ON PARTING WAYS WITH LITERARY AGENTS by Joy McCullough-Carranza

Many stops along the writing journey are filled with maps and guidebooks and tour guides clamoring for the writer’s attention. Query Station, ‘The Call’ Street, Debut Year Blvd…these are well-lit and heavily trafficked.

Some other stations are necessary to pass through, but for whatever reason, they have nary a flickering bulb and certainly no tour guides. We rarely talk about being on submission, for example, or what happens if your editor leaves in the middle of your series. Another poorly illuminated stop along the writing journey is the one where writers part ways with their agents.

Here’s the thing though—Breakup Station is poorly illuminated, but it’s not lightly traveled. Many, many writers part ways with their agents and return to the query trenches. Some quickly find another agent and some toil in the trenches for another long spell. Almost all feel alone, and like they’ve failed in some way. Because it’s so poorly illuminated, they have no idea how many fellow travelers are stumbling around this station.

One of the things I’ve learned along the writing journey is how incredibly comforting it is to get to know one’s fellow travelers – the other writers who have gone on submission but not sold their book. The other writers who had to query five manuscripts before they got an agent. The other writers who parted ways with an agent.

So I hauled some floodlights into Breakup Station. I wanted to see who was passing through there—a LOT of people, it turns out—and for them to see one another.

I created a survey for writers who had parted ways with an agent and I shared it with a closed Facebook group of Pitchwars mentors—around 100 people. Those folks in turn shared it with debut year groups for 2014, 2015, and 2016, and with the MG and YA Binders groups. I had over 100 survey responses within 24 hours.

If you are in Breakup Station: YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

So let’s look at some of the responses to see why writers and agents part ways, and what happens after they do. (And you guys, I tried super hard to make these into pretty pie charts, but I deal in words and it would have been simpler for me to make five actual pies.)

Question: Who initated the breakup?

Agent – 34%

Writer – 66%

Question: If your agent initiated the breakup, what was the reason? (Check all that apply.)

Agent left the business – 37%

Agent couldn’t sell a manuscript – 20%

Agent didn’t want to represent writer’s next project – 34%

Couldn’t agree on editorial direction of next project – 7%

Communication styles – 20%

Personality Clash – 10%

Other – Several of these responses included an agent switching to another agency and culling her list in the process, and an agent deciding to focus on a different genre or category.

QUESTION: If the writer initiated the breakup, what were the reasons (check all that apply):

Agent couldn’t sell a previous manuscript – 34%

Agent didn’t like the writer’s next project – 31%

Couldn’t agree on editorial direction – 25%

Communication styles – 61%

Personality clash – 31%

Other – Many of these responses included excessively slow turn-around time in reading manuscripts, getting feedback to a writer, responding to emails, or putting manuscripts on submission. Also included: concerns about the strength of the agent’s connections, agent not passing on feedback from editors, or writer not wanting to stay with the agent when they made a big career move (like to another agency).

QUESTION: How long were you with agent before splitting up?

0-6 months – 5%

6 months – 1 year – 14%

1-2 years – 40%

More than 2 years – 42%

QUESTION: If you’ve gone on to get another agent, how long did it take after your initial split?

0-6 months – 67%

6 months – 1 year – 13%

1-2 years – 15%

More than 2 years – 5%

Now, I’m throwing a lot of info at you, but there’s so little out there on this topic that I want to do it full justice. I know many writers who head into Breakup Station despair of ever getting an agent again. They think they’re damaged goods (actual wording I saw recently), they think the manuscript their agent subbed is dead forever, they think they’ve missed their shot. I wanted to get an agent’s perspective on receiving queries from writers who’ve been previously agented, so I talked to Brent Taylor of Triada US Literary Agency. He was kind enough to answer candidly. Querying writers should consider him—his manuscript wish list is here.

Me: How does it affect your consideration of a query when you see a writer has parted ways with a previous agent?

Brent: I want to note upfront that all of this is very much case-by-case. But for me, it sometimes works in the writer's favor and I'm more forgiving of query mistakes/my initial hesitations about the project if I know that this writer's work was "good enough" for a different agent. Not all agents might feel that way, though. I'm usually giving the writer the benefit of the doubt and assuming that the author-agent split was amicable and because of stylistic incompatibilities. 

But there are many other factors. Sometimes I'm very friendly with the agent that the querying writer parted ways with, and I might check in with them first just to maintain my professional relationship. Agents talk. We're a talkative crowd. 

Me: Would you sign a new client with a manuscript that had previously been seen by editors?

Brent: It depends on how I feel about the project and my vision. Every agent has different instincts, and I've certainly seen submissions lists that differ drastically from ones I would have come up with. So let's say you queried me with a middle grade novel and I felt it was a perfect fit for the more traditionally literary imprints with award-winning lists, and your previous agent had mostly submitted it to the imprints I considered more on the commercial side -- then there's certainly some wiggle room there. But I've also been in a position where I've had to say, "Look, this is great, but all these editors that passed are the same editors that I would have gone to." I know that's a completely unhelpful answer.

Me: How many editors would be too many for you to take on an already-subbed project?

Brent: I say at above ten editors, your ship has sailed and you need to write a new book. 

Thanks for your time, Brent!

I hope this gives some hope to those travelers passing through Breakup Station—or pondering a stop there. You aren’t alone. It will be a temporary stop for you, but there are fellow travelers to meet and wisdom to be gained. Much love on your journey.

Tesla's Attic - An Interview with Authors Neal Shusterman and Eric Elfman

Project Mayhem is very happy to welcome authors Eric Elfman and Neal Shusterman, who kindly took time out of their busy promotional tour to answer a few questions for us about their new middle-grade release, TESLA'S ATTIC. In TESLA'S ATTIC, protagonist Nick discovers the junk in the attic of the old Victorian house his family has moved into has some very odd properties (like the toaster that hits him in the head). He and his new friends soon learn these items are the last inventions of the famed Nikola Tesla. Now they have to keep them out of the hands of a mysterious secret society in this exciting start to a new trilogy. 

You can read more about Neal and Eric at their websites (links at the end of this post). But without further ado, here's our interview:

Please tell us about your exciting new middle-grade release, TESLA'S ATTIC. What inspired you to write this book?

NEAL: Have you ever been to a garage sale where they have all this weird stuff and you don't know what any of it is? That happened to me a while back. A guy was selling all this electronic equipment, and I asked him what one thing did, and he said, "I don't know. But I'll sell it to you for five bucks."

ERIC: When Neal told me about that, we were developing projects for TV and film. We started to work on the idea, and it eventually became the novel, TESLA'S ATTIC. Our story begins when fourteen year old Nick moves into a house his family inherited, and he finds a bunch of antiques and rusty appliances in the attic. Nick wants to use the attic as his bedroom, so he sells all the rusted junk at a garage sale.

NEAL: Only after it's all gone, our kid discovers that they were the last inventions of Nikola Tesla, the greatest inventor of all time. Now, with the help of his friends, he has to get them all back. Except he didn't count on a secret society of physicists called the Accelerati, trying to beat him to the inventions.

The two of you co-wrote TESLA'S ATTIC. Is it challenging writing with another author? Did you ever butt heads (politely and respectfully, of course) regarding the direction you wanted the story to move in or any other aspect of the book?

ERIC: We love working together -- mainly because we have similar senses of humor and  sensibilities about story, so it's great fun for us to work as partners. Also, writing is usually such a solitary activity, so bouncing ideas off another person is a treat -- especially when that person is Neal.

NEAL: And we make it a point to never disagree about the direction of the story -- we both have to agree, or it doesn't go in the book. If one of us doesn't like something the other came up with, we have to come up with something we can both agree on. But that's easy, because we trust each other's instincts.

ERIC: On a technical level, we've started working in GoogleDocs, because it allows us to both be in the same document at the same time, even if we're hundreds of miles apart. We'll sometimes even be in a coffee house working together, with both our laptops open to GoogleDocs, so it looks like we're playing a game of Battleship.

Both of you have written for older audiences before. What do you think is unique about writing for middle grade? Do you have any tips for those interested in writing for a middle-grade audience?

NEAL: It’s like writing for adults who can’t drive. The writing still has to be the same quality, the story as strong and compelling, the characters and relationships as solid, the climax as powerful. The trick is telling the story from a middle grader's pov. You have to ask yourself 'how would a fourteen year old react to this obstacle?"

What is the best piece of writing advice anyone has ever given you?

ERIC: For me, I'll never forget an interview with a well-known author I heard on the radio when I was a teenager. He said, "I guarantee, if you keep writing, you will get published." And I took that to heart, and just kept at it. A lot of my friends, good writers, stopped writing and took other jobs, but I persisted. And that writer was right, I did get published.

NEAL: Write out of your comfort zone.  Different styles, different genres. It’s the only way to grow as a writer.

What are the links to your websites, and where is best place for readers of this blog to go to find out more about TESLA'S ATTIC?

NEAL: My website is www.storyman.com and my Facebook fan page is www.facebook.com/nealshusterman.

ERIC: My website is www.ElfmanWorld.com; for writers seeking advice, my coaching site is www.ericElfmanCoaching.com; and my Facebook fan page is www.facebook.com/EricElfmanAuthor.

Thanks again for stopping by Project Mayhem, Neal and Eric! We hope everyone will rush out and grab a copy of TESLA'S ATTIC. (I know I will.)

Giveaway of new MG mystery debut DIZZY MISS LIZZIE and interview with R.M. Clark

I’m very pleased to welcome Robert Clark to Project Mayhem today to talk about his new middle grade mystery debut, DIZZY MISS LIZZIE, and to offer a giveaway of it. My 11-year-old daughter read it first and liked it so much, I had to take it away from her at the dinner table and then also the same night when she went to bed (mean mom.) She got up early the next morning to finish!  That’s about the biggest endorsement I can give to a book. The book also has some fascinating real history in it, which I always like in a story. In interviewing Robert, I found out some interesting things about him as well. It’s always a surprise to find out about a writer’s background!

First, here’s a description of DIZZY MISS LIZZIE:

Thirteen-year-old Kasey Madrid finally has the freedom she's always wanted. Instead of putting up with sitters or camps, she can spend the summer home alone in their "new" house. Never mind that the house is a creepy old place built in the nineteenth century. The creep factor skyrockets when Kasey meets a nineteenth-century girl named Lizzie Bellows in the basement. It takes some time for Lizzie to convince Kasey she's not a ghost, though neither girl understands why they can see each other when they live 120 years apart. The difference in their worlds doesn't stop the two from becoming fast friends. Lizzie's life isn't easy though. In her time, her parents died in a fire many believe Lizzie started herself. As the summer passes and Kasey learns more about her own past, she is shocked to discover Lizzie is part of a terrible Madrid family secret. It's up to Kasey to go back to Lizzie's world to unlock the secret and clear Lizzie's name.

Bob, you have a fascinating background for someone writing books for middle graders. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I'm a computer scientist with the Department of the Navy. I live in SE Massachusetts (near Fall River) with my wife and two sons. I started writing fiction in early 2007 and am currently at work on my eighth novel. Dizzy Miss Lizzie is my third and it got me an agent in the fall of 2009. The agent couldn't sell the manuscript and we parted ways after less than a year. I kept writing new material while submitting Lizzie to smaller houses. I turned down several offers, then finally agreed to a contract with Marsha Morris at Stanley Publishing in August, 2011. As luck would have it, I got an agent for another book (Good Golly Miss Molly) just two weeks after signing with Stanley. I am now represented by Frances Black and Jennifer Mishler of Literary Counsel.

How did you think up the idea for the book? (Dee’s daughter’s question) 

I live a few houses away from the one-time summer home of Lizzie Borden's family (Lizzie lived there in the 1880s). We thought about buying the house, but it was too old for our tastes. As I walked by it one day, I wondered "what if we did buy it" and "what if we could talk with a young Lizzie Borden." I changed the main character to a young girl whose family buys the house and I created a secret room in the basement for them to meet. The whole "friensdship with Lizzie Borden" proved to be too dark for my first set of readers, so I created fictional Lizzie Bellows and lightened the mood considerably.

I was interesting the setting, the southeastern part of Massachusetts near Mount Hope Bay. How did you research that part of the story?

The story is set in the fictional town of Chepstow, across the Taunton River from Fall Fiver. Chepstow is a composite of two "towns across the river," including my hometown. I thought it best to use a fictional setting. Our public library has some great books on Victorian-era Fall River, plus I scoured the internet to ensure historical accuracy about clothing, transportation, speech and even the details of the Slade's Ferry Bridge.

Is there any basis in real life for the legends used in the stories? (I’m thinking of the curse stones in particular.)

The Boston Post cane, given to the oldest living resident of a town, was real. The Fall River Press cane and its legend are fictional. Curse stones do exist, but the history and usage in the book are made up.

Did you read mysteries or ghost stories as a child?

Oddly enough, I didn't enjoy mysteries until I started writing. My childhood goal was to become a sportswriter, so I spent many hours reading bios of famous athletes. I went through a Stephen King phase in college, but mysteries are a recent pleasure.

What are you working on now?

I writing an Alice In Wonderland-type middle grade story about a boy who wonders why all the big clocks in his town have stopped. He gets sucked into a crazy "clock world" where two rival villages battle for control and the only way to solve the conflict it is to find the elusive Tick Tick Man. It's completely different from my other stories and it should be done some time this spring.

Robert, thanks so much for taking the time to stop by Project Mayhem. We’re offering a signed copy of DIZZY MISS LIZZIE as a giveaway. To enter, if you are already following Project Mayhem, just leave a comment. If you aren’t yet following us, join us and then leave a comment.  The deadline to enter is 12:00 A.M. on Tuesday, February 28^th, and the winner will be picked in a random drawing. I’ll announce the winner later that day.

~ Dee Garretson

The Rose Boys on Life as an Author's Kid

My boys, Noah, 10, and Caleb, 8, weigh in on what it’s like to live with a writer in the family. I'll be honest: not all their answers are flattering and have shown me a few things I'd like to do better in the mom department. But a couple made me smile. Without further ado, I give you the Rose Boys.

What’s one good thing about having a mom who’s an author?

N: You like books.

C: You get money so we can do special things, like buy our dog, Boo.

What’s one bad thing about having a mom who’s an author?

N: Sometimes, when no one else is at home and I want to do something with you, I can’t because you’re writing your story.

C: You go on your blog and don’t do stuff with us. Not always, but it seems like it.

Describe May B. in one sentence:

N: May B. is scared when the Oblingers don’t come back, so she basically hides in the house.

C: It’s a survival story.

Finish this sentence: At first I thought May B. would be ______ . Now I think _______.

N: Boring. Now I think it’s good.

C: Good and it was good. I knew Mom would be a good author.

Why should boys read this book?

N: More girls should read it, but boys should read it too because she’s not really girly and she doesn’t play with girl toys like My Little Pony.

C: I think girls would read it more. Boys won’t read it because a girl’s in the story. I think it’s good. I don’t care there’s a girl in the story.

Thank you, boys, for sharing your experience with Project Mayhem!