Agent Stories - Sterling Lord

In this week's Publisher's Weekly, acclaimed literary agent Sterling Lord describes his efforts to sell Jack Kerouac's ON THE ROAD. The article is adapted from Lord's forthcoming book, HARD WORK AND GOOD LUCK (Public Affairs, 2008).

Agent Stories - Cameron McClure

Got a new agent story in from Cameron McClure at the Donald Maass Agency, aka Book Cannibal.

Shadow of the Raven by David Sundstrand wasn’t the first book I sold, but it was the first book I went on submission with. As a new agent, going on submission with your first project is simultaneously thrilling and demoralizing. You don’t know many editors (at least not that many editors who can actually buy books from you – all those editorial assistants you met at Happy Hour aren’t always helpful) so inevitably, you end up making some cold calls. I tried to channel that summer I spent selling Cutco – if I can sell a knife, I call sell a book! – but those tips were useless. The truth is, as an agent, all you’ve got is your list and your reputation. I once read that the most important thing in publishing is your memory. List, reputation, memory: none of these help a new agent. For a new agent, enthusiasm is key.

David was also the first client I took on. I found him in the slush pile when I was working as an assistant for Curtis Brown. David had queried my old boss because she represents Tony Hillerman, and Tony Hillerman had read his book and given him a nice blurb. Also, Shadow is similar to his books in many ways – it’s a mystery set in the Southwest (the Mojave Desert, to be exact), has a protagonist who's part Native American, and is written with such a strong sense of atmosphere that the setting is almost a character too. I read the book and thought it had a lot of potential, but couldn't get my old boss very excited about it. She was (and undoubtedly still is) extremely busy, and past the point in her career where she needs to take chances on first time authors. Nevertheless, I kept encouraging David, and I remember this being a rather frustrating time for both of us: he kept waiting and waiting, pacing a “trail of tears” back and forth from his mail box, and I was antsy as all hell to begin taking on clients.

Right before I left Curtis Brown for the Donald Maass Literary Agency, I called David to let him know, and he asked if he could submit the novel to me there. He did, and after some editorial work I signed him up and began submitting the book to editors. I'm a stubborn person, and this trait has served me well as an agent. Despite lukewarm responses, I firmly believed that given a chance, Shadow of the Raven (then saddled with the unfortunate title The Last Jackalope) would be embraced by readers. I had some close calls, but it took nearly a year before I received an offer from Thomas Dunne Books. The book was just published in February, and while it's too soon to tell how the novel is doing, the positive reviews have been very encouraging, as have the turn-out and book sales resulting from David's regional book tour.

We all hear a lot of stories about these huge multi-million dollar book deals - or at the very least, deals for high six figures. Obviously, this isn’t one of those stories. Most writers don’t get to name their price, or choose between six warring publishers, or buy a summer home with their signing payment. Most begin modestly, and with a lot of talent, even more hard work, and a little bit of luck, get bigger and bigger. And frankly, I find just as much inspiration in their stories.

Agent Stories - Nathan Bransford

Next up to bat is Nathan Bransford from Curtis Brown, Ltd.

Jonathan was kind enough to ask me to post a guest blog, and he didn't even rub it in that his beloved Spurs won yet another NBA championship this year while my favorite team (the Sacramento Kings) just hired the guy who played Coach Fuller on NBC's teen sitcom Hang Time, in which a co-ed team of misfits did not miss a shot the entire season on the way to the State Championship. Yes, this is true, and no, I couldn't be more depressed.

But, much like Coach Fuller, I too have determination and perseverance (how about that segue!). I am willing to go the distance, swing for the fences, shoot for par, and basically embody every other sports metaphor you can possibly come up with. And that is because if there is thing I've learned about publishing, it's this: You Never Know.

We really do try to add as much objectivity and science into the submission process through networking, our experience and the reputation of our agencies, but at the end of the day, you never know. When it comes down to it, this is a subjective business, and when tastes within the industry vary so greatly, it's impossible to predict exactly what's going to happen.

One time I submitted a really great proposal to multiple editors, and for some reason... it just wasn't selling. I went down my submission list, editors liked it and took it to editorial board meetings... but it just wasn't selling. Still though, I wasn't ready to throw in the towel (another sports metaphor! I have more...)

Then, nearly six months after I first started submitting it, out of the blue I heard from a really great editor from a really great house, and he wanted to buy it. And the next day I heard from another editor... he wanted to buy it too. The very patient author ended up getting a great deal.

So I always go the distance. You just never know if an offer will snap people into action, or if a small house will be the right fit for an author and do a great job, or if someone will hear about the proposal and want to see it. Sure, there's a whole lot of time that goes into submissions, and it's possible expenses will never be recouped, but I try not to think about that and just hope for the best. Because you never know.

Check out Nathan's fantastic blog!

Agent Stories - Ted Weinstein

Ted Weinstein of Ted Weinstein Literary Management is leading us off in the "Agent Stories" series.

Once upon a time there was a talented graphic designer and business consultant who made a career out of using visual thinking techniques to help companies as wide-ranging and successful as Wells Fargo, Wal-Mart, Sun Microsystems and eBay solve their business challenges. He wanted to teach his techniques to many more people and decided that a book would be the right tool.

Although momentarily dazzled by the idea of working with a "name" literary agent, he took the advice of his former colleague, the legendary designer Roger Black, and signed instead with an agent who instantly understood his unique insights and had passion and creative ideas for how to package them into a book.

The initial proposal and its author wowed editors at every major business imprint, but all were fearful of the cost of producing a four-color illustrated book and rejected the project. Crestfallen, the author and his agent had long discussions about whether self-publishing would be the right approach or if a book just wasn't meant to be. But rather than letting the author give up or head down a path fraught with great expense and risk, the agent spent many months helping him rework his ideas and develop a new proposal for a book that conveyed the same uncommon insights and techniques in a format closer to what traditional business book imprints are comfortable publishing.

The revised proposal generated even more excitement and led to a whirlwind tour for the author to meet with editors at major publishers on the East and West coasts. The agent held a lively auction and the book sold for six figures to one of the world's leading business book publishers. Next Spring, literary agent Ted Weinstein recommends you pick up a copy of "The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems with Pictures," by Dan Roam, published by Penguin Portfolio.

http://www.digitalroam.com/
http://www.twliterary.com/