STATUS: It’s a Monday? Need I say more? I have to say I’m known for my reliability, responsiveness, and general punctuality. Can I just say that I completely missed an appointment today? And now I feel such incredible guilt for wasting another person’s valuable time. I’d like to blame it on the fact that my computer reminder didn’t ping but alas, I’m still responsible despite the failsafe (that wasn’t so reliable today).
What song is playing on the iPod right now? BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY by Queen
I have to say that just recently, I got a completely original interview question. That in itself is worth blogging about because unfortunately, new questions rarely happen. Almost all interviews I’ve participated in tend to revolve around the “how does a writer get an agent” variety.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand the need for that since that seems to be one of the more pressing questions writers have and it makes sense for a writing publication to ask an agent that question.
But this interviewer is thinking outside of the box and now that she has asked this great question, I’m rather surprised that no one has asked me before.
She noticed that on my website, I state that “technology is meant to be used” and what do I mean by that.
Quite simply, I mean that as agents, we need to constantly evolve and use technology that’s available to us. So many folks are mired in what I call “the old ways” (this is how I’ve always done it) and if you want to succeed, you can’t be afraid of change and the technological tools that will allow you to do your job more quickly and easier.
Two examples:
Example #1: Accepting email queries.
I have many friends who just can’t get on board with this because they still love, for various reasons, the paper format. Perhaps it’s easier on the eyes to read or perhaps they think writers take more care with the writing of the letter if they will go to the length of paying $0.39 for the stamp or whatever.
I know many of my agent friends will hate me for this but I can’t help but think that’s just unnecessary old school.
If you’re an agent looking to build a client list, then it’s a numbers game and the faster you can get to a good project, the more likely you’ll be to land it. I know I’ve taken on many a good client because I was timely in my response via email.
I’m using technology to my advantage.
In fact, I’ve taken on one client in my career who couldn’t use email and wasn’t interested in learning.
Never again. My clients also need to be technologically savvy because that’s how I operate.
Example #2. Tablet PC, baby!
At Book Expo 2003, there was a technology center in a lovely space right in the middle of the exhibition.
And there were two people, besides me, there looking at the future of publishing. I kid you not. There was very little foot traffic flowing through.
But it was there I first saw demonstrated and got to play with a Tablet PC. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this technology, it’s a computer that I can actually handwrite on with a computer stylus and my notes are saved—either in my incredibly indecipherable and cramped handwriting or in the method I prefer, my handwriting translated pretty darn accurately into a different color typewritten text in track changes in Microsoft Word.
The minute I saw it, I had to have it. The dang thing cost a fortune in 2003 but I bought it and trust me, I’ve never looked back.
My clients electronically send me their manuscripts and I can edit (electronically by hand) while sitting on my couch. Quick turn around (providing, that is, six of my clients haven’t all delivered their full manuscripts all in the same week, which never fails to happen). Changes easily tracked in track changes. Clients can accept or reject anything I’ve pointed out.
Revisions are done in a flash and boom, the project is out to the editor, electronically of course, in record time.
In fact, one of my clients was so used to this method, she was stunned when she received her line edit from her new editor in the mail and on the paper manuscript. She even kindly requested (because time was of the essence and the deadlines were tight—by publisher decree not hers—if the editor could speed up the process by doing it electronically). But that’s a whole other story. My author ended up hiring a person, literally, to type in the handwritten comments into her document so she could revise more quickly.
And now I’m looking into a couple of other very interesting technological mediums and how they can apply to what I do at my agency and how they can benefit my clients.
And trust me folks, I’m no tech whiz but I’m willing to keep learning because in my mind, technology is meant to be used and my agency will be the better for it because of that mindset.
And don’t forget, we saw it first on Star Trek 40 years ago! Remember Captain Kirk signing his portable tablet thingy with the stylus thingy and handing it off to a totally hot space-babe? And every man wept for joy. “I gotta get me one of those!”
I’ve been thinking of making a Tablet PC my next big money techno purchase. After doing a little research on those buggers, I was wondering what kind you have. I know now there are about twenty different manufacturers for the actual Tablet PC ‘ware, and I’m curious if, like most things, one’s better than another.
Thanks!
I adore my Fujitsu Lifebook Tablet. It weighs less than 5 pounds but still has an internal CD-RW/DVD drive, which is removable. It has been very reliable so far, and the handwriting recognition is nothing short of amazing. Writing longhand is a good way for me to temporarily disconnect the internal “second-guesser” and just keep on writing.
Hubs saw that tablet PC years ago at a convention. He oooo’ed and ahhh’d over it. But now I see its conveniences. I had one friend who edited a piece of my work that way, and I LOVED it.
Have you seen also the new POD? It could eliminate book warehouses. Book stores could literarly download an electronic book and print out as many copies as the book buyer wanted. It had options with binding and paper which would vary the cost- up to the buyer. It sounded like it had a way to go in terms of quality- but very interesting.
I loved technology the moment I first encountered it. I much prefer electronic submission and I chose the best agent for me based on his email response.
Kudos to Kristin for being so progressive.
Ooo, I would love a Tablet PC! My creativity increases 100% when I write by hand. That would give me the best of both worlds.
Both my epub editor (naturally) and my Red Sage editor work electronically, so I’ve never received paper edits. I agree that doing them electronically is so much faster. Or at least I imagine it would be!
The tablet PC sounds interesting, if it can decipher messy handwriting!
Cindy
I Love my Tablet (Toshiba Portege). It’s not the most up-to-date, but it already had the wireless card in it, and we got it very affordably from a *whispers* pawn shop.
I used to insist on writing things out long-hand since I think better with a pen in hand, but with the amount of cut/pasting/deleting I do, it’s not practical anymore. The tablet combines the best of both worlds.
Besides, there’s nothing quite so cozy as curling up in my recliner with a blanket, a cup of cocoa, and my tablet and scribbling away.
I love my laptop, just not as much as I love my Waterman Phileas fine-point fountain pen. I guess it’s a tactile thing.
I like tech, but I’m a very fast typist and a slow, messy writer when it comes to long hand. So for me, a laptop’s best; but I see the attraction, for people with decipherable, fast handwriting skills. 😉
You know, I’ve written by PC for ages now. I don’t think I could even begin to write long hand. But when it comes to editing, especially for content, I have to print it out. I just can’t connect the pieces any other way. Shame, too. I’d like to save a few more trees before all is said and done!
There are many wonderful forms of tech.
For writing longhand, I love my PDA. I’ve had both a Palm (which uses Graffiti) and a Windows one. I’ve spent so long using Graffiti that it comes naturally to me now – it requires you to do cursor strokes that are similar to each letter of the alphabet.
While laptops are great, I also love my Alphasmart machine (basically a keyboard with a small screen), which is lighter than a laptop and has a massive battery life (700 hours).
You can even get an Alphasmart with PDA capabilities (so you get the choice of typing or using the handwriting software), but the batteries don’t last as long in it.
I agree with Eliza at 6:48 PM and would like to know what you use.
Thanks.
Love your idea of using the tablet PC to do handwritten edits. For my writers group I prefer to do electronic crits and e-mail them, but hate the fact that I can’t quickly scribble a little smiley or note.
As a writer preparing to search for an agent, I would definitely choose a blogging agent or at least one with an extensive web-site over one with no/minimal website (provided they were both competent.)
Why? Because I am amazed at how much you and Jennifer Jackson help get your clients names out on the blogosphere. Its a sign of a willingness to accept change, and adapt, which are good traits for an agent to have.
I agree, Eleora. So far, I’ve only submitted to agents who accept email queries, and who fit my other criteria.
While I fought it for a long time, in 1999 I was literally forced to trash my old electric and learn to write on a computer. A publisher with whom I’d been working for years flatly refused to accept anymore submissions via snail mail.
And still, just last Friday, I was forced to submit a story to an editor (not the best, but fairly well known) through the post. I hadn’t done this in so long it was actually a nostalgic experience; one I still prefer, given the choice, over anything electronic. I’m not that old, 35, and I grew up with computers, too. I just don’t prefer them to hardcopy.
But that’s not important anymore. The fact remains that the world has changed and electronic submission is part of it. It’s the future of publishing, like it or not.
However, if you go to the submission guidelines of the premium agencies, in both the US and UK, you will still find most prefer initial queries through traditional methods; they won’t even consider e-queries. This is not an opinion; just fact. Many of the best boutique agencies only accept traditional queries through the mail as well. I’m sure there are many reasons why they still prefer a traditional approach (these agencies run on computers; they aren’t strangers to them; they just prefer traditional post when it comes to querying), and I’m not so sure it has anything to do with fear of techonology.
Thanks for saying that about the email queries. When I was on the agent hunt, I only submitted to agents who accepted emails. Period. Not that those snail-mail agents are mourning their loss of me as a client, but still…as you said, I wanted someone who had her finger on the pulse of the future, and I was worried that agents who didn’t accept email simply wouldn’t.
Technology has probably had the biggest impact on the writers. It’s not only made editing easier with tools such as spellcheck and being able to cut-and-paste, but it’s increased the amount of material one can write. Before, if one made editing changes, they would have to retype the unedited parts as well as the edited ones. Now it’s only necissary to retype the edited ones, so the time from outline to finished manuscript is much shorter. This has increased not only the amount a writer can produce, but the number of people who think they can be writers.
aj”This has increased not only the amount a writer can produce, but the number of people who think they can be writers.”
I think this sentence says a great deal…depending on how you interpret it.
Why sub only via e-mail? Why sub only via snail mail? I.e., why only show work to a subset of interested agents? Every agent — heck, every person — has their quirks; unless one knows them (or they blog about it ;-), one can’t know why they require e-queries only, snail mail queries only, or accept both.
If one wants to get published, then (snark:on) it’s very foolish to limit submissions to one group or the other (snark:off). I’m just sayin’….. 😉
If one chooses ultra-tech in the interests of speed and efficiency, that’s one thing, but the inference that those who do not are somehow deficient, apostate, or irretrievably mundane is quite another.
If one chooses ultra-tech in the interests of speed and efficiency, that’s one thing, but the inference that those who do not are somehow deficient, apostate, or irretrievably mundane is quite another.
Exactly, Bernita! And, more to the point, those who do not accept e-queries (like it or not) are still considered the best players. This does not make them techno-phobes, or whatever. They all own and use computers daily.
“Thanks for saying that about the email queries. When I was on the agent hunt, I only submitted to agents who accepted emails. Period.”
Ditto. I wasn’t interested in someone who would make me use snail mail for more than contracts and checks. She took my manuscript pages by email too. That was when I fell in love…
I’ve subbed to agents both by snail mail and email. The email agents definitely get back to me faster and get a head start on the snail mail subs.
I definitely agree that agents who only accept snail mail subs are at a competitive disadvantage.
I sent one snail mail packet out well before my equeries and I still haven’t heard from them. They are a top agency for my genre too.
On the equeries, I had one response the next day, one two weeks later, and one I doubt I’ll ever hear back on as that agent says their equeries are at the bottom of their to-do list.
I understand the concern with viruses. Maybe a third party vendor needs to offer mailboxes and screening and then they forward certified virus free emails with their attachments to agents to eliminate those worries?
I don’t know, but I do think techno-savvy agents have the edge.
AA
“I understand the concern with viruses. Maybe a third party vendor needs to offer mailboxes and screening and then they forward certified virus free emails with their attachments to agents to eliminate those worries?”
I don’t get why anyone would need to send an attachment, unrequested, to an agent. Most state “NO ATTACHMENTS” very clearly. The e-querie should suffice, and if they request anything else as an attachment, or pasted to the e-mail, then you send it. So there should be no need for a third party vendor to offer certified, virus-free, e-mails with attachments.
It’s great to see people in the literary field embracing technology, especially when it improves our lives as writers. It’s certainly easier and more efficient to email a query, sample chapters, etc. than it is to mail it.
Given your promotion of technology as a writing tool, I’m curious if you have any comments on this article discussing why technology within the writing itself is a potential no-no for fiction writers: http://www.lablit.com/article/83 . (Yes, I’m afraid I wrote it.)
I’m happy to learn the thoughts of an agent in any case (it’s a mysterious world to outsiders) so thanks for the blog.
Ryan wrote:
“I don’t get why anyone would need to send an attachment, unrequested, to an agent. Most state “NO ATTACHMENTS” very clearly. The e-querie should suffice, and if they request anything else as an attachment, or pasted to the e-mail, then you send it. So there should be no need for a third party vendor to offer certified, virus-free, e-mails with attachments. “
Because a lot of agents use the virus excuse as the reason why they don’t accept esubs.
AA
Ryan,
You keep making references that the ‘top’ agencies do not accept e-mail queries (and by deduction, lesser agencies do). I took a spin through agentquery and found the following US agencies taking e-queries: L-Greenberg, E-Ellenberg, W-Morris, T-Media Group, D.Maas, Manus,W-House,… and I stopped looking at that point because those are some pretty heavy hitters right there. I’m really curious, since “this is not an opinion; just fact,” – what do you consider the “premium agencies?”
Okay, so I searched a little further on agentquery and also found I_M agents. Now I’m really dying to know what you consider “premium.”
I’d love to have a tablet pc. Those are the coolest gizmos!
A top agent is taking longer with a snail mail query? It’s faulty logic to presume the two things the timeframe (other than the obvious few days for the snail part) is a significant factor here. Wouldn’t a “top agent” be much busier with existing clients than someone less successful (using top/successful to mean “has lots of clients”), and thus have less time to devote to slush-reading? Then there’s the assistant side – does the “top agent” have one? Trust the assistant with slush duties? Etc.
There must many factors affecting response time, and not necessarily the same ones for every agent. The only thing one can count on is that the snail factor adds a few days at either end of the process; anything else is wild speculation unless one has specific knowledge about a specific agent.
“Why sub only via e-mail? Why sub only via snail mail? I.e., why only show work to a subset of interested agents?”
I’ve blogged a bit about this, but when I was doing my agent search, I wasn’t just looking for a good agent, I was looking for an agent who was a good match FOR ME. This meant someone who was more tech-savvy. And like others here, I found that submitting exclusively to agents who accepted email really didn’t limit me – nearly all of the agents whom I’d targeted took email (whether or not they admitted to it on AgentQuery). Additionally, I had a really high response rate, and yeah, part of it was my query letter and my background, but I’m also certain that part of it was that it’s a lot easier to respond via email than deal with SASEs, etc.
Shrug. That’s just what worked for me!
The main irritation is agents who only respond via e-mail if they are interested.
Bernita, I agree with you. How hard can it be to send out an auto response confirming that the query was received? At least, that way, if there’s no further contact, the writer can safely assume her query didn’t get lost in cyberspace.
The Knight Agency has had problems with queries getting lost, so it does happen. An auto-response, “We’ll get back to you if we want to see more” would work wonderfully in these cases.
I once e-queried an agent and didn’t hear back from him. On his website it states that if you don’t hear back, it means that either (1) he’s not interested or (2) he didn’t get the query.
Well, cripes, how is the writer to know which it is? I assumed (1) bit it would have been nice to know for sure.
Cindy
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Allison: It’s also fallacious to presume that someone who doesn’t take equeries is not tech savvy. But, that said, I do understand there are things that make someone seem “right” or not. 🙂 We’ve all got our own criteria, just like agents and editors do, of what we’re looking for….
I love your thinking! I’ve been communicating with my academic and trade editors via email for years, but I’ve run into a rash of agents who want the paper query. Time is money and waiting for a week or more to have them get it or send it back seems like a horrific waste of time.
I’m with you, and very glad you’re computer literate!
Carolyn Chambers Clark
what do you consider the “premium agencies?”
I’m sure if you took the time to look up the ones you’ve listed, you can take the time to look up the others.
Ryan wrote:
“I don’t get why anyone would need to send an attachment, unrequested, to an agent. Most state “NO ATTACHMENTS” very clearly. The e-querie should suffice, and if they request anything else as an attachment, or pasted to the e-mail, then you send it. So there should be no need for a third party vendor to offer certified, virus-free, e-mails with attachments. “
Because a lot of agents use the virus excuse as the reason why they don’t accept esubs.
AA
This is my opinion; not fact. But I truly believe anyone who sends unrequested attachments to anyone (I don’t care if it’s Aunt Mary sending a joke)is an idiot. I don’t open attachments unless I specifically know who sent them. I simply delete and dismiss.
You actually don’t need a tablet PC. An inexpensive graphics tablet works just as well. Same exact technology. Attaches to your existing computer with a usb cable. About $60. I love it for edits.
I also love voice recognition software (you can produce 4 times faster with a good mike for input and well trained program as speech is 4 times faster that the average typist). There’s no way I could write 7 120K books this year without either. I’d have carpal tunnel in a heartbeat.