Category: Agent’s Desk

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WordServe Literary News

Exciting things have been happening at WordServe Literary!

On the final post of each month you’ll find a list of Water Cooler contributors’ books releasing in the upcoming month along with a recap of WordServe client news from the current month.

March New Releases

WordServe has several collaborators who do a fantastic job at writing the message/story for others. Marcus Brotherton collaborated with Jonathan Falwell, pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church (not a WS client) for 1000 Days, a book about the ministry of Christ (Thomas Nelson).

Zeke Pipher launches his book career with Man on the Run: Helping Hyper-Hobbied Men Recognize the Best Things in Life (Howard).

New WordServe Clients

Amanda Jenkins, daughter-in-law of well-known author Jerry Jenkins, is a nonfiction author who has written Journey of a Recovering Perfectionist. She lives in the Chicago area with her filmmaker husband, Dallas, and their four young children, including their newly adopted 5-year-old son. (Agent: Barbara Scott)

Tara McClary Reeves, daughter-in-law of football star and head coach Dan Reeves, has written a children’s picture book with Amanda Jenkins titled The Night and the Firefly. She also writes nonfiction. (Agent: Barbara Scott)

Tricia Williford, blogger, mother of Tuck and Ty and reluctant widow at a young age–this extraordinary writer (www.triciawilliford.com) is putting the finishing touches on her first book with a tentative title of, And Life Comes Back. Part memoir and part practical thoughts for those whose life gets turned upside down. (Agent: Greg Johnson)

New Contracts

Mindy Ferguson, founder of Fruitful Word Ministries and a published author, received her signed contract from AMG Publishing for two Bible studies titled: Eyewitness to Majesty and Eyewitness to Glory. (Agent: Barbara Scott)

Fred Hurr, a resident of London, signed a three-book contract with B&H Publishing Group for a series of spiritual warfare novels. The novels are tentatively titled: Light of the Wicked (previously published in the U.K.); Light of the Holy, and Light of God. The contemporary novels are set in Wales and England. These are Fred’s first books! (Agent: Barbara Scott)

Paul L. Williams, a multi-published author, received a contract from New York-based Prometheus Books for his non-fiction investigative work titled Crescent Moon Rising: The Cultural Transformation of America. (Agent: Barbara Scott)

Mike Yorkey, collaborator and sports author, got the deal of the month. Jeremy Lin, the Asian-American NBA player for the New York Knicks, has captured the attention of the sports world with his stellar play the last three weeks. It’s “Tebowmania” all over again. Mike had interviewed Jeremy last April for Playing With Purpose: NBA. Back then, he was a nobody. Greg was actually representing Barbour Publishers on a licensing deal, taking the content from this book on Jeremy, having Mike expand it times three, and then selling trade paper rights. Zondervan won the day after multiple offers were turned in over a 24-hour period. Included is a book for kids. (Agent: Greg Johnson)

Joe Wheeler signed a six-book deal with eChristian (Mission Books) for short story collections for boys (2), girls (2), new moms and new dads.  He also signed an audio deal for Great Stories Remembered Vol I, Joe’s first book to sell over 100,000 copies. (Agent: Greg Johnson)

What We’re Celebrating

Amy Sorrells is a finalist in the Thomas Nelson Women of Faith Writing Contest for her novel Comfort and Salvation (recently retitled Canary Song.) Congratulations, Amy!

Barbara Scott and WordServe Fiction Coordinator and Associate Agent Sarah Freese attended the “Writing for the Soul” conference in Denver. Barbara had lunch with Jeana Ledbetter of Worthy Publishing and was able to chat with publishers from Tyndale, Charisma House, Waterbrook, and Marcher Lord. She also had a conversation with client Henry McLaughlin.

Greg Johnson went to Nashville to the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) convention at the Opryland Hotel. He met with publishers from Thomas Nelson, Howard, Harvest House, Lifeway and Leafwood. He also me with clients Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Craig Parshall, Sue Buchanan, and Tami Weisert.

Share your news with us! What are you celebrating?

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Stewarding Your Career and Your Agent

Good agents take the privilege of shepherding authors and projects very seriously. We’re hugely selective and typically only make a “yes” decision on a client if we love (not just like) their project, and then see them as a good potential relational fit.  Life is too short to work with people if they’re demanding or mean…no matter what the potential payoff.

But make no mistake, agents work FOR their authors, not the other way around. Yet with the lightning-fast changes in publishing still happening, nearly every agent I know is telling me, “It feels like I’m working harder than I ever have before, and still closing fewer—and smaller—deals.”

Welcome to the new normal in publishing.

What this means for the client/author is potentially less time interacting with their agent because the agent is trying to stay in business. What’s an author to do in this new normal to make sure their own projects still receive a high level of attention?

  1. Take more control of your career.  The path to finding readers has never been clearer—or more time-consuming. “Get involved with Facebook Fan Pages, blogging, tweeting, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, and networking with other authors (such as this Water Cooler),” is the familiar mantra from publishers and agents alike.  In this new world where social media IS the most influential advertising resource,  if you’re not selling books and finding new readers, it’s no longer your publisher’s (or agent’s) fault.  If you don’t feel you can come to play in marketing your own creative blood, sweat and tears, don’t even ponder a career as a writer. Look in the mirror: You are your publisher’s best PR agent.
  2. Craft, craft, craft. I tell new novelists that I don’t want to see their manuscript until 5 to 10 “non friends and family” have read and critically appraised their work.  I’d rather authors take a full year to rewrite their manuscripts than almost anything else.  If you write nonfiction and you have a strong message and a good regional platform, then be relentless on making every paragraph zing. Don’ tell me “it picks up in chapter three.” It better engage me from paragraph one or you’ll be getting the dreaded “not for me” letter. If you’re a seasoned writer, be diligent in making your prose as professional and engaging as possible.   Constantly read books on writing craft; find a mentor or critique group. Be a lifelong learner on writing well and you’ll have a good chance at being a lifelong author.

Along with taking control of your own career and staying committed to the craft, here’s how to help your agent help you.

  1. Respect his or her time.  Since you want them to stay in business, bunch questions for a once-a-week email.  If possible, use clear bullet points with clear simple questions to make it easy for us to see and answer, rather than lots of loaded, dense text.  Mondays are good. If your questions are more complex, better to talk by phone than email.  But do set a phone appointment (by email) instead of calling with hope that we will answer.  The agent is there to serve you, very true, but time is the coin of the realm. Be judicious in how you spend their precious minutes and hours because ultimately you want us out there pitching your projects!
  2. Press the panic button. I spend a good portion of my week fighting fires for authors. Bad covers, wrong titles, heavy-handed editors, proposals that MUST be out the door this week, family or personal crisis…all of these and more are what I’m here for.  When you really need me to jump on something or lend an ear, this is absolutely what I want to do. Don’t hesitate to pick up the phone or send me a “call me ASAP” email.  You’re not “bothering me” (ever); I work for you and love (almost) every minute.
  3. Pray. It’s not trite, it’s essential. Really. If I’m distracted, off task, ill or in a personal crisis myself, what am I not doing? I’m not tending to the details of what I should be doing for you. The very thing I want to do most is often what the enemy doesn’t want me to accomplish. I need to stay spiritually sharp and steady for you to feel fully supported.  And I’m not bashful to say I need your help in doing it. I covet and appreciate your prayers for me, my work and family.  I also love to pray for you, so never hesitate to zip me a prayer request during a rough patch.
  4. Share the goodies!  I love hearing how your work has impacted others in the world, or a great opportunity that has come up for you to share your book.  Forward me one or two of your best notes from readers every month and any news that is exciting to you concerning the marketing of your project.  We love to hear how the end result, your book, is impacting the world.  It is why we do what we do.

What more can you do to serve your own career? How would you feel even more supported by your agent?

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A Day in the Life of an Intern

Yesterday, Mandy Hubbard held #agentday on Twitter. All day long agents (and interns) tweeted the tasks that they were completing throughout the day. Many aspiring authors began to understand why queries were sometimes the last item to which an agent is able to attend.

I liked Mandy’s idea, and I thought that you might be interested in what a day in the life of an associate agent looks like. However, I would like to add the caveat that not every day looks the same. Some days I have off-site meetings, so on those days I make myself get up earlier or stay up a bit later (or both) so that I can accomplish the same amount.

Morning

From about 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., I’m an introvert. I focus on completing big editing projects, reading full or partial manuscripts, working on various projects that Greg and Barbara send my way–anything with which I can be quiet and not have to interact with people. I try not to answer email, tweets, or Facebook posts before 11 or 12. In the morning, I work here:

Normally, my lap top would be found here, but at this moment I am working from the couch. 🙂

Afternoon

In the afternoon, I am more social. I begin answering emails, including queries, posting comments on various blogs such as the WaterCooler, as well as continuing any projects that I started in the morning. In the afternoon, I work here (or sometimes I go to Starbucks):

Necessary items for afternoon work include: Pepsi, ice water, snacks, Kindle, paper, various pens, highlighter, cell phone, lap top, red blanket and comfy pillows.

Evening

My husband works one of those real jobs where he has to GO to work and then come home, so I usually stop working around 5:30 to get dinner ready and pick up my afternoon “nest”. I make it a point to spend at least an hour and a half with him before I go back to editing/project/email world which usually lasts until bed time (unless NCIS or Grey’s Anatomy are on). In the evening, Brewster the Query Bird helps me find new writers:

Query Bird helps me find new amazing writers.

Okay, writers, what do your writing days look like? Do you have a day job that you have to go to before you start writing? If you do not have an alternative job, do you find that you are more flexible with your schedule, or do you prefer to keep to a rigid 9-5 type of writing schedule?

Do you have a writing pet?