Getting a Feel for Film Rights

Can you discuss how film rights work? Do you have a different agent who handles them? What are the chances that film rights sell?

Ah, film rights, the ultimate dream of most writers out there. (Until they wreck your vision of it by casting Colin Farrell when you were more thinking Tom Hanks.)

Film rights are tough on several counts: 1) they're not always an easy sell. We have some things in the work for TDLF - and we've had some other things in the work for a looooong time - and who knows what will pan out. You can't pin your hopes on selling film rights. (If and when something pans out for me, you guys will be the first, well, the second after my husband, to know.) 2) Even if you sell those rights - usually in an option format, meaning they "option" the rights to your book for a certain amount of time but aren't under any obligation to actually make the film - there's still a slim chance that you'll ever see your work on the silver screen. Why that is, I'm not entirely sure, but I'm guessing that studios and production companies don't mind shelling out money to retain the possibility that they might want to make the movie, but when push comes to shove, they don't want to shell out to make the actual movie. And there are a variety of factors that go into this: landing the right actors, whether or not your demographic will show up at the theaters, whether or not execs think the story will sell, etc.

As far as agents, no, I don't have a separate agent who handles film rights, but MY agent has an agent who handles film rights. How it works is this: film agents can pick and choose which projects they want to represent, much like a literary agent can. Only this time, I'm not the one shopping the book, my agent is. So she farms it out to film agents she thinks are good matches, and then it's in their hands as to whether they say yes or no. My agent does deal with production companies more directly, however. They come to her and say, "Hey, I'm interested in TDLF; can you send it my way?," and she does.

So that's how it all works. Questions? Thoughts? Something I left out?

What I'm Doing Now to Pay Off Later

WIP update: I'm really happy with my progress - up to page 117 on my revise, and my goal last week was only page 100, so I'm ahead of the game. This week, I want to finish revising up to page 150 (where my draft ends), and then hopefully crank out another 10-20 new pages. The goal is to be at about page 175+ by the time my agent returns from her honeymoon. We'll see. So...how goes it with your WIPs?

A few people wrote me to ask what sort of PR stuff I'm doing right now for the book. I know that I glazed over this in a post last week, so I thought I'd elaborate. From what I understand, a lot of the PR work really will come once the book is released - going around to a lot of bookstores and introducing myself (with the hopes that this might draw attn from the staff to the book), signing stock, doing interviews that my agent says will inevitably happen, and I dunno what else. But I've steeled myself to be supremely stressed and busy. Blech.

Right now, here's what I have going on, in terms of the PR stuff: I have a bunch of Q/As for blogs and websites that I have to put some thought into and answer (thanks to anyone who has asked! I'm flattered and grateful); I'm redesigning my website with a professional (as opposed to the half-assed job that I created myself), so that's going to take some time this week, and I'm hoping to have it up soon; I'm writing the Reading Group Guide that HarperCollins offers on their site for book clubs; I'm brainstorming essay ideas and drafts for my publicist to submit to a variety of places such as the Lives column in the NY Times Magazine; I'm busy reaching out to libraries, readers and breast cancer causes on places such as MySpace and via their own blogs, etc; I'm putting the finishing touches on an essay that I wrote about my friendship with Lizzie for the June issue of Fitness; I'm checking in with writers I know who read the galley to see if they've been able to place any reviews in shorter-lead mags/sites/newspapers.

Hmmm, I'm sure that there's more, but those are the things that spring to mind right now...

Authors out there, what did you to at this stage (a few months out) to help your own PR plan?

When the Mail Ain't Coming

Have you seen this article? http://gawker.com/news/magazines/do-magazines-invent-letters-hell-yes-239670.php What do you think?

Hmmm, yes, I had seen it because it was the talk of several forums I frequent. For those of you who haven't or who are too lazy to click on the link, Gawker is reporting that a lot of magazines invent their letters. I'm one of the few freelancers who has never worked on staff anywhere, so I can't speak with certainty about the veracity of this, but some of the writers I know said that this isn't that unusual of a practice.

Which, I guess, leads me to ask: why??? I mean, if magazines aren't getting enough reader letters, maybe they should take this as a sign that readers don't care so much about the letters section and axe it altogether. It seems odd to me that they'd go through the effort of fabricating an entire section - a section that largely depends on their readers - rather than realize that maybe readers just don't give a damn.

I also certainly think that this expose (for lack of a better word) undermines the already sketchy leg of authority on which some magazines stand. What does this mean? Well, it's fairly well-known in the freelancing circles that a few magazines (which I won't name) make up quotes and sources when they can't find ones that suit their purposes. (Note: I don't write for any of these magazines, partially because of this reason, so please don't leap to judgment about any and all mags...my editors, including mags such as Women's Health, Self, Parents, Cooking Light, Woman's Day, Family Circle, Hallmark, etc, all put the stories through a rigorous fact-checking process.) As a writer, I can almost always tell when a quote has been made up...they're the ones you read and think, "I can't believe that they found a half-Asian, one-quarter Hawaiian 33 year-old mother of triplets who lives in Wichita, KS and is a former beauty queen who happens to have an IQ over 200 yet has found herself homeless after burning through her inheritance from both parents who died in a freak lightening accident." And the story just happens to be on racially-mixed moms of multiples who live in the Midwest and whose good fortune turned around on a dime. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but you get my point. If a quote is really, really, really too good to be true, in a few magazines, unfortunately, it is.

In fact, I remember a friend was trolling for quotes from parents who would go on record saying that their sex life had gotten hotter after their kids were born. Ha! Every person wrote her back and said, "er, you're kidding, right??" And she knew it was a total joke because how on earth was she going to find the maybe one person who thought that newborns were a turn-on, but her editor insisted that these people were out there. So my poor friend kept searching and searching to no avail. Now, I have no idea what happened with that story, but if it were being written for a few of the mags that invent quotes (which it wasn't), the editor might have just pulled Jane Smith, she who finds spit-up and sleepless nights arousing, out of thin air.

So...getting back to the original question. What do I think of the fact that magazines make up letters? Well, I just think it further undermines the idea that journalists are all too often happy to play fast and loose with the truth. 95% of us aren't.

So what do you guys think of the Gawker piece? Am I jumping to conclusions about its implications?

When a Source Wants a Preview

I'm curious how you handle sources who want to see the final version of a story before it goes to print. I've had one particular source who has been really insistant on it, and I don't know what to tell him.

Ugh, isn't it the worst when sources become pests? (Most don't, however, and are nothing but helpful and lovely.) I had one who would just NOT leave me alone, and finally, I had to send him a very curt email telling him to take up whatever else he needed with my editor. And I then blocked his email addy.

Source requests to see the final article actually aren't that unusual - they often don't understand that it's not within our right to show it to them. So, when a source asks me to email them the copy, I always simply tell them that while I can't do that, what will happen is that a fact-checker will be in touch to go over any and all pertinent quotes, and that they can rest assured that they'll have a chance to review what they said. I empathize, I do. I just did an interview about TDLF, and I'm 100% certain that I said a few things that will make me sound like an idiot, as I stumbled my way through some answers. But that doesn't mean that I (or a source) get to impose some sort of control over the story or the editorial process.

If your source isn't placated by the old "fact-checker will be in touch" route, I suggest you simply refer him to your editor, telling him you don't have permission to share the story, but the editor might be able to help. Let your editor do the dirty work - it's not your obligation to do so.

So readers, how do you handle pushy sources?

Booking Book Tours

Hey peeps - just wanted to give a plug to my friend, Kristy Kiernan, whose book, Catching Genius, goes on sale next week!! Yahoo!! For more on the book, check out Larramie's Seize a Daisy blog this week.

I've had a lot of people write to ask if I'm doing a book tour, so I thought I'd pass along some info that I've gleaned about book tours.

It's interesting, just after the comment, "You have to get on Oprah!," (Well, gee, really??? Doesn't every author on the planet - save for one or two - want to get on Oprah?? Not as easy to do as people seem to think.), people say, "So, are you going on a tour?"

So here's the deal with book tours: publishing houses rarely pay for debut authors to go on tour. There are definitely exceptions, such as my fab friend, Laura Dave, but for the most part, the house isn't going to shell out money for an unproven author. Which actually makes a lot of sense to me. I mean, who is going to show up to buy a signed book from someone whom they've never heard of? And to further this point, how many of you guys would show up for a book signing of a random Joe Schmo? Actually, how many of you guys go to book signings period? See where I'm going with this? The numbers aren't high.

That said, debut authors often have signings in places where they know they can generate a decent crowd, and to that end, I am doing a small tour, albeit in cities where I have built-in connections. My publicist told me that bookstores really don't want to waste their time if you can wrangle 50 people to show, so that's our barometer. But the publisher doesn't pay for my travel, I do. I'm fortunate to be in a position where I can do this, but some authors can't, and so they don't. And truthfully, I don't really think this is a big ding in their promotional plans. The jury is out on if tours really bolster sales - a lot of authors and publicists don't think they do - so touring is really a question of how motivated you are. One way that a tour may help is that when an author visits a city, the publicist (if she's good) will alert all the media outlets and you might get a lot of coverage in the papers and such. I believe that this is how a few of my author friends hit bestseller lists in various cities that they visited.

So...how effective do you think touring is? And why is the tour-question so common?

Promotional Pushes

I was wondering if your freelancing/networking with mags, and writing for Redbook helped get you there? Is this something that maybe an agent, or a publicity person does after the book has sold--do you have a publicity person or is it up to you to promote the book? Does a publicity person or do you contact the mag and pitch your book to them? Do you do this for other mags so they can blurb/publish something about your novel in order to get the word more out?

A couple of different questions here and a couple of different answers, so let's break it down.

In terms of Redbook (in case you didn't see the news last week, TDLF was selected as Redbook's Book Club pick for the month of May), the peeps at Harper handled this entirely. I've been lucky enough to have a stellar team of people working behind the scenes to garner publicity for the book, and in this case, the subsidiary rights folks - the same people who manage foreign rights - are the all-stars responsible for selling first serial rights to Redbook. I feel particularly fortunate because it seems like it's really rare to read excerpts from novels in mags these days, so my hat is really off to the subsidiary rights dept at Harper. Did my experience writing for Redbook help? I really don't think so. My editor is currently on maternity leave, and while I did shoot an email to the book editor there, I don't know her and I didn't hear back from her...so I really think this was just a happy accident: that I've written for them in the past and that they selected my book.

And the reviews in Cosmo, Marie Claire and a few others also really had nothing to do with me. They all had to do with a) I guess the fact that the book will appeal to the demographics of these various magazines and b) the fact that I really have a super-duper team at Harper and a fantabulous agent who also helped with the PR by calling various editors and writers whom she knows.

How does this all work? Well, we got the galleys back in December. And from there, the folks at Harper sent out a blanket mailing to all of the long-lead editors. (Newspapers and weeklies, with the exception of People and EW, all get copies of actual books when we get them in a month or so. People and EW got galleys.) My publicist then follows up, follows up, follows up. And hopefully, one or more editors bite. We've been very fortunate in the coverage we've received, and I really don't know why, other than to say that I guess the book is connecting on some level and to credit my savvy team once again. They put together a good Q/A with me and a sharp press release, and this must have made the book pop out among the hundreds of other submissions that these editors receive. Oh, and props to the art dept too because the cover is getting a lot of positive feedback, and as consumers, not just writers, we know that covers help sell (and evidently, move galleys to the top of an editor's stack).

Now, that said, certainly, my connections at other magazines have helped. For example, I've written for Fitness before, and my lovely editor there read the book (and enjoyed it!), and asked me to write an essay for the mag to coincide with the release. (Right now, it's slated for the May issue, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it might get bumped to June.)

And, as any author will tell you, even when your publicist is fabulous, the onus still falls on you much of the time. So I've been doing Q/As with websites and blogs, and yes, following up with a lot of my own editors to garner even more attention and mentions. Because ultimately, my publicist has a slew of other books to promote, and I only have mine. End of story.

Make sense?

Progress?

So...how are we doing with our WIPs? I'm happy to report that I'm now up to page 75 on mine, which is exactly where I wanted and needed to be to date. My agent is leaving on her fabu-honeymoon, and I've promised her the first half of the book (about 150 pages) when she returns. So, as of now, I have about three weeks to revise/rewrite/overhaul the remaining 75 pages. And I think that's totally do-able. My goal is to have gotten to page 100 (at least) by the end of this week.

What is yours?

I'm sorry I'm not answering a question today. I am SOOO farking tired. (Yes, farking is my feeble attempt to curb my swearing, as my two-year old now repeats every. single. thing. we say, and it's high time that my husband and I clean up our language. I, however, am much more successful than he is at this, and I live in fear of what my son might blurt out on his first day of preschool in September. Thus, my attempt to get my husband to swap in non-swear words for similar sounding, but much worse, actual swear words.) Anyway, I went to the gym late last night, and as a result, I couldn't get to sleep, despite the Oscar's best attempts to put me to sleep. Wow, was that a boring ceremony or what?? I was up almost the entire night - hearing my horrid upstairs neighbors tromp about (despite REPEATED!!!!! notes and discussion asking them to be a little more aware of the fact that they sound like 6000 pound elephants) and then hearing various people shovel snow off the sidewalk in the middle of the night. WHY??? I ask you, was that necessary?? Then, to top if off, I absolutely could NOT get this random song from Music and Lyrics (that, yes, my husband was kind enough to see with me) out of my head, and I played it on repeat in my mind over and over while I tossed and turned. (Side note: I actually sort of dig this song, but Hugh Grant, as delicious as he is, is not a singer born.)

Anyway, the long and the short of it is that I'm pooped. So no question today. But if you have more questions, please do send them my way. A few people mentioned that they didn't know how to email me, so here's my addy: allison@allisonwinn.com

Breaking Into Anthologies

I've been reading lots of anthologies of non-fiction essays, including Twentysomething Essays, Death by Pad Thai, and Expat. Some of the essays are by established writers and some are from unknowns, but they're all great to read. Do you think you need to be agented to find these kinds of opportunities? How do other writers do it? Do they have an unpublished essay lying around or do they get asked to write one specifically for the anthology?

Funny, I just bought The Bitch In the House, so your question was timely. That said, I don't have the slightest idea. So...I turned to my fabulous and wise agent, who had this to say.

"A lot of times, the 'editor' of the anthology will send out a mass email, asking authors, usually published as it helps the chances for the book to be sold, for a commitment, a paragraph idea for how they would spin the anthology’s topic, and a bio. So, it certainly helps to be published in that topic and to be enmeshed in that world of writers.

I often have editors come to me and ask me if I have any authors who might be right for a story on X…and then I forward it on…but it’s not something I commission. It’s little money but a great way to build your platform.

I guess if the author is unpublished, a way to throw her hat in the ring would be to contact the editor of a previous anthology, via a fan letter (for example, Sally Wofford Girand has now worked on two) and get her name on editor's radar."

Oh, my agent, she's so brilliant!

Anyone out there ever contributed to an anthology? If so, how did it happen?

Cool News of the Week and Switching Out Agents

Big news!! Redbook, which has a circulation of nearly three million and up to about nine million eyeballs (meaning, that's how many people actually read the magazine each month), just selected The Department of Lost and Found as its May Book Club Pick of the Month!!!!!! I am beside myself with excitement. They'll print an excerpt of the book in the magazine and conduct a Q/A with me on their website. This is such a thrill and an honor, and my whole team at Harper is elated. So I had to share! Okay, down to business:

Question of the day: Allison, is it OK to look for an agent while you're already under contract? Or should you fire Agent A first, and then look for Agent B?

Ooh, juicy question. And, depending on whom you ask, one with more than one answer.

Most agents, including Miss Snark, will tell you that you're obligated to let Agent A know that you're movin' on before setting out on a hunt for Agent B. Fair play, and all of that. Not to mention that you do run into the problem that Agent B might know Agent A, and might know that you're repped by Agent A, in which case, you'll be looking for Agent C, D, or E.

That said, it's terrifying to leave a sure thing for an unknown, so I do think that a lot of repped writers very quietly begin their agent hunt before giving notice. Now. I'm not entirely sure how you word this in your query letter, and perhaps some wise readers can suggest how they would go about this. Or if you should go about this at all. In my case, Agent A and I mutually decided to part ways, so I never had an overlap. But if she had dragged out the situation much longer, it's entirely possible that I might have jumped on the agent go-around before being officially released.

The bottom line is that this is a really sticky situation. So readers...help out this person out. What would you do?

My Agent, The Marketer

Got this question in reference to my post yesterday...wanted to clarify: What do you mean by create a marketing campaign for it? Do you have to work with your agent to create a special campaign for the book when you go to a publisher?

No, you don't have to create a special campaign, but an agent's job extends beyond just calling up editors and saying, "Hey, I'm sending this manuscript over to you for review." Or I should say, a good agent's job.

Much like you craft and finesse the perfect pitch letter to land an agent, so too will an agent craft a letter/pitch about your book to send to editors. (Even if this is an email or something more casual.) The agent will look for a way to set your book apart from all of the riff-raff that the editor is also receiving - she'll hone the hook of the book, find good comparisons (for example, as mentioned last week, my agent pitched my book as a Good Grief meets The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters) and sell the book to the editor. Not literally, though she might well do that too, but more figuratively - she'll make your book sound so tempting that the editor would rather receive the manuscript than a dozen chocolate cupcakes.

I really think this is a critical difference between an adequate agent and a great one: the great ones know how to get editors salivating, and part of any good sell is the packaging and marketing. So, in essence, great agents are also stellar marketers. That's what I meant by that comment.

Make sense? Those of you who are agented, do you agree?

From Agent To Sale?

I just got an agent for my novel. Hurrah! I wanted to see if you knew what my odds were of now making a sale to a publishing house. I searched online but couldn't find anything concrete.

First of all, congrats on landing an agent! Hurrah, indeed.

Second of all, you couldn't find any reliable stats because there aren't any. And even if there were, these stats would have no bearing on whether or not your book would sell. (Sorry!) There are two reasons that a book sells: if it's good or if it meets a particular house's need at the time (or some combination of the two). And if your book isn't one of the above, then it doesn't matter if 99% of all agented books sell, yours won't.

Ok, now. I didn't at ALL mean that yours isn't good! I was simply pointing out that statistics are entirely unhelpful when it comes to situations like this. If your book is kick-ass and timely, then it probably has a better than 50% chance of selling...this is just a safe stat that I'm pulling out of my head. Unfortunately, however, getting an agent isn't a slam-dunk on the way to a book deal. And how do I know? (Lest you think I'm just being overdramatic.) Because my first (agented) book DIDN'T SELL! Came veeeeeeeery close, but alas, nada.

Here's the thing though: there's really not a whole hell of a lot you can do right now about the situation. You wrote what you (and your agent) consider to be a great book. That's ALL you can do. Now, it's up to your agent to pinpoint the best editors and put together the best marketing campaign for it, and then, let that baby fly. Here's to hoping that an editor catches it!

Good luck!

By George, I Think I've Got It! (My Heroine, That Is)

Hey fellow bloggers -

If you're a regular blogger and reach the mommy-demo (Manic Mom, I'm talking to you!), check out my friend, Melanie Hauser's blog. She's doing a give-away to correspond with her newest book release, Super Mom Saves the World, and along with a free book, you'll get a free Swiffer! What's not to love?

Okay, so how did you guys do this week with your WIPs? Here's where I came out:

First of all, I am completely and totally overwhelmingly busy, so let me offer that caveat first. :) Promotional stuff for TDLF is taking up a lot more time than I imagined, which isn't a bad thing because, after all, it means that there IS promotional stuff happening, but it also eats into my writing time. Which is why, er, I suppose that I should have listened to the gajillions of people who told me to write my second book as soon as my first one sold...rather than waiting until three months before it's released. Oops.

BUT. Some very good things happened. This is what I'm currently doing: I have 40k words already written. But I've changed some fundamental parts of the plot and characteristics in my heroine, such that a decent part of these 40k words need to be overhauled. So right now, I'm making my way through these pages - I got up to page 30 this week, and my goal (remember I talked about how important it is to set concrete goals) is to have revised ALL 150 or so pages that I've written by the end of March, when I head to Mexico for vacation. (Yahoo!) I actually think I'll finish this MUCH earlier, but you never know, so this is a reasonable, attainable goal. (Which is another critical factor in finding success - setting realistic goal rather than "I'm going to lose 20 pounds in a month" goals.)

More important than the actual 30 pages of revisions is the fact that I finally started to get a real feel for my heroine - get inside of her head and fully understand what motivates her, why she is how she is, and how this will affect her trajectory for the rest of her journey in the book. How, you might ask, did I write 150 pages without fully getting her? Well, I sort of equate it to the difference between being a good actor - someone who can cry on cue but never quite convince the audience that she's actually mourning - and a great actor - someone who full inhabits the role to the point where you really believe that she's experiencing the life of the character she's playing (hello, Kate Winslet!). And this is what I was doing with my heroine: I was writing her in such a way that she was believable, but fully inhabitable. And that's because I didn't inhabit her myself. But now, we've clicked, and I'm thinking about her and her story and where it will go nearly all the time. It even woke me up last night, and that's saying a lot from a seriously sleep-deprived me.

Okay, so that's where I'm at. How about you? Did I make any sense? Can you tell when someone is smiling for the camera and smiling because she really believes the reasons behind her smile? (Figuratively speaking.)

Do You Want It Hard or Soft?

(That's what she said!)...Er, sorry, that's my homage to The Office. (Jim!!! Pam!!! What are you doing???!!?)

You mentioned in a previous post that getting a hardcover deal was important to you. What are the pros of this? Is hardcover better than trade paperback?

Ooh, goooood question, and I definitely want other people to weigh in with their thoughts.

NO. Let me say first that there's no "better," or "worse." There's really only what's best for your particular book. And in my case, I felt, as did my agent, that hardcover was the right way to release TDLF. How did we reach that conclusion? Well, other books that it was being compared to, such as Good Grief and The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters, were released in hardcover...and did really well. So clearly, the demographic for my book can and will buy hardcover. Second, hardcover books tend (and I say tend because this is evolving) to get more reviews, and reviews sell books. Third, like it or not, hardcover books are often considered more "prestigious" by people in the industry (and I put that word in quotes because it's a terrible adjective to use, but I'm lacking a better one), and so they might get a bigger push by everyone from your in-house publicist to your sales team to a buyer at Barnes and Noble. (And btw, please know that I'm just passing along what I've heard. I certainly don't believe that my book is any more prestigious or important or whatever than a gazillion wonderful trade paperbacks that I've read.) There's also the fact that, I think, libraries are more likely to order hardcovers than paperback, and libraries can definitely make a dent in your sales. (Correct me if I'm wrong about this.)

NOW. There are also a lot of benefits to coming out in trade paperback. The most obvious is price point. A LOT of people don't want to shell out twenty bucks or more for a book for which there's no guarantee that they'll like. (Though interestingly enough, a book will last you a lot longer than a movie, and these days, tix to the movies for two people are about the same as a hardcover, at least in NYC. Let's not even factor in the price of the evening once you've added in a babysitter and dinner!) I think this is really true for the chick lit market or for first-time writers. You simply might not be able to get people to shell out for an unproven author or for a lighter story. Especially the younger demographic who doesn't have as much disposable income. I think, and this is just my guess, you're also more likely to get book clubs to select trade paperbacks than hardcovers, and book clubs can really bolster sales, especially through word of mouth.

There's also the added pressure of coming out in hardcover vs. trade. I think that the publishing house tends to have greater expectations with their hardcovers, and if you fall short - which you well might, given the price point - your next book deal might be a no-go.

Speaking of reviews (well, I speaking of them in the earlier paragraphs), time for a tiny brag...:)

Booklist just had this to say about TDLF:

"Scotch handles the topic of cancer with humor and hope, never dipping into the maudlin. The changes and realizations that the characters make are profound and moving. An impressive debut."

Anyway, I'd LOVE to hear what other people think about hardcover vs. trade paperback. Please weigh in!

Get Unboxed!

Hey guys,

I'm guest-blogging today at Writer Unboxed, a fabulous resource for all levels of writers. Actually, I'm not really guest-blogging, I'm now a semi-regular contributor, but you get the idea.

Check it out!

Decisions, Decisions

I'm in the fortunate position of having two agent offers for my novel. I know that you were in a similar position, so how did you decide which one to choose? I have phone calls set up with them later this week, but I'm stressed out about the decision! I didn't think I'd ever find myself in this position, and I have no idea what to do.

First of all, congrats!! You're in a very enviable situation, and your book must be a winner. Whoohoo!

Okay, down to business. You've already taken the right steps - namely, but setting up conversations with both of the agents. If you live nearby, you might even suggest that you meet in person - over lunch or in their offices - to get an even better feel for them. When you're on the phone, don't be afraid to ask them questions that will help you make your decision. For example, one of the agents who offered to rep me felt very strongly that TDLF was a trade paperback book. While my current agent (and obviously the offer I accepted!) felt very strongly that it was a hardcover book. And clearly, she was the one I agreed with. Ask them how they plan to shop it around - spread it to a dozen agents or limit it to a few "perfect" matches to begin with; ask them where they see your book falling in the marketplace; ask them how they like to work with authors - filling you in on news when it happens or checking in with you often. Etc. There are numerous other questions that you can (and should) ask...and my guess is that the agents will have different answers and different approaches. The one that falls more in sync with your line of thinking should be the one you sign with, even if the other is a bigger name or someone who you "thought" you should go with. Per my post yesterday, there's no right agent for you until he or she goes to work for you, and you might find yourself surprised to lean one way when you anticipated leaning the other.

The other factor is something far less tangible, and that's one of chemistry. Most authors who have had to choose between two or more agents will tell you that there was just something intrinsic in the way that they clicked with the agent they chose. I know this was certainly true in my case. My agent and I were practically finishing each other's sentences by the end of our phone call...and I knew she was the right one for me.

Good luck whomever you choose!

So readers, ever had to choose between more than one agent? If so, how did you make your decision?

Any Seattle-ites Out There?

Hey guys,

If you're from Seattle and read this blog, would you be interested in a book signing/reading on either May 23rd or May 29th? We're trying to gauge interest and determine a head count before we book it. (No crowd = no signing.) :(

Feel free to email me and let me know, or you can post here.

Thanks!

How Long is Too Long?

(I'm so glad that so many of you guys want to tag along and post progress reports each Monday - see you then!)

Question of the day: I've been on the agent hunt for a few months, with a little success, but no agent as of yet. My dream agent requested a full about two and a half months ago, and I haven't heard anything back. Should I nudge her or should I just leave it alone?

Well, let me start by saying I think you need to remove "dream agent," from your vocabulary. There is no such thing as a dream agent with whom you aren't signed. Why? Because until an agent goes to work for you, you have no idea if, in fact, he or she really is a dream. I can't tell you how many stories I hear from fellow writers who signed with big names or people who were deemed "dreams," only to discover that these agents were closer to nightmares. Of course you can (and should) aspire to be signed by specific agents - I mean, how else would you conduct an efficient agent search? But so many writers sign with agents who ended up becoming dream agents, agents who respond quickly, agents who sell their work, agents who help them craft their future books, etc - and these agents might not have even been on these writers' top 10 lists. It's what an agent does for you that makes him or her a dream.

Anyhoo, is 2 1/2 months long enough? I dunno. Miss Snark says that it is not - that 90 days is standard in the industry - and that even then, she has loads of fulls that she hasn't read. If I were you (which I'm not), I'd probably check in with the agent, even if it's to get an ETA. I don't think you'll be considered a pest, and hey, if you are, after 2 1/2 months, you should consider whether or not this is a person with whom you'd want to work. Too many writers forget that they do have a tiny bit of power when it comes to finding an agent: namely, they can decide if they're willing to tolerate people who treat them like doormats (not that silence for 2 1/2 months means that he or she is treating you like a doormat, but finding you a pest might be), and if you're NOT willing to work with someone who deems you annoying after nearly three months, then you have your answer about whether he or she is your dream agent.

So...what say you? Would you check in or shut up and wait?

I'm Back In the Saddle

Okay, after a fantastic conversation with my fantabulous agent, I'm diving back into book #2 today. I'm so excited to dig in. She and I brainstormed some new ideas and new directions for the WIP, and just getting a new perspective has really gotten my creative juices flowing.

So...I'll be posting my progress every Monday - letting you guys know how I'm doing and thus, holding myself accountable to really digging in and writing. Oh, and did I mention that my agent is hoping to see a draft in May? Yikes. But a deadline really gets my rear in gear, so this is a good thing.

If you're stymied, try bouncing some ideas off of an objective reader and setting deadlines for yourself. It might really help. And if you want to join me in posting your own writing progress every Monday, please do!

In other news, Publishers Weekly just called The Department of Lost and Found, "a bonbon of a book." (That's a good thing, right?) Yahoo!

Learning to Let Go

Super practical advice sought: I am curious how you stay organized as a freelancer. My problem right now is I have a ton of ideas and often find myself overwhelmed as to how to prioritize researching, reporting, finding a market and pitching... I have notebooks and a word documents - I've tried spreadsheets and sticky notes... and I want to pursue more stories than I really have time to do well (I'm not a full-time freelancer yet).

Organizational systems are very personal but I am curious what method works for you - not just how you stay on top of deadlines, follow ups, clippings/research, etc. but also how you "triage" - determine which ideas to nurture and which to shelve for the time being.

As you noted, organizational systems are very personal - what works for one gal won't fly for another - but, as I've said here in the past, the only thing that keeps me organized is heavy-duty list-making. I write down every last thing, from errands to phone calls to story deadlines, and cross them off as I go. There's little more fulfilling than slashing through a to-do, and I seriously get a rush from it. In fact, I've been really delinquent this week with my list-making - I'm moving into a new office and literally just haven't taken out my pad of paper - and I feel really scattered as a result. And really unproductive.

As far as story triage, this is something that I really had to learn on the job. Sort of like a med student who gets better with practice. When I started out, I can't even tell you how many story ideas I probably beat to death - researching endlessly, pitching endlessly, convinced that they'd make a fab feature in BIG NAME magazine. As the years went on, I simply got a better sense of what editors were looking for, and I'm really not sure that you can figure this out via anything other than experience.

I guess one key is to go beyond the obvious. Editors have seen EVERY idea under the sun. They really don't want another "10 great ways to lose weight" idea. Yes, the want to publish an article on losing weight, but they want to hear about surprising angles and tips. And if you send them the same-old, same-old, you'll be wasting both your time and hers.

Another key is to poke around and see how much research there is to back up your idea, and how many tangents you can tie into it. What I mean by this is that often times, writers might envision their story idea as a feature but there just isn't enough interesting info or anything new to say on the subject. So if you're going to push for a big story, make sure that it is, indeed, a big story.

Of course, if there's a subject that really is near and dear to your heart, then keep at it. I've heard of writers landing stories or essays after 100 pitches. Would I pitch something 100 times? Probably not. I'd probably hit all of the magazines for which I think the story is a good idea, and if none of them bite, I'd put it on the backburner until a new market pops up or the timing is better for the story. (For example, if I'm pitching a breast cancer story, I might revisit it to hit magazine's breast cancer month issues.) This brings up my final point: make sure that you're pitching the right outlets! You'd be amazed at how many writers pitch beauty stories to a magazine that really doesn't cover beauty or a story on STDs to a magazine aimed at married moms. (Not to say that married moms aren't interested in STDs, but the editors aren't likely to bite because it's not just a subject that is universally interesting to their audience.)

So...how do you deal with story triage? When do you move on from an idea?

Can This Damn Thing Earn Me Some Dough?

I'm curious if you make any income from your blog? If so, can you tell me a little bit about how that all works? Seems like a "hot topic" in the freelance writing world these days.

Er, no. I don't make diddly from this monstrosity. If only. :)

I don't think that blogs have become a hot topic because of the possibility of income. Rather, they're all the rage because they allow writers a bit of self-expression without any editorial constraints, and they're also an excellent promotional and marketing tool.

That said, I do think that HUGE blogs, like PerezHilton.com (um, not that I read it, like, four times a day), generate income from ad sales. But unless you're bringing in hundreds of thousands of hits, I'd say this is unlikely.

But then again, I'm not sure. Anyone else out there have any other thoughts?