Before joining The Bent Agency, I worked as a literary agent at Bright
Literary Agency, representing a wide range of authors and author/illustrators,
from picture books to YA. I love being an agent as I get to be the first fan of
an unpublished book and then champion this book - nothing beats being able to
talk up your passions to other book fanatics.
Originally from London, I started my publishing career while living in
NYC for three years. I have since moved back to the UK, and I work with UK and
US authors.
My client list is typified by character lead stories, with voice being
the biggest thing I look for. I love younger fiction, and have a soft spot for
funny books aimed at 7+ with series potential. With Middle Grade fiction, I'd
love to see a good mystery, but really any MG with strong voice will get my
attention whatever the subject matter. For YA, I'm a sucker for boy POV.
Author/illustrators writing MG or chapter books would get my immediate
attention!
There you have it, folks.
I know there were quite a few YA and MG entries in the Christmas in July blog
contest Ruth and I hosted this summer, so if you haven't already you'll want to
be checking out The Bent Agency's website for submission guidelines. Gemma is seriously
awesome, yo. You'd be lucky to have her.
Sarah LaPolla is a literary agent with Curtis
Brown LTD. in New York. She represents YA fiction, among other genres, and is
on the lookout for debut authors. As if that isn’t awesome enough, Sarah’s also
an active member of the online writing community, a hilarious and informative
twitterer (?tweeter), and the face behind the Glass Cases blog, which features
works by unpublished authors. All that, AND she agreed to be interviewed by me
with only minimal threats of bodily harm involved.
Welcome to the blog, Sarah! Thanks so much
for agreeing to this interview. My first question: What is your
favorite part of the agenting biz?
Sarah: Hello Michelle! Thanks for having me.
My favorite part of agenting is working
with my clients, hands down. They are so talented and dedicated, and I feel
incredibly lucky to be a part of getting their stories in the hands of readers.
Michelle: What are you actively looking for
right now?
Sarah: Well I represent both YA and adult, but I’ll focus on the YA here. With
YA, I love a good contemporary story that has unforgettable characters.
Character and voice are what I look at most in submissions, but I’m also hoping
to see more plot-driven stories in my slush pile – mysteries, thrillers,
horror, and non-dystopian sci-fi in particular!
I’m also looking more into Middle Grade,
which isn’t something that appealed to me when I first became an agent. I think
MG is on the rise though and I’d love to see a great literary, coming-of-age
MG, in the style of John Green or Jenny Han, but younger (of course). I think
MG readers are ready for something like that.
Michelle: Is there anything you’re sick of
seeing in the slush pile?
Sarah: Paranormal romance. It’s not that I don’t appreciate it when it’s done
well, but I’m just tired of it. I’m ready for the next thing.
Michelle: What are the biggest mistakes you
see first-time authors making in the query process?
Sarah: Sometimes I know when someone is new to
the querying process when they spend too much time talking about the inspiration
for the book, how long it took to write, or the themes they hope to invoke.
More seasoned queriers know that agents just want them to get to the point –
what is this book about, who is the main character, what genre is it.
Everything else is just extra information that usually has no bearing on
whether I request the manuscript.
Michelle: How far into a manuscript (or query
letter, for that matter!) are you willing to read before deciding to reject an
author? First paragraph? A couple of pages? The first chapter?
Sarah: I always read the entire query letter unless it says in the first
line that it’s a genre I don’t represent (i.e. picture book/children’s). With
requested manuscripts, I always give it at least 50 pages, depending on how
much potential I see in the story. If it’s clear that I’m just not into the
narrator’s voice, then sometimes I stop at 25. If I do like the voice and the
writing, but I’m editing the plot development as I go, I’ll finish the entire
manuscript so that I can offer revision notes.
Michelle: I see you have an MFA in Creative
Writing. Does your education make you more willing to work with an author on a
project that isn’t quite there yet, if you see its potential, or does this have
no bearing on your decision?
Sarah: I am pretty editorial when it comes to
both requesting a revision and in working with my clients, and my education
definitely contributed to that. I know the importance of revision, and I have a
better eye for helping a writer envision where a project can go. They
don’t have to listen to me, of course, but I always hope they do!
Michelle: What is your number one piece of
advice to authors?
Sarah: Read in the genre in which you write. If
you’re not a fan of what you write, how can anyone else be? Writers should also
know their competition, what works in the genre, what doesn’t work, what does
the market have too much of, what is something new you can bring to the table,
etc. Know your field inside and out.
Michelle: What is the best way for authors to
contact you?
Sarah: I prefer email queries – sl @ cbltd . com. Paste the query in the body of
the email, and include the first five pages – also pasted in the email. No
attachments, please!
Since announcing that I have a book deal (YAY!!!!!!!) I’ve been asked a lot of questions as to how I went about getting an agent/my book published. And while I love answering these questions, (seriously, I do!) I thought it was about time I devised a more coherent, non-rambling answer to them.
Disclaimer #1- In no way am I saying that if you follow these steps, you will get a literary agent/sell you book for millions/that there are no other, just-as-good ways to publish your book/that I even come close to knowing everything about the process. These are entirely my own thoughts.
Disclaimer #2- I ramble. The short answer is this: I got an agent, my agent submitted my book to editors at publishing houses, an editor made an offer my agent and I both loved, we accepted the offer. You will find all the details of this answer (more than you ever wanted, probably) below. I will have to break this up into several posts due to ramblage. Today I’m focusing on the literary agent aspect.
So…..
To submit a book to a publishing house, you will need a literary agent. In the past anyone could submit to a publishing house, agented or no, however most big companies no longer allow unagented submissions (also known as unsolicited submissions). You can ask someone else why (I’m assuming it has something to do with the sheer number of submissions, the gem-to-crap ratio, and how time-consuming it is to weed through the crap to find the gem—now that job belongs to literary agents). Some small and “indie” presses still allow unagented submissions, and of course there’s self-publishing, but right now I’m talking about traditional publishing with established publishing houses.
There are tons and tons of amazing literary agents out there. It's a reputable profession, even though some people will try to convince you that literary agents are going to steal your book, swindle your money, and do other evil things like clean the toilet with your toothbrush (Okay, so maybe not that last one).
My agent is amazing and I don’t know where I’d be without her. Also, no you can’t have her, she’s mine! Mwuahaha!
Having said that, there are some shady agents out there. It’s rare, but true.
Signs an agent is reputable:
-They do not charge you up-front fees. Reputable literary agents are paid only when you get paid (usually 10-20% commission of the sale of book rights to publishers). They don’t charge you reading fees, they don’t charge you up-front for supplies to do their job, and they don’t refer you fee-charging editorial services
-You’ve researched him/her extensively and have heard mostly good things.
-The agent has sales under their belt (It’s important to note that not having any sales isn’t a direct sign of a non-reputable agent, as everyone starts somewhere and an agent may just be new to the job, but it certainly doesn’t hurt, right?)
So how do you find an agent? Where do you even start?
To find an agent, you have to do your research. Trusted sources include The Writer’s Market, available at most bookstores, and The Literary Marketplace, found at most libraries. I preferred the Internet, myself. A website I found very helpful was AgentQuery. Here you can enter your genre and have a list of agents who meet your criteria generated, as well as read more information about each agent. I also LOVED Casey McCormick’s blog, Literary Rambles,and highly suggest it during research time.
Following this basic search, it’s a good idea to do more research on each agent’s website re: what he/she is looking for and if you/your writing would be a good fit, as their website will always be the most up-to-date source of information.
Once you have a list of agents you’d like to submit to, you send them a query letter, along with whatever sample of writing they ask for. Usually, it's anywhere from 5-10 pages but can be up to 50 pages or, rarely, more than that. If the agent likes what they've read, they'll request to read more.
It's generally expected and condoned that you submit to multiple agents at once (But for god's sake, people, don't cc agents in one mass email!). It takes days to weeks to months to hear back on the query letter alone, and the response may only be a form rejection, so it's in the author's best interest to query widely. A few agents ask for exclusive submissions; I just clucked my tongue and didn't send to any of them.
So if an agent requests your full manuscript and loved it, they'll either call you or make an appointment via email to call you (more common). This is a great time to do this:
During this call, if you've made it that far, you'll likely be offered representation if you’re not crazy and don’t scare away the agent (No pressure!).
But before screaming YES!! remember it's considered professional etiquette to let every agent who has your full or partial manuscript know that you have an offer on the table, which usually gets your manuscript shuffled to the top of the slush pile. If you're lucky, you may have a few offerees vying for you and get to choose your agent.
I make it sound easy, don’t I? Well, it’s not. I got 29 rejections and only one partial request (which later turned into a rejection) on my first book. And if you’ve been following my blog, you know about the rejections for The Witch Hunter’s Bible. Rejection is par for the course with writing. Getting your book published requires hard work, dedication, and loads and loads of perseverance. Also, a great query letter, which will be discussed next.
Whew! So there’s today’s huge post. Writerly friends, pipe up if you have something to offer or if you simply want to tell me shut up, already!
Short answer: The old-fashioned way. Via the slush pile.
Long answer: I’d like to take you all back to January 8th, 1985. I was born naked and helpless…okay, maybe let’s skip a few years. In January 2010, I had a baby (a wonderful, magnificent, sweet baby named Ben). He slept through the night from under 3 months old, in addition to napping 3-plus hours in the day. Being on maternity leave, I had an AWFUL lot of free time on my hands that I was COMPLETELY not used to having (a year—I live in Canada). So naturally, instead of relaxing, I decided to write a book—something I’ve always wanted to do, but had been too intimidated to try.
In 3 months time, I wrote a book. I joined a website, Writersbeat.com, where I met my internet bestie/crit partner, whom you all know as Ruth Lauren Steven. After an initial major bitch moment from me (which we shall not discuss!), Ruth and I began exchanging critiques and became fast friends. We moved on to another website, Scribophile.com, where I met a ton of amazing friends who were, in addition to Ruth, completely invaluable in honing my writing. This book needed the rest of the year to edit, as it was sucky. Boring and sucky and will never see the light of day. But I learned a lot.
After this book I began another, which I gave up after a whopping 26,000 words because I had AN IDEA. An idea for a YA Urban Fantasy that I couldn’t ignore. I needed to write it—now. So I did—3 months later, my 81,000-word book was complete. And it needed less than a week of editing until I felt ready to start querying. I felt confident! I loved the book and my query letter felt strong. I knew this was going to be IT. Then the rejections started rolling in. After the first 15, I was starting to feel pretty dejected. I know 15 is not that much in the bigger picture, but 15 in a row after I’d felt so confident? Well let’s just say my confidence waned. But then I got a partial. From a major agent. The next day, another partial from a major agent. A few weeks later, the first partial-requester wanted the full. I almost died! That meant she read the first 50 pages plus synopsis and liked it. My book??!! A huge happy moment for me. But it wasn’t the first. Over the next few weeks, the full requests started rolling in. Six in total (Nine if you count the 3 requests I got after I’d already landed my agent!)
Then came the holidays, when all of the literary world shuts down from December 23rd to January 3rd. This was a dark time. There was a lot of internet stalking involved, which I’m not proud of. Then came January 11th. I got a reply from one of those agents. She’d just finished reading the book…and completely loved it! She wanted to set up a time to talk on the phone. AHHHHHHH!! She called the next day and offered me representation (in addition to giving me a HUGE ego boost with all her compliments about the book). My initial reaction was to say “YES! WHERE DO I SIGN? MWUHAHAHAH I’VE GOT YOU NOW!” But there were other agents who had my full. In order to be professional, I needed to give them the courtesy of replying to my manuscript. I alerted the other agents, and holy crap, several of them were interested, too! But in the end, it was the first agent’s major enthusiasm and extreme likability that sold me. So now I’m repped by Adriann Ranta at Wolf Literary. Wohoo!!
Here's me signing my contract. There was absolutely no preparation involved here. It's just a totally candid picture.
