Laura Novak
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Top of the Pack

3/16/2012

 
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I said I would write a bit about my experiences with literary agents. Here is the first one that is worth noting:

A few years ago a friend who is in the publishing industry allowed me to use her name in the subject line of a query email to one of the largest agents in the land. I don’t mean to say that this woman agent is fat, just that her agency employed other agents and that her reputation is larger than life. She is/was famous, infamous, legendary, notorious, wildly successful, and a mentor to many agents who followed in her footsteps.

The agency loved my pitch and wanted a few pages of Finding Clarity. I was thrilled. What followed was the typical dance:  they wanted a few chapters, then 100 pages, and evidence of my “platform” including many of my New York Times articles.

When the agency then asked for the synopsis of my next Clari Drake novel, my cup runneth’ed over. I worked hard studying the style of writing required for synopses. I provided the agent with one, followed by the first 100 pages of this second WIP (work in progress.) My writer friends were as excited as I was. This agent was, after all, all powerful.

Then one day she asked me for a revision of Finding Clarity. She had read the entire thing, and loved it, but wanted a few scenes moved up. She didn’t like a certain chapter and wanted it cut out, which meant finessing other plot points. Could I do these two things? Why certainly, anything to get representation from Her Largeness.

I cut 30,000 words out of my manuscript and turned the work around in two weeks. I cleared by calendar and went off line in order to accomplish this.

She confirmed that she got my revision. Then the love stopped.

Months went by and my emails were returned with breathless news of all the conferences Large Agent was busy attending. Why, I was sitting right here, writing away in Berkeley! Why wasn’t she ready to sign me?

Then one day I turned to my husband while we were knee deep in the ocean on a family vacation and I said, “She’s blowing me off, isn’t she?”

“Ah, yup,” he replied. “’Fraid so.”

My friend who allowed me to use her name was furious. A phone call was in order. I should have had a signed contract much earlier in this negotiation. But the agent had stopped responding to my attempts to reach her.

Then one day I got an email. It was 4:55pm on a Friday, that magical time for a “clearing out an inbox” email. She said, and I quote, that I “did not rise to the top of the pack.”  The agent who had asked for more and more and more from me, revisions, sections of the new book, proof of my excellent work as a New York Times reporter, decided, after EIGHT months, that I was little more than a canine metaphor.

Then she ended with this: “But if no one else wants you, let me know.”

I didn’t say Fuck You, which would have showed more class than she deserved. Instead, with my dyed-in-the-wool New England sensibilities and manners, I wrote back and thanked her for her time and attention over the past EIGHT months. I then had the temerity to ask for her evaluation or opinion of the revision that I knocked out for her! She never even gave me the courtesy of a reply.

Fast forward a year. A writer friend met the agent in a bar during a conference. The agent nervously confided that her income had dropped by 75% in the past year. Yes, she was taking home one one-fourth of what she previously had.

Well, anyone who takes EIGHT months to make a decision, anyone who is that ineffective, rude and sloppy deserves to make a quarter of their income. I laughed out loud when I heard that. In the time Large Agent spent jerking me around, she might have sold my book to a publisher.

Note to her: Finding Clarity has done very well on Amazon. I’ve had thousands upon thousands of books downloaded. I’ve even reached #16 in comic fiction and women sleuths at certain points. Her loss. 

Adapt or die. That’s what’s going on in the publishing world and that’s precisely what I am doing. I am in charge of my destiny, no matter how indie or low-key it might be.

I don’t think about this agent or her actions more than maybe once a year, and that is only when prompted. She might well have made the right choice about me. She might indeed have known what she was doing. But sometimes it’s all in the swing, rather in whether or not you hit the ball. Her mode of doing business was not mine. And it never will be.

I understand now that Famous Agent actually did me a huge favor, but I can’t resist this final, churlish and childish retort:  don’t let the dog bite you in the butt on your way out of business. Top of the pack indeed.


Laura Resnick link
3/16/2012 05:05:18 am

"I understand now that Famous Agent actually did me a huge favor, but I can’t resist this final, churlish and childish retort: don’t let the dog bite you in the butt on your way out of business."

Indeed. And the thing is--as is finally becoming a little better known by now, I think--stories like yours are very, very common.

Agents these days are complaining about their income going down (just like the agent you describe), how hard it is to make a living these days, why they "have to" completely toss ethics overboard and engage in conflict-of-interest practices (such as becoming their clients’ publishers =as well as= their agents), etc... while meanwhile not only routinely doing exactly what you've described, but also LETTING GO OF steadily-working, under-contract clients who are longtime working pros... because those clients want them to send out a MS (how arduous! how unheard of!) or answer their phone calls--or answer their -editor's- phone calls.

I started my career without a literary agent; after I’d made a bunch of book sales on my own, I worked with four different agents over a period of years; then five years ago, I started coming to grips with just how prohibitively flawed the agent-author business model is, and I ceased working with agents—which turned out to be one of the best business decisions I’ve ever made (probably –the- best, all things considered, since I’m very skeptical that I’d still even –have- a career now if I hadn’t shed agents from my business model at that point). Over the years, agents only represented 7 of my 35 book sales; and in 2 of those instances, “represented” is a pretty expansive description of the role the agent took. Nonetheless, I wound up having to pay commission in half a dozen other sales, since agents tends to insist on getting 15% of the client’s earnings even if they have nothing to do with the sale (indeed, even if the sale was based on work the agent had specifically declined to handle)—so agents were also very EXPENSIVE for me.

The eye-opener for me was doing the math one day and realizing how many of my book sales (at least 9) were specifically with projects that every agent who saw them (those who represented me or those whom I queried) declared unmarketable, and that most of my other sales over the years arose from relationships established by selling those 9 books. IOW, I would not HAVE a career at ALL if I had ever listened to the advice of literary agents, whether it was my own agents or the agents whom I queried.

Laura Novak
3/16/2012 05:30:06 am

Laura Resnick, Wow! What a fascinating and disturbing story. It's troopers like you who had to live through such inexcusable behavior from these agents in order for newbies like me to fly on our own with only a few scratches. I am SO sorry to hear that you went through all of that. But I am in awe of your productivity and ability to turn out such an expansive oeuvre. Thank you for writing here. I'll let those who wondered about my experiences with prospective agents know that you've got one helluva story to tell. And I wish you nothing but great success!!

Carolyn Jewel link
3/16/2012 06:13:22 am

I once got a rejection from an agent 9 months after my query. He regretted his inability to offer representation, but that genre wasn't selling. In the 9 mos that had passed, I'd secured an agent who sold my book at auction. 'Nuff said.

Laura Novak
3/16/2012 06:41:28 am

...and well said, Carolyn. Glad you got the last laugh!!

Mitzi Flyte/Macie Carter
3/16/2012 06:56:21 am

Laura:
This post is one of the reasons (add "editor" to the "agent") why I'll be self-publishing.

Barbara Alfaro link
3/16/2012 07:34:41 am

Laura, A terrific post! The days of saying one is a self-published or indie author in a low voice are long gone. And your success with one of my favorite books, Finding Clarity, proves it.

Beverly C. Gray
3/16/2012 08:39:37 am

After many years of working my book through two failed publishers, I finally had an agent respond with a rather gushy "I love your story, I love your style, I love..." you get the idea. After my little flurry of elation, I read the rest of the email. "However, I think you should rewrite the books from the point of view of the women and make them historical romances instead of historical fiction. They'll be far more commercial." Oookaaay. Thought about that for several months and came to the conclusion that, no, the way I wrote it the first time is the way I want it to be. Then I came across Michael Allen's article "On Survival of Rats in the Slushpile". That epiphany along with the advent of eBooks helped me take a deep breath and then take charge of my destiny. The first five books in the series have been out about two months and the response has been positive. I haven't decided yet, however, if I'm part of a natural evolution or a spinning revolution. Either way, it's awfully nice to write the books I want to write and not worry about appeasing a legacy professional. All I have to do is make my readers happy and that seems to be the case so far. Thanks Laura, a very nice post.

Rolando link
3/16/2012 08:46:35 am

Excellent! The times when agents treated authors like doormats will soon be gone. These are the stories that everyone who is considering publishing has to hear!

sunny link
3/16/2012 09:42:18 am

I remember when you were going through this difficult disappointment, Laura, and am so pleased that you are sharing it with the world. The unprofessional way you were treated deserves exposure.

Adding insult to injury for those of us wishing to find an agent or traditional publisher for all or some of our work is the fact that we're at the mercy of one person's opinion. One person (who may have a headache the day they look at our manuscript. Or who might have just had a fight with her/his spouse or who is so sick of reading sub-standard work that everything looks that way to their weary eyes, etc.) One person's opinion.

And we get our hopes up so high...like you, we revise and revise and toss out characters and introduce new ones...all in an attempt to get acceptance from that one person. It is a kind of torture, especially to creative souls who simply want to write quality work for readers who will enjoy it.

You've chosen an excellent path, Laura. Straight to the reader, no middle person to muck it all up. And I'm thrilled that Finding Clarity is finding such success. Good for you! Two thumbs up!

Laura Novak
3/16/2012 09:49:54 am

Rolando and Sunny, You are two of my favorite authors who shared their work on Scribd and joined what Beverly has so eloquently called here either the evolution or the revolution on Amazon! Beverly, I love your story and Iove even more that you prevailed. As Sunny points out, we are at the mercy of a human who might turn us down for any irrational reason. Or rather we WERE. Now, especially those of us who have found fortitude above 40! ...we are taking it to the streets and to the pages of Amazon and we're making it happen. And we're doing it our own way in our own time. Will it last? Is is perfect? Who knows and maybe not. But between this famous agent and a few other lesser known fools, it was time to take the reins. And I am so very glad I did. Thank you for sharing your story, Beverly. And for weighing in Rolando and Sunny!

Barbara Alfaro link
3/16/2012 10:54:00 am

Laura, I had a very similar experience, only with a play publisher, one of the biggest on the planet earth. They loved my collection of ten-minute comedies and were considering publishing them but asked if could I add several more to the collection. I did. I was on cloud nine. Months pass. The editor writes me that at a recent meeting they decided against publishing my plays. This editor said she didn't agree with their decision but there was nothing she could do about it. I was devastated. But this one experience was the turning point for me -- I thought screw it, I'll publish the plays myself. And I did, first on Scribd and then on Kindle. And that is how Auntie Barbara became an indie author!

Ottoline
3/16/2012 11:02:58 am

My experience is that I wrote 25 query letters with enclosed stamped self-addressed postcards with two checkboxes: to say YES ("I'd like to know more") and NO ("no interest"). i got back three YES cards and 12 NOs. Then I got a phone call from a New York agent, who had represented George Plimpton, so I swooned and signed. She did a good job of sending my book around, I thought. But not having a "platform" (for selling) and not wanting to develop one was not my main deficit: it was clear that my book was in too tiny a niche.

This agent got a sr editor at Rizzoli to look at my proposal package, and he wrote me a NICE letter telling me that my niche was indeed small, and that furthermore my "belles lettres" approach (his term, which surprised me, but yes, it IS a book to be read and not just a picture book) does not sell. In this genre, only "how-to" and picture books sell. His opinion.

Then my nice agent died.

My book is an anthology of 55 people (mostly professional artists in a variety of fields) discussing the all-white garden each one has created or observed. (Diana Vreeland describes a Mediterranean white garden that also contained about 50 beautiful but vicious white peacocks! as an example. [The peacocks did not survive WWII -- they were probably eaten.]) Each piece contains photos or graphics giving a visual account of the garden to accompany the text. This is the book I looked all over to buy when I started my first all-white garden 30 yrs ago (in the most idiotic way imaginable), but no such book existed then or now. Can you imagine how uninterested I am in a pathetic beginner's how-to approach, advising beginners as dense and pig-headed as I was upon starting?

The Rizzoli man's letter really helped me because the scales fell from my eyes and I realized I didn't care about selling a lot of copies. My day job would always remain a better source of income than the speculative writer's life, Joe McGinniss notwithstanding. I just wanted my collection of white gardens to be out there for the very few people in the world who might be interested. I want full control: that means being able to do a rev ed whenever I want; not turning it into a concept that bores me; retaining the copyright; being able to use good paper and full color even if that brings the cost up. An ebook would be way cheaper than color printing.

POD is for me, too: I do not want a garage-full of books.

Yes we are at the beginning of a new era where niches can be cultivated and writers can retain control. I love it.

Thank you all for your truly fascinating stories -- esp fascinating to one who hopes to join you in those particular trenches.

TK Kenyon link
3/16/2012 10:17:28 pm

Great post. I tweeted it for you!

Sorry about that terrible experience. You deserve your success!

TK

Laura Novak
3/17/2012 02:38:56 am

Thank you, TK, for the tweet and sentiments. There are, believe it or not, a few other "bad agent" stories which I might write about, though it's hard to muster too much more energy for these bad seeds!

Ottoline, thank you for sharing YOUR story here. DO indeed let us know when your Vita Sackville West (???) white garden book is done. It takes years for us to figure out that someone else doesn't have to control our destiny. And when that "clarity" comes our way, as it did you, Barbara, the joy, the success, the pitfalls...they all become gladly ours! Thank you ALL for weighing in!

Ottoline
3/17/2012 03:13:50 am

Thanks Laura. VS-W created a gorgeous one that is prob the most famous, but she was not the first. She was surely aware of, but never acknowledged, her neighbor's white garden, created at Hidcote before hers by an American! Even that was not the first.

Nathan Bransford link
3/19/2012 01:49:07 am

I definitely sympathize with the pain of waiting but also feel like the aggression here may be misplaced. Agents who take a long time to respond may well be lazy - or they could be working extremely hard on their existing clients and projects and aren't in a position to spend time on projects that they aren't 11% passionate about. Laziness certainly exists in every industry, but the overwhelming likelihood is that the agent is doing their very best in a very tough business.

I think it's fantastic that people who don't like the waiting and the rejection involved in seeking traditional publication have another avenue at their disposal. It's good for everyone. But I don't think that the frustration with the other process should be channeled into anger at the people in the traditional world who are just doing their jobs.

It's absolutely frustrating to have to wait a very long time for a rejection. But it's not personal. Every single person who queries that agent thinks it's their book that's going to rocket that agent (and themselves) to fame and fortune. Agents just have to do their best to find the projects they believe in.

Nathan Bransford link
3/19/2012 01:50:11 am

Er, *110% passionate.

Ottoline
3/19/2012 10:52:20 am

LoL! I liked 11%! That's as much passion as I would expect for my work from any agent.

Reminds me of the unit of measure called the mili-Helen. Enough beauty to launch one ship.

Laura Novak
3/19/2012 11:18:41 am

Ah yes, Ottoline. Ditto. New related post going up. Do check in tomorrow. And the Mili-Helen. That's a new one. Mind if I borrow it?

Ottoline
3/20/2012 01:07:49 am

WHAT?!? You want to borrow my last remaining mili-Helen? Oh, okay. I wasn't using it that much anyway.

Laura Novak
3/20/2012 01:26:46 am

New post up, Otto. Feel free to weigh in with your usual feisty spirit!

ares free link
10/6/2012 03:20:05 am

Found this blog from Weebly's index, nice!


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    Laura Novak

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