Agent Monday: Cyberstalking…in a Good Way

Happy Agent Monday everyone!  I hope you are all coming off a very restful 3-day weekend sated with too much barbecue and lots of feet up on the lounge chair time.  Fun summer fact about this literary agent: I love to spend summery hours working on a way-too-hard puzzle, glass of iced tea with mint sprig in hand. I love puzzles in general (but don’t send me puzzles, please…), but here’s something that gets my puzzler sore: why don’t so many submitting writers seem to have a clue of what I do and don’t want? Why don’t they cyberstalk agents…in a good way?

Here’s what I’m talking about…Look me up anywhere online and you’ll see that I do not represent genre sci-fi or genre romance. So what do I get in my inbox? Yup. Queries for science fiction romances. I also do not represent Christian fiction or non-fiction. Lately I’ve been getting a lot of queries for this. So I tweet that I do not represent this…and I get a bunch more.

Folks, this is all sorts of bad. Bad for you the writer because it’s a red-flag to anyone you wrongly submit to that you haven’t bothered to even look up the bare minimum of info on the agents you are subbing to. Also bad for you because instead of focusing with laser-eyes on the right agents and getting yourself closer to representation, you are spinning your wheels and wasting your time. It’s bad for agents because so many writers are clogging up agent submission inboxes with stuff that is wasting their time. That means it’ll take even longer for them to get to the queries that might just be of interest to them…and that query just might be YOURS!

So, writers, spread the word and help yourself…You and your fellow authors should be cyberstalking agents…in a good way!  A week or so ago I was at the NJ SCBWI annual conference with my wonderful client and amazing author Tracey Baptiste presenting workshops about the author-agent relationship. Each time we did the workshop,Tracey mentioned that before she queried me, she cyberstalked me. And each time some writers in the audience took notes as if it were something they hadn’t really thought of before.

Now, what is cyberstalking in a bad way? Messaging an agent on Facebook. Please don’t do that. Commenting on their family pictures and putting odd comments all over their blog about your manuscript. Also not good.

Cyberstalking in a good way is much more behind the scenes. You are gathering info, not putting yourself in front of people you are going to be contacting. So google the agent you are submitting to. Read their submission guidelines and follow these. Now look beyond those guidelines.  Google the agent’s name in quotes followed by: agent (especially if that person has a common name…you don’t want to drown in useless info about people who are not that agent). For example, in the google search line you would type for me: “Marie Lamba” agent.

Now, what turns up is likely more than a static agency website (though that’s a good starting point – you won’t believe how many people clearly don’t even look at that for guidelines). Like with me, you’ll find my twitter feed – with that note about Christian fiction, about other current likes and dislikes. You’ll also find interviews I did that highlight what I’m looking for, my interests, my style. After reading through these, you may discover that I really don’t want to see anymore paranormal romance novels, and you’ll cross me off your list. Or you will see that I’m searching high and low for the next Bridget Jones in woman’s fiction, something smart and funny but ORIGINAL and not a Bridget Jones knock off. And you just happened to have written something that might be a fit… Hey, now you can query me and say something along the lines of “I saw in your interview with xyz that you are searching for the next Bridget Jones…”

Now you’ll have my attention. This is a query from someone who has done their homework and carefully targeted a submission.

You might also see something in your cyberstalking that you like about a particular agent. Their philosophy, the authors she represents, her humor, whatever. You can point to that in your query. Or you might find something you really don’t like. A site with numerous complaints about unethical practices? An agent saying things that seriously rubs you the wrong way? Is this someone you want to go into a business partnership with? If the answer is no, then cross them off the list and move on.

Cyberstalking in a good way can yield the most current agent guidelines and help you narrow your list of agents to the best and most-likely fits for you. Start there in your query process and you’ll find yourself closer to the yes you seek.

I know that I’ll pull up my agent inbox today and find it full of queries from people who don’t have a clue of who I am or what I do or do not want. Sigh. But I know that you won’t be clueless, right? And because of that, you will stand out. Of course, there is no guarantee an agent will offer representation, even if you target them well. But, like chicken soup, it definitely wouldn’t hurt.

 

*Marie is an Associate Agent at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency in New York City.  To keep up with all her posts, subscribe to her site by clicking on the Follow link located on her page on the upper left margin.

Agent Monday: When I Won’t Respond

Happy Agent Monday… What?  It’s TUESDAY?  Okay, I know that. But I just spent a wonderful and very busy three days at the NJ SCBWI conference, so Agent Monday turned into Agent Recovery Day.  (BTW, if you are looking for a great writer’s conference for kidlit, keep your eye on your regional SCBWI conferences. They always do a phenomenal job.) Today, I thought I’d cover something you should all know: I ALWAYS respond to every query I get, except for when the person querying me has made some serious errors. Errors that merit a delete instead. For example:

1. They have mass mailed the query to me
Signs of this? There is no Dear Ms. Lamba. No greeting at all. The entire query is generic with no reference as to why they specifically sent it to me. The email has clearly been sent to multiple agents at once (sometimes every agents’ email address is even there in the send-to field). Delete.

2. The query is sent as an attachment or has attachments
And I haven’t requested an attachment from this writer, as I might if I’d met them at a conference. Would you open this? I won’t. Delete.

3. The writer has sent this query to me before
Sometimes the writer changes the details of the query, or the title, or even the email it is sent from. I’ve even gotten the same query 3 or 4 times from a writer. Guess what? I remember. Delete and block sender.

4. The query has a greeting that is generic and/or wrong
Recent queries that have been sent to me have been addressed to Dear Sirs, Dear Agent, Dear Mr. DeChiara, Dear Publisher. Delete!

5. The query and/or querier scares the bejeebus out of me
Threatening language, creeps, etc. Delete, block and wash hands!!!

You get the idea. So, if you have queried me and haven’t heard back in a few months, and you haven’t done any of those crazy ass things I’ve mentioned here, then check your spam folder. Chances are you’ll see my response there. Because if you are not a crazy-ass querier, I will respond.

FYI, if you are querying me and I’ve met you before or you have a personal reference, then I might take a bit longer to respond to your query than the average time you’ll see on a site like querytracker. That’s because I know it will take a more personal response from me and I need to set aside time for that.

Happy July!

 

*Marie is an Associate Agent at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency in New York City.  To keep up with all her posts, subscribe to her site by clicking on the Follow link located on her page on the upper left margin.

 

 

Agent Monday: Trust your Gut

Happy Agent Monday, everyone! It feels like summer has truly arrived. Today, I thought I’d talk a little bit about feelings… or rather, intuition. In a few weeks, my  wonderful author Tracey Baptiste and I will be presenting a talk on the author/agent relationship at the NJ SCBWI Conference. What should a writer look for in an agent? How can a writer know if an agent will be right for her? There are many things writers should consider, but Tracey pointed out one factor that is often overlooked: Intuition. She told me, “As soon as I talked to you, I just knew.” Something about the ease of conversation, about our shared wacky humor…  Um, I’m not sure WHAT she means about that (see our picture here from BEA for clues, perhaps?). So here’s the big question. Are you trusting your gut?

I definitely am. When something is right, I just know it. As a writer myself, I listen to what feels important to me, and I pour my heart and soul into writing that. As an agent, I look for that gut reaction to what is submitted to me. I often pass on projects that I know I could sell, but that just don’t feel right for me. I trust my intuition to guide me to the books that I feel have true heart and importance. Sure, I have a checklist of things that I’m looking for, but there’s something more. That just knowing when it’s right. And when I speak with an author, I’m also tuned into whether or not we are communicating well and whether or not we share the same goals and expectations.

What about you? Do you listen to your gut enough? When looking for an agent, you should do all those things you know to do when researching them. But, when an offer comes in, you know what I’m going to say…TRUST YOUR GUT. Because at this point, it’s not about getting an agent, it’s about getting the right agent. This is a business partnership you want to last throughout your career. You are entrusting your “baby” to this person. Does it feel right?

Many writers are so thrilled to get any offer of representation that they are eager to just say YES! I always tell writers I make offers to that they should wait a few days to let me know their answer. I know I risk that author changing their mind, but I want this to be the right decision for both of us. I want them to think it through and really feel good about our partnership.

So when you get that offer, I advise you to pause. Think, can you communicate well with this person? Do you feel confident about them? Is there something they say that bothers you on some level? If so, don’t brush it aside because you are so anxious to get representation. Pay attention to your gut. Ask questions.

In Tracey’s case, she said she just knew we were a great match as soon as we talked on the phone. Yes, I told her to take a few days. To let other agents reading her manuscript weigh in during that time. And to let me know. I wanted it to be right for her. She trusted her gut, though, and just told the other agents thank you but I have an agent, and then she accepted my offer. It wasn’t the way many “how-to” articles tell you to do it, but it was the right way for her.

I’m happy to say that Tracey’s manuscript THE JUMBIES was then sold to Algonquin Books for Young Readers, and that it’ll come out in 2015!  Here we are at BEA a few weeks ago with her awesome editor Elise Howard.

I knew as soon as I read this book that it was something special. I knew as soon as I spoke with Tracey that she would be a delight to work with. Tracey knew as soon as she spoke with me that I was her agent. And Elise at Algonquin knew as soon as she read THE JUMBIES that this was the right book for her list.

Trust your gut!

*Marie is an Associate Agent at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency in New York City.  To keep up with all her posts, subscribe to her site by clicking on the Follow link located on her page on the upper left margin.