All About Book Fairs, from Heather

Hello everyone!  As you might know, this week we wrapped up the Bologna Book Fair!  So, we thought it would be handy to give a little insight as to what happens at these international book fairs, in advance of Gemma’s more detailed report next week. These fairs (the biggies being Bologna, London, and Frankfurt – with others cropping up and growing around the world as well) are used for all aspects of publishing (sales, publicity, exposure, finding representation, etc.), but mainly are a way for the international publishing industry to do some heavy lifting when it comes to foreign sales –sales for translation into other languages.

Big houses, medium houses, and small houses in every country will attend the event, along with loads of agencies (especially from the US and the UK), to meet with contacts they can’t see on a regular basis, due to the rather large bodies of water or land masses in-between. Foreign-rights deals go down throughout the year, but these fairs still remain the pinnacle of selling books overseas.  The buzz and excitement of showing-off your authors bumps sales up during the fair.  Due to the hoopla, there are always a few books that wind up being heatedly fought over for the right to translate – and thus, the hot books of the fair are born!

So, who is attending these meetings when it comes to foreign-rights?  Mainly editors from all over the globe will meet with foreign-rights people(representing both publishing houses and agencies) from different countries, to see what books they’re selling and hopefully buy translation rights, to what they think will do well in their territory, or even be the next big hit internationally.  Schedules are thusly packed to an intense degree, starting at breakfast, and continuing with half-hour meetings throughout the days of the fair, and then pushing on into drink meetings in the early evening, dinner plans later on, and finally desert or disco. (Yes, disco happens. And no, it’s not pretty).  Sleep doesn’t happen for about a week, but who needs sleep when there’s proper espresso around every corner?

Throughout the fair, when you’re not in a meeting, you’ll find cocktail parties, dinner parties, quick coffees, hotel drinks, gelato runs, cheap convention food, and even a shared bottle of water, to bring people together to talk about books.  Each fair has a tone of its own, a feeling – Bologna is one of my faves.  It’s fun, lively, set in an ancient walkable town, and fully packed with beautiful books and gorgeous illustrations that absolutely crush you.

In an age where books are bought and sold globally throughout the year thanks to email, phone, and Skype, I think it’s a solid salute to the book industry that these traditional yearly meet-ups still exist.

Stay tuned for more details about this year’s meeting in Bologna!

TBA Monthly Wishlist - March 2015

It's time again for the Monthly Wishlist!  Here's the ONE project that the TBA agents would love to see in their submission inbox. If you have something that fits with the below, please check out our submission guidelines on the website and send it over. We can't wait to read! 

Jenny Bent: A twisty turny suspense novel (for adults) with a female protagonist like GIRL ON THE TRAIN. 

Beth Phelan: I’m always looking for (but particularly hungry for it right now) diverse YA and MG authors writing stories with diverse, lively characters in epic leading roles, in any genre.

Molly Ker Hawn: I'd really like to see an emotionally resonant YA novel whose narrative structure is as inventive as Todd Hazak-Lowy's in ME BEING ME IS EXACTLY AS INSANE AS YOU BEING YOU.

Heather Flaherty:  MG or YA about the social issues girls face in school - especially the complicated relationship one has with their "best friend" and what happens when one doesn't want to be friends anymore. Or when a girl is kicked out of a friend-group. Girl social dynamics please!  

Gemma Cooper: Animals and anthropomorphic characters—I love stories with either animals as the main character, or with a close bond with a child. Examples: CHARLOTTE’S WEB, A DOG CALLED HOMELESS, THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN. Or what about historical fiction seen through the eyes of an animal—major events in history with a dog or cat or pig or...etc. narrator?

Victoria Lowes: A contemporary romance with a hint of magical realism like The Time Traveler’s Wife.

Susan Hawk: A MG mystery or detective novel, especially with a historical element. Think FROM THE MIXED UP FILES or CHASING VERMEER.  Fast-paced, with complex characters.

From the archives: Some Query Tips from Victoria

Continuing our month discussing queries, we have a great post from the archives from TBA agent Victoria Lowes:

As I make my daily trek into the slush pile, I’m often quite surprised at just how many authors make the same easily-corrected mistakes. So here are a few tips for those of you currently looking for representation to go over before you hit the send button.

1. Always follow the submission guidelines.

I’m always a little shocked at how many authors ignore our submission guidelines — like not including sample pages, or attaching them rather than embedding them. (You can find our submission guidelines here.) Each agent has her own preferences and you should make the necessary tweaks to your query to meet their guidelines. While it’s policy here at the Bent Agency to respond by asking the author to correct their mistake, for some agents, it means an automatic form rejection.

2. Make sure you get the agent’s name right and skip the mass email.

While you should certainly query multiple agents simultaneously, take a second to be sure that you’ve gotten the agent’s name correct. We won’t be insulted or take it personally, but you don’t want to come off as careless. Also, skip the 'To whom it may concern' and opt for addressing each agent personally.

3. Proofread.

One or two spelling/grammar mistakes won’t prove fatal for your query (we’ve all done it), but more than a few will be sure to raise a red flag with an agent.

4. Do your research.

Be sure to research the agent and what she’s currently looking for to make sure your project fits the bill.

5.  Be specific.

If you’ve been published before, we definitely want to hear about it. However, if you say that you have publishing credentials, be sure to include the details!

6. Don’t over self-promote.

It’s great to be enthusiastic and passionate about your work, but try to avoid going overboard tooting your own horn. If your project is that good—and it may very well be—we’ll be able to tell. You should use that space to give the agent a better sense of what your project’s about.

7. Keep it short and sweet.

You should be able to tell the agent what your book’s about, the hook and why you’re the author to write it in less than a page. And while you should always include a bio, try to keep it brief and only include relevant facts, like publishing credentials or what makes you the ideal person to write your novel.

8. Finish your book before querying.

While you may be anxious to find representation, avoid querying before you’ve finished your novel. Agents want to see full manuscripts that have gone through one or two rounds of edits first.

9.  Start your query off right.

It’s best to start your query off with your hook or synopsis, rather than your bio.

10.  Be creative.

Try to avoid starting your query with rhetorical questions like “What would you do if…” and “Have you ever wondered what it would be like if…” Be creative with your hook! You want your query to grab the agent’s attention right away.

Click here for the great Ask Agent that Beth and Victoria recently did on queries

[CLOSED] Ask Us Anything! Beth and Victoria will answer your query questions HERE from 12-3PM EST!

Today is the day! From 12-3PM EST, Victoria Lowes and Beth Phelan will answer your pressing questions about queries, the art of querying, the agonizing rejections, the energizing requests and offers, and anything else related to queries that you can think of! We promise transparency and minimal bathroom breaks. 

Please remember that Beth and Victoria are human beings and this is a subjective business – nothing they say is meant to be taken as a hard and fast rule of querying, but they offer their honest answers and hope that gives you some perspective. 

Please also remember to keep your questions broad and not too specific to your unique situation as we want all the questions and answers to help other authors too!

They’ll answer as many questions as they can between 12PM and 3PM EST when duty calls and they have to return to their magnificent clients. 

Post your questions in the comments section BELOW this blog post. Comments will be moderated so please wait a few minutes before trying to repost.

Thanks for joining us!

[EDIT 3:02PM EST] We are now closed to questions! Thank you all so much for bringing so many wonderful questions!