Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office
Agent blogs often talk about the writer’s side of finding an agent. We don’t often talk about the agent’s side–finding the perfect project, the perfect writer and offering representation. Much like an acquisitions editor, an agent is only as good as her instincts. We need to be able to spot a winning writer and a winning manuscript. We work hard to hone those skills, and we take great pride in our instincts.
I usually weight my decision heavily in favor of the author over the manuscript because we’re going to be a team long past that one manuscript. I look for an author I can really like. I look for potential. I look for someone with ideas, someone who is investing in his career, someone who is a hard worker and serious about her craft. I also look for someone who is professional.
But the manuscript matters as well. The best scenario is the manuscript that immediately makes me think of three or four editors who will love it. That’s not always the case, however. Sometimes I’m given a manuscript that won’t be easy to sell for a number of reasons. Perhaps it’s too literary. Maybe it is commercial women’s fiction but has a male main character– something that is a tough sell right now. Maybe it’s a nonfiction topic that is currently over-saturated in the market. Or maybe it’s one of those “neither fish nor fowl” manuscripts– too gritty for the CBA market and too spiritual for the ABA.
If I’m impressed with the writer and love the writing, I have have been known to offer representation even with a problem manuscript. After all, part of the work of an agent is to help the writer create a marketable manuscript. But I can end up with a client I believe in and a manuscript that is a potential problem. If I try to shop the manuscript, am I doing harm to the client’s future prospects? If I decide, against my better judgment, to give it a try, I usually come up against a brick wall.
Or, even worse, I may have a manuscript I’m crazy about. I can visualize the book, the cover, the marketing– everything. As I begin to shop it, the response is tepid at best. It doesn’t happen often because I’m pretty good at spotting commercially viable projects, but when it does, it is definite #agentfail. It’s that brick wall again.
There’s nothing I hate more than having to report back to the client and suggest that the manuscript go into a drawer. Sometimes that’s the reality, however. It may not be forever because the market is ever changing, but it’s always difficult news to hear.
I often tell my own story. The very first middle grade novel I wrote was Tinker’s Daughter— the story of John Bunyan’s daughter. It was set in Restoration England with a profoundly blind ten-year-old protagonist. Can you imagine a tougher sale? With my proposal I had offered five more mini-synopses for other potential books in the series. The editor liked the concept, liked the writing but chose to buy the yet unwritten Courage to Run, the story of young Harriet Tubman. When the book was finished, the publisher decided that two books would make a better impression on the shelf so my first book–the unsalable one–was published at the same time. Ten-plus years later they are both still in print. It offers hope for those unpublishable manuscripts.
But when we talk about #agentfail, we need to acknowledge that every book we take on does not find its way to the bookstore shelves. Truth: No agent sells 100%. Some of us have very good track records, but I’ve yet to meet an agent who bats 1000.
And it doesn’t happen often, but sometimes we offer representation and hit that brick wall with everything from that author. That’s when I come to the author with my sincere mea culpa and set them free to find another agent who can succeed where I didn’t.
I hope I haven’t depressed you with this bit of reality. So much is written about the frustration felt by writers. I can’t imagine a better job than being a literary agent, but we have our challenges as well. I guess it keeps us all humble.
Tomorrow I’m going to leave the topic of honest #agentfail and talk about bad agents–how to spot them and how to avoid them.
In the meantime, have I burst any bubbles? Despite all the ways writers can fail and agents can fail, tell us why this is the best job in the whole world.
What a candid post. This is another good reason for writers to continue writing new books all the time. I love each book I write, but I’m always happy to move on to a new project too. It would be naive to think we’ve nailed the market expectations with each story we write.
When I worked as an electrical engineer, I would pour my heart into each project, but not every project panned out. Maybe the client decided to go in a different direction or they realized it would be too expensive. It’s a lesson that stuck with me over the years. We have to give each project 100% and let go of our expectations after that.
Wendy, For those of us who’ve been around this profession long enough, you’ve done nothing except validate our suspicions. Publishing is a subjective business, with emphasis on that last word.
Thanks to you and all the other agents who keep trying, and good luck to my colleagues who struggle with landing an agent and getting published.
I appreciated Rachel Kent’s honesty when she wrote back to me about my manuscript. She said that my story was promising, my writing was strong, and my main character likable, but she wasn’t confident she could sell my manuscript within her network. After following your blog for a year and seeing the inside workings of agents and the publishing world, I understood where she was coming from and appreciated her honesty.
As far as why this is the best job in the world? I love to ask the question “What if…” then dive into that person or world. Publishing would simply be the icing on the cake 🙂
You haven’t burst any bubbles. When facing a challenge, it’s always best to know what you have to work with. Can’t tell you enough how I appreciate your honesty. You have proven again that Books & Such really has a heart for mentoring writers, even those who aren’t your clients yet.
So why do we stick with it against all odds? I guess storytelling is just born in some of us. We’d write stories whether anyone read them or not, but it’s much more fun to share them. Then when we found out that telling stories is an effective way to teach and minister…even the rocks cry out, eh?
Thank you for such open and honest posts this week, Wendy.
I truly believe that writing is the best job in the world. Creating something and then sharing it with others (even if it’s only my sister, who thinks everything I write is spectacular) gives me such a great sense of satisfaction… so much so that I can’t even consider it a job. Writing queries, pitching proposals, some of my tedious prewriting exercises, learning about the market, and all the other business-related parts feel a little more like work. But at the end of the day, I get to use my imagination and string words together. It doesn’t get any better than that. 🙂
I find myself getting worried sometimes – like, what if my agent (whom I love) can’t sell my novels? I hope they sell. Not just for my sake, but for her sake too! I feel bad that she’s doing all this work for me but not getting paid for it.
I have a general question. Let’s say you kept hitting a brick wall for a client, but that client kept writing novels. Would you still part ways or continue trying to sell the new stuff they produce?
Wendy,
Thank you for this post. My first novel came out this year and have just submitted my second manuscript to my editor, through my agent, of course. This information is fabulous to have. It helps me understand my agent’s job better and appreciate (even more) how much she does to represent me.
Katie, don’t worry about your agent getting paid. If she loves you and loves your writing she’s in it for the long haul. Agents don’t believe in instant return on investment.
As to your second question, it’s a little harder. You agent is going to stay with you as long as there is still hope she can make the sale. Shopping manuscripts is an art. You can’t just keep taking manuscript after manuscript and putting it out to the same editors without impacting the writer’s reputation. A good agent needs to have new reasons for pitching each book. “You remember Susie Q. Writer? Her last manuscript wasn’t right for your house but since then she has won the Genesis competition and been a finalist in three other writing contests. . .”
Once an agent gets to the point where he feels he’s tried everything without success he regretfully lets the client go in the hope that a new agent, a new network and a new approach will work. It often does.
But if you are worried, this is a good conversation to have with your agent.
Don’t be discouraged by how long it takes to place a first novel. In an industry that’s not growing there are a limited number of slots for books and there is fierce competition for those slots. In order to get one of those slots a midlist author is going to lose his slot. Sad but true. When the industry begins expanding again it will be that much easier.
Thank you Wendy! I appreciate the answer. 🙂
Honestly, I love this post. You’ve shown the heart that goes into “shopping” a manuscript. The writer of course has passion for what he or she writes, but I think we might sometimes forget that the agent falls in love with the manuscript as well. So of course it would be heartbreaking to BOTH if the manuscript was unable to sell.
One of the aspects I like best about the agent-writer relationship is that desire to stay in it for the entire career, rather than just for one manuscript. You actually have given me more hope by describing how you may take on a client because of the writer’s personality and work ethic.
I appreciate the perseverance that must accompany the writer and the agent in both of their jobs. I love the passion that goes into writing a manuscript (and then selling it). I personally love writing because of what happens in the process: my feelings and thoughts are explored, I break down barriers, I learn, and then, if I feel God’s support on a manuscript, I pray that it will help to encourage, strengthen, or support others!
No burst bubbles here. In an industry where authors spend untold hours at the keyboard developing their own fictional worlds, it’s ironically easy to lose sight of agents’ and editors’ POV. Your post provides that balance. In all human relationships, open communication and understanding the other person’s viewpoint are vital. Thanks Wendy!
Thank you!
It is far better for all of us to have realistic expectations. Not only to save us from giving up in the face of disappointment, but to motivate us to perform/write at the top of our game. (because if even great manuscripts sometimes go unnoticed, it’s obvious that being mediocre isn’t even an option for success.)
Sure you may have burst some bubbles, but as Donald Maass said*: “If anything I can say will dissuade you from being a writer, you’re not a writer.”
*I’m pretty certain he said it… but that’s from memory…
Hi Wendy! Rachelle sent me your way and I’ve read every post you wrote last week and all are SO helpful. Thank you for being so honest and willing to share your weak spots… it’s really helpful to me as a writer and helps me to ramp my expectations down to match the reality. Thank you.
I am loving your posts!! Love the honesty and heartfelt words. We rarely get to hear the agent side of what’s really going on behind the scenes.
I appreciate you taking the time and sharing this with us, Wendy. It did NOT depress me. It made me feel better actually:)
Wendy, I read rachel’s blog. My first manuscript landed me an agent and she is shopping it as i type. Eek! (I haven’t shared my eek with her in order to remain calm and professional 😉 and i hesitated before reading this post, because I’m trying to channel positive energy out there and thought it wasn’t worthwhile to think about “what if” at this stage. But alas, I read this and am glad I did. I believe in my agent and that she’s going to do her best to sell my book, but it’s good to know thAt if she doesn’t, it’s not unusual and that many have been in the same boat. Thank u for your honesty.