Ask Daphne!: June 2008 Archives

Traditional Japanese shoes for Tiffany, who writes:

I wrote a Japanese grammar book. I've submitted my book to a number of agents who specialize in education but have never received a reply - because they don't speak Japanese! The agents have no way to judge my book. My searches for literary agents that specialize in foreign language books has proven fruitless. I don't know what to do.

Unlike the mainstream fiction market, I think you need to be dealing with educational publishing, Tiffany, which works on a vastly different set of rules than commercial publishing. I think a lot of educational houses happily accept unsolicited manuscripts, and you should check that route out.

The other thing to be aware of, though, is what sets your book apart from other Japanese textbooks. Check out a local college bookstore for what foreign language texts are out there, see who's publishing them, and see if you're covering the same material that's already readily available to educators.

Unless you can find a way to make your book more mainstream -- in the way, for instance, that Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss did for punctuation -- I would stick with the educational market, and wish you luck!

Famous big shoes for Paula, who writes:

I recently submitted my first book to several agents. This is my first time, and I really wasn't sure what I was doing. I got names off the internet. Anyway, two of the agents requested a partial. One of them requested the full the next day, and the day after that called me with an offer for representation. She was nice, and guided me through the q&a. I haven't heard back from the other one yet, and there are still queries out there. Bottom line: I'm hoping to be with a bigger agency, even though she and her agency have plenty of sales in my genre. How long can I keep her waiting for an answer? She didn't give me a timeframe. I'm thinking of using this offer to try and get the other agencies to offer. Is that appropriate?

First of all, Paula, congrats, and I hope you haven't had to wait too long for my answer to your pressing question. I think a week ought to be enough time, once there's an offer of representation on the table, to tell the other agent considering your manuscript that you've received an offer, ask her to get back to you with her reaction, and get back yourself to the first agent who offered.

Now, you said the other agent considering your material only has a partial, and you haven't heard back from her yet -- did you mention you had an offer? You should do so, soonest. You can make your own decision about informing the agents who only have queries; I know I'd be happy to be told I had one less query to read, if a manuscript was no longer available to me, but other agents might be happier if you didn't flood their inbox.

But there's another part of your email I want to discuss. You mention wanting to be with a bigger agency, even though the agent you offered representation has strong sales in your genre. That's a fine line you have to walk to find an agent, and some folks you may approach with it might not be thrilled. It's one thing to tell someone you've already been in touch with that you have an offer of representation, but if word got back to the agent who offered that you were contacting other agencies after the fact, she might withdraw her offer.

You need to consider honestly if you truly believe you NEED to be with a big agency, or if you can be happy with your book in the hands of a quick, enthusiastic, efficient agent with a strong track record of sales, whether she's with Giant Agency, LLP, or out on her own. Good luck!

--
The famous shoes, by the way, are Vivienne Westwood platform mock-crocs that Naomi Campbell was wearing in a runway show when she fell in them. They live in the V&A in London, now. Link.

A plethora of shoes for Narda, who asks:

As most agents are very busy and even an E-mail query may take quite awhile to receive a reply, how many agents should you query at one time?

As many as you want, Narda, but more importantly, only as many as you can track. Remember, of course, that you should be researching every agent before you query them, making sure that your work is appropriate for them, and personalizing every email that you send out. Nothing will get your email query deleted unread faster than a huge field of agents' email addresses in the cc field and a form letter that starts "Dear Agent."

But if you've researched 5 agents whose lists seem to match your work, whose tastes you agree with, whose clients you admire or respect -- or if you've done that with 10, or 20, or 50 agents -- then be sure you're tracking every email you send out, and go ahead.

Of course, should one of your dream agents respond positively and offer representation, you'll need to let everyone else know, which may cut down on your widespread querying, but that's a pretty good problem to have, I'd say.

Some super expensive shoes for Susan, who writes:

I recently received an e-mail from an agent who said she would like to represent my book. But she also pitched her writing workshops to me. When I said that I wasn't sure I could commit to her workshop, but had already hired an editor who is well-known in the subject of my book, this agent replied that she can also help me with edits on a one-on-one basis--for a fee. Do you think this is a conflict of interest: representing my book and being my editor for a fee? I know that a lot of agents have other work on the side, so maybe this is standard?

Susan, there may be more to this than I understand from just your brief email, but my immediate reaction is "EEEEEKKKKKK!"

This does not sound like any legitimate agent I know. We make our money by selling your book, and taking a commission on the sale, not charging you fees to edit it. I offer editorial suggestions to my clients as part of my services as an agent -- there's no extra fee, it's part of my job. Pitching a writing workshop to a prospective client also seems like a strong conflict of interest to me. Have you checked this agent out on Preditors and Editors? What about Writer Beware? The very first warning on Writer Beware about Dishonest Literary Agents reads

Dishonest agents prey on writers by charging fees, promoting their own paid services, engaging in kickback referral schemes, and misrepresenting their knowledge and expertise. These agents don't earn their income by selling manuscripts to publishers, but by extracting money from their clients.

This sounds just like your prospective agent. You can also check if they're a member of AAR. Not all agents are -- I'm not, for example, at least not yet -- but it's another place where you can do some serious double-checking on this agent before signing anything. Based on just your description, I'd run far, far away from this agent.

JM writes:

I have a completed manuscript in search of a hard-to-find agent. I am a first-time novelist with a 93-chapter epic that crosses genres: religious fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, contemporary and historical fiction. Using databases like agentquery.com and reference books, I have identified agents, but what I really need is a specialist in urban fantasy with a spiritual message told through character story. Any idea how to find one?

JM, I answered a similar question this weekend at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop LitFest, when an author asked how his "uncategorizable" manuscript could find an agent when all he had to go on were agents' lists of those categories they specialized in. My answer to him, and to you, is to figure out the simplest definition of your work, and find agents that would represent that. Given that, you could look at agents who work with Urban Fantasy, or religious fiction, if those could be seen as the most general genres you're working in. If the work is strong enough, you may be able to interest an agent who'd otherwise never look at one category or another.

All that being said, be careful not to overwhelm a prospective agent with a bold new genre like Urban-Religi-Fi-Fant-Contemp-Thriller. Remember my DON'Ts. Number 9, in particular.

A quick question tonight, since it's already way late, and I spent the entire day amidst serious renovations. My fingers are sore and my back's about to give out, so this is about the limit of my time in front of the compooter today. Will writes:

I wrote a novel that originated from a published short story of mine. Should I mention that in the query? Is it better to change the title or keep it the same?

Absolutely.

This is what we in the business call a credit, and we love when authors who are querying us have them. It shows us that you've been edited (usually) and that someone other than your friendly neighborhood critique group or grandma or local class of 8-year-olds thinks your writing is nifty.

The title is immaterial -- lots of titles get changed from submission to publication. the one that I would try to make clear is WHY you felt the need to expand it from a short story that (clearly) worked. If you cover than in your query letter as well, you should be hitting the major plot points and be ready to go.

And I'm off for bed before I mix any more metaphors.

(Side note: my work boots are nowhere near as cute as these. I wants.)

Heather writes:

I realize that many agents use portable electronic devices to review manuscripts they are considering. Is there any benefit for an author seeking representation to offer their manuscript in formats compatible with these devices? I recently discovered how to use Palm Markup Language to format my manuscript for ereader (.pdb file), so I can keep it on my palm pilot. Is it worth mentioning to an agent that this format is available if they prefer or does that seem geeky and/or overly ingratiating? I'm technologically inclined, so I could probably learn to convert my manuscript into any desired format.

Heather, I don't think it's necessary to offer, since most agents when they request your manuscript will tell you in what format they prefer to receive it. For instance, my request response specifies "Word document attachments" even though I plan to read it on my Kindle, for which I need to convert your file into a Kindle format.

Would it save me time if you sent me something in the Kindle format to start with? Sure. But I use the action of converting the document and putting it on my Kindle via USB cable to keep track of my material. I know that a document I need to read is located in my "Kindle" file folder, and if I need to track it down or respond to the author, that's a quick and easy way to do so.

You could offer your manuscript in different formats, but it's a fine line between considerate and overly ambitious. Are you really going to convert your doc or rtf into Kindle, Sony Reader, Palm, and every other format out there? Chances are, if an agent is doing their reading on a device, they've perfected the getting on their device of said manuscripts. You can cut out a step, but you never know if that step is the memorable one that ensures your novel gets read and responded to quickly.

Hope that helps!

Rose shoes for Susan, who writes:

I'm trying to find an agent to represent my memoir about my time in China, specifically when I was married to a man from rural, central China. My query letter seems to be working: I've had half a dozen requests for my proposal or sample chapters after sending out only 20 letters. Of those requests, I've already received three rejections. Some agents think I need to broaden the scope of my readership and that a memoir about failed marriage to a guy from a completely different world won't sell. One suggested that I pitch it as a look into Chinese culture from the perspective of an American woman who becomes part of a Chinese family. Do you have any thoughts about that? Would a women-focused memoir sell? Or should I open it up to entice men to read it, too?

To pull out the crux of your question, would a woman-focused memoir sell? Yes, absolutely. Think of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, and I'm sure my readers could come up with buckets more. And know that statistics prove women are bigger book buyers than men. That being said, I think you should take a look at your rejections and see if there's a consistency about them. If everyone is saying different things, I'd assume you just haven't found the right reader. I mean, clearly you have a strong pitch, based on your query-to-request ratio. But if you've only got back three rejections, I wouldn't start thinking about reworking everything until you have a larger pool of responses to pull from.

You can't rewrite after every rejection. it's a waste of your time and resources. See what other responses you get from your partials, and send out more queries! If you get a dozen or more rejections, THEN see if you can pull a consensus from the reasons. But know also, sometimes a rejection means nothing more than "no." Take a look at Editor Abby Zidle's latest blog post for some of the interpretations behind her responses.

And speaking of responses, you'll have to excuse me now, as I have queries and partials to get back to reading. I'm hoping to get through all my queries today, so if you sent one recently and you haven't heard back by tomorrow, do feel free to resend -- and let me know it's a resend, please. Otherwise, if I have responded, I'll just assume you're not using a tracking program, and may not reply a second time.

I've decided the Ask Daphne posts lacked a certain style, so much like the images that grace all my other blog posts, I'm going to add some here, too. And what else but shoes?

Today, Bill writes,

Have you ever heard of an author finding a publisher or agent by posting on the Publishers Marketplace right board? Do you ever search them or glance at them? I'm trying to decide if that's worth doing.

Honestly, Bill? No, I haven't. I can't speak for other agents, but I barely have time to get through all the queries that are sent to me, never mind seeking out postings of material on Publishers Marketplace or in other locations. Which isn't to say it doesn't happen, but I wonder if it isn't like that old Hollywood story of the girl getting discovered at the counter at Scraff's Drugstore -- it happened once, so everyone hopes it may happen again, and they just keep showing up.

I have found authors online, but usually through blog links or via websites I'm already reading. Sorry for the dismaying answer, but hey -- pretty shoes!

Puffaluff gets straight to the heart of things with a picture of these shoes -- which seem a strange sort of cross between pumps and several different rollerblades. But on to the question!

When should an author tell an agent that other agents are also perusing the full and/or partial manuscript? Should it be mentioned in the query or only if a partial or full has been requested by the agent? Or at all?

In general, I don't think I would mention it in the query, but it wouldn't be out of place if the agent has requested the partial. In which case, I'd let her know when you send the requested material that other agents are currently considering it. At the very least, you should be sure to tell her if you get a request for a full -- personally, when I request a full, I usually ask if any other agents are considering the material, just so I know.

And on the flip side, from that "other agent's" perspective -- if I've requested material, that means I'm interested. Please don't make a mockery of my time by sending requested material, and then turn around and sign with other agent without even a notification. I'm not saying you always have to give the other agents considering your work the chance to read and response when you have an offer of representation in hand, but please do me the courtesy of letting me know I don't have to waste my time reading a submission once it's no longer available. Thanks!

Beth writes:

How soon is too soon to query an agent with a second work? I've got two works that I feel are ready for submission -- they've both been edited and revised heavily (it's not like I just banged another one out without having it critiqued -- I had some life issues that made me put one manuscript on hold while I re-wrote and edited the other). I tried an agent with one, and she showed real interest but ultimately felt it wasn't for her. How soon should I try her out with the other one?

If she showed real interest -- which I'm reading as a request for the full of your first manuscript and a polite, possibly helpful rejection -- then I would thank her for her time and mention that while this novel wasn't for her, perhaps she'd like to take a look at #2? Now, you may have been lucky enough to actually get a response that said something along the lines of "I'd love to see your next work in the future." In which case, again, feel free to respond right away that you have it ready. And I would mention in that second email that, like the first one, #2 has been workshopped and revised.

Now, say some time has passed since your last correspondence with this agent. I don't think there's a strict timeline for contacting her again with a second novel -- but know that you're going back into her vast submission pool, and there's more waiting to be done in the future while she remembers book one, and finds the time to read query two.

Any time you have had a positive experience with an agent, I totally understand the drive to keep in touch, and try her with something else. The one thing I would warn against, however, is bombarding her with material. You got a request for a partial on your first submission to her, and a no on your second? And the third? Maybe it's time to seek out other agents to try.

Oh, and do try to avoid submitting multiple manuscripts to the same agent at the same time, unless there are extraordinary circumstances. She's reading a full of one novel, and you have an offer on #2? Then let her know. Still, that does make me wonder why you didn't show me #2 first -- I guess I want to feel that you're showing me your best work, and the above scenario makes me think you're saving that for someone else. Not the foot you want to start off on in a possible relationship with an agent.

Hope that helps!

A long but great question this morning from Hortense the Prepared (Yet Confused). Hortense writes:

I'm a writer who likes to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, the best-case scenario, and as many scenarios in between as is possible. So, I find it a bit frustrating at times that I cannot see, analyze, and plan for every detail of what happens after a writer sells his or her first book. This all leads up to my new favorite question for authors: What would you consider good investments for part or all of your first advance?

I've heard some interesting answers so far -- everything from a professional web site to a really good ergonomic chair, along with such practical reminders as to put 1/3 aside for taxes, pay off as much of any bad debt as possible, never be without health care, and don't forget the agent's fee.

But something tells me an agent might offer slightly different advice than a writer.

Is this an area where you offer advice to clients? What would you do, if you didn't need the money for immediate and crucial living expenses? Any pros and cons you can offer on setting money aside for such things as accountants, web sites, logos, copies to give away to book-related connections, conference expenses, travel...?

I understand writing is a business, and yet it's a little hard to tell which typical business expenses apply, and which don't.

Thanks for opening up this topic of conversation, HtP! It's not one that is often covered, and I'd love to share my thoughts. First of all -- it is, unfortunately a very small percentage of authors who can count on an advance as anything other than a windfall -- that is, a bonus payment on top of their day job, which they use to pay expenses. The other thing to remember is that an advance isn't just instantly handed down the second you sell a book -- it often comes after a long contract negotiation, and if you're dealing with a big publishing house, even has to go through channels there. I once heard a check was in Piscataway -- true story.

So I wouldn't recommend that you count on your advance to pay the rent, buy groceries, make that car payment, etc. At least not at first. So what could you do with it? You provide some great suggestions yourself -- put it towards building a great website (or hiring someone to do that for you), upgrade your writing device (new computer, new pens, new notebooks -- whatever works for you), buy yourself something special, whether that's that ergonomic chair or a necklace you've been salivating over. Or, as you said -- be practical and safe, and put a chunk aside for taxes, paying off bad debt, health care, or savings.

So what can I add? Consider using the money to hire an accountant or financial planner who can tell you EXACTLY what you should put away for taxes or other expenses, and take their advice as to how much of the advance is available to you for "extras" -- that swank new computer, chair, or website. The biggest investment you can make in your writing career is time, and that doesn't cost much. If you're posting regularly and frequently updating your website, you may not need a expensive new design. If your current computer does everything you need it to, and isn't fast enough or swank enough to allow you to browse at lightning fast speeds or play the hot new videogame -- then you get to put that time you're now browsing or playing to use writing.

I'd love to tell you to save money to travel to conferences, but there's a good chance, if you've made that sale, you're already socking that cash away to polish your writing style at workshops and such. And when you get big enough -- they'll pay you to come.

I hope that answers some of your questions, HtP! The only other thing I would add is a caveat that my work is specifically as your literary agent, helping to place your book in the hands of the people who will publish it. I'm not a money manager or financial planner, and if the above truly are your concerns, the very best advice I can give you is to hire someone who's only job it is to advise your on your money. That's what they're there for. Good luck!

J.O. writes

When a writer gets close to having an agent offer representation, what sort of questions should they have prepared to help them determine if the offering agent is 'the one' when they get the 'the call'? (Like many of us would actually say 'no' to someone we had queried and who thought our work was saleable!) Are there no-no questions? Are there some essential questions? Are there questions you wish writers would ask you?

Hi again, J.O.! Thanks for your question -- it's a good one. You should absolutely be prepared to have a conversation with your prospective agent before agreeing to sign on the dotted line. I'm sure there are other examples of questions to ask out there on the internets, but here are some I like to hear:

• How do you see my book being positioned? (i.e. Do I see it as sci-fi when the author thinks it's a mainstream commercial novel? Do we agree on the genre?)
• What's your timeline for submitting? Is it ready to submit? (Am I going to send this right out to editors to read, or does the author need to do another round of submissions?)
• What commission do you offer? (honestly, I usually offer this information before it's asked -- I offer 15% commission on domestic deals, and 20% on foreign or dramatic rights, in order to cover bigger mailing expenses and subagent commissions)
• Do you charge any other fees? (Beware of agents who charge reading fees, but being charged for mailing expenses shouldn't be a make-or-break decision -- although it is, I think, less common in today's internet age)

Those are pretty essential, I think, although there's different ways to ask them, and you may want to know something else. Most importantly, you and your agent should be on the same page about the project (you love it like a child, and she's excited to sell it), and you should walk away with a clear understanding of her methods of working.

On the flip side, fyi, there's questions I like to ask as well -- my top one being what else you're working on. I want to sign an author for a career, not just a single book, even if I've only read one book (usually). I also want to hear again aboout any other publications you've had, or other submissions you've made on your own, so I know what editors I might contact first, or can already cross off as having been approached already.

This is all at the forefront of my thoughts, as I recently signed several new kt literary clients, and had several of these talks. Woot! Expect to hear more good news shortly, and let me know if there's any important questions I missed.

Sorry for the sudden drop off in posting last week, but the official opening of BEA came with a flurry of work, and meetings, and hastily made appointments, and free books, and more. Hectic, even if it seemed more sedate than the most recent New York-based BEA. For me, of course, it was a nice, easy flight from Denver to LA, and only one hour adjustment to make -- easy-peasy. For my New York colleagues -- not so much.

I had a very informative, useful fair, though, and am happy to share some of my impressions.

Clutter - Peter Walsh, the organizational guru from TLC's Clean Sweep, was on hand signing copies of his new book Does this Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? I grabbed a copy and an autograph, and shared my feeling that the fair was all about picking up more clutter -- anathema to his ideals. For my purposes (and to keep to his), I kept my freebies contained in one bag at a time, and only picked up fabric, flat-bottomed totes that could be reused for groceries.

I mostly only picked up YA titles -- although I made exceptions for the sequel to The Eight, a new book called The Gargoyle, and a nifty road atlas of the US -- but there were loads of great ones to grab. I made a beeline to a galley of John Green's Paper Towns and lined up for a signed copies of Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher and Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. Most exciting freebie? Neil Gaiman's new title The Graveyard Book. Neil spoke on Friday morning at a children's breakfast also featuring Jon Scieska, Eoin Colfer, Sherman Alexie, and Judy "f**king" Blume, to quote Alexie. The writers amusingly shared their fangeek moments with each other, and cursed a blue streak appropriate to the "@$$-crack of dawn."

Multi-platform was a big theme, and I attended a presentation on Saturday morning on "Maximizing the Multi-Platform Potential in Children's Publishing", with speakers from HarperCollins, Scholastic, and B*tween Productions. All emphasized that the book cannot be the only avenue for readers to connect to the story, touching on blogs, websites, contests, networking sites, and more. Diane Naughton, HC's Marketing VP, mentioned their "Author Assistant" program, which helps new authors build and host websites -- which reminded me of the question I'd answered on my blog some time ago. Revised answer -- Harper doesn't own all their author blogs, but they're happy to do so if an author doesn't have the time, expertise, or wherewithal to build and host a site of their own. Scholastic's forthcoming series The 39 Clues looks to be the future of multi-platform publishing, (they call it "multidimensionality") with an online game component that allows readers to find 29 of the 39 clues themselves -- only 10 will be revealed in the series.

Also a theme for the weekend? Four-quadrant appeal. Fellow Denver agent Kristin Nelson mentioned this in her blog last week, after her first meetings with film people, and I heard it myself any number of times. This is the new holy grail of film producers -- a cinematic experience that will grab the four major audience demographics: women, men, children, and teens. It's a difficult mix of romance, story, action, broad humor, and the more elusive "it" factor.

Other than that, BEA is a great time to wander the halls, catch up with colleagues, and make early guesses as to what we'll be talking about in six months' time. Oh, and to ogle Alec Baldwin.