Agent Interview: Natalie Lakosil

I recently interviewed my fun and fabulous agent, Natalie Lakosil, who can hammer out a book deal and deliver a baby at the same time! If you’re an author looking for a literary agent, I also include links to my blog posts on searching for an agent and questions to ask an agent if you get The Call. Read the interview here

Perseverance and “The Call”

Technically, “The Call” wasn’t a call, but an email! Nor was it my first offer. My first Call was in 2007 when I received an email offer to publish CHASING SHADOWS by the top eBook publisher of that time, when eBooks were in their infancy. CHASING SHADOWS was my first polished-for-publication novel, and you can imagine my excitement. It spurred me on to continue writing (after a particularly bad dry spell as I ended a chapter in my personal life) and to develop a career in writing. I had drafts of 2 novels to finish and a third one in process. But things didn’t go as planned…

“The Call” for WICKED PARADISE (my third novel) was just as exciting if not more so than the first one in 2007. It felt like my first. Why, you ask? Because I was at my wits end. Plus, I was ending a stressful and hectic 9-month period in my personal life (no, I didn’t pop out a baby!), and I desperately wanted my life, especially my writing life, to return to normal once again. Had I sat on my laurels waiting for an agent or publisher offer to fall in my lap? Heck, no. It had been four years since CHASING SHADOWS was released in April 2008, and over three years of looking for an agent on not one, but three books (which included two versions of one novel and three versions of WICKED PARADISE). I had a few close calls and 2 almost agent offers. Nothing panned out.

My agent search story is not unique. Agents have so few “slots” to fill for new authors. One popular agent receives over 35,000 query letters a year and only signs on a handful of new authors. Competition is tough. I recognized that. But I watched many of my peers get agent offers and book deals, and I kept wondering (yeah, okay, agonizing over) when my time would come. Even though I felt like giving up many times, I refused to let it beat me down. I had been published once, and I’d get there again.

The one thing that kept me going was the characters and worlds in my head. They refused to be ignored. Writing is in my blood. I knew I would find a home for one or all of my books. It was just a matter of time (or the proper alignment of the stars, sun, and moon!). I honed my craft with each book and each revision. I kept at it.

Flash forward to Fall of 2011. I decided it was time to query digital publishers with WICKED PARADISE. Although, I never lost sight of one day holding a print version of one of my books in my hand, digital books were here to stay. I’ve been reading eBooks since 2002 on various devices, and I crossed the divide this year where I actually prefer reading electronically to print.

Earlier this year, I heard about Crimson Romance, a new digital romance imprint of Adams Media, launching in June. They planned to digitize their releases first with print-on-demand to follow! I’d heard of Adams Media and its parent company F+W Media, Inc. (who owns Writers Digest), and both are well-respected, stable companies. I read in an interview with Jennifer Lawler, Crimson’s managing editor, that they wanted romances in the 50,000-word range, give or take. My bubble burst. WICKED PARADISE was 91,000 words. I was sure it was too long for them, so I put thoughts of submitting to Crimson aside. But I couldn’t stop thinking about them. I liked the idea of getting in on the ground floor, watching the imprint flourish with great romance books.

One evening, I was visiting my favorite online writing forum and someone mentioned that she had submitted a longer work to Crimson, a novel in the upper 80K range. She suggested I give it a whirl. What’s the worst that could happen? I get rejected (rejections bounce off my skin now)? Or they ask me to cut 20-30K words? So I shot out a query letter to the managing/acquiring editor, still thinking I didn’t have a chance. Lo and behold, the next day, I received an email from Jennifer requesting to read the full manuscript! I immediately sent the full out by email and put it out of my mind. I had too much on my plate to obsess over it, anyway. Plus, been there, done that. I didn’t want to get too excited.

Five weeks later on May 7, I received an email reply from Jennifer. It had that paperclip attachment icon next to the subject line. I stared at it without opening the email, wondering what she was sending me with her rejection. At the same time, my heart began to race. I opened the email and read that she’d love to add WICKED PARADISE to Crimson’s lineup!!! The contract was attached. I had to read the email 3 times before it sunk in. An offer? Did I just get an offer? Thank goodness I was home. I screeched. I did a little jig. I clapped. My drought had ended.

I accepted the offer by email, still not believing it was true. One day later, I signed and returned the contract. Then it was a done deal.

Last week, I finished my first round of edits and WICKED PARADISE remains at 91,000 words. Crimson Romance releases it to the world on August 13.

People in this business always say, “keep writing, your time will come.” I believe it now.

Be Prepared for THE CALL

When an agent comes calling…will you be ready?

Don’t panic! When you get an email from an agent who suggests The Call, or if an agent happens to call you out of the blue, you need to be prepared. Have your list of questions ready and handily available. Now you’re probably wondering, “what questions?” I’ve saved you the tedium of putting your own list together. Over the last few years, I’ve comprised a list culled from several writer sources. It’s a long list, but comprehensive. Some questions you may not care about, but it’s a starting point to keep you on track when your nerves are shot as you realize the next giant step in your Dream is unfolding.

If you’ve done your due diligence before querying the Agent, you should know the answers to some of the questions, i.e. how long the agent has been in business as an agent, if he/she is a member of the AAR, etc. See my Blog article on Searching for Literary Agents for a list of resources to gather your information about the agents you’re querying.

Here’s the list of questions to consider when you get The Call:

1. How long have you been in the agenting business? How many clients do you represent?


2. Are you a member of AAR? If not, do you follow the AAR guidelines?


3. What made you decide to represent my work?


4. Are you representing just this work? Or are you interested in representing my future works also?


5. Is my project ready for submission to publishers or are revisions required? If revisions are required, what are they?


6. What is your read and response times on edits?


7. What are your expectations for this book? What is your timeframe to submit to editors? Who do you have in mind to submit to? How soon? Chances of successful sale? Chances of a multi-book contract on proposal? Do you negotiate or just take deal? Do you submit to multiple editors at once? How many?


8. What relationships do you have with editors at certain houses? Who are your editor contacts? Are there some houses or editors who won’t work with you or you won’t work with? Why? Who?


9. At what point do you follow-up with editors? When do you give up?


10. How do you keep your clients informed of your activities on their behalf? Do you go over list of houses/editors PRIOR to submitting? Do you regularly send client copies of publishers’ rejection letters? Do you provide them with submission lists and rejection letters on request? Do you regularly, or upon request, send out updated activity reports?


11. What happens if you can’t sell my work? Do we revise? Move on to next work? Drop me as a client?


12. How often do you contact me? How often do you want to hear from me? How quickly do you respond to emails?


13. What is your approach to providing editorial input and career guidance for your clients or for me specifically? What are you feelings about writing in other age brackets, i.e. YA, or other genres? What is your vision for me, not just this book? What should I work on next?


14. Do you want to hear about new projects? Do you want to see proposals, or wait until work is finished? Will you edit and make suggestions? What about when a work is sold—do you offer edits and suggestions on further books in a series, or do you leave things up to me and my editor?


15. Do you consult with your clients on any and all offers? Some agencies sign subsidiary contracts on behalf of their clients to expedite processing. Do you?
    
16. Who in your agency will actually be handling my work? Will the other staff members be familiar with my work and the status of my business at your agency? Will you oversee or at least keep me apprised of the work your agency is doing on my behalf?


17. Do you have a specialist at your agency who handles movie and television rights? Foreign rights? Do you have subagents or corresponding agents in Hollywood and overseas?


18. Does your agency offer help and/or guidance with promotional efforts?


19. Do you issue an agent-author agreement? What is the duration? May I review the language of the agency clause that appears in contracts you negotiate for your clients?


20. What are your commission rates? What are your procedures and time-frames for processing and disbursing client funds? Do you keep different bank accounts separating author funds from agency revenue?


21. What are your policies about charging clients for expenses incurred by your agency? Will you list such expenses for me? Do you advance money for such expenses? Do you consult with your clients before advancing certain expenditures? Is there a ceiling on such expenses above which you feel you must consult with your clients?


22. How do you handle legal, accounting, public relations or similar professional services that fall outside the normal range of a literary agency’s function?


23. If we should part company, what is your policy about handling any unsold subsidiary rights in my work?


24. How do you treat solely created works I sell on my own? What about works I sell on my own to digital or digital-first publishers?


25. What are your expectations of me as your client?


26. Do you have a list of “Do’s and Don’ts” for your clients that will enable me to help you do your job better?

Searching for Literary Agents Online

Based on my "vast" experience researching and querying agents, I’ve compiled a helpful list of the top online places to obtain information on literary agents. This includes information on what they’re looking for, if they’re open to submissions, how to query them, how to look up books an agent has sold, etc. Plus, I’ve listed a few sites where you can go to check out the good and the bad about agents.

Agent Databases:
Agent Query — Database of Literary Agents -- Self-Proclaimed “The internet's largest and most current database of literary agents”: www.agentquery.com

QueryTracker — Agent Search and Submission Tracking -- You must register to track submissions, but it’s free: www.querytracker.net. Or you can pay a small yearly for Premium Membership which grants you a few additional perks.

AuthorAdvance (formerly LitMatch) — Agent Search and Submission Tracking -- You must register to track submissions, but it’s free: www.authoradvance.com

The Association of Authors’ Representatives: www.aar-online.org

Publishers Marketplace — you don’t have to have a subscription to search an agent, however, it’s well worth the $ to read about the publishing deals agents are making: www.publishersmarketplace.com

Preditors & Editors -- A great database that lists agents and potential agent problems. It’s always a good thing to check an agent against this list to see if there are reported problems: www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubagent.htm


Other Popular Sources:
Absolute Write Water Cooler – for all genres -- Bewares and Background Checks: www.absolutewrite.com/forums/index.php

Verla Kay “The Blueboard” – for Children and Young Adult: www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php

To Search for books an agent has sold and may be mentioned in the book acknowledgements:

Google — Search in “Books” Category -- Type in search box: “agent name of agent”

You can do the same at Amazon: www.amazon.com or Barnes & Noble: www.bn.com


General Information:
Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America — Writer Beware -- General, but valuable information about agents, scams, questions to ask, links to more information etc. -- www.sfwa.org/beware

Guide to Literary Agents Blog -- http://guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog

Agent Updates

I'm suspending my "weekly" Agent Updates for a while. Honestly, other people/sites do it better than I do. If I see value, I'll resurrect my updates. However, I plan to revise my Searching for Literary Agents blog post in the next few weeks, which will list all the good current sites to use in your agent search. For now, here are the primary sources who report agent changes and moves:

QueryTracker.net - New and Updated Agents
AgentQuery Connect - Agent Updates
Publishers Weekly - you should sign up for FREE subcription to PW Daily.

There are many other sites as mentioned in my Searching for Literary Agents blog post to search for agents, but the sites above actually post changes on a daily basis.

Good luck!

Agent News 1-9-11

My first agent updates for 2011!

Effective February 22, 2011 Natalie Fischer will be leaving the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency to join the Bradford Literary Agency. She will be CLOSED to submissions during this transition period. Continue to check her blog for updates: http://adventuresinagentland.blogspot.com/

Adam Korn, literary agent with DeFiore and Company, is returning to HarperCollins as executive editor at William Morrow on January 8. (Source: Publishers Weekly)

Joanne Wyckoff has joined the Carol Mann Agency as an agent, representing a wide array of nonfiction and selected fiction. Since 2005, she has been an agent with Zachary Shuster Harmsworth.

Agent News - 12/21/10

**New Agent** Katie Shea has joined the Caren Johnson Literary Agency, focusing on literary fiction, commercial fiction, with a strong and sassy voice, heartfelt memoirs, narrative nonfiction, diet, and health & wellness. She was a reader at FinePrint Literary Management and an assistant at Folio Literary Management and Langtons International Agency. (Source: Publishers Marketplace)

**New Agent** Vickie Motter is now taking her own clients at the Andrea Hurst & Associates literary agency. She joined the agency in 2010 as an intern. Her blog covers all issues of publishing and advice to authors at navigatingtheslushpile.blogspot.com. She is seeking: YA contemporary & Adult fiction in the following areas: dystopian, steampunk, fantasy, dark fantasy, paranormal, cozy mysteries. She seeks new and previously published authors dedicated to continuously developing their craft and writing poignant nonfiction or marketable fiction. She loves all things weird, fantastical, morbid, and romantic. She has a special love of unique plots, dark themes, strong characters, an engaging voice, and witty humor. (Source: Guide to Literary Agents)

Deborah Grosvenor is re-establishing the Grosvenor Literary Agency, which she ran for 10 years prior to joining Kneerim & Williams where she's agented for the last three years. She will continue to acquire fiction and narrative nonfiction in the areas of politics, history, memoir, biography, the military, adventure, travel, and international issues. Her new website will be www.grosvenorlit.com. (Source: Publishers Weekly)

A member of the Absolute Write forums posted that agent Elizabeth Fisher of the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency received an email from Elizabeth that she was no longer agenting. Following up on this tip, her entry on QueryTracker.net indicates that she is now the Rights Manager at Levine Greenberg and is no longer working as an agent.

Agent News - 12/12/10

**New Agent** Jacqueline Murphy has joined InkWell Management as a literary agent. Murphy was most recently editorial director at the Harvard Business Press, where she acquired and edited bestsellers such as Groundswell by Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li, and Iconoclast by Gregory Berns. (Source: Publishers Weekly)

**New Agent** Carly Watters is now an associate agent at P.S. Literary Agency. She is representing international literary and commercial fiction, women's fiction, chick-lit, sagas, literary thrillers, memoir, up-market non-fiction and crossover YA novels. (Source: Publishers Marketplace)

Etta Wilson will retire from Books & Such Literary Agency on December 15. She has worked in publishing for nearly 30 years: as editor of trade books at Thomas Nelson; as children's book editor at Abingdon Press, where she developed a list for the general trade; as head of book packager March Media; and as a literary agent. (Source: Publishers Weekly)

Agent News - 11/28/10

**New Agent** James McGinniss of McGinniss Associates Literary Agency. "Agency was founded by James McGinniss, who learned the publishing business inside and out while working for Vigliano Associates. After partnering with Barry Zucker, who possesses a great deal of business acumen and experience, the two started McGinniss Associates. They are determined to give their clients the stalwart representation and personal touch clients wouldn't receive at a bigger agency." (Source: QueryTracker.net and Agency Website)

Agent News - 11/22/10

One item to update this week:

** New Agent** Brianne Mulligan is a new associate agent at Movable Type Literary Group, focusing on high-concept YA and middle grade fiction, along with select commercial adult properties. She was most recently an associate editor at Razorbill. (Source: Publishers Marketplace)

Agent News - 11/7/10

**New Agent** Lindsey Clemons joined Larsen Pomada Literary Agents in 2009 as an intern and is now taking on her own clients. She is seeking: "captivating thrillers, mysteries of all sorts and literary fiction. She is an advocate for strong, well-developed characters and fresh, distinct voices." How to query: Query her with the first 10 pages of your manuscript and a 1-2-page synopsis via e-mail (no attachments) at Lindsey.Reads.Books@gmail.com. (Source: Guide to Literary Agents)

Nathan Bransford of Curtis Brown announced on Friday, 11/5/10, that he is leaving agenting and the world of publishing. Nathan will be greatly missed by many! He will continue to blog, although his topics may change. (Source: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/)

Agent News - 10-30-10

**New Agent** Barbara Galletly has joined agency Georges Borchardt, Inc. She’s seeking literary fiction, women’s fiction and non-fiction. No genre or commercial fiction. See an interview with Barbara here: http://motherwrite.blogspot.com/2010/09/interactive-interview-with-agent_10.html (Source: QueryTracker.net)

**New Agent** Katie Shea has joined the Caren Johnson Literary Agency. Katie started in the agent business as a reader for FinePrint Literary Management, then assisted agents at Folio Literary Management and Langtons International Agency. She is open for submissions and is specifically seeking literary and commercial fiction with a strong and unique voice, smart narrative nonfiction, and memoir, a story of a personal overcome or struggle. No fantasy, no vampires, no sci-fi, no children's books, no picture books. (Source: http://www.johnsonliterary.com/blog/

As of November 1, Kathleen Ortiz of Lowenstein Associates will be seeking manuscripts in the following areas (among the other areas on her acquisition list): romance (contemporary, urban fantasy and paranormal); contemporary women’s fiction; non-fiction (technology, pop-culture/entertainment, or women’s issues). See her Blog, Neverending Page Turner for more information.

GTLA's "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest

Guide to Literary Agent’s seventh “Dear Lucky Agent” contest is on! You have until November 3, to submit your book-length Young Adult fiction entries (and it's FREE!). See details here: http://tinyurl.com/23vmorc. Get your entry in. Good luck!!

Note: No new agent news this week.

Agent News - 10/17/10

**New Agent** Julie Just, formerly The New York Times children's book editor, has joined Janklow & Nesbit as an agent. She will start at Janklow & Nesbit in November. "Just's addition to the agency will bring a new focus on children's and young adult books. As Lynn Nesbit explained in a statement: "Julie, with her experience and intimate knowledge of those markets, is the ideal person to spearhead this new effort." (Source: Publishers Weekly)

Agent News - 10/10/10

Cool date today...10/10/10! Only one lonely update to agent news!

**New Agent** Caryn Karmatz Rudy recently joined DeFiore and Company. Prior to becoming a literary agent, Caryn spent 17 years as an editor of both fiction and nonfiction for Warner Books/Grand Central Publishing. During that time, she edited a number of New York Times bestsellers. She is seeking: "I gravitate towards fiction with memorable characters, captivating voices, and original plotting, and I relish a great page-turner as much as a literary masterpiece. I am intrigued by a wide range of nonfiction, from narrative to practical, especially focusing on lifestyle, parenting, women's issues, and memoirs that exhibit quirky perspectives. In both fiction and nonfiction, if you can make me laugh, you've won half the battle." (Source: Guide to Literary Agents)

Agent News - 10/3/10

Lot of updates this week...

**New Agent** Jordan McMakin has started McMakin Literary Agency representing YA and middle grade fiction in various genres. Her bio indicates she interned at Puffin and Viking Books for Young Readers and was an editorial assistant at Disney*Hyperion Books. See Jordan's Blog for more information: McMakinliterary.blogspot.com

**New Agent** Kate Folkers has joined Martin Literary Management as an associate agent. She was most recently at Harcourt Trade and Farrar, Straus in sales and marketing. Her focus will be commercial and literary fiction, and mysteries and thrillers. (Source: Publishers Marketplace)

JL Stermer has left the Donald Maass Literary Agency and joined NS Bienstock as a literary agent. (Source: Publishers Marketplace)

Bernadette Baker-Baughman, formerly of Baker's Mark Literary Agency, has joined Victoria Sanders & Associates as an agent. (Source: Publishers Marketplace)

Colleen Martin has joined the Caren Johnson Literary Agency as rights manager. (Source: Publishers Marketplace)

Legendary literary agent Ralph Vicinanza, 60, died without warning in his sleep on September 25, 2010 at his home in Old Brookville NY, from what was apparently a cerebral aneurysm. See the full report at Locus Magazine.

Agent News - 9/26/10

**New Agent** John Rudolph has joined Dystel & Goderich Literary Management as agent. He was most recently executive editor at Putnam in their children's and YA imprints. Prior to that, he was Associate Editor for Young Readers at S & S. See Dystel's website for his interests. (Source: Publishers Marketplace)

Agent News - 9/19/10

**New Agent** Denise Little has joined The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency. Denise brings editorial and more experience from Tekno Books and Kensington Publishing. She is seeking: romance, paranormal, young adult, mystery, thriller, science-fiction/fantasy, non-fiction, Christian books, horror. More about Denise, her interests and submission requirements can be found at her Blog. (Source: deniselittle.wordpress.com)

**New Agent** Joan Slattery will join Pippin Properties as literary agent and contracts manager, as of November 1. She has spent nearly 20 years at Random House, most recently as senior executive editor at Knopf Books for Young Readers. (Source: Publishers Weekly)

Seth Fishman is joining The Gernert Company as a literary agent. He was most recently at Sterling Lord Literistic, where he worked since 2005. Before joining Sterling Lord, Fishman was at the Donald Maass Agency, where he started his publishing career. (Source: Publishers Weekly)

Agent News - 9/12/10

Yikes...life is devouring my time to blog. It'll be that way thru the end of September, too. But I'm still writing and querying agents. Slowly.

There hasn't been much agent news, either. Here's one update:

** New Agent** Victoria Marini is an associate agent at Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents. She's been with the agency since 2008 and recently started taking on her own clients. She is seeking: YA, commercial adult fiction, mysteries, creative nonfiction, memoir, pop culture, and humor. She is not into serious nonfiction, politics, math, religion or other academic/reference books. And while she loves edgy, paranormal, and suspenseful YA, she is not your best bet for traditional coming-of-age novels. (Source: Guide to Literary Agents)

Agent News - 8/22/10

As you can see, I'm running behind again on the blog updates. I had a good excuse...I was working on an R&R of WICKED PARADISE. For those not in the writing world, an R&R is a "revise & resubmit" requested by an agent. But it's done and I'm moving on...

There's only a couple items to report, anyway.

Agent and former publisher of NAL Elaine Koster died on Tuesday, at age 69. Elaine Koster represented Khaled Hosseini among others. Elaine was also well known for acquiring paperback reprint rights to Stephen King's CARRIE from Doubleday for $400,000 while she was at NAL early in her publishing career. (Source: Publishers Marketplace)

**New Agent** Louise Fury has joined the L. Perkins Associates. You can read more about her and her what she's seeking on her blog at: http://louisefury.blogspot.com (Source: Guide to Literary Agents)