Betsy Lerner and Susan Straight

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews literary agent and writer Betsy Lerner, author of The Forest for the Trees (Revised and Updated): An Editor's Advice to Writers and Susan Straight, author of Take One Candle Light a Room.

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(Broadcast date: October 27, 2010)

Literary Agent Betsy Lerner

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and Marrie Stone take listeners' questions for author, former editor and literary agent Betsy Lerner, author of The Forest for the Trees (Revised and Updated): An Editor's Advice to Writers.

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(Broadcast Date: December 1, 2010)

2nd Annual Agents Night - Pen on Fire Writers Salon

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett hosts literary agents Jill Marr, Jamie Weiss Chilton, and Sally van Haitsma at the Pen on Fire Writers Salon.

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(Event date: July 13, 2010)

Kim Dower and Kate Gale

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Kim Dower, literary agent and author of Air Kissing on Mars and Kate Gale, managing editor of Red Hen Press, poet, and a recent two-term president of PEN USA.

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(Broadcast date: November 3, 2010)

John McNally and Ted Weinstein

Marrie Stone interviews John McNally, author of The Creative Writer's Survival Guide: Advice from an Unrepentant Novelist and literary agent Ted Weinstein.

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(Broadcast date: September 1, 2010)

Greg Breining and Literary Agent Jill Marr

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Greg Breining, author of Super Volcano: The Ticking Time Bomb Beneath Yellowstone National Park and literary agent Jill Marr.

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(Broadcast date: April 28, 2010)

Andy Ross and Wells Tower

Marrie Stone interviews Andy Ross, agent at the Andy Ross Literary Agency, and Wells Tower, author of Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned: Stories.

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(Date aired: January 13, 2010)

An Evening with Literary Agents Sally Van Haitsma, Jamie Weiss Chilton and Jill Marr

It may have been a bit steamy in the lobby where we set up the chairs for 80+ mostly writers, but the consensus is that it was an informative night. Our agents in attendance responded off the cuff to first pages and agent queries submitted by attendees, and I think most would agree that even if they weren't talking about your work, there was much to learn by how they did respond to the work in question.

Perhaps some of you who were there who are reading this will talk about what you got out of it?

Photos by Travis Barrett and Barbara







Last four photos by Adele Peters

Getting an agent, selling a book

A friend wrote to me about a friend of his who was writing a book proposal and wanted to know what to do next.

These questions always make me sigh because there's so much new writers need to know.

There are a few books that can help. One is Susan Page's The Shortest Distance Between You and a Published Book. It gives the lowdown on the process from idea to book. Another is Arielle Eckstut's Putting Your Passion Into Print.

Once you have a proposal, you want to find an agent. One place to find agents is to look in the acknowledgment pages of books like yours and query the agent that sold that book. Or pick up Jeff Herman's book on publishing or Writer's Digest Literary Agents.

If you've never written a query letter, you need to know how to write a great query letter. Lisa Collier Cool has a wonderful book on queries. There are others, too.

Then you query a list of agents and you wait, and you hope. If you're given to such things, you say prayers, light candles.

One thing you don't want to do is ask an author you don't know, who's never seen your work, to recommend agents. It renders authors speechless when that happens.

If you're interested in publishing, it's never too early to start reading books on publishing, going to writers' conferences, book signings, attending panels and listening to author and agent interviews. (On my show, Writers on Writing, I often interview agents, and Marrie and I always interview authors.)

Bone up! Writing is like any other field; you have to know the business as well as the craft. I sound harsh, don't I? It's a process, learning craft and learning the business. And if you want to be published, it takes both.

Fictional novel, true memoir: Not

Those of you who already know this, please, don't throw tomatoes, potatoes, or pie. Some quite intelligent writers have trouble with this one. (With each one of us, it's always something...)

This comes up a lot with new(ish), or not so new(ish) writers: In talking about their work, they say, "My fictional novel...."

No no no.

If you query an agent and you say this, you risk said agent pitching your project into the trash, or at the very least, sending you a form rejection letter.

Why is it a big deal?

Because agents figure that if you're writing a novel, you know it's fiction. Just as if you're writing a memoir, one hopes it's true. And if you say "fictional novel" or "true memoir" to an agent, it makes it easy for them to say no to you, and what with all the material slamming agents on a daily basis, if there's the slightest reason to say no, they will.

Of course they want to say yes. They want stellar work to come in the door, mailbox, email inbox, wherever! So make it easy for them to say yes. Learn the business of writing as well as the craft, and never ever ever say "fictional novel."

Elizabeth Gilbert and Kelly Sonnack

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage and literary agent Kelly Sonnack of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

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(Broadcast date: January 27, 2010)

Betsy Lerner and Rachel Resnick

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews literary agent Betsy Lerner and Rachel Resnick, author of Love Junkie.

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(Broadcast date: September 09, 2009)

Literary Agent Dorian Karchmar

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Dorian Karchmar, literary agent with the William Morris Agency in New York.

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(Broadcast date: May 26, 2009)

Vicky Bijur

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews
Vicky Bijur, New York City literary agent.

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(Broadcast date: February 11, 2009)

After the interview, I still had a few questions for Vicky, and she agreed to elaborate. Here you go:
....

Memoirs traditionally don't cover an entire life but just a period in the life, but can a memoir take place completely in the past? What if you want to write about a time in, say, the '80s, or '90s. Is that okay, or does a memoir need to end with the present?

I don't think I can generalize. I do think readers like to know what happened to the subject of the memoir. But I wouldn't ever say there is a hard and fast rule for how to end a memoir.

Is a non-linear structure fine, or is whatever works fine?

Again, I don't think there are any rules here.

Is it possible to write just part of a memoir and submit as with any other nonfiction book proposal--30 pages of text and other material, such as overview, bio, marketing?

Barbara, I don't feel there is one answer to this question. The answer probably depends on too many factors--how well known the author is, the author's publishing history/track record, the quality of the writing. But the memoir is such a writerly, literary form of non-fiction, that it is probably more important for an editor to see it in its final form.

Do you see the memoir form becoming exhausted?

I don't think so. My impression--based on purely anecdotal evidence--is that I read all the time of deals for new memoirs.

On the show you talked about how we need to support newspapers. I subscribe to the Los Angeles Times, and even though I don't read it daily and feel guilty about wasting paper, I keep my subscription because I want papers to continue. Is this what you were talking about?

Yes. I feel good about paying for my newspaper. I am worried that if content is free, the newspaper industry won't be able to finance the sort of coverage and investigative reporting they can currently support.

We also talked about the reviewing media and how the loss of book reviews in newspapers and the addition of online reviews is changing things. Can you embellish?

I wish I had more information on if and how online reviews/online buzz sells books. All I know is that the print review media is contracting, and there seems to be a lot of chatter online about books.
.....

If you have a question for Vicky that wasn't't addressed on the show, or here, post it in the comment area. I'll get it to her, and post her response.

Q&A with literary agent Gary Heidt

The following is an interview I did earlier this year with NYC literary agent Gary Heidt for The ASJA Monthly.

FinePrint Literary Management agent, Gary Heidt, was a John Jay Scholar at Columbia University and General Manager at WKCR-FM. Upon graduating, he returned to the nightclubs as a gigging musician; the Village Voice called his first album a "masterpiece." He is a published poet and columnist. His librettos for composer Evan Hause's Defenestration Trilogy earned praise from Newsday, Opera News and the New York Press, and his musical comedies (he has written several in collaboration with Gary Miles, including The Feng Shui Assassin and American Eyeball) were described by The Onion as "strangely funny." Originally from Texas, he has lived in New York City for a decade and a half.
Gary is looking for history, science, true crime, pop culture, psychology, business, military and some literary fiction.


BDB: Talk about how you became an agent.

GH: I wrote a few novels, and in the nineties I was briefly represented by two different agents, neither of whom had any luck with my rather precious, self-indulgent work. Ten years later, it occurred to me that those people had what seemed to be a pretty neat job— they were fairly independent and got to read a lot. So I went to work at a literary agency.

BDB: What sort of material do you especially like to handle?

GH: Like everyone, I love something that is truly and deeply funny. I am convinced that humor is the hardest thing to do well. We are awash in bad humor and pathetic comedy, and the bad stuff is really terrible. A finely tuned sense of humor is a wonderful thing, and it enhances any genre of writing. I am also very interested in well-researched history, although it's hard to sell if it isn't by someone who doesn't have any history credentials.

BDB: Is what you like to handle and what sells best one and the same?

GH: What I like to handle is precisely what I think I can sell best. What I like to read for personal fulfillment is often a book I would never represent, because I couldn't sell it. I read poetry, which I don't represent, and some academic nonfiction, university press type stuff, art criticism, histories of banks, things that I would probably not represent as an agent. But I also like to read commercial fiction, thrillers, and mainstream literary stuff.

BDB: Talk about the nonfiction you represent—science, history, psychology....

GH: I recently signed up two physics professors. I love to read about science. History is, to me, about understanding one's self and how the world got to be the way it is. Psychology is murky—I don't do self-help books or prescriptive nonfiction, how to survive depression, things like that. In order to write books in any of these subject areas, these days, one really needs a Ph.D. or a strong resume as a journalist.

BDB: Do you see any particular trends in publishing right now, in terms of what’s being sought after?

GH: Overall, the picture right now is one of downsizing, shrinking lists, former editors standing around fires in hobo encampments wearing fingerless gloves and fighting over tattered copies of McSweeny's. Every publisher wants an author that doesn't need a publisher—in other words, they are eager to sign authors who can sell a half-million copies on their own, through their Web site or their television show. A larger and larger proportion of books are being bought from packagers rather than authors—it's another aspect of editors at corporate houses shifting more of the work of editing onto an external supplier.

BDB: Of course writers shouldn’t pay attention to trends, right?

GH: That depends. If by writers you mean bitter, lonely, unpublished writers, yes, I would agree.

BDB: It’s a conflict for a writer, perhaps especially for literary writers: You want to write from your passion, yet if you’re not aware of what’s selling, you’re considered naïve.

GH: I would say that if you find yourself thinking or saying, "Nothing good is being published now," as I hear so many people say, you should realize that something on the order of 150,000 titles were published last year, and that it's likely that a few good ones may have escaped your notice. I think it is profoundly important for writers to be as aware as possible of their peers. So for literary writers, I would say it's especially important to seek out and champion writers whose work you like. Review books for a local newspaper, on your blog, whatever. I am constantly reading new literary fiction, and there is a lot of very good stuff being written. I would say that literary fiction isn't really about trends, but at the same time, there's no excuse for not being aware of who is doing good work in this day and age. If all the writers who queried me about their literary fiction in the last year bought twelve new literary books a year, we would see an immediate renaissance of literary publishing in this country. If you're stumped because all the critics liked Franzen's novel and you can't stand it, don't stop there. Look for the books the critics ignored, buy them, read them, tell everyone about the good ones.

BDB: Speaking of fiction, what sort of fiction are you attracted to?

GH: My favorite fiction writers today—who are published: In literary fiction, I love Charles Yu, Tito Perdue, Stephen Policoff, Carol Emschwiller, Shelley Jackson, Stephen Wright, Daniel Patrick Scott, Frederick Barthelme, Charles Baxter, Ryan Gattis and Sam Lipsyte. There are a some that I like a lot but which don't speak to me quite as emphatically as that first list, but they are very good and worth reading—folks like Bruce Wagner, Viken Berberian, Walter Kirn, Danuta de Rhodes, Amelie Nothomb, Gregoire Bouillier, Joe McGinnis. In YA, I particularly like Marcus Zusak, Chris Lynch, Sonia Sones and of course Jason Myers. In crime fiction, everyone should read every single book that Charles Ardai's Hard Case Crime publishes. Not that I have, but I would guess I've read over a dozen of them and have yet to be disappointed. In thrillers, I love the team of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Lee Childs.

BDB: You’re interested in graphic novels, yes? Please elaborate...

GH: They are a lot of fun to read. I was into Marvel Comics as a kid, and then in the nineties was introduced to Alan Moore's work by a friend of mine. I think that the potential of the genre is nearly limitless. On the business side, the graphic novel shelf is the fastest growing segment of the bookstore. I think publishers are a little confused on how to deal with this, but I am trying to give them some helpful guidance.

BDB: Do you see books going away in favor of electronic publishing?

GH: It could happen. The reading of books has mostly gone away already, and all that's left now are the actual objects. I read somewhere that a pretty large percentage of books are bought as totems. You can put the book on your coffee table or carry it to Starbucks, and it sends a message about who you are. Now how will this work with a Sony Reader? No one will know that you are carrying a copy of The Stranger in that Kindle. The portable electronic readers will go down in price, and once they hit, say, fifty, sixty bucks, I think e-books might do for publishing what the mp3 did for the record business. The good thing about electronic publishing is that it lowers the production cost for a new book, so theoretically more authors could get published.

BDB: If you had to sum yourself up in one line, what would you say?

GH: Don't take it serious, it's too mysterious.--Lew Brown

BDB: How does the fact that you’re a published poet and columnist, and a musician, figure into the mix?

GH: I think I have a better understanding of what goes on in the creative process than some of my fellow agents who haven't pursued these kinds of activities.

BDB: What else should potential clients know about you?

GH: That I want you all to go out and buy a lot of books, especially those by my clients!

Book proposals: a question

Rob says....

"One more question, if I can. I am also looking at a non-fiction work. How much information will I need in my proposal before sending it off? Is there a good on-line resource for putting together the proposal/query?"

My book proposal for Pen on Fire ran around 50 pages. Parts include the overview of the project, a bio, marketing plan, comparison survey, chapter outline and three chapters or 30 pages or so of text from the book.

I don't know if there are online resources but I'll tell you what book served me well: Michael Larsen's How to Write a Book Proposal. I followed it pretty much to a T and my agent garnered a great deal for me. There may be other good books on writing book proposals but this one worked for me. (Larsen is an agent in San Francisco.)

Editors and Predators

Do you know about this site, where you can get the lowdown on agents?

Here it is.