This is a complicated subject, and a lot of people could write many pages and barely scratch the surface on this.  That said, here's my short version of how to define "platform."

Platform, in essence, concerns all the avenues you have to sell your work to readers who will buy it. 
      Let's look at an example: You want to write a book on astronomy and eclipses.  Can anybody write this book?  Sure, if they become knowledgeable enough.  Can anyone sell this book?  No way.  First of all, examine who will buy this book.  Probably other people interested in astronomy and eclipses.  A person with a good platform to write this work will have different avenues in place to connect with these specific people who will pay money for the book.  
      Some ways to do this would be to write for science magazines and get your byline out there, to run an astronomy-oriented Web site that gets good traffic, or to have a newsletter and blog dealing with similar topics.  The writer of this particular book must have these avenues in place when the book comes out, because the publisher will likely spend $0 on promotion and marketing, so the book must be easy to sell, and that's how platform comes into play.
      Other factors of platform to mention real quick include credentials and media opportunity.  If you're the foremost expert on eclipses, for example, then you're likely quoted all over in the media regarding the phenomena, so you have a natural platform built in.  Or - let's say you were a stripper who wanted to write a funny memoir about the experience (like Diablo Cody did).  That has a lot of media potential in terms of people being interested in interviewing you, etc.  Those two things can constitute platform as well.
      At the CNU conference last weekend, a writer was talking about his nonfiction book on World War II.  He explained that he had become very well versed on military matters through research and was a capable writer for such a project.  I told him there was little chance of selling it because of the problem I mentioned above.  You don't have to just write nonfiction; you have to sell nonfiction, too.  And the most effective way of doing that is to be well known and respected by the types/groups of people who will buy the specific book in question.  That's a platform.

"Agent Advice" is a series of quick interviews with literary and script agents who talk with Guide to Literary Agents about their thoughts on writing, publishing, and just about anything else.

This installment features literary agent Michael Murphy, founder of Max & Co.: A Literary Agency & Social Club in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Michael Murphy

GLA: What's the most recent thing you've sold? 
 
MM: My most recent sale was a novel, Concord, Virginia, by Peter Neofotis. I had been the novella competition judge at the recent Words & Music festival in New Orleans. Work is sent with the author's name removed, so it wasn't until after I chose Peter as the winner that I learned anything about him. By day, he works in environmental biology at Columbia University. By night, Peter performs in small clubs throughout Manhattan performing monologues from his ever-evolving tales of the people and events in the fictional Southern town. I met Peter in November, sent out his manuscript in January, and sold it in February to Michael Flamini at St. Martin's.

GLA: The name of your agency is completely, intentionally out of the ordinary. Do you actually host a salon, or is the allusion tongue-in-cheek? 
 
MM: The name is definitely not tongue-in-cheek (I hope). Max & Co. was chosen because, while I was the all and the everything in the company in October 2007, I do not intend this to be true in October 2008. I didn't want the name to be about me. Already, I have retained two people as virtual "scouts" and part-time agents. One is in New York City; her title is East Coast Presence. The other is my Greater Midwest Presence. Both have book publishing experience. I am also partnering with Lisa Queen of Queen Literary to use the benefit of her great experience and reach into foreign markets where mine is limited. 
      As far as "& Social Club," that refers to a vision I hope to make a reality by 2009. I would love to have an annual retreat—in cabins with screened-in porches, ideally by water—where Max & Co. writers could come to share success stories, new contacts, marketing ideas, and (of course) play cards until 3:00 a.m. while drinking Thai beer and wearing funny hats. In addition, when one writer, say from Seattle, has a new book hit the shelves, my other writers in New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles, etc. would do what they could to help launch the title.
 
GLA: You headed William Morrow & Co. for years before leaving it and New York City behind and starting your agency in Cincinnati. What's the one thing about being a publisher that you don't miss?
 
MM: The endless meetings that are so much a part of corporate life. Some days, many days, I would be in meetings from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and return to my desk to find an impossible list of phone messages and e-mail that needed attention.

GLA: Your new Web site indicates you're looking primarily for narrative nonfiction, memoir, and eclectic visual books but would make an exception for the right sort of dark and twisted fiction. Can you elaborate on your preferences?
 
MM: Actually, I already am representing dark and twisted. I sold Tony O'Neill's novel Down and Out on Murder Mile to HarperCollins. Tony, a former heroin junkie, is truly a poet of the grotesque. I sold another book about cocaine and heroin addiction, Jason Peter's memoir, Hero of the Underground (on sale July 2008). Normally, I loathe books like Hero. He was an All-America football player and first round NFL draft pick prior to being a drug addict. But, in this case, Jason was fearless about exposing his Caligula years, and the intense writing brings the book closer to Bukowski or Hubert Selby, Jr., than any sports bio or recovery tale. The exception I would consider would be a commercial (happy ending) novel, if there were something in the writing to grab me.  
      You captured my areas of interest. I do not represent genre fiction, psychology, science, nature, or business books. However, I would backhand a nun in broad daylight to be involved with a business book like David Dorsey's The Force. The writing was brilliant. Great writing can always change my mind. I have zero interest in Captain Cook and not much more in orchids. Yet, I devoured Blue Latitudes and The Orchid Thief because Tony Horwitz and Susan Orlean are superb writers. I'd follow them anywhere. My preferences are my preferences, but I am always open to what I call the Suddenly, From Across a Crowded Room Moment.
 
GLA: Are you interested in graphic novels?

MM: This is a great example of the Suddenly, Across a Crowded Room Moment. Until 2000, I did not think graphic novels were for me. I found Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen interesting. But, in no case did I do more than sample a few pages. Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan changed everything. His genius is not just his artistry but that he can tell a story as full and compelling as a good novel. So, while I am not the right agent for most of what people consider graphic novels (Judith Hansen and Denis Kitchen do that really well), I would be interested in something at the level of Chris Ware (a very tall order). 
      As noted, I am focused on eclectic visual books. Toss a few words on the same page as the artistry of someone like Mark Ryden or Eduardo Recife and, yes, I am very interested. Whether that would be considered a graphic novel I will leave to people arguing on panels at the Comic-Con convention.
 
GLA: How do you prefer to be contacted by writers seeking representation?

MM: My answer here is my personal preference and should not be taken in as a guide. I love e-mail. I like to receive chapters as e-mail attachments. Most agents do not. I want, but rarely receive, everything (pitch, synopsis, chapter outline, author bio, sample chapters) in one simple email. 
 
GLA: What kinds of writing credentials or professional affiliations do you look for when you receive a query?

MM: I look for zero credentials but am pleased when I discover some. Sometimes writers’ profiles can be every bit as important as their talent. MFAs in creative writing or publications in obscure journals carry very little weight with me or with most editors. Publisher interest can be piqued by a writer having something that points to a large, ready, and able fan base willing to drop $24.95 on the author's book. This can be a successful Web site, appearances in national media, or being considered the leading voice or "the face" of a company, product, or line of thinking. 
 
GLA: Do you identify and acquire new clients from among contest winners? Whose work is published in periodicals? Through online networking sites for emerging writers?
 
MM: A short but only partially accurate answer is "No." I do subscribe to and/or read a number of periodicals or writing Web sites. If I were just a reader, or an agent with a lot of time on my hands, I would pore over The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Tin House, or Zoetrope: All-Story (which was consistently brilliant when Adrienne Brodeur was the editor). However, in my work life, the writers who appear in these places are generally already "agented up." I pay more attention to journals like Topic (a version of Granta), The Walrus (sort of Canada's New Yorker), and The Bellevue Literary Review. But this has not proven to be a sweeping success in acquiring client writers.

GLA: If a writer sends you a promising query outside your specific areas of interest, will you pass it along to another literary agent?

MM: In such cases, where I see promise but I am not the right agent to bring that promise to fruition, I do provide the names of specific agents to the writer. Sometimes, I have then contacted the agents to let them know a writer is coming their way. But, in no circumstances do I want to get sucked into brokering a relationship between a writer and another agent. There simply isn't that kind of time.
 
GLA: Will your newly designed Web site include a blog?
 
MM: I'm really not sure. I know I definitely do not want a traditional blog, because I don't need the stress/burden to keep the content fresh. I also see no need to add my opinions to the absurd amount of other opinions from other people about practically everything. Though, you should vote for Barack Obama. Also, I would like to see features that constantly update where my authors are appearing or when their books get new reviews.

GLA: Will you be attending any conferences or events in the future where writers can meet you?

MM: I have attended BEA (BookExpo America) for decades and will be in Los Angeles for the '08 Expo and, like last year in New York, I will be meeting writers at the pre-show Agent Pitch Slam sponsored by Writer's Digest (May 28 at the convention center).
      I attend the Words & Music festival in New Orleans every year. I consider this a great conference for writers aspiring to be published. Each attendee gets one-on-one sessions with agents and editors to critique their writing.

GLA: To a writer looking for an agent, can you offer advice about something we haven't discussed?

MM: Choosing an agent should involve as much thoughtfulness and care as choosing a college or a lover. In the case of the latter, probably more care. I have seen young writers too anxious to leap to the first "real" agent to show interest in their writing. If these same people had been contacted in high school by Flatland Community College and told, "We are very impressed with your transcript," they would not have rushed to attend Flatland Community College before applying to colleges more desired.
 
Michael Murphy has worked in the book publishing industry for 30 years. His first 13 were with Random House-Ballantine, where he was a vice-president. Later, he ran William Morrow & Co. as their publisher until the company’s acquisition by and merger with HarperCollins. He formed Max & Co.: A Literary Agency & Social Club in the fall of 2007.
      He is looking primarily for narrative nonfiction, memoir, and eclectic visual books. Additional information can be found on his agency’s Web site.

A while back, I blogged about how Ronnie Gramazio was a new agent at Martin Literary Management. Recently, I got an e-mail from Sharlene Martin saying a third rep is now aboard the agency.

Ginny Weissman helms the agency's Chicago area office and runs the Mind, Body and Spirit division. Her contact info is below.  She seems very accomplished in the entertainment and literary worlds.  To learn more exactly about what she reps and how to submit, see her new personal Web page.

In an e-mail, she told me this: "I am looking for writers with a developed platform in speaking, radio/TV, and the web with a book that fits the Mind/Body/Spirit genre, including health, spirituality, religion, diet, exercise, psychology, relationships and metaphysics."

Ginny Weissman
2511 West Schaumburg Road
No. 217
Schaumburg, IL 60194
(312)420-2665
Ginny@MartinLiteraryManagement.com

The Zack Company, Inc., a literary agency, is actively seeking clients. In the past, the agency has stopped accepting queries at different times (because of slush pile overflow, most likely).

As far as I can tell, the agency is looking for all kinds of nonfiction, and some fiction. Regardless, this seems like a great opportunity.

The agency's Web site has an incredibly detailed "What We Want" page detailing what to send and how to send it.

This installment features agent John Willig of Literary Services, Inc. in Barnegat, N.J.

GLA: What's the most recent thing you've sold?

JW: We have recently enjoyed a number of excellent deals. Jim Trippon's Becoming Your Own China Stock Guru (to John Wiley & Sons), Beverly Smallwood's This Isn't Supposed to Happen to Me! (which was managed by my associate, Cynthia Zigmund, who is based in Chicago) and Hector Seda's Home $weet Home: 151 Guaranteed Projects to Increase the Value of Your Greatest Investment (to Adams Media) stand out. Above and beyond the financials, we were happy to find editors who were genuinely excited about each book's topic potential and working with the author. These authors/clients of ours will be working with great champions of their work, which I believe will ultimately have a very positive impact on their publishing experience and outcomes.

GLA: What's the difference between a literary agent and a literary scout?

JW: Great question. I have many friends who do one or the other and/or a little bit of both. I think it is analogous to how a ghostwriter works vs. how an author works. 
      The ghost is working primarily as a "work for hire" and does not necessarily want to be involved with promotion, publicity, etc. An author is obviously consumed with all these issues as they affect outcomes and careers. These matters also concern the author's agent, who's an advocate throughout the publishing process, be it for legal contractual matters or for giving guidance on cover designs, publicity campaigns, etc. Our inboxes are filled each day with these types of concerns and challenges for our authors and clients. It being a client-based relationship, the agent is actively involved in all aspects of the author's book and, many times, well being! 
      Now, this is where one needs to be careful in this discussion because, in publishing, there are always exceptions. But for the most part, I think literary scouts feel that since they are going to be paid primarily from the publisher, there may not be as much as a vested interest in the outcome. Being paid a flat fee for performance (like a ghostwriter) vs. being paid an agent's commission (similar to writers' royalties) can define one's level of future involvement and responsibilities to the project.

GLA: You specialize in nonfiction. If you have a client who wants to try her hand at fiction, should she approach you and ask for your blessing in finding a second agent? Also, how would it work when the next nonfiction book comes along? Would there be conflict between you and Agent 2?

JW: Since the author and agent have a client-based relationship that, hopefully, will be longstanding, I think it’s always best for a writer to let me know what's going on with their projects and if there’s a fiction book in the works. I like to know about (all my clients') projects even though I work exclusively with nonfiction writers. Sometimes I'll review samples, make recommendations, and suggest fiction agents. The agreement the author makes with the fiction agent can be exclusive to fiction or to a particular genre. It's always best to get these things out front and in the open and clarified in the agreement to represent.   

GLA: What conferences will you be at this year?  Will you be taking pitches?

JW: I try to attend a variety of publishing and professional conferences each year, such as the Writer's Digest Books Writers' Conference, Author 101/MEGA Book, ASJA, etc. I'm always open to pitches, whether in person or via e-mail. On our Web site, www.LiteraryServicesInc.com, we have posted our submission guidelines and questions.

John Willig is a literary agent and a member of the Author's Guild. He specializes in nonfiction books, seeking a variety of subjects, including  art, biography, business, parenting, cooking, crafts, health, history, how-to, humor, language, money, New Age, pop culture, psychology, science, self-help, true crime and sports.
      He does not want to receive fiction, children's books, religion, memoirs or poetry.

John Willig