Pub Rants

Author Archive

Better Off With Someone Else

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: It’s still raining in Denver. This is good for spring so I try not to complain too much but it does make the world feel a bit drab.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? VIRGINIA WOLF by Indigo Girls

When I take on an author, it’s with the intention of being that person’s agent for his/her whole career. I’m not one to take on projects and if they don’t sell, dump the author. It’s not my MO. But sometimes if I stay as the agent, I could, in fact, be hindering the writer’s career and that’s something I never want to do. You’re probably wondering how that’s possible.

Here’s a story. Well over a year ago, I took on a new author with a project that was pretty darn different from anything that I usually handle. But I loved the novel and really wanted to send it out. I was honest with the author from the very beginning and the author was game to try. So we did. I submitted the project everywhere. Got some close calls but no cigar (those darn editors were just wrong, wrong I tell you). The project didn’t sell but I was eager to see novel number two.

And I did. And I had no confidence that I, as the agent, could sell it.

This is not how writers want their agents to feel. Trust me. And an agent needs to be honest with that author and not string him/her along (or suddenly decide to not return emails etc.).

Those calls are tough though. It’s the last thing I want to do but if I’m not honest, then I’m not allowing that writer to succeed because they can’t succeed if their agent is the weak link through lack of vision. I’m hoping this makes sense. Ultimately, they are better off without me but I can’t help but feel I failed them. Hate that feeling.

Practical Query Magic?

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: It’s a rare, rainy day in Denver. As long as it stays rain and doesn’t turn to snow…

What’s playing on the iPod right now? WHY? by Tracy Chapman

I ran out of time yesterday before I could share some of the practical help we offered to the attendees of the Women’s fiction panel at Pikes Peak.

So what if you have an overdone theme for your novel. You can still make your query stand out by highlighting some other elements that spotlight the uniqueness of your story.

And I imagine some of these points could apply to more beyond women’s fiction. In case it helps, here’s a list.

Top 5 Things you can do to make your Query stand out:
1. Have the pitch in your query match your tone/voice of your manuscript
2. If using a common theme, highlight what would make your women’s fiction work stand out.
3. If the events are based on a real life story you read or heard about, sometimes that can be an interesting tidbit to include. If that gave you the “what if” question that you then explored in your novel.
4. Readers of XYZ authors would also enjoy this work and then explain why.
5. Highlight something that makes the main characters unique.

Been There Done That?

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Busy day continuing all my negotiations.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? SO IN LOVE by Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark

On Saturday morning (way too bright and early for my taste), I spoke on a women’s fiction panel at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference.

I decided to tackle the theme of overdone story ideas that we’ve been seeing lately. I promised to share it with the blog readers but I do have to add one caveat.

You have to know that there actually isn’t anything wrong with any of these story ideas. What I’m trying to point out by sharing this list is that if you highlight the story idea as being what’s original about your query, you’re probably going to get a pass because these themes are so common, they don’t come across as fresh.

So if you have tackled one of these story ideas for the basis of your novel, you have to not only focus on that idea but what else that makes the story original or a story that readers will want to read above all other novels with the same theme. Does that make sense?

For example, a couple of months ago I blogged that we had received numerous queries about a main protagonist winning the lottery. People read into that statement by thinking that our agency would never be interested in any story if the lottery theme were present. I just want to say that wouldn’t be true.

That theme IN AND OF ITSELF wasn’t enough to capture our interest because it had been done and done again. However, a lottery theme coupled with some other interesting and original element could potentially capture our attention.

There’s a big difference. So don’t assume, after I share this list, that we would never take on a story with one of these themes. We would. I’m just sharing that the theme alone won’t sell us on reading sample pages.

Overdone Themes In Women’s Fiction

1. 40-something woman discovers her husband is cheating with younger woman and decides to divorce and remake her life

2. Trying too much to be like THE JOY LUCK CLUB – 4 women, who are friends, and we “discover” how they are dealing with the various issues in their lives.

3. Breast cancer – a woman who finds out she has it

4. A heroine in her 40s or 50s who wants to remake herself and does so by moving, or starting a new career, or having plastic surgery, and the impact of that on family

5. A heroine who finds out she is adopted and goes on a hunt to find her birth parents

6. A heroine who wants some sort of change in life and goes about remodeling a house (sometimes with her husband and sometimes alone). Usually if this is done alone it’s because her husband has just passed away.

7. A heroine who is invited to her high school class reunion and the emotional upheaval that creates. Sometimes it revolves around an old boyfriend or crush, and sometimes it’s just the simple dealing-with-aging-and-time.

Pikes Peak Conference

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Gorgeous day in Denver. Spring!

What’s playing on the iPod right now? WICHITA LINEMAN by Glen Campbell

I’m off to the Pikes Peak Conference in Colorado Springs in about 15 minutes. Sorry, no time to blog.

But I’ll be participating on a women’s fiction panel come Saturday so I’ll have tidbits to share on Monday.

Not to mention I’ll be hanging with a couple of editors: Anne Sowards (who is the editor for my fantasy MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND), Mary-Theresa Hussey (Harlequin), and Krista Marino (Delacorte Children’s). I’m sure there will be other editors there but I’m not thinking of them right now off the top of my head.

As for my comment yesterday about when to start negotiations, if you are faced with that, I would look to your agent for an answer more so than my blog.

It depends on a lot of factors but the main one is if you are soon to break-out as an author. If that’s the case, then waiting until numbers is usually the path to take.

Negotiation Day

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Today was basically a day of working on negotiations. Fun.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? PARADISE BY THE DASHBOARD LIGHT by Meatloaf

Whenever I have multiple negotiations going on, I take extensive notes on each offer. What has been covered, what’s resolved, what’s outstanding. It’s too easy to think an issue has been handled because you’re remembering the conversation you had with the editor who was on the phone 10 minutes ago and is not the editor for the deal you are currently discussing.

This is why I also like to confirm everything by email as well. Then there is a written record of everything discussed.

So some interesting stats on Negotiations

1. Agents rarely negotiate on the same day an offer is made (unless it’s a pre-empt).

2. Negotiations rarely conclude in one day. I would say the average length to negotiate a deal (as in the deal points—not the actual final contract) is 4 or 5 days—and that depends on if an auction is going to unfold or a pre-empt offered. Mostly is just takes that long to work out the language if there are special instances that need to be handled in the contract or just general questions that need to be answered before the real negotiation can even begin.

3. Negotiation can be involved but they are rarely contentious. Truly, it’s usually about two people discussing solutions on how both parties can get what they need. Usually that’s resolvable but not always. I’ve only ever had one editor yell at me during a negotiation and quite simply, I won’t deal with that person anymore.

4. The heart of the negotiation isn’t always about the advance. Trust me, it’s always about the money to some extent but there are certain contract elements that are more important to have (or not have) in the contract.

5. When to start a negotiation may actually be the most important factor to consider. Does one negotiate for a new project before the numbers are in for the current book or does one wait until those numbers are available?

And that’s a whole other discussion for another day.

Do Editors Say No To Agents?

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Another offer came in today for a different project. Three offers for three different projects in a span of two days. Law of Attraction in action. Love that. Puts me in a good mood! And then like icing on the cake, the blog Ypulse asks “what’s your Judy Blume Moment?” and the author shares hers. How fun is that?

What’s playing on the iPod right now? I HAVE CONFIDENCE by Julie Andrews

Confession time. As a pre-tween, I totally used to enact the whole SOUND OF MUSIC musical in my basement. Of course I played Maria. That might be one of my Judy Blume moments.

Someone asked me a question that totally made me think about this topic. They asked if editors agree to read everything an agent pitches to them. Great question I thought and good blog topic.

The answer is: mostly.

Don’t you love how cryptic I am? So let me explain with some examples.

1. Two weeks ago I emailed an editor who is a good friend of mine about a project. She ended up declining to look at it because she knew that she would personally love the novel but that it wasn’t the type of project her house was currently buying and why torment herself? She decline but in doing so, I learned a valuable fact about what that imprint is currently looking for.

2. Agents don’t know every editor on the planet so when we have a project that might work for someone who is new to us, we call. I did this a couple of weeks ago too. This editor was lovely but swamped. He did think the project was perfect for a colleague so asked if I minded if he forwarded the project on to the other editor. Of course not, I said, and the other editor was really enthusiastic to get the submission. This editor was fairly new to me as well so I rang up so we could chat and connect. Win-win all around.

See what I mean?

And here’s another fun tidbit. I have a couple of editorial directors who have asked me to send them any young adult project I’ve got. They don’t care what it is. They like what I’m doing at my agency and they want to see it; they’ll pass it on to the perfect editor at the line if that needs to happen. They just want to ensure that they don’t get left out on a possible project that might be a little different from what they “normally” take on.

Can’t Have Just One

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: It rained last night! I’m sure people on the East Coast are saying, “what’s the big deal with that”? Well in Denver, we’ve been in a drought for several years. Right now everything is super green and that usually lasts for about 3 weeks before the lack of rain takes its toll. Fingers crossed that this spring will be different. Did you know that as a city, Denver has the most number of sunny days next to Phoenix, Arizona?

What’s playing on the iPod right now? WHY CAN’T HE BE YOU by Patsy Cline

Now this isn’t official but I’m convinced that this is a fundamental truth in the world of agenting.

Deals come in bunches.

You can go for days, weeks, or even a month without a nibble and then suddenly, two or three deal offers on the same day for different projects (or even multiple offers on one project).

Maybe it’s the law of attraction. One offer acts as a magnet for the other offers. As I reflect on my career, this has certainly been true. I wonder if other agents have experienced the same?

I’m sure it’s not like quantum mechanics or the theory of relativity that shapes the fundamental truth of how the world operates but on some days, it FEELS that way. The start of action for one project just gets the ball rolling for a whole lot of other stuff.

The Power Of A Mentor

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Way too many things on my To Do list!

What’s playing on the iPod right now? STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER by The Beatles

I’m the first to admit, and as I have mentioned several times on my blog before, that I owe a good portion of my success as an agent to several special gals who are my mentors.

These gals have been agents for a lot longer than I have and were incredibly generous to share their wisdom with me. And over the years, we’ve become close friends. And I’m always so tickled when I learn something new from a unique situation/experience that I get to share with them. Doesn’t happen often but when it does…it’s like I’m giving something in return for the hours of time they’ve given me.

That and a six-month subscription to a gourmet cheese-of-the-month-club can go a long way.

You see, I came from an agency that did 98% nonfiction. The reason I went out on my own was because I wanted to represent fiction—and genre stuff at that. Romance, SF, Fantasy—this just wasn’t my former agency’s cup of tea. So, there was a lot to learn regarding contract specifics unique to these genres—stuff I couldn’t learn at my old job and stuff that I could only learn from mentors in the same field.

And mentor me they did. And success I have.

I believe in the power of mentoring and now that I’m far enough in my career to actually have some wisdom to share, I do pay it forward. I do have a couple of “newer” agent friends who feel comfortable ringing me up to get a perspective or feedback.

We are all learning every day in this job—trust me. A situation arises that’s brand new to even the “old timers” I know because the industry is changing and evolving.

And I think it’s a brilliant human being and agent who is willing to ring up (and potentially look stupid) by asking a question they don’t know just so they ensure they do right by their client.

I’ll take that agent any day over someone who thinks they know everything about the biz.

Besides, to me, mentoring is all about karma in the world. About connecting as human beings. About being committed to helping others.

Do I mentor every “new” agent who comes my way? Of course not. I chose to mentor people for whom I feel that spark of human connection. That’s how the decision to mentor happens and I imagine it’s not much different for an unpublished author looking to a published author as a possible mentor.

And it’s what most of the commenters pointed out. Human Connection is the first step in finding that mentor.

Another Pearl of Wisdom?

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Had a terrific day snowshoeing in fresh powder since it snowed some last night.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? No music sadly.

I tend to think deep thoughts when snowshoeing–or maybe not so deep and I’ll let you be the judge.

Obviously there are a lot of people who want to be published authors and statistically, not all will become so.

Chances are good that a good portion of those people who would love to embrace this dream will not have the perseverance or the talent to make it.

Statistically we know this is true but when writing, you have to be in touch with your heart–not the logic of your brain that wants to weigh you down with statistical fact.

You may never be published but you need to live your life with the thought that you will. And ultimately, you have to write for the personal joy of it (not because you have to be published) because the sacrifice you make (the price you pay if you will) would not be worth it.

Gotta love the peace and quiet of Winter Park for getting one to a place of good thinking.

A Pearl Of Wisdom?

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Great because I’m taking a little ski break in Winter Park for the “long” weekend.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? Well the local bar has some Reggae music going. I’m sitting in the lobby to get the wireless connection.

Since I’m supposed to be on vaca, I’m going with blog light for the next 2 days.

As I was hiking through one of the beautiful National Forests of Colorado with Chuts and my hubby, I was thinking about one piece of advice I would give to writers if I could only give one.

Ultimately I decided that the most valuable asset a new writer can have is a mentor–preferably an already published author.

Having such a valuable resource can make a world of difference in how the publishing world unfolds for an aspiring author.

A published mentor can share the hard times, be a real critique for current work, and really give an inside perspective that only a previously published writer (who has been through the process) can offer.

In any profession, a good mentor is worth her or his weight in gold–this is especially true in publishing.