Pub Rants

Author Archive

In The Spring An Agent’s Fancy Turns To…

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Yesterday Angie and I were reviewing one client’s statement and to sum it up. What a hot mess.

What’s playing on the iPod or the XM radio right now? SWAY by Dean Martin

Love of royalty statements.

Yep, it’s that time of year again. April and October are NLA’s biggest royalty periods which means that the month of May and November are consumed by hours reviewing those statements.

So, in an effort to empower authors about their statements (because I promise you that a lot of agents don’t spend nearly the time they should on reviewing them), here’s another tidbit to file away in your knowledge bank.

If your publisher holds World rights and is selling your titles abroad, it’s important to track where the projects are sold to and when they will be released.

Why? Because if you don’t know that info, how do you know when the monies are supposed to appear on your royalty statements? Also, do you have a copy of the licensing agreement and the latest foreign royalty statement from the territory in question?

Most agents insert a clause in the contract allowing the author to receive such info—usually upon request. Without it, it’s impossible to review a statement for accuracy. What? You gonna just take the Publisher’s word for it?

Considering the number of errors we see in EVERY royalty period, that’s a lot to take on faith.

And there’s another facet to this. If Publisher has World, did they sell UK rights to separate publisher or was it done by a sister house in England? If a sister house, then UK royalties are specified in the US contract and should show on the US statement.

You don’t want to know how many times this information has just been plain missing from the statement or just wrong.

Knowledge is power and as an author, you have a right to a copy of those licensing agreements so ask for them. I would say that in the last several years, NLA has recovered well over $100,000 in missing royalties—money clients would never have received if we hadn’t pestered Publishers about info missing from the statements. In fact just last week, a client got $8000 because we argued that the wrong royalty rate was being used to calculate certain sales listed on the statement. And per the contract, we were right and they paid up. But if we hadn’t pointed it out…

Well, that’s a lot of money to leave on the table.

The Art Of The Blurb Request

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I think I need more hours in the day.

What’s playing on the iPod or the XM radio right now? OBLIVIOUS by Aztec Camera

(haven’t heard this song in years!)

Most authors remember their humble beginnings and really do want to pay it forward by offering a blurb to a newer writer. They remember vividly what it’s like to be in those shoes! It’s part of the writer’s code.

Even with noble intentions, most writers who experience success end up having to put a moratorium on offering blurbs for a couple of reasons. It can be something as simple as receiving so many requests, it ends up not being physically possible. Sometimes it comes down to politics and the only way to be fair is to simply say NO to everyone that asks.

So just a couple of things to keep in mind if you are a writer requesting a blurb.

1. Make it personal. The blurb requests that are seriously considered come from authors who include a heartfelt note as to why they are making this request to this particular author. Trust me, it makes a difference.

2. Follow the established protocol if one is stated. Authors often publically say that requests must be channeled via the agent or editor (even if you have a personal connection to that successful author). If it’s not publically stated, always offer to go through the agent or editor if that is what the author preferred.

(The hardest part for successful authors is feeling guilty about turning down a request. Some opt to place a moratorium instead just to avoid the complications of feeling guilty or the difficulty of saying no. It’s a terribly awkward place to be in.)

3. If the response is a NO, be professional and gracious. Should go without saying but you’d be surprise at some of the responses received.

Some day (and hopefully soon), you just might be in those successful author shoes facing the dilemma: to blurb or not to blurb!

What’s In Our Full Manuscript Queue

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: This is a first for me. CBS films has a dedicated FB page for LEGEND the Movie. And you get first peek at the just released cover. Sweet.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? MISSIONARY MAN by Eurythmics

This is actually a good question. A quick look shows that we have 8 full manuscripts in the queue to be read. And here’s where they fall:

6 titles are Young Adult (breakdown by genre, 3 fantasies, 2 paranormals, 1 contemporary)

1 title is adult literary fiction

1 title is adult women’s fiction

We just sent responses to an adult fantasy that we passed on as well as a middle grade title that had several agents interested but ended up not being quite right for us.

Of the 3 clients Sara just signed: adult SF novel, adult Historical Romance, and Paranormal YA.

And as a bonus, here is Kristin as a talking head yet again. This time I’m reading a short excerpt from the Philip K Dick nominee SF novel SONG OF SCARABAEUS for the awards ceremony last Friday. The sound is not the best so you’ll probably have to turn up your volume all the way up to remotely hear me. Warning, this scene will probably hook you in!

The author Sara Creasy thought I looked quite spiffy!

Query While The Querying Is Hot!

by Kristin Nelson

Status: Chutney is enjoying our new couch—as am I. What a nice chaise section on the left side of the couch! Perfect for reading.

What’s Playing on the XM or iPod right now? SUPERSTITION by Stevie Wonder

And this is definitely good for authors. Last year I have to admit, Sara and I didn’t take on that many new clients.

This week, Sara signed 3 new authors with terrific projects.

On top of that, the queries are just rocking right now. In the last 2 weeks, we’ve requested 9 full manuscripts. Yep, you read that right. 9!

I guess query while the querying is hot!

Live From Seattle!

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: A beautiful sunny day here in Seattle. I feel very lucky because what a lovely city.

What’s playing on the iPod or the XM radio right now? A crackling fire at the Doubletree is all the music I have at the moment

As I mentioned yesterday, I flew to Seattle for the Philip K. Dick Awards on behalf of my author Sara Creasy who currently lives in Melbourne, Australia and couldn’t make the trip.

The awards are part of Norwescon and opening ceremonies began last night. If you are here at the convention, by all means, come an introduce yourself. I’d love to say hello.

But I’m posting this entry today to let you all know that Norwescon is live podcasting the awards ceremony.

If you want to tune in here is the url. Fingers crossed that Sara wins and you’ll see yours truly on the stage accepting the award on her behalf!

Live video by Ustream

The Power Of Story

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Heading to Seattle today.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? PERRY’S PLACE by Richard Underhill

When I was in St. Louis two weeks ago visiting family, my mom asked me if I wanted to go and catch a matinee movie. If you know my mom, you’ll know that she loves shoot ‘em up action films, mysteries, and thrillers. The more blood and guts, the better.

In general, not my cup of tea. But the point was to hang with Mom so I said, sure, and let her pick the film. For a matinee price, I can live with just about anything.

So off we went but she had gotten the movie start time wrong so as we sat down, the movie had already begun by a few minutes.

About 10 minutes later, I had a rather puzzled expression on my face and Mom asked what was up. The theater was almost empty so I leaned over and whispered, “I recognize this. This movie is based off of a short story.”

She shrugged as she didn’t know.

But I was right. It WAS based off of a short story—and one I hadn’t read in probably over 20 years.

The movie was The Adjustment Bureau starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt–based on the short story by Philip K. Dick.

And that, folks, is the power of story. That after 20+ years, I still recognized it even though I hadn’t thought about it in years.

That’s what you want to achieve with your own writing. And speaking of Philip K. Dick, my author Sara Creasy has been nominated for the Philip K Dick Award for her debut SF novel SONG OF SCARABAEUS.

Why not check out the list and if you haven’t picked up one of these titles to read, why not? Editors are reluctant to acquire new SF authors because the sales numbers can’t compare to fantasy, so selling a debut SF writer is a tough biz (but I’m happy to report I just sold another debut SF author 3 months ago and gasp, a guy to boot!).

So if you love SF, do your part. Pick up one of these nominees.

Because It’s Cool!

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Enjoyed a quiet day because of the Passover holiday. I caught up on a lot of emails.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? CUTS LIKE A KNIFE by Bryan Adams

If you have read HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET, you’ll know that in the front matter of the book, there is a picture of a Japanese girl circa 1942. She’s wearing a tag on her jacket and it’s implied that she is leaving for the internment camps.

It’s a powerful picture.

The week before last, Jamie was doing a reading/signing at Woodland Reads. He discovered that the young girl in the photo is still alive and lived nearby. So he invited Mae Yanagi to come and be his special secret guest.

And she did! Okay, I got a shiver just looking at the pics so here they are.

She stuck around and signed books with Jamie for the whole evening. How cool is that?

Where “In Perpetuity” Might Come Back…

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: It’s Friday! This would be more exciting if I didn’t have plans to work all weekend. Need to catch up from being away the week prior.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? JEALOUS OF THE MOON by Nickel Creek

And bite you in the a**.

Not to be a downer on the Friday but a lot of authors are super excited about getting their rights reverted and then being able to digitally publish those titles themselves.

By all means, I’m certainly not opposed but you might want to check that agency agreement you signed before you run out and do that.

For the record, Nelson Literary Agency does not hold author rights into perpetuity but I know of a lot of agencies that do.

At NLA, our client agreement clearly states that if we sell the author’s book, it’s for the full term of the publishing agreement. When the book is out of print, publishing contract ends, all rights revert to the author with no further obligation to us.

But we are the minority. I know a lot of agencies that have “in perpetuity” language that they will be the agency of record for life of the property—regardless of whether that title is currently under a publication contract or not.

In short, what this means is that even if all rights to a title has reverted to you from the publisher, and even if you are no longer with that agent or agency, if you signed an agency agreement separate from the publication contract that has an “in perpetuity” clause and that agreement is still in force, you owe the agency of record monies for your self-pubbed digital sales.

Yep, that would suck. So, review any and all agency agreements you signed and if necessary, consult an attorney if it is in question before posting to digital distribution sites.

What The Heck Do I Say To Help?

by Kristin Nelson

Status: Reading right now. Chutney is curled up in a blanket that she spent 10 minutes fluffing.

What’s Playing on the XM or iPod right now? DON’T DREAM IT’S OVER by Paul Young


For the last two nights, I’ve been reading a full manuscript that I requested. I really like the writing and the concept is super cool but for over 100 pages, the story hasn’t gone anywhere (or I should amend that—it’s going somewhere but moving slowly).


So definitely a pacing issue.


Yet, I’m still reading. I know I’m probably going to have to pass but I so want to be able to tell the writer why and how they might revise. But pacing is THE hardest writing mechanic to explain when it’s not working. If I point to an individual scene, there’s nothing inherently wrong with the writing except the scene is not doing enough in terms of building the tension or revealing another hint to the over-arching story that is unfolding.


In other words, there is no easy fix where I can say “do xyz” and you’ll transform the story.

What Not To Bring To A Pitch Session?

by Kristin Nelson

Status: Have glass in wine in hand, am good.


What’s Playing on the XM or iPod right now? LONELY NO MORE by Rob Thomas (acoustic version)


This might qualify as my oddest blog entry yet but I had something happen on Saturday that I’ve never run into before.


A writer sat down for her pitch session and not a minute later, I started sneezing.


From what I can gather, I must have been having a reaction to her perfume (which by the way was not overly strong or anything).


But during the whole session, my eyes started watering and I got the sniffles. Luckily I had a break right after and was able to pop outside to clear my head. When I returned, I was just fine for the rest of the afternoon.


So this probably wasn’t something you had thought of but you might want to forgo the perfume or strong fragrance on the day of your pitch!