As I mentioned in the last post, the May/June 2009 issue of Writer's Digest has the information brainbomb article "101 Best Web Sites for Writers."

One of the categories is called "Agent Blogs" and they came to me for my top five.  Here they are and I why I chose them.  If you're an information sponge like me, these are my top recommendations concerning sites to check out daily or add to your Google Reader. 

Update: A few links weren't working.  Thanks for the heads up.  they should be fixed.

1. Pub Rants

Denver-based agent Kristin Nelson of Nelson Literary has kept this blog up for several years, and has covered just about every topic - contracts, queries, book covers, you name it.  It's one of the best all-around agent blogs out there.

2. Nathan Bransford

Sure he looks young, but Nathan, an agent at Curtis Brown in San Francisco, knows a lot about publishing, and his blog is wide in scope.  He hosts small contests, talks queries, discusses the craft of writing, keeps writers' spirits up, and does it all blogging through the night.  Each week, he has a roundup news post that links to dozens of stories and happenings in the publishing world.

3. Rachelle Gardner

Rachelle, at Wordserve, hasn't been agenting that long - just two years or so, and her blog was very new last year when it ended up on our 101 short list.  So why did we include it last year?  Because we saw potential and wisdom, and Rachelle has only upped the ante by blogging more and more.  Although she specializes in Christian/inspirational works, her advice is universal and practical - dissecting book proposals and sharing query tips.

4. Query Shark

There are more "query critique" sites now, but this site was one of the first and still the best.  Agent Janet Reid of FinePrint Literary invites writers to submit queries for dissection and criticism/praise.  If you wonder what a query looks like - or, more so, what a good query looks like, just visit Query Shark.
      The site isn't updated as often as the others on this list, but there's a reason for that. (See No. 5)

5. Janet Reid

That's right.  Janet Reid runs not only the Query Shark blog but also her own blog about agenting and publishing.  She talks about all things agenting and publishing, and her brutal-honesty style is like no other.

   Although there was only room for five, there are several other great agent blogs to visit.  Off the top of my head, I would encourage you to visit The Swivet (Colleen Lindsay of FinePrint), Dystel & Goderich (a community agent blog), and BookEnds. 

Seth Godin, best-selling author and all-around successful business guru, recently posted a column called "Where Have All the Agents Gone?"  In it, basically, he talks about how "middlemen" such as stock brokers, real estate agents and travel agents are either dying or dead.  Then he wonders if literary agents are next.

The point he's trying to make is that literary agents act as "middlemen," too, and therefore, may be endangered and out of the picture in the future.  But the column doesn't really give any good thoughts or observations as to why this will be.  And I wanted to throw some thoughts in on this discussion because I disagree with his basic idea, and my adrenaline is still going too much from watching college basketball to fall asleep.

First of all, unless I'm really missing something here, the number of literary agents in the country is going up (whereas the number of travel agents is going down).  Not in drastic, eye-popping numbers, but more literary agents are in the field than three years ago.  Why is this?  You already know the answer - it's because editors are too busy to act as gatekeepers and need someone to ween out all the poor work that's submitted. 

Key point: Someone in the literary world has to act as a judge and gatekeeper (although people hate those words).  Some group of professionals - agents - must take responsibility and look at the monstrous pile of manuscripts written each year and say, "This three percent has the potential to move on and be considered, but this ninety-seven does not because it's bad or been done before." Someone must review all 100% and create a big pile and a small pile.  Who's gonna do it?  Writers?  Can they look at their own work and say, "This is unsatisfactory.  It won't be published.  I shouldn't submit it."  Hell no.  Never in a million years.  Editors?  They used to do a lot of this and still do a little.  But they're too busy to sift through the slush and find the rare gems.  They're busy being fired and those that aren't are churning out books like mad, hoping to God they sell.  Someone has to do it, and that's why we have literary agents. 

They aren't going anywhere.  As the years go by, more and more people are trying to sell their work, and more and more editors are not looking at unsolicited submissions - meaning they will only consider work submitted from literary agents (usually with whom they have a current relationship).  Add those two simple things up, and you see not only the need for literary agents, but a reason why new ones keep popping up. 

Consider this paragraph from Godin's column:

"To thrive in a world of self-service,
agents have to hyperspecialize, have
to stand for something, have to have
the guts to say no far more than they
say yes. No, you can't publish this book.
No I won't represent you. No, don't take
that flight. No, I won't sell this house,
it's overpriced, list it yourself."

Am I missing something here?  This is exactly what literary agents do.  They say no 97% of the time.  They all specialize.  (Yes, they could probably stand to specialize even further, but it will all be OK).  Literary agents differ from real estate agents and stock brokers and travel agents because of their ability (the necessity) to say just that: NO.  They have the power of no, and that's why it's foolish to compare all these groups to lit reps.  Literary agents won't work with just anybody.  In fact, it's closer to the opposite. 

They are like real estate agents in that they will help you secure a better deal, act as your representative, and explain the fine print regarding contracts.  Both perform these functions.  And yes, in a perfect world, you could go around an agent and sell something yourself to avoid the commission charge (a literary agent takes 15% of what you make).  But in the publishing world, unless you're aiming low, you have to have an agent, or else no one will even listen to you.  Agents act as needed middlemen.  They see a busy, coffee-guzzling editor on one side of the table, and a reclusive prima donna writer on the other end.  Someone needs to be part of the equation who listens to both sides and tries to figure out an acceptable deal. 

To continue on the subject of money, let's examine why middlemen are disappearing.  Real estate agents take their cut of the deal - six percent or whatever.  Some relatives of mine are trying to sell their house and they aren't excited at all about that big chunk they'll lose with an agent.  They want to keep the cash.  On the other hand, have you ever met an writer who is really upset at the 15% they will lose by having an agent?  The publisher doesn't care whether an agent is involved.  They pay the same amount no matter if you have no agent or six of them.  Sure, we writers would like 15% more, but ultimately a lot of us are so excited to see our work in print that we just shrug and thank God the number is just 15 and not more. 

Consider this paragraph by Godin:

"... anonymous agents are interchangeable
and virtually worthless. Agents that don't
do anything but help one side find the other
side in a human approximation of Google
aren't so helpful any more."

Well, yes, but that doesn't mean anything.  We all know that an agent without relationships with editors is worthless.  If they don't have editors who pick up the phone when they call, then they're no better than you or I as joe schmo writers.  To avoid getting a bad/ineffective agent, simply take two steps: 1) protect yourself by not paying any upfront fees; 2) ask a lot of questions before signing any contracts - such as questions regarding the contract language itself, and whether the agent has sold any books recently, and to whom, and why they want to sign you as a client.  If the agent has sales, then they have relationships and are not anonymous and worthless.

Now: Does Godin have a point?  Will agents disappear down the road?  First of all - who knows.  But if I had to guess, I would say it has to do with self-publishing.  In the next 10-20 years, we will see drastic shifts toward self-publishing your work - especially if bookstores go the way of the dodo.  If more writers are self-publishing their poor manuscripts rather than submitting them all over Hell's half acres, then the slush pile goes down, and the need for a gatekeeper is lessened, and perhaps editors can handle the workload again.  Then he may have a point down the road.

My final thought: No, I don't think agents are going anywhere and I don't get Godin's column, though, admittedly, the man is a genius and I am not. 

• Interview: Kids agent Joe Monti of Goldblatt Literary.
  
• Examine great high concept hooks for children's books.
  
• Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.
  
• Read about What Agents Hate: Chapter 1 Pet Peeves.
• Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2010 Guide to Literary Agents today!

"Hey, ladies..."

Reno – I’m back. 

This past weekend, I was at the Truckee Meadows Community College Writers’ Conference (usually just called the Reno Writers’ Conference) and everything went well.  Conference attendance was near an all-time high despite the recession. 

It was my first trip to Reno (and Nevada, for that matter).  Reno is like Vegas’s little brother—only it doesn’t like to be called that.  The second I stepped off the plane, I was greeted by slot machines.

Welcome to Nevada.

The town sits between several mountain ranges (The Sierras, etc.) and that was breathtaking.  I've only had two conferences in the so-called Mountain West and it's always spectacular.  My room was at the JA Nugget in Reno, which was some sort of mega-complex with a casino and lots of restaurants, but I ended up seeing nothing because I was in and out of town so fast.  (Too bad, because the Nugget seemed quite nice.)  I was in town for about 32 hours, which is probably a record for me.  In that time, besides speaking at the conference, I did get to eat authentic Basque Food at Louie's, and discovered there is a surprisingly high percentage of Basque people in the city. 

Verna Dreisbach of Dreisbach Literary was there, as was Amberly Finnarelli of Andrea Hurst Literary Management.  The three of us were doing one-on-ones with writers all day when we weren’t presenting.  They were taking pitches.  I was helping writers rework their pitches. 

The conference was a short-and-sweet one-day deal.  Everyone seemed pleased with the speeches and the meetings.  The crowd was a mix of Reno locals, and people from California and beyond.  It's an intimate conference, but attracts agents and editors, and is very affordable, and put on by people who care.  Definitely worth your time next year.

The glow of Reno at night.
The WAC college basketball
championship conference
was going on at that pink casino on
the left when I took this picture.
Sadly, Nevada lost the game.

• What is happening in this scene?
  
• Why is it important?
  
• Is it believable?
• What is the conflict?  Who wants what, and who or what won’t let them have it?
• What does this scene contribute specifically and integrally to the plot?  How does it drive it? 
  
• Can it be cut, partially or completely, and not effect the plot?
• Can the integral part of the scene be folded into another scene, and the rest eliminated?
• When does the scene occur?
• Would the plot be better served if you moved the scene to another place in the unfolding of the story? 
  
• From whose point of view is this scene experienced?
• How does this character contribute to the plot?  Can another character do it so you can eliminate this one, or combine the two into one character?
• Where is this person?
• What is the POV character in the scene doing? 
  
• What is he/she feeling emotionally about what’s happening in the scene?
  
• What is he/she feeling emotionally about things outside the scene?
• What is he/she seeing?  Hearing?  Touching?  Even smelling and tasting?
• Can you exchange “he said”s and “she said”s with action?
• Can you exchange passive verbs with active ones?
• Can you exchange adverbs (“ly” words) with action?
• What does each paragraph within the scene contribute?  Can it be eliminated?
• What does each sentence within the scene contribute?  Can it be eliminated?
  

GLA: How did you become an agent?

KS: My career in publishing actually started in academic publishing.  Before I knew it, I was the editor of Soil, Plant, and Insect Science textbooks and while I worked with fantastic and brilliant authors, trade literature has always been my passion (with children’s literature my real dream). I found out about an entry-level job at the Dijkstra Agency and while it was entry-level (and meant a huge pay cut), I could see that there were a lot of opportunities I could take advantage of.  I started agenting my own books within my first year there and haven’t looked back!

GLA: You recently moved to Andrea Brown Literary.  What are you looking forward to about this new venture?  (Did you move to the Bay area?)

KS: I’m looking forward to working with such a dynamic team of super-smart and savvy colleagues who really know the children’s market.  Each member of the team has a really great and unique perspective on children’s literature so there’s a lot for us to learn from one another.  (And no, I’m still in San Diego.)

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

KS: I just sold a graphic novel by James Burks, titled Gabby and Gator to Yen Press, the graphic novel division of Hachette.  They’re starting to work on juvenile graphic novels, and this was one of their first acquisitions for this initiative. It’s a brilliant piece of work.
      As for other notable news, during my first day at ABLA, I found out that my author Steve Watkins won the Golden Kite award for his novel Down Sand Mountain (Candlewick, 2008). His was one of my first projects and I’m thrilled that he’s receiving this honor. It’s a book that has a really special place in my heart.

GLA: You take all kinds of children’s works – young adult, middle grade, picture books, etc.  What are  you looking for right now and not getting?  What do you pray for when tackling the slush pile?

KS: I’d love to see more well-written and clever middle grade fiction. There’s a need for it right now and I see a lot of potential in this market.  I’d also love to see more memoir for kids – especially cultural memoir about growing up in different countries, identity, and living across cultures. We are a colorful world, and I’m not sure that’s reflected adequately in children’s lit quite yet.

GLA: You accept YA and MG.  Specifically, do you specialize in any subgenres?  Multicultural?  Edgy stuff? 

KS: I really don’t confine myself to one area; I enjoy having a variety. I will admit a particular soft spot for picture books but there’s only so many of those I can take on at a time. I really love literary, coming-of-age YA, as well as quirky and smart MG. I’m also particularly loving graphic novels for kids these days. We’re living in a time that is ripe for them, and it’s exciting to help shape that.

GLA: With picture books, I suspect you get a lot of submissions and most of them get rejected.  Where are writers going wrong in picture book submissions?

KS: Rhyming! So many writers think picture books need to rhyme. There are some editors who won’t even look at books in rhyme, and a lot more who are extremely wary of them, so it limits an agent on where it can go and the likelihood of it selling.  It’s also particularly hard to  execute perfectly.  Aside from rhyming, I see way too many picture books about a family pet or bedtime.

GLA: When you’re reviewing a juvenile fiction partial, what do you hate to see in Chapter 1? 

KS: I hate to see a whiny character who’s in the middle of a fight with one of their parents, slamming doors, rolling eyes, and displaying all sorts of other stereotypical behavior. I hate seeing character “stats” (“Hi, I’m Brian, I’m 10 years and 35 days old with brown hair and green eyes”).  I also tend to have a hard time bonding with characters who talk to the reader (“Let me tell you about the summer when I...”).

GLA: When you get a graphic novel submission, what do you like to see in the submission itself?  Just the query?  10 pages?

KS: At the AB Agency, we only accept e-mail submissions, so I would want to see the query letter e-mailed to me (listing any credentials), and then the first 10 pages copied into the body of the e-mail. If there is accompanying sample art, that can be pasted into the message as well.

GLA: Do writers have to finish a graphic novel before querying you?  Or can they just have a good synopsis?

KS: The text needs to be completed but the art shouldn’t be since there are sure to be future changes suggested by myself or an editor.

GLA: Will you be at any upcoming writers’ conferences where writers can meet and pitch you?

KS: Yes! I’ll be at the Charlotte Huck Children’s Festival in Redlands next week, and then I’ll also be at the Western Washington SCBWI meeting in May, Comic-Con (I’m speaking at the Project Impact event before the Con starts) in July, SCBWI National in August, the Southern California Writers meeting in Irvine in Sept, and the La Jolla Writers Conference in November. Phew!

GLA: Best piece(s) of advice we haven’t discussed?

KS: Know who your competition is and read and study the books your intended readers will also be reading. During difficult economic times, support your fellow writers and buy books!

Want more on children's writing?

• Examine Great High-Concept Hooks for Children's Books.
• New children's agent seeking submissions.
  
• How to write picture books for kids.
• Buy the kids writers' bible: the Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market.  
• Interview with kids agent Joe Monti of Barry Goldblatt Literary.
  
• Read a successful young adult query: "Wake" by Lisa McMann.
  
• Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.
  
• Read about What Agents Hate: Chapter 1 Pet Peeves.
• Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2010 Guide to Literary Agents today!