Mystery, supernatural and women’s fiction writers will be
interested in this next agent spotlight for the Missouri Writers Guild
Conference.
Ann Collette has been an agent with the Rees Literary Agency in
Boston for twelve years. Before that, she was a freelance writer and editor for
fifteen years. As an agent, she's very open to working with new writers,
particularly in the mystery, thriller, horror, suspense, and supernatural
categories. She also represents upscale commercial women's fiction. Some of her
clients include Carol Carr, Vicki Lane, Barbara Shapiro, Mark Russinovich, and
Clay and Susan Griffith. She doesn't represent YA, children's, sci-fi, or high
fantasy (Lord of the Rings-type books).
During the Missouri Writers Guild Conference, Ann will take
pitches on Saturday in addition to presenting a breakout session with one of
her authors, Carol Carr. The session, entitled “The Author/Agent Relationship,”
will cover how the two women came to work together, what expectations they have
of each other and what it takes for a successful author/agent relationship.
Attendees may also glean insight into what an agent looks for in a query, the
process of preparing a manuscript for publication and author/agent expectations
once a book is published.
Sarah: Ann, welcome to the MWG
Conference Notes blog. Thank you for taking time to answer a few questions
about the upcoming conference. It’s hard to believe it’s only a couple months
away.
Ann: I've never been to Missouri
before, and am delighted my introduction will be as an attendee at the MWG
Conference.
Sarah: To get us started,
your breakout topic seems very original. Could you talk about how you and Carol
decided it would be a good subject to present? Also, please include in your
answer how you decided to structure the session.
Ann: Over the twelve
years I've been agenting, I've attended quite a few conferences. One of the
most frequently asked questions I encounter is, "Once I get an agent, what
should I expect from him or her?" Since Carol lives in Missouri, I
thought this would be a perfect opportunity for both she and I,
as agent and client, to talk about this very thing. We'll start off
with Carol talking about her search for an agent, and what she did to find the
right one. Then I'll talk about what, as an agent, I look for in a query,
then later the manuscript. I'll talk about what excited me about Carol's
submission, and how I went about offering representation. She'll talk
about why she decided to work with me, and then together we'll talk about the
submission process, and how involved the client is or isn't.
We'll talk
about critiquing and editing a manuscript before it's submitted, and how well
informed an agent then keeps a client once the manuscript has been submitted.
As Carol's agent, I'll talk about how I passed along news of any rejections she
received, and Carol will talk about how she dealt with them. In this case,
after a few rejections, I sold Carol's first book to Berkley, so we'll
talk about what happened once the sale was made. From there, we'll trade back
and forth how we established our ongoing business relationship, and its
parameters.
Sarah: In the dozen or so
years you’ve been an agent, what is the worst (or funniest) story you have to
tell about receiving a pitch at a conference?
Ann: Without a doubt, the worst is this
man who fixated on me as an agent he thought he was working with. He both
emailed and phoned me constantly, and no matter what I said, I wasn't able to
deter him from thinking I was his agent, though we'd signed no agreement. My
heart was really in my throat when I saw he signed up for a conference that I
was attending that involved him traveling hundreds of miles. I was so nervous
about this that I actually asked the people who were running the conference to
keep an eye on him for me, just in case he crossed a line. I remember sitting
in the ballroom searching the hundreds of faces that were looking at me as I
sat up there on the dais, wondering which man this creep might be. I was sure I
had him pegged when I found this scary looking guy who looked shifty and
disheveled.
When the panel was over, I waited for this guy to come up to me,
but instead was approached by the real deal, who turned out to be someone
genuinely ignorant of how any aspect of publishing worked, let alone what it
means to sign with an agent. I was able to be brusque with him because I was
due to appear on another panel, but that conference turned out to be both the
best thing for both him and me as far as any "relationship" between
us was concerned. It opened his eyes to what it really means to sign with an
agent, or at least I think it did, because he never bothered me again. That was
a few years ago, and I haven't heard from him since.
Looking back, I think he
just didn't know any better. But being around other writers at a conference
showed him the reality of a business he had no conception of. Still, his
near-obsession scared me because he had so little understanding of boundaries.
Sarah: Oh my! That is a
great example of what not to do. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with the
writers interested in pitching you during the MWG conference?
Ann: Keep your pitch terse. If you can't
tell me what your book is about in a couple of sentences, then I'm going to
feel you don't really have a grasp of your material. Expect me to ask you
questions; I may even ask, "How does your book end?" Remember, I'm
trying to evaluate if I can sell your book or not, so may need to know the
answer to a question like that.
Sarah: That’s great
advice. Thanks. You’ve tweeted often that you’re not interested in Civil War
stories, in addition to not reading high fantasy or YA. Are there any other
story subjects or genres that you don’t read of which we should be aware?
Ann: I don't understand science
fiction, and am not open to Middle Eastern terrorists, particularly any from
Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Editors have seen too many of those kinds of books,
and aren't looking for any more, so I don't want to waste my time with
such books.
Sarah: Do you have a specific
story that you’d like to see in your slush pile?
Ann: I'm always on the lookout for a
believable kickass female protagonist in either a thriller or mystery. I'd also
love to come across something set in Southeast Asia.
Sarah: What are three
adjectives that describe you as an agent?
Ann: Conscientious, honest, and
thorough.
Sarah: Why did you pick
those three?
Ann: Conscientious because as a writer
myself, I understand how much is riding on this for everyone who queries me.
Honest because I do an author a disservice if I'm not. Thorough because the
business of publishing demands it.
Sarah: Your tweets about
queries you’ve rejected are eye-opening, to say the least. I’ve enjoyed them.
Based on your own experience, do you think it’s important for prospective
writers to be on Twitter? Why or why not?
Ann: The number one advantage of being
on Twitter is that you learn how to edit. I strongly encourage any budding
writer to tweet, because limiting yourself to 140 characters really helps you
learn how to use language precisely.
Sarah: Finally, what
advice do you believe is overrated?
Ann: Speaking personally, when an
author sends me a query, I want to know what the book is about right off the
bat. If the author must include personal information, I think it should come at
the end of the query, and only be a few sentences. I've heard other agents say
they like learning about the personality of the writer, but to be honest, if I'm not
interested in your book, then I'm probably not going to be interested in
you.
Sarah:
Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions. I hope they will
motivate attendees to pitch their best work and get the most out of the “Write
Time! Write Place! Write Now!” Conference.
Leave a comment, and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a one-page
query critique from Ann. Sharing this blog via Twitter, Facebook,
or a blog post earns you additional chances to win. Just let us know in the
comments.
Don’t forget to register. If you’ve learned something from
reading this blog, please consider attending the 2012 Missouri Writers Guild
Annual writing conference. We would love to see you in April!