Last fall I attended the inaugural ReWrite conference, a writers conference headed up by literary agent Esther Fedorkevich. It was one of the best writers conferences I’ve attended because of the quality of the speakers, the intimate atmosphere, and the access attendees had to great writers, editors, and agents.
Author-in-his-own-right and moderator Jim Henderson interviewed a number of folks at the conference. I have the pleasure of releasing the interview he did with me on my blog today.
Jim asked some great questions, including:
- How can agents be most effective?
- Do you prefer working through an agent or directly with an author?
- Do you and other people who work for traditional publishers feel threatened by the digital publishing revolution?
- What is the value of a traditional publisher in the current environment?
- Over what period of time have you seen ebooks become a significant part of your business?
- What percentage of your business is comprised by ebooks?
- What is the first thing you look at in a book proposal?
- How can a first-time author get past the need for a platform?
- In what cases is a platform less important than usual?
- What advice do you have for authors everywhere?
- If an aspiring writer wants to get published, how much time does she need to spend writing?
One more thing! The folks at ReWrite and I teamed up to extend a $120 discount off registration at ReWrite this year. The discount is good through June, and this year’s conference promises to be even better than last year’s. Find out more at www.rewriteconference.com. Use discount code ALLEN2013 to take advantage of the offer.
I hope the interview is helpful to you. I’d love to interact with you about it in the comments section.
Possible tweets:
“What is the value of a traditional publisher today?” and other such conundrums over here… <Tweet this!>
“Where’s the first place an editor goes in a book proposal?” and other questions answered here… <Tweet this!>
Finally got a chance to watch this–it’s been sitting open in my browser for a while.
Thanks for posting it!
Chad, I watched your interview yesterday via my phone as I multitasked. Loved it! Your warmth and exuberance for the writing craft, as well as your genuine desire to help others, is refreshing! It’s also exciting the way you minister to others–you know how to motivate us! 🙂
Regarding the author bio, I played around with a couple before I wrote one that was ME. I believe it’s important to showcase who we are as writers and mix-it up with a bit of personality, too. In other words, a professional, but fun, mix. Of course, I suppose this is somewhat different for nonfiction vs. fiction folks?
Have a super-blessed day!
Really enjoyed this interview, Chad. Love to hear the editor’s pov.
This was a great interview! I loved it – it was like a bunch of blog posts rolled into one. 🙂 A couple of things piqued my interest in particular:
1. You mentioned the difference between proposals that come from agents and proposals that come from individuals without agents. What are some of those key differences (e.g., which of your questions get more effectively answered in proposals shaped by professional agents)?
2. I was surprised that you estimated 40% of your authors come directly to you without an agent. Given that most publishing houses don’t allow direct submissions anymore, how do those 40% usually come through the door? Is that primarily from conference and/or other networking?
3. You spoke about the importance of the writing sample for first-time authors. What are the key qualities you look for? How many chapters do publishers like to see (for agents, it seems to be three)?
Really helpful post today! Thanks very much.
I hope I didn’t overload you with questions…I’m finishing up my second sample chapter right now, so this is all top of mind.
No problem at all. I’m glad to help.
Hey Natasha,
Great questions. In answer to your first, I’m not sure i can point to specific questions. It’s just that if you have your hands in proposals every day, you learn how to craft them in a compelling way not just in how questions are answered but in how the concept is conceived and expressed.
In regard 2, this interview took place a while back, and I suspect my percentage of agented projects has increased to a figure closer to 80 percent. However, to answer your question, unsolicited/nonrepresented proposals typically come via a friend who knows a friend. For example, I just received one the other day from an editor at another publisher who saw a proposal, liked it, but knew it wasn’t a good fit for his house, so he sent it to me. I’ve chosen to have a public profile with this blog, so I’m not surprised to see the occasional query or proposal in my email inbox. That’s fine, and I’ll do my best to respond to those.
In regard to 3, the main thing i look for in a writing sample is the quality of the reading experience. I tend to think of authors as experience architects. I guess they’re also the engineers and construction workers too, but you get my point. It’s all about the experience. I tend to think an introduction and first chapter is enough to start. If I need to see more, I can always ask for it.
Hope this helps!
Chad, Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to all these questions. Your blog has been an incredible resource for someone working on a proposal for the first time! I’m really grateful for the time you spend here.
On the first question, I totally get what you’re saying – it’s a clearly expressed exceptional concept positioned in an excellent way. Just as a marketer knows how to best position his/her product within a given market, an agent knows how to best position a concept in the book market. Makes total sense.
On the last question, I love the vision of the “experience architect!” That’s a great concept to use in reviewing my writing. Many thanks!
Chad, I’ve not yet been able to view the video but “authors as experience architects” is golden — thanks for this metaphor. I’ll hold that in mind as I write and as I edit.
Thank you so much for sharing this, Chad. Regarding your words about tribes and platforms, I loved that you bring about who these people actually are: “folks who care about you and what you have to say.” I like these terms because of what’s between the lines: folks who we, in turn, care about enough to do the work required to bring them the words on our hearts… word we hope will be a blessing to them.
Right on, Amanda. People can smell a mercenary from miles away. Pure motives are elusive, but we need to keep reminding ourselves of what’s most important: helping people.
Thanks, Chad– what a blessing, too, to have so many examples around me of people in the CBA who do keep their motives pure and service-oriented. I’m thankful!
Excellent information, Chris. It’s interesting to hear you say that upon occasion an author without an established platform is accepted; even if those are the exceptions. It also surprised me that the first thing you look at in a proposal is the author’s bio, not the actual idea being pitched. It makes sense once you explained it, but I would have thought you see if you like the idea firs.
Thanks for this great information.
Thanks, C. C. By the way, just to clarify, my first name is Chad, not Chris, though I have some great friends who are named Chris so it’s a happy association. 🙂
Yes, I like starting with the bio because i want to know something about who is pitching a concept even as i read about that concept. I almost hate to mention the possibility of getting past the platform requirement because it so rarely happens. Even if it does, it’s not likely to happen for the same author more than once. In other words, platform is important!
Thanks for the engagement, C. C.!