So, I’m heading out to Reno tomorrow, which almost sounds like an old Glenn Campbell song or something, doesn’t it? But before I go, I thought I’d announce our end of summer contest, which is open as of now!
Let’s call it a Core Concept Contest. In other words, for those of you brave enough to post your one line pitch, then you can enter the drawing for a three chapter critique at the end of August. We’re going to pick THREE winners on this one, drawn at random from the list of participants, but here’s the catch: you have to be willing to let the blog visitors critique your one-liner. Game? Then start posting. We can consider it a kind of pitching clinic as we work together to refine your short presentation for agents and editors.
This time, however, let me assign the numbers. It became quite confusing on the last contest, so I think it will work best that way.
So, to outline the guidelines, here you go:
1) Three winners will be drawn from random, and to enter you must post your one line pitch. 2) You have to be willing to let all of us discuss your pitch and critique it together. 3) The contest will run until August 31st. 4) You have to be a regular blog visitor. 5) The prize will be a critique of three chapters by Deidre Knight. 6) Have fun!
Julie emailed me earlier today, and she's been quite busy lately, so hadn't heard the news. She has generously requested that I redraw because she as an agent appointment with Pamela Harty at the conference, and wanted give someone else an opportunity. Thank you, Julie! You're terrific.
I will go and use the random number generator and be back in a few with our drinks date for Saturday at 5 pm! Deidre
I’m sure many of you are packed and eager for RWA National conference to begin. I’m equally sure the rest of you are wringing your hands in nervousness, visions of disaster dancing in your head. Well, take a deep breath. Now slowly let it out. Everything is going to be okay. Think of it this way: you’ll soon be surrounded by women who know and understand what it’s like to have conversations with fictional characters. Even better, these women won’t think you need to be committed.
Did I forget to mention you’ll get tons of free books?
Let’s get back to the nervous thing, though. Some of you are still pacing, and I bet I can guess why. You have an editor/agent appointment, right? Maybe I can help calm your nerves by disproving a few myths.
1) Editors are the spawn of Satan and want only to dash your hopes and dreams. Actually, editors want to discover new talent. They love books. Otherwise they wouldn’t be in this business. When their authors do well, they do well. They aren’t out to get you, ruin you, or destroy you. Promise! Their goal is to find books that appeal to them and that they think will appeal to others.
2) If Jane Doe Editor hates my pitch, then it (and my book!) must suck the big one! Not true. Writing and story preferences are subjective. What one editor hates, another may love. This was the case with the first book I sold, The Stone Prince. What would have happened if I’d given up because the first editor didn’t like it?
3) If I do something stupid, like walk out of the bathroom with my skirt tucked in my hose, I’ll be a laughingstock. Sorry, but I can’t help you with this one. I’ll be laughing – probably rolling on the floor with the rest of the conference attendees. Just know that stuff like that has happened to all of us. (I’m guilty of walking around with toilet paper on my shoe, falling on my face, having food stuck in my teeth, and so many other things.) And hey, that might be an excellent -- and more importantly *unforgettable* -- opening for your pitch session…”So, did you see my granny-panty covered ass earlier?”
4) If I take my manuscript with me and personally hand it to the editor, I’ll have a better chance of being read. Nope. Sorry. This is likely to impact your meeting in a negative way. Think about it. Editors have to lug around a lot of stuff at these conferences. They don’t need one more thing. Plus, policy states you are supposed to mail it in. If you hand it to them during your pitch, you are showing you don’t follow procedure.
5) This pitch session will absolutely, unequivocally make or break my career. My response to this is twofold. Have sales resulted from pitch sessions? Yes. Is it the norm? No. Try to think of this as networking, of making a contact. Remember -- the editor will be talking with a LOT of writers. The sad fact is (or maybe this is a good thing!), not everyone will be remembered. What you *can* do is generate excitement for your story. That, my friend, is the most important thing.
Having said all of that, I’ll leave you with a final tip: Let your enthusiasm for your story shine through. Enthusiasm is like a virus. If you have it, everyone around you will catch it.
Some Recent Sales by TKA These are not all encompassing by any means, but just a few that I’ve pulled off of www.publishersmarketplace.com. We have some more that we've yet to announce, but thought it would be fun to announce (especially) Nephele Tempest's two sales at auction within the past couple of weeks. Nephele joined us as an agent this past January after a year working in our submissions department, and is off to a dynamic start!
21 July, 2005 Children's: Young Adult Debut author Jennifer Echols's QUEEN GEEK, about a high school beauty queen turned band geek in a small southern town, and a second untitled book, at auction to Michelle Nagler at Simon and Schuster, in a nice deal, by Nephele Tempest for The Knight Agency (world). Nephele.Tempest@knightagency.net
8 July, 2005 Fiction: Women's/Romance Nalini Singh's SLAVE TO SENSATION, about a young woman born to a race without emotions and her encounter with a group of sensual changelings, and a second untitled book, to Cindy Hwang at Berkley, in a nice deal, at auction, by Nephele Tempest of The Knight Agency (NA). Nephele.Tempest@knightagency.net
20 July, 2005 Children's: Young Adult Cara Lockwood's WUTHERING HIGH and a second untitled book in her Bard Academy series, where students discover that the books they're reading in class have an uncanny influence over the events in their lives, to Lauren McKenna at MTV Books, for launch in Summer 2006, in a good deal, by Deidre Knight at The Knight Agency (world). Knight@knightagency.net
8 July, 2005 Fiction: General/Other Lauraine Snelling's ASTRID, the fourth in her DAUGHTERS OF PROMISE series, and AN UNTAMED RIVER, to complete the historical Red River saga with a contemporary tale, in a good deal, to Bethany House, by Deidre Knight (world). Deidre.Knight@knightagency.net
28 June, 2005 Fiction: General/Other Debrah Morris's ORPHANHOOD, a humorous 1955-era novel in which two young orphans set out on a road trip and find a new life, and a second untitled novel, in a nice deal, to Ellen Edwards at NAL, by Pamela Harty of The Knight Agency (NA). Deidre.Knight@knightagency.net
26 May, 2005 Fiction: Women's/Romance Shannon McKelden's VENUS ENVY, about a goddess-turned-fairy godmother who isn't about to let any reluctant Cinderella get in her way, to Natasha Panza at Tor, for their new chick lit line, in a nice deal, by Deidre Knight at The Knight Agency (world English). Deidre.Knight@knightagency.net
26 May, 2005 Non-fiction: Health Eva Marie Everson's SPA FOR THE SOUL, a look at the various ways in which women "treat" themselves physically, and the overlying correlation to the spiritual body, to Jeanette Thomason at Baker Books, in a nice deal, by Deidre Knight at The Knight Agency (world). Deidre.Knight@knightagency.net
2 May, 2005 Non-fiction: Health Eva Marie Everson's SPA FOR THE SOUL, a look at the various ways in which women "treat" themselves physically, and the overlying correlation to the spiritual body, to Jeanette Thomason at Baker Books, in a nice deal, by Deidre Knight at The Knight Agency (world). Deidre.Knight@knightagency.net
No More Dangling in Suspense: Contest Winners Announced!
Okay, huge congrats to our winners of the BIG RENO GIVEAWAY!
--Julie Lessman, we’ll be seeing you on Saturday at 5 pm for drinks!! Congrats! We’ll be ready to hear all about your works, and to discuss where you’re going with your career. Please email me to determine where we shall meet! CONGRATS, again! (I feel like I’m giving away a game show prize!)
--Tera Lyn Childs and Jill Lawrence, you’ve won the one chapter critiquing prize! I’m excited to take a look at your submission package—include your synopsis and your current query letter if you have one—for the material, and email to me by attachment in Word when you’re ready. VERY IMPORTANT: mark the subject line “Blog Submission.” That will avoid a word like “winner” which might shoot you into the spam filter abyss somewhere along the way.
Everyone, stay tuned. Tomorrow I’ll be announcing another exciting contest for end of summer. But come this fall, we’re going to be doing something extra special for all our blog readers. More to come! Deidre
I'm excited that our contest draws to a close in a few more hours. That means tomorrow, at some point during the day, our three lucky winners will be announced! Until then, nobody knows... :)
That would be me. My server was down today, and so it appears that only *some* of the emails sent to me today from 9 am until 3 pm were received. So, if you contacted me--at any of my addresses, submissions or otherwise, please send the correpondence again. The last thing we need is more lost email around here! :)
One more day left! Then the contest will be over. We're running it through midnight tomorrow night. We have a bunch of entrants and three GREAT prizes to give away!
First prize: drinks and pitching fun with Deidre Knight and Pamela Harty.
Second and third prize: critique by Deidre Knight!
Good luck everybody. Remember that you have through tomorrow night at midnight to come and participate. :) Deidre
If any one visiting this blog has received one of these e-mails, would you please send it to me? I need the header if at all possible. Thanks! And I so appreciate how every one of you spread the word. I have some great friends on this blog! Deidre
I just had to share Karen Marie Moning's fabulous marketing piece for her brand new hardcover that publishes in little over a month, SPELL OF THE HIGHLANDER.
Book Description Powerful. Sensual. Seductive. He is all that is shamelessly erotic in a man. In her sexiest Highlander novel yet, New York Times bestselling author Karen Moning stirs up a sizzling brew of ancient mystery and modern passion as she brings together a devilishly handsome Celtic warrior trapped in time . . . and the woman who’s about to pay the ultimate price for freeing him. Age-old secrets haunt them. Deadly danger and irresistible desire shadow their every move. It’s a relationship for the ages. And all that separates them is a mere thirteen hundred years. . . .
Jessi St. James has got to get a life. Too many hours studying ancient artifacts has given the hardworking archaeology student a bad case of sex on the brain. So she figures she must be dreaming when she spies a gorgeous half-naked man staring out at her from inside the silvery glass of an ancient mirror. But when a split-second decision saves her from a terrifying attempt on her life, Jessi suddenly finds herself confronting six and a half feet of smoldering, insatiable alpha male.
Heir to the arcane magic of his Druid ancestors, eleven centuries ago Cian MacKeltar was trapped inside the Dark Glass, one of four coveted Unseelie Hallows, objects of unspeakable power. When the Dark Glass is stolen, an ancient enemy will stop at nothing to reclaim it, destroying everything in his path–including the one woman who may just hold the key to breaking the ninth-century Highlander’s dark spell. For Jessi, the muscle-bound sex god in the mirror is not only tantalizingly real, he’s offering his protection–from exactly what, Jessi doesn’t know. And all he wants in exchange is the exquisite pleasure of sharing her bed.
Yet even as Cian’s insatiable hunger begins to work its dark magic on Jessi, his ancient enemy is about to obtain the final and most dangerous of the Unseelie Hallows–and the ninth-century Highlander must stop him from getting it. Nothing less than the very fabric of the universe and two passionately entwined lives are at stake–as Cian and Jessi fight to claim the kind of love that comes along but once in an ice age. . . .
About the Author KAREN MARIE MONING graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in Society & Law. Her novels, which have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists, have won numerous awards, including the prestigious RITA Award. She can be reached at www.karenmoning.com.
Extremely Important Warning Regarding Our Agency: A Deidre Knight Impersonator on the Loose
Yes, it’s true, and while I’m being tongue-in-cheek with my title on this blog entry, the truth is very serious, and I would appreciate all my loyal blog readers spreading the word. The story has gotten back to me through my fellow agent and friend, Roberta Brown, who heard about the situation from some of her clients. Apparently about three weeks ago someone claiming to be me sent a blanket email to roughly forty e-pub authors offering representation to anyone who was interested, “guaranteeing” a sale in NYC and claiming to charge only 10%. This is VERY serious business. Any of you who frequent this blog can imagine my take on this email—I believe some scam artist has decided to target writers and possibly charge fees or perhaps it’s someone wishing to discredit me.
Something like this bothers me on many levels. First of all, this is my reputation that it calls into question. So whoever tried this scam should know I plan to take legal action and pursue this to the fullest extent possible if it happens again. Second, the obvious use of my name to potentially take advantage of authors really galls me (obviously). Lastly, the implication that someone got so pissed at me, probably via a rejection, that they decided to try and blacken my reputation is equally annoying.
However, all of that is totally tolerable because of one thing—I know my reputation speaks for itself. Please would you guys who blog link to this blog with a warning note—that if anyone is receiving blanket offers of representation from our agency or anyone claiming to be with our agency, to forward it to me at Deidre.Knight@knightagency.net.
Many thanks!
And in much happier news, I posted on the contest thread with a GREAT announcement for all! Deidre
A Fabulous Summer Giveaway from The Knight Agency!
Going to RWA? Check this out!
We here at The knight Agency have put on our thinking caps and brainstormed a terrific giveaway contest that will apply to anyone attending RWA (who is interested in participating!)
The rules are simple:
1) You have to be a regular blog visitor. Enough so that you can do the following.
2) Name the single most informative thing you’ve learned about the publishing and agenting process from visiting the blog, right here on this thread.
3) A drawing will be held, week after next (roughly around the 20th-21st—not a set date) to determine the winner.
4) What does the winner get? A meeting at RWA national with Deidre Knight and Pamela Harty! On Saturday, July 30th. Pamela and I will take the lucky winner to drinks there in the hotel, where we will spend time discussing your career and the projects you have on your slate.
5) Why only one winner? Please-oh-please have more than one! Well, the answer is pretty simple: can you think of any other agency giving away a special extended pitch session like this, much less in such a friendly relaxed environment? It can only be one! But the real point—to discuss what we’ve learned here on the blog—is even more fun!
6) So fire away and post your TKA “blog knowledge.”
7) Take the next number in line. (I've edited this in, so the first few entrants will have to post and claim a number) Whoever goes first, you'll end your post with #1. Then next person, #2, etc. At the end of the contest, we'll randomly select the winner with a drawing.
Great News From Gena Showalter--HEART OF THE DRAGON Soon to be Released
Grace Carlyle’s world was about to change…
Deep in the jungle on the trail of her missing brother, Grace never expected to find a secret world populated by mythological monsters – nor guarded by a sword-wielding being whose beauty put mortal men to shame.
Darius en Kragin belongs to a race of shape-shifting warriors sworn to guard Atlantis and kill all travelers who stray within its boundaries. Yet when Grace stumbles into his realm, he finds himself tempted to betray his centuries old vow. Now he must give up everything, his oath, his honor, his very life, to protect the woman he has sworn to destroy.
Since not all of you drop in on my author blog, I wanted to share my recent very exciting news. I now have titles for all three of my upcoming books. The first, PARALLEL ATTRACTION, will publish next April (’06), the next book is PARALLEL HEAT and will publish October 2006, then PARALLEL SEDUCTION will publish in April 2007. So starting next spring, NAL rolls out my PARALLEL series.
Meanwhile, for those of you who want to hear my author updates, you can click here to join my e-group for all the latest:
I hope to have cover art any day now! I can hardly stand it. I’m telling you, this is great empathy training that all agents should experience.
And speaking of life as an author, I must now return to finishing up my edited version of the manuscript, which I hope to turn in on Friday before I actually—gasp! Take a vacation. Deidre
Hi, Gang! Just in from the pool. While the world at Knight household is a bit still and quiet, thought I’d post an answer to Michelle’s question below.
Michelle asked: Sometimes I wonder, though, is it worth it for a first time author to worry about an agent since the advance is typically pretty low? In any case, I appreciate the information!
An agent’s role in managing an author’s career is multi-faceted, but let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. :) It might take an unagented author years to get their manuscript read by the right editor—assuming they’d even know which editors truly loved their kind of books—and even then, the author just doesn’t have negotiating power to get the deal to the right level. So when I say the typical romance author earns low money to begin with, that is of course a relative situation. An unagented author might be offered, oh say, anywhere between 2-8K (eight being VERY high end for a first timer without an agent) whereas an agented author could potentially expect anywhere from 4-25K on a first book, depending on the circumstances, the publisher involved, and the kind of book. (Though, outside of category most agents wouldn't consider a 4K offer, even for a first-time author, unless all other avenues had been exhausted.)
Part of how an agent can get that bigger money is by generating multi-house interest. If you take our agency for example, at almost every house “around town” we have multiple authors. At Berkley, for instance, we have Beverly Brandt, Robin Owens, Jacey Ford, Crystal Green, Jennifer St. Giles, Shelley Bradley, and novellas by Karen Marie Moning and Gena Showalter. We also have quite a large number of NAL authors (NAL being Berkley’s “sister imprint” within Penguin Putnam.) So imagine if one of their editors receives a submission from us versus an unpublished author. It’s pretty much a given that we’re going to get an extremely fast read (often overnight), whereas the unpublished author may languish in the slush pile for two years or more. And if they wind up languishing that long, after a time the editor is going to assume that if the book were any good, it would have sold by then anyway.
And just who does the unpublished/unagented author submit to, anyway? Usually to an editor they met at a conference. Does that qualify them as the best and most appropriate editor for that author’s work? Not by a longshot. Let’s say you’ve written a dark, futuristic paranormal romance and you’re hoping to land a deal at Berkley. Let’s then say you meet one of their editors, Bob Schmoe, but Bob doesn’t tend to even like dark futuristics—but you don't know that, because you've never spent more than ten minutes with Bob. On the other hand, Jane Doe Editor--who you never had an appointment with--would have been the ideal editor for your book. In fact, Jane is hungry and aggressively seeking more dark futuristics. But you, unagented author, don't know that, so you submit to Bob schmoe post-conference, not Jane, and blam, two years later Bob sends you a generic form letter rejection.
On the other hand, imagine you make a thoughtful, well-targeted list of agents who you think like dark paranormals. You land your dream agent. Dream agent—after working with you to fine-tune your work—sends it out on overnight exclusive to Jane Doe at Berkley, and you have an offer the next day. If it’s not the offer you want, then the agent goes wider, keeping in mind the precise tastes of the editors who love dark paranormal futuristics. After a few more days, you find yourself with more than one offer on the table, and at the end of the day, with a pretty aggressive first time deal.
Next, let’s look beyond the money the agent gets you—even if it’s still “starter money” you can rest assured it’s a heck of a lot more than starter money would be if you’d been proceeding on your own. And let’s also look beyond the contacts and relationships they have in place: the agent knows the ins and outs of all the contract details. They can define and explain things like first proceeds clauses, or premiums, or competitive works clauses. They can get you *better* language in a host of contractual areas than you could on your own. They can ensure you the freedom to write for other houses, and to take your work elsewhere on the next deal if terms aren’t what you’re hoping for. Quite simply, a good agent has your back.
When cover art issues arise—as in, “Wow, my hero looks like a mutant, not a dark paranormal futuristic HUNK,” they can argue for a change. If your name on that cover is a paranormal event in itself, i.e. invisible, they will ask that the font size be enlarged. If you’re overly copyedited, they go to bat for you. If the publisher decides that after a change of direction, they no longer wish to publish you, they stay in your camp. When the royalty statements arrive, and too large a reserve is kept out, they’re the ones who call the royalty manager and argue for a liquidation of some of those royalties. The list is, quite literally, almost infinite. We’re here, in the words of my three year old, to “dry down all your tears.” That’s what good agents do.
Then there’s strategy. Because, after all, you have somewhere you want to go with this writing career of yours. Maybe you don’t ever want to be a bestseller. Maybe you want to be in hardcover and be a NY TIMES bestselling author. Either way, the agent’s job, from the beginning is to analyze how to accomplish those goals, beginning with, that very first submission. Where you land, and with whom, from the get go is critical. It shouldn’t be left to just someone you meet at a conference, without any strategy behind why that editor might deserve to publish your work.
But one last thing before I sign off. I don’t believe any author is well-equipped to negotiate on their own behalf. In fact, there’s a reason that, knowing all that I do about this industry and negotiating, I myself chose to have an agent. It’s because you want your conversations with your editor to be pleasant, cordial ones, not the kind of nitty-gritty negotiating ones that must take place between an agent and the publishing house. The agent is your buffer, allowing Happy Talk between you and your editor.
Have a fabulous Fourth tonight, my friends. And those of you all around the world, have a good week! Deidre
Hi, Gang: I wanted to let you know that Shelley Bradley (whose posts you have enjoyed here on TKA's blog)has a fantastic contemporary coming out in the winter, BOUND AND DETERMINED. I'm just delighted because it's available on Amazon now, which means you can place your pre-order today.
Now, let me tell you a bit more about this one. First of all, it's a ton of fun--and a totally new direction for Shelley, which is one reason I'm so excited about it! Here's the back cover copy, which really does a terrific job of summarzing (and oh-so-evilly-tantalizing you) about the novel:
WANTED FOR KIDNAPPING: a bubbly blonde with a penchant for trouble. May be armed (with good intentions) and dangerously seductive…
Kerry Sullivan is running out of time—and patience. With her brother wrongfully accused of embezzling millions, she can’t face one more humiliating hang-up from the man she’s begging for help. Rafael Dawson may be one of the top electronic security experts in the country—and the only man who can prove her brother’s innocence—but his phone manners are appalling. Damn Yankee. Too bad kidnapping the man isn’t an option. Or is it?
There’s nothing Kerry wouldn’t do for her brother. There are lots of things she longs to do to Rafe Dawson when he’s lying tied-up and naked in her secret hideaway. Rafe is certainly something to look at, but Kerry’s brother’s life is riding on her pulling off the impossible: getting this man who’s always in control to lose it. But when the tables get turned, Kerry finds herself at the mercy of Rafe. And the only way to get her way is to let him have his way—with her…
Okay, does that not sound like a ton of fun? I heartily recommend this book to everyone visiting the blog. Again, you can pre-order it by clicking here, and you can visit Shelley Bradley on the web at www.shelleybradley.com. Just wanted to share that excitement. And meanwhile, more to come on other agency authors and their happenings here on this blog very soon! Happy holidays! Deidre
Sasha said... What about if an already published author has an unfinshed ms, but has editor interest from one house. Would you take that author on, and help them develop the ms and sell it to the "best " house, even if it isn't the one that has already shown interest in it?
If you like the authors voice, of course. I guess what I'm asking is would you consider taking on a published author based on the proposal of an unfinished ms?
We absolutely take on published authors and shop partials—and we’ve even (very rarely) shopped new fiction authors on proposal too. That’s a very risky proposition, though, and in no way am I endorsing authors shopping out a raft of unfinished manuscripts. That is truly annoying to the agents on the receiving end, because they want to read more—a finished book—and are then told something like, “Well, I wanted to see if there was a market for this before putting more time into it.” That always strikes me as short-cutting the system, and in a fairly tacky way. Is that just me? Maybe so, but I find it a bit angering when I hear it from prospective clients. It’s as if they don’t respect my time enough not to play coy, but respect their own enough to do whatever they want. NOT an impressive answer to your potential agent.
But with a published author—and this situation would depend on how that author is published—yes, we would shop on proposal, absolutely. If an author has only published through e-publishers, the list of credits and publications would need to be fairly extensive for that plan to work. Otherwise, for e-pubs with only a few books out, we’d need complete works to shop.
I would like to know what you think of proofreading/editorial services.
Are they any help, or a waste of money?
Thanks.
DA I haven’t found them to be a help in terms of the submissions I see. Typically, the work still lacks some kind of “heart,” or just feels like it’s clunky. Of course this isn’t true all the time—nothing ever is! And if you find a great editorial person, then they can make all the difference. But that is different than a sort of “editorial service” where they are there to really proofread and clean up. I think a true editorial advisor would serve in the role of almost a critique partner—brainstorming ideas, hanging with you from start to finish as you create the work. That is a great working relationship, but different than the editorial services usually out there. I would highly endorse someone like that to help you, so long as they have the right skills and abilities to give you what you need. Which leads me to my next point.
I think even better is if you can, find a good critique group. People you trust, people who don't mislead you, though of course this is easier said than done. But that seems a far better plan for most writers than paying an editorial service. Now I’m sure we’ll have an outcry from people endorsing these kinds of services, and to each his own, but I would add that if you do use these services, I don’t think it’s wise to add to your pitch that the work has “been professionally edited.” My first thought is, “Wow, but you can’t write on your own?”
So, those are my quick and dirty thoughts on this matter. Hope it helps!
I'm not sure how many of you realize it, but Judson Knight--my partner in this agency and beloved husband--has a terrific blog. While a number of you know about my alter-ego blog at www.deidreknight.blogspot.com, I'm not sure you all realize that Judson blogs to at: www.judsonknight.blogspot.com.
Michelle said... I'm curious as to what you'd consider unethical fees. Do you charge your clients for things like photocopying, long-distance calls, etc.? Or do you consider those business expenses and they're part of the 15% you get from the commission?
Just wanted to know what's typical and what isn't . . . DEIDRE replied… I want to preface my comments here by saying that our agency does not charge back expenses of any kind. Theoretically within our agency agreement, we have the right to charge back international shipping, but it’s not something we do. I keep it in our agreement in case, oh, we suddenly have to overnight 100 author copies to Zimbabwe. That might get really pricy. That said, other agents *do* charge back some expenses, hence the question that Michelle raised.
Well, here’s my answer. An agent should make their living from selling your manuscript. Period. It’s one thing if some agents deduct the costs of overnighting or copying manuscripts from the final sale of a project. The Association of Authors Representatives takes no issue with this kind of charging back of expenses. The problem is when so-called agents charge every client they sign on a retainer fee for expenses—usually a weighty one—and then can conceivably earn a living without ever shopping a project. Think about it this way: our agency receives, usually, about 200 queries a week. What if we went around signing people up and charged each of them 50-500 or even 1000 dollars or more just to take them on. It becomes obvious that in a very short period of time, an “agent” can make a living this way. And some shysters have.
What IS okay and happens with many agents, particularly smaller ones who aren’t housed within mega-agencies (and if you guys want, I can do a blog piece on the pros and cons of going with boutique agencies or mega-agencies at another time.) With boutique agencies, you will receive personal attention, but you may wind up being charged for copies or fed ex shipping. It all varies from agent to agent. Some feel that an agent should not charge for a single fee on top of their commission. I hear them on that point, but would just point out that even lawyers, receiving the rates of 200+ an hour still charge me for every package or fax they send. Similarly when I’ve dealt in real estate transactions.
I guess the real point I’d make on that one is that the beginning romance author makes relatively small money, usually for quite some time. With the costs of shipping, printing, and phone calling, it’s not like the remaining commission is huge—so I’ve never understood the vitriolic response that this issue raises within some writers. The implication is always that agents don’t earn their money. Or that there is a slow, swilling resentment against those of us who make our living in the publishing trenches. Agents as Villified Agents of Evil. Honestly, that’s how it sometimes sound if you listen to authors, particularly within RWA circles, who seem to resent the commission that agents earn. I find it odd, when an agent is expected to hang tough with an author, sometimes for years until a sale is made—never making a dime. It hardly seems a big deal to think that at the end of that long period of deferred earning, the agent—if they so-choose—should expect reimbursement for some of the expenses fully recognized within the established agenting community (and AAR.)
So, to recap, what is considered fair and ethical? Copying fees, overnight shipping fees, phone calls, mailing. But, these fees should be deducted from the sale of the client’s work, not billed on a retainer basis.
It’s been very busy here at the agency these past few weeks as we head into RWA, and also prepare for the annual Christian Booksellers’ Convention. I won’t be attending the latter this year, but I still have had a lot of groundwork to do in preparation. But, the very big deal in another month is RWA, and we’ve all been setting meetings right and left, as well as planning a big party for our agency clients. Stay tuned for party pics after RWA!
So I thought that I would take some time and post quick and short articles today and this weekend, covering the recent questions. There will be multiple posts right in a row, but it seemed to work best to break them out individually.
The Next Contest—For the Truly Brave
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