Pub Rants

Author Archive

Look! A Contest Without A Fee.

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Just when I think I’ve tamed technology… yes, there is an issue with the double opt in section of subscribing to the newsletter (you might be getting a system error message). We’re on it. It should be fixed by now but try again tomorrow and let me know via the blog comments if you are still having issues. Thanks y’all.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? MANIC MONDAY by The Bangles
(this just might be my theme song) Manic everyday.

I know, I know. I’m a little slow to ring the death knell of the Sobol Awards over here at the Pubrants blog. I was delighted of course and not in the least bit surprised. If you haven’t heard the news, the contest is no more.

Now what does surprise me is how much Simon & Schuster’s imprint Touchstone/Fireside desires to publish a winner of a contest. They’ve lined up another possibility but this time, there’s no fee! It’s open to any unpublished author with a full manuscript.

You post the first chapters and the world (a la American Idol style) gets to vote on which manuscripts make the cut and go on. Well, the world of gather.com subscribers that is. Final judging compliments of Carolyn K. Reidy, the president of the adult publishing group at S&S, and George Jones, chief executive of Borders.

Here’s the article in the book section of the NY Times.

Here’s the website for gather.com. You need to sign up (which is also free) to get more details.

But the winner gets a book contract from Touchstone and 5k from Gather.com (and no silliness about being repped by an “agency” that has never brokered a publishing deal).

Now that’s a contest I can support. Go check it out.

(heads up about the contest compliments of my client Mari Mancusi)

Glitch! Take Two.

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Quiet in publishing because it’s MLK day. Take a moment to think about the impact he had on our world today.

I’m happy to say that the e-newsletter is undergoing a few tweaks and will probably be sent out by Friday. Don’t forget that the subscription process is a double opt in so there’s no chance of spamming. You must respond to the email sent to you in order to be officially on the mailing list.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? SAILING by Christopher Cross

Let’s go from computer glitches to writer glitches because these might be the real rejection culprits. Are you ready to get critical and be honest about your manuscript? If so, here are some thoughts to keep in mind.

1. If writing suspense, is your story basically one long chase scene? This is a tough call because there appears to be a lot of events happening but ultimately, when the plot is broken down, and all you have are long, involved chase scenes, you’re going to run into problems.

2. In fantasy, how many scenes do you have where the main characters are sitting around a fire, dinner, at a table (insert whatever) and chatting? Don’t mistake event summary as actual action or scene building. In fact, do we need this summary? Good writers seamlessly interweave any summations to allow the story forward momentum.

3. In all genres, have you mistaken dialogue for action or scene building or for characterization? Remember, there has to be a balance. It can’t be all dialogue at the sacrifice of the other stuff. Some folks are great dialoguers. Don’t rely on your strength to carry a whole novel.

4. I see this a lot in fantasy. Do you have dramatic or action-packed scenes that are great but ultimately don’t further the story any? This is the hardest to be honest about because you love these scenes. They are sooooooo good but if they don’t help to develop the story, you’re going to get dinged.

5. Are you so in love with your characters that you have them do all sorts of fun stuff in scenes but ultimately these scenes don’t interconnect to the main story unfolding? Misguided character love has caused many a downfall for submissions received.

Can you list what actually physically happens in your story? Do it. How many things are on that list? Too many and your story is underdeveloped. Too few and it hasn’t got enough meat to it.

You’d be surprised at how often I pass on good, solid writing simply because nothing happens. Now with literary fiction, you’ve got a little more leeway but it’s the kiss of death for commercial mainstream and genre fiction.

Glitch!

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Friday and it’s really freezing in Denver.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? TRULY MADLY DEEPLY by Savage Garden

It was simply a matter of time before problems with the new electronic submission database reared their ugly little heads. Don’t fret though. We are committed to fixing all the problems. Just be sure to email us with a heads up that the error is occurring for you if you can’t upload the sample pages.

So far the culprits seem to be one of two things: 1) the firewall connected with the writer’s ISP and 2) an issue with the uploader’s internet browser.

Thanks for your patience as we work on the glitches.

Book Snob Kryptonite

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: It feels like it should be Friday already. The five day work week is so overrated.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? I’LL BE AROUND by Joan Osborne

I have an interesting book in my collection. An editor friend sent me CONFESSIONS OF AN HEIRESS by Paris Hilton last year or it might have been the year before last. I can’t remember.

I gobbled it up in one sitting. I found it hilarious and highly entertaining. And I’m no book snob, so I stuck it on my coffee table to share with the world.

Then an interesting thing started to occur. Friends would come over and instantly be horrified that I was so proudly displaying such a crass book.

But what I noticed is that these book snobs couldn’t keep their hands off of it. They just had to pick it up and start reading. Inevitably they would become engrossed in the book (as the evening continued around them).

Paris Hilton’s confessions was a book snob’s kryptonite!

Interestingly enough, I hear these same similar remarks about romance novels (“how can you read that stuff” etc.) and imagine the horror if any of those folks found out that a book they actually read and enjoyed would be considered romance (happens more than you think!).

What’s my point? None really, except maybe book snobbery is silly. Read what you enjoy and be proud of it.

Editors Get Serious About Historical Romance

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Feeling pretty good. Our new submission database is up and running—and smoothly to boot. No glitches have been discovered as of yet. I took my last two bins overflowing with paper down to recycling. It should be the last bunch—although there are a few paper sample pages request still out and about. Of course we’ll honor our request and read those submissions when they arrive. We do keep a log of requested material and cross-check with what arrives.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? BE OUR GUEST from Disney’s Beauty and The Beast Soundtrack.

Now this is a sign that cannot be ignored.

First, an editor emailed me today and said she would be willing to cut off her left foot to get her hands on a good historical romance.

That’s serious folks.

Then not an hour later, I was having a phone chat with another editor at a completely different house who said, “I’m dying to see some historicals—but none of that drawing room chatty stuff. I like adventure with my romance.”

You heard it here folks. I’ve been telling you the tide is turning for this arena and editors are now getting serious about wanting to acquire historicals.

So hop to it.

Not A Lick Of Work

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I’m pretty excited because the Nelson Agency is launching our brand spanking new e-Newsletter starting next week. It’s going to include all kinds of special info that won’t be divulged on the blog. So if you are interested, you might want to sign up so you don’t miss the inaugural issue.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? WAR The Cardigans

Today was a complete wash, work-wise, because I answered my summons for jury duty. Now I’ve been called in the past but I’ve basically sat in a big room for a whole morning without my number being called. I got to leave by noon.

Not today. This morning I was actually selected to sit through the juror selection process. A criminal assault case (third degree) no less (but don’t worry, the judge clearly said there was no gag order and we were welcome to discuss it freely).

Law & Order it’s not.

Twelve prospective jurors sat in the jury box to start the process (10 alternates sat off to the side and observed). The attorney for the prosecution began the questioning with the defense attorney allowed her turn afterwards. Initial question period was 15 minutes each.

I’m not sure what I expected but here were the two questions I personally received:

1. Has anyone ever made me angry enough that I was provoked to violence?

Answer is no by the way.

2. Could I maintain the presumption of innocence even if the defendant chose not to testify or explain his actions in the alleged assault?

I answered yes.

The attorney also questioned whether the race of the defendant (African American) and the race of the person pressing charges (Latino) would be a factor. We all answered NO. It would be interesting to know how that eventually played into who stayed on the jury and who were dismissed. I’m sure our individual races as jury members were factors in the selection.

I was also surprised by how much the defense attorney was allowed to lead the questioning in the jury selection process. She asked whether we could believe in a self-defense argument if the defendant was larger than the complainant.

Gee, I wonder where that question was leading to.

I didn’t get to find out because I was dismissed as well as a white male corporate attorney, a white male airline pilot, an older white woman of Southern origins who described herself as a housewife, a Latina woman whose English, by her own admission was only so-so, a white cocktail waitress who had mentioned the at she had been moved to violence several times, a Puerto Rican man who admitted that he would need the defendant to testify to understand the case, and a retired Latino gentleman who seemed pretty neutral to me.

Those who remained were a white stay-at-home mom, two Latina grandmothers (one retired and the other worked line-assembly for machinery), a Latino 18-year old high school student (no kidding, he was going to have to take off from school to sit on the jury), an older white woman who managed contracts for an oil/petroleum company, and a serious African American gentleman who looked to be in his 30s and who was an alternate to sit on the jury when a young woman asked to be excused because she was dealing with the recent death of her daughter (that startled the jury panel). I can’t remember his profession but it was pretty late in the day by then (and that was another interesting tidbit because we all had to state our name, profession, marital status, and some hobbies).

All in all, the whole day was fascinating. On one hand, I was relieved to be dismissed so I wouldn’t miss another day of work. On the other hand, it could be really educational and interesting to see the trial unfold.

But the end result was the same. Not a lick of work got done today.

A Call But Not THE Call

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: It’s Monday. Today I went to an editor lunch with Kelly Notaras from Sounds True Audio. Since I mainly do my editor lunches in New York, this was a fun treat. We chatted about Chelsea Green publishing opening an office in Golden, Colorado. Dare I say it? An NYC exodus? Okay, probably not but I’m constantly amazed at how many publishing professionals are moving west. I consider myself on the forefront of the trend…

What’s playing on the iPod right now? EDGE OF SEVENTEEN by Stevie Nicks

Last week I found myself in the interesting position of calling two authors but not because I was offering representation. Sometimes an agent calls but it’s not THE call. You’re probably asking yourself why I would bother if I were passing on a manuscript.

Here’s why. Sometimes the writing is just that good (and in these two instances, I was torn and seriously contemplated whether we could work on revisions with the authors), but ultimately, if I think a manuscript is fatally flawed and it would entail the author revising more than half the work, I have to pass. It’s not fair to them to say, “well, representation is contingent on XYZ first” (despite being sorely tempted).

My goal in calling is to offer encouragement because I believe it’s simply going to be a matter of time before they are in print.

And I’m hoping they’ll think of me for the next project (or maybe they have something else in the cooker I can review so it behooves me to call and ask).

I do consider this to be part of my job. So it’s an important call even if it’s not THE call.

A Little Education—The Fun Way!

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: What am I still doing at the office at 7 p.m. at night on a Friday? Yep, it was that kind of day. Just need to kick out this blog and I’m outta here.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? I WANNA BE A COWBOY by Boys Don’t Cry

My sister-in-law gave me a great gift for the holidays. Now some folks would think it’s dangerous to give an agent a book but my sis-in-law Melissa is pretty darn savvy. She knew just how to tickle my reading fancy.

She gave me a novel that spoofs the publishing industry.

Folks, it’s hilarious. I guffawed loudly many times—much to the dismay of my husband. Thinly disguised real publishing players (but of course, the whole story is fiction—wink). But I don’t post this to my blog just to highlight how entertaining this read is. I’m posting it because I think it’s worth reading if you are serious about writing and publishing because a writer can’t successful spoof unless she nails that core element of truth and boy does Ms. Grimes hit it with a hammer.

It’s a nice bit of education—and you’ll have a helluva good time while doing it.

Was That Requested Material?

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I made quite a few editors excited with the submission I sent out today. Love that.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? AND WHEN I DIE by Blood, Sweat, & Tears

I have to say that most of the writers I talk to and interact with are wonderful. They are interesting, engaging, ask smart questions, follow guidelines, and don’t waste an agent’s time.

I just had to chuckle when my agency received a full manuscript out of the blue via the mail two days ago. First off, we never ever ask for a full manuscript to be snail mailed to us. Ever. Even from day one of my agency, I’ve always allowed a writer to send it to me by email. It’s the only time I allow a submission via that medium. Mainly because I don’t ask for that many fulls (54 total last year if you read my statistics entry) and I can do an intense virus scan before allowing that sucker to download.

And as y’all know, even snail mailed paper submissions are a thing of the past here at the Nelson Agency. I’m launching the new electronic submission database this week. The first request emails are probably going out tomorrow. Now if something comes via snail mail, we’ll KNOW that it wasn’t requested.

But I highlight this simply as a gentle reminder that it doesn’t help you or pay to circumvent the system. We really don’t want to read your work unless we’ve asked for it via the query process. Most agents simply discard unrequested material—no response sent.

I know that sounds harsh but I’ve said it here numerous times and I’ll say it again, the sheer volume of what we receive (even when we have actually requested it) is so large, we haven’t got time for the unrequested stuff. And now for us, the unsolicited stuff will be pretty darn obvious and I’m warning you now, we plan to discard it.

It’s also a small test. Do you understand publishing, agenting, and how the submission process works? Can you follow directions, instructions, or guidelines? Even these annoying steps (and I know they are annoying because every agent has his/her own unique, jump through the silly hoops, guidelines) acts as a filter for those who are truly serious about writing and publishing. Only the really serious would take the time to learn the biz and navigate the submission process.

Right there that’s an indicator to us that you have the fortitude and fortitude is an essential quality to becoming a future client.

Kristin’s Cheat Sheet

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I was a working machine today. I got a lot accomplished. Makes me wonder why I haven’t even made a dent in my To Do list for tomorrow.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? WHY CAN’T I BE YOU? By The Cure

Three days into the new year and it’s already clear that I’ll be negotiating some deals in the very near future. Now remember I did that whole Agenting 101 series starting back in late June 2006. So search the archives if you want to see the whole run-down on how to negotiate a deal.

Today I thought it might be fun to share my Deal Points check list. It’s my quick and dirty reminder of all the points that need to be discussed in the initial negotiation. All agents have one. It helps to keep an electronic paper record of all the points—especially if there is a lot of back and forth during the negotiation with points changing.

Once the deal concludes, I email the editor a copy of my deal points memo for written confirmation that our negotiations match.

I tell you. It’s saved me once or twice when an editor has left a house after contracting for a book but the contracts hadn’t been generated yet or were generated but something’s missing. In general, I just like being anal and detailed-oriented.

Ask what editorial changes will be needed.
Ask for potential pub date.

1. Rights Granted (If World involved, ask for confirm of splits, reversion in 18-24 months. If audio is involved, ask for a reversion in one year if publisher hasn’t sold it)

2. Advance
3. Payout
4. Royalty structure

5. Bonus clauses (I have a whole separate notes section for kinds of bonuses I want to ask for etc.)

6. option clause (Limit option clause to one name/pseudonym/next in series/or type of work)

7. No US-only Spanish language (however, if must give, ask for 1 year reversion clause, same royalty percentage, and for it to be excluded from the option)

9. Publication time frame (as in 12 months, 18, or 24)

10. No Joint Accounting if multi-book deal

11. Discuss non-compete clause/second option for smaller work (see publication house specific notes below) –These I’m not sharing because it would take too long to include.

12. Add reserved rights clause: “All rights not specifically granted hereunder are reserved by the Author, including, but not limited to US-Only Spanish Language, translation, motion picture, television, radio, calendar, commercial merchandising, audio, video, electronic, multimedia and/or interactive electronic rights.” (This sentence changes depending on rights granted.)