The Gatekeepers: Agents & Editors

What are your writing goals this year?

When we posed the question on Facebook, the majority of you chimed in with either acquiring a literary agent for your work or getting published—whether a book, screenplay, short story, or article. Some had lofty goals, such as getting published in The New Yorker or snagging literary agent Janet Reid for a crime novel, while others focused on the essentials, such as writing every day or finding publications that pay. No matter the specific goal, it’s exciting that we are all on the same journey to our ultimate destination—publication. 

As writers with the goal of publication, we are going to meet various gatekeepers along our journey. And I just love that word—gatekeepers—like we need a term to make agents and editors more frightening than they already are! Yes, the gatekeepers are scary at first because they seemingly hold so much power; but once they grant you access, they become your allies and mentors. An editor can provide you with a steady stream of income, and garnering a literary agent is like having a fairy godmother for life! Who doesn’t want that?

I know you’re with me; so how do we get these gatekeepers to relinquish their keys to the kingdom? That’s what we’re covering in this issue! From best practices to agent- and market-specific advice, we chat with a variety of experts to help you on your journey. Learn how to win over literary agents, impress editors, and even sell your manuscript directly to a publisher without an agent. Join us for intimate interviews with agents, editors, and publishers actively seeking your next project. Let’s get published in 2013!

A big, warm thank you goes to our freelancers and staff members:

One of the questions we get a lot from writers new to the industry is: “Do I need a literary agent?” In order to answer that correctly, it would be helpful for us to understand what type of project you are working on and what your ultimate publication goals are. If your goal is publication by one of the Big Six publishing houses, then most likely, yes, you would probably need a literary agent. But first, and since we can’t respond to everyone individually, it might be helpful to you to understand what an agent does. We welcome back freelancer Kerrie Flanagan and thank her for answering that question in her article, So, What Does a Literary Agent Do? Kerrie chats with literary agents Jessica Regel and Elizabeth Evans—both with the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency—and Kristina Holmes, founder and president of The Holmes Agency, who share not only what they do, but also specific insight to their success. Included is a sidebar of tips to finding the right literary agent for you. And contrary to popular belief, they don’t spend all day at the office reading books!

Boy, do we have a riveting conversation for you! We welcome back freelancer C. Hope Clark and thank her for this intimate, insightful, and often humorous interview with literary agent Jessica Sinsheimer of the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency. Jessica chats about meeting writers at conferences, her work at the agency, her turn-offs, keeping up with editors’ needs, and much more. She’s very personable and witty! You will find yourself laughing along with her. Not to miss!

Devon Ellington worked as an assistant at a publishing company, reading submissions that came in over the transom. As the first step in wading through the slush pile, the editorial director told her what she needed to look for before a submission package could take the next step, which was either another read over by an associate or a pitch to the appropriate editor. Wonder what she was told to look for? We welcome back freelancer Devon and thank her for her article, Impressing the Gatekeepers. If you’re getting ready to submit your manuscript, read this article to make sure you aren’t making these mistakes! Devon also chats with Jessica Faust, literary agent and owner of BookEnds, LLC; Heather Osborn, editorial director of Samhain Publishing; and Stephany Evans, literary agent and president of FinePrint Literary Management, who share their best advice on submissions. Included is a helpful section on cover letters!   

If you are a romance writer, you are in for a treat. WOW columnist LuAnn Schindler caught up with executive editor at Avon/Morrow, Lucia Macro, for a phone chat in her article, Avon Impulse: Bringing E-Romances into Readers' Hearts—A Chat with Editor Lucia Macro. Lucia oversees the HarperCollins romance imprint’s digital-first line, Avon Impulse—and this imprint is prolific! Publishing two books weekly, Lucia is always on the lookout for great manuscripts. Find out what she’s looking for and what trends are sweeping today’s romance genre.

Not all of us have a finished book that we are ready to shop around—yet. And for some of us, a book may not be in our overall game plan, but a story or essay might. When I received a connection request from Marcelle Soviero on LinkedIn, I checked out her profile and links—like I do with all requests—and was so inspired by her story that I asked if she’d be interested in an interview. When she said yes, I asked WOW’s columnist and editor Margo L. Dill to interview her because I knew they’d have a lot in common as mothers and writers. In The New Yorker for Mothers: An Interview with Marcelle Soviero, Editor-in-Chief, Brain, Child Magazine, these two ladies chat about Marcelle’s new position as executive editor, what type of articles this mag on motherhood publishes (and no, it’s not diaper roundups!), and the exciting new features in store for the publication. Marcelle is a real go-getter and a passionate creative with a strong vision. She’s definitely the editor to watch this year!

When WOW blogger Elizabeth King Humphrey asked me about interviewing her friend who started her own agency last year for The Muffin, I read her friend’s bio and immediately asked her to interview her for the e-zine instead! In Passionate About Books and Authors: 20 Questions Answered by Literary Agent Lisa Leshne, Owner of The Leshne Agency, Lisa chats about how she went from working in the publishing industry for twenty years, including as an agent for LJK Literary and founding a newspaper in Prague that still publishes today, to starting her own agency and signing on clients like blogger Jill Smokler, whose Confessions of a Scary Mommy became a New York Times bestseller. Lisa also shares what she’s looking for, why it’s important to have a platform, what she means by narrative and prescriptive nonfiction, and her biggest pet peeves in query letters. If you have a memoir or nonfiction book that you are seeking representation for, or even a commercial fiction, young adult, or middle-grade book, Lisa’s agency may be the perfect fit for you!

As you can see, there are many types of gatekeepers you will run into along your journey, but who exactly are they and what are the secrets for acquiring a key to each gate? In this month’s Freelancer’s Corner column, The Gatekeepers: A Guide to the Deciders on Your Writing Journey, Allena Tapia breaks it down into categories for freelance writers and authors. She shares some gatekeepers you may never have thought of, including clients, digital gates, and beta readers. And more importantly, she shares her expert advice on how to open doors.

Remember how I mentioned earlier that one of the questions we often receive from writers new to the industry is whether or not you need a literary agent for your book? And I said that if you were aiming for the Big Six then you probably needed one? Well, there are exceptions to every rule! We welcome freelancer Rachel Eddey to the WOW! family, and thank her for her article, How to Sell Your Manuscript Without an Agent. Rachel had three agents try to sell her memoir with no luck for over two and a half years. She was about to throw in the towel, but decided to represent herself before shelving the project—and it sold in fifteen days! Find out how she did it—and exactly what she wrote in her query and follow up—and how other writers did it, including an author who landed a Big Six publisher and a generous advance! Thank you to her experts—Christine Clifford, author of the bestselling Not Now . . . I’m Having a No Hair Day; Janice Booth, author of Only Pack What You Can Carry; and Erin Lale, editor of Eternal Press and Damnation Books—for sharing their best advice!

Do you have a children’s or young adult manuscript you are looking to publish? Then Krissy Brady’s markets column, Small Presses Seeking Childrens' and Young Adult Manuscripts, is for you. And you don’t need an agent for these publishers! Learn how to pitch to Dawn Publications, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Flashlight Press, Immedium, and Scarletta Press.

And finally, I’d like to thank WOW’s editor, Margo L. Dill, for working on this issue throughout the holiday season! I’d also like to thank her for being the guinea pig in our new webinar project. If you missed her fabulous class on Show vs. Tell and Overwriting, you can find a link to it here.

Cheers to new adventures, productivity, and success in publishing in 2013!