Agents Are Subjective...But So Am I

Quick announcement before I dive into the post--after much debate, I decided to postone the contest until December. I feel horrible about promising this and not doing it right away. I've been trying to work on that. But while writing up the post and getting all the details together, I realized that logistically, it was wiser to wait. So while that stinks, it gets to be SO MUCH COOLER if I do it in December. So bear with me. It will be worth it, I promise.

Segue!

Here’s something I’ve been hearing agents say a lot lately: “I need to fall in love.” This is one of the hardest things about querying. You can write an outstanding query, and have some incredible opening pages, and you can know in your gut it’s good—but you can’t guarantee an agent will love it. 

And that’s rough. While researching potential agents for MIRRORPASS submissions, I heard the “fall in love” phrase over and over again. Agents said they wanted voices that would hook them and plots that would make them miss a subway stop. They said the market is so tough, and their inboxes are so full of queries, that they can’t take on a project unless it’s absolutely perfect for them. 

Some factors of “perfection” garnered from interviews and profiles :

·         It has to fit them and their tastes.

·         It can’t be too much like another client’s book.

·         They need to know right off which editors they could pitch this to.

·         And they have to love it.

Which is pretty subjective. It’s more timing, circumstance, and personal taste than the quality of the manuscript. I get this. I do. But before doing all this research, it was a bit intellectual for me. I still approached submissions with a mindset hinting of, “if my book is good enough, then they’ll love it.”

Because that’s the writer’s job, right? We do our best to have a strong hook, unique voice, compelling premise, breakout stakes, and flawed characters, not to mention developing a professional writing style devoid of too many filter words, “ly” adverbs, stilted dialogue, and flat descriptions. There’s this sensation that if you do all that, eventually you’ll write The One, the special book that will make agents and editors swoon. 

It’s like a subconscious formula of success. If I do these things, my books will be good. Agents love good books. Therefore, agents will love my book if it’s good.  

There’s merit to the idea—good writing increases your chances of someone liking your book—but it’s also flawed.  

Agents receive a lot of strong submissions. Research agents for five seconds, and this becomes obvious. But agents don’t talk about their client’s projects like they’re just good books. When an agent talks about an upcoming client project, you can almost feel the sparkle in their eyes. They gush. They enthuse. They’re passionate. There was clearly a difference between projects they thought were good or interesting or unique, or even ones that had huge potential, and the actual projects that sparked some deeper fervor inside them. 

And still, I didn’t get it, until I found myself doing the exact same thing during my agent hunt. 

I found myself wanting to fall in love.

This wasn’t about agents being good or not. There are so many incredible YA agents out there, it was even a bit overwhelming. Agencies like Andrea Brown, Writer’s House, and Nancy Coffey were exceptional. Many of them were called “super agents” by their clients and interviewers. They had a great client list, lots of big deals, good connections, a fantastic agency—everything an author could want.

Now, some of them I liked. Some of them I didn’t. Some of them were right for me, technically, but I couldn’t shake the odd sensation that they weren’t right for me...that something didn’t mesh. I could name plenty of superficial reasons why—“she sells too many vamp books, I don’t do vamps, and what’s with the cutsy contemp?”—but when it came down to it, I wasn’t sure what my problem was. Anyone else would be happy to have to have this person as their agent. Why not me?

And then I stumbled upon a few agents I loved. 

I knew the difference right away. I sat up straighter. My heart started pounding. I found myself reading their interviews voraciously, soaking in every word and pasting quotes in my agent file. I found myself daydreaming about how The Call would go (though I hadn’t even queried them yet) and how cool it would be to become their client. I’d stare at their agent file, and just grin.

But I can’t tell you why those people stood out to me. They just did. It wasn’t intellectual or technical or a result of their accomplishments. There was just something about them that made me know, in my gut, they were the kind of person I wanted to work with. They had somehow surpassed like and gone straight to love.

Which, I realized, is how agents react to manuscripts. They don’t have the time and skill to take on projects unless they love them. In return, I was crossing superstar agents off my list because I just didn’t connect with them. And if I did love an agent, I wanted them to love my work back. What was the point of becoming their client otherwise?

Personally, I believe in my book. I’ve worked hard on it. I’m passionate about it. I want an agent to feel that same passion. If they thought my novel was excellent, that it had potential, but they felt no person connection—well, I’d rather they reject me. 

But.

Even though I felt that way, even though I didn’t love every agent on my list, there’s a reason they got on my list to begin with. They had success stories and great clients. They worked with a reputable agency. They stood out. I knew that if I clicked with these people, they would make me a great agent. 

And it’s the same with good writing. No, good writing isn’t guaranteed to make those superstar agents swoon. But it’s enough to get you on the list, so to speak. It makes you stand out long enough for them to finish the query, or your sample pages, or ask for a partial or a full. In the end, they may not have loved it—they might not sign you. But it was good enough for them to give it a shot, to consider it, to take a look.

And if you keep writing solid stories with strong hooks, unique voices, and breakout stakes, eventually you’re bound to write the novel that someone will love. 

That’s what I tell myself, anyway ;)

Truly and always,
-Creative A

Finding The One: An Agent Story

Today is the first guest post in what's turning out to be an interesting series about agents, publishing, and being published. Please welcome our first guest blogger; Karen Duvall! 

It's not easy getting an agent. Did you know literary agents reject 99% of all the queries they receive? That's an average so it doesn't reflect every single agent out there, but comes pretty darn close. In fact, many writers believe it's easier to find a publisher than it is to land an agent, and they could be right.

I just landed an agent in May, and I feel pretty fortunate. I've been writing seriously for a number of years and this is agent number three. Why didn't I stick with my first one? That's a story that begs telling and if you're doing an agent search of your own, maybe you'll learn something from my experiences.

Agent number one was a wonderful person. She was referred to me by another agent I'd queried who thought we'd be a good fit. She was right. I'd written a women's fiction novel that was semi autobiographical and it fit this new agent to a T. She'd just graduated from a literary agent program in New York and was actively building her client list. We got along great, talked on the phone a lot, exchanged letters (this was before email had become popular), and things were looking good.

She tried so hard to sell that book. I even rewrote it in a different POV because it seemed to be lacking something, but neither of us knew what it was. That should have been the first warning flag. The blind leading the blind. Not good.

So after two years of publisher rejections, agent number one bid me farewell and went on to build a successful career representing nonfiction. I can't help but think I might have been responsible for her decision to set fiction aside. Looking back, it wasn't a well-written book. The premise was good, but the writing? Not so much. I've grown as a writer since then.

Then I explored a new genre I was very excited about. Paranormal mystery. Yes! That was my ticket to solid representation and subsequent publication. I attracted interest from an excellent agent who had been an editor for Berkley, but after nine months of working together on revisions, she ultimately passed because she thought the book wasn't suspenseful enough. So I set out once again on the great agent safari, but there was little interest in my Big Chill meets Nancy Drew manuscript set in Hawaii. Then I got a nibble. And when he offered to represent my book, I said yes.

Big mistake. I should have checked him out better, but he was a lawyer! It was good to have a lawyer for an agent, right? Wrong. I don't mean the lawyer part, which may or may not mean anything. This guy simply didn't know what he was doing. His wife was a librarian and maybe he figured that's all he needed when it came to selling books to publishers. He's out of business now (thank God), but his approach was kind of like throwing spaghetti at the wall and see if it sticks. His attempts to sell my book never stuck. Not only that, he charged for postage and photocopies. I should have known better, but I had my eyes set so firmly on the prize that I didn't think it through. Always check out an agent thoroughly before signing a contract. That was a year out of my book's life that I'll never get back.

So what ever happened to that manuscript? Nothing. I decided to set it aside for the time being. In fact, I'm seriously thinking about repurposing it for YA. It's a treasure hunt story that would be perfect for that market. For now, it resides in the deepest recesses of my hard drive.

Onward and upward. I'd learned from my mistakes. And I'd learned from the manuscripts that tanked after being represented by two different agents, one good and the other not so much. Despite the set-backs, I managed to sell two other unrelated manuscripts to publishers on my own. Both small presses, one traditional and the other an e-pub, but the experience added to my arsenal of knowledge about the industry. I was ready for the next step.

So I wrote book number six, an urban fantasy, a story I was so in love with I could hardly believe my luck. I knew that if I couldn't land a decent agent with this one, I'd move on without settling for less. I was fully prepared to set the manuscript aside if I couldn't find the interest it deserved.

So I sent out my queries. About ten at a time. I had a few good responses, and that encouraged me, but other than some partial requests, no offers were forthcoming. It took a couple of months before I got my first request for the full manuscript. Then another. And another. Within two weeks, I had seven full manuscript requests and I took this as a very good sign.

A month later, when Elizabeth Winick of McIntosh and Otis offered representation, I accepted. There were still four outstanding fulls, but I had no trouble making my decision to go with Elizabeth after we talked at length on the phone. She knew her stuff, was vice president of one of the oldest literary agencies in New York, the same agency that represents John Steinbeck's estate. No way would I pass up this opportunity.

We went through a couple rounds of revisions that I believe strengthened the manuscript, and about a month ago, Elizabeth began submitting my manuscript to publishers. Words can't express how wonderful it is to have a reputable agent on your side. I'm now working on my next project, fully confident my agent will do her job. No news yet on the manuscript making the rounds, but I'm hopeful. Wish us luck!

Karen Duvall writes a mix of urban fantasy, YA, and paranormal romance. Her novels "Project Resurrection" and "Desert Guardian," have both been published by small press. Her current novel, "Knight's Curse," was a finalist in the PASIC Book Of Your Heart contest. You can read more about Karen's publishing journey on her blog.  

Other agent resources: 

Writers Beware

Preditors and Editors 

Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent