Agent/Editor Panel Day Four

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We’ve got more of the editor and agent panel for you today. Enjoy!

Again, the key:
JS: Jan Stob, fiction acquisitions editor at Tyndale House Publishers.
CM: Chip MacGregor, literary agent, MacGregor Literary.
TB: Terry Burns, literary agent, Hartline Literary.
JG: Judy Geary, editor, High Country Publishers.

Q: How do you feel about writers following up on a query or proposal submission? What is an acceptable time period to wait before following up?

CM: Hmm…I try to get back to people within three weeks. The fact is, I’m often much faster. But I hate having people send me short notes in order to remind me that I’ve failed them (“I sent you my proposal a month ago!”). They’ve forgotten that I don’t owe them a reading. If I agree to read their proposal, it’s because I choose to. (Sorry if I sound cranky, but I got two of these today, from two people I’ve never heard of. My first reaction is to say something snarky like, “Okay, if you’re forcing me to decide, my answer is no. Now leave me alone.” But no, I’ve never done that.) So I guess following up after a few weeks in a short, polite note (maybe thanking the editor or agent for looking at it) is fine. I prefer just a quick email that reminds me I’ve got your proposal, and asking me if I need anything else. No whining, no blame. I will tell you that I’ve heard from several authors recently about some editors who have kept things for a YEAR without a reply. I find that unconscionable. You wonder how these folks keep their jobs. Look, if the person hasn’t responded in a couple months, move on. Move on emotionally at least.

JG: An unsolicited submission is likely still in a pile somewhere no matter how long it has been. A material that was sent as a result of a request is a different story. About six weeks is long enough to wait. Certainly, if you have sold the manuscript to another publisher (or if you're considering it), that's a good time to get back in touch.

JS: I don’t mind if an author contacts me to verify that I’ve received their proposal but they should wait at least three months before they expect a response to their proposal. Sometimes we’re able to respond more quickly but we can get a little backed up.

TB: Again, most guidelines state a usual response time. It is perfectly acceptable, and good business practice to follow up when that time is reached. However, these response times vary house to house, agent to agent, and some should not be followed up on as quickly as others.
Cindy: Bottom line: check the guidelines. When you do follow up, be polite!

Q: Writers of historical fiction seem to be interested in knowing what time period editors might be looking for. Is there a “hot” time period you would like to see a book set in or any to avoid?

JS: Medieval and the Civil War time period should probably be avoided. However, if the story has an incredible hook, there could be exceptions.

CM: Nope. Tales set in the 1960’s and 70’s have bombed in most markets so far, so I’d generally stay away from the era of long hair and love beads (and, of course, now that I’ve said that, I’m sure the next NYT #1 bestseller will be something like “Love Child: The Haight-Ashbury Series”).

TB: The baby boomers are hitting retirement age and while they are more active than earlier retirement generations, they are the largest generation and will be reading more and more. Targeting time periods that interest them is a good strategy.

JG: I'm not in the "in-group" to know what the big boys are looking for. American history seems to sell steadily. A good mystery finds a market whenever or wherever it's set.

Cindy: I’ve been waiting all week for the MacGregor humor to show up! Thanks for not disappointing me, Chip!

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

TB: In a perfect world we'd write a book and the world would beat a path to our door and force an obscene amount of money on us to publish it, doing all of the work, sales and promotion. In reality, 85% of all manuscripts are turned down and it is generally because the writer has not done the legwork necessary to get a good shot at the market. All of us want to write the stories, we don't want to do the business end, but those who do the work get into that magic 15% where the decision is based on the quality of the writing, not on the details of trying to get the work looked at.

JS: I can think of two examples in the past year where we considered proposals that were in genres that we weren’t currently pursuing. We were willing to overlook the fact that they didn’t fit with our current publishing plan based on the fact that they were either incredibly written or had a great hook that would connect with our readership.

CM: Yes. Two things, actually… First, people ask me why I talk so much about “voice,” when right now the trend in the market is to talk about “branding.” It’s because I think great writing trumps cool marketing. The fact is, if you haven’t found your voice as a writer (and most successful novelists will tell you it came to them over time, often after they’ve written six or seven complete novels), you don’t have anything to “brand.” I urge you to FIND YOUR VOICE FIRST. Second, several folks have emailed me (you can check my web site at www.MacGregorLiterary.com) with questions about “where does depth in writing come from?” I offered an answer on this to my friend Gina Holmes’s NovelJourney blog site, and I’d like to render it here: Depth is found when multidimensional characters who I can relate to face timeless questions in complex circumstances, then make decisions that are open to interpretation…so they may not be right. (THAT’S what causes me to learn, what helps me to understand myself, what leaves me thinking about your book. And this can’t be faked – so you can’t write with an agenda. Nothing is more boring than to read a polemic.) If you really want to add depth to your novel, consider this MacGregor’s Dictum. Really nice of you to invite me. Cindy’s note: Chip also wished us all a Merry Christmas, but he didn’t realize the interview wouldn’t post until after Christmas. But it was a nice sentiment anyway, don’t you agree??

JG: Thank you for maintaining this site. We history buffs need to stick together! Judith Geary
www.judithgeary.com

Thank you to our panel this week. They’ve been very generous with their time. If you missed the bios, please go back to Monday of this week to read them.

Come back tomorrow when I'll share resources that can help us put into practice what the panel has taught us this week.