Bent on Books

Molly's Playing Honorary Cupid

2012-02-02T16:43:00.001-05:00

I'm super excited to be one of the agents taking part in the Blind Speed Dating contest over on Cupid's Literary Connection. If you're interested in getting your query in front of a fabulous group of literary agents, I hope you'll enter! I'm already warming up so I'll be ready to go to the mat for the manuscripts I want to see...

And now a word from...Molly Ker Hawn

2012-01-19T16:57:00.003-05:00

Well, some very exciting news, folks: industry pro Molly Ker Hawn has joined the Bent Agency to open a London office and I am thrilled to bits. She'll be repping exclusively children's books. Her bio and submission guidelines can be found at http://www.thebentagency.com/submissions.html:

"My time in the children's publishing industry has included editorial roles at Chronicle Books and Dial Books for Young Readers, early social media development for a major teen magazine, and serving as National Programs Director at the Children's Book Council, the trade association of American children's book publishers. I've also been a bookseller, and I'm a past board member of the United States Board on Books for Young People.

I live in London and I work with authors and publishers both in the U.K. and the U.S. I've bounced back and forth from America to England since I was a teenager: I grew up in Northern California, lived for a time in the West Country, read English at Cambridge University, spent many years in New York City, and now live a stone's throw from the River Thames."

You can query Molly at hawnqueries@thebentagency.com. I asked her to say a few words, and so, now, OVER TO MOLLY:

Hi everyone --

The agency website's been updated and PW's been alerted, so now it's officially official and I can tell the world: I've joined the Bent Agency! And I'm so excited I almost can't stand it. I'm thrilled to be joining such a terrific team and I can't wait to see what the slush pile brings. I've already found a manuscript that's absolutely gorgeous, and if it's any sign of what's to come, then 2012 is going to be a corker of a year. On my wish list:

    • Contemporary romance
    • Historical fiction
    • Thrillers (a fabulous historical thriller would really make my day)
    • Something fun about time travel
    • Science fiction, particularly for the middlegrade audience -- I love a good spaceship
    • Anything at all with a great sibling relationship
    • Nothing with zombies, werewolves, vampires, fairies, or monsters made of spare parts

In the meantime, I'm in the middle of Jason Wallace's extraordinary OUT OF SHADOWS, trying not to watch the HUNGER GAMES trailer more than three times a day, and waiting to hear my local council's announcement about cuts to our public library services. The nights are getting colder here in London, perfect for holing up with a book -- what will you be reading?
Molly

internships have been filled

2011-11-10T11:50:00.000-05:00

We have now filled the internship positions. Because of the overwhelming amount of applicants, we regret that we can't respond to everyone individually. We will definitely be looking again in the future: watch this space for details.

Wow! We need three more interns

2011-09-23T10:24:00.000-04:00

We are now looking for three remote (unpaid) interns, people who like to read books by authors like:

Tana French
Eleanor Brown
Jacqueline Sheehan
Jodi Picoult
Gillian Flynn
Lori Roy
Laurie Notaro
Celia Rivenbark
Elin Hilderbrand
Kristin Hannah
Jeannette Walls
Kate Atkinson

This is an eclectic list, so obviously you don't need to like everyone on it! But basically, you should like at least one of the following genres: humor, memoir, upmarket women's fiction and literary suspense.

I should say, because I forgot to say it in regard to the other internship posting, that you do not need to have any kind of publishing experience or even publishing aspirations. We are just looking for people who love books and love to read.

Please send e-mail to intern@thebentagency.com. Please put "generalist intern" in the subject line. Tell us why you want the internship, attach a resume if you have one although it's not essential, and list the last ten books you read and your ten favorite books.

Please do not apply if you are primarily a young adult/middle grade reader. It's fine if you do some of that, but we already have our young adult/middle grade specialists in place.

If you have applied in the past you are more than welcome to apply again.

We ask for at least a 10 hour a week time commitment.

Back to Work!

2011-09-07T13:06:00.000-04:00

I have to admit, I'm feeling kind of energized these days. I love the back-to-school feeling and even the cool, rainy weather--a nice respite from the overheated dog days of summer.

I had two clients' books hit the Times list over the summer, I'm happy to report. Laurie Notaro's IT LOOKED DIFFERENT ON THE MODEL and Celia Rivenbark's YOU DON'T SWEAT MUCH FOR A FAT GIRL.

Both have terrific websites and Facebook pages. Celia is also on Twitter.

Laurie Notaro:
www.idiotgirls.com
http://www.facebook.com/laurie.notaro

Celia Rivenbark:
www.celiarivenbark.com
http://www.facebook.com/celiarivenbark
twitter: @celiarivenbark

And so here is what I have to say about this, beyond CONGRATULATIONS FUNNY LADIES. (It always takes me a while to get to the point):

SOCIAL MEDIA, PEOPLE. SOCIAL MEDIA. These two authors *get* it. They practice it. And it pays off in their success.

Published author, not-published-yet author, it applies to both of you. It's a brave new world, and finally authors have the power in their own hands to really truly influence their own sales. It's enormously exciting. But it's not easy. You have to hustle, hustle, hustle. You know who else is great at this? My new client Melissa Foster. Her salient info:

Website: http://www.MelissaFoster.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melissa-Foster/240064542695303
Twitter: @Melissa_Foster
Her social network for women: http://www.TheWomensNest.com

I pride myself on my Klout score (www.Klout.com) which is right around 64, give or take a point. Do you want to know Melissa's Klout score? A whopping 74. That's celebrity level, folks. Melissa is out there, all the time, promoting her books, yes, but also, significantly, working to help other authors, posting inspirational tweets and useful links. She connects, she doesn't just publicize. Not surprising that her self-published and small press-published books are hitting the Amazon bestseller lists and selling at ever higher five figure levels each month.

What I don't want to hear is that you don't know how to do it or what to do. The information is out there. So many smart, successful writers are blogging and tweeting essential tips for promoting yourself via social media that all you have to do, honestly, is start with a google search. If you need more guidance take an online social media course like the ones offered by Galleycat or Penelope Trunk.

Another reason why you can't afford not to do this. Social media is free. It takes time to learn and master, but it is free. And I think it is far more effective than many of the things that authors pay for, such as traditional publicity targeting print media. Or running advertisements.

My take is that social media works so well because it helps you create community and that creates readers who come back to buy you again and again. Read a business classic called 1:1 Marketing by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, agented by my long-ago boss, the incredibly savvy Rafe Sagalyn. It talks about creating loyal customers one at a time. Reaching and connecting with just one reader is far more valuable than sending out a generic message to one hundred folks or even a thousand. Make those connections with your readers: talk to them on twitter and introduce them to one another on Facebook. Create a mailing list so they can get new information from you, perhaps deleted scenes or a character who didn't ultimately make the book. Make your readers feel part of something, included, invested. The more you connect with them the more they will help you spread the word about what a great writer you are.

Published authors, if you don't "get" social media, there are plenty of people out there that do. You owe it to yourself and to your sales figures to start connecting. If there's no time, you can do what many of my clients do and hire someone to help you or find an intern at the local college.

Unpublished authors, do you have a great book but can't find an agent? There's no excuse not to get that book out there independently and prove to yourself and to the world that there is an audience for your writing.

That's my back-to-work pep talk for today, folks.

P.S. Because I try to practice what I preach, you can also follow *me* on twitter: @jennybent

applications are closed for the kidlit internships

2011-09-07T10:46:00.000-04:00

The application period for the KidsLit internships posted on August 19th and on September 5th is now closed although we have not yet made a final decision. If you applied, you will hear shortly. Many thanks to everyone who got in touch; if you missed the opportunity this time, stay posted for the next opening.

We are still accepting applications for the on-site position.

We need two more interns!

2011-09-05T12:32:00.001-04:00

First, we need another kidlit intern at TBA. The position is remote, so you don't need to live in NYC, and no publishing experience is necessary. We ask for a commitment of 10 hours a week. If you're interested, please send cover letter--in the body of your e-mail--with a list of your ten favorite books and the last ten books that you read. If you have a resume, attach it, but it's not necessary to apply. And even if you've applied in the past you are welcome to apply again. Email address: intern@thebentagency.com and put "kidlit intern" in your subject line.

Second, we are looking for an intern who can work on-site this Fall. We are looking
for someone who can meet at our office once a week (on Fridays in September
and Thursdays from October on). The time commitment is twenty hours a week,
but much of the work can be done remotely. Send your cover letters and
resumes via email to intern@thebentagency.com and put "on-site intern" in the subject line. Include two lists: the last
ten books you read and your ten favorite books of all time.

We'll announce here and on twitter when the positions are filled.

Looking for KidLit Intern

2011-08-19T16:18:00.000-04:00

We're looking for an intern who loves to read books for children, especially young adult and middle grade, and is interested in picture books as well. If you’re a fan of books by MT Anderson, Mary Pearson, Nancy Farmer, Gennifer Choldenko, or Jack Gantos your tastes will likely be a good fit for ours. This internship is remote so you don’t need to live in NYC.

Send us an e-mail to kidsintern@gmail.com. Tell us why you want the internship and something about yourself, or include a resume if you have one (but it's not necessary). Include two lists: the last ten books you read and your ten favorite books of all time. We ask for a ten hour a week commitment at the minimum.

We usually get a great many applicants and the application period will close fairly quickly: watch this space and twitter (@susanhawk) for details.

Even Nepotism Isn't Enough

2011-07-29T01:26:00.001-04:00

Here is a new post in the "How I Found My Agent" series, by author Marta McDowell, who, full disclosure, happens to be my aunt.

I know what you are thinking. You are thinking, "How annoying. If I were lucky enough to have an agent in my family, I wouldn't be trolling the internet reading agency blogs." BUT. There is something to learn here, something very important about writing non-fiction. If you read this post you will see that nepotism only goes so far. When Marta approached me with her idea--to write about Emily Dickinson's gardens--I had to tell her it was a no-go because she was missing two things: credentials and platform. I am approached all the time by authors who want to write non-fiction about topics like parenting, business, health, travel. But just because you have an interest in a certain topic doesn't mean that you get to write a book about it.

In Marta's case, she liked gardening and she liked the topic of gardens in history, so she wanted to write about it. But that wasn't enough. And so, what's amazing about Marta is that when I explained to her about credentials and platform, she didn't get discouraged. No, she went right off and started DOING. I love this about her, and not just because she's my aunt. She started small, writing for smaller gardening publications, and worked her way up to the New York Times. That's the credentials part.

She went back to school for garden design and then started teaching at the New York Botanical Gardens. She traveled and did lectures. That's the platform part. All of this took her five long years, but she never gave up on her dream. And yes, we sold her book.

The moral? Determination, my friends. You might certainly get one lucky break along the way, like having an agent in the family. But one lucky break does not a book deal make (hey, that rhymes!). Are you having trouble getting an agent/book deal? You must keep trying. You must keep learning. You must keep DOING.

And there's a postscript. We just closed a new deal for Marta's next book, Beatrix Potter's Gardens, with Timber Press.

Here's Marta:

When I was well into young adulthood, my father advised, “make money the old fashioned way: marry it.” While the money part didn’t quite work out, it is the way I met my agent. Jenny Bent’s father is my husband’s brother. In short, my niece.

At the end of the nineties, tired of a career at Prudential, I thought it was high time for my mid-life crisis. Why not trade in the corporate ladder for the family tree?

As I’d always been a gardener and written mountains of memoranda, reports and marketing literature, I thought I might try my hand at garden writing. So picture me, the queen of naïve, off to meet with Jenny at her office on West 53^rd Street in New York.

I remember a few things from that day. First, Jenny wore great shoes. Being functionally unable to balance on spikes, that stuck in my mind. The pilot episodes of Sex and the City were just showing on HBO, so there was that Carrie Bradshaw connection. The second was Jenny’s solar plexus punch of honesty. “To write non-fiction, you have to be somebody. So go be somebody and come back and see me.”

Stunned. Jenny softened the blow, explaining that my resume was great if I wanted a new job in my current line of work. But if I wanted to be a garden writer, I needed credentials in gardening. If I wanted to sell a book, I needed a platform from which to promote it.

So I did. I started writing garden pieces as a volunteer for local newsletters, worked up to national magazines like Woman’s Day and got an editorial published in The New York Times. I earned a certificate in Landscape Design from the New York Botanical Garden, then started teaching there. I lectured, I wrote, I consulted, I gardened, and, about five years after our first meeting, I went back to see Jenny.

I knew what, or in this case whom I wanted to write about: Emily Dickinson and her gardening interests. But other than doing background research, I really didn’t know how to proceed. Let me introduce the next incarnation of Jenny – as teacher and sounding board.

She asked me questions. “How would you structure the material? What do you want to tell the reader? Who is your reader?” We settled on a seasonal approach, intertwining information about Dickinson’s gardening interests and plants with her life story. Jenny led me thorough the sections of a proposal and gave me a sample from one of her other successful writers. We discussed marketing strategies and audience draw, comparable titles and the importance of a detailed chapter outline. Then back I went across the Hudson to my desk in Jersey to begin.

Fast forward, the proposal is finished. I send it off to Jenny, and I’m feeling up. “Not so hard, I think. This could work!” Then Jenny’s marked up copy arrives. Let’s just say that my underlying copy looked like the victim of a teen slasher movie. And, dang, her questions and comments were on point. Rewrite!

We went through several gory rounds until, suitably humbled, I produced a far better proposal than I had at the start. Then Jenny went into high gear, that mysterious process of creating a submission list (how does she know so many publishers?), making contacts, and selling the book. She was my representative, a better me. While there were a number of rejections, there was one happy acceptance. McGraw-Hill Contemporary published Emily Dickinson’s Gardens in 2005.

Jenny was my toughest editor, and I’m fortunate that she was my first. She got me ready, suitably armored for the marathon gestation period that is writing a book. Her standards are so high that I compare every editor against her yardstick. That she is part of my family is a great stroke of luck or divine intervention. In fact, when in doubt about anything writing-related I just think, “What would Jenny do?”

Marta McDowell's website is: http://www.martamcdowell.com/

Follow her on twitter: @martamcdowell

Fall-Winter-Spring Conference Schedule

2011-07-25T16:52:00.000-04:00

Here's a schedule of the conferences Susan Hawk and I will be attending, through May 2012. More will probably be added later. Also, not all of the conferences have updated information on their websites yet, so in those cases I've included links for the organization's home page.

Jenny’s Conference Schedule

September 9-10, SCBWI Eastern PA, First Looks and Critique Fest

Lancaster, PA

http://www.scbwieasternpa11.camp7.org/

October 22, Write Angles

South Hadley, MA

http://writeanglesconference.org/

November 11 – 12, Atlanta Writers Conference

Atlanta, GA

http://www.atlantawritersclub.org/events.html#conf

April 16-17, SCBWI Western Washington, Book to the Future

Redmond, WA

http://www.scbwi-washington.org/

May 5-6, Grub Street Muse and the Marketplace

Boston, MA

http://www.grubstreet.org/

Susan’s Conference Schedule

Oct 14-16. SCBWI Canada East Fall Conference

Ottawa, Canada

http://www.scbwicanada.org/east/

April 20-22

SCBWI Eastern PA Pocono Retreat

http://www.scbwieasternpa11.camp7.org/

Not for the Faint of Heart

2011-07-13T15:27:00.000-04:00

A new post by Jennifer Archer in the "How I Found My Agent/How I Sold My First Book" series. I should preface this by saying that everything about Jenny's story goes against conventional wisdom. I'm sure I have counseled people against switching genre on panels, for example. But Jennifer has made it work for her, and there is a continuity of voice that is present in all of her writing which I believe has helped her bring readers with her as she's moved across genres. As well, all of her books have contemporary settings and the paranormal elements are "light" paranormal elements; she's not switching from women's fiction to heavy world-building. I think Jennifer's career has been about perseverance, really. She's stayed true to herself creatively, and I think that's the most important thing. Plus, she's a remarkable writer and a true joy to work with and that always helps. Her professionalism, talent and grace never cease to amaze me.

Over to Jennifer...

HOW I SOLD THREE "FIRST" NOVELS IN THREE DIFFERENT GENRES

As a writer, I am constantly reinventing myself. I’m not certain if it’s because I have eclectic taste in stories, I’m easily bored, or if I just can’t make up my mind. Maybe it’s a little of all three.

My first novel was called SHADOWS OF DOUBT, and it never sold despite being nominated twice for the RWA Golden Heart Award and winning or placing in various other contests. SHADOWS OF DOUBT was a romantic suspense novel. I loved the romantic suspense genre (and still do), but while I was shopping my book to literary agents and publishers, another story idea took root in my mind and refused to wither and die. That book was BODY AND SOUL, my debut, and it is a quirky, funny paranormal romance. When BODY AND SOUL sold to a publisher, I thought I’d found my niche – my brand: I would be the Queen of Quirky Romantic Comedy with a Paranormal Twist. I could be happy with that. Or so I thought at the time.

I wrote and sold a second novel in the same quirky genre, and it was after that book’s release that I found my agent, Jenny Bent. Jenny liked my zany paranormal romantic comedies. In fact, I had decided to query her after seeing her listing in the Romance Writer’s Report, stating that among other genres, she was looking for just the sort of books I was writing. After I signed with her, she made two more romantic comedy sales for me. We were a good fit. I wrote books that she liked and she was able to sell them.

Then something happened. My writing changed, and so did I. I wanted to write a different kind of story. The problem was that I wasn’t sure what kind of story, I only knew that it wasn’t a quirky paranormal! I was at loose ends. I called Jenny, worried she’d decide that we should part ways since I wanted to walk away from an offer from my publisher for the sort of book she’d signed me to write. She would’ve had every right to let me go, and I would’ve understood, but class act that she is, Jenny did no such thing. I still remember that phone call and what she said: “Take some time to experiment and when you decide what you want to do, I’ll be here.” Every writer should be so lucky to have such an agent – one who understands the creative ups and downs that writers sometimes experience.

Over the next two years, I worked on two different novels – a women’s fiction and a young adult. Occasionally I sent pages to Jenny, but I began having serious doubts that I’d ever sell again. I asked myself if I’d made a mistake by walking away from a contract for another romantic comedy with my prior publisher. Then, quite unexpectedly, Jenny called one day to ask how much of the women’s fiction novel I had finished. How quickly could I write the synopsis? Harlequin was starting a new women’s fiction line of “light lit.” Jenny said my novel was exactly the sort of story they wanted. That novel, SANDWICHED, became one of the launch books for the Harlequin NEXT line and my debut in women’s fiction. I had to set aside the young adult novel I’d been sporadically working on to write five more books for Harlequin NEXT.

When the NEXT line folded, I knew that the best move for my career would be to write more women’s fiction and market it to a different publisher. I loved writing women’s fiction, and my books for NEXT had been well received by readers – one of them, THE ME I USED TO BE, had been nominated for a Rita. But although women’s fiction was a perfect fit for me, the story of sixteen year old Tansy Piper and the seventeen year old ghost named Henry who haunts her stayed on my mind. Once again, I followed my heart instead of logic; I pulled out that young adult novel that I’d set aside, finished it, and sent it off to Jenny. She said it was the best thing I’d ever written and began shopping it to publishers, all of whom promptly rejected it!

Devastated, I put the book away again. I ghostwrote a business book and hated every minute of it. Then my prior publisher asked me to write a women’s fiction novella. I happily complied, convinced it would be the last piece of fiction I’d ever publish. The week that the anthology with my novella in it was released, I heard that my publisher was starting a new Young Adult line. I emailed Jenny and asked if she thought we should submit my book. She said ‘yes,’ but that enough time had passed that we could do another round of submissions to other publishers, as well; many of the editors at the publishing houses we had submitted to before had changed. Hopeful again, I did a light revision. Jenny sent the book out. More rejections followed. And then came two offers! I signed a contract with Harper Teen, and I rejoiced. My story had a home! My characters would live!

THROUGH HER EYES was released in April, 2011. Whenever I look at it, I think of the persistence it took to get it published. Persistence on both my part, and Jenny’s. And I thank my lucky stars that I have an agent who believes in my work and never gives up.

I have a second YA novel coming out next year, and I’m working on an idea for a possible third. And then there’s that other idea . . . the one that creeps up on me from time to time lately, the one whose characters have started whispering in my ear. The story is different than anything else I’ve ever written before – but you already guessed that, right?

Jennifer's latest release is THROUGH HER EYES, published by HarperTeen. Her website is http://jenniferarcher.net/ and you can find her on twitter at @jenniferarcher1

The Internships have been filled

2011-06-21T20:40:00.000-04:00

All of the internships have now been filled. We are always looking for new ones, however, so watch this space for the next opening. If you have applied in the past you are always welcome to apply again.

Sometimes a Little Stalking Is a Good Thing

2011-06-17T12:37:00.000-04:00

A new post from my hilarious client Robin O'Bryant. This one is a great reminder to do your homework. Robin queried me because she knew who I represented and she knew my tastes. She figured, correctly as it turned out, that if I liked a certain kind of humor writer, I might also like her book. Robin is hugely talented and a dream to work with. If I tell her in the morning to go out and raise her profile, by 5:00 pm she's added a couple thousand twitter followers and a new blogging gig. She's my favorite kind of writer--hardworking, talented, and someone who goes out and makes things happen. Here's Robin...

I've been an avid reader and writer my entire life. As a child it was common for me to have dark circles under my eyes from staying up into the wee hours to read. I've journaled since I could write a complete sentence and throughout my life I have been told repeatedly, “You should write a book.”

I wanted to, I really did. I wanted to be a writer but I had no idea what to write about. I was good at expressing myself in words but I wasn't creating new worlds or going all J.K. Rowling in my free time. Reading and writing were private passions until my third child was born. Three daughters in four years, it's all a blur. Do the math, people. That's a lot of crazy.

I was writing about my kids extensively, because that's what I do. I am compelled to write about my life. But because my husband and I lived hundreds of miles from our families, I was also sending out mass emails on a daily and weekly basis to update our families on our shenanigans. And I heard it again and again, “You should write a book.” (Please note: this doesn't always mean you should and I realized that this was my mom and she might be a little biased.) I thought I might have an audience when my family members started forwarding my emails to everyone in their contact lists and I began receiving feedback from people I didn't know. I started a blog and somehow convinced the editor of our local paper to let me write a weekly family humor column.

I realized I had plenty of material and a subject matter that I loved. I started writing furiously. I wrote while I fed my baby. I wrote while my two-year-old and four-year-old napped. I bugged the crap out of all my book whore friends-- because avid readers make great betas. I asked for feedback from anyone who was willing to give it. I joined my local Writer's Association and started going to group meetings to get feedback from people who weren't my mother.
I ordered books about writing query letters. I quietly stalked the Query Shark and any other resource I could find online and started writing drafts of my letter. I purchased 'The Writers Market' and started looking for agents who represented non-fiction humor and women's interest books. And I sent out my first few queries.

I queried widely and was rejected widely. Every time an agent was kind enough to tell me why they said no I did what I could to change that part of my letter. I read as much as I could in my genre and poured over the acknowledgments to see if the author had thanked her agent and I made a magical discovery. My three favorite humorists all thanked their agent-- Jenny Bent. And when I say “favorite” writers, I mean like The-Beatles-Favorite. Like if I saw them in person, I would hyperventilate and pass out.

I began stalking Jenny. Not scary-stalking, let's all remember that I had three kids under four years old. I didn't have time to wipe after I peed, much less be threatening and what not. But I began reading interviews with Jenny online, learning what she was looking for and what she liked to read. I read her client's blogs and one of them even sent me a copy of her query letter.
By the time I wrote my query to Jenny, I felt like I knew her. The letter I wrote to her was more personal and more reflective of my writing style than any of the others. But still, before I pressed, 'Send,' I almost chickened out. Jenny Bent was totally out of my league. As other agents had pointed out my one little local newspaper column wasn't a big enough platform. This was my first book, and many authors never get their first book published.

Another agent had a requested a partial and a book proposal and I was waiting to hear back from her. My last thought before I sent the email was, “It's not going to hurt anything to send it. She'll probably never read it anyway.”

I received an email within the week from one of Jenny's readers saying Jenny wanted to read the full manuscript and I almost blacked out. I sent the manuscript and tried not to think about the fact that the agent who represented three of the funniest women on the planet had my manuscript and was actually reading it.

I received an email from Jenny's assistant only a couple of weeks later saying (this is burned into my brain forevermore) “Jenny is on a plane, doubled over in laughter reading your manuscript. She wants to offer you representation and would like to set up a time to talk to you.”

I screamed so loudly I woke up all three of my sleeping children. (Waking children during nap-time is a mortal sin and I've almost popped a cap in the UPS man for ringing my doorbell before. Even though he was bringing me magical under-eye makeup from Sephora.) I ran screaming through my yard to my neighbor's house and almost gave her heart attack.

This wasn't supposed to happen. Authors don't get signed from the slush pile. Not to high caliber agents. But I did. Jenny Bent is careful with her queries, people. She doesn't want to miss anything.

For the last two years, Jenny has been an amazing mentor and editor. Her first revisions, though VERY kind and 100% accurate, hurt. We cut over half of the material and did a major rewrite. But she saw my strengths and my potential. Her advice helped me find my voice. She encouraged me to focus on my strengths and to throw away what was subpar. She helped me shape my manuscript into a book that we both love.

My platform has grown. I have self-syndicated my column in three states. I have found outlets online and in print for my writing. And while I've been “waiting for something to happen” I wrote another book. I have learned that publishing is a slooooooow business and I haven't published anything, yet. But I know I will. Because I believe in myself, and so does Jenny Freakin' Bent.

Read the best of Robin's Chicks, Robin's blog about about surviving motherhood with three daughters and a sense of humor. Learn helpful tips such as: how to breastfeed behind your back*, how to talk to your daughters about male genitalia, and how to write a pet obituary.

*Only applies to lactating women with a DD cup or larger.

From spreadsheet to book deal--#2 in the series of How I Found My Agent

2011-05-26T15:10:00.000-04:00

This post is from my lovely and incredibly talented client Lori Roy, whose first novel BENT ROAD published in April. I love stories like this one because once again it disproves the notion of "overnight" success--Lori had been writing for 12 years before we decided to work together to sell her book. I didn't know about a lot of the things that were happening behind the scenes until I read this: I love how Lori approached the process with such determination and organization!

And yes, I did tell Lori her query letter wasn't very good! In retrospect, I probably could have been a little more tactful, but it's further proof that writing a great book and writing a good query letter are two completely different skill sets. Asking for the first ten pages as part of my query guidelines is my way of looking beyond a query letter that might not adequately represent the genius of the book that is being pitched.

Now, over to Lori:

April 16, 2009 5:06 a.m.

From: Lori Roy

To: Jenny Bent

Query – Bent Road

I attack the querying process with a spreadsheet. It’s seven columns wide, several rows long and must be printed on legal paper. The names of literary agents run down the side of the spreadsheet and the columns are labeled name, address, genre, email, snail mail, submission guidelines, miscellaneous. I approach my queries as I approached the audit workpapers I prepared when I was a tax accountant. I label my spreadsheets, tick and tie addresses I have confirmed, highlight my research with a yellow marker. I wore blue suits and pantyhose in my accountant days. Now I wear Levis with holes in the knees, but I can still format a nice spreadsheet.

After all my research and all my organization—each printout three-hole punched and stored in a two inch binder—it is a connection who helps me land an agent. I met her four years earlier at a writers’ conference. She lives in Sweden. We’ll call her the Swede. She emails with news that Jenny Bent has recently started her own agency and is accepting submissions. The Swede has followed Jenny’s career for years. You should give her a try, the Swede says. I scan my spreadsheet, and there she is. Jenny Bent. I check her submission guidelines, attach the first ten pages of BENT ROAD, my query letter and press send. Jenny is the ninth agent I query.

April 19^th, 2009 8:52 p.m.

From: Jenny Bent

To: Lori Roy

Could you please send the entire manuscript for BENT ROAD?

I read all the blogs, so I know I have a few currents to navigate. Two partials of BENT ROAD are currently with other agents. I believe in common courtesy, and while my insecurities make it difficult for me to believe the other agents will care, I email them that I have had a request for my full manuscript. They respond promptly with their appreciation. My first instinct upon receiving this request from Jenny is to press reply, attach and send, but I resist. Instead, I stay up most of the next two nights to read and re-read my manuscript. The second time through, I read it out loud. I’m hoarse by the time I email it to Jenny on April 21, 2009.

May 4, 2009 9:26 p.m.

From: Jenny Bent

To: Lori Roy

I loved reading this book. Could we set up a time to talk tomorrow? Do let me know.

I’m still wearing my PJs when I read this email at 6:00 a.m. on the morning of May 5^th. I run upstairs to tell Husband who is sipping his first cup of coffee. She wants to talk tomorrow, I say to Husband, and then turn and run back to my computer. The email was sent the night before, which means she wants to talk today.

I email the Swede to share the news. I email another friend for advice on what to ask an agent. Again, I’ve read all the blogs. I know what a writer is supposed to ask, but because I’ve highlighted my research, labeled my workpapers, three-hole punched my printouts, I already know the answers to those standard questions. The smartest thing I did when setting out to find an agent—I only queried the agents I would be privileged to work with.

We trade a few emails throughout the day, Jenny and I. I send my phone number and times when I’m available, which is any time because it would take a crowbar and a book of matches to pry me away from the phone. She emails that she is having a crazy day and won’t be able to call until tonight. In the mean time…

May 5, 2009 11:29 a.m.

From: Jenny Bent

To: Lori Roy

…So as not to keep you in suspense, I am calling to offer representation.

I’ve been writing for almost twelve years by the time I open this email. I’ve collected countless rejection letters from literary journals—really they were rejection slips of paper. I’ve attended several writers’ conferences, lectures and readings. I’ve read books on writing, studied with gifted teachers, met great friends. I’ve struggled to understand the four fallacies, humbled myself to the concept of plot and beaten the adverbs out of my vocabulary. I’ve spent hours sitting at a desk, ashamed that I’m wasting my time. I’ve written badly, very badly. I’ve written two other novels that hide on the lowest shelves in my office. I’ve spent a year and a half writing BENT ROAD. I can’t say how many drafts I’ve been through. I lost track after the sixth. I’ve read it out loud so many times, looking for and listening for the clunkers, that the manuscript induces nausea. And there it is in a single line in a single email. Representation.

The phone rings in the early evening. Husband answers it. He calls the person on the other end Ms. Bent and hands me the phone. To avoid the chaos in my house, I take the call on the deck. In front of me lies my list of questions. I ask none of them, because when the moment arises, they all seem ridiculous. I already know who Jenny represents. I know how long she’s been an agent, where she’s worked, and because of blogs and online interviews, I have a good idea of her personality and work ethic. I know she will represent me and my book with professionalism, enthusiasm and perseverance. When the phone call ends, I am represented by Jenny Bent.

June 11, 2009 12:29 p.m.

From: Jenny Bent

To: Lori Roy

CALL ME

I start this day blow drying my hair while crying hysterically. Husband asks me what’s wrong. It’s auction day for BENT ROAD, and I fear the auctioning block will turn into a chopping block. I’m afraid no one will show up for the auction and that BENT ROAD will be unsold at day’s end. I fear I’ll have to show the determination and belief that so many other authors have had to muster. I fear I won’t have it. “It’ll be a good day,” Husband says.

I’m at work—a part-time tax gig—when I receive this email from Jenny. CALL ME. I make up an excuse to leave the office for a few minutes. I write fiction. It isn’t hard to come up with something. I know it’s best that I not make the call while driving. Instead, I pull into the parking lot at Haslam’s Book Store. (Almost two years later, I will hold my first book signing at this store.) Jenny picks up on the other end immediately. We have an offer, she says. The auction continues throughout the day. I go back to the office. Don’t get much done. I pick up Daughter from tennis practice. She’s hungry, so we stop at the drive-through at Checkers. Husband brings homes roses. The family takes me to dinner. By Monday morning, the deal is done. Bent Road by Lori Roy is sold by Jenny Bent to Dutton Senior Editor Denise Roy. (No relation.)

June 16, 2009 3:59 p.m.

From: Denise Roy (Senior Editor – Dutton/ Penguin)

To: Lori Roy

CONTACT

Denise emails me her contact information, and we get acquainted over the phone. We laugh about the coincidence that has brought our three names together under this book deal. We discuss revisions. She sends me notes. A writer friend offers me advice. You don’t have to make all the changes your editor suggests, he says. But she’s always right, I say. Denise and I work our way through two rounds of revisions. I don’t appreciate how wildly insecure I am until I experience the revision process. Denise is aware long before me. She is kind and tempered with her suggestions. She is always right.

Three months after the auction, the contract is final. Jenny handles the negotiations, informing me along the way. She looks out for my best interest, while I would give away the deed to my house. I cower in the corner, watch through my tightly knit fingers. I exhale when the ink is dry.

October 27, 2009 10:21 a.m.

From: Jenny Bent

To: Lori Roy

MS Accepted ….Hooray

The revisions are done and the manuscript is accepted just in time for my visit to New York. I am reading a Harlan Coben novel when I begin my descent into LaGuardia. I see the Statue of Liberty, look down on the Coben novel—also published by Dutton—and feel a bit queasy. It occurs to me that people will read my book, too.

I meet Jenny for lunch—a cute little restaurant in Soho. We talk kids, next book ideas and about my query letter that she tells me wasn’t very good. She soothes my ego by reminding me that I’ll never have to write one again. Jenny leaves me in the lobby at 375 Hudson Street—Dutton’s corporate offices. Denise and I find another Soho restaurant and we toast BENT ROAD with a cabernet.

At year’s end, the copyedited manuscript is delivered. Copyeditor catches my dangling modifiers and suggests I use sit instead of set. In April 2010, I secure my domain name. I’m a website now. The proofreader has a few questions for me in May, and on May 26, my baby gets a face when Monica Benalcazar distills 368 pages into a beautiful, haunting, perfect image.

October 27, 2010 3:29 p.m.

From: Ava Kavyani (Publicist—Dutton/Penguin)

To: Lori Roy

Hello from Publicity

I’m blogging every week, have a facebook page and dabble in Twitter. I’m not as good at this as others, so I watch and learn and try to spend my time wisely. Many things are happening on behalf of BENT ROAD within the halls of the Dutton/Penguin offices. I only work with a handful of people and ask them to thank the folks I won’t ever meet through an email or phone call.

It’s a rainy Sunday morning in December when I find my first review. I’m googling myself and there it is. Kirkus—a starred review. I cause a thud when I jump out of bed. Husband comes running. I check again. And again. Yes, a starred review. Other reviews will follow—The Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, NPR, AP, People Magazine, St. Pete Times, The Sun Sentinel. I am working the concession stand at Son’s baseball game when I pick up another email from Ava. BENT ROAD launches in two weeks. Marilyn Stasio will be reviewing it for the New York Times, Ava writes. Why are you crying, Daughter asks as she makes change for the Gatorade she just sold. “It’s Marilyn Stasio,” I say. “It’s the New York Times.”

March 31, 2011

It’s publication day for BENT ROAD. I start my day being interviewed by the Tampa Tribune. Husband sends flowers. They’re waiting for me at the coffee shop where I meet the journalist. I spend the rest of the day at home. We’re under a severe weather warning. The windows are leaking. I stuff towels in the sills.

My first signing is well attended. We sell all but a few copies. There are more signings. I arrive thirty minutes early at each one. At my first reading, a photographer perches on the floor about three feet in front of me, and as I read, his camera goes click, click, click. Shoulders back, I tell myself. Chin high. Breathe. Don’t read too quickly. Click, click, click.

There will be more book events in the future. I have a few book festivals planned, a few more in the works. I’ll continue to blog and tweet and facebook. I’ll meet with my writing group and skype with my writing friends. I’ll continue to read great writers and study with great teachers. And now that I find myself with a book sitting on the shelves of many book stores, I am quite certain of the most important thing a writer can do after selling a book. Write the next book and when that is done, write the next.
Lori's website is www.loriroy.com. Follow her on twitter: @Loriroyauthor.

Ta-Dah!!! A New Series of Posts on Bent on Books

2011-05-17T11:03:00.000-04:00

I'm pleased to announce a new series of posts on BENT ON BOOKS: I've asked my clients to weigh in on the topic of "How I Sold My First Book" or "How I Found My Agent." We're kicking it off with a post by the truly lovely and talented Ellyn Bache, a relatively new client of mine who had published a number of books by the time she knocked on my door (and boy, was I happy to answer it!).

Ellyn's book The Art of Saying Goodbye will publish at the beginning of June. It's a beautiful book about a group of women in a wealthy suburban neighborhood and what happens when they're confronted with tragedy. For me it passed that magical litmus test: made me laugh, made me cry. I signed Ellyn up right away and I am lucky to have her. The book has already received some wonderful pre-pub reviews:

From Booklist: "Sweet, profound, sweeping in its themes yet detailed in its nuances, Bache’s latest explores the layers of friendship involved in facing serious illness and buried secrets."

And PW: "A moving, gratifying, and inspiring reminder to live life to its fullest and demonstrate love in every possible way to friends and family."

I'll stop talking now, but I do want to say this about Ellyn's post. What I think it shows is that there are plenty of really good agents out there, but for some of you the challenge is not finding a "good" agent--it's finding the right agent for you. If you're not published, or un-agented, this may seem like a very academic exercise, but after twenty years in the biz I can pretty much guarantee you that this will become an issue at some point in almost every writer's career.

And now, over to Ellyn:

HOW I GOT (THE RIGHT) AGENT. AT LAST. IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING.

This story has a happy ending, but it’s a bit of a cautionary tale, too.

Part of the reason I write is because it scares me silly to deal face-to-face with bosses, editors, agents, anyone in power.

Even with trusted friends, I’m not a great conversationalist. I rarely win an argument. I can’t tell a joke. When someone makes me uncomfortable, I babble. Writing feels safer because it lets me edit what I want to say.

In the early days, I was comforted by the fact that manuscripts were submitted and returned by mail. No one could see if I burst into tears after a humiliating rejection. There was a (to me) critical and essential privacy in this. I wasn’t being judged by the way I looked or how well I could think on my feet. I was being judged solely on the writing.

My first agent came to me through the recommendation of one of his clients (still the best way to get an agent, in my opinion). He sold my first novel, Safe Passage, and helped broker the deal that made it into a movie starring Susan Sarandon. We talked on the phone so many times before we met that I didn’t feel intimidated. If I babbled during our first face-to-face, he pretended not to notice. We stayed in touch for years.

But then he was gone, and it was the era of writers’ conferences – hundreds of them, always with agents and editors to pitch to, as well as writers like me who gave the craft seminars. The agents tended to stick together (or so it seemed to me), more anxious to talk to each other than to not-yet-published wannabes or not-yet-famous staff, except during scheduled appointments..

Was I going to sit across the table from one of them and give my two-minute pitch?

Not a chance.

But one day at lunch I sat next to a man so pleasant and unthreatening that I didn’t realize he was an agent until halfway through the meal. Disarmed, I shed my anxieties and phobias long enough to tell him about my work. A few weeks later, I became his client.

He was a nice man, but as it turned out, not a very good agent for me.

I write complex women’s fiction. He sold mostly romances. If I’d done a little research, I would have known that. Instead of following my own advice to judge by the work and not the personality, I’d formed a binding relationship with someone I trusted simply because he was easy to talk to.

From the beginning, we weren’t a good match. The sales he made for me weren’t what I was looking for. I stuck it out longer than I should have because it was easier than a personal confrontation. Finally, I put my current project in a drawer and said I had nothing to show him.

The only one who got hurt by this was me.

So there I was, agent-less, with a finished book sitting in a drawer, when I began hearing about Jenny Bent. She’d made good sales for several writers I knew, including my friend Donna, who invited her to be on a panel about writing effective first pages. On the program, Jenny was articulate and intelligent, and clearly knew exactly what she wanted. Donna urged me to introduce myself to her. But when she finished speaking, she was surrounded. No wonder. She was capable, tough, hugely in demand, exactly the kind of agent I wanted. I fled.

Donna had seen my cloistered novel and pronounced it ready for market. “You should query Jenny,” she insisted. “You don’t have to face her in person. What are you afraid of? All you have to do is send an email.”

Bullied into it, I did.

Jenny was every bit as tough-minded as I’d imagined – but tough in the gentlest way. She made lots of suggestions. They always struck me as thoughtful, helpful, right. She spent hours thinking up just the right title for the novel. She seemed, truly, to care about it. Months later, after I’d made the changes we agreed on, she sold THE ART OF SAYING GOODBYE to HarperCollins in less than a week.

I finally met Jenny in person on a trip to New York for the terrifying task of being introduced to my editor. It was a warm, rainy day. My hair had frizzed into its distinctly un-suave natural state, a kinky bubble around my head. Jenny arrived looking sleek in a khaki raincoat, her short blonde hair elegantly cut, elegantly tidy. She seemed not to notice my disarray. As we walked together into the massive HarperCollins building, I realized how much having the right agent at my side was taking the pressure off.

Even so, I was nervous enough to fear I’d jabber aimlessly when we got upstairs – and as memory serves, I did.

They published my book anyway.

Imagine that.

Ellyn's website is: http://ellynbache.com/

We have not yet made any decision regarding the internships.

2011-05-09T17:34:00.001-04:00

We have not yet filled either internship position. We are still accepting applications.

THE INTERNSHIPS ARE REMOTE

2011-04-30T14:35:00.000-04:00

You do not need to live in New York to be a TBA intern. All the internships are remote.

My bad for not saying that before.

ANOTHER internship available

2011-04-29T09:32:00.001-04:00

We are now looking for two or even three interns, people who like to read books by authors like:
Tana French
Eleanor Brown
Jacqueline Sheehan
Jodi Picoult
Gillian Flynn
Lori Roy
Laurie Notaro
Celia Rivenbark
Elin Hilderbrand
Kristin Hannah
Jeannette Walls
Kate Atkinson

This is an eclectic list, so obviously you don't need to like everyone on it! But basically, you should like at least one of the following genres: humor, memoir, upmarket women's fiction and literary suspense

I should say, because I forgot to say it in regard to the other internship posting, that you do not need to have any kind of publishing experience or even publishing aspirations. We are just looking for people who love books and love to read.

Please send e-mail to intern@thebentagency.com. Please put "internshiptwo" in the subject line. Tell us why you want the internship, attach a resume if you have one although it's not essential, and list the last ten books you read and your ten favorite books.

Please do not apply if you are primarily a young adult/middle grade reader. It's fine if you do some of that, but we already have our young adult/middle grade specialists in place.

If you have applied in the past you are more than welcome to apply again.

And don't forget to apply for the romance internship! We are looking for obsessive romance readers. Also send to intern@thebentagency.com

Regrets? I've had a few.

2011-04-27T16:28:00.001-04:00

I did an #askagent session on Twitter the other day and someone asked the agents participating if we ever regretted passing on a project.

I think I said that the short answer was "sort of," and that it was complicated and I should probably blog about it, so here I am.

This is a tough one. I can't speak for other agents but I know personally that this is a hard question to answer honestly. Put it this way: intellectually speaking, do I ever regret passing on a book? No. I do not. Rationally, I know that if I didn't see the book's potential then I wouldn't have been a good advocate for it. Or if it wasn't a good fit for my list then I wouldn't have known how to sell it--what the competition was or which editors to send it to.

But emotionally? In the middle of the night when I can't sleep? Do I regret passing on a book that someone else sold for a lot of money or that is now on the bestseller list? Well, what do you think? OF COURSE I REGRET IT.

Let's go back to the rational Jenny who is now soundly kicking the ass of emotional dark-night-of-the-soul Jenny. "Listen to me, and suck it up you sniveling pansy," she says.
For there is not one agent on the planet that likes every single book on the NYT bestseller list. For every book on that list there are agents who passed on it and editors who passed on it and it's just part of the business. There's even a "fun" game we agents and editors like to play called "Well, I passed on X." The bigger and more successful X is, the more you up the ante. It's not a game you really like to win of course, but it sure makes you feel better to play.

So do I regret it? Sort of. Not really. Kind of. Mostly no.

And why am I sharing this, you ask? I guess it's all part of my continuing efforts to show you that agents are people too.

Happy Wednesday!

internship available

2011-04-26T18:37:00.001-04:00

We're looking for an intern who loves to read all kinds of romance from historical to paranormal and suspense from authors like Mary Higgins Clark, Linda Howard, Tami Hoag, Lisa Gardner.

Send us an e-mail to intern@thebentagency.com. Tell us about yourself, include a resume if you have one, but it's not necessary. Include two lists: the last ten books you read and your ten favorite books of all time. We ask for a ten hour a week commitment at the minimum.

We usually get a great many applicants and so I close the application period fairly quickly: watch this space and also twitter for details.

You Can Only Buy One Book Today

2011-04-13T16:51:00.000-04:00

I think this topic has been done to death, but just in case some of you were wondering why I wouldn’t want to represent a book that was certainly of publishable quality, or by most standards a “good” or “very good” book, here is a very short analogy.

You are at a bookstore. You pick up a book. You like it. It seems like a good book. It seems like a book that deserved to be published, at least in your opinion.

But today, you are only buying one book. You have a great many books at home already and you love them all. You have very limited shelf space and you don’t want to get rid of the books that you do love to make room for a book that you might not love as much. And so today, you will only bring home one, because that is what you have room for. Tomorrow, you might have more room. Perhaps you will have a new bookcase even. But today, there will only be one.

So you put back the book you really like, a little wistfully, because you know someone else will probably take it home, and you pick up the next book on the shelf. And you keep going, until you find the one that you love.

Think of me as a conduit, not a gatekeeper.

2011-04-06T16:13:00.001-04:00

A year or two ago I was having lunch with a old friend, someone I think both intelligent and savvy, the publisher of a largish imprint at a major house. We had a disagreement about what was going to happen as e-books became more popular. His position was that readers would always need the big publishing houses because they needed to have their content filtered, so to speak--because as agents, editors, and publishers, we had a certain kind of literary taste or standard and we needed to pass that along to the reader.

Well, (as I told him--he and I are used to disagreeing) blech. I've always found this kind of thinking a bit elitist and unnecessary and I always will. And as the climate has continued to change, I like to think that he's been proven wrong. There's still an argument for why some authors need publishing houses, of course, which is that publishers can often be better at marketing and publicity and distribution than any individual author can be. Increasingly this is not always the case (although even Amanda Hocking has now decided to go the traditional route), but that's a discussion for a later time. Today, I am somewhat gleefully celebrating the fact that electronic publishing is really blowing apart the thinking that we in publishing somehow know better and have better taste than the average reader. Why this would be the case I'm not sure. Because some of us have Ivy League educations? Because we live in NYC and therefore somehow more sophisticated and urbane than most readers? Because we read The Paris Review and The New Yorker? Because we have chic haircuts and ironic sideburns and wear trendy little eyeglasses? (Full disclosure: I do not have ironic sideburns.)

What I'm loving most about the success of independently published e-books is that many of them didn't pass the "gatekeeper" test--the individual author tried and failed to get an agent or publisher and decided to do it themselves. And now lots of these authors are getting lucrative book deals as publishers struggle to catch up. AND, many of them are turning down agents and publishers because they want to keep doing it on their own terms. This has always happened in publishing to a certain extent, of course. My client Laurie Notaro self-published years ago because she couldn't find a publisher after seven years of trying, and when she did get a publishing deal at long last, her book debuted at #7 on the Times list. The Shack was self-published. Richard Paul Evans' first book was self-published. The list goes on, these are just off the top of my head. But now, with e-publishing, it's easier than ever for an author to get their book out there, and the list of successfully self-published e-book authors is growing exponentially, every day.

Maybe I'm just bitter. An agent friend and I were e-mailing today about "reader taste" vs. "publisher taste." I think I've always had a case of "reader taste" because many of the books that I've really loved I've had a tough time selling or sold for very little money. Yet most of them have gone on to do very well indeed, many of them hitting the Times list. I would list them, but I'm not sure the authors would appreciate me telling the world that their book was hard to sell. Regardless, I loved these books, and I knew readers would love these books, but publishers often weren't so sure, probably because the books were considered "quiet,"i.e., not "high concept," or because they were aimed at readers in Middle America, or because they were quirky and hard to categorize.

Look, I don't want to be too hard on editors and publishers. We're all doing our best, after all, and publishing will always be something of a crap shoot, because we can't really afford to do market research (except for Harlequin) and rely on guesswork to make pretty major decisions about what to publish and promote. When publishers are "running numbers" to decide how much money they can afford to spend on a book, a big part of the process is comparing the book to another book that is similar, and then factoring in the sales figures of said book. Sound unscientific? You betcha. But in many cases we don't have that much more to go on; it's just the nature of the beast so to speak. With so little to go on, publishers really do have rely on marketing hooks, etc. in their decision-making. But it's still fun to gloat when a "quiet" book takes off because readers love it, not because it's based on some awesome concept.

I guess the reason that I can't help being a little gleeful about the democratization of the process, is that what I dislike about publishing is less the *way* we make decisions but rather the attitude that sometimes--not always--goes into those decisions, this somewhat patronizing, East Coast urban attitude of knowing better than the rest of book-reading America. And the idea that a book must appeal to a certain kind of sophisticated east coast reader to be successful. I've always had a lot of respect for the publisher Steve Ross, who used to divide the country up into segments and have his editors each focus on what was popular in that area, mostly by reading local media (this was some years ago). He was very smart about remembering that people outside of New York do actually buy books. Amy Einhorn, of Amy Einhorn Books, is another one. You may have heard of a little book called The Help? It's not a high-concept book at all. But Amy fell in love with it, published it, and the rest is publishing history. It was the very first book she bought at her new imprint and we had lunch before it published. She was telling me how awesome it was, how excited she was--and look what happened! Readers respond, in my mind, to sincerity, to emotional truth, not to hooks.

So this has been a really rambling kind of post, but here's the whole point of it: to say, hooray for you writers out there who believe in yourselves enough to get your work out there by whatever means necessary. Hooray for your successes, hooray for your bravery, and hooray for the fact that every book you sell means you may be touching that reader's life in a powerful way. For isn't that why we're all in it? Even us gatekeepers.

SO MANY CONTESTS

2011-03-02T10:26:00.000-05:00

Oh boy, so many of my clients are having the most awesome contests around.

First, Julia London and Susan Mallery (not my client but oh so fabulous) are giving away an ipad! FABULOUS. Go to http://www.facebook.com/JuliaLondon for all the details.

Next, join in the celebration of 200 years of Sense and Sensibility. Enter by March 15 for a chance to win an advance copy of Beth Pattillo's The Dashwood Sisters Tell All, a modern twist on the classic novel.

Visit here for more information: http://bit.ly/fAlcQz

Finally, to thank her readers and celebrate the upcoming release of her debut YA novel, THROUGH HER EYES, my client Jennifer Archer is giving away Kindles, iPods, leather journals and autographed books. Her THROUGH HER EYES Gargantuan Giveaway started March 1 and runs through April 4. Details for entering the drawing can be found on her website at http://www.jenniferarcher.net/news_events.html.

the state of publishing

2011-01-05T13:02:00.000-05:00

I would just like to point out that over Christmas I purchased four e-books for my own personal reading pleasure.

The new Lee Child.
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag
Faithful Place

And I'm glad I did; they were all awesome (although the new Lee Child felt oddly sadistic to me, even for Reacher). Point being, would I have gone out and bought those four books at a bookstore over the same period of time? No way--I never have time to shop and also they would have cost a lot more in hardcover.

I seriously think all will be well in the state of publishing--give it a few years and it's going to even out again.

Jenny, entering the New Year in a spirit of optimism. And look for my official New Years post coming soon.

I am no longer accepting applications for the internship

2010-12-22T13:25:00.000-05:00

But I'm sure I'll be looking again at some point in the future. Thanks to all who applied--you will hear from me.

internship

2010-12-15T21:22:00.000-05:00

I'm once again looking for a remote (unpaid) intern or two to read queries--someone with an interest in adult fiction, women's fiction and memoir a plus.

Send an e-mail to info@thebentagency.com, with "internship" in the subject line. Put your cover letter in the body of your e-mail and if you have a resume, you can attach it, but it's not necessary. Tell me the last 5-10 books you read and your 5-10 very favorite books. I'm looking for someone who can commit to reading at least 50 queries a week, and reading and writing a readers report for at least one manuscript a week. Don't worry if you don't have publishing experience; I really just want someone who loves to read and knows a lot about contemporary fiction/memoir.

If you've applied in the past, feel free to apply again. My needs often change and if you weren't right before you might be right now.

Holiday Cheer

2010-12-07T11:50:00.000-05:00

Forgive me, but I digress.

This season I am helping to sponsor the international adoption of a child with Down's Syndrome through an organization called Reese's Rainbow. There are many families who want to adopt, but the costs can be prohibitive and there are currently 200 children around the world waiting for families. Reese's Rainbow is a a registered 501(c)3 charity which promotes and facilitates the international adoption and rescue of children with Down's Syndrome in particular. While it is a faith-based organization, it is not legally affliliated with any church, there are no faith based restrictions on the donations and families of all faiths are welcome to adopt.

During the Christmas Angel Tree project, the charity receives donations from people of all faiths all over the world. So even if you don't celebrate Christmas your gift can still save a life.

So if you were thinking of getting me a present (or even if you weren't!), the best gift you could possibly give me is to help a child who desperately needs a home.

http://reecesrainbow.biz/

Let's try that again

2010-10-05T16:43:00.000-04:00

Ha! Sorry, I was trying to post from my ipad, and well, apparently, I failed. Oh, the irony.

Anyway, as I was saying....here is that original post.

I'm at a really wonderful writers conference this weekend (Moonlight and Magnolias, held by the Georgia Romance Writers association) and it has me thinking about, of all things, failure. And it also has me thinking about bravery, two things that are inexorably (boy, I hope I'm using that word right) linked.

When I'm sitting across from a writer who is pitching their book to me, I'm often feeling a little overwhelmed and a little bit overtired. A conference is an intense experience for everyone, writers and agents alike. But here's what i want you to know: when I'm sitting there I'm also thinking about how brave I think you are and how much I admire you for taking a chance and telling me about the book that is, after all, your heart and soul. It takes real guts to expose yourself like that. Being a writer is so personal that trying to "make it" really does require so much more courage than other professions.

What's really brave is that you're doing this even though chances are high that you're going to fail. Now, let's qualify this: we are all going to fail. We will fail in our careers, we will fail as parents, as friends, as spouses or boyfriends or girlfriends. And if you're reading this, you're going to fail as a writer. (And by the way, don't forget that I will also sometimes fail as an agent.) What this means is that when you're sitting across from me you're bravely embracing your failure. You're acknowledging that it will happen and you're steeling yourself to move on. For at the other side of failure lies lessons learned. And lessons learned are the only authentic way to success.

So be brave. Fail. Try again. Succeed. Rinse and repeat.

And I'll see you across the pitching table some day soon....

On Failure.

2010-10-02T11:14:00.000-04:00

A Must Read

2010-07-26T21:40:00.000-04:00

I read for pleasure for an hour every evening (I don't watch tv except for Top Chef, so I have time to do this) and right now I am rereading Michael Korda's ANOTHER LIFE, published in 1999. Korda, a really lovely and gracious man and a terrific writer, wrote the memoir about his life in publishing, and I am not surprised to be enjoying it as much as I did the first time and realizing that it is still relevant ten years later. For a terrific education in publishing, this really is a must read, and I want to hear reports from all of you when you have done so. Or if you've read it already, please tell me about it: nothing is more fun than sharing the enjoyment of a great read.

And now a word from...Intern X

2010-07-25T16:45:00.000-04:00

Two postings ago I promised a guestblog from Intern X, one of my fabulous query-reading interns, talking about how your querying chances are better than you think, based on the fact that many queriers disqualify themselves. So, without further ado, here is her take on the topic:

When I first heard that Jenny was looking for a few good interns, I was -so- excited to finally get to see how real authors write their queries and communicate in the uber professional writing world.

Boy was I in for a big surprise.

Before I was an intern, I had read that something like 90% of authors disqualified themselves without us even reading their query. I felt for sure that all those previous query-reading interns must have been wrong. I was going to blaze in there and find all these fab books and spend my time happily reading future bestsellers.

That’s not what happened.

Here’s what did:

That first time I logged into Jenny’s queries inbox I found it full to bursting.

About thirty percent of those queries didn’t match what Jenny was looking for (posted in her easy to find submissions guidelines). Instant rejections.

Another five percent of spam. (yes, agents get spam too) This included junk mail blasts of book promotions, invites to social media, etc. Instant deletions.

Half of those remaining didn’t include the requested ten pages (also posted in her submissions guidelines). If we didn’t like the query, we didn’t bother to ask for the ten pages. If we did like the query, we had to write back asking for them. Their query then went back to the bottom of the pile.

Another chunk, say fifteen percent of those remaining, were thank you letters for Jenny rejecting them so nicely. Jenny writes an amazing rejection letter.

When all is accounted for, that’s only about 20% of queries that come in that are formatted correctly.

And that’s not counting the ones we have to decline because of off-the-wall and copycat plots…or those that aren’t ready to be querying agents yet because they don’t have a good grasp of spelling or punctuation or grammar.

But every once in a while, a query would stand out. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, but they nearly always follow Jenny’s guidelines to a T. Those stellar books were worth hours of slogging through the queries pile. They made me rush to the “Fwd:” button and zip a copy off to Jenny with glee and then I’d wait by my inbox salivating, hoping I’d get a chance to read the novel in question.

My own query went from 0 out of 10 requests for more to 7 out 10 requests for more after joining Jenny’s query reading team. Every author should intern.

So how can you be one of those precious few that stand out? Here’s a few of the most common mistakes that we see. You can bet that those standout queries didn’t make these mistakes. Make sure your query doesn’t either.

Ten Common Query Mistakes

Spelling: You’ve proofed your MS to within an inch of it’s life (right? RIGHT?) so why would you rush through your query? Take a moment and make sure all your words are correctly spelled. You’d be amazed if I told you how many times someone has spelled query ‘queery’ or ‘querry’ or ‘quury’ (one out of every ten, usually).

Not knowing who you’re soliciting: If you query an editor, don’t say ‘Dear Agent’ because they are not an agent. Likewise, don’t address a query to a lady agent by saying ‘Dear Sirs.’ Giving us a choice (‘I am seeking a publisher or a literary agent’) means that you haven’t given the proper thought to who you’re sending the query to. Along that line, don’t say that you’re looking for a publishing house to represent you. Agents represent, not houses. There’s no need to say that you’re looking for an agent to represent you either. We know that any emails sent to the query address are queries. Just get to the point, *your book*

Not having the cajones: Don’t spend two paragraphs apologizing for ‘wasting’ our time by sending us your letter. If you don’t think you and your book are the bees knees, then how’re you going to convince us?

Using cliché/vague phrases: ‘Then a manipulated act sets a chain reaction of grim events into motion,’ could be said about anything; The Wizard of Oz, Titanic, Harry Potter, Winnie the Pooh, Prada & Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, etc. What sets YOUR book apart?

Oopsie: If you make a mistake, don’t send another email. The only time this is appropriate is if by some strange reason, your cat jumped on your mouse and clicked ‘send’ before you had a chance to paste in the appropriate amount of sample writing. In that case, immediately send the same query with the right guidelines followed. A good way to avoid this is to put the email address in last. An email cannot be sent if it doesn’t have anywhere to go. Don’t send an email apologizing for the misspelled word in paragraph three. Change it in your master query and don’t make the same mistake twice.

Not being passionate: Don’t say that the only reason you’ve written this book is because you were laid off last year/your wife left you/you found yourself with some free time. If you’re not serious about writing, why even bother? Are you just looking for a quick million? ‘Cause that ain’t gonna happen. If writing is just a hobby and you’re not willing to put your all into it, why not just use a print-on-demand service instead and save a lot of time?

Email: if your email has a different name attached to it than the one in the email, that sometimes triggers spam filters. Make a new email address with your name on it and use it solely for queries. Be sure to disable any ‘pingback’ emails that say that you don’t allow unapproved email and that we need to fill out a form.

Telling: ‘This novel is a story about the destructiveness of war and hatred, and the redemptive power of love’ is a waste of space. Let your book do the talking.

Anything other than a query: Don’t email and ask us how to query. That’s what Google is for. That’s what submissions guidelines are for. That’s what agent websites and blogs and query help blogs are for. Use them. Queries inboxes are for queries.

Sample pages: If the sub guidelines ask you for ten pages embedded, it means ten pages embedded. It doesn’t mean the whole manuscript attached. It doesn’t mean seventeen pages because the first chapter was only nine pages long and you didn’t want to cut the second chapter off. If we write to ask for those ten pages, it is NOT a partial request. It’s us giving you a second chance to follow the guidelines.

BONUS – Comparisons: It’s one thing to say that your book is a cross between Watership Down and The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy (Funny bunnies in space? Heck yes!) but it’s quite another to say that you’re the next JK Rowling or Stephen King. They already exist. Be the next YOU, not a copycat.

Seriously, by following the submissions guidelines for each query you write and double-checking that all is professional and spelled correctly, you’ll be ahead of 85% of all other queries.

Breaking All the Rules

2010-07-17T21:01:00.000-04:00

This is going to be a reassuring, although perhaps confusing, post. I was reading queries tonight and someone mentioned that they were, as per my instructions from another post, querying me with a finished manuscript. And that reminded me that I had recently signed up a client who had queried me with only part of her manuscript complete. And that reminded me that I had within the last few years signed and sold two new writers based on queries that were not very strong, technically speaking, and didn't have the elements I like to see, like comp titles, but just had *something* about them that appealed to me; in one case a fun, confident voice, and in the other, good sample pages.

Now, don't misunderstand: I am not saying that you should deliberately set out to not follow instructions, as it were. But this is a confusing industry, and there's lots of conflicting information out there, and you probably have lots of on-line writer friends weighing in as well, and this is a really stressful experience anyway because you are following your dream, afterall, so I would say it's probably pretty near impossible to get everything right, for every agent, all of the time. I always compare the process to writing your college essay. When I was working on mine, far too many years ago to remember (except that I do), I had far too much input on mine, and I completely over thought the entire thing, with the result that I wrote a pretty flat, lack-luster little essay which didn't do much to tell college admissions counselors what kind of person I was. I played it safe and that hurt me in the end.

Better, I think, to be a little loosey-goosey with this stuff. If you be yourself, a little quirky, a little original, yes, you might turn somebody off. But you have a far better chance of attracting a kindred agent spirit I think, the one that loves your letter and then loves your work. Again, please don't take this as carte blanche to ignore all the advice you've ever heard when it comes to query letters. But do take it as permission to relax a little, have some fun, and yes, let your query freak flag fly.

Bent on Bestsellers and Beyond

2010-06-29T20:09:00.000-04:00

First, forgive my long absence from here and from twitter. I'm trying to organize my time better so I can do more blogging and more tweeting going forward. I'm writing today because I'm so pleased to congratulate TBA client John Kasich, who landed on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list this past Sunday in the self help/advice/how-to category with his book Every Other Monday: Twenty Years of Life, Lunch, Faith and Friendship. Hooray! I'm thrilled for him--I've worked with John for over ten years and this is his third book and highest placement yet on the list-#7. http://everyothermonday.net/ His last book received endorsements from the likes of Elie Wiesel, Bono, and George Stephanopoulos.

I realized when I sat down to write this that John is the fourth TBA client to hit the NYT list since I opened my doors a little over a year ago. Here's a run down (and allow me to toot the TBA horn for just a moment):

Another long time client, Jacqueline Sheehan appeared on the trade paperback fiction list with her literary novel, Now and Then. Her first novel, Lost and Found, was also a NYT bestseller. http://www.jacquelinesheehan.com/

I've also represented both Julia London and Lynsay Sands for many years. Each have had multiple titles on the NYT mass market bestseller list since March.

Julia London's Highland Scandal, Summer of Two Wishes, and Courtesan's Scandal all made the list.
http://www.julialondon.com/

Lynsay Sands has had five books and one anthology on the list: Devil of the Highlands, The Immortal Hunter, The Renegade Hunter, Bitten By Cupid, Taming the Highland Bride, and The Hellion and The Highlander.
http://www.lynsaysands.net/

I'm thrilled to pieces about all of this, particularly because I've worked with all of these writers for such a long time and their talent and their drive never cease to impress and delight me.

If you're a brand new author reading this however, I don't want you to be a. confused by how different these authors seem and b. discouraged by how established/high profile they are.

First, all of these books do, as my website says, combine great story-telling with emotion and inspiration. As a child I read everything and anything I could get my hands on--from cereal boxes to Proust--and I'm still not a snob when it comes to subject matter, genre, or style. A great story is a great story in my book. If you need more specific guidelines, they are on my site.

And secondly, I continue to be committed to finding new talent. While I've worked with all of these authors for multiple years and multiple book contracts, I don't want to suggest that my list is full up. In fact, I've submitted and sold two new, unpublished clients from "slush" since I opened my doors, both in six figure deals. I've also signed up an additional four unpublished authors whose works are in various stages of editing. Every agent I know agrees that one of the greatest parts of this job is discovering a wonderful new writer and selling his or her first book.

But what are the chances of being discovered, you ask? Well, back in April, my interns and I sat down and estimated that we had received 25,000 unsolicited queries in a little over a year. Six new authors out of 25,000 might not seem like great odds. BUT you should consider the fact that a large portion of the queries we receive are either completely unsuitable (i.e. in a genre I don't represent, like science fiction), don't follow query guidelines, or contain multiple spelling, punctuation, and grammatical mistakes. Which means that if you deliver a well-written, proof-read query which follows the query guidelines, your chances are better than you think. I've asked my fabulous intern, we'll call her INTERN X, to blog on this very topic. Look for it in the next week or two.

P.S. Just kidding about the Proust.

P.P.S. Just got next week's list and Every Other Monday is #5!

Update on the internship situation

2010-05-23T20:29:00.000-04:00

Internship update:

Okay, so if you weren't a perfect fit, I've let you know already. If you're still waiting to hear from me that means you are a maybe. This week is BEA and my schedule is tiring me out just looking at at it, so I probably won't get back to folks until next week, post Memorial Day.

Just as an aside, Hunger Games is on the vast majority of applicants favorite reads list. The adult choice would have to be Poisonwood Bible.

Also, does no one read adult fiction anymore? ;) Most people applying had far more young adult titles than adult ones, on both their favorite and recently-read lists. Of course, this comes from a woman (me) who read Elizabeth Enright's The Saturdays last night--have you read it? It's so wonderful...

We Are Full Up!

2010-05-21T19:17:00.000-04:00

Many, many of you have sent me your info and you all look great. So great that I'm going to close the application period as of midnight tonight. Thanks to all who applied, and for those who missed it this time around, never fear: there will always be new openings in the future.

Lend Me an Intern....

2010-05-21T16:10:00.001-04:00

I'm on the hunt for one, maybe two new remote interns to read queries and also manuscripts. If you've applied before, please feel free to apply again. I'm looking for a 10-hr a week commitment.

The guidelines: please send me a resume and a letter with two lists:

1. Your favorite books of all time.

2. The last five-ten books you read.

Publishing background is a plus, but certainly not required and I welcome hearing from everyone--particularly people who want to transition into the industry. As a reminder, stay-at-home mothers or fathers or grandmothers or whathaveyous are more than welcome to apply! This is a remote internship, so anyone of any age or background who has the ten hours a week to spare is eligible.

If last time is any indication, the applicants will come in quickly, so I'll post again when the application period has closed.

email to info@thebentagency.com

Queries update for The Bent Agency

2010-04-09T11:56:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone:

Susan and I are now up-to-date on all queries through March 15th. If you sent a query before that date and you haven't heard back, please requery.

Thanks!

On Confidence, or, WWDTD?

2010-03-29T14:36:00.001-04:00

An old friend of mine who's worked in publishing a while recently became an agent. She said to me the other day, "you know, I never realized how hard this job is on your ego."

Understatement of the year. Here are some of the ways that we agents can beat ourselves up in this job:

1. You have an auction. Nobody comes. When editors asked you what happened to your auction you have to tell them that nobody came. You feel like a loser.

2. You're shopping a book. One editor buys it. Why didn't more editors like it? You feel like a loser.

3. You pass on a book. A month later you're reading Publisher's Marketplace and you see that it sold. To a prestigious editor. At a prestigious house. You feel like a loser.

4. Your friend who is an agent makes a huge deal. You haven't made a huge deal in a while. You feel like a loser.

5. You pass on a book. A year later it hits the Times list. You feel like a loser.

6. You have a submission in and the author tells you five other agents want it. You want it too. The author signs with someone else. You feel like a loser.

And so on. You get the picture. There are a million and one ways that this business can make you feel like a loser. And don't think I'm whining, because as you know I love this job and consider myself fantastically lucky to be making a living doing what I love. My point is simply this: as confidence-crushing as my job can be, I think it's a thousand times worse for you, the writer. If I'm not successful selling a book, that means that my taste is in question. Given that I base my livelihood on my taste, that can feel disconcerting. But writers put their heart and soul on the page. If that's rejected, in many cases over and over again, well, I can't really imagine what that must feel like. I imagine, in the understatement of the year, that it feels pretty crummy.

Okay, so where do we go from here? How do we maintain confidence? How do we train ourselves to keep trying, to focus only on ourselves and not compare ourselves to others who we feel are more successful (for this is the trap of low confidence)? How do we feel happy and even successful in the face of rejection?

Well, I have a new mantra my friends, and it goes like this (drumroll, please): WHAT WOULD DONALD TRUMP DO? Yes, you heard right. I am invoking the name of the Donald. If you are not familiar with the legend of Mr. Trump, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump#Financial_problems_.281989.E2.80.931997.29

My (metaphorical) friend Donald has faced catastrophic failure over and over again in his career. And each time, like Phoenix rising from the ashes, he makes his comeback. Because you know what he has? An almost blinding, pathological belief in himself no matter what. If you watch The Apprentice on television for about five minutes, you'll see that he also has an ego the size of Toledo, and of course, I'm not advocating that. But the fact is that Donald (if I may) doesn't see his failures. He only sees success, even when reality doesn't exactly mesh with his vision. And because he does this, his vision of success becomes his reality.

Be like Donald. Believe in your success. And if you don't believe in your success, fake it until you make it (sorry, you know I love cheesy sayings). Act like you believe in yourself until one day you'll find out that you actually do. See rejection as a test of the strength of your confidence and let your confidence win. I can't say it enough: believe in yourself and your talent and your strength of will. That belief will carry you through failure to success, every time.

WWDTD.

One year of doing what I love

2010-03-17T17:44:00.000-04:00

Hey, I just realized that it's been a little over a year since I opened the doors of TBA. I was just sitting at lunch talking to someone about the fact that I am so lucky to be able to do what I love. Failure has never been an option for me in this job because I seriously could not do anything else for a living. I'm not being hyperbolic (well, except that I'm always hyperbolic without really meaning to be), I seriously am not qualified to do anything else. If you have a masters in English Lit, you don't have a whole lot of job opportunities, believe me.

I digress. My lunch companion pointed out that the first step to doing what you love is actually knowing what you'd love to do, and that many people really don't know what that is. Which is why you guys are lucky too. If you're reading this, you may be making a living as a writer (which I know is an enormously wonderful situation to be in), or you may be struggling to make a living while you write, or you may be doing fine financially in a job you hate, struggling to find the time to write, or some combination/permutation of any of those.

And I know this is a tough, tough business, and that success can be so elusive, and that writing can be so lonely. But at the end of a long, tiring, stressful day, you still know what you love. And you're doing it. And so, like me, you're lucky, so much luckier than the people you know who have no idea what they'd love to be doing.

Lately, I've been feeling a part of a wonderful community of artists and businesspeople and combinations of those two, all of us united because we love books and we love reading and we love creating. Books saved my life. And now I get to help people make more books. What could be luckier or better than that?

Happy Birthday to me!

Rookie Mistakes

2010-02-26T20:55:00.000-05:00

It's okay to make mistakes. It's the way we learn, after all. And some mistakes are unavoidable. But others are not. I've been thinking a lot recently about some of the mistakes I've made in the past--I turned 40 this year (I've probably mentioned this 500 times already), and it's made me very contemplative. I've come to the conclusion that while I really am grateful for my mistakes because they've made me a better person in the long run, a great deal of them probably could have been avoided. These are the mistakes I made because I was young and in a hurry: in other words, I made Rookie Mistakes. They're mistakes I can look back on and learn from, but that I could have avoided at the time if I had slowed down and been more thoughtful about where I was going and what I was doing. Writers make Rookie Mistakes too, mostly because they haven't taken the time to educate themselves or to really think about the process and what's going on from the side of the agent or publisher. These mistakes aren't career enders, but they might be career derailers, even if only briefly. I'll go through a few of these, mostly having to do with queries, and then finish on a high/low note with the one Rookie Mistake I find truly appalling.

Some of you may think these are obvious, but I've seen all these mistakes multiple times and, if you think about it, they're not so crazy--maybe uninformed, but not completely from left field. With the exception of the last one, that is. I'll list them here and hopefully you can avoid making them *and* learn from them at the same time.

1. Pitch multiple projects in one query. I've heard from multi-published authors who send me a three page letter explaining five different projects in detail. Or I'll get an e-mail from an unpublished writer with short synopses for ten different books. In other words, this mistake is made by authors with all different levels of experience. I don't think this is an unreasonable mistake--if you have a lot of projects complete, why only pitch just one? Won't you increase your chances if you pitch a lot of different ones? But it just ain't so. What you need to do here is put yourself in the shoes of the person reading the query. They are tired. They may be hungry (pretty much a given in my case). They have a lot to do. They may have read thirty queries before yours and they may have to read thirty more after yours. Make their job easier by pitching one project. If it's in a series, you can explain the series arc. But keep it to one. Later, if they're interested, you can discuss the others. If you bring them up in your original query, you'll just make their eyes glaze over and their brain shut down.

2. Pitch a novel before you've finished writing it. Now, if you are a published genre writer, and you sell novels from proposals, this is fine. I don't mean that. I mean, you are a first time novelist and you are working on a novel and you send me a query for it before you are done. I am actually very surprised by how often this happens. Most of the mistakes I'm writing about, I really do understand. And there has to be a good reason for this one (I'm sure someone will tell me). But what is it? Why would you query me before you have something complete to send me? Surely you know there's a chance I'll want to read it? The downside to doing this is two-fold. One, agents have very short attention spans, basically for the reasons I outline in #1 above. We are like crows--we see the shiny object and we want it now or we fly away. If you get me excited about your book, you have a short window to get it to me before I get excited about the next one. Two, agents are suspicious (I can hear all my agent friends right now telling me to speak for myself, but whatever). If you take a few months to get me material, there's a good chance I think it's because you gave another agent an exclusive first, and only sent it to me after that agent passed.

3. Query multiple agents at one agency--at the same time. This one I think is pretty reasonable. If you can query multiple agents, what does it matter if they're at the same agency? The problem is this: if you query multiple agents at different agencies, and two different ones ask to see it, it's not a problem. But if you query two agents at the same agency, and they both want to see it, then you have a problem. This happened to me more than once while I was at Trident. And because the agents want to be respectful of each other, they fall all over themselves insisting that you send it to the other one. It gets awkward and uncomfortable, and it just casts a pall over your whole submission that you'd probably like to avoid. Also, let's say that Agent A looks at it first, and passes. Agent B then gets a chance, but human psychology being what it is, is probably going to be less enthusiastic now.

In a corollary to this, people often asked me when I was at Trident if I would read a query or a manuscript that someone at Trident had already passed on. There's a subtle distinction to this from the scenario below. In this situation, the author is being straightforward and also respectful by checking the etiquette before proceeding. In other words, not acting like a Rookie. Having said that, while I never had a problem with that, knowing that we all had very different taste, I've heard other agents say that they do. Still, never hurts to ask.

4. Send exclusive queries. There's a reference to this on my website. This is an understandable mistake to me. If you're supposed to send exclusive submissions (well, not to me, but it's a standard thing), then why not an exclusive query? Most of you reading this, if not all of you, know why this is a mistake. You are only hurting yourself with this one. When I first started, as many of you know, it took me months and months to get through the instant backlog of queries. If you had sent me an exclusive query, you'd be pretty pissed. (Hell, people who had been sending *multiple* queries were pissed off enough, but that's a different story). As I've written about before, this business is nothing if not subjective. Send your query out to lots and lots of agents to increase your chances of finding the perfect one. If you do that one at a time you're going to be dead long before you're published.

5. E-mail an agent asking if you can query them or if they accept e-mail queries. Again, understandable. It never hurts to ask, as I just said above. But you're slowing yourself down and there's a good chance the agent won't answer you anyway. So I'll answer both of these now and then it's 'nuff said. Yes, you can query them. And check the website for guidelines.

6. E-mail an agent asking how to get an agent. I know if you're reading this blog that you would never do this. And I feel badly when people write and ask me this, I truly do, but I still don't have enough time to sit down and answer them. If you think about it, it's pretty labor intensive to sit down and write an e-mail explaining how to find an agent. So if you are savvy enough to figure out my e-mail address, you are savvy enough to do a little research online.

7. Ask an agent, "why do I need an agent?" This is the one that drives me crazy. Inevitably when you're on a panel at a conference, someone asks this question in a fairly belligerent tone. Look, buddy, I always want to say, it's not my job to justify my existence to you. If you want to sell your own book and negotiate your own contract (and that's just the starting place), it truly is not a problem for me. Why anyone wants to come to a conference and antagonize an entire panel of agents, is beyond me. It's the one Rookie Mistake I really just cannot excuse.

7.a. Post antagonistic comments on an agent's blog. I understand the urge, I really do. This is a tough business, and rejection hurts--I know, I've been rejected too. But 1. it's bad energy and 2. if you must do it, I suggest you do it anonymously. It's a very small business, and chances are I know your editor or agent and am old friends with him/her. Do you really want this kind of thing getting back to them?

And now...a word from Susan Hawk

2010-02-17T16:32:00.000-05:00

I asked Susan Hawk, the new children's book agent at the Bent Agency, to do a guest blog to introduce herself and let you know a little bit about what she's looking for. As you all know, I am thrilled to pieces to have Susan join the team here. Over to Susan....

This is Susan Hawk, the new children's book agent at The Bent Agency. I'm happy to introduce myself here and tell you something about the kind of books I'm looking for.

I’ve been in children’s books for over 20 years, and I’ve worn a couple hats in that time. Actually, the first job I ever had was at The Cheshire Cat Bookstore, a children’s only bookstore, in Washington, DC. It was run by a group of former librarians and educators who knew and loved children’s books. Did you ever have a librarian or bookseller who understood exactly what kind of book to set aside for you? I think it’s one of the best things in the world – to have someone hand you a book that just transports you. And that’s what you’d find at The Cheshire Cat. (I was a fan long before I worked there; the store was a few blocks from my house, and my orthodontist just above it, so I spent many an afternoon there, purchasing a post-orthodontia-Judy Blume-pick-me-up.)

I mention this because it feels like where it all began for me. I re-stocked the shelves, so I touched almost every book in the store. It was here that I saw not only how many truly wonderful books there are in the world, but I saw how happy books can make a person – happy to give, happy to receive, happy to read. And from that time on, books have been a big part of my life.

Fast forward. I moved to New York after college and began working in marketing for kids’ books at Penguin and North-South Books. I left publishing to go to Rutgers library school, and worked in a few libraries on the way. I returned to publishing, and began running the Library Marketing department at Penguin. At that point, I became interested in the editorial side, was able to wear two hats for awhile, and acquired for Dutton Children’s Books. I moved to Henry Holt, where I ran the children’s marketing department. I worked on many wonderful books over the years, ranging from Eric Carle’s Baby Bear, Baby Bear to Betsy Partridge’s This Land Was Made for You and Me, to Nancy Werlin’s Black Mirror, as well as the work of Mary E Pearson, Richard Peck and Joan Bauer.

My daughter was born two years ago, and I took some time to be with my kids. I knew I’d go back to working in books, but was ready to try something new. I was considering agenting when a post on a neighborhood parenting list-serv from Jenny Bent caught my eye. She had just started her own agency and was looking for readers. We had coffee on her stoop and agreed that in exchange for me reading, she’d answer my questions about the business. Time passed and we kept talking about agenting. When Jenny suggested that she’d like to add a kids’ book agent to her company, I couldn’t have been more pleased, and here we are today! I feel incredibly lucky to have connected with Jenny, who is smart, funny, so knowledgeable about the business, and who has been incredibly generous to me of her time and wisdom.

Now enough about me – on to what you really want to know: what I’m looking for!

My interests are broad and I’m reading in lots of areas. I plan to work with authors of middle-grade and YA books, both fiction and non-fiction. In the latter I’m looking for something commercial and topical – think of Chew on This. In fiction, I would love to find a wonderful new mystery or historical fiction. I've always been a fan of fantasy, though not really epic, high fantasy. Science-fiction is a particular favorite and I wish there was more of this for kids. I'm interested in boy books, and seeing something that really makes me laugh would be great. I don't run across many things in which religion plays a role, so I'm looking for that as well.

More than any particular plot or genre though, I’m looking for wonderful characters (the kind that you come to know so well that you're still chatting with them long after the book ends) and a unique, arresting voice, wrapped up in a great story. Story is key -- I can never resist a good plot and strong pacing. My tastes run more towards the literary, but I think the best books can’t be typified as either commercial or literary, they are just the sort of books that you can’t help but swallow in one gulp, while never wanting them to end.

I think it’s helpful to know who some of my favorite books and authors are, so I’ll list some here, in no particular order: MT Anderson, Elise Broach, An Na, Adele Griffin, Gennifer Choldenko, Nancy Farmer, Jack Gantos, Katherine Paterson, John Bellairs, Sid Fleischman, Zilpha Keatley Snyder.

So that’s a bit about me. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to seeing your submissions! For information about submitting, please visit: thebentagency.com.

Welcome to the Jungle, Part Two

2010-02-16T11:29:00.001-05:00

A huge welcome to Mandy Hubbard, who after being a stellar intern at ye olde Bent Agency is now entering the world of agenting at D4EO Literary Agency. Here's the official announcement:

http://mandyhubbard.livejournal.com/216998.html

The link to the D4EO website is:

http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/d4eo/

2010 Conference Schedule

2010-01-31T12:21:00.001-05:00

A list of the conferences I'll be attending in 2010. I'll post any additions as they come up. Hope to see you there!

February 24, American University Visiting Writers Series

http://www.american.edu/cas/auarts/calendar/?q=Jenny+Bent&x=11&y=12

Butler Boardroom, 6:00 pm

(not really a conference, but a lecture)

March 20th, Virginia Festival of the Book

http://www.vabook.org/site10/program/view.php?day=2010-03-20

My panel is 4:00 at the Omni Hotel

May 14-16, Penn Writers Conference

http://www.pennwriters.com/

August 6-8, Williamette Writers Conference

http://www.willamettewriters.com/wwc/3/

October 1-3, Moonlight and Magnolias Conference

http://www.georgiaromancewriters.org/mm-conference/

So this is pretty funny....

2010-01-26T13:45:00.000-05:00

My father is a retired college professor and an aspiring writer. He and I like a lot of the same writers--from Jane Austen to Anne Tyler to James Lee Burke. I've been sending him some queries to get his take lately, and boy is he a tough critic. His responses have been extremely helpful because he's great at spotting writerly "tics"--bad habits most writers have that are so ingrained they don't realize they have them.

In that spirit, he sent me the following e-mail last night:

After reading too many literary fiction queries, I rewrote a

sentence from Anne Tyler:

"The car wallowed back through the slush, with ribbons of bright water trickling down the windshield from the roof" (Anne Tyler).

"With torrents of incandescent water cascading down the besieged windshield from the roiled roof like a towering majestic falls in a lost dystopian wilderness, the swamped car careened through the raging flood of turbulent water and freezing ice." (dad's version).

Tee hee.

a short meditation on how to write a novel

2010-01-07T12:16:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

I had a great conversation today with an editor about what makes a novel work. This is a very senior, very talented woman who knows of what she speaks. So if you don't believe me, believe her. :)

This will be a short post because the concept is pretty simple. Ahem, here goes:

A novel should make the reader keep reading because it immediately poses a “what will happen next” question. So it should open with a bang, some sort of exciting happening that makes the reader go, “oh my gosh, what’s going to happen to resolve this. There should actually be two questions, an internal one and an external one. Internal is: Does she get the guy? External is: Who killed John? Along the way, there’s are existential issues being explored: what is family? What is love? Etc.

I will use a good example. Over the break, I read THE WOMAN IN WHITE by Wilkie Collins. Collins was a contemporary of Dickens, in fact kind of a protege of Dickens, and this book was a huge sensation when it was published in 1860. The edition I was reading, published by Barnes and Noble Classics with an intro and notes by Camille Cauti, is actually a really fun one, because it includes all the reviews that the novel received. It's funny to see how the book business really hasn't changed that much.

I digress. The Woman In White is a classic mystery thriller and it's a fantastic read. And it follows all the rules above:

It opens with a bang, with the protagonist encountering a mysterious woman in white on a deserted road in the middle of the night. She references a dark secret and then disappears.

External question posed: who is this woman? What is going on here? WHAT IS THE DARK SECRET?

Soon the novel poses an internal question: will our hero get the girl he is in love with? He is a poor artist, she is a member of the gentry.

And along the way, the novel asks questions about the role of women in this society, how they are treated, how they are in so many ways powerless to create their own destinies.

So there you have it. These roles hold true even if you're not writing a suspense novel--they hold true for almost any novel. And I have one more tip for you: end every chapter with a cliff-hanger. When Collins and Dickens were writing, they were publishing their work serially, so they did this as a matter of course. It works marvelously to keep the reader turning pages.

WOW! Interview

2009-12-11T17:25:00.000-05:00

Jodi at womenonwriting.com just posted this interview with me. Very insightful questions!

http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/35-FE3-JennyBent.html

Meet Mandy, the author (and her agent) who never gave up

2009-12-10T16:40:00.000-05:00

If you’ve been reading this blog, you know I love me an inspirational success story. Which is why I asked Mandy Hubbard, YA author extraordinaire, to do a guest blog today. I do not represent Mandy, she has a wonderful agent all of her own, but I am beyond lucky and blessed to have Mandy as an intern at the Bent Agency. Her energy and knowledge and good cheer astound me, and the story of her path to publication amazes me.

At TBA, we do an intern conference call every other week. Many of our interns are writers at various stages in their careers and sometimes we discuss the trials and tribulations of getting published and offer each other advice and encouragement. Mandy told us how she’d happened to get published and I thought it was such a great story that I asked her to tell it here.

This is what I hope you’ll get from it:

Mandy never gave up.
Her superagent never gave up (I’m very impressed!)
See what happens when you never give up?

Okay, over to Mandy…..

Hi Everyone!

And thank you, to Jenny, for having me. :-)

My name is Mandy, and I’m an author. (Why do I suddenly feel like I'm in AA?) My debut, Prada & Prejudice (Razorbill/Penguin) came out in June. I also have four more projects in the works with Harlequin, Razorbill, and Llewellyn Flux. You can learn more about my books at my website (www.mandyhubbard.com)

Eighteen months ago, life was different for me. I was lucky enough to have an agent, but after two years, the phrase “my agent” had lost some of its novelty. My first project didn’t fare well and had been retired, and Prada & Prejudice had racked up over 20 rejections, from every major house in NYC. Every day, I feared the email from my agent saying it was time to give up and move on.

In February of 2008, when Prada & Prejudice was in its 8^th draft, I received my third revision request. Except it was really a rewrite request, because all they liked was the concept. And the title. But the rest? It had to go.

Even while I was still hitting my head against my desk, I emailed my agent and told her I’d do it. I opened a blank word document and started over. I never once opened the old book, never copied a single word. I spent six weeks writing and polishing the first hundred pages of the 9^th draft of Prada & Prejudice. We sent it back to the editor, and then I crossed my fingers.

Two weeks later I was rejected.

My agent, undaunted, told me she’d give it another shot. After all my work, it was practically a brand-new book. So we put our heads together and came up with a list of six or seven publishers. I knew in my heart that it was the last hurrah. If it didn’t sell, it never would.

In May, it went out. Two weeks later, we received not one, but two offers. When I got the news, it was like a freight train was roaring in one ear and out the other. I couldn’t hear a thing, and I was convinced my heart might actually break one of my ribs, it was beating so hard.

The final tally? Twenty-six rejections, almost two years on submission, and nine drafts. What’s more? The editor who purchased PRADA & PREJUDICE rejected it twice before offering it. Since P&P has been published, it's received positive reviews from SLJ and Publishers Weekly, been featured in TIME magazine (why yes, I bought 5 copies, why do you ask?), and is now in its 5th printing.

There were many, many times I wanted to rip my hair out, one strand at a time. I remember the angst, the frustration, the longing. I’ve never wanted something so fiercely as I wanted to be published. And yet it’s one of the most difficult things to achieve, because it’s a dream that relies on someone else granting it.

A few months ago, I went into my blog and unlocked the posts dealing with rejection, despair, frustration—the ones most people don’t seem to want to share. My hope is that some authors will find in encouragement and realize that there is a happy ending, if only you work at it. They can be found here: http://mandywriter.livejournal.com/tag/the+road+to+publication

All I can say is: It’s worth it. It’s worth every second of the blood, sweat, and tears it takes.

The difference between a published author and an unpublished one is one day. It only takes one day, one moment, for your whole world to shift. I firmly believe that if you work hard at improving your craft and you simply do not give up, your day will come.

The question is: will you quit before then?

Susan Hawk is YA and Middle Grade exclusively

2009-12-02T16:41:00.000-05:00

Folks, I screwed up. It's not entirely clear on the website, but Susan Hawk is only accepting queries in the categories of Young Adult and Middle Grade. The other categories she lists are meant to be subsets of YA and MG. I'm fixing the website tonight. I'm so sorry!

Announcement for YA and Middle Grade authors

2009-12-01T12:13:00.000-05:00

So I'm very pleased to announce the following:

Susan Hawk is joining the Bent Agency. She will represent authors of young adult and middle grade fiction. For the past 15 years, she worked in Children’s Book Marketing, most recently as the Marketing Director at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, and previous to that as the Library Marketing Director at Penguin Young Readers Group. She is actively acquiring young adult and middle grade books; non-fiction and fiction (especially literary fiction), as well as fantasy, science-fiction, historical fiction and mystery.

For more information, go to www.thebentagency.com/about.

What's not to like?

2009-11-27T11:57:00.001-05:00

After sending Author X a polite rejection, he responded with an equally polite question:

Ms. Bent,
>
> If you have the time and inclination could you answer this
> question...just what ARE you looking for? It's not that I'm going to
> write something according to formula, but I'm curious. I certainly
> won't blame or hold it against you if you never reply to this reply
> (the department of redundancy department strikes again!), but any
> insight into what the market seems to be would be of great benefit.
>
> Best,
>
Author X

I asked him if I could reproduce his e-mail because I think it's a question that comes up a lot. It's also along the same lines as a question I've discussed extensively with an intern of mine who is also a writer: If I think a manuscript is good, or even great and absolutely saleable, how come I will still pass on it? After all, if it's saleable, why not go out there and sell it?

And the answer is thus: why do you like Hemingway but not Fitzgerald? Why do you walk into a bookstore and pick up one book but not another? After all, you know Fitzgerald is a masterful writer. And you know that in the bookstore you could find many more books that you would conceivably buy.

Taste, my friends, it all comes down to taste. If you go into the bookstore with a budget to buy only one book by an author that's new to you, you have to pick out the book that's your very favorite out of the books that you see. When I'm reading manuscripts, I have the same constraints. I must pick out my very, very favorite. If I took on every solid manuscript that I read, I wouldn't have nearly enough time to sell them all. It has to be a labor of love and passion for me to sell your book; otherwise I'll potentially lose interest if I can't sell the book in the first round of submissions.

Additionally, even if I see that a book is saleable, that doesn't mean I can personally sell it. I have to pick a book that I have a true affinity for so that as I'm reading I'm composing a pitch letter in my head and a list of editors that I think will love it. If that doesn't happen, it means that I truly don't know how I would pitch this or sell it. If I love a science fiction novel, that doesn't mean I know how to sell it. I don't work with the editors that buy it, and I'm not familar with the genre so I don't know if it competes with what's already out there, or if editors will think it's old news. I would be doing the book's author a disservice by representing him or her.

So, Author X, I'm looking for a book that speaks to me somehow, in a genre that I know how to sell. And that "somehow" is of course the mysterious element that authors can't predict. The solution of course is to submit to multiple agents who could potentially be a fit, and keep submitting, until you find the agent who truly "gets" you. And that's also what agents do with editors. You know that a particular manuscript will probably be to a certain editors taste, but you never know if it will truly spark with them enough for them to try to make an offer.

As it so often is, the message is to keep trying, believe in yourself and your work, and hard as it is, don't take rejection personally. Remember that Fitzgerald papered his wall with rejection letters, Dr. Seuss got turned down by at least 20 publishers (check out this link: http://www.skrause.org/humor/rejectedseussbooks.shtml), Alex Haley was rejected over 200 times before Roots was finally published, etc., etc. And finally, I leave you with this a great link with lots of rejection stories for when you're feeling discouraged:
http://users.erols.com/veritas/CR.HTM

TEASER

2009-11-26T19:39:00.000-05:00

Is everyone happy and full tonight? I for one had four different desserts and am contemplating a white chocolate chip cookie as I type.

I digress. Anyway, if you are a young adult/middle grade author, watch this space for a very exciting announcement soon.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good night.

squeaky wheel

2009-11-19T09:18:00.000-05:00

Hey guys--

If I have requested a manuscript from you, and you haven't heard from me after a month, please, please follow up with an e-mail. Squeaky wheel definitely gets the grease.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and Happy Birthweek to me!

Jenny

Pride and Prejudice Without Zombies

2009-11-03T13:02:00.000-05:00

I had coffee the other day with an editor from the Penguin Classics group and she handed me the most gorgeous version of Pride and Prejudice with a cover designed by Ruben Toledo. Check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0143105426/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257271485&sr=8-1 The amazon page doesn't do it justice; it really does look amazing.

Well, of course, then I had to start reading it. Jane Austen is my very favorite author and for a few years running I read all her works every year over Christmas break, but I'd fallen out of that habit. And what a pleasure to be reminded all over again why I absolutely love this book--the writing, the characters, the dialogue. But this time I've noted something else about it. I'm reading so many manuscripts these days looking for new clients that I bring a new perspective to this book, which is: damn, if this book just isn't FULL of plot. I think many of us (me included) tend to think of the classics as slow-moving, ornately written, focusing on character as opposed to plot. But reading Austen reminds me that beyond Austen, plenty of classic literature has fast-paced, rip-roaring adventure, edge-of-your-seat kind of stuff. And reading Austen makes me realize very clearly what's missing in a lot of the manuscripts I'm reading these days.

Which (finally) brings me to the point. I am reading so many beautifully written novels whose descriptions in the query sound fantastic--full of plot and intrigue. But when I sit down to read said novels, I find myself reading page after page of description and conversation with no real movement forward in terms of plot. I've said it before: start your story, don't set up your story. From right around page one, I want to be plunked down in the middle of intrigue. I'm not saying write a mystery, but I am saying that I want there to be a kind of mystery element, a reason to keep reading because I want to know what happens next. Let your book pose a question almost from page one: will Annabelle find her father? Who is the mysterious character following Bob? What is the story behind the family bible with significant words blacked out? Will Jane find love (and more importantly marriage) with Bingley? What is the story behind the Wickham-Darcy feud? Will Lydia be rescued in time?

Even the most character-driven novels, in my opinion, work because you love the character so much that you want to see what happens to them next. Will they get the promotion, fall in love, get the girl, lose the weight, find their dog? There's still a question being posed and you keep reading to get the answer.

As I write, Rachelle Gardner just tweeted the following:
"A good plot is about disturbance to characters' inner and outer lives." ~@JamesScottBell

I think that sums it up perfectly.

Dance With the One What Brung Ya?

2009-10-14T15:37:00.001-04:00

Years ago I heard a very famous and important author, one whom I respect so much, speak at a writers conference and I've never forgotten it. He talked a lot about loyalty. He had the same agent and the same editor for all of his career and not only was this very important to him, but he also felt it was an integral part of his success.

I think that's wonderful, and like I said, I remember it still. And his agent and his editor are both stellar and important members of the publishing community.

But there's a nagging voice inside my head which asks the following: what if he'd had different luck? What if he'd started with a different agent, an agent who was a lemon, or maybe even not a good fit? What then?

In a business where the personal and the professional are melded much more closely than in other industries, I think there is often an expectation of loyalty that perhaps is not so warranted. Publishers are often outraged if successful authors leave them: after all, they are the ones who made said author a huge success, they reason. They feel that the author has taken advantage, and used their hard work to leverage a better deal with another house.

Agents are often furious if clients decide to leave, using the same reasoning. They worked so hard to build an author, after all, and this is how they are repaid?

And some authors are angered if their agent or editor tells them it's time to part ways. They feel abandoned, rejected, dumped. It's been a close personal relationship, they've exchanged hopes, dreams, and baby pictures, and now they are being discarded? The agent after all reaped the benefits of their career for a long time and should stick with them.

And while I understand all these reactions, and they certainly have merit, I do see the other side, which I think is as follows:

This is a business and while loyalty plays a role it is not the only factor. Regardless of the friendships that are formed along the way, this is the way we all make a living. And if anyone: editor, agent, author, publisher, feels that it's time to make a decision which may be painful, but is ultimately necessary, if we are at the receiving end perhaps we should set aside our egos and recognize that it's not personal, it's professional. (I struggle with this myself, don't get me wrong.)

Having said that, I also say this: the fact that it is a professional decision does not mean that it shouldn't be carried out in a direct and kind way. The goal is to part friends. This is a nod to the personal side of this business, the side that means we are all so often friends as we all do our individual jobs.

So here's my conclusion. Be a loyal friend. Be a pragmatic businessperson. And meld them as much as you can: when you have to make tough business decisions, keep in mind that you are often dealing with a friend and act accordingly.

Another Note on Queries

2009-10-14T10:45:00.001-04:00

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29985&highlight=Jenny+Bent&page=5

agency agreements

2009-09-17T09:22:00.000-04:00

I've been feeling a bit up at arms lately concerning agency agreements. It seems to me that there is a huge amount of misunderstanding out there about them. I found a great, great post about this at Rachelle Gardner's blog:

http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/05/author-agent-agreements.html

Please read it for your own protection. Most agency agreements protect the agent, not you, and you can end up agreeing to pay the agent commission even if the agent doesn't sell your book.

internship update

2009-09-09T14:08:00.000-04:00

We have received so many fabulous responses that I'm closing the application process. Thanks so much to everyone and I'll be responding to all of the applicants very soon.

internship

2009-09-08T09:59:00.000-04:00

Happy back to work day!

Even with three interns working very hard, we are still way behind reading queries. Does anyone want to help out? We have a lot of fun and do conference calls together to catch up and talk about the industry.

If so, send me a resume and a letter telling me what you like to read. Publishing background a plus, but certainly not required and I welcome hearing from everyone--particularly people who
want to transition into the industry. Oh, and send me a list of your most recent and favorite reads.

Update, in response to a recent comment: stay-at-home mothers are more than welcome to apply!

email to info@thebentagency.com

Please Don't Take Me Personally

2009-08-31T22:37:00.001-04:00

http://southcarolinawritersworkshop.blogspot.com/2009/08/guest-blogger-jenny-bent-please-dont.html

A Recommendation

2009-08-23T23:57:00.001-04:00

If you write or even just read YA or middle grade, please read this book. I just rediscovered it in my parent's library.

The Return of the Twelves by Pauline Clarke.

http://www.amazon.com/Return-Twelves-Pauline-Clarke/dp/1585790214/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251086171&sr=8-1

Looks like it's out of print but you can buy it cheaply used.

Tell me your favorite children's books. Kids' classics are my favorite vacation reading.

contract info

2009-08-23T13:05:00.000-04:00

I forgot to post this a few weeks ago:

http://www.genreality.net/guest-agent-jenny-bent#comments

conferences and queries

2009-07-31T18:15:00.000-04:00

I've been asked to post about the conferences I'll be attending this year. I'm excited about these--they're all in great locations and have terrific faculty attending. I think they are all still open for folks to register.

The Kentucky Women Writers Conference is September 10th through 12th. An amazing line up of writers will be there and it seems like it will be a really warm and nurturing environment with lots of intensive workshops (and you know I'm in favor of those).
http://www.uky.edu/WWK/index.html

The Writers Digest Business of Getting Published is September 18th to 20th in New York City. I'll be on a self-publishing panel (I'm a big fan of self-publishing as many of you know). Again, an amazing line-up, including an intriguing panel on book doctors. I don't seem to be listed as a presenter, but that may be because after a nightmare of a picture of me was posted on the Kentucky website, I refused to provide a picture of myself on the grounds that I'm probably the least photogenic person on the planet.
http://www.writersdigestconference.com/GeneralMenu/

The South Carolina Writer's Workshop is from October 23 to 25. A number of great agents and editors are attending, including my agent friends Holly Root, Janet Reid and Jeff Kleinman.
http://www.myscww.org/conference/ They'll have some fantastic panels and workshops as you'll see from the website.

Back to queries: It is our goal to respond to each and every query that comes our way. But the volume is still pretty heavy and sometimes the entire e-mail system breaks down and we lose stuff. So if you sent something in March or April and you never heard back, please send another query. Or, if it's been two months and you haven't heard back, please send another query. I apologize profusely for these kinds of delays and mishaps and promise that eventually we'll have things worked out.

Looking forward to hearing from/meeting all of you.

It's Hot (oh yeah, and don't compare yourself to others)

2009-07-30T16:33:00.000-04:00

An agent colleague is having a big auction today. I'll be honest: I don't see it. I cannot for the life of me understand why publishers are throwing obscene amounts of money at this project.

And that makes me feel bad. Am I a bad agent? Why don't I see it? Why aren't I in a huge auction having vast sums of money thrown my client's way?

I tell you this because sometimes I think authors think we agents have it made in the shade (it's my day to use very dated expressions I guess). But the fact is that we experience professional jealousy and insecurity just like you do. And the fact is that we shouldn't. It doesn't get us anywhere, and in fact, it probably gets in our way.

If you're feeling bad because your friend is getting a book tour and you're getting bupkus, or your friend sold their book for six figures and you sold yours for 15K, or you haven't sold at all, or you don't have an agent, or you don't even have time to write even though you love it but you're working two jobs just to make ends meet....well, you're not alone.

I know because I spend a fair amount of time talking to authors who feel this way. And of course, because I sometimes feel this way myself.

I think my point here is two-fold.

One is that it's all relative. I often tell my discouraged authors to realize what their careers look like to others. Mostly, they look pretty damn good.

Two is everybody feels like this some of the time.

And three (I added one) is that we ALL need to avoid this thinking as much as we can because it's negative and destructive and crazy-making (another terrible expression, sorry).

You hear it all the time, but it's so true: there's an unlimited amount of success and good things out there. If your friend makes a book deal, that doesn't mean there's one less book deal out there for you. If your friend hits the Times list, that doesn't mean you won't too.

Okay, yes, once in a while you're allowed to feel shitty and get into bed and eat lots of sugary candy (that's me anyway) but really, try to limit feeling shitty not about others' successes, but maybe just about the fact that you haven't met your own personal goals.

And that, I think, is the antidote to all this obsessing about other people's success. Set goals for yourself. Figure out a plan so that you can meet them. Don't think: he got a NYT book review. Think: I want to sell 10,000 copies of my book. How exactly am I going to do that? Here is step 1, here is step 2, etc. etc.

Come from a positive place--what do I want to achieve--and not a negative one--why don't I have what he has?

I can't promise you'll be more successful--but you'll certainly be happier.

And I'm going to (try to) move on. I have a list of about 20 things I was supposed to get done today and I don't think that obsessing about this auction was on it. Onward and upward!

Make Your Own Luck

2009-06-26T22:46:00.001-04:00

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

Sorry for the cheesy saying, but what can I say? I love cheesy sayings and this one may be one of my favorites.

Here's why. You know how you always hear don't write for the market? It's true. Even for the practical reason that by the time you've finished writing the market has usually changed.

But what you should do is be hyper-aware of the market so that you can fully take advantage of the market. Number one easiest way to do this is by reading the NYT list and seeing what kinds of books are working, but you should also check out Publishers Marketplace and Kristin Nelson's blog and Janet Reid's blog (I link to both of them) and really as much as you have time for. Publisher's Marketplace and the agent blogs will lead you to other great resources.

Here's a great example from the Times list. A new book just debuted a few weeks ago at number two on the hardcover fiction list. Without a big push from Oprah this really never happens so it's a notable example.

The book is called The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane and it's one of those novels where there's a mystery happening in contemporary times and the narrative takes you back into history to tell you a story that helps solve the present-day mystery. Another good example of this is a book called The Secret History of the Pink Carnation.

Publishers already are disposed to like this sort of novel, but right now you can guess that they are all dying to buy something similar. And in about a few months time, they will have been so deluged by similar books that they will have moved on to the next thing.

So there's a small window of opportunity here.

Obviously, you're not going to be able to sit down and write a novel like this in time to get it out there and take advantage of the buzz. But if you happen to have one just about ready to submit--get it out there. And make sure to tailor your pitch to refer to Deliverance Dane.

So the plan is two-fold.

First, write the book of your heart. Don't worry about the market.

At the same time, pay attention to the market in every way you can. Watch bestseller lists, read industry news. When you're done with the book, put your knowledge of the market to use and figure out how what's going on in the market matches your particular genre/style/characters/plot. Preparation will meet opportunity. You'll make your own luck. And the great thing is that the way the market shifts and changes, the windows are always opening up.

And of course, if you've written the next Deliverance Dane, hurry up and get it to my query in-box.

Signing off at midnight on Saturday, just having finished the latest Tana French. Tana, Dennis Lehane, Lee Child, you have caused me too many sleepless nights of late. And still I love you all...

The Return of Corelle

2009-06-18T10:18:00.001-04:00

I'm back! Just with a brief announcement. Some of you may recall that I posted a few months ago that I was looking for great suspense (and used my silly Corelle analogy).

So I'm thrilled to report that last week I sold an amazing literary suspense novel called BENT ROAD by first time novelist Lori Roy. It went to Denise Roy, at Dutton, at auction. Exciting stuff--Lori is the first new author I signed at the Bent Agency and we found her because she sent in an unsolicited query.

If you're noting all the funny coincidences (her title; my name; her name; the editors name) you're not alone. Corelle strikes again!

You also may recall that I had posted about needing interns. I found some great ones. One of them, Judy Walters, found Lori's e-mail and knew it was something I would love. I'm seriously lucky to be working with Judy and Erin Sanger and Ryan Archer. These guys are smart and terrific and talented.

The take-away for the as yet undiscovered writers out there is that I am actively reading and considering unsolicited material. Nothing is more fun or satisfying than "discovering" a new writer that way, and nothing is more fun than selling someone's first novel. I'm so excited about working with Lori from the ground floor of what I know will be an amazing career.

And I'm looking for more suspense, thrillers, literary horror. Something to fit the mood of these dark, dreary rainy days (which I hate to admit, but I'm kind of enjoying!)

On a practical note, if you sent me a query in late March and never heard back, you should probably resend it. We're still catching up on April e-mails but I'm afraid that some of March may have slipped through the cracks.

And, you heard it here first, on a quiet summer Friday: we're open for new queries once again. Please just e-query-we regret that we can't respond to snail mail queries.

Happy weekend!

A Few Notes on Conferences

2009-06-13T20:52:00.001-04:00

I am so sorry for the long absence. I've been struggling and struggling with a topic several authors have urged me to address: the concept of what I think *will* sell vs. what I think I *can* sell. They tell me that many authors don't understand why I might turn down a book that I think is very saleable. So I hope it's not too cruel a tease to say that I won't be writing about that this time. I still can't figure out exactly the best way to explain this despite having several drafts saved on the topic.

What I am going to talk about is conferences. I've had a great time recently attending a few different conferences. One of the terrific things about starting this business is everything feels so new again--and so where I once might have viewed conferences with ennui and even a little dread (I'll explain why), now going seems fun and filled with possibility.

So I'm going to discuss several different concepts, which I'll number.

1. Why Agents Dread Conferences

2. How to Succeed at Conferences

3. How to Make the Most of Pitching

4. What are the Best Conferences to Attend

1. Why Agents Dread Conferences: It's the Workload, Stupid. If I go to a conference I feel a real sense of responsibilty towards the authors I meet. I want to read their material and give them some sort of personal and thoughtful response. But it's really hard, because you get back from a conference and beyond your normal backlog of work and queries, you now have that much extra--and it's a lot of extra because you ask for more sample material than you ordinarily would if it were a blind query. So the number one reason I don't go to a whole ton of conferences is that I can't handle the extra work and it makes me feel too guilty to let it sit around for six months. I still haven't responded to a bunch of material from the last two conferences I went to. Argh.

I also find conferences emotionally taxing because the people who attend have so much on the line. I don't want to disappoint them and I want to make them feel at ease when they are pitching to me. But after about ten pitch sessions I am exhausted. It's very, very hard to sit there and be responsible for potentially dashing someone's hopes and dreams. At one of the conferences I went to recently I made a woman very upset for suggesting that she self-publish--and this was after spending the whole panel explaining that I loved self-published books and represent so many self-published authors. I don't blame her at all: the point is that it's very easy to upset someone at a conference because it's an emotional, pressure-filled, scary ride for them. So I can only handle so many pitches before I am worn out emotionally myself.

2. How to Succeed at Conferences (without really trying)

Volunteer. Do whatever you can to come into lots of contact with the attending agents. Be the hospitality person or drive them to and from the airport. Volunteer to get them diet coke (okay, that one's just for me). I will confess that I did once ask someone at a conference to run out and get me an egg and cheese sandwich and I've never forgotten them (in my defense, I was really pregnant at the time). But here's the secret: DO NOT PITCH THEM. Be super nice and friendly and help them out as much as you can, but do not pitch. Two things will happen: either they will be so curious about the fact that you didn't pitch them that they will ask you what you write, OR, they won't ask you, but later on you can e-mail them and remind them who you are and then pitch them and they will like you so much, in part because you didn't pitch them, that they will be favorably disposed towards your work. It's all about the personal connection, it really is.

Also, remember that often an agent feels awkward and out of place at a conference where he/she doesn't know anyone. I know I often feel shy walking into the bar, or dining room, or opening party where I don't know anyone. So you get points for rescuing me and being friendly and welcoming. But again, don't pitch. See below.

3. How to Make the Most of Pitching. Try to limit pitches to the pitch sessions, agent/editor speed dating, etc. I would avoid pitching in places like (these are all places I have been pitched) the bathroom, the salad bar line, the bar, a noisy cocktail party, the hall going to the bathroom, a car filled with two other agents, the baggage carousel, when I'm on the phone or checking e-mail, basically anywhere where the agent is trying to have a little downtime or needs to focus on something else. It's great to meet an agent at a party and talk to them (see number two above) but pitching there probably means you'll be forgotten because the agent is so distracted.

The time to pitch is in a pitch session or perhaps after a panel. Or if the agent is available at other times.

Note, this is just my personal take. Other agents/editors may completely disagree. But pitching when an agent is distracted or busy doesn't seem very productive to me.

Also, do your homework, so you don't end up at a pitch session with an agent and not know anything about what they represent. You don't want to pitch your mystery to an agent who only does picture books. You're wasting your time and theirs.

4. In my opinion, for what it's worth, the best kinds of conferences to go to.
Go to conferences where you have intensive workshops with published authors, editors or agents. To my mind, anyway, these are more useful than having a bunch of five minute pitch sessions with agents. I think the conferences were you are working intensively with other writers and even sometimes agents or book editors are the way to go because you create relationships which end up being helpful professionally, creatively, and personally.

Next time, if people are interested, I'll go through frequently asked questions at conferences.

P.S. No, I'm not calling you stupid, by the way. Would never do that. It's a play on the famous Clintonian expression, "It's the economy, stupid."

The Agent Who Knew Too Much

2009-04-28T10:26:00.000-04:00

So first things first: we still have a hold on queries, I'm sorry to say. We are working through so many good ones and slowly catching up and requesting material, but we need some more time before we can open things up again.

And here's a new post about age vs beauty, or, what an older agent knows that can hurt you.

As I have started out on my own, inevitably it has brought up memories of the last time I went out on my own. I was 26, and I was working for an agent who was reluctant to let me represent my own titles. Since like most twenty-somethings I was ambitious and impatient, I decided to go work for an agency which did not pay me a salary but let me have a desk and a computer in exchange for keeping a portion of the money I earned.

--I interrupt myself here to say that I am so grateful to everyone who helped me get to that point and beyond, people like Nina Graybill, Elaine English, Michael Cader, and Raphael Sagalyn---

I hate to admit it, but I really had very little clue of what I was doing. I did have a number of people who helped me, particularly Howard Yoon, another D.C. agent. And I learned as I went. But what I didn't have in knowledge and experience I made up for with boundless enthusiasm, determination and really almost desperation, since I had a mortgage to pay and no other resources available. I worked my a** off. And here's the other cool thing about those days, and really the whole point of this post: I had no idea what I couldn't do. Short story collection? Sure, why not? And I did sell a few of them for clients that I still represent. Incredibly moving and very dark memoir about mental illness (in a time when memoirs were just impossible)? Absolutely. And again, I still represent that author. Self-help books by people with very few mainstream credentials? Hell, yeah. My first six-figure deal fell into that category. And it continues to sell very nicely.

So flash forward to right now. I have an extensive client list, lots of great contacts, and I have learned so much. My knowledge has absolutely made me a better agent. In fact, as I look back on my twenty-something self and how I negotiated, etc., I am really grateful to so many editors who didn't make me feel like the idiot I so often was. (Interesting tidbit: most of the editors who were jerks to me back then are out of the business. And the ones who were nice are now giants: Jonathan Karp, Jordan Pavlin, Geoff Kloske, Laurie Chittenden to name just a few off the top of my head.)

But as I have gained, I have also lost. I feel just as enthusiastic as I ever did (I just remembered another shout-out: Hillel Black. Hillel was great to me back then and I will always admire Hillel for his boundless enthusiasm and joy for what we do in publishing. At this point Hillel has as many years in the business as anyone out there and he is still so excited by what he does every day.) but in some ways I know too much. I know what kinds of books are supposed to be successful and what aren't. So in terms of what I choose to represent, I have to balance conventional wisdom with trusting my instincts and my passion. I have to be on guard that I don't turn down a project that's about, say, peaches, for the silly reason that I tried to sell a different book about peaches and couldn't do it. Or because everyone is saying that books about peaches don't work.

So I guess what I'm saying is that as a writer, when you're searching for an agent, keep in mind that a younger agent may be more open-minded than the old folks. They're certainly hungrier and often more energetic. And if they don't know that they aren't supposed to be able to sell your work, chances are that they probably will. Here I'll do a shout out to Holly Root at Waxman and Victoria Horn at Liza Dawson who are two agents building their lists and who are as smart and savvy as any agent I know--much much smarter than I was at a similar stage in my career.

And as for me? I'm feeling inspired by that younger, clueless me. I'm keeping myself open to the possibilities and remembering the days when I had no idea what my limitations were.

P.S. Terry Bain, I'm assuming you will provide hyperlinks? I still don't know how.

ALERT: A Temporary Hold on Queries

2009-04-20T09:53:00.000-04:00

As of right now, the queries@thebentagency in-box is completely full and if you send e-mail you will receive an error message. I'm asking that people please hold off on querying for a week or two (and please don't send directly to my e-mail or to info@thebentagency.com). I'll let you know when we've gotten everything caught up. We are working through over 1,000 queries. Thanks so much to everyone for thinking of me.

life, the universe, and everything

2009-04-10T11:21:00.000-04:00

I love blogging because I can subject everyone to my long, boring, pointless stories. :) This one is about Corelle. Corelle is a kind of unbreakable dishware. If your mother ever bought a set of dishes at Kroeger, chances are it was Corelle. I would say there is less demand for Corelle these days, but that may be because I live in New York, and people can be a little snobby in New York. If you are a New Yorker you can't be mad at me for saying that, because of course I don't mean you.

Anyway, some time ago I decided I had a desperate need for Corelle. The why of it does not matter but it was not entirely frivolous and kind of benevolent. But I needed it a whole lot. And I couldn't figure out where in Brooklyn or Manhattan I could buy it. Flash forward a week. We are driving home from Vermont. We need to pull over rather urgently and we stop at the discount mall called Woodbury Commons. The first thing I see as I walk into the mall? A Corelle outlet! I kid you not. Who knew?

So I needed Corelle and a week later the Corelle was mine. I know this is sounding kind of silly. But you know that it's happened to you before, right? And for bigger needs than just some silly Corelle (although I did have a good purpose for it). You say it, you think about it, and somehow you get it, whether it's the universe at work, or a higher power, or the power of positive thinking, or the secret, or whatever you want it to be.

So, if you are a writer, what is your Corelle? I think it's really important to articulate it. Figure out your end goal. The NYT list, the quitting of the day job, the Edgar Award, the Oscar, whatever it is. And then work backwards from that to figure out the steps you need to take. I'm not saying that it will be handed to you in some sort of bizarre writing award outlet at an insanely busy outlet mall off the Jersey turnpike. But I do believe that you'll never get it unless you figure out exactly what it is that you want.

Now back to me. Here's my latest Corelle: I need some interns who like to read commercial fiction. So if you are one, or know one, e-mail me at info@thebentagency.com with a resume and a cover letter with reading interests listed. Oh, and New York area is a plus but not essential.

And I need some good suspense/crime submissions. I like Lee Child, I like Elmore Leonard, I like Jonathan Kellerman, I like Ruth Rendell, Tony Hillerman, early James Lee Burke, C. J. Box, Tana French, Robert Ellis, just to name a few. I like clean, clear writing with very little embellishment. I like scary and I like dark. Email me at queries@thebentagency.com and put "suspense/crime" in the subject line. Don't forget to include the first ten pages in the body of the e-mail.

Just a little boring anecdote/pep talk/selfish listing of my needs on a Friday of a holiday weekend.

queries

2009-03-29T14:46:00.000-04:00

Slogging my way through queries over the weekend. Since I twittered (tweeted?) about the overwhelming quantity, most people are suggesting I get some help with them, which is not a bad idea, but problematic because I am such a total control freak. If you've been reading this you know that I am an optimist, and so the query-filled in-box, as much work as it represents, also always feels full of possibility. Over the years, I have found such great projects in what used to be known as slush, and even with a very full client list I find I can't take the plunge and ask people not to send. Here, off the top of my head, are a few published titles--jewels, all of them--which were sent to me unsolicited. The fun in selling them was heightened by the fact that discovering them felt like a true mitzvah. So as not to play favorites, I'm only listing ones from earlier in my career and a few whose publication is upcoming, but there are many, many more.

HER INFINITE VARIETY by Pamela Rafael Berkman
SONGS OF THE GORILLA NATION by Dawn Prince Hughes
TRUTH by Jacqueline Sheehan
DIARY OF A VIAGRA FIEND by Jayson Gallaway
YOU ARE A DOG by Terry Bain
CARTER FINALLY GETS IT by Brent Crawford (upcoming from Hyperion)
ONE SCREAM AWAY by Kate Brady (upcoming from Grand Central)

And I'm in the midst of making a deal right now for someone else who e-mailed me cold. I'll report this later because it's been such a fun and exciting journey with her.

Most of the projects I've listed above are memoir and fiction. The nonfiction I do for the most part is how-to/lifestyle/humor by people who have good platforms and those are mostly from referral or that I read about/hear about somewhere and go after. But it's very good business to find memoir and fiction from new writers because building a list as an agent (just to let you in on my personal business plan) is about selling enough fiction to build a good backlist. You want to sell the frontlist splashy nonfiction but many of those books are one-offs. To maintain a list, you also want to find those writers of fiction and memoir who will write book after book and make good royalties on them over time. So my goal every year, for what it's worth, is to sign 3-5 first novels a year and these mostly come from the slush pile.

Please comment and let me know your slush pile success story. For the purposes of this post, I'm only listing first time authors who came in over the transom without referrals, but I love all my authors unreservedly, of course.

And now for something completely different

2009-03-24T00:23:00.000-04:00

You know what? I was thinking about it and I decided I'm kind of over this whole whats-working-in-this-market thing. I mean, I think it's important to consider the market when writing, don't get me wrong. But I think an alternate point of view is equally important, which is to say:

You should write the book that you love and try to market it and if that doesn't work, try again. A good friend of mine who wrote a very successful first novel once admitted to me that it was actually his eleventh--the first ten he wrote were in boxes under the bed.

If you can't sell your book to a traditional publisher get it out there however you can. So many of my clients self-published first: Laurie Notaro, Will Clarke, Frank Daniels. In fact, go check this out: http://www.myspace.com/nfrankdaniels . Frank's first novel, FUTUREPROOF was published this month by HarperCollins, and the story of how he got there is pretty amazing.

Writing to the market so often doesn't work because it doesn't feel sincere. I know it's corny, but I really do represent books that come from the heart. And to be honest, I'm a true contrarian who loves going against the grain to a certain extent--I get pretty excited about a project I love that I know will be a tough sell. So I'm less worried about the marketability of your project than I am about the emotional truth of what you have to say.

That's my middle-of-the-night-can't-sleep pep talk. More later.

What next? Or, strategery [sic].

2009-03-21T13:52:00.000-04:00

Whew! I survived the first week. Kind of. I have a lot of queries to sort though so if you're waiting, rest assured that I will get to them in the timeliest way possible.

And thank you so much to every one who commented or sent me e-mails or twittered me. It means a lot as I start out on my own.

This topic: what to do if you're not writing any of the kinds of books I mentioned in the last post. And by the way, I forgot one, which a prominent publisher mentioned at lunch Friday: humor.

But back to our topic, what to do? Please do not change course abruptly. I mean it. This sounds corny, but you must stay true to yourself and what you are writing. Just try to do it in a strategic way. In an economy like this one, I think we all need to stay flexible in whatever we do.

So, tweak. Try to mold whatever you are currently working on so it will be attractive in this market.

This isn't always going to work. If you are writing a biography of Martin van Buren, it is hard to tweak that so it is also about organic gardening. (Unless Martin van Buren was in fact an organic gardener. I don't know. ) But certain genres are evergreen, like biography, so in that case you don't have to worry about it as much.

But what if you are writing a memoir? You certainly might try to pitch it as uplifting. You might add a dog or a cat (only if there is one, of course). I'm kidding about the dog, mostly. If you are a person of faith, consider adding that element. Or don't be afraid to add humor as per my comment above.

What if you're writing a second novel and the sales on the first one really aren't all that great? Here's where you should really try to be creative and flexible. Consider a pseudonym although I know that's a tough decision. Try to think of a way that you can keep your unique voice and style but make the book feel a little more marketable to editors. Again, dogs are good (kidding. sort of.) I know this is vague advice, but I'll talk a little bit more about what makes a book seem "big" to editors in another blog. One thing to do is look at books that are working in your genre and think about topics or approaches that they have in common.

In terms of any book you're writing, think about what you'll want to be reading and what you think other people will want to be reading during some really tough times. To my mind, it means funny books, inspirational books, uplifting books, books that take the reader back to simpler, happier times.

Sometimes it's just going to be impossible to tailor your book for the market. In that case, be stubborn. Sometimes the books that work best in the market are the ones that are hardest to sell to editors; the ones no one thinks are going to succeed. That's been true for me many times in my career. Although, be stubborn and have a backup plan. As soon as you start trying to find an agent/get published, get to work on that next one. That's a good rule for anyone to follow.

This post seems kind of all over the place and nonspecific to me--bear with me, I'm still getting used to blogging. I'll try to do better on the next one. Someone asked the question why, if platform for nonfiction is so important, why isn't this the case for fiction? Good question so I may attack that next.

Comment away but be gentle.

Welcome to the Jungle

2009-03-04T19:13:00.001-05:00

Well, hello there. Thanks for joining me. And thanks too, to Axl, for the shout-out. I think he says it best and most appropriately given the current climate, don't you? And yet, as anyone starting a business right now would have to be, I am actually feeling pretty optimistic these days.

I know things suck in publishing right now. But I wouldn't be setting out on my own if I didn't think that there were ways of working with this. Let's not forget that editors still need to buy books and are in fact continuing to spend significant amounts of money on said books. So to survive as agents and authors we need to put ourselves in their shoes and think about what they will need to buy. Here's a list of what I'm thinking it will be, in no particular order. It's just kind of off the top of my head and I'm sure I'll forget lots of stuff, so please post with your own ideas. Or tell me I'm a moron. Or whatever.

The Bent on Books List of Topics To Write About In the New Economy

1. Selected business and personal finance

A. As subset of the above, books on saving money, sustainability, downsizing, surviving hard times

B. Also subset, books on job hunting, resumes

C. Books on starting your own business

2. Fiction by authors who have a good solid track record with numbers that are trending up. Even if the numbers are not huge, if there is solid improvement over time, editors will be interested.

3. First fiction, particularly with a commercial hook--more trade paperback and mass market than hardcover

4. Celebrity books, even by minor celebrities

5. heartwarming nonfiction--particularly heartwarming nonfiction which will get a lot of media attention

A. about pets

B. about surviving hard times

C. insert something else heartwarming here

6. faith-based fiction and nonfiction

That's all for now. Thanks for tuning in.

P.S. Coming soon: what to do if you're not writing any of the above.