Pub Rants

Category: Publishing Industry General

New York City—What Worked, What Didn’t

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Happily looking at the big blue skies of Colorado on a 65 degree day. It’s good to be home.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? FAIRGROUND by Simply Red

For a paperless office, I must say I was overwhelmed by the sheer piles of stuff that needed reviewing on my desk. So much in fact, I ended up not having a minute to blog between phone calls, handling stuff, and then an evening appointment that ran late last night.

Tomorrow will be my first day where I can actually handle new stuff that needs my attention. I have three lovely contracts lined up and ready for evaluation. Since each contract takes a good 2 hours for me to review, I guess I know what I’ll be doing tomorrow and the next day.

So was my month in New York worth it? On the whole, I’d say so.

What Worked:

1. I scheduled 40 meetings and I never felt overwhelmed or rushed. That was definitely worth it.

2. I got editors excited about two upcoming submissions. Hooray.

3. Remote office. Network was pretty much worth every penny I paid for it. I held an auction while in NYC and negotiated three different contracts. I also kept on top of most of my daily emails etc. Sara and I also stayed on top of email queries, partial requests, and I did read a good portion of two full manuscripts (at the start of my stay I have to add though—any other time wouldn’t have worked) that I ended up passing on.

4. Living in the Village. I can give you all the names of the great restaurants in my hood that’s for sure. It’s very central to reaching all the publishers in town easily.

What Didn’t:

1. The flu. I didn’t catch it (thank goodness!) but several editor meetings got derailed because of it.

2. With all those lunch meetings, not surprised that I weigh about 4 pounds heavier than when I left. I’m getting on that right away let me tell you. Overall not bad I guess.

3. Some normal business operations. All bills etc. got paid on time but there was very little time to do serious client editing. Thank goodness the two projects that needed tackling came in during the last week and a half of my being away so the clients had a little delay in my getting started but nothing too egregious.

4. Despite the month spent there, I still wanted to have meetings with about five different editors that didn’t happen. That’s unfortunate but will have to wait until my next trip or Book Expo.

Overall, I think I would do it again. I would schedule my appointments differently so there were a little more grouped. I might also create a more formal game plan with a list of goals and objectives to achieve (but that’s because I like to be anal about these types of things).

Kindle Update

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Into the home stretch. Just one more editor dinner tomorrow night and I’m homeward bound.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? LET’S DANCE by David Bowie

Pros definitely outweigh the cons. I think Jeff Bezos should hire me as I convinced more agents and editors to buy the Kindle just by showing them mine and how easy it is to use.

What I love:

1. I love having 2 full manuscripts and 20 partials in one easy to store, easy to hold reader. No more back pain. No paper to lug around. No heavy laptop that needs to sit on my lap to read. And I bought a new purse (another benefit!) that can easily hold my cell phone, Kindle, sunglasses, wallet, spare parts etc.

2. I love being able to choose the font size to read in that is now the default and easy on my eyes.

3. I love being able to have all my favorite books downloaded to the Kindle so I can read them anytime and anywhere I want. Even when I’m traveling and I get the hankering to read Pride & Prejudice for the umpteenth time, it’s there. This is also great in terms of storage. Last year I donated boxes full of books because there was literally no where to put them. I won’t have that problem because even if you don’t want to store it on your kindle, Amazon will store a book for you at your site account.

4. I love the Clipping feature. If I make a note in any document, it is auto saved to this file for easy reference. In other words, I can read 10 sample pages, write a note to myself about each one while reading, and when it’s time to enter my response into the electronic database, I simply open that one file and all the notes are there. I don’t have to reopen each partial that I read. Very handy.

5. I love emailing the documents to myself. No cables. No “I forgot to transfer documents to my Kindle” before walking out the door.

What I would change:

1. I would like more flexibility in being able to organize my downloads into separate folders so my home page always stays neat and clutter free. Right now it doesn’t have that organizational capability.

2. Wouldn’t mind a reader light to turn on just when necessary.

3. Documents downloaded to the Kindle do not have corresponding page numbers that can be used as reference. That’s a bit tough for when I take notes. I can only refer to a chapter.

4. I imagine this was a cost element but a touch interface would be pretty cool.

5. When emailing myself, I’d like the note in the body of the email to be integrated into the document that’s being loaded on the Kindle. Right now, it doesn’t do that.

6. Side buttons are a little cumbersome and it’s easy to turn a page when you don’t mean to.

Other than that, I’m thrilled to have bought one. I spent one night reading a whole novel for 6 hours and my eyes never felt tired. That was the real test.

Agent In New York

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Well, I was doing fine (despite the incredibly odd weather here in Manhattan) until my wireless internet went down last night before I blogged. Didn’t come back up until this morning. Sorry about the blip yesterday.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? LET’S STAY TOGETHER by Al Green

So what does an agent do when she comes to New York? Lunch of course. Lots of publishing occurs over business lunches. It creates a personal and intimate setting on neutral territory to discuss either issues or needs of current clients, get the update on what that editor is currently looking for, and to generally catch up on each other’s personal lives. This is a business of personal connections and trust.

So my last two days have been frantic emailing so as to set up all my appointments. Right now it looks like I’m going out to lunch each day for the entire month I’m here in Manhattan. Saves on groceries..

Since I can only do so many lunches, I’m scheduling a few coffees and evening drinks so I can squeeze in a few more appointments.

Didn’t I say I wanted a leisurely meeting time in New York?

Chutney Takes Manhattan

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Absolutely frantic as we tried to wrap up the 1099s (need to be off to the IRS before the end of the month) and get everything else in order.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? ONE by U2

Why the big rush? On Sunday, I’m heading to New York City. That in itself is certainly not news. I tend to go there often as my office isn’t located in the big Apple and I need to do my editor meetings and face time. This year I wanted to try something different. Hence the title of this entry.

This year the whole fam is going to New York City and I’ve rented an apartment in Soho for a month. Now we’ll find out if that state-of-the-art network we installed last year is worth the money we spent on it. Supposedly, I can work seamlessly from any place in the world and still tap in to everything at my office. But never fear, if that fails, Sara will be holding down the fort.

I’m just in love with the idea of a leisurely, non-stressful time meeting with editors without cramming everything into five days with five meetings a day.

I have no desire to live in NYC but I certainly love the town when I’m visiting. And to me, this might be a nice trade-off for being in Denver for the rest of the year (although if all goes well, I might look at doing it again come fall. Let’s wait and see).

So, I’ll have lots of interesting news to post as I give you a daily report from the publishing capital of the world.

And I just might throw a pic or two of Chutney’s first time there as well. Because really, isn’t that what this blog is really about?

Read The Fine Print

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: If you have been reading deal lunch lately, then you’ll get a pretty good sense of what I’ve been up to. Deal after deal after deal. Love it. And even better? I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU is still at #4 on the NYT bestseller list. That’s 6 weeks and counting. Maybe it will become a permanent fixture!

What’s playing on the iPod right now? WHO NEEDS LOVE (LIKE THAT) by Erasure

Sheesh. You probably shouldn’t have to tell a literary agent that! I spent this morning toying with my new Amazon Kindle. I have to be honest and say that before now, I hadn’t shown much interest in e-readers.

So what pushed me over the edge? When I read an article about the new Kindle that detailed that the owner could not only easily download books from Amazon.com but could also email documents to him or herself for reading on the Kindle. Oh baby, can you say “read full manuscripts” on a nice compact and light device instead of my big whopping laptop?

I can. I signed me up for that new device as fast as my fingers could fly across the keyboard. Then promptly waited a full month before my order could be delivered. They have back log of orders at good old Amazon.

Well, the article I read forgot to mention one little thing. Yes, you can email Word and PDF documents to yourself but here’s the catch. It’s Amazon’s wireless whispernet you’re using (in conjunction with Sprint Data Technology) You guessed it. They charge $0.10 an attachment to “convert” the file to their proprietary extension that is then auto downloaded onto the Kindle.

There really is no free lunch is there? Heck, I don’t care. At least there is no monthly wireless charge and I love the darn thing already. (And to be fair, Amazon does allow you to convert to the Kindle file, download to your computer, and then transfer to the Kindle via a USB connection for free but I’m too lazy for all that.) I’m even all excited to read my first requested full manuscript on it starting tonight.

And my tech person is setting it up so Sara can send sample pages from our submissions database to my Kindle as well.

I’ll never be bored in the grocery store line ever again. Have large purse; will travel in Kindle style. Of course, this may bring new meaning to the idea of never leaving work.

Daily Digest Reading

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Caucus time in Colorado! I’m heading out early to participate in my neighborhood meeting to choose our delegate.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? BAD SNEAKERS by Steely Dan

Two years ago when I was looking for an assistant, I did interviews with something like 13 or 14 candidates for the position. I began each interview with a list of our daily reading on top of all the queries/submissions/full manuscripts that we receive.

I literally had two people withdraw themselves from consideration because it was going to be too much.

Sara was actually the only candidate who said, “Yes, I understand all that but since I read very quickly, I’ll finish in no time so let me tell you how my background can contribute to growing your company.”

Yeah. Pretty obvious why I hired her, isn’t it? She’s one of the few people I have met who actually reads faster than I do.

But here’s why I share the story. You guys want to know the inside scoop about the publishing industry? Than why not read what most agents do every morning? Note: these aren’t necessarily free. Also, it will take a month or two before reading them begins to make sense because you’ll need to get more familiar with the industry, the players, etc. It is quite an education I imagine though.

In case you are interested, here’s the list of my daily digest reads:

Variety Daily News

Publishers Marketplace Pub Lunch
Publishers Marketplace Deal Lunch

Publishers Weekly Daily
Publishers Weekly Children’s Bookshelf

Media Bistro’s Daily Media News Feed

Happy Reading!

Research Is Free

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I can’t believe it is already 5 o’clock. Do you ever have those days where you start working and then realize you’ve missed lunch by a long shot? Sigh. All good stuff though.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? EAT FOR TWO by 10,000 Maniacs

Here’s an axiom to live by. Don’t pay a service to do your agent research when you can find out most of that information for free just by spending some time on the internet.

Or at the very least, pay the $20 fee for one month’s subscription to Publishers Marketplace and truly get the insider scoop on what is selling, by whom, to whom, and generally for how much. It will only cost you twenty bucks and you can rest assured that the info is fairly accurate (or close enough for your purposes).

Here’s why I feel like ranting. There is a research service out there that prides itself on offering accurate reports that they will then share with paying customers. Now I like the entrepreneurial spirit and pretty much commend that in anyone but according to this company representative, they will only accept/verify information by talking with the agent directly.

In a way, that makes sense. After all, the source would know the best but I don’t think that’s the ONLY way to gather accurate information—especially when the conversations go along like this.

First Call from Research Service
This was actually several years ago but it stands out clearly in my mind and here’s why. The owner of this business rang up to tell me about the company and then to ask me about my current client list. All information I’m happy to share.

Until he asked me when Diana Gabaldon had left my agency.

Uh…

I know this will come as a big shock to my blog readers but I’m not, and have never been, the agent for Diana Gabaldon. I do have delusions of grandeur but I don’t ever ask anyone but Chutney to share in them.

Not to mention, Diana’s agent is a guy—and she’s been with him for years and years—long before I was even agenting. Makes you wonder to whom the thought he was talking.

That’s okay. Mistakes happen. When I asked to see my report and to verify the information contained therein, I was told that was not company policy. So, what I’m saying is that my report from this service might say that Diana is a former client of mine. Goodness, I hope not.

Second call
This happened a year or so later. Same person called to get information about my current sales. Most of which is public knowledge on my website and on Publishers Marketplace—the general info anyway.

For this call, this person insisted that I reveal the dollar amounts associated with my deals. A little surprised, I said I couldn’t divulge that info—that it was confidential (except in the general terms outlined in deal lunch and approved by the author before announcing). I was then subjected to tirade about how all the other agencies share that info (which I rather doubt but whatever). I politely suggested that he simply contact those authors and ask them about the deal as it is their info to share as they please.

I was hung up on.

Third Call
Happened quite recently. This time the call came in on a Saturday. I wasn’t at the office. What in the world would I’d be doing at the office on a Saturday (besides doing my accounting upgrade but we won’t go there). If this person would like to speak to me, why not call during business hours when I’m actually around?

To this day, I have no idea what my agency report from this service looks like. Let’s hope it’s accurate but I’m not feeling overly confident about it. This leads me back to my original point.

Why pay for something that you can find out for yourself, fairly accurately, and in most instances, for free?

God Bless International Tax Attorneys

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I’m generally annoyed but can’t really talk much about why. Maybe later. In good news though, Ally Carter is still on the NYT list. Yahoo! CROSS MY HEART has been on for 8 weeks and is at #6. I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU has now been on for 3 weeks and we’re holding on to the #2 spot. Now that never fails to bring a smile to my face.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? THE BIG SKY by Kate Bush

IRS—that should sum up my day. Do you know what I did this week? I paid a nice hefty sum to my International tax attorney to write me up a memo that clearly outlines what the agency’s responsibilities are for tax withholding and reporting for my clients who are citizens of Australia, Ireland, and Canada.

This is something that should be accomplished via a free phone call to the IRS but after the fourth transfer and conflicting answers (see previous blog about this), I decided it was worth the money to confirm the letter of the law from an expert (and no, that would not be an IRS representative).

I have to say that Cara, the International Tax Attorney, is my new best friend. The minute I asked her my questions, it was clear that I was not speaking in a foreign language and she knew exactly what I was talking about. Such a pleasant experience.

This was a fifteen page memo that I’m really not going to sum up in one blog entry but I can hit on the high points.

And folks, I’m just sharing this for fun. This in no way substitutes for tax advice from a professional and should not be considered so.

1. Ascertain the foreign author’s country of permanent residence and whether they are a citizen there.

2. Check the tax treaty for specifics on what is the withholding percentage allowed as well as what type of royalty income is covered by the treaty. (For example, Ireland has 0% withholding on everything. Canada is also 0% withholding except for royalties earned from film/tv. Such fun to keep this all straight.)

3. Have foreign author complete W7 form for an ITIN (international tax id number) which will be needed for the W8BEN form which must be on file.

4. Have foreign author fill out the W8BEN form correctly. If they don’t, agency must withhold 30% for U.S. taxes regardless of what the tax treaty says (so this is crucial)

5. Report to the IRS amount withheld or not withheld on form 1042-S. If withholding was done, monies need to be sent to the IRS at a specific time and with a whole other form. The IRS can’t tell you what you actually need to do but woe is you if you don’t get it there in time.

So basically what I’m saying is that I’m good to go with any foreign author clients from Australia, Ireland, and Canada so query away.

If you are a non-US citizen and resident of somewhere else, it’s back to Cara and a whole new memo…and no, that wouldn’t keep me from taking you on but I’d have to especially love your manuscript to take on the trouble.

Redux: To Deal Or Not Deal Lunch?

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Soon (she says hopefully) the accounting upgrade will finish and life will be happier.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? CARUSO by Paul Potts

Someone in the comments section was nice enough to provide a link to my former post on this topic. When I took a look at it, I realized there were a couple of other reasons why an agent might not want to post sale news on deal lunch that I hadn’t included.

So, other reasons to keep the news on the down low (so to speak).

1. An author may be concluding a contract with one publisher but has already sold and established a new contract with a new publisher for future books. In order not to lose support from the current publisher, the author might prefer that the new sales information is not shared.

2. An agent has just sold a timely book project on a hot topic that might have competing titles in the works. The sale is kept under hat so as not to tip off the competition. The point is to hopefully have this title release before the others do. (This is more of an issue with nonfiction than fiction.)

If I think of other reasons, I’ll share.

Top Dealmaker?

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: What a way to kick off 2008! First I get an offer for a project I have on submission which is how I always like to start the year. Then I get the big, big news. Ally Carter’s I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU lands on the New York Times paperback bestseller list at #4 and CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY, which has already spent 5 weeks on the NYT hardcover list, is back on coming in at #9. Woohoo!!!!

What’s playing on the iPod right now? I ALONE by Live

Thank you all for all your lovely blog comments on my last entry of 2007. I did have to chuckle though. Selling 22 books over the course of one year is not actually a lot. I have many agent friends who sell double or triple that number (although I have to add here that they’ve all been in the biz for a lot longer than I have).

It’s not a high volume and I have to admit that I don’t see myself as ever being a high volume agent. I don’t take on that many clients or that many projects in a given year so there’s a limited quantity of projects to sell. I don’t want to say quality over quantity because that’s not necessarily the case. I have many agent friends doing a quantity of high quality projects and deals. I imagine as my clients grow their careers, the number will increase over the years just on repeat deals alone.

But here’s what’s interesting and why I bring this up. Publishers Marketplace has a new feature called Top Dealmakers on their website. Let me tell you, this has caused some interesting consternation amongst agent friends and here’s why. Our agent reputations are the key to getting future good clients; we want to be known as top dealmakers! Publishers Marketplace can only rank top dealmakers on quantifiable criteria. In other words, they can’t verify that deals actually sold for the money highlighted by the editor or agent (or by the authors themselves) in the announced deal. The only criteria they can use for rating top dealmakers is based on the number of total sales in a given period (and that is, of course, only if the deals are reported). Many agents don’t report deals for a variety of reasons.

I like to think that might be the reason why Michael Cader implemented this new feature to begin with—to encourage deal reporting. Very smart on his part.

But it also means, quite sadly I have to say, that I’ll probably never be a top dealmaker on Pub Marketplace. Right now, I come in at #40 for Fiction as a whole, #26 for women’s/romance, #15 for children’s (that ain’t shabby I guess!), #8 for young adult.

You get the picture. And I have to admit, this entry is solely self-serving. Big smile here. I might not sell a lot of books in any given year but because that is true, I also have to sell what I take on for more money and that’s not captured in the Top Dealmaker ranking.

Is it better for an agent to sell many projects (but all in nice deals) or just a few projects in good, significant, or major deals—in Deal Lunch terms? And the answer to this is purely subjective because it really depends on how each individual sees it.

Unfortunately, Top Dealmaker on Pub Marketplace can’t use that criterion for obvious reasons (although when I was chatting with Michael before the break, we did talk about it).

Maybe that needs to be my 2008 goal. More deals and all for a lot more money. I’m sure my clients wouldn’t say no to that!