Internship has been filled

We have filled the internship positions.  Thank you to all who applied and even if you didn't make it this time around, feel free to apply again in the future.

Query Round Up and Wishlist--post by Gemma

Happy New Year! 

The beginning of 2013 marks just over three months since I joined the Bent Agency. It’s been an exciting time, and I have to say I’ve been impressed with the quality of my submissions. I rarely get queries for genres I don’t represent, and most people remember to paste in the first ten pages (or at least resend them immediately as instructed by my auto-response). I’m lucky to have found my submissions a fun place to dive into!

At a recent conference, I was asked how I approached my query inbox. I joked that I creep up on it slowly so as not to frighten it away, while all the time thinking what a great topic for a blog post that question would be. 

How I read my queries

I go through queries from oldest to newest, and usually check the inbox for half hour or hour at the beginning or end of the day.  I read all queries myself, and usually the same way - I glance at the genre and age range, skim read the plot/blurb/synopsis part, and then head to the pages. From reading these, I make one of three decisions.

1) Pass – the pages didn’t grab me enough and I wouldn’t be the right agent to represent it.

2) Request – I loved the pages and after reading the query more thoroughly, I also loved the concept. I only request fulls when I am serious about reading the whole manuscript.

3) Maybe – I set these aside to come back to.

The maybe pile is the hardest one to make a  judgement on. As I mentioned, I don’t arbitrarily request fulls as I know how much anticipation and excitement this request gives a writer. I want to ensure I really want to read the whole manuscript before sending that email.

The maybe pile helps me with this. When I’m reading queries, sometimes a submission can stand out as good because I’m comparing it to a run of things that are really not right for me. However, when I look at it fresh, I can make a better judgement. I have offered on things in my maybe pile, so it’s not necessarily a bad place to be. With fresh eyes, I can often think, ‘man, I wish I’d asked for this last night so I could read the next chapter now!’

The types of things I’ve been requesting

·         YA historical with great voice – my most requested genre
·         Literary MG – again, I’ve requested a few of these.
·         Diverse MG in a paranormal/fantasy setting, where the plot isn’t at all about diversity
·         YA with a psychological bent, or a clever twist
·         YA retelling that feels fresh
·         YA Sci-Fi with boy POV
·         Gross-out chapter book/younger fiction
·         Animal-based chapter book series
·         YA contemporary romance

What I have signed

I have signed a fantastic young fiction (8+) with series potential - set in a Roald Dahl type world of not quite normal, with a strong voice and amazing cast of characters.

I am also seriously considering a YA historical murder/mystery that has Agatha Christie elements with a Downton Abbey feel.

What is still on my wish list

I wrote a blog post just before Christmas about my favourite books of 2012 and a very detailed wish list.

Key things to take from this are:

·         Boy POV – still very keen on this, but tending more towards MG at the moment. Character driven or action/adventure. Funny or high suspense. Please keep sending.

·         Books that make me cry. I‘d love more heartwarming stories that genuinely get under my skin.

·         A YA romance. I want to fall in love!

·         Still on the historical kick, so keep them coming. Any age, but I do prefer them to have a diary-type feel, so generally 1st POV.

·         Any sort of mystery/crime for YA or MG, please!

You can send me children's or YA submissions to cooperqueries@thebentagency.com with your title and genre in the subject line, and your first 10 pages pasted under your query letter.   Submissions guidelines can be found here.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what 2013 has to offer. Happy to answer any questions in the comments. 

Gemma

Two new remote internship openings!

We are once again looking for two 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 two of the following genres: humor, memoir, upmarket women's fiction and literary suspense.

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.  You do not need to live in New York, this is a remote internship.  Please note that it is unpaid.

Please send e-mail to nicole@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.

“Are We There Yet?” Thoughts on Process, from TBA client Danielle Davis

I’m very pleased to share this piece on process, and knowing when you’re finished, from my client Danielle Davis.  I fell in love with Danielle’s writing the minute I read it, and as you can guess from this, she’s one of the most thoughtful, intrepid writers I’ve been lucky to know.  She also has some very good advice to share on the longing we all have to be done, to know that the hard work is complete, and how to balance that against the time that every project must take.  Enjoy!  -- Susan

 

Some call the desire to wrap up a writing project as soon as possible, too soon, “early closure.”

Students often have that.

I have that too.

It’s just so tempting to be done.

But, no. Writing is a process of indeterminable length. And every writer’s process is different, perhaps with every project.

There’s revisiting, reimagining, rewriting. Reading it aloud dozens of times.

For me, there’s walking, playing with the cat, drinking tea, watching Project Runway.

And perhaps most importantly, there’s discovering the heart of the story. Its essence. Its core. The thing authentic to me (you) and the story I (you) want to tell.

I remember the triumphant feeling of finishing my first picture book manuscript. Of course, I thought it was perfect. Hahahaha.

I kept working on it. I got feedback. I joined SCBWI. I even sent it out to agents, to editors. And then, after revision, I sent it out again.

I remember the frustration of thinking, “When is this going to happen?” followed by “Never, obviously.” I wanted process and rejection to be over. Closed. Now, please.

Perhaps it wasn’t yet perfect after all.

I moved on. There was another picture book manuscript. And another. Another. Another. Each written, revised, sent out, and ultimately returned to my mail or inbox.

Over time, I gave up on some.

Others I carried in the back of my mind, so they could root around and grow into something else.

Seven years after I wrote that first one I was up on a cold night, shivering instead of sleeping. The title floated around my head and I couldn’t let it go, just like I couldn’t get warm under the blankets. I loved the title, the characters, the idea. I just didn’t like the story.

I’d have to change it. And I finally had some direction as to how.

It started as a book about a girl who loses something and her magical journey to get it back.

But things had changed in the years since that first draft.

I’d read stacks of picture books.

Studied my heroes: Oliver Jeffers, Mary Lyn Ray, Shaun Tan, and others.

Practiced.

And finally, I’d had some hands-on experience with loss myself.

It wasn’t until my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer that I really got to know him. He was sixty-five. I was thirty. It was kind of late. But in his impending disappearance from the world, we connected in a way we never had or could before. Everything that had been between us fell away. Through those ten months of feeding him spoonfuls, holding his hand, listening, we became real to each other and, though it may sound strange, that’s when I finally loved my father. And he loved me.

Then he was gone.

And I couldn’t get him back.

My character had lost a special thing too, and it turned out no kind of magic was going to bring it back (at least not this time).

So what would she do? How would she cope with loss? What would be her story?

Now the book is about a girl who loses something, grieves it, holds it in her heart, and then, lets her heart grow to be able to love something else. Not the same thing, not a replacement thing, but another, different, also wonderful thing.

It will never be the same, but she opens herself to what is. Now.

While not an autobiographical story, it did take time and personal experience to find the heart of the book. The one I wanted to write, that was authentic to me.

But it doesn’t have to take a number of years or the passing of a loved one to write less than 500 words. Let’s hope not, right?!

When you resist the universal urge to be done, like yesterday already, the early closure monster can stop screaming in impatience, doubt, and despair. (Or you can ignore it.)

You can ask questions like:

What is this story really about?

What’s the heart of it?

Why am I writing this book?

How is it something only I can tell?

You can watch [insert TV show of choice].

The magic, the payoff, is in process.

When you’re there, you’re there.

It’s really about getting to the story in the story. Not the end, but the essence.