Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Last Tuesday I posted a blog about what I’m looking for in an unpublished client. Many of the points are the same for the client who is already on his way to a career. Some of those things are:
- A near-perfect manuscript—This is as important for the already-published author as for the unpublished author. Sometimes an author works years on that first manuscript. The next ones have to come on deadline but still have to sing. Each book needs to be better than the rest.
- A distinctive voice—I’m always looking for that unique writer. I want to represent the writer that everyone else copies.
- A professional attitude—This is non-negotiable. My client needs to trust that I’ll always be appropriate and professional. I need to trust him as well.
- An engaging personality–This is very important to me. I want to work with team players who are generous and fun to be with. I want to be proud to introduce them to publishers and editors.
- Good career potential—I must look hard at past book sales and whether they are trending up or down. If I have a client who has suffered regrettable sales and is stalled because of it, we’ll work like crazy to unstick her. However, getting an author unstuck takes a ton of energy, and I’m not likely to sign a new client who’s already stuck. (Stuck means an author is fighting an uphill battle to get a new contract because risk-averse publishers are squeamish about considering authors with poor sales, whatever the reason. They know that the bookstore buyers have long memories.)
And the other things that may tip the scales:
- A nonfiction writer who is becoming known in his field. Book sales will reflect this as well as platform, size of social network, and number and size of speaking engagements.
- A growing reader list—A writer should have a method to collect readers’ names and addresses and scrupulously maintain that database. From the first book, you never want to lose a reader.
- A writer who will add to our Books & Such community—This one is specific to our agency. We’ve worked hard to build a collaborative community of clients. We gather for retreats, and we host online forums to communicate and help one another. When we consider potential new clients, we take the whole community into consideration.
If you missed last Tuesday’s post on what I’m looking for in an unpublished author you can read it here. Next Tuesday I’ll talk about the well-published author and the following week, the A-List author.
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There’s published author in my house already, but unless you’re a geneticist specializing in root to shoot variations or the negative effects of cross pollination on humans (you get covered in it and sneeze)then he’ll have to stick with high brow scientific journals. Riveting stuff, if you can understand 1/10th of it.Otherwise? Zzzzz. At the risk of sounding self important/pathetically deranged/needy…I bake a wicked chocolate pate, I have Skype and I travel well. 🙂
I’m not at this point in writing yet, but I appreciate knowing what kind of qualities are desirable in an author.
I’m with Jeanne. It’s definitely good to know, and I love that some of the qualities don’t change regardless of where someone is at in their publication journey.
I used Michael Hyatt’s “How to Write a Winning Non-Fiction Book Proposal” to put my proposal together. His guidelines and detailed outline helped me so much.
Awesome info. It’s always good to know agents look for in potential clients. Thank you for sharing, Wendy.
I’m enjoying this series, Wendy. It’s good to know that some things remain the same for published and unpublished authors, and what you’re on the lookout for in the former group.
Personality is very important to me too. Not everyone is outgoing, but they need to be easy to work with or it’s miserable the whole group.
“The next ones have to come on deadline but still have to sing…” I love your description of “writing that sings.” The balance of logistics (deadlines) and artistry (singing prose) is a noteworthy item. Thanks for another great post!
I agree that personality is a huge factor in a working relationship. It should be more like getting together with friends to get something accomplished. Otherwise it becomes drudgery, no matter how good the person is at what they do.
It’s amazing how much publishing continually changes. Once upon a time, editors came to the rescue, hired by the publisher, to guide a manuscript through the process until the finished product: the printed book.
These days, the competition is steep, editing is expensive for both publishers and individuals, and writers need to know the entire business–not just one part of it.
Thanks for your insights into what agents look for. I’m enjoying this series!