Deep breath in, smooth, controlled breath out. I feel so much better now. Thank you!!!
Ask Jennifer Laughran! Tireless agent-in-residence!
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Deep breath in, smooth, controlled breath out. I feel so much better now. Thank you!!!
Thank you for your reply.
One last question - and I think it's part of every author's hope, hidden in the back of his mind.
What are the chances nowadays of authors getting big advances? I know you mentioned in the thread that the days of the big advances are on the wane, but is it possible to mention some figures? From x amount to y amount? On average, I don't necessarily want specific book genres.
submission guideline confusion (merged with Ms. Laughran's thread)
Hi Jennifer,
I was confused by a part of the online submission guidelines to your agency .
On the website I read "Do include a proper and personalized greeting to the agent you are querying. We tend to ignore letters where this is omitted..." Later it says "...you don't have
to individualize every query, but at least give the illusion of targeting the
particular agent whom you are querying."
Does the proper and personalized greeting mean "Dear Ms. Brown"? Or does it
mean something else? For example why you thought this agent might be a good fit
for your ms?
Thanks!
Hi Jennifer,
I was confused by a part of the online submission guidelines to your agency .
On the website I read "Do include a proper and personalized greeting to the agent you are querying. We tend to ignore letters where this is omitted..." Later it says "...you don't have
to individualize every query, but at least give the illusion of targeting the
particular agent whom you are querying."
Does the proper and personalized greeting mean "Dear Ms. Brown"? Or does it
mean something else? For example why you thought this agent might be a good fit
for your ms?
Thanks!
Jennifer_Laughran
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Jennifer_Laughran
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At LEAST put the agent's name on it -- if you put "dear sirs" or "to whom it may concern" or just nothing, it will look like spam and we'll very likely delete.
If you have a reason for choosing that particular agent, it is nice to put that as well.
Jennifer,
I know this isn't in your wheelhouse, but I'd really like to know your thoughts on this matter.
There's no doubt that the overwhelmingly majority of publishing houses and their editors only work with agents. This is not only common knowledge, but is stated by publishers on their websites. However, the websites of some publishing houses say they will accept submissions directly from writers and then go on to tell you what to send, where to send it, and to whose attention it should be sent. They then go on and direct writers to send what's asked for to either "Submissions" or "Acquisitions". Very, very few tell writers to submit to a specific editor. It seems to me that queries sent to "Submissions" or such will unquestionably go directly into the slush pile, where they could linger forever.
My question: In spite of the above would you suggest that writers research the appropriate editor for their work and submit directly to these individuals, even though the publishers guidelines say these editors will not accept same? Seems like a lose, lose situation to me. Would like to know what you think. Also, would your opinion differ if the submitting writer had in the past been published, and his works were successful (they made money for a publisher)?
Thanks,
Steve
I know this isn't in your wheelhouse, but I'd really like to know your thoughts on this matter.
There's no doubt that the overwhelmingly majority of publishing houses and their editors only work with agents. This is not only common knowledge, but is stated by publishers on their websites. However, the websites of some publishing houses say they will accept submissions directly from writers and then go on to tell you what to send, where to send it, and to whose attention it should be sent. They then go on and direct writers to send what's asked for to either "Submissions" or "Acquisitions". Very, very few tell writers to submit to a specific editor. It seems to me that queries sent to "Submissions" or such will unquestionably go directly into the slush pile, where they could linger forever.
My question: In spite of the above would you suggest that writers research the appropriate editor for their work and submit directly to these individuals, even though the publishers guidelines say these editors will not accept same? Seems like a lose, lose situation to me. Would like to know what you think. Also, would your opinion differ if the submitting writer had in the past been published, and his works were successful (they made money for a publisher)?
Thanks,
Steve
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I'm currently revising what I consider an Edgy-YA, because of the content, but my MC is only 12. The story is about the MC's older sister and her struggle with coming from a multicultural family, but the sister is a junior in HS. It is not what I see as geared for a 9-12 age group, but I'm wondering if I should consider moving the MC's age up a few years. The problem is it wouldn't fit the character's view, i.e. the honesty and how she still looks up to her sister. In today's market, is it a bad idea from the start to have a younger character for a YA?
Jennifer_Laughran
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My suggestion would be that you follow the directions, whatever they may be.
The only exceptions that make sense to me are if you have some sort of relationship with that editor (as in, they'd recognize your name and smile if they heard it), or you query them based on a referral and they've invited you to submit materials, or you've met them at a conference and they've given you a window during which they are accepting materials.
If it is requested material, label it as such. If it is conference material, it is helpful if you also label it as such, with the conference and date. If it is NOT requested, DO NOT PUT "REQUESTED". (Seems obvious, but it happens constantly and is very irritating.)
If you've been well-published in the past, you have relationships with certain editors. You are free to approach them of course, but I wouldn't necessarily expect that other random editors would have heard of you.
If you are a big enough name that if upon hearing it people are likely to exclaim something like "Oh my goodness! I'm such a big fan!", then by all means ignore all the previous advice and pick up the phone, silly.
Jennifer_Laughran
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Do you mean that the story is told from the 1st person POV of the younger sister, but it is ABOUT the older sister? Yeah, that's a little weird. You could make it 3rd person, or you could make them alternate POVs (as in the terrific An Na book WAITING, about an older and younger sister that switches POVs), or you could make the younger sister a little bit older -- but it will be tough to have the central character in a YA be under 12.
Not IMPOSSIBLE i guess if the book is good enough -- but it is rare, for sure.
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If your local library carries Publishers Weekly, you can see some listings of recent sales with $$ ranges for advances.
Jennifer_Laughran
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Actually a much better source is Publishers Marketplace, which is an online service that costs $20 a month. There are dozens of new listings every day, in every genre, with the acquiring editor, imprint and agent listed, and ability to cross-check each of those names. Well worth it if you are actually interested in such matters -- though of course it will only give you the very vaguest idea of what dollar amounts were paid, since most people DON'T list $$ and if they do they do it in a very wide range, and anyway people can say whatever they want on there and it doesn't always reflect reality. And most people only list some of their deals.
(If you want to investigate, you might get your writing group to go in on a subscription together, since you can log in from any computer).
Publishers Weekly is a different kettle of fish altogether. As a weekly trade mag, PW is good for lots of things, but for quantity of deals listed, not so much. Pretty much the most important or unusual deals get listed there, but it is nowhere close to comprehensive.
To the original poster, who might have thought I was blowing him off, I'll be more specific: Good luck, but keep your day job. Even if you work as a shop clerk or a secretary or flipping burgers, you probably make more money per year than most authors do per book advance.
THIS IS NOT A GET-RICH-QUICK SCHEME, FOLKS.
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Hi Jennifer,
I'm writing a YA atm and I'm concerned it will come out a bit short, just over 40k.
I've spoken to two agents, and one told me to just write it while the other expressed a concern that it would be very difficult to sell a book of that length from a debut author.
I'd be very curious as to what you might have to say on the matter. Thanks very much for your time.
I'm writing a YA atm and I'm concerned it will come out a bit short, just over 40k.
I've spoken to two agents, and one told me to just write it while the other expressed a concern that it would be very difficult to sell a book of that length from a debut author.
I'd be very curious as to what you might have to say on the matter. Thanks very much for your time.
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Jennifer_Laughran
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I wouldn't stress it too hard. While that is certainly on the short side, it is not the shortest YA in the world. If it is truly awesome writing, nobody will think twice about it, particularly if it is realistic contemporary. (Fantasy does definitely tend to be longer.)
You might consider going to the Renaissance Learning Bookfinder and plugging in some names of YA books to get an idea of their word count. Certainly books by the likes of Cecil Castellucci and Ron Koertge, to name a couple, are shorter than 40k.
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Heh, well, the "truly awesome writing" bit is the tricky part. That said, thanks very much for your response and for the link. After doing some research I feel a bit relieved. The book is kind of a magically realistic contemporary (I don't think there's enough fantasy for it to qualify as an urban fantasy...) So hopefully I'll be alright. Thanks again!
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Are agents turned off by manuscripts with the same character names as those in well known titles? eg. Edward, Hermione etc? I have an "Ethan" in mine... and with the success of "Beautiful Creatures", I don't know whether I should change it!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Jennifer_Laughran
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In the US, Hermione is a pretty unusual name, and Harry Potter is an unusually popular series. So I probably wouldn't name a main character in a children's book Hermione. (If you are writing a cozy mystery and the character is an 87 year old sleuth with a passion for creme de menthe, go for it).
Names like EDWARD and ETHAN, though, are so ordinary it seems absurd and impossible to keep track of all of them. I would avoid naming a vampire in a teen romance Edward, but if your Edward is the nerdy son of the science professor who can't get a girlfriend, nobody will confuse the two.
Anyway, the names of your characters (much like the title of your book) are just cosmetic and very easily changed. If somebody loves the story, they won't care what you've called the characters.
Hello Jennifer!
I recently submitted a new manuscript to my agent and she 'loved it', but suggested a few changes, like the main characters age and the title. Not that big of a deal. However, she suggested making the character 20 instead of 21 to make it a young adult novel. I saw it more as a science fiction novel since it deals with zombies and necromancers. She then told me that if I made the changes she would try to sell it, sending it out to only five places and then if it didn't sell, she wouldn't pursue it further. Your opinion?
I recently submitted a new manuscript to my agent and she 'loved it', but suggested a few changes, like the main characters age and the title. Not that big of a deal. However, she suggested making the character 20 instead of 21 to make it a young adult novel. I saw it more as a science fiction novel since it deals with zombies and necromancers. She then told me that if I made the changes she would try to sell it, sending it out to only five places and then if it didn't sell, she wouldn't pursue it further. Your opinion?
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Glossary part of manuscript?
Hi Jennifer,
I would like to know if the glossary is counted with the rest of the manuscript when one does a word count? Thanks!
Hi Jennifer,
I would like to know if the glossary is counted with the rest of the manuscript when one does a word count? Thanks!
Two quick questions, and I apologize if they've been asked before. And thanks so much for your help on previous questions.
1. How much can an author expect to earn PER BOOK sale. Are we talking about .10, .50, $1? Just talking about your average struggling author, not the big hitters.
2. What would you consider a good year of sales for a small press for one book, such as a debut novel or early work by an unknown? What would get attention when trying to move up with the second book? $3k? $5k? $7k? for some reason that $7k number sticks in my head.
I don't know if the genre matters, but I'm talking primarily adult here, somewhere in the speculative arenas - fantasy, SF, horror, noir, thrillers, etc.
Thanks so much. Happy New Year.
Peace,
Richard
1. How much can an author expect to earn PER BOOK sale. Are we talking about .10, .50, $1? Just talking about your average struggling author, not the big hitters.
2. What would you consider a good year of sales for a small press for one book, such as a debut novel or early work by an unknown? What would get attention when trying to move up with the second book? $3k? $5k? $7k? for some reason that $7k number sticks in my head.
I don't know if the genre matters, but I'm talking primarily adult here, somewhere in the speculative arenas - fantasy, SF, horror, noir, thrillers, etc.
Thanks so much. Happy New Year.
Peace,
Richard
Jennifer_Laughran
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I think I might be reading this wrong. She asked you for changes. Then she said that if you MADE the changes, she'd only send it out to five places? What would happen if you DIDN'T make the changes?
Clarify, and then I will answer.
Jennifer_Laughran
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I would say not. Glossary and index and the like are "backmatter", not the actual text. (Though different people might have different opinions about this, and when you actually get a publisher they MIGHT count it, for querying purposes let's say that it doesn't count).
I can't see that it could possibly make that much a difference either way though, could it? Unless your idea of "glossary" is somebody else's idea of "dictionary"...
Jennifer_Laughran
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1. It totally depends on your contract. I'd say that in general at a major publisher, for a hardback, you'll get 10%-12.5% of the retail price of the book. For a paperback, 6-7% of the retail price. You can do the math. Obviously that sum per unit sold goes to pay back your advance, then once it is paid back, that is what you get.
Small publishers all vary and I have not much experience with them, so I would hesitate to hazard a guess. I will say that small pub royalties are very often based on NET rather than retail price, which means that they can be quite a bit lower.
2. I assume you mean 3 to 7 thousand units sold, not dollar amount, though you put dollar signs? I think whether that is impressive or not kind of depends on HOW small a press, and how many copies they printed to begin with. But again, I know very little about how small presses operate AND I have no experience whatsoever in the genres you describe -- I believe that there is a section of this board that is suited for these types of questions, no?
Hi Jennifer,
I know it's important for writers to have an online presence and I've read lots of advice warning against that presence being a negative one. I'm a writer, looking for an agent, but I also have a blog where I review books. If I write a negative review, could that potentially hurt my image/publicity/desirability-as-an-author later on down the road?
As a purely hypothetical/over-exaggerated example: If I write a negative review of Twilight, will an agent frown on that because now I can never get Stephenie Meyer to blurb my book?
Thanks so much for taking time to answer questions!
I know it's important for writers to have an online presence and I've read lots of advice warning against that presence being a negative one. I'm a writer, looking for an agent, but I also have a blog where I review books. If I write a negative review, could that potentially hurt my image/publicity/desirability-as-an-author later on down the road?
As a purely hypothetical/over-exaggerated example: If I write a negative review of Twilight, will an agent frown on that because now I can never get Stephenie Meyer to blurb my book?
Thanks so much for taking time to answer questions!
Hello and Happy New Year to all. I haven't been on the water cooler in a while and to be honest I haven't been writing a thing (and man do I need to do that!) Anyway, a quick question;
Is there still a market for the old adventure stories from the turn of the century? H. Rider Haggard, Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling....I've recently picked up King Solomans Mines (haven't read it since I was a kid) and I can't help but be inspired; and with the upcoming release of Sherlock Holmes I wonder if it may explode into a new market, bringing new readers to a (what I think) fantastic form of writing. I only ask because I could really get into a story in the African jungles, a few tribes, maybe a dashing (and quite dapper) lead. I know it could easily wander into the realm of cliche, and perhaps already has, but I'm just curious. Anyway, thanks for the help.
Is there still a market for the old adventure stories from the turn of the century? H. Rider Haggard, Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling....I've recently picked up King Solomans Mines (haven't read it since I was a kid) and I can't help but be inspired; and with the upcoming release of Sherlock Holmes I wonder if it may explode into a new market, bringing new readers to a (what I think) fantastic form of writing. I only ask because I could really get into a story in the African jungles, a few tribes, maybe a dashing (and quite dapper) lead. I know it could easily wander into the realm of cliche, and perhaps already has, but I'm just curious. Anyway, thanks for the help.
Jennifer_Laughran
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I would suggest that you be as kind, thoughtful and generous in your online presence as you wish people to be with you. Though slams on a book can certainly be funny, I can't explain how hurtful you will find needlessly cruel, thoughtless reviews of of your own work when it is published -- and they will come. Why be "that guy", you know?
And the online author world is already cliquish and can be gossipy - If I were a new author, I'd want to make friends but stay above the fray. Don't get involved in drama - keep your reputation golden and your attitude positive. Sounds Pollyanna-ish, but whatever. Those online friends you make can become some of your biggest supporters down the line.
That is not to say you can't review books, but I personally prefer the idea of "recommending" books - reviewing books that you LIKE rather than ones that you hate, particularly in public posts.
If you are going to go negative, consider making it criticism of an aspect of BOOKS IN GENERAL that you don't like without calling the book out specifically: "I was reading a book that shall remain nameless the other day that included something that drives me crazy - talking inanimate objects. I don't find this cute. My ashtray or coffeemug should never dance, people!"
Or if you must name the book, make sure it is a thoughtful review and constructive rather than destructive. Mention things you like as well as what is less successful, rather than just going negative for laughs.
It's just good karma.
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