First off, thank you once again to everyone who is participating in Be An Agent for a Day, which has been so much fun. The comments on the queries will close Saturday night, and results and stats on Monday!
Now that we have 10,000+ comments I have realized that compiling these stats will not be remotely possible on my own. I am humbly requesting ten volunteers to help me with stat compiling this Sunday. (I’m also happy to barter a query critique for your trouble — first 10 volunteers in the comments section UPDATE: the 10 spots are filled, thanks so much, volunteers)
Now then. Some fantastic news from a familiar name. Terry DeHart (aka terryd), finalist in the Surprisingly Essential First Page Challenge, let me know that he has just received a two-book deal from Orbit for the book he used in the contest!! Congratulations to Terry!
[schadenfreude](Oh. And remember the people who were mad about my choices for the finals of that contest? I sure do!) [/schadenfreude]
Speaking of friends of the blog, Anne & May are giving away copies of their just-released book BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO. Free books = always awesome.
In publishing news, NPR recently did a story on the state of the publishing industry and Pub Lunch (subscription) linked to an accompanying article. Per Pub Lunch, Random House Publishing Group spokesperson Carol Schneider explained the current marketplace thusly: “We’re acquiring fewer books… There are no specific numbers or formula involved here–we’re simply being more selective in all categories–literary, commercial, blockbuster.” And…… there you have it.
Meanwhile, there are rumors afoot that Barnes & Noble may enter the e-reader market with a device that could challenge the Sony Reader, Kindle, and (insert device of the future here). Any bets on what B&N will call it? I hope they go with Barnes. As in, “I read your book on my Barnes, chap!” And yes, it would probably force me to call people “chap”.
You may have heard a great deal about a “glitch” dubbed amazonfail, in which erotica and GLBT books, including some classics, were mysteriously delisted from sales rankings. In case you’re curious about it all, The Millions has a very helpful breakdown of what happened and how the news spread. And I can’t wait until we have failfail. “Fail” needs. to. go.
Via Neil Vogler, the Guardian reports that the guy behind PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES just got a monster (get it? get it?) book deal from Grand Central.
Also in the Guardian… our contest!
Grove editor Jofie Ferrari-Adler has added another excellent entry in his series of agent interviews for Poets and Writers. A must read.
Cynthia Leitich Smith announced that Katherine Paterson, author of BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, Curtis Brown client, and truly wonderful person (seriously she’s so nice), has established a prize for YA and children’s writing at Hunger Mountain, the arts journal of the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Click on over for that.
In writing advice news, thanks to John Ochwat for pointing me to Pat Holt’s blog post on ten mistakes writers often make but don’t often notice. It’s not on the list, but you might not have noticed that the first letter of every paragraph spells a bad word. Just thought you should know.
And finally, someone is going to have to explain this Susan Boyle thing to me. What exactly are we supposed to take from it? That it’s surprising that people from a humble background can be wildly talented? That you have to look like Britney Spears in order sing… better than Britney Spears? 20 million YouTube views later and I’m struggling to understand.
Have a great weekend!
Eva Ulian says
A big thank you Nathan for giving us this opportunity to be an Agent for a Day- I’ll never forget it. Thanks to all the volunteers too.
With regards to the Susan Boyle phenomenon, Michael Hyatt has just published a touching and thoughtful blog post on that which you can see:https://michaelhyatt.com/2009/04/what’s-holding-you-back.html
Jen says
I have to agree with Barbara in regards to the “whole Susan Boyle thing”.
For me, it was absolutely the realization of a dream. Her voice is truly beautiful, imo, and I enjoyed her version of “Cry Me A River” even more than her Le Mis song.
In any event, what I took away from this was 1) Don’t give up on your dream, ever and 2) A new voice to be listening for. I lurves me some music, and I’m happy to have *hopefully* a new artist to listen to.
Good luck to the compilers and thanks to Nathan for running the contest…very informative!
Scott says
Barbara Caridad Ferrer absolutely nailed it.
Wanda B. Ontheshelves says
Re: “And congrats, compilers, although I think it would be cool to make the queries public for feedback.”
As one of the Compiling Ten, I think non-public is the way to go. Anyway that’s my preference. (I have started compiling already – low, low acceptance rates so far – I was starting to feel a little sorry for the queriers!)
Marilyn Peake says
Other Lisa,
Oh, thank you so much for that link! It restores my faith in those very talented filmmakers (and in humanity in general).
Angie Mizzell says
I had a similar thought about the Susan Boyle story today when I saw her on the Today Show. But I think what was so compelling about the video, beside the fact that her voice is amazing, was the reaction from the judges and the audience. They were definitely doubting her and not taking her seriously. The looks on their faces as she sang the first note were priceless. It’s hard to say what any of us would have done or thought if we had seen the event unfold in real time, but most of us viewed the video knowing already she was a phenomenal singer. Just a thought to throw in the ring.
Genny says
I clicked over and watched the Susan Boyle video…good for her! I agree with Jen; it’s a great reminder to never give up on your dreams.
By the way, I’ve really enjoyed reading the “agent for a day” queries and comments. Very fun and informative.
Have a great weekend.
Anonymous says
How you look matters in freelance writing. Unattractive people often don’t get bylines in the big magazines — magazines like to have pictures of their writers…
Rachel says
Marilyn:
Regarding Slumdog…the children actually were paid well and they were secured spots in nice schools for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, their parents squandered the money and aren’t taking them to school. So…the producers of Slumdog did right. It’s just a sad, sad case of the realities of life in slums.
Jen C says
FAIL isn’t dead! I still like FAIL. Have you seen failblog.org? Classic!
Jen, who loves to see crazes through until they’re amazingly, unbelievably annoying and everyone wants to dig their own eyes and ears out with spoons so that they never have to encounter them again.
FibCarver says
Thanks for the Holt Uncensored link, Nathan. Hubby & I run a writers' forum and we're going to be pointing people in that general direction to have a darn good read.
That Scottish lady … when she opened her mouth and that unbelievably gorgeous sound came out, it filled my heart. I've watched the video five times and it still makes me tear up with wonder.
Alyssa says
I think everyone likes having their expectations upended positively. Whether it’s because you expect that an older, not terribly attractive, totally awkward woman can’t sing.. or if you are like me, a reality-TV cynic who expects most people who go onto these shows to be mostly talentless. I think we all know that the producers of these shows will let a select number of people who are laughably bad through the screening process for early elimination. Because we humans are total jerks and like to laugh at people who are unappealing for some reason who’ve just gotten their dreams crushed. (I don’t exempt myself from this category, I love watching Gordon Ramsay yell at young, cocky chefs when they burn the risotto.)
I think the Susan Boyle story was a very clever bait and switch. I *have* to assume that the show folks knew what people who think when they saw her, and knew how to manipulate that to make a good bit of TV. I am glad that in this case, good reality TV lined up with fulfilling someone’s dream… but I am too jaded to believe that it was purely good intentions.
Marilyn Peake says
Rachel,
Wow. That is very sad.
Tricia from England says
I think the Susan Boyle thing is not so much about her humble background, but more about preconception by the audience (at the audition and on TV) that she’d have a voice to match her looks. According to a few people on forums here in the UK, who were at the theatre for that audition, a lot was cut out in the edit, and she was given a particularly hard time by the judges, especially Amanda Holden, the female one, who was laughing her head off when Susan walked on, and tried to discourage her from doing the Les Mis number and do something by Britney Spears instead, much to the amusement of the audience.
I see she’s already had a bit of a makeover since it was recorded, and the grey frizz has gone. She’ll look like Julia Roberts by the final, no doubt…
disorderly says
Nathan, if you never do another worthwhile thing as long as you live, you’ve discharged your duty admirably by providing a link to Pat Holt’s blog posting about ten common–and commonly overlooked–writing mistakes. I salute you, sir…and Pat, too. 🙂
Jo says
Re. the Susan Boyle thing.
I agree that the surprise seems out of proportion. I for one am much more surprised to find that someone who looks like a perfectly proportioned, coiffed mannequin can sing or dance or act or do anything more than look ornamental.
Rachel says
Marilyn,
I know, it is. I’ve actually been through the slums in Mumbai and it’s shocking. But it’s the only life the people who live there know. Without any kind of social infrastructure to help them transition, it’s no wonder they’ve kept within their comfort zone. Anyway, have a good weekend.
Anonymous says
From the Susan Boyle story, I took that the producers of the show understood that conventional reality TV has jumped the shark, and that it’s time to re-evaluate the formula of constantly making fun of people making fools of themselves.
Alyssa’s right, it’s too big a coincidence. The show people didn’t interview the singer in enough depth to find out that she’d “never been kissed” while ALSO missing her many years of talent contests.
Anyway, what really troubles me on “This Week In Publishing” is the PubLunch thing. Agents are ultimately salespeople, after all, and if the publishers are cutting back on what they buy, there’s not much the agent can do. I ask because long ago in the 90s, I had an agent who gave up on my book after about a year, saying that the market was just “too closed”. I doubt he was a charlatan, since he never asked me for a cent.
So Nathan — out of all the manuscripts by authors that you agree to represent, how many do you end up selling? Fifty percent? Ten percent? Ninety?
Kate Higgins says
Susan Boyle is the classic case of never judging a book by it’s cover. It’s the 20 million people who have been humbled not the humble woman. She is a Cinderella story without the fairy godmother only a great and hidden talent that she herself brought to the foreground.
Basically she is the essence of never give up your dreams.
That’s why people query agents against the odds.
Dara says
Does anyone know when and where this whole “fail” obsession started? 😛 I wondered about that.
As with most internet phenomenon, it’ll eventually become a thing of the past. And then something else equally as silly will take its place.
As always, thanks for all the links! 🙂
Wanda B. Ontheshelves says
Re: “So Nathan — out of all the manuscripts by authors that you agree to represent, how many do you end up selling? Fifty percent? Ten percent? Ninety?”
Well, I just had a long conversation with my dad about proprietary information, and so my brain is going “that’s proprietary information!”
Yes, I’ve definitely had enough on the computer time today.
Christine H says
From the “Ten Mistakes” article, I have to add a comment here. I agree with everything but the “regular features” phrase that was questioned. “Regular” in this context doesn’t mean “ordinary.”
I think it means “evenly or uniformly arranged; symmetrical.”
That’s how I read it, anyway.
Otherwise, I think that is a fantastic article. Most of those things I already try to avoid, but it was a good reminder to keep an eye out for them.
Mira says
Wow, Rachel, that is sad.
Okay. I had to leave for awhile. Upon return, I expected several people would offer to allow me to replace them as a volunteer.
Instead nothing. Nada. Zilch.
Okay. Maybe I was going about this the wrong way. Perhaps given the current climate I shouldn’t try to make people feel guilty. I admit it. I’s not true that no one will let me compile numbers because I don’t look like Britney Spears.
What’s actually true is that I look exactly like Britney Spears.
Well, not exactly. I’m alittle prettier. (Sorry, Britney, don’t feel bad. We can’t both be super-stars.)
(Well, maybe in this case we can, but you know what I mean.)
Don’t you want someone who looks like Britney Spears (but alittle prettier) to take over your volunteer slot?
You know you do! Come on, baby, hit me once again….with that volunteer slot!
Mystery Robin says
That Simon is human. Seriously – it’s all about watching his face light up. I don’t know what it is, but seeing him seriously impressed is worth gold.
Without Simon, nobody would be twittering about Susan, I’m sorry to say.
But also, what the blonde lady in the show said – it’s a wake up call against cynicism.
Anonymous says
Re: “So Nathan — out of all the manuscripts by authors that you agree to represent, how many do you end up selling? Fifty percent? Ten percent? Ninety?”
Good point Wanda… withdrawing the question.
Nathan Bransford says
anon-
It’s not so much confidential as it is hard to answer. I’ve been a full agent for a few years and I have a lot of projects currently on submission. I’ve sold more than not, but there are a lot of plates in the air.
PurpleClover says
Mira-
I give you permission to compile all the numbers you want for queries 1-50. 😉
Nathan – can we maybe give her a job? She could be the “reference” for double checking numbers or something…anything. I’m feeling sorry for her with those puppy dog eyes and all…or would that be like rewarding bad behavior?? lol.
🙂
The First Carol says
Unlike my taxes I thought I’d get on this right away.
6:23 PM showered, casual dress, comfy spot in most quiet domain of the house, the RV. Began.
6:31 PM needed music, estimating 3 hours for everything.
6:37 PM trying cut and paste; notepad, don’t fail me now.
6:40 PM switched to WORD to boldface and copy
6:54 PM have 110 entries, estimating 1500 to go, new time estimate 7.5 hours, better take that extra half hour, eight hours, ouch.
7:02 PM have 157, all right, speeding up
7:07 PM have 192 commenters noted in spreadsheet, blogger reports 200 exist, missed eight, sh*t!
7:16 PM recount is only 197, crap.
7:31 PM up to 199, only missing one, good enough.
7:48 PM at comment #295 singing Italian with Josh Grobin, mulling over fact that Nathan is allowing additions thru Saturday. Crap. 🙁 Buck up, girl, crank up Utopia’s Messenger of God (thank you garageband.com for that grunge).
7:58 PM missing two, blogger has crappy counter.
8:09 PM not blogger, ME, found missing agents…regrettably must go back and find 219th.
8:23 PM except for that missing 219, tally is complete.
8:25 PM Musing over the combination of the words, ‘good luck in finding,’ and how the displacement of a couple of vowels changes everything.
New estimate, 10 hours, 8 remaining…
Tess says
Re Susan Boyle:
Have you ever felt undervalued?
Have you ever felt like people just don’t see the beauty in who you are….don’t really get what you have to offer?
Writers feel that quite a lot, I think.
If you have never felt that way…never tried to do something that others thought you could not — then you are very lucky. And, you would likely not relate.
It’s nice to see the underdog win once in a while. It gives me, for one, hope.
Mira says
Purple Clover – bad behavior?
Have I been bad again?
Whoops. I did it again.
Ha ha.
But go ahead. Flaunt your special volunteer status and tease the poor non-volunteer.
Never mind. I don’t need Nathan to give me a job. I’m an empowered adult woman who doesn’t need anyone to give her a job to feel a sense of purpose and meaning in my life.
Instead, I’ll give myself a job.
I’m going to supervise the other volunteers.
Okay, volunteers. Here are my instructions:
Do what Nathan says.
Okay, that felt good.
Job well done.
I helped.
Mira says
Oh, Purple Clover, I realized you aren’t a volunteer.
And you were trying to help get me a job.
You’re a sweetheart.
But you see, it all worked out!
The First Carol says
okay, got it, now I’m doing it the right way! hahaha
Sarah Laurenson says
Susan Boyle. Yes. My heart goes pitter pat for any woman with such a beautiful voice. I could sit and listen to her sing for a very long time.
My take? Talent will out. It might take years. It might be in the weirdest place. It might be in an unexpected package. But it will out. And that raises all of our hopes.
And to watch that audience and those judges be cynical and then get totally blown away – that was priceless.
Mira says
That discussion at Militant Writer was interesting.
I love writer advocates. Yea!
Too bad she got it reversed, though – the publishers are the ones who created this monster of a system – an incestous and narrow-visioned monopoly that mostly cares about money but manages to make very little of it anyway because of the bottleneck and lack of intelligent marketing.
Agents are a publisher out-sourcing. Reduces their workload and costs. It’s paying people to read submissions on a commission basis.
Nathan, you did an outstanding job of diplomatically building bridges. I was so proud. I was like – Hey, that’s Nathan! I go to his blog!
Mira says
Oh, I know I’m talking too much.
Last one tonight, promise. I just starting going through the links.
I’m sorry. I think the Susan Boyle thing was completely contrived. Totally planned in advance.
They set up the idea that she was laughable in their initial comments, and then pretended shock.
Also, I was really expecting someone extremely unattractive, but I thought she was a quite appealing older woman – in a feisty motherly or grandmotherly sort of way.
She’ll be very successful. Brilliat marketing.
Doesn’t mean the discussions around this aren’t significantand important, though.
Sara J. Henry says
Nathan, re Susan Boyle – it’s like that moment in Pretty Woman when the Julia Roberts character goes back to the snobby Rodeo Drive salesladies and thumbs her nose at them – it’s the high school nerd become homecoming queen – it’s the happily-ever-after ending most of us have become too jaundiced to even begin to believe in. It’s seeing someone who knows she’s dowdy and knows the crowd is laughing at her (and not in a nice way) and standing up to them and knocking their socks off and making at least some of them realize what jerks they were for assuming that you have to be beautiful and well-dressed to have talent.
It’s magic – it’s dreams coming true – and it says to everyone who has faced adversity Dare to dream.
Or something like that.
M. K. Clarke says
Damn, day late, dollar short. Nathan, if you need another pair of eyes, I’ll pinch hit for ya. 🙂
~Missye
Jen C says
Mira said…
Nathan, you did an outstanding job of diplomatically building bridges. I was so proud. I was like – Hey, that’s Nathan! I go to his blog!
ROFL!
Nathan Bransford says
mira, you’re on a roll tonight!
Writer from Hell says
Susan Boyle
Someone who has been a failure for 47 years can suddenly turn a star! Moral of the story – never too late for success – never write yourself off no matter how many failures or disappointments you have faced!
Life is unpredictable, life can be magic….yes your life!
Writer from Hell says
Equally, never write anyone else off either…
Anonymous says
“While I’m very happy for her that she got her break at the perfect time, I guess I just can’t escape the feeling that it’s at least partly sad that anyone would be surprised.
I mean, I’m in the talent judging business. I don’t look around the room and think, “Ok, where are the most attractive people? I’m sure they’re the best writers!””
Aw, c’mon Nathan. Stop being disengenous. Take a look at author photos. Jonathan Franzen’s, for instance. I’ve met the man, and boy, I can tell you, *someone* did him a big fat photo-op service!
(But why bother, right? I mean the man’s got talent, right? Who cares what he looks like, right?)
Lookism is alive and well in the book industry, and you know it. Think of the cooing over Zadie Smith. Compare and contrast with the way and the reason Olivia Goldsmith died.
Ariel
Anonymous says
PS.
Here’s a photo of Marina Lewycka posing at the Orange Prize:
https://www.life.com/image/53033331
And Kate Winslet posing
https://southernfriedfatty.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/katewinslet.jpg
Maybe they went to the same charm school?
Ariel
Writer from Hell says
I know everybody has a different take and without sounding like arguing with someone (though I am doing so), I don’t think the surprise is how susan looked. I mean have u not see really ugly people(sorry) successful before? I’ve seen plenty.
But it is about a tragic life (never been kissed by a man – that is the definition of tragedy i think) turning around not on the basis of luck but sheer talent. Somewhere thru all her struggles and frustrations, she has held on to something.
That is heroism!
The First Carol says
Stats on # of requests compiled to date. Won’t take much to finish out latecomers after contest closes. Q: Are we posting here or emailing accepted/rejected numbers and percentages directly to you?Of course, after the thorough vetting of the queries, and resultant illuminating education, MY PERSONAL QUERY, has been REVAMPED. Q: When I email to you, what should I put in the subject line to enable quick ID to roll it into your ‘barter a query critique’ pile? My email is pearlofcarol (at) gmail (dot) com.
Lastly, my compliments and sincere thank you for the overall experience and the, uh, …nightmares. Last night I dreamt I took a curve too fast and about the time I thought, I should apply the brakes, it was too late. I hurtled off road into trees. Surprisingly, didn’t feel a thing. My head rested comfortably on the air bag while a helicopter hovered focusing a bright light through the driver’s window, I surmise to check if I still breathed.
Bring on the medics, the counselors, the Xanax…I’ll be in recovery for awhile. But man, was it fun!
clindsay says
Nathan –
Did you also want a list of the commenters who requested or just the basic numbers.
C-
Cheryl Pickett says
In regard to your question about the Susan Boyle singer thing, I think writers and authors can learn something there.
To me it’s not the fact that plain and ordinary can be extraordinary, but a reminder that that being extraordinary is what gets attention.
With the thousands of options of what people have to read, listen to or watch at any given moment, just being “good” (as good as that is) may not get you noticed.
Any “good” singer might move on in the competition, but an overwhelmingly talented person like Susan obviously gets the attention, much more in the deal. I’m sure similar things happen in the book industry on a regular basis and it’s good for authors to keep that in perspective.
jimnduncan says
Hey, wait a minute! Colleen doesn’t need that query critique. Perhaps if I set this nice bottle of scotch on her desk, she’ll put her name to my query? Maybe…
Owl Sprite says
I’m finally done with the queries!!! Oh my that got harder and harder… the queries just got better and better.
Kudos to everyone… what a brave thing to put your queries up there for all the world to shred.
I’m really glad mine didn’t get picked. I don’t know how I could have stood seeing it next to all these really professional, polished queries, and all the “form rejections” it would have gotten.
Now that I see these, I think mine may be totally unpublishable. But I’m going to finish it anyway, for the discipline and practice of writing the book.
Maybe I’ll self publish and inflict copies on my relatives for Christmas.
Have a great weekend, everyone. I don’t envy the tabulators.
My picks: 20, 24, 26, 29, and 50.
Yes, my geekiness is showing! But I loved every one of these and can see a readership for them.
The medical imaging one I think is absolutely important and needed.
Owl Sprite says
PS Thought for the day…
If the hero of my novel saves a maiden in a forest and no one reads it, do they still exist?