Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Location: 33,00 feet– flying Across the United States
We’ve looked at the head, eyes, nose and mouth so far. Today is our pragmatic day—the hands-on part of the job. John Q. Agent will be called upon to juggle mountains of information. Pitch paragraphs, proposals, manuscripts, marketing plans, royalty statements, contracts, cover comps, schedules, deadlines and correspondence will pass through his hands on each book he offers. Looking at an average for each of those documents I figure that amounts to about 430 pages of crucial data per book. If the agent has, say, fifty clients (some have fewer, most have more) and let’s say that each of those clients have contracts for one and a half books each year. (Of course, some have more, some have less– but that’s an average.) That would add up to 32,700 pages of crucial information per year that our John Q has to manage, digest and recall at a moment’s notice.
And don’t forget that each contracted book may have been shopped to half a dozen editors. Add all the back and forth correspondence that goes with that process. All of that needs to be logged as well to keep track of where the books been shopped and what kind of responses we’ve received.
And we’re just talking clients here, not those writers seeking representation.
That’s a lot of information passing through his hands. He also needs to offer serious input on much of it—commenting, editing, refining, brainstorming and at the very least, replying. It requires a lot more than dexterity. It requires discipline, productivity and most of all, effective systems to deal with the data. I happen to love efficiency systems and productivity and I’m constantly tinkering. I can’t imagine how I could do this job without these tools I’m constantly developing and refining.
John Q. Agent must be able to keep his hand to the plow, so to speak, to stay on top of the data that comes into the office capturing it in easily-retrievable systems. If he slacks off for any reason he will never catch up.
So in a nutshell, here’s what an agent needs to have at hand:
- The discipline to manage mountains of data, day in and day out
- The sheer number of hours required to process data, read manuscripts and respond
- Effective systems in place to capture information in an easily retrievable form
- Space for data storage, both physical and electronic.
- The ability to prioritize. Without this skill, an agent could spend ten hours a day on email alone.
John Q. Agent will find that nothing will challenge him in this job like handling the paperwork but once he’s got his systems in place he’ll look like a genius with all the answers at his fingertips.
Let’s turn this around and apply it to you. Writers have their own mountains, right? What kinds of systems do you use to store and retrieve research? How about your reader lists? Do you have any good hints for the rest of us?
Since most of my writing at present is for on-line publications, I’m afraid I’m lax in keeping paperwork up to date. I’m starting to remember to print and file the contracts for each article I write (though I have to print of find and file copies for the first few). I have a submissions tracking system, fully manual, a tedious triple-entry system that works well for me, when I work it (as I did yesterday evening). I have given up keeping drafts of articles, though I still keep any printed research. My file per article is: pitch correspondence, contract, submittal, printed copy.
As I have no books published as yet, except for e-self-published ones, I don’t have a good filing system. For my first novel I kept each draft, each critique, each revision, all organized chapter by chapter. I kept any printed research in its own notebook, without any specific type of organization to it. This was as suggested by novelist David Morrell (except the lack of organizatoin part). However, that’s so much paper that I’ve decided for future book-length projects I’m only going to keep the latest couple of drafts, and keep discarding older ones.
I am the spreadsheet queen. I use them to track submissions, to track my TBR pile for the books I need to review, and to track my clients’ payments. I post a to-do list online at my writer’s forum to keep me focused each week.
While I have a filing cabinet, most of my correspondence is handled via email. I use personal folders so I can quickly find what I am looking for. Unless I’ve misfiled something, this works beautifully. I also use them to file research information that I’ve emailed to myself.
When researching online, I add sites I’ll use again to my favorites, which are filed by project or topic. When researching from a book, I might photo copy pages I want to keep, but other than that, I don’t have a lot of paper here. I hate clutter, so sticking to electronic storage as much as possible keeps my office tidy.
My wonderful husband backs up our computer network every night and then uses Mozy to back up remotely once a week, so I’m not afraid of losing data.
Great topic today, Wendy. Hope you have a nice trip.
My system is similar to Cheryl’s. I use Excel for submissions, sales, books I volunteer to influence, etc. My research goes in folders under my Favorites–one for each WIP. I also have folders in my email for correspondence I want to keep.
Then, of course, there’s the chair filing method, but I don’t recommend it.
I use Microsoft OneNote for everything. I create a folder for each of my books and I add several tabs and subsequent pages. I also have folders for my current year’s business plan, promotion ideas, speaking information, my duties as an officer in our local RWA chapter, and my blog’s weekly interview information.
I love OneNote because I can add tables and perform calculations (writing logs and scene lists made easy!), and I can copy/paste links, e-mails, pictures, and research from the Internet and OneNote saves the URL of where I found the information. The folders make it simple to organize everything.
It’s streamlined my life in many ways. I can’t imagine living without it!
This post just sends me into panic mode. I can’t even imagine.
I’m the one with piles here and piles there. I never throw anything out so I can always find what I’m looking for. Eventually.
I keep telling myself that this mess of a life must mean I’m wildly creative and one day I’ll make a ton of money and hire an assistant do all the filing…and a housekeeper and a gardener and a…
Okay, Cheryl and Sandra. What are the headings you use in Exel? I’m not sure what information I need to be keeping track of. When you query do you put in the editor’s name, address, telephone, e-mail, etc? Or just name and the rest is in your address book? Separate Exel document for each work? I would love to see a class on organizing at a writers conference with sample documents.
All of this post is great, Wendy. One point that really caught my attention: “He also needs to offer serious input on much of it—commenting, editing, refining, brainstorming and at the very least, replying.” Replying, which we all want and try to do for others, is “at the very least.” Great point. And this list, again, shows how productive and efficient you all must be with your time.
Most of my files are electronic, though I do have paper copies of either working drafts (that I’m marking up or brainstorming away from my computer) or published articles. My electronic files are organized into various folders for various projects and usually have long titles so I know exactly what that file is. I try to keep all files backed up in at least two different places besides my computer’s hard drive.
It’s interesting to read other’s strategies. I like hearing organizational methods!
I’m with Sally… panic mode!
How do you ever take a vacation?
Thanks, dear Agent, for all you do.
Bill, the only way I’ve figured out to take a vacation is to drag my computer with me. An agent never knows when a situation for a client will “go south.” We try to slip away from it all, but it’s beyond me how to do that without at least reading emails to see if an emergency has popped up.