GLA: How did you become an agent?

DC: When I was an editor at HarperCollins and at Putnam, the agent I did the most business with—Simon Lipskar at Writers House—had become pretty much my best friend in the world.  And one of our many standing jokes (our favorite: “friends don’t let friends write books”) was that how when (not if) I got fired, I’d come work for him. 

GLA: Does that mean you were on the verge of being fired when you left Putnam in 2007?

DC: No—at least, not that I'm aware of! But I've always had this paranoid fixation with the number 52—that being the age at which I always figured my corporate superiors would at last judge me too expensive relative to my productivity, and cut me loose, leaving me to wander about aimlessly like some gray-suited ad-man in a John Cheever short story.  And what happens to editors when they get fired—and they all get fired, eventually, don’t they?—is, they become agents.  At the time I left Putnam, I’d published or had acquired bestsellers by Ridley Pearson, Martha Raddatz, David Stone, and Steve Lopez, and had published some other pretty amazing books along the way. So I wasn't feeling vulnerable at that time. But I did a little math and realized that 52 corresponded with another number: 17, as in the age my three triplet daughters would be when I turned 52. Three college educations to pay for? That seemed like a particularly bad year to get fired.
      So, long story short, it occurred to me that my stock probably wasn’t going to get much higher than it was right then, and that if I really imagined I wouldn't survive to get my gold watch at the age of 65, maybe I should make the move to becoming an agent preemptively. Writers House was looking to grow the agency, so I was invited to come aboard. That was about two and half years ago.

GLA: What’s the most recent thing you’ve sold?  
 
DC: The End of Everything by Megan Abbott, sold to Reagan Arthur for her eponymous imprint at Little, Brown. A two-book contract; and we've since sold the book in a number of foreign countries, too. 

GLA: What are you looking for right now and not getting? What do you pray for when tackling the slush pile?

DC: Slush or not, I keep my prayers simple: Let's start with a handful of really wonderful sentences strung together just so. "Just so," of course, speaks to the impossibly subjective nature of this racket. 

GLA: You used to be the anonymous voice behind Mad Max Perkins of the now-inactive BookAngst 101, the blog that started out as a way to candidly discuss the industry with other editors and publishing types but emerged as a resource for writers.  Do you miss it?  Have you found another outlet for such conversations?

DC: I do miss it! BookAngst 101 was a wonderful experience, for a whole bunch of reasons. As time passed, it became less about industry stuff and more just my riffing on one thing or another, kinda self-indulgent, I suspect, but it was a uniquely satisfying outlet for me. But ultimately the energy I put into Mad Max is work that is more profitably channeled to my clients, with whom, in many cases, I'm allowed a great deal of creative input.

GLA: In an interview you did last year for Susan Henderson’s LitPark, you said you weren’t looking to take on any new clients.  Still true?

DC: Kinda yes, kinda no. I will take on new clients when I'm bowled over.   

GLA: Do you notice any trends in what you tend to represent in historical fiction? Elements that particularly grab you?

DC: First off, I'm never interested in anything but beautiful writing; engaging, urgent storytelling; characters you fall in love with—above all, voice. I'm reading a new novel right now by Robyn Young, a huge bestseller in the UK; the novel is called Insurrection, the first in a new series about Robert the Bruce and the wars for Scottish independence, and it's blowing me away on all these fronts. 

GLA: What draws you to a true crime story?

DC: How annoying would it be if were to give you essentially the same answer? And yet it's true: I'm always looking for basically the same thing! Regardless of genre—thrillers, narrative nonfiction, anything—it's the writing and the voice and so on that are the determining factors for me.  
      True crime is a particular publishing challenge, because the phrase itself signals down-market crap-ola, and yet, so many of the most beloved and enduring works of narrative nonfiction could be categorized as such. The reason there will always be interest in good true crime stories is the same reason that dramatic adventure stories like The Perfect Storm or Into Thin Air continue to resonate: They're real stories, often about communities in crisis, dealing with matters of life and death. For more than a decade, I've wished I could find a new category tag/euphemism that would allow people to publish what we mean by "true crime" without the stigma the phrase connotes. If you come up with one, let me know.

GLA: If you were teaching a class on nonfiction writing & submitting, what would be item number one on your syllabus?

DC: On the submitting side, I'd say: Keep the pitch short and to the point. On the writing side, I'd say: When you think you're done—that is, after you've rewritten it a couple of times, set it aside, wait a while—then sit down and rewrite it again. Whatever you submit, it needs to be as good as you're capable of making it.

GLA: Concerning your nonfiction interests, what are three topics you would classify as overdone?

DC: For me, execution is everything, so anything handled the right way can still be interesting. We may not have another seafaring story quite so big as The Perfect Storm, but great stories told well, regardless of category, are likely going to find interest. One category that seems especially tough, though, is military memoir regarding Iraq and Afghanistan. 

GLA: What would writers be surprised to know about you?

DC: What a terribly slow reader I am. 

GLA: Best piece(s) of advice we haven’t talked about yet?

DC: It's not advice, really, but perspective: This really is a profoundly subjective business.  Editors and agents respond to what they respond to—not so much to whether there might be a market for something, but whether they themselves are sufficiently moved by something to be the right person to help find that market. There's lots of good writing that doesn't quite light my fire; that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it—it's just that it's not right for me.

7 Things I've Learned So Far is a recurring column where writers at any stage of their career can talk about seven things I've learned on their writing journey that they wish they knew at the beginning. This installment is from Wyoming writer Jessica Zelenko.

Jessica Zelenko is a new writer living
in Jackson Hole, WY, and when she’s not
writing, she’s becoming a badass. See
proof at her Becoming a Badass blog.  

1. Take the leap. You already don’t have an agent or oddles of assignments coming in, so there is no reason for you to fear rejection. You have nothing to lose!

2. Start a blog. If you have a blog, you can direct people to examples of your writing. This is especially helpful if you aren’t published. Plus, do not underestimate the motivation that comes from having an audience. Every time someone tells me they enjoy my blog, I get a body buzz and a renewed desire to write. I’ll do almost anything for a body buzz, excluding most hard drugs. 

3. We must listen to the experts. We need expert advice on grammar, structure, queries, agents, etc. Look to books, websites, and Chuck Sambuchino. The most important advice I've taken to heart is to have a set writing schedule. Everyone recommends it, and if you aren’t writing regularly, you’re probably barely writing. Admit it. Set a schedule. 

4. But we can also blow off the experts. All these great writers like to talk about their desks - like Stephen King in his book On Writing, who makes a desk sound more important than oxygen. I spent months bemoaning my lack of a desk and trying to find one to cram into my tiny room. I felt like a failure. Finally, I realized, I’ve got a lap, a bed, a couch and, gosh darn-it, I’m writing. The details don’t matter; the writing matters.

5. This is supposed to be fun. I write because I enjoy making myself and others giggle. Some people write for catharsis or a love of spreading knowledge. There are a million reasons to write, so acknowledge yours and hold onto the passion. If you just wanted money, you could write living wills or ransom notes. Keep on nurturing your love, and when the rich suits give you a hard time at your high school reunion, just smile smugly, knowing your having a much better time with your life than those drones.

6. Writers' Conferences are worth attending. My first writers' conference was in the middle-of-nowhere Wyoming and I was one of the few people there who didn’t qualify for Social Security. Still, for a flat rate, I got access to a bunch of experts and networked with agents and editors. Go to a conference. You’ll learn and you might make some …

7. ... Writer friends. You can steal all their knowledge over coffee, tea, or whiskey. They will edit for free! They will help keep everything fun, and keep you from the hard drugs procrastinating.


Want more on this subject?

• Want to write a "7 Things" guest column? Write me at literaryagent@fwmedia.com.
• Live out west? Check out my review of the Wyoming Writers' Conference.
  
• 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!

"How I Got My Agent" is a new recurring feature on the GLA blog. I find it fascinating to see the exact road people took that landed them with a rep.  Seeing the things people did right vs. what they did wrong (highs and the lows) can help other scribes who are on the same journey.  Some tales are of long roads and many setbacks, while others are of good luck and quick signings.

This installment of "How I Got
My Agent" is by Marisha Chamberlain.
Marisha is the author of the novel,
The Rose Variations (Soho Press).

 

Sara Crowe, an agent with Harvey Klinger, Inc, recently posted an in-depth post concerning exactly what she looks for in a young adult submission.  Fascinating stuff, considering this is exactly the kind of thing writers need to see to pinpoint the best fits for their work.

Here's some example text from the post: "I am sure I have said in some places that I am not looking for fantasy or historical - but that is not quite true. I don’t rule anything out because its historical or fantastical. Contemporary often speaks more to me because I respond to the realism of that writing, its emotional truth, but when a story is out of this world and fantastical, it can still work for me - as long as I can believe in the characters and the world they are living in."  See the entire post here.

Want more on this topic?

• New agent seeking kids stuff: Teresa Kietlinski of Prospect Agency.
  
• New agent seeking kids stuff: Beth Fleisher of Barry Goldblatt Literary.
  
• New agent seeking kids stuff: Adriana Dominguez of Full Circle Literary.
• 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!