Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office
Are you tired of me talking about the agent time crunch? Unfortunately, it’s the reason for much of the #AgentFail. Most of us have a set level of clients and, to keep them all going, it is more than a forty-hour work week. But we love it, and we wouldn’t do anything else. I’m guessing we’re not so different from anyone else reading this. Time is in short supply for all of us, and it causes us to have to make hard choices.
Time realities cause another logjam in my practice. When clients have a new proposal or a new manuscript, they often send it in and begin counting down the time until I make comments. You’d think I could get to a proposal in a couple of days and get a manuscript read and assessed in a week to ten days, wouldn’t you? That would be a perfect world. Because I represent more than one client, I tend to get a number of manuscripts all at once. The same with proposals. These submissions, like the requested proposals I talked about yesterday, go into a pile and I get to them as quickly as possible. Never as quickly as I’d wish.
Bless my clients, they understand the delay. It takes time to read the material, comment, perhaps send it back for changes and finally get it to the place I’m ready to shop it. It’s frustrating for me, as an agent, because we make our sales by submitting the material. I’m guessing that some writers who are not yet agented think that signing with an agent means all the roadblocks are magically gone. Not true. Picture that logging operation where all the logs are floating down the river until they hit the narrows. Everything jams and backs up. It happens in your agent’s office as well.
If I didn’t believe in God’s perfect timing, I think I might give up. The process of the first sale is so circuitous that it hardly seems possible that this whole industry works. But it does. Despite logjams and a reportedly slow market I have sold thirty-one books so far in 2010. And I’m just revving up.
Does it discourage you that this process is so convoluted and fraught with delays? Are you philosophical about it? Please share.
Do you find one part of the year more “log-jammed” than other parts? When is the best time to send in a manuscript (to publishing houses) if you’ve had a request?
It is a little frustrating, the whole process, and I’m always amazed that a book gets published at all. I guess you just pray for longevity (in age) so you can get through it!
Do lists (in publishing houses) fill up early in the year or later?
Sometimes, for me, it just seems so disorganized, but perhaps it’s like organized chaos!
My remedy for discouragement over the convoluted process IS to be philosophical about it. God makes all things work together for good, eh?
But more than any other factor, frustration with the slowness of the system is what I hear as the reason so many writers are turning to self-publishing. They’re not looking for a shortcut to fame without the edits and learning curve. They’ve done all that and simply lose patience with the logjam you describe. One editor recently blogged about their pub board working on Fall 2013 selections. That’s an additional 3 year wait for authors who’ve already invested years in writing…IF they’re one of the handful selected. Emotionally it is frustrating, and financially it’s daunting.
Isaiah 55:9 – “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
I always try to keep in mind that if the Lord wants to get my book published – if that would bring him the most glory – he will accomplish that end. He knows the best timing and the best means by which to do such a thing. Even the logjammed publishing process won’t frustrate his purposes. Just because I don’t see how it could possibly come about that a book may make it through the hoops and hurdles, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have the perfect way to accomplish it. My job is to be willing to wait on him and his higher ways, and also to accept it if he has a different plan for my writing. So, yes… I guess I do get philosophical about it! 🙂
I’m philosophical and humorous about it. Just how I deal. So I’ve been going around the house acting like Billy Crystal in this scene (hope you can connect to the link).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzIDsvJwjgA
If you’re not able to see the link, it’s when he’s singing “Call me” in When Harry Met Sally.
It makes me laugh so hard.
~ Wendy
Yeah. It’s frustrating. The system seems inefficient. I’m not suggesting your efforts are inefficient at all. It’s the whole gig. Somewhere along the way the business end of it got convoluted. It works to a point, but your issues seem to be the same for the entire industry. Maybe the “pub board” process in the big scheme of things is less effective than it should be . . .
I too agree that God works all things together for the good. He has everything planned out and it all comes together if it’s within his will. While waiting authors wait to hear back from their agents it helps to keep busy with new manuscripts, it helps to have your mind on new characters while waiting to hear back about your others. 🙂
Blessings
Jackie
Yes, I get frustrated, just as I know my agent gets frustrated. And the fact that some houses are finalizing their 2013 lists doesn’t make it any easier to wait. But it’s not a perfect world, so I wait, trust in God’s timing, and take an occasional Pepcid Complete when my stomach starts to burn.
Crystal asked if one part of the year is more log-jammed than another. Most of it has to do with travel or any kind of taking time off work– like the last several weeks with two surgeries.
We used to think we had a good feel for publishers’ best buying times but lately it’s been all topsy-turvey. We sold books in August (used to be a dead time) and last year in December! I’ve stopped trying to over think it. a great book is going to get attention no matter when.
And just because it gets log-jammed doesn’t mean it’s disorganized. We are careful with systems and organization– it’s one of the reasons this industry does work.
For instance, I sold another book today. I think that makes nine since I’ve been “off” work.
Would love to get in the loop for a review of my works of words. I can be patient now. Janet Grant was initially interested but I think I was impatient and she bumped me from the loop. I needed to read your blog. The text I am developing is called back to the garden, learning to live on the fruit of the tree of life. Where do I go from here?
Writing is something we love to do and most of us writers would probably do it at least sometimes even if we knew our work could never get published. But being an agent sounds like a horrible job. Except for the pleasure of finding a great book and seeing one of your clients get published, which may only happen a few times a year, what else is good about it?
Oh, Janet, it’s a wonderful job! I’m focusing on some of the downsides this week to balance out the writer downsides we hear so much about, but I couldn’t love the job more.
I always think of Henry Blackaby’s advice from the book, Experiencing God. He advises us to figure out where God is already at work and come alongside. That’s what being an agent is all about. I get to be part of so many careers, so many books. And I get to work with some of the brightest, most interesting people in the industry– both clients and editors. Yes, I wish I had time to lavish on each part of the job but that’s not reality. And I don’t think it’s so different from every other job out there– lack of time is one of our challenges.
Mark, sometimes a writer’s work just does not connect with a certain agent. That’s why you need to reach out to several agents.
As to where you go from here I’m guessing that if Janet took a look and ultimately decided against representation perhaps your work was not yet at a publishable level. As I said on Monday’s blog post few agents have the time to develop writers– that’s why it’s so important to use critique groups and writer friends to help polish your work before you send it to an agent. You don’t want to close those doors too early in the process.
Once you have a publishable manuscript start querying agents. The process is long and sometimes frustrating but if the book is good you’ll find representation. (If you start reading agent blogs and writer’s websites you’ll find all you need to know about the process.)
I recently read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. In it he stresses the importance of putting in time (10,000 hours to achieve proficiency at any task). I’m finding it’s taken me about that long to switch from writing non-fiction to fiction. Frankly, I’m glad I didn’t get something published about 3,000 hours ago. I’d be ashamed of it now. So, waiting can have its upside–if we keep learning!
Wendy,
This has been an interesting series. Thank you for posting it! 🙂
KC
LOVE this!!
If I didn’t believe in God’s perfect timing, I think I might give up.
You are so awesome, Wendy. I am so glad I got the ooportunity to meet you at JSB workshop in Hilmar (Jan).
As far as your question goes, yes, it can be discouraging waiting but those who have studied the publishing industry know that that’s how it is.
I give all you lit agents so much credit and praise. I can’t even imagine how you have any time to even sleep. Always going….always working:)
With havin so much written content do you ever run into any issues of plagorism or copyright
violation? My site has a lot of exclusive content I’ve either created myself or outsourced but it seems a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my authorization. Do you know any methods to help prevent content from being stolen? I’d definitely appreciate it.
Women are great multitask and tend to be able to
do many things at once, even starting from the cave man
days they were watching the children, cooking the food,
and doing many other things at once, They may have
perhaps been sweeping the hearth as well. You can’t email a woman thinking you’re not going to get
a response. After you work out your own personality, you will no
longer have to think about being good-looking or rich.