Q. What's the difference between memoir and narrative nonfiction? Aren't they the same thing?

A. Memoir is when someone writes about their own life.  Narrative nonfiction is when someone writes about the lives of others.
      Both of these categories are notable because they blur the line between fiction and nonfiction.  Narrative nonfiction is unique (and in high demand) because it tells a true story - hence the word nonfiction - but it's told like a novel.  If you want to write about horse racing, you would probably come up with an average book on horse racing.  But Seabiscuit is narrative nonfiction.  Same thing with the space program.  There's a huge amount of difference between a book on NASA's programs and The Right Stuff.

Q. How do you pitch memoir and narrative nonfiction if they bridge the gap?

A. Memoir is tricky because it's the only nonfiction subject that must be treated as fiction.  That means you have to write the entire manuscript (and revise it) before submitting.  You would eventually write a synopsis - not a book proposal.   
      Narrative nonfiction, however, is still nonfiction and you would submit a proposal, most likely.  Writers with a track record and platform would do just fine submitting a book proposal and writing very little of the actual text.  But - for writers without a track record, it wouldn't hurt to write a lot (or all) of the manuscript.  Narrative nonfiction is tricky, and you have to show that you know what you're doing.

Q. Are publishers jittery about memoirs these days because of James Frey and A Million Little Pieces?

A. From what I'm hearing, oh yeah. I talked with literary agent and lawyer Paul S. Levine over the weekend and he said that memoirs should be vetted before being sent to publishers.  The purpose of this is to eliminate any libel or invasions of privacy in the text itself.  Though vetting a manuscript will not ensure that you never get sued, it should prevent anyone who sues you from winning.

Nappaland Literary Agency, an agency based in Colorado that primarily handles Christian and inspirational work, wanted me to remind writers and blog readers of the agency's specific submission procedures.

Because Nappaland is quite small, they only taken on clients by referral. If you just see them in the database/book and ignore this small tidbit, and send off a query real quick (what the hey, right?), it will be rejected outright.

Always read agency listings thoroughly to save yourself time, worry and postage!

A change in submissions for Jet Literary.  Apparently, the slush pile has grown dangerously large and Jet is not taking queries for several months.  The best way to know when they open the floodgates again is to keep tabs on the Web site. Here's exactly what the Web site had to say:

"We appreciate your interest in working with JET.
Due to the avalanche of queries and submissions
that have come our way via email and conferences
this past year, we will only be accepting submissions
from referrals beginning now until further notice.
Please keep checking back for updates on submissions."

Jet handles nonfiction, fiction and YA.

Steve Laube

Last week, I posted submission info on Will Entertainment. Before I knew it, Verla Kay's Web site, among others, picked up the news and spread it like wildfire. Garrett Hicks (of WE) must have gotten plenty of queries, because the next day he wrote and asked that I clarify how he is a "manager," not an "agent."

So this brings up the question: What is the difference?  First of all, you should know that both are legimitate.  I'm tempted to explain the details here, but an upcoming interview on the blog with literary/script manager Margery Walshaw of Evatopia will do the question more justice.  It's on the way...

In the meantime, check out an explanation of the difference between agents and managers on the Writers Store Web site.