Karen Sandler

Tag: Brenda Bowen

  • #LA11SCBWI – The Wisdom of Agents – Panel Discussion

    My final agent-related #LA11SCBWI post is a report from the agent panel that featured Tracey Adams of Adams Literary, Barry Goldblatt of Barry Goldblatt Literary, Marcia Wernick of Wernick & Pratt Agency, Tina Wexler of ICM, and moderator Brenda Bowen of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

    The agents started with an introduction of themselves where we learned that Adams Literary represents the gamut from picture book through young adult, Wernick & Pratt is celebrating their 6-month anniversary as an agency and are looking to grow, and ICM is one of the oldest literary agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York, and London. The most intriguing factoid was not discovering that Barry Goldblatt Literary has been in existence for 11 years (and like Adams they rep everything from PB through YA) but that Barry is married to YA author Libba Bray.

    The first question posed by Brenda was whether with the advent of e-books and increased ease of self-publishing the role of literary agencies was shrinking or growing.

    Tracey feels the agent’s role is not changing, that they’re looking for new ways to get their clients’ work out there. Barry said it’s really nothing new, just the way it’s done is new. These new avenues don’t change how professional publishing works. Marcia agreed, yes the digital world offers opportunity, but digital is more supportive of the print book (e.g. a game app attached to PB) rather than replacing it. Digital doesn’t change the way stories are out there. The agent is still an author’s advocate and business advisor. Tina said that independently published/e-books are something to watch. She quoted Amanda Hocking as saying that with digital it’s easier to just get a book out there, but to have a career and get people reading your work, it’s very hard. Agents are partners more than just to do the sale, they’re supportive in all stages of the publishing process.

    Brenda then asked, Is there a genre or age-group category that’s drying up/thriving.

    Barry said no, there are always ups and downs in publishing. He just wants a great book and will find a home even if the market “isn’t buying that.”

    Marcia said there’s always a market for well-crafted, strong, original books. She gave as an example Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! which sold in a “dead” PB market after many rejections. More books are challenged to do well, but the ones doing well are doing really well. One market that’s more challenged is the non-fiction market because it’s more geared toward schools/libraries which have had a decrease in funding. But you can succeed in any genre.

    Tracey said that an author asks “Can my agent sell this?” while the agent asks “Do I love this?” If they love it, they’ll find a home for it. The PB market has been challenging, but we’ll never see its demise. For now, YA is the hot topic.

    Brenda then posed a follow-up question: You’ve sold 4 books for a client and you don’t love next book, what do you do?

    Tina said she’d give feedback, have that hard conversation. She’d tell the author, I don’t want to stand in the way, but I don’t think this is the next step in your career. Marcia said that in that situation, she will ask another agent or occasionally an editor (the one who’s currently publishing the author) to get a second opinion.

    Brenda then asked, when you go out with a manuscript for a debut author, what makes you sure you can sell it?

    Barry said it’s the excitement he feels. He loves to make a first sale for an author. Marcia added that just as it’s a passion for the author to create, it’s an agent’s passion to get the book out there and sold. An agent feels a certain entitlement on behalf of their client. For Tracey, she’ll be reading and get excited and can’t wait to show it to a particular editor. She’ll have a submission list in her head as she’s reading.

    Brenda asked for those who represent PBs, how to you find illustrators?

    Marcia, the only agent who answered this, said through referrals and commented that she needs to see character development in a portfolio. She needs to see that character development through the scenes. She also mentioned that she has met (illustrator) clients at conferences.

    Brenda asked how much editorial work do you do?

    Tracey answered that she and Josh (husband and partner) see themselves as the stagers (like in real estate) of the manuscript. They get it ready in its best form to submit. They do respect the role of the editor, and know they’re the one who’s doing the actual editing. She reiterated that they’re getting it ready to submit, not ready to print. Sometimes a manuscript comes in that’s ready to go, and her preference is to take something on that’s already at that stage.

    There was a side discussion about voice, Tracey said it’s an immediately eye-catching element. Barry said it’s hard to define voice but we know it when we see it. At a writer’s workshop once, he had everyone bring a sample of what they thought was great voice. It was enlightening because whatever it was, they knew it when they heard it. Marcia said it’s distinct, you can envision the character through voice.

    Brenda then asked that fatal question—what happens if you can’t sell something?

    Barry noted that his agency has a 98% sell-through rate (i.e., they sell 98% of what they represent). He’s had manuscripts that were submitted to 22 publishers before they made a sale. Some things are unsalable, and you have to have that conversation with a client. But great writing will always find a home. Marcia added that it’s important that while the agent is trying to sell an author’s current book, the author is working on their next project. You have to look at the career path long-term, not just one project.

    Next question posed by Brenda: I’m multi-published, how do I get to the next level?

    Tina turned the question back on itself when she said, your writing has to get to the next level, what are you doing to get there on the page?

    Next: My sales are fine but not great. Should change my name with my next release?

    The agents didn’t answer that question specifically, but instead discussed the issue of authors comparing themselves to one another. Tracey said everyone’s on their own path and a giant deal for a first book isn’t the norm. Marcia commented that you do yourself a disservice comparing yourself on to others on Publishers Marketplace. Barry noted that you might see big deals on PM, but they don’t say what happens after that (i.e., how well a book with a huge deal ultimately does, that author’s future career). Brenda added that data in PM can be misleading, and it’s very superficial.

    Then Brenda said, you have a magic wand. If you could fix any one thing in the publishing business, what would it be?

    Marcia’s wish was that there’d be standard royalties and sub-rights rates. Tracey would end publishing by committee. She feels the publisher should trust the editor, that’s why they hired a great editor. Tina asked for a higher royalty for e-books, and wants more bookstores to come back (don’t we all). Barry said we should end the practice of paying authors their royalties semi-annually (i.e., they should be paid more frequently).

    Next, the ever eternal question: How to submit. All four indicated they are taking electronic submissions only.

    Tracey said Adams Literary takes all submissions via the form on www.adamsliterary.com. They’ll want to see the full manuscript.

    Marcia said submissions are done online at www.wernickpratt.com. Check the submission guidelines there.

    Tina said the ICM site is changing, for now submit to twexler@icmtalent.com, with the first 5 pages in the body of the e-mail.

    Barry said go to www.bgliterary.com and follow the guidelines.

    Lightning round: What do you not want to see ever again? Vampires, screenplays, bad writing.

    What do you think is the next hot trend? Thrillers, suspense, science fiction, and horror.

    What’s your pet peeve? Getting things you don’t represent, hostility, too long winded, Dear Sir (when the agent is a woman)

    What do you want to see on your desk tomorrow? In order, the agents said, Something brilliant, ditto, award winner & best seller, all of the above.

  • #LA11SCBWI – The Art of the Deal (Agent/Editor Workshop)

    Next up in my #LA11SCBWI wrap-up is The Art of the Deal, a fascinating workshop about how a book is acquired, presented by Brenda Bowen (agent with Sanford J Greenburger Associates, on the right) and Alessandra Balzer (VP & co-publisher of Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books). (note: Alessandra worked for Brenda at Hyperion).

    They opened their talk with a short discussion of how an editor and agent like to work, that it’s both a business and personal relationship. Then they started their “case study” of the acquisition of a fictitious debut literary novel.

    First our agent finds the book via query, referral, or blogs. She reads 10 pages and requests the full. The agent likes it and calls the author to offer representation. Of course the author says yes.

    As preparation for submission, the agent asks the author which editors he really likes, including who would be his dream editor (in this case it’s Alessandra). They get the book polished and ready.

    The agent starts with a phone call & shmoozes a bit (Brenda and Alessandra actually acted this out, asking about pets and such). The agent then makes a mini-pitch. As the editor listens, she has an inward and outward reaction. For instance, she might not be thrilled, but at least in Alessandra’s case, she still asks to see the book to be polite. If the agent says the book is going to be big, the editor gets excited. Note that the agent won’t say this about every book; she would lose her credibility. So when she does say it, it holds weight with the editor.

    The editor invites the agent to submit. The agent makes sure to tell the editor that the author has lots of other books in him. She also talks about the platform the author has—a widely followed blog or Twitter feed, a popular fan page on Facebook.

    The agent writes a submission letter, opens by saying it was great talking to Alessandra, mentions the book’s title, author, and genre. She describes what’s different about this book, but also includes a comparison title. She includes a short blurb which tells the whole story (i.e., not just back cover copy), but it’s short. It doesn’t lay out every spoiler. The agent says how many years the author has been working, that this is his first submission, that he’s willing to do social media, etc. Sometimes the agent will use the sign-off, “I think this will go quickly.”

    Then it’s on to the acquisition decision. At Harper Collins, the process is pretty formal. Rather than feel constrained by the acquisition committee, Alessandra likes to know what the sales group/marketing, etc. thinks.

    The agent has told the editor what the hook is, so the editor is going to use agent’s letter. When she reads the manuscript, she loves it! Alessandra noted that she reads to reject, so her saying yes is a huge milestone.

    The editor is the advocate for the book. She keeps an eye out for what it needs. She takes it to the editorial group and they have feedback.

    She writes a memo to the acquisition committee (apparently it’s a form she fills out, at least at Harper Collins). She lists the maximum advance she’ll be willing to offer. She works up the P&L (profit & loss) cost, marketing, how it might sell in paperback, and puts in all in the memo. She might mention that she knows the pacing is a little off (or whatever the main critique of the book might be). She list similar/compatible books, for example, “It will fit in with 13 Reasons Why,” or “It’s Hunger Games meets Runaway Bunny.” (much laughter here)

    Side note about print runs. An editor gets to know the right numbers by instinct. At a house as big as HarperCollins, if an editor projects a print run of 5000 books (which would be small for HC), the book probably won’t be acquired. This number would vary depending on the publishing house. On the other hand, picture books don’t have the numbers they used to. Publishers tend to print as few as possible, but they can quickly go back for an additional print run.

    The agent will let the editor know that she’s sent the manuscript out to other editors at other houses, but the editor has it exclusively at HarperCollins. As a side note, Brenda mentioned that an agent always wants to know who will tolerate multiple submissions, and she needs to know who reports to who. An agent shouldn’t submit to two editors in the same imprint.

    The agent tells the author it’s been submitted. As soon as some editors show interest, all editors get more interested.

    On to the acquisition meeting. Who’s there: Sales, marketing & publicity, finance, inventory control, associate publisher, publisher. And here’s Alessandra’s first offer:

    Advance: $20,000

    Payout: $10,000 on signing, $10,000 on delivery

    Territory: World English

    Hardcover Royalty: 10% up to 20,000 copies sold, 12.5% after

    Softcover Royalty: 6% up to 75,000 copies sold, 7% after

    E-book: 25% of net

    If there’s another editor interested, the agent won’t ever say who that editor is, but editors will try to guess. Sometimes if there’s other interest, an editor will bow out. Also, offers will come by e-mail. And in our fictitious case, another offer comes in, from Editor B:

    Advance: $15,000

    Payout: $5,000 on signing, $5,000 on delivery, $5,000 on publication

    Territory: North America

    Hardcover Royalty: 10% up to 25,000 copies sold, 12.5% after

    Softcover Royalty: 6% up to 75,000 copies sold, 7% after

    E-book: 25% of net

    And from Editor C:

    Advance: 2 book deal, $17,500 each

    Payout: $15,000 on signing, $7,500 on delivery of book 1, $7,500 on delivery of book 2, $2,500 each on publication of books 1&2

    Territory: World, all languages

    Hardcover Royalty: 10%

    Softcover Royalty: 6%

    E-book: 25% of net

    and the offer expires at 5pm the next day

    The agent talks with the author, discusses the pros & cons of each deal. Then she has to talk to Alessandra and Editor B about Editor C’s offer and deadline. The agent says she would love to place it with Alessandra (because that’s the author’s dream editor). Alessandra knows she can probably get the deal if she offers a 2nd book.

    The agent knows there’s room in the editor’s offer. If the agent asks if it’s Alessandra’s best offer, Alessandra doesn’t necessarily reveal what her best offer is. She might go partway (increasing the offer, but not to the max) and discover that’s not enough.

    The agent solicits further offers from all three, asking for their best offer. She might also want to know what the editor’s vision for the book is because that will impact the author’s decision.

    Here’s Alessandra’s final offer:

    Advance: $25,000

    Payout: $12,500 on signing, $12,500 on delivery

    Territory: World English, UK split 75/25

    Hardcover Royalty: 10% up to 20,000 copies sold, 12.5% after

    Softcover Royalty: 6% up to 75,000 copies sold, 7% after

    E-book: 25% of net

    Audio 50/50

    The agent and editor argue a bit over audio. The editor says it’s a deal-breaker, the agent says the author does voice-overs and wants to keep audio, Alessandra reiterates that it’s important now to HarperCollins to keep audio rights

    The agent consults with the author. The issues to discuss: a one book deal vs.a two book deal,

    editor styles, publishing house strengths.

    If Alessandra doesn’t get the book, she’ll want to know okay, who got it? The agent won’t reveal this, but Alessandra will try to figure it out.

    Here’s further information that came out during question time:

    Including e-book rights in the deal is non-negotiable at HarperCollins (and probably most other publishers).

    An editor will want to know what else you’ve got.

    When asked what it meant when a HC editor said “Tell me if there’s any interest in this book,” then hadn’t gotten back to the writer for a few months, Alessandra said that the editor might be interested but is busy. She might want to take it to other meetings, but won’t always have had a chance to read it.

    When asked how much art and how much science goes into projecting books sales, Alessandra said they use somewhat general numbers 10k, 25k, 50k. Comparison titles are the heart and soul of the process (they use Bookscan sales).

    The best manuscript submission format for graphic novels is screenplay format, with a pdf of some of the spreads. Be careful who you send to because not every publisher handles graphic novels.

    For a first timer, both Brenda and Alessandra agree it’s best to submit to an agent first rather than an editor.

    It’s okay for an author to let her agent know that since HarperCollins has a great illustrator, she wants to submit there (i.e., to specify a house based on a particular illustrator).

    When asked if a YA editor would be open to adult crossover, Alessandra said yes, the editor will probably pass a YA book over to the other side.

    Grab bag:

    Delivery dates are specified in the contract.

    With multiple offers, editors want to know what they have to beat, but you don’t want to make them feel they haven’t been told the truth, e.g., if offered $20k, the agent will will come back asking for $50K, which the editor will think is crazy, so the agent will say there’s a number between $20K & $50K that would be acceptable.

    “Interest” means I read it and liked it, while an offer is binding.

    Competing offers means auction.

    Yes, put awards in cover letter.

    Brenda doesn’t want non-fiction or early readers.

    Alessandra doesn’t want non-fiction or straight historical.

  • #LA11SCBWI – The Wisdom of Agents – Brenda Bowen

    I’m home from SCBWI LA and am playing catch-up with my notes. I’m planning several more conference posts, today’s featuring Brenda Bowen, and I’ll continue to post until they’re all up, including the keynotes I attended. I’ll also post the promised/threatened pictures from the PJ party. There were some creatively wacky costumes.

    I attended four workshops/panels given by agents, which is somewhat odd since I have an agent and don’t need another one. It’s kind of like being married and checking out additional husbands when one man is more than enough. But I’m glad to share what the agents had to say with those of you out there who weren’t able to attend SCBWI LA .

    First up with a workshop titled Agents: Who Needs ‘Em? is Brenda Bowen of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

    Brenda started by saying that in children’s, it was once thought that an author didn’t need an agent. Of course, this is no longer true with so many publishers only accepting submissions through an agent. But having someone to submit for you is only one feature/advantage of having an agent. Your agent can be a constant in the publishing world, even when editors change houses or publishing houses merge or close.

    An agent has to find that diamond in the rough amongst her submissions. When your

    manuscript comes over the transom, if it’s what the agent is looking for, she’ll see there’s something there, that you’re the kind of writer who might one day win the Newbery Award.

    If you submit and the agent decides she wants to work with you, she will want you to revise your manuscript. The agent wants to get it up to being salable. The editor to whom your book will be submitted should be able to confidently take it into the acquisition meeting. In the old days an editor could buy herself, but now that decision requires an acquisition committee. Everyone has to read the manuscript and feel they can see it as a book. A manuscript has to be much more polished than in the old day

    What else do agents do? They schmooze. They’re constantly in touch with the editors at various publishing houses. Often it’s best for an agent to find out what the editors don’t need. For example, if an editor says, “If I see another dystopian I’m going to throw up,” the agent won’t send a dystopian to her. Brenda gave as an example of how well agents know editors by quoting Adams Literary agent Tracey Adams: “I know whether they’re a dog person or a cat person.” That is, agents develop personal relationships with editors.

    All an agent has is her taste and her gut instinct about a book. The agent shouldn’t have the mindset that they’re selling the book to make money, rather they should believe in the book. However, the books Brenda represents are not always what she likes as an agent, and she’ll need to be more neutral because an editor can love it.

    Brenda has learned to schmooze with everyone, not just the editor. She has to be nice to the assistants too because one day you might be crawling to them for a job (she referred to her former boss, Alessandra Balzer as an example).

    She referred to the art of the deal (which she went into in more detail in a later workshop and I’ll be posting that later). But there’s a lot going on after the deal; the deal is just one episode. The agent helps handle the editor. When an author gets worried, about a title change, for instance, the agent can assure the author. Sometimes an author might want her agent to take a look at an e-mail she plans to send to her editor and get feedback on it. The agent’s job is to mitigate those issues.

    Selling translation rights (and UK foreign rights) are another key service of an agent. They’ll try to keep those rights to sell independently. For picture books, the publisher usually acquires foreign rights as well as NA, but those rights can be available at other age levels. There are also commercial, dramatic and ancillary rights (merchandising—think action figures). The literary agent will visit film agents & tell them about upcoming books, what the agent thinks will appeal to them. For e-rights, the agent can make sure it’s the best deal possible, with better language. The agent takes care of  backlist as well as frontlist. The agent takes the heat so you can enjoy the ride and be the star you are.

    There was a Q&A after Brenda’s talk. I’ll list them here in the original Q&A form

    Q. Do you represent screenwriting?

    A. No.

    Q. Speak to how agents handle illustrators who also write or only illustrate

    A. The great thing about representing illustrators is she’ll get e-mails asking to use a particular client (illustrator). Work goes up on her site & she gets interest. She only works with PB & illustrated novels

    Q. What would you suggest to writers who have submitted to agents without success and are considering submitting directly to publishers?

    A. A large number of publishers don’t accept unsolicited ms.

    Q. What are your personal submission guidelines?

    A. After she’s back from vacation (after Labor Day) use querybb@sjga.com (note: there was a secret word given, but it was only for the use of those who were at the presentation). Include the title of the book in the subject line. The query goes in the body of the e-mail and 3 chapters are sent  as an attachment (note: there are further instructions at http://www.sjga.com/code/contact.htm). For an illustrated PB, send as PDF. A pet peeve—she hates to see forwards. That is, she doesn’t want to see that you forwarded a query that you’d sent to another agent. Another pet peeve is the use of rhetorical questions (“Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be born with three elbows?”)

    If you query her, you’re going to get a bounceback that says “I’m not able to read and respond to all, so if you don’t hear from me in 8 weeks, I’m declining the opportunity.” If you hear from another agent, put “interest received” or “offer received” in the subject line. For what it’s worth, TNR is her fave font.

    Q. How do you feel about historical fiction?

    A. She loves historical fiction, and is repping an author who’s a master of the genre. Publishers say no historical fiction, but they publish it all the time. All the Newbery & honor books this year were historical fiction.

    Q. What if you didn’t attend this workshop and what’s a bad time frame to submit?

    A. If you didn’t attend the workshop, you could say, I recently attended the SCBWI conference. As to when to submit, although people are looking for good books all the time, the following time periods are slow: the month of August and Dec 15-Jan 1. Another tip: use Publisher’s Marketplace to see who represents what.

    Q. Do you do specific change suggestions?

    A. Yes. She’ll help the author get something ready, and then the editor might have suggestions as well

    Q. Can a publisher take rights to character?

    A. That would be a very bad deal. They own right to publish the book, maybe an option to the next book with the same character, but an agent is unlikely to allow them to own rights to the character itself.

    Q. Would a publisher be involved with other rights such as a TV show?

    A. Those rights don’t have to be included in the publishing contract, but everyone should work together. The question is, Whose team is the editor on? the publisher’s or the author’s? If everyone is on one team that works the best.

    Q. Is the client under contract during revisions?

    A. Sometimes yes. Brenda has a broad contract, but some agencies don’t have that contract.