined with an amazing voice for storytelling, I put my murder mystery prejudices aside. Incidentally, my husband has done some traveling in Sweden. After I described some of the myriad Swedish idiosyncrasies involved in this book, he had to pick it up, too. Apparently Stieg Larsson was a journalist in Sweden who penned these amazing murder mysteries in his spare evenings. This manuscript as well as two sequels were delivered to the publisher right before he passed away of a sudden heart attack. The book has developed a bit of sensationalism because of this history, but in my opinion, it has earned renown on its own.

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	"As a writer, what should you do if you have submitted a full manuscript to an agent (or an editor) and haven't heard back?" Link to this entry on Kristin’s blog. For the latest blog entry, go here.
	To learn more about Nelson Literary Agency, such as our recent sales, how to submit, and valuable writer resources, please visit our website: www.nelsonagency.com