Brooks's Adult Wish List

Hello, all! I believe I'm primarily known as an agent who works on picture books and middle grade and young adult fiction. It might surprise some of you to know that I work in adult fiction and nonfiction as well, and I'm actively looking to expand my list in those categories.

Now, as the first anniversary of my joining the Bent Agency approaches, I thought I'd take some time to share with you my wish list of adult projects I'd love to take on as I continue building my roster of children's books.

During most of my teenage years, the vast majority of my reading picks for pleasure were high fantasy novels (some of my childhood favorite authors were Lloyd Alexander, R.A. Salvatore, Margaret Weis, and Tracy Hickman), and I've retained a strong interest in the genre and its subgenres. I'd love to work with an authors of high fantasy epic with strong world building like George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire or Patrick Rothfuss's The Kingkiller Chronicle, contemporary fantasy like The Magicians by Lev Grossman and American Gods by Neil Gaiman, or historical fantasy like Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke or The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker.

I'm a particular fan of projects that fit into the "speculative thriller" subgenre: novels with a ticking clock and a strong fantasy/sci-fi/horror element. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley is one of my favorite examples of this subgenre, as is the recently released We Are Not Good People by Jeff Somers. Oh, and if someone writes literary horror like Joe Hill's Heart-Shaped Box or Horns, please drop me a line!

For contemporary fiction, I love a good character/cultural study, as found in Adelle Waldman's skewering of literary elites in The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P., or in Carol Rivka Brunt's heartbreaking look at 1980s New York City in Tell the Wolves I'm Home. Like many other readers, I was a big fan of Gillian Flynn's psychological suspense novel Gone Girl, but I'm an even bigger fan of her darker work, like Sharp Objects.

If you can keep me guessing with a literary or historical mystery like Arturo Pérez-Reverte did with The Club Dumas or Caleb Carr did with The Alienist, we're going to be good friends. A pet project I'd kill to work on would be set during the Affair of the Poisons in Enlightenment France. The story could incorporate fantastical elements or be straight historical.

In nonfiction, I am primarily seeking projects that are historical, cross-cultural, or humorous. Reading Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States was a life-changer for me, and I maintain a fascination with true crime like Roberto Saviano's Gomorrah or anything involving organized crime in America. Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests is one of my favorite nonfiction reads of the past decade. (If you haven't read it, go buy the updated version today!)

I'm selectively considering memoir and biography projects that are transformative, explore of universal connections in new ways, or bring to new light some previous era or historical person. Travelogues are a person pleasure of mine as well, as I am a former Peace Corps volunteer and my wanderlust still flows strong. Some recent examples of what I mean here are Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan, Johnny Carson by Henry Bushkin, and just about anything by Bill Bryson.

I'd also love to work on a book that deals with advice or pop science, or essay collections (a recent favorite is Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist), but these would require a strong (or growing) platform on the part of the authors.

So there you have it: some of my favorite adult reads, and the adult categories and genres I'm most focused on incorporating into my list in the near future. This in no way implies that I will be stepping away from all the wonderful children's book projects I currently work with. After all, I'm still looking for the next Roal Dahl, Rainbow Rowell, Andrew Smith, Holly Black, and Tim Federle. It's a busy, fascinating, fun life, reading all these books!

Anyway, I look forward to seeing your submission in the near future! And if anything I've outlined here is unclear, or you have further questions, you can reach out to me on Twitter. I'm always up for a quick chat!

Deal announcement: Ami Allen-Vath's PROM BITCH

Today I am so, so excited to tell you guys that my wonderful client Ami Allen-Vath's debut YA novel PROM BITCH will be published by Sky Pony Press in Fall 2015! PROM BITCH is funny and heartbreaking and I can't wait for you all to read it.

Check out Ami's lovely blog post about her journey to a book deal here. Also, follow her on Twitter @amilouiseallen. She's charming, hilarious & all around amazing.

Children's: Young Adult

Debut author Ami Allen-Vath's PROM BITCH, about a high school senior navigating prom season amidst panic attacks, a new boyfriend, & a suicide letter from the class outcast, to Kristin Kulsavage at Sky Pony Press, in a nice deal, for publication Fall 2015, by Victoria Lowes of The Bent Agency.

Tips on Landing a Publishing Internship- a post by Victoria

As the newest agent currently at TBA, memories of my very first internship search are still quite vivid. It was time-consuming, exhausting and I got a lot of no’s. But luckily one agent was willing to take a chance on someone who didn’t have any experience, then another agency was impressed that I came back a season later with some newly added experience to my resume, then I had a boss who thought enough of me to recommend me for a full-time position at TBA.  So, if you are considering maybe trying your hand in the publishing industry, here are some tips to help get you started:

1. Start your search.

There are a bunch of websites that you can routinely check to keep an eye out for any potential internship or entry-level positions. These in particular were extremely helpful when I was starting my own job search:

http://www.bookjobs.com/

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/jobzone/index.html

http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/

http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/jobs/

Also, it’s a really great idea to keep an eye on agency/publisher blogs or websites because sometimes, like we do on this very blog, agencies or publishers will post openings for internships there.

2. Use Twitter.

The entire publishing world is constantly communicating via the Twitterverse. So follow agents, editors, literary agencies or publishing houses that you might want to work for. You never know when an opening will pop up! Also, don’t be afraid to connect directly with agents or editors you admire.

3.  Know your stuff.

It’s always a good idea to keep yourself informed about what’s happening in the publishing world.  There are a number of really great industry blogs and newsletters you can subscribe to including Shelf Awareness, GalleyCat, Digital Book World and Publisher’s Lunch.

Also, and this may seem obvious, you need to read…a lot. Figure out what kinds of books you want to be working with and read as many books in those genres as possible. Keep an eye on the bestseller lists and read those titles as well.

4. Are you willing to relocate?

While lots of agencies, including TBA, offer remote internship opportunities for those of you living out of NYC, there are definitely a lot more opportunities available, especially at the early years of your career, to those able to commute into the office. So consider if you’re willing to make the move. However, if you’re not, don’t worry! There are still plenty of literary agencies and smaller publishers located in major cities around the country.

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If you don’t get the first few internships you apply for, keep trying.  Once you get your foot in the door, subsequent opportunities will be much more within your reach. Good luck everyone!

Likes and Dislikes... a Note on Rejection and What to Do Next, from Susan

Like every agent, I pass on more projects than I request.  Often, I receive a kind reply, asking if I can take a minute to explain why I’m passing, or to give some advice about what would improve the project.  I wish I could reply to each of these requests, but in lieu of that, here are some of the reasons I pass, and some suggestions about what to do next.

The first reason for a pass is that the project just isn’t right for me.  I think it’s fair to say that most everyone involved in books and publishing got here because they love reading.  From the time I was six years old, curling up with a new book was a favorite pastime, and that’s never changed.  When I consider queries, I bring that life of reading with me -- I’m looking at your material through the lens of all the books I’ve read and loved, as well as those I’ve read and not loved.  My own likes and dislikes inform my response, of course, and so a pass doesn’t necessarily mean that your idea isn’t a good one, or that it’s not written well.  It simply means that my particular heart doesn’t beat faster when I read it, but someone else’s may!

So, when you get a pass, remind yourself that any one agent is just that: one agent.  One person.  Dust off the slightly bruised ego (it happens to all of us, agents get rejections too!), and go on to the next.

Another reason I often pass has to do with the marketplace.  For instance, right now it’s a challenge to sell YA science fiction, as many editors have acquired quite a bit of that, and have enough for now.  I can enjoy your writing, but if it’s in a genre that’s challenging to sell, I may have to pass.  But more often than a certain genre that’s currently oversold, I see projects that don’t fit into their category in some way – a picture book text that’s over 1000 words, while most texts these days are 500 words or less, or a novel that’s YA in subject matter, but MG in tone.

The best way to make sure that your book is aligned to the market is to read, read, read.  Read as widely as you can in the category you’re writing (i.e. picture books, chapter books, middle grade, YA, etc) – set yourself a goal of forty books in six months, more if you’re working on picture books, and don’t stop there.  It’s only in reading a quantity of books that you will start to appreciate what makes a MG voice, as opposed to YA; how picture books texts can be so minimal, and get across character so fully; how detailed non-fiction texts tend to be, etc. 

The one thing you don’t want to do, as you read, is to try to determine what the next trend will be.  Trends are often short-lived, and therefore frustrating to chase.  Write your book – the book that only you can write.  Reading will give you the tools to do that, or as Stephen King says, “You cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you.” (On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft)

Sometimes I pass because I feel that the writing isn’t strong enough.  I’m looking for writing that totally captures me; that feels so true that it makes me laugh and cry.  That’s not easy to do, and ultimately, I know of only one way to get your writing to this level: practice.  You must keep writing, in spite of the passes, and keep growing your craft.  But how do you know that you are doing that?  Agents and editors aren’t able to give in-depth feedback for projects they haven’t taken on, so how do you know you’re on the right track?  You need to find your writing colleagues!  Joining a writing group can be invaluable, and going to a writers’ conference is a great way to find other writers you are simpatico with, not to mention another source for feedback in and of itself (via one-on-one or pitch sessions etc).  Writing can be a lonely experience, reach out to your fellow writers to find support as well as the feedback that will help you take your writing to the next level.

So, in short, here’s what to do if you get a pass:

1. Remember that agents have their own likes and dislikes, just like anyone else
2. Create a writing group
3. Attend conferences
4. Read, read, read!
5. And most of all, KEEP WRITING!

 Any more questions?  Let me know in the comments and I’ll reply.