Sorry for the long blog silence. Just before Christmas I went down with the worst cold I’ve had in years, which turned into bronchitis once I got back to London for the holidays. Incredibly annoying, as I felt too pathetic most of the time even to open my laptop, let alone come up with anything sensible and interesting to say. Thank goodness, I’m now feeling a lot more like myself again – all ready for a new year of work, starting tomorrow!

I flew back to the US on New Year’s Eve, so was comatose by the time New Year – Eastern Time – came around.  However, I’ve had a little think about resolutions for 2012. Or rather, the objectives that I want to drive us this coming year.

2011 was fabulous for Greenhouse on both sides of the Pond. Very successful in business terms, despite an intensely competitive marketplace, with more and more agents entering the fray. However, it’s always the human side of the business that delights us most, and both Julia and I found great satisfaction in launching a number of new authors into first deals, as well as seeing repeat deals coming through for existing clients. We did a lot of big deals, but never lost (and never will lose) our heart for, and delight in, the smaller ones too – they can be every bit as significant in changing a writer’s life, making their publishing dream come true. Equally exciting was the range and number of foreign deals (ie, in translation) done for us by our lovely colleagues at Rights People in 2011, as well as our first –ever TV option deal.

So, where is my personal North Star as I take a deep breath and enter 2012 with Greenhouse? Here are my thoughts; perhaps they will spark some of your own. The accompanying photos are all images associated with my Christmas - explained at the foot of this post.

So . . . .

I intend us to be smart, savvy, fast, gutsy and tough in business. Yet strive to be people who are full of heart, integrity and humanity.

I want us to keep our reputation for very close and warm contact with our clients. I never want any of our authors to sit there thinking ‘Why don’t they reply to me?’ And that means not overloading ourselves. Maintaining the right number of clients is a fine line, and to walk it we have to make quiet, careful decisions.

Social networking and maintaining ‘the face of the business’ is another very fine line. I want us to be ‘out there’, heard, present, interesting – yet knowing when to cut out the babble and just reflect privately and with dignity.

I want us to keep replying to all sensible and respectful queries, as we have done since Greenhouse began.  Can we continue to do this throughout the coming year? I hope so, I really do, and we’ll certainly do our best.

I want to continue to love this business passionately, adore my job, throw myself into it like a crazy woman, yet never forget that we are all more than just our jobs. What does this mean? For me, it means remembering that I am a family person, I love art and theatre, I love taking photographs, I love Edith Piaf and Mozart (and tons of other musicians), and I love putting on my walking boots and going for a hike. Hooray for normality and a sense of proportion!

I want to keep my real love for writers – for the struggle, the craft, the growth, the adventure of learning how to put thoughts, a story, down on paper or a screen. It is fantastically exciting to see writers develop and find success. Yes, it can be nerve-racking too (especially as we often get so involved in editorial), and there many incredibly roller-coaster moments. But would I swap this crazy business for any other form of employment? Not likely! Julia and I are like pigs searching for truffles, and when you’re ruled by your nose, there’s nothing more exciting than truffle-hunting.

I want to continue enjoying that personal contact with writers which we have at conferences around the US and UK. This year I’ll be speaking in New York, Texas, New Jersey and Nashville. Who will I meet? What will I discover? The thing is, you just never know! I guarantee there will be surprises, but WHAT surprises?

I intend to keep running and getting better at it. Before I got ill, I was running nearly 1.5 miles at a go – utterly unthinkable a few months ago when I realized I had legs like jelly. I like the way running makes you keep looking at the horizon, keep going, toughing it out. It’s a stonking great metaphor, it’s discipline for the mind – plus it’s good for the bod!  (Also, you can feel really, really smug when you run.)

Finally, I want to cook more and get better at French. And for those of you who’ve heard me speak (around the country) about my Great Uncle Wilfrid – the brother my grandmother wanted to marry, instead of the brother she DID marry . . . . Well, I’m off to find his grave in July. It is just south of Ypres, in what was Flanders, in a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery near where he died shot through the chest by a sniper in Fall 1917 having gone out at night to rescue wounded British soldiers in No Man’s Land. I will be the first member of my family ever to see Wilfrid’s grave, and I think that will be quite a moment.

Wow, as I write all this, I can feel the excitement starting to build. I already have a few manuscripts waiting for my urgent attention and I feel a bit like a racehorse waiting for the gate to open.  I also already have a shrewd idea of what January is going to bring, and I’m looking forward to it. Aha!

Welcome to you all. It’s great to be in touch with you, thanks for following us here and on Facebook (just search for The Greenhouse Literary Agency) and Twitter (@SarahGreenhouse). We can’t wait to share this great, challenging year of 2012 with you, and both Julia and I wish you all the very best of success in everything you do. Even more than that, we wish you the nerve and grace to accept triumph and adversity with equal aplomb, which is of course one of the things we also wish ourselves.

With love from

Sarah

Pix: 1) The Ibex, known as Auntie, which adorns my mother’s wall. Sadly, Auntie was shot by my grandfather early in the 20th century. I know, it’s horrible - but I can’t help it. So now we decorate her at Christmas. It’s really the least we can do.  2) Lucy, our older Dachsund, gets weary at Christmas. Here she is relaxing - with gift boxes.  3) This was my pre-Christmas getaway weekend to Baltimore. Here, I was at the fascinating Fort McHenry. These guns are actually from the Civil War rather than the War of 1812, but basically they sum up my combative and determined view of agenting and what 2012 will probably hold. Let’s just say that I want to win.

Like all agents, I have many thoughts on the subject and wanted to share them with you. As you will know, if you’re reading this via the Greenhouse website, we have responded to all queries since we opened in early 2008 and intend to continue that policy into 2012. There are only 2 exceptions to this. 1) If we think you are likely to shoot us (ie, we pick up a really scary vibe). 2) If you are rude. If you send us something we don’t represent, we may or may not reply, depending on how much time we have or how nice we’re feeling. It’s such a waste of time typing, ‘We are sorry but . . . .’ when our submission guidelines – details of what we rep - are so widely available.

There are some problems associated with replying to queries and, so you can better understand an agent’s perspective, here are the main ones:

1 Being constantly open to queries AND responding to all, especially in a market as huge as the US, is like being sprayed continuously with a power hose. The volume of submissions often feels intimidating and overwhelming. They come on Christmas Day, Thanksgiving, Sundays, birthdays, New Year’s Eve – in fact, every single day of the year. Julia and I receive 10,000-15,000 subs annually. On top of this, we likely each have 5-10 manuscripts (ie, where we’ve asked to read fulls) on our Kindles at any one time. By the time we’ve read one full manuscript, there’s often 150 more subs waiting for us.

2 To read and respond to this number means it is almost impossible ever to take a day off, let alone a weekend. Most agents will push their subs-reading into the weekend because there just isn’t time in the week, given the volume of client work. And we are committed legally and morally to give our clients the best of our time and efforts. All this means we must scrutinize queries with great focus and speed. We make a decision (yes – we want to read more; no – not for us) and then we have to move on fast. Opening, copying, pasting replies – or giving a truly individualized answer – really adds up. And that can mean most of Sunday gone – or the time needed to read a hot manuscript (which could be out with many other agents). And that hot manuscript just won’t wait. It can be very tough on families, who so often – OK, mostly - come second to the inbox.  Time, and decisions on how/where to spend it, are hugely important to agents. A great year or a dreadful year for the business? The difference often lies in the decisions we make about use of time, and we guard not only the hours but the minutes.

3 If you are reading this, you are almost certainly the kind of submitter we love. Here’s your profile: you are eager to learn writing craft and about the industry; you’re probably a member of SCBWI, with access to all the teaching which comes with that; you do your research, try your best, and are respectful and pleasant. You are very welcome! However – people like you make up a max of 50% of our subs inbox. The rest are not so welcome. They pepper us with spam, mass submit (ie, to lots of agencies on the same email), ignore our guidelines (either because they’ve not read them or because they want us to make them exceptions), and shower us with stuff we don’t represent. They send us attachments that we won’t open – like the man who attached three 110,000 word manuscripts to his email last week. Sometimes there’s no query at all. Often we’re addressed by wrong names (at least a third of those who submit to me spell my name wrong) or no name at all . . .  I could go on, but you get the picture. Grasping the significance of every email, what it contains, how to deal with it, whether it’s for Julia or me, takes a lot of time, but once an agent says they reply to queries, they are committed to replying to these people too – if we don’t, we are chased. Like the man who emailed me on Boxing Day (what Brits call the day after Christmas) to ask why I hadn’t replied to his sub sent a few days before. And of course all our stats – what words we use to reply and exactly how many days that takes us – are logged all over the internet. Anyone can complain about us, very publicly.

4 When we reply, even with the most courteously worded email, we get a lot of responses. Many simply pop back with a ‘thank you’. While there’s no need to do that (and it takes more moments to open that email), we always appreciate the courtesy and good wishes.  However, others respond less desirably. Some are downright rude, aggressive and disrespectful. Like the man who, in response to Julia’s very courteous rejection, shot back: ‘Kiddo, hold up a mirror and you’ll see you’re not even a professional.’ Or the woman whose questions I answered with two personal emails on a Sunday, who spat back two messages of outright snark.  Others ask more questions or for editorial follow-up, even when we’ve said in our turndown that we can’t give that. Now fewer agents reply to rejections, some writers come back with:  ‘Thanks SO much for replying. I appreciate that so much, you can be sure I’ll query you again soon with my other five manuscripts . . . .’

5 Rejection never makes people happy, however it is delivered. Researching online, I saw lots of blog comments from people saying they hate getting agent responses; they’d prefer to hear nothing rather than read yet another ‘Unfortunately . . .’ turndown. Many object to getting a ‘template’ response, however carefully worded. For lots of people, the only desirable thing is to be offered representation – and if not, then a full, individualized critique. Sorry, but that simply can’t happen.  Interestingly, it also seems that some writers would prefer an agency close completely to queries rather than fail to respond (I find this mystifying!). So how on earth do we make everyone happy?!

6 One solution would be to farm out sub reading/responding. I have lots of young people longing to intern for me. Do you want a college-leaver reading your submission? You might get a personal response, but it wouldn’t be from me. I think not.

Again, I come back to the fact that yes, we do reply. And yes, Julia and I personally look at all submissions. So WHY do we stick with this policy?

1 We are friendly, open people trying to behaving decently in a brutal business. That’s not to say that equally friendly, open people can’t make different decisions on this. But we are famed for working with debut writers, we nurture our Greenhouse seedlings, and we have a genuine interest in the development of new authors. At the moment, it still feels right to demonstrate that by responding. We were raised to have good manners!

2 Many of our clients arrived via a simple query email. They didn’t meet us at conferences, they weren’t referred, they weren’t already published. They just queried us. There’s a purity, a simplicity, to that basic opportunity which is democratically given, and we have respect for that.

3 We enjoy the interaction with real people, learning the craft. We like seeing what you’re writing. Many friendships have been made – even with writers we’ve turned down – and it’s always a pleasure to meet you at conferences.

4 We know that many of the biggest books of the next few years are lurking among the tens of thousands. This encourages us to maintain our professionalism in dealing with subs.

5 It really annoys me that the opportunists, the haters, the sloppy, the cynical, should spoil things for everyone else by their inundation. So far, they haven’t.

6 We’ve signed several authors because they came back to us with their new manuscripts as a result of our courteous turndowns first time around. And we do often add personal notes if we feel a query has merit but isn’t quite there yet.

7 In short, we reply because it still feels personally and professionally right. It reflects our values.

I won’t lie. Julia and I discuss our subs policy every few months, and after an uptick in disrespectful writer-responses, we’ve been sorely tempted to change our policy.  We are very busy and our response policy costs us dearly in time and personal life.  If you value it, there are ways in which YOU can help us to maintain it:

1 Always do your research before you submit to an agency. Take your time, even if it means submitting to only a couple in one day. Treat the process like a job interview; every submission matters, so get it as right as you can.

2 Remember that agents are human beings, not robots. Agents need to cook dinner and sleep, like everyone else.  And we’re running businesses, not dream factories.

3 Don’t pepper us with multiple queries. If you send us 5 queries in two weeks, you are taking an opportunity from someone else.  If you want to re-query with another manuscript, wait a while.

4 If you have writer friends who are about to query, pass on these tips.

5 If you see disrespectful, mean comments in posts about agents, consider sharing in the self-policing of the writing community. We are an exceptionally open, approachable lot, but professionalism means agents can rarely answer back in their own defence; as a fellow writer it’s a lot easier. Just remember, whatever their response policy, most agents work their butts off.

So to all of you careful, friendly queriers – we warmly welcome you! And we look forward to seeing more of your work in 2012.

Good wishes from us both.

Sarah and Julia

Pix:  1) Neptune Statue, Florence, Italy 2) and 3) Fort McHenry barracks,Baltimore, Maryland. Where Americans pounded the Brits out in the Chesapeake Bay, having been attacked in the 1812 war.

Agents value themselves by the books they sell. If it’s been a month since I got in something good, I get the foot tap. And if it’s been a couple of months, I get the death mask. When that happens I will send a sniveling email to Sarah saying ‘Where are they? :-(’. And when a book comes in that’s fabulous as it is, and I can send out that week, my goodness, it’s the best spike in the world.

But it doesn’t happen very often. In most cases my submissions are debuts, and inevitably there will be some shaping to do. Maybe there’s a tendency to overwrite or to enter scenes really early and leave too late. Perhaps the concept has some potential but after a bit of refining it would become incredibly exciting. Maybe the story loses its way. Often in a debut manuscript, there’s too much going on and not enough focus on the thing that matters.

A voice might call out, even though the story isn’t there yet. So we help develop: we ask questions, point out issues, suggest solutions. That process may be collaborative and involve close work on the ms, or it may be it a cup of tea and chat about where the arrow should point.

The development process is where we add value – it can be great fun, a real learning curve for both agent and author, and it’s very satisfying when you get the big deal.

When the book is ready the selling begins. At Greenhouse, I sell into the UK, Sarah sells into the US, and our rights team sells our translation rights. While some territories are shrinking, others are booming, and we share knowledge constantly. In a tough market it’s not easy to get the deal that you want in terms of money, rights and territories. For example, the UK trade is facing challenges so UK publishers are keen to spread their risk by buying world rights. But if I’m fairly sure that a US deal – or a Brazilian deal plus a German deal – will equal a world rights offer from a UK publisher, that supports my decision-making and the advice I give my author. Why sell the whole farm? It’s a big world, and sometimes the six-figure world rights deal isn’t the right offer to take in the long term.

So with a view to how other territories may value my book, I go into the UK. I’ll write my submission list with the zeal of an eleven-year-old composing birthday invites to the afternoon disco. And I ask myself who is right for this book and author – and who isn’t? 

Once I’ve signed up an author I’ll start talking about the book. This might be socially, when I’m having a drink with an editor or formally, at a book fair with a more refined and stylized pitch. Sarah and I don’t quite practice our pitches in the mirror but… well, actually we do. So publishers will have a sense of what’s upcoming from us. I took on an author on Monday, have talked about his book at a couple of parties, and already editors are emailing me about it. Cool, eh?

The written pitch takes time, and is probably a whole other blog post. It needs to convey a clear idea of concept, setting, character and goal. As well as making the book sound incredible. If you go to the books page of our website, most of the book blurbs are the pitches we sent out. It’s gratifying to see the pitch that we laboured over used right through to publication – on amazon, on the back cover, on promotional material. When that happens you know you wrote a really good one.

Then the book goes out and I’ll brief the author on what to expect – which is probably not very much for a few weeks. I’ll get reactions to the pitch and early noises – maybe an overnight read or two. Perhaps one editor will come back with the ‘LOVE’ word. That’s very exciting. Maybe I’ll get a few early rejections. And then, after perhaps two weeks, the first email telling me that the whole team adore it and it’s going to acquisitions. Sometimes this all takes much longer. I’ll be tying up a deal this week for a book that went out last week, but it can take months to get to that point.

We tend not to update authors on every piece of news. When I sent out A DOG CALLED HOMELESS I got a rejection within a day. Had I told the author it would have rattled her, like it rattled me. As it turned out, that publisher was the only one who didn’t offer on it, and it went to a seven publisher auction.

Selling a book can get messy and confusing. There’s such clamour, especially if you’ve got a lot of interested parties. Once I have an offer, I set rules so every publisher knows what to do and to expect.  I’ll call deadlines, set the terms I’m looking for, voice any concerns about details of the offers and let publishers know if I need anything more from them.

At this point I’ll probably be updating the author every day or so, or whenever they check in, to let them know where we are and what the next stage is. It can be a charged time for author – and indeed publisher – so the agent makes sure everyone knows what the order of play is. Although it’s exciting, it shouldn’t feel stressful.

Once we’ve got final offers, the last part of this stage is the weigh-up: which is the best house and what is the best offer? The number of variables can be mind-boggling (and great fun to talk through). We could probably pull out a hundred pros and cons at this stage if we wanted to over-think it, but don’t worry, it’s always easier than that!

The agent will have a view on who is best and why. We will know which publisher tends to have a longer term view towards its authors. That this publisher always delivers on ‘package look’, and this publisher has been incredibly strong on its positioning in the big chains over the last year. What editions do they propose – hardback or paperback? What about marketing? Are there exciting promises? Maybe the editor is about to leave; that’s not ideal. Perhaps this publisher is offering a bestseller bonus, but is jointly accounting its books? Or this publisher has a greater international profile, so the deal would position the book well for foreign rights. One publisher might be offering much more on the advance, but lesser royalties and high discounts. Some of these are just nuances, and some of them are very serious. Every deal is different, which keeps us on our toes.

There is so much more to write about what comes next, but I’ll leave that for another post.

Pictures are from Guy Fawkes Night in Lewes, which is a strange and loud event. See this wiki link if you’re not from the UK. And also the obligatory photo of Philos. He looks happy and relaxed so Brits will know these photos weren’t taken the same night.

However, most of my time was spent seeing editors – lots of them, at a variety of publishing houses. As well as catching up on news of particular shared authors, meetings like this are a vital way in which agents stay current with the marketplace and who is looking for what and why.  Editors are constantly in touch with the major retailers – what’s moving off the shelf and what’s not; which jackets are working and which aren’t etc. But they also have a huge number of manuscripts passing across their desks and have the best overview of Submissions Land. While I keep a very close eye on what’s actually selling in deals, I inevitably only get to make my choices from what’s coming in to me from writers like you. Editors get to see what’s coming from an enormous range of agents.

So what did I learn?

There’s always a big surge in manuscript submissions to editors post Labor Day (lots of agents don’t submit during August). This year the surge has been a bit disappointing, lots of editors saying they’re seeing the same old, same old. Paranormal. Dystopian. Rather dull contemporary YA. Not much great MG, which is a pain as YA is getting so saturated.

Basically, editors want to see Something They’ve Never Seen Before. Easy, right!?

Haha, can you hear my hollow laugh? You have to write it, and I have to find it, so it’s far from easy all round. Let’s have a shot at extrapolating what they might mean.

YA

Contemporary (ie, realistic): Editors were mixed about this. Some said it was a really tough sell, some would like to see more. General consensus is that it needs a fab hook, whether it’s dark or light. If the former it needs to be edgy and intriguing. If the latter, it needs a voice that pops with charm, humour, and that special something that makes us love the characters. There’s a ton of admiration around for our very own Lindsey Leavitt who has just the right touch in both MG and YA. We also had a lot of houses bidding for Donna Cooner’s SKINNY, which has all the above qualities in spades. The other book repeatedly mentioned is ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins. Real-world romance – deliciously, delightfully unfolding as part of a gripping contemporary story – is really hard to find, but we’re all seeking it.

Paranormal: I’m still seeing lots of vampire/demons/angels submissions. While it would be stupid to say NEVER EVER to these themes (in this business all rules can be broken), by and large that ship has sailed.  There are just too many stories out there already in which girls fall for demons/dark angels. One editor told me she actually ‘feels sick’ when she sees another one! The big exception to this is if you can combine paranormal with another genre – eg, paranormal meets historical; paranormal meets sci-fi etc. If you can surprise us with a combination of elements we’ve not seen before, you could be right on the button. Lots of editors went for Jessica Spotswood’s BORN WICKED, which does this.

Dystopian: Ditto. So many houses are already bought up in this area and have a lot of exposure in advances – often on books still to publish in 2012, or with sequels. Can they all work commercially? I have a feeling we’ll be seeing the sheep sorted from the goats – some titles pushing through to success, others lagging. I’m still seeing a fair number of subs featuring things like divided societies, haves and have-nots, viruses, dome cities etc. Again, if you’re going to break in and persuade a publisher to part with dollars, you’ve got to bring something really fresh to the dystopian table.

So where do I think there IS a niche to be filled in YA?

Thrillers: Quite a few editors said they’d love to find an edgy, dark, clever thriller with a clear and strong hook. Which is great, because I love stories like that too and Greenhouse has done some strong deals in this area. Megan Miranda’s FRACTURE yesterday received a fantastic starred review in PW. SLIDE by Jill Hathaway pubs in March 2012 and is a thrill ride of a read – and a major lead for Balzer & Bray. If you can come up with pacy, clever, zigzag plotting with false trails and drama aplenty, then thrillers have legs right now, internationally as well as domestically.

Sci-Fi: I’m starting to see a steady trickle of sci-fi stories in my inbox and I’m actually just signing a new client whose debut novel falls in this area and has a unique premise. I feel sci-fi should have red warning lights attached to it because it is DIFFICULT! As Anica Rissi of Simon Pulse said, ‘It must be more FI than SCI.’ ie, Don’t overload it with gadgets and gizmos, and keep the human drama central. Setting your story off-planet is just a way of finding a new backdrop for a story encompassing recognizable ingredients – love, betrayal, intrigue etc. And it must have really high stakes.  The ones to beat are ACROSS THE UNIVERSE and GLOW.

Historical: Most historical fiction we see is dry and stiff.  But I do think there’s a new wave coming and that was echoed by many editors. I call it ‘sexy historical’ and for me it’s all about those high stakes and lush settings. We saw it with THE LUXE, I believe we’ll see it with Katherine Longshore’s GILT, and I’m excited to hear that Philippa Gregory has just agreed a four-book deal with S&S;.  I would LOVE to find something in this area, but I’m not talking about little drummer boys in the Revolutionary War; I’m talking about a protagonist (female) who speaks with a strong contemporary voice, yet set against an authentic backdrop of another time. I want rustling silk, corsets, bad boys, lost reputations, forbidden love across social divides, gorgeously lavish houses that conceal secrets . . . . The French Revolution would be a great setting to mine as would World War I.

Why is this so difficult to write? Because you must have a very strong grasp of the period you’re writing about – strong enough to use exactly the right amount of detail – yet mix that with a character who feels very fresh and NOW. It’s a fine line between stiff/historic language and a voice that is accessible/fresh, yet never anachronistic.

Horror: Yes, definitely – if the relationships are kept central. (Sorry, I keep banging that drum.) You can’t just create a gore-fest, it’s got to have charm and individuality. The one making news is ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake, which has wit, a tremendous ghost, as well as a lot of blood.

Unique perspectives: Editors are strongly seeking stories that are told in fresh and intriguing ways. My NYC trip persuaded me that we could have sold Blythe Woolston’s BLACK HELICOPTERS (preempted by Candlewick in the US and Walker in the UK) about 15 times over. Not only is it a unique psychological thriller with teeth, but it’s also told in a non-sequential way, which means the reader has to piece together what happened to the protagonist before she arrived at Page 1 of the book.  It’s clever, it’s painful, but the story unfolds in an unexpected way – which makes it really HOT right now.

Big and small worlds:  Some editors are naturally drawn to epic worlds (dystopian, sci-fi, heaven/hell etc), but others like very small worlds portraying fractured, finely drawn characters. Erica Scheidt’s USES FOR BOYS turned a lot of editorial heads when it went on sub.  Spare, devastating, so finely drawn there’s a lot of white space on the page, it tells the story of a fractured life and makes few concessions to the reader, who is left to judge and decide what they think of Anna, the protagonist, for themselves. It’s not a verse novel, but it has the punch of one because of its short word count and memorable lines. While the edgy content was tricky for some, editors really responded to the uniqueness of the voice and approach. Yes, there’s definitely room for the small scale as well as the large!

Middle Grade

MG is typically a ‘slower burn’ than YA in terms of sales, but everyone’s looking for it to re-balance their lists a bit. What would make a great MG project right now?

I have a new author’s debut manuscript on sub at the moment and it’s getting a lot of early interest. While I can’t tell you the plot, I can say that it weaves elements together in a surprising and fresh new way, the writing is crisp and funny, and the characters strong. It delivers adventure, humour and heart – and that is the MG motherlode.

We’re very excited about Sarwat Chadda’s THE SAVAGE PALACE (ASH MISTRY AND THE SAVAGE PALACE in the UK) which pubs in 2012, the first in a new series blending adventure with Indian mythology. Great action, strong characters, unique angle. Again, it delivers in a big way, plus it’s going to hook both boys and girls, which is an added plus as it broadens the potential market. There are many editors out there seeking MG for boys - funny or exciting and preferably both.

On very different lines, Shawn Stout’s PENELOPE CRUMB speaks to young girl readers, with a gorgeous, funny voice and so much charm. Philomel are really excited about this new girl character. Authors who delight in terms of voice are always in demand, but in this young fic area a strong voice is mandatory. The same applies to Sarah Lean’s A DOG CALLED HOMELESS – again, one I think we could have sold to many houses if it hadn’t been preempted by Katherine Tegen at Harper. Poignant, beautifully crafted and featuring a fabulous dog, it made me cry and it made me smile. It’s a delight!

That’s all I’ve got time for now, but do hope it’s useful. If you think you’ve got something answering to the descriptions on my Wanted list, please do query me!

The complaint in question? I call it the Saggy-Baggies, and it’s defined in my Medical Dictionary of Literary Boo-Boo’s as ‘an unfortunate loss of pace, a collapse into mushiness, a slow sprawl in a bog of treacle’. 

The saddest thing about the Saggy-Baggies?  It can affect stories that start out with great potential, where I’m on the edge of my seat thinking I’ve found a nugget . . . . only to run into a swamp further on in the manuscript. If the story doesn’t start out strongly I don’t get far enough to experience the sag, and that’s why it’s so important to look more deeply at the causes of the disease - with Doctor Sarah at your side.

The most dangerous aspect of the Saggy-Baggies is that your reader will suddenly experience an urgent need to make a cup of tea, water the plants, visit the bathroom or walk the dogs – instead of persevering with your manuscript. Why? Because going through their mind is, ‘Where is this story going and do I really care?’ We feel we’re losing our way in scenes and dialogue that don’t seem to contribute much to the forward momentum of the story. We may even start feeling downright confused.

What are the causes of this malaise?

I speak at a lot of conferences around the country. In both my 2010 speech ‘How to write a breakout novel’ and my 2011 ‘From Ordinary to extraordinary: the art of creating a great saleable story and the craft of teasing out its full potential’, I have banged on endlessly about the importance of two things. The first is CONCEPT. The second is HIGH STAKES.

In other words, the first thing you need for your novel is the foundation stone of a really great idea – something original and twisty that hasn’t been done before. Without that central idea and a strong notion of how you’re going to plot it on the page, you’re going to be writing in an uncharted wasteland where your typing fingers potentially run away with you. Of course, setting off with no route map may yield unexpected diversionary treasures – but there’s a strong likelihood that lack of pre-planning will also ultimately run you into a swamp.

You know the Iditarod – that formidable dog-sled race through Alaska? Would you set out without a good set of dogs, moose-slaying weapons, or food to get you through a blizzard? Of course not, and the same kind of planning needs to be brought to bear on your writing journey. Know where you’re trying to go and roughly how you aim to get there.

High stakes – what does this mean? It means that your protagonist needs to have something they want to achieve, they MUST achieve, more than anything else in the world.  That thing must matter hugely to them – and it must also come to matter hugely to the reader. In fact, your main character themselves must ALSO rapidly come to matter to the reader. If they don’t, we will be bored and feel we don’t care if they achieve their goal or not.  In fact, we will soon lay down the manuscript, shrug our shoulders and discover an urgent need to clean out the cooker, which we’ve been meaning to do for months.

So, your goal is to keep your reader with you at all costs. If you can do that, and we really care about your protagonist’s deepest desire (their ‘high stakes’), we will experience the thwarting of that desire (which is basically what needs to happen as your plot unfolds) as both tense and exciting. We will become invested in the outcome, desperate to see the character succeed in overcoming all odds in the end. Will they defeat the demons (whether real or inner)? Will they get the hot guy? Will they find their place in the world? There are lots of possible high stakes, both physical and mental, and your job as puppet-master is to make sure we stay enthralled till the end of the show.

It sounds so simple - so why is it easy to lose your way? One big reason is the temptation to put in too much. ie, Lots of stuff going on or being discussed, but which doesn’t do enough to answer the three big questions: 1) What does the character want more than anything else?  2) Why do they want to achieve that? And 3) How are they going to do it?  What you put in MUST play a part in unfolding/revealing the answers to those questions. If you lose sight of the high stakes, those key questions, your story is likely to get the Saggy-Baggies.

When you get a cold you get some nasty symptoms – a runny nose, sore throat and maybe a fever.  If your manuscript has the Saggy-Baggies there are a couple of indicators you may spot.

Firstly, keep an eye on length. While I agree there are in theory no ‘rules’ about word count, my experience suggests that very long manuscripts are likely to be saggy-baggy. As an agent I’ve never yet met a YA novel over c. 90,000 words that wouldn’t have been improved by cutting and tightening. I’m not saying long manuscripts can’t be sold, but the greater the word count the more I’m looking to see if the pace is maintained.

Secondly, take a long, hard look at your pitch (I recommend writing the pitch before you start writing the story). Is your concept strong and clear? Does the pitch have a neat and crystalline shape to it – or is it a splurge of disconnected ideas? At Greenhouse we look at pitches every day and the best ones stand out a mile because they are so ‘clean’ – clear, interesting and tight.

You CAN avoid the Saggy-Baggies! Know what your story is and how you want to tell it.  Identify your high stakes – the driving need and desire of your protagonist. Make sure everything you include serves to push the story forward with tension and pace.

And when you’ve finished writing? Put your manuscript away in a drawer for a while. Come back to it fresh and with (as far as possible) the eye of someone who’s never seen it before. Read it carefully, asking yourself tough questions. Does it really keep your interest? Do you think it is unputdownable? Do some scenes or conversations or chunks of description feel redundant? Does it sag and bag – even a little? Perhaps you have a critique buddy who can ask the same questions.

The good news is, it’s never too late to get out your medical kit – the scalpel, the scissors, the Band-Aids. The Saggy-Baggies is a nasty ailment to be sure – but it doesn’t need to be terminal.

Best wishes for healthy writing,

Doc Sarah

++++++

Pix: All the images are of pursuits where Saggy-Bagginess must be avoided at all costs. 1) One of the biggest lighthouses in France 2) Flying formation with the Red Arrows over Cornwall 3) Smacking a ping-pong ball.

Do you feel happy endings are important in YA and children’s fiction? And would you consider something like this before sending to editors?

Sarah: I think hope is very important in children’s/YA fiction, even if that is only reached through pain and change (and it usually is!). I enjoy endings that are thought-provoking - not neatly tied up with ribbons - but I do think a strong character arc will tend to leave us knowing that the protagonist has changed, grown, come through some rite of passage. And that is probably going to feel positive. Above all, I want to submit manuscripts that are well structured and satisfying, and a strong ending - whatever unique form it takes - will be part of that.

Julia: One of my favourite childhood books was CHARLOTTE’S WEB. My god, she dies :-(. But she had babies! And they keep Wilbur company! But none of them could replace Charlotte. *Sobs*. It would have been a lighter, lesser book if the spider hadn’t died. Are happy endings important? Not as a rule, but I do think a book needs to leave the reader with something heartfelt.

Do you think there is an editor/agent bias against gay characters in YA?

Julia: For a bit of background, last week two YA authors blogged about how an agent had asked them to ‘straighten out’ the gay characters in their book before offering representation. My first reaction was curiosity. If true, who was this agent and how were they managing to sell books which must be so compromised and focus-grouped? Is there a bias? Thankfully, not that I’ve come up against. I think the editors we work with feel it’s crucial that there are books that speak for and to every child and young adult in the world.

Sarah: While I really don’t want to comment on the specifics of the debate Julia outlined, it raises an interesting question. I have a novel on submission right now that happens to have a lesbian couple in it; it never occurred to me to question that - whether it was a good or bad thing. It was simply part of the author’s vision of the story and as far as I’m concerned, it works - in the context of that particular story. And that’s my criteria for all writing, all characters, all concepts: does it work? Look, we’re seeking manuscripts that thrill and delight us, whatever the orientation of the characters. I haven’t encountered editor (or rather, publisher) bias against gay characters, but of course not all houses feel they can sell all stories - for a whole host of reasons.

How explicit do you think violence and gore can be in MG? More if the book’s funny?

Julia: It’s up to you - and where your ‘ick-ometer’ takes you. There was an article in the New Scientist a couple of years ago about the ‘ick factor’, specifically about growing animal protein in labs and how it would soon be possible - and economical - to take death out of the human food chain. The big problem with this idea was that to a lot of people ‘it just didn’t feel right’. And how about genetically engineering livestock to have a much higher pain threshold or almost no brain, so they don’t feel infections or get stressed on their way to the slaughterhouse? Where is that on the ‘ick factor’ spectrum? Sometimes we see submissions with the ‘ick factor’. I suspect we have quite a high threshold for ‘ick’, we also know where our lines are and where ‘it just doesn’t feel right’.

Sarah: I don’t think there can be rules on this, really - it’s about instinctive response. Where I set my ‘ick-ometer’ may be different to another agent. And I’ve certainly met editors with very differing sensibilities. Fair enough, I pass, that editor passes, and someone else takes on the book who feels differently. But I do think that beyond a question of taste, there tends to be general consensus if violence is gratuitous or has crossed a line into something troubling. I think that as an agent, editor or writer, one should take note of a niggling sense of unease.

Where are the children in the decision-making process? How do you know what children want to read?

Sarah: Good question, and we all hope we’re getting that right. Of course we can partly see from sales trends what is actually working with kids themselves and their families. If something isn’t working, doesn’t sell (despite marketing efforts), then maybe we haven’t quite hit that commercial sweet spot (though there are other factors too, like retail issues/competition/luck). However, the publishing industry and process is inevitably run by adults, and the gatekeepers to the shelves - whether booksellers or librarians - are also adults, as are many of the buying public (ie, parents and other adults purchasing for children). As agents we obviously try to keep in touch with kids themselves (many of us have our own), and it’s a combination of this and a trained, experienced judgement + instinct that makes us pick up one manuscript over another and put it forward for consideration. However, it’s those at the sharp end - sales/marketing teams and retail buyers - who have the closest interface with the buying public, which is why they have so much power in the process. But hey - haven’t we all had the experience of putting a great book into a child’s hands and watching them read, engrossed? That’s what motivates us and why we all agonize so long and hard over ‘getting it right’.

Julia: Children can’t work for big corporations in highly skilled jobs. And adults do this stuff better.

Is there a book category for 10-14 year olds? Young YA? Usually, in bookshops you see 8-12 and YA.

Sarah: It’s tricky. What you’re referring to is ‘tween’ fiction - or it is in the USA; usually we use that term for girl-oriented fiction that deals with pre-teen issues and a growing sense of selfhood. And yes, it can be problematic as there’s no section called tween. A judgment call therefore has to be made as to whether the book is MG or YA. Usually the tone, the concept and the characters’ ages will dictate the shelf-placement decision, but it’s worth considering your potential audience carefully when you write for this age group.

Julia: If it’s 10+ you’d be more likely to find it in the 8-12 section. In order to help signpost to buyers, retailers tend to categorise into picture books, young fiction, 8-12 (middle grade in the US) and YA - but inevitably within those bands there’s a lot of fluidity and stretch.

Julia, what’s the state of the UK YA market? Are editors actively looking for British authors or mainly acquiring from the US? And Sarah, what about the US?

Julia: It’s looking OK. Over the last 18 months I think I’ve sold every UK debut I’ve sent out. Saying that out loud gives me lockjaw and I write this sitting on a wooden windowsill with a foxglove wreath around my neck. Seriously though, there is a real hunger for home-grown talent. The Americans have been doing YA so well for so long, and I think we’re starting to catch up.

Sarah: My mantra is fast becoming ‘It’s all about quality!’ And that’s quite true - it doesn’t matter where the author is domiciled, if the book is a cracker. We’ve sold a number of British-based authors in the US, and vice versa. For example, we’ve recently sold American Donna Cooner’s debut YA SKINNY in the UK (to Egmont), and Bloomsbury US just pre-empted on Brit Helen Douglas’s EDEN.

Generally, I’d say that despite all sorts of publishing challenges, the US YA market feels buoyant - there’s a lot of acquisition, and big deals, going on. A number of editors have told me recently that they ‘have money to spend’. Which makes us rub our hands with glee!

What makes a good 5-8 series?

Sarah: A great voice. Time and again, voice is the cruncher. It’s got to be authentic and pitch perfect. Also, of course, you need a really great central character and a fun but very original concept. It’s a tough area as so dominated by established and big-selling series, in the US at least.

Julia: Voice and a sense of fun.

What are editors looking for at the moment for middle grade readers, both boys & girls.

Julia: This will sound odd, but we tend not to focus too much on what publishers are looking for. As they tell us, they just want wonderful new authors to publish.

Sarah: Julia’s right, but I’d love to find another brilliantly written action/adventure novel or series, with charm, good characters and originality. I say ‘another’ because Sarwat Chadda’s Indian epic ASH MISTRY AND THE SAVAGE FORTRESS (HarperCollins UK and Scholastic US/March and Fall 2012 respectively) is a great example of that. I’d also love to find more gorgeously crafted classic middle grade - like Tricia Springstubb’s WHAT HAPPENED ON FOX STREET and MO WREN: LOST AND FOUND (Balzer & Bray) and Tami Lewis Brown’s THE MAP OF ME (FSG).

Julia: I can’t resist the opportunity to cosmic order. Something that makes me laugh as much as WIMPY KID would be super.

Why is there such a long gap between a book getting bought by publishers and being pubbed? (Some are swifter than others, it seems. But I already see deals posted for way off in 2013.) Seems amazing, since the rest of life moves at such speed.

Julia: Publishers sell in their books to retailers 6-9 months before publication and at that point they will aim to have covers, bound proofs and an idea of marketing vision. So already, long before publication, a helluva lot of work needs to happen. Leah Thaxton, Publisher at Egmont UK, told me she went through more than fifty cover looks, to get Michael Grant’s GONE spot on. Fifty!

Also publishers need to keep an eye on their own lists. If they’re launching two big YA thrillers, they won’t want to put them on the same spot and watch them eat each other.

Sarah: Julia’s right! There are a lot of parts to the process, many of which are unseen by the general public who just see the final result on the shelf - as if it appeared by magic!

Do you work on every book you send out?

Julia: Only if we have to.

Sarah: Often, but never gratuitously. We want to give every author we take on the best possible chance of getting a deal. For many new clients it’s their first novel and they’re aware it’s not quite ‘there’ yet. If we can help them add what could be that all-important polish or extra shaping, then we will.

How can I catch an agent’s attention when I feel that the initial chapters requested don’t really showcase my book.

Julia: Short answer. Your initial chapters/pages should showcase your book. Longer answer. Something to keep in mind. Agents want to find great books. There’s nothing more exciting than spotting new talent and most agents come at their submissions with a very positive and hopeful energy - and not looking for perfection. If we think something looks interesting, we’ll ask to see more. Still, the first chapter of a really great submission will contain clarity and a sense of purpose. We’ll be able to see a concept, a voice, a character and even a story in those first pages. Certainly an idea of where the book is pointing.

Sarah: What do you do if you start a new book and the first few chapters don’t grab you? Invariably, you give up and move on to another. That’s how people read, and certainly how children read, so your book has to ‘sing’ from the start, even if some aspects aren’t quite in place when you submit it to an agent. Believe me, we can pick up a sense of voice, pace and originality very quickly, and I’ve been known to ask for a full manuscript on the strength of just three lines!

Yes, it’s Fall! And yet my head is still partly in Normandy – northern France – where I spent time this summer. It’s an area I love and which really inspires me as I think of all the excitements and challenges ahead in the run-up to the end of the year. Maybe it could inspire you too!

What do I love about Normandy? It’s very pretty, parts are very quaint and picturesque, but it is so much more than that – because history has steeped the fields, the beaches, the villages and the cities with huge significance.

William the Conqueror set off from Barfleur to seize the throne of England - which he believed he’d been promised – and ending up reshaping the Middle Ages. The pic at the top shows where he left from!

Hundreds of years later, in June 1944, the Normandy coastline was the surprise (to the enemy, at least) venue for the beginning of what turned into the invasion of Europe. From Sword, June and Gold, up to Omaha and Utah beaches, thousands and thousands of Brits, Americans and Canadians (and other Allied forces) poured ashore, risking their lives in bloody battles. On Omaha Beach alone, thousands of US soldiers died, cut down by the guns ravaging them from the cliffs. You saw a fair approximation of the carnage in those opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan.

St-Mere-Eglise, the 101st Airborne, Carentan, Caen . . . the names are iconic. How can all these incredible events have taken place in such a demure and charming area?

I love Normandy because it reminds me of what is possible. What you can achieve with courage, determination, flexibility – and a large amount of grit. I try to start work every day in that spirit, focusing on the positive that lies ahead and prepared to bounce back from the knocks.

If you are a writer, you can easily be thrown off course by the turbulent seas, the huge guns, that seem at times to be arrayed against you. Who are YOU to try to find your niche in this industry; what can make YOU stand out and achieve your dreams?

Here are some of the discoveries I make in the quiet lanes of Normandy.

The importance of preparation

We see tons of submissions from folks who think writing is easy – something that can be knocked out at high speed. If you are reading this blog, you are not one of those people! But remind yourself again – writing is tough, it’s a skill to be learned, a craft to be mastered. We love those writers who inch ever closer, who make it their business to find out where they went wrong before – who treat it like a serious profession in which they are apprentices.

Did the invasion of Europe happen without preparation? Need I even answer that question?! It was costly, it was scary, and it was complicated.

The importance of courage

You get knocked down – then climb back up. Stagger to your feet, look around you, assess the damage, plug the holes in the boat and fix your guns that don’t fire any more. Fortunately, as a writer you should still be alive at this point, and where there’s life there’s hope and another day.

Maybe your masterplan needs some rethinking. Maybe you won’t get that book deal this year – but it might be next, once you’ve found yourself that solid critique group, that mentoring; taken on board those nuggets of wisdom an editor gave you in passing or the lines of unexpected advice an agent proffered. If you are too defensive you may never let yourself hear the words you really need to heed – but heeding them can require a lot of nerve. 

As in everything, writing success is partly about inspiration and partly about perspiration. Actually, a LOT of perspiration, most likely.

Don’t be put off. Do you have cajones? Yes you do!

Did William the Conq say, ‘I don’t think I can do this – those English lords might get a little grumpy?’ As if!

The importance of flexibility

I’m a great believer in bending with the wind. If one plan doesn’t work, rethink and try another. If your manuscript isn’t working out in one shape, consider unpicking it and starting again from a different perspective, in a different tense etc. With a clean sheet before you, you might suddenly have a lightbulb moment.

Tired of bombarding agents with submissions that don’t go anywhere? How about signing up for a writing course that will stretch you, a conference you’ve never dared to try before, experimenting with voice . . . .

Might you approach the problem from a different angle? You’ve tried Plans A and B – so how about C? And that could apply to everything from querying to working out plot structure or character.

Was there only one way to take back France? Sure, there was one big goal, but an infinite number of ways of achieving that goal.

The importance of determination

It is very often true that if you want something enough, and you’re prepared to work for it, then you will get there in the end. Of course there are exceptions, but it’s a good philosophy to bear in mind.

Determination encompasses everything else – preparation, courage and flexibility. With a large dollop of hard work on top.  Also, quite simply, it’s an act of the will not to be defeated.

For a writer that doesn’t necessarily mean blindly firing stuff out there, refusing to take No for an answer. That can get kind of sterile.  Rather, I believe it’s an acknowledgement of the learning process – a determination to improve, to be good, to be better than last time, even while understanding that the goalposts become higher the better we get.

Did William, Duke of Normandy, face the ocean and say, ‘I think I’ll go home now for a cup of tea, those waters look a little choppy?’ If he had done, he’d never have earned the name Conqueror.

And much more seriously, was the invasion of Europe called off because of its terrible price?

Please don’t think me facetious – we aren’t talking about issues of the same scale. Obviously.  I’m just saying if something is really important to you, you’ve got to fight for it.

There’s one more thing to understand about Normandy. You can eat the most fantastic fish and seafood. Barfleur, which once hosted William the Conqueror (before he WAS a conqueror) is a fishing village. And fishing is something we agents – and you authors – can relate to.

Keep going this Fall. Do the work, keep learning, stay focused and brave. Speak determined and inspiring words to yourself.

And then let’s go fishing – with the spirit of Normandy in mind.

Bonne chance!

***

Pix: 1) Barfleur: where William set off to become a Conqueror; 2) Omaha Beach - may the thousands rest in peace; 3) Crab fishing - Barfleur again.

Some agencies seem to wind down a notch this time of year – closing to submissions, waiting to submit mauscripts to editors till after Labor Day. We don’t really do either. We can’t bear miss a great submission, and editors get so inundated in September. Presuming the crucial people are around, I prefer to get on with stuff NOW!

So August has been hectic – and I want to tell you some of the month’s highlights. All things that will tell you something useful about the Greenhouse.

1 We get out and about (a lot) – and we really enjoy meeting writers and industry people.

I was in LA during the SCBWI National Conference. Not on Faculty this year, but with 1300 writers in town, it’s a great time to see West Coast clients, our co-agents for film/TV (particularly Jerry Kalajian of IPG, Jon Cassir of CAA, Jason Dravis of Monteiro Rose Dravis) , and editors. Oh, and scouts like Riley Ellis who is always on the lookout for potential film properties for Disney. Great networking gets done on that sunny patio!

We do try to foster an atmosphere of friendliness and mutual support among our authors, so it was wonderful to have a Greenhouse dinner for our US clients in town that week. Such a great evening, and the pic at the top of this post gives an idea of the fun we had.
From left to right:  Elle Cosimano, me, Annemarie O’Brien, Lindsey Leavitt, Amanda Conran, Sue Cowing, Erica Scheidt, Talia Vance, Donna Cooner, Catherine Linka.

I also want to highlight those delightful people the YA Muses, with whom I chilled in LA. Greenhouse reps two Muses, but they’re all great people. Between them, they’ve sold a total of eleven, yes ELEVEN books in the last year - incredible for a group of debut authors! How did they do it? What have they learned along the way? What a mine of information!  If you haven’t already, check out their blog http://yamuses.blogspot.com/

The Muses are:  Donna Cooner (GHL client/Scholastic), Talia Vance (GHL client/Egmont & Flux), Bret Ballou (webmaster/ new writer), Katy Longshore (Viking) and Veronica Rossi (HarperCollins).

And Julia? Her August trip was to the Arvon Centre in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire (an awful lot more bracing, and probably damp, than LA), the former home of poet Ted Hughes, where she spent a weekend sharing agently wisdom with new writers. http://www.arvonfoundation.org/p93.html

2 We did our first TV rights deal

It’s not easy – especially now – doing deals for film or TV. It’s not even easy bagging an LA-based co-agent who loves your story enough to jump in and present your work to the studios. It has to pop, it has to have visual potential, it has to be unique, and even then . . . So while we are constantly approached by production companies wanting to read newly sold manuscripts, turning that into an option deal means a LOT of hoops must be jumped through by a lot of people, often over a longish period of time.

So we’re really excited to have reached signed contract with Gaumont International for Sarwat Chadda’s DEVIL’S KISS and DARK GODDESS novels (with Gale Anne Hurd of WALKING DEAD/TERMINATOR attached as producer). Fingers crossed for where this goes next!

3 We love representing and selling unique work, whether by already published authors or debuts

We’ve done two deals this month which show that!

I’d had my eye on Blythe Woolston ever since I heard her read a few pages from her new manuscript –BLACK HELICOPTERS - at SCBWI Montana last September.  Which shows the value of conferences! She joined Greenhouse in July, and within a couple of weeks she had a six-figure, two-book preemptive offer from Candlewick.

Blythe won the prestigious William C Morris Award at ALA Mid-Winter for her debut novel THE FREAK OBSERVER (Carolrhoda LAB), so why so much excitement about this new deal?

We all know publishers can jump for big, dark novels – paranormal, thrillers, dystopia, but BLACK HELICOPTERS is a bit different. Yes, it’s a psychological thriller, about a girl raised from birth to be a conscienceless killer, who sets off in a bomb belt to kill and be killed – until her plan goes explosively wrong. But the story is told with sophistication, non-sequentially, so the reader must piece together the timeline of events. Also, it’s less than 35,000 words in length. In other words, there are several elements that don’t sound obviously ‘commercial’ - yet the story has intense impact. It’s caused a stir because it is surprising, different, very clever, and every word counts.

Julia also made a great sale in August. EDEN, by Helen Douglas, is a YA novel that brings together a love triangle, time travel, and space. The clever aspect here is how time is used in the story. We’re used to plots set in the future, but EDEN brings a boy from the future back to the present day in order to stop a planet being discovered – in the future – that will spell the end of Earth and humanity. Very clever! Again, a publisher leapt for it and Julia sold World English rights to Bloomsbury US and UK in a simultaneous preempt.

So, if you’re tempted to write something you think ‘everyone is buying’, just remember – we are looking for work that is surprising, original, and ambitious. In fact, something that no one else at all is writing!

4 We love doing deals both sides of the Atlantic

Yes, we love our international roots and working our special transatlantic identity - and we’ve had a lot of success at it. Exploiting rights in our authors’ work to the max, is something that gives us so much satisfaction. Latest example? In August I tied up a second UK/Commonwealth deal with Simon & Schuster for Brenna Yovanoff’s PAPER VALENTINE, which I sold first in a 2-book deal to Razorbill in the USA a few weeks ago. Great to keep developing Brenna’s publishing relationships throughout the English-speaking world (and of course beyond, in translation).

5 It’s very exciting to land a new client!

Hurrah (rubs hands in glee), I have just taken on a new author who appeared in our submissions inbox a few weeks ago. I never like to say too much about that till we’re further down the tracks, but I can tell you that she’s very talented and has a very exciting story to tell – I guess you could call it a romantic thriller, featuring a girl with way too many secrets and in way too much danger . . . And after that very vague statement, my mouth is zipped.

6 We work nearly all the time, but not quite

We’re only human. We love the summer. We love to be outside - walking, swimming, boating, and doing things with dogs. Here, to finish, is a summer picture – Dachsund bath time!

So that was just a small part of our August. How about yours?

Everyone else in the industry has blogged on this topic, so there’s no shortage of great advice around, but having just faced around 350 queries on my return from vacation, I’m weighing in with a few simple pointers.

I should also say that all the photos on the post are relevant to ‘getting it right’ in different ways, and they all fill me with delight in the same way a perfectly turned query email does.

Let’s start with the perfect (French) cup of coffee. Short, strong, elegant. Served in cup and saucer, and usually with tiny square of chocolate balanced alongside. (S*bucks, with your buckets of hot milk, please note.)

The first thing to know about queries is that they’re not nearly as hard as you think, so lower your shoulders, breathe deeply and say, “I can do this!” As soon as we demystify the process, the stress and anxiety fall away and you are in the best mental place to write a simple but strong account of yourself and your work. And that’s what we’re after. This isn’t voodoo. It isn’t brain surgery. It’s a few straightforward paragraphs.

A good query will consist of a beginning (introducing your work/yourself), a middle (your pitch), and an end (your bio and sign-off). But first – before you write a word – there is work to be done!

RESEARCH:

How will you set about querying? If your instincts are to spread yourself around like confetti at a wedding, please curb them. Contrary to what some ‘experts’ say, there is no merit whatsoever in flinging your query indiscriminately at the entire industry. If you do, you will annoy a lot of people (who don’t represent what you’re sending them), lower your own sense of value, get yourself into a right old muddle, and also waste a lot of your time – and everybody else’s.

So, think carefully what agents you want to target, and why. Read their interviews, see who they represent, check out what deals they’re doing, and study their submission guidelines. Always research via the agency’s own website, not via hard-copy guides or online databases. You want the most up to date info, and the agent’s website is the only place you can trust for that.

You could also read my blog post ‘A peach of an agent’ (find it in the website blog archives in July 2010) which gives some tips.

Get a sense of an agent’s taste, but don’t presume they will (or won’t) want to rep you entirely based on what they’ve already sold – unless they say they’re only interested in one kind of book. Greenhouse is looking for outstandingly original work across all genres, not clones of our existing authors, and we’re always looking for something unique that we’ve never seen before. Surprise us!

So, do a reasonable amount of research, make a sensibly-sized list of people to target. But don’t obsess.  If you’re a Type A personality, you can get really wound up about this kind of decision-making. It’s not a scientific process. Do the work, but then leap in with ‘joie de vivre’!

Read the agency’s submission guidelines with care and follow them.  We are all inundated and hate wasting time, so make it easy for us to fall in love with you and your work. That includes addressing your email to the correct person, spelling our names right (my favourite was the submitter who addressed her submission to ‘Julia Childs’ instead of ‘Julia Churchill’ . . . .).

NOW TO THE QUERY WRITING (but first a perfect example of a bonsai tree):

Your opening:

I am scanning your email at speed and I want all the pertinent info ASAP, up front. Tell me the name of the work, what age group and gender it’s primarily aimed at, what genre (paranormal romance? Speculative fiction? Classic-toned middle grade? Etc), and how many words it has. The latter point is surprisingly important, because it tells me immediately if we’re in a saleable ballpark, if your word count matches your audience. For example, a 20,000-word novel aimed at YA is likely to be unsatisfyingly short. A 200,000-word novel for the same market is going to unwieldy and massive.

Do tell me in your first/second paragraph if the query is exclusive and if we’ve met – eg, at a conference. You could also tell me why you’ve decided to query me; is there a particular connection? Also useful to know where you see the potential audience for your book – can you think of any similarly pitched titles already in the marketplace?

The middle:

Here I want two paragraphs (no more) of really enticing story pitch. This should give me the bones of the plot (though not the detail), while also intriguing me and making me want to read more. I know your stress levels rise here, so I’m going to give you a perfect example - the pitch that Lindsey Leavitt sent me in Feb 2008 for her contemporary YA debut SEAN GRISWOLD’S HEAD (published 2011 by Bloomsbury):

After discovering her father’s big MS secret, Payton Gritas’s structured life crumbles. So begin her excruciating ‘chats’ with Ms Callahan, a school counselor aiming to save Payton from drowning in denial by encouraging her to write Focus Exercises on any random subject. Payton chooses Sean Griswold, her alphabetical connection since kindergarten. More specifically, she chooses his somewhat large head.

Payton’s head-centric research spawns more and more questions about Sean and his dome. Like, what’s with the scar? Why does Mr Prep hang out in the Goth hallway? And why is a 15 year old in training to be the next Lance Armstrong? She finds answers to these questions by getting inside Sean’s head, while Sean somehow finds a way into her guarded heart. But when Payton realizes her Sean obsession won’t ultimately mend her battered father/daughter relationship, Payton must shift her focus to the one person who can get her through the drama –herself.

Why did I like this? Because the romantic premise is arresting, cute and original – there’s humour, but also indications of a significantly deeper thread. We get the gist of the ‘macro’ of plot, but also the ‘micro’ of the emotional arc and where/how the tension will rise. In short, I could already see what this book could be, and how we might market it.

Does this help?

The ending:

This should be one short paragraph telling me a little about you. Any writing ‘credentials’ – published work, courses taken, etc etc. And anything else you think relevant and which might help to pick you out. Also useful to know if if this is a multiple submission and/or whether you already have interest.

And there you have it – a simple but beautifully turned query.

But wait – there are a few pitfalls for the unwary!

QUERY HORRORS TO AVOID (but first, a picture of a perfect Normandy crepe au citron):

It can be tempting to try ‘too hard’ to embellish your query.

Don’t use fancy fonts or coloured backgrounds. Annoying to read and distracting. Keep it simple and use a professional-looking typeface.

Don’t include a pitch within your query and then ANOTHER synopsis later on. We don’t have time to wade through pages of outline.

Don’t fret and re-send if the formatting of your pasted pages goes wonky. We can see beyond formatting.

Don’t brag hugely about yourself (ie, saying how wonderful you are). Does anyone warm to a bragger?

Don’t liken yourself to JK Rowling, CS Lewis, Stephenie Meyer or Philip Pullman etc. It’s fine to point out your potential audience (titles with similarities), but if you compare yourself to the truly greats - in sales or content - we are almost certainly going to be disappointed. The best writers tend to be very modest because they’re always aware of not being as good as they long to be.

Don’t address your query to ‘Dear Sir/Madam’. Find out who we are (and our gender).

Don’t send attachments, when we are very clear we don’t open or read them.

Don’t think/expect we will make an exception for you. We get tons of submitters every day who require us to make them exceptions to our guidelines. It wastes a huge amount of time.

Don’t fling your work at us without a proper query, thinking, ‘What the heck, they don’t read it anyway.’ We do.

So - keep it simple, professional, honest, and realistic. And always remember that your query only points the way to your writing, which is the key to everything.

Happy query writing!

+++

Pix: Coffee at Cafe Versailles, Isigny sur Mer, Normandy; very old bonsai tree at National Arboretum, Washington DC; perfect crepe at Bayeux, France.

Every now and then, usually at a conference, someone will ask me a question – one so terrible, so provocative, so heartfelt that it can barely be articulated. I can tell it’s coming because of the emotion and anxiety in the individual’s face as they approach me. Gently, I will guide them to a quiet spot behind the coffee urn or to a remote seat in the lobby, because this is not a discussion to be had amid crowds of laughing, chatting attendees.

The devastating question is this:  HOW DO I KNOW IF IT IS TIME TO GIVE UP?

That’s right – give up. And I don’t mean, ‘When is it time to abandon one manuscript and move on to another?’ I mean GIVE UP WRITING FICTION, GIVE UP TRYING TO GET PUBLISHED, GO AND DO SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY WITH MY LIFE.

I know, it’s huge, isn’t it. And such a travesty of all we believe (we write because we must, we keep trying because determination is key, didn’t J.K.Rowling get rejected innumerable times?) that any answer is like rushing in where angels fear to tread.

But I don’t believe in taboo subjects, so I am going to offer you a story, which is my way of answering the unanswerable.

*******

It’s the 1990s, my kids are young, but I’ve been pursuing the dream for a while now – song-writing and singing, both alone and with my band. It’s a struggle doing this with a family, but I knew I had to try – to see how far I could get, because performing is what I DO, because it’s the ultimate self-expression, the ultimate adrenaline rush. Because it’s who I AM.

The wives of the band guys are getting antsy. Their husbands have got day jobs and kids too, and they don’t have as much at stake as me – or as much patience with ferrying equipment around London at midnight on a Wednesday, only to perform to a bunch of inebriated people propping up a seedy bar.

My standards and goals have risen too. We’re getting gigs, but I yearn to be better, to find a whole new level. It’s the dissatisfaction with oneself that is so hard to take.

One night, down at the Mean Fiddler Acoustic Room (where so many bands and singers have debuted), I get talking to a guy who’s got the set after me. He’s there alone with his guitar and he’s got no audience. I’m really happy all my people (lots of them) will be hanging around to hear him because it’s a bleak place alone.

I come off stage and wind down, listening to him. His voice is strange and memorable, his songs are plaintive – getting drunk on a Saturday night, losing your girl – and he’s just a guy in a scruffy grey jacket and jeans, alone with his guitar. Afterwards everyone agrees, I was better than him, and I smile bashfully because it’s probably true.

Back home, getting children ready for school, doing freelance editorial work, my dissatisfaction with my music grows. I’ve got other things on my mind – I need to make some money, I need to get serious, I need to invest my limited time wisely. And most crucially, I’m just not as good musically as I want to be.

Gradually, I drop back. I don’t even return the call when The Borderline leaves a message offering me a gig, though I’ve wanted that invitation for ages.

It hurts like hell, but it’s over. Who am I now?

Maybe a year later, I’m in the kitchen doing the dishes, radio playing in the background. Suddenly, I am transfixed. It’s a voice I know – a strange, wailing, painful voice that I’ve heard before but can’t place. My heart is racing because this MEANS something important – but what?

And then I realize. It’s the voice of David Gray, the guy I shared an evening, a venue, with. The guy who had no audience so ‘borrowed’ mine. The guy I was widely thought to be better than.  He’s sounding amazing and he’s singing a song called ‘Babylon’. You can catch a few bars of it here: http://www.davidgray.com/music/discography/DG_AlbumDetails.aspx?albumid=14760f81-ede0-461c-910a-e9f95edaee36&Cat=Albums

I’m not jealous - I’m amazed, dumbfounded.  I laugh out loud. I’m lost in wonder that this can happen. A guy I knew in a beer-stained bar is hitting the big time.

And now David Gray becomes ‘my guy’ – whose progress I will follow obsessively over the months, as his iconic album WHITE LADDER becomes one of the biggest global sellers of the decade; as ‘Babylon’, ‘My oh my’ and ‘Sail Away’ become soundtracks of their generation, piped into every supermarket and airport in the UK and US.

The ironies and the truths are not lost on me and I quietly thought them through that day in my kitchen.

I turned away from music and back to publishing, rapidly ascending through the years and ranks to Publishing Director, and then of course over to the US to create the Greenhouse, which is the crowning achievement of my literary life. I truly found my vocation, doing what I do best. I am a far better editor and literary agent than I was musician, and I derive great satisfaction from working with writers and helping them to achieve their dreams.

David Gray continued with music, after I stopped. He went on to become an international superstar, from the grassroots up – the old-fashioned way. Managing on little money for years, he fought through huge obstacles to find his sound, his audience. I have the utmost respect for him, and will always feel a connection.

*********
And so, I return to that troubled questioner at the conference, who’s laboured for years without reaching their goal. HOW DO I KNOW IF IT IS TIME TO GIVE UP?

This is all I can tell you, but it comes from the heart . . .

Sarah Davies gave up trying to make it as a singer-songwriter and found reinvention, success and fulfillment - in her true vocation.

David Gray stuck with music through the lean times and setbacks, eventually bursting through to unimagined international success – in his true vocation.

Vocation is an old-time word, but one I love. I commend it to you now - because it is the only answer I can give to the answerable question.

Wishing you all a very, very happy 4th of July.

I’ve found myself transfixed by this very contemporary, cautionary tale of personal and professional disaster. When we pass a highway pile-up, we have to fight that strange urge to slow down and look. Why? Perhaps because we need to reassert that we’re gloriously, mysteriously alive – and that today was not OUR day to die. And when I saw that a guy who appears to be smart, intelligent, destined for success, could be brought down by clicking on the wrong little box on Twitter – Reply rather than Direct Message – it made me exhale with relief. It wasn’t me. But it could have been – and it could have been you.

Doh, I don’t mean we’re all tempted to send knicker-pictures to virtual strangers. I’m not talking about morality or indecency or misuse of government equipment. I’m just saying, we are all only a click away from making idiots of ourselves online.

I’ve not yet made a huge, walloping, catastrophic online blunder, but I’ve been very close to those who have. Like a colleague some years ago, whose pod was just across the aisle from mine. When a pompous, bossy senior manager sent out one of her famous ‘all user’ emails – telling everyone off for some misdemeanor – he wrote a stunningly rude response, intended for close friends. Only problem was – he clicked Reply instead of Forward. Ever seen the Ride of the Valkyrie approaching you?

Or what about the publisher of great repute who forwarded an email to colleagues telling them what she REALLY thought about this particular author and his manuscript. Only she didn’t – Forward, I mean. One mouse click in the wrong spot and her diatribe went straight back to the (very sensitive) author.

But it gets worse, doesn’t it. Because now we can shoot off 140-character streams of consciousness any place and any time, thanks to Blackberry and iPhone apps, or Twittelator for iPad. Buttering a bagel? Refilling your wine glass? Taking a break from washing the car? Bam, we’ve clicked and it’s gone. But how much were we concentrating and which box did we click?

Some time ago, Greenhouse turned down a potential client because of their online profile. [Now you’re all thinking IT WAS ME! Because I understand writerly paranoia, I’ll just say it was some time in the last 3 years, and the writer came from either North America or UK/Commonwealth. So no point trying to guess!] The individual in question wrote well, but what they were saying online was scary – angry, bitter, neurotic, and needy. If you’re going public about how much you hate your life and most people in it, how might you treat your agent if we don’t delight you every minute of every day?

Then there’s the writer who announced online that they’d already got EIGHT full manuscripts out with agents (so why should I bother to ask for it? The others got there before me), and the one who documented every one of her multitudinous rejections (and then sent me a query). Folks, you’ve got to be careful.

If you blog, you aren’t dropping a line to your best friend or confiding in a private journal. You are putting yourself permanently into the ether for agents and editors to find you. The internet octopus has long tentacles, very few degrees of separation lie between us, and even if someone doesn’t Follow you, they may Follow me, and so on.

I’m ambivalent about social networking. I love it for its fun, its companionship, and the easy-reach information it provides. I’ve signed at least one client because of Facebook, and I owe it for the return of my beautiful coat, lost at Bologna airport and returned thanks to a friendship sustained by FB.

I enjoy seeing what’s happening on Twitter. Standing at a Departures board in a deserted airport late at night, thousands of miles from family and home, a Tweet from an acquaintance can feel like a hand reaching out from some great existential loneliness.

But it makes me nervous too. I get antsy when scores of people I’ve never seen or heard of want to Friend me on Facebook. How should I feel about strangers scrolling through my family photos? Am I right to be wary or am I just being overly precious?

I want to be fascinating and meaningful on Twitter – but what to say and how much? I’d love to supply you hourly with fabulous links to important industry articles that will enhance your knowledge and writing journey. But the truth is, I just don’t have time – in fact, I barely have time to cook the dinner. And do you really want to know that there’s a new family of fledglings cheeping in our birdhouse?

I’m sure you have similar feelings to me. How much is enough, how much is too much, and what counts as a mistake? I can help you a little.

Generally, avoid documenting anything about your querying or subsequent submission processes. Play your cards close to your chest and cultivate your poker face. Your agent, if you have one, will love you for that, because it leaves she/he able to do their job – selling your book - with maximum freedom. It will also lower your stress levels because thousands of people won’t be watching as you ride a potential rollercoaster to deal or no deal.

An elderly member of my family really hated to hear gossip. Very solemnly he would intone, ‘Is it true, is it necessary, is it helpful? Of course, I would roll my eyes. But nowadays those words are often in my mind as I consider whether to say something – or not. Of course, if we all stuck rigidly to all three criteria there would BE no social networking because the whole fun of it is that it’s as fast moving as a babbling brook, whirling us ever onwards.

And yet maybe there’s something in that old saying. The Times of London today exposed the risks of jury trials collapsing due to jurors increasingly tweeting/status-updating verdicts or canvassing support from other jurors. And it’s definitely true that in the books business there are times when the best thing to say (online) is nothing at all.

I suspect a certain congressman, and his Underpants of Doom, would concur.

Pix:

1) An old-fashioned means of communication - Cornwall, England 2) Cannonballs, Fredericksburg - enough said. 

CRITIQUES!

Critiques – you know, those short one-on-ones agents/editors/published authors do with new writers, usually at conferences. Love them or loathe them?

I’ve done (ie, given) lots of critiques this year, at a variety of conferences, and some of you will already be bracing yourselves for maybe your first-ever critique at the SCBWI summer conference in LA this August.

How scary is it to present your precious baby (aka manuscript) to the hawk eyes of an industry insider for 15/20 excruciating minutes? I bet it’s awful. You’ve tended and nurtured this frail little shoot for months, maybe years, and suddenly someone you don’t know, whose very name engenders acute anxiety (you’ve read about them in PW! They do deals on Publishers Marketplace!), comes along pawing and picking at every treasured word. Don’t they realize your self-confidence is even more fragile than your plotting?

You have my sympathy – and, dare I say, empathy. I also have surprising news for you. Critiques aren’t easy for the critiquer either.

WHAAAAAAAT!? you say. How can it be hard for YOU? All you have to do is sit there passing judgement and then walk away without a care in the world. YOU don’t have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and unpick/reknit some or all of those mangled pages (best-case scenario). Or (worse-case) deal with the possibility that the whole premise was wrong from the start.

Firstly, let’s get something straight. Most of us know what it feels like to be rejected, passed over, mocked, dismissed, criticized or otherwise told we’re not good enough – in ways far worse than in generally gentle critiques. Let me throw my humiliation hat into the ring:

Back in the early ‘90s, my band/singer-songwriter days, when a drunken man standing somewhere in the darkness beyond the spotlights completely ruined my rather beautiful accappella song about genocide in Bosnia (yes, we’re looking at you, Ratko Mladic…..) by yelling, ‘Open a vein, Luv!’

Or how about much earlier, maybe my 21st birthday, when a certain ex-boyfriend (He Who Shall Not Be Named) patiently explained to me why we would not be getting back together – ‘I’m really sorry, Sarah, but you see, I just couldn’t feel proud of you in public.’

Hah yes, I thought you couldn’t match THAT one! Ladies, there’s a reason why we all throw ourselves on to the dancefloor when Gloria Gaynor sings ‘I will survive’. Right?

So, it doesn’t take a big leap for me to put myself in your head when it comes to critiques. When I sit down opposite you at one of those little tables, I am fully aware of your nerves – and my power. I can hurt you, perhaps irreparably in terms of your writing, with one phrase. And that’s why I find these sessions so hard. I want to speak the truth, I want to be honest, I want to give you a golden nugget of advice, and I want to send you on your way feeling good about yourself. Or at least, encouraged, enabled, and enthusiastic about the future.

Is it easy? Often – either because a writer is so nearly publishable or because they are so open and keen to learn that they just can’t get enough advice and guidance. Plus they are incredibly gracious. Frequently all the above.

Other times it can be tough – maybe because the writer is absolutely new and their work is very raw. Sometimes because they just don’t want to hear anything that isn’t 100% praise and they’re actually only there because they want an agent to take them on (and will tell you so very clearly). Occasionally because they have so much invested in this story, this dream, that the emotion is just too much and the tears come at any indication that their pages may not be destined for a 6-figure deal at a major publishing house. (Please note, if you ask a direct question it is very hard for the critiquer not to answer it.)

When I enter a critique I am hyper-aware of every word I say. Critiquing is very tiring because I roll every phrase around my mind before I speak, trying it on for size and possible effect, striving to find ways to maximize these few minutes for you while also leaving you with a positive experience. It can sometimes feel like walking over a minefield. The critiquers will probably forget and move on; for the writer, those phrases may live again, on an endless repeat, for months to come. It’s a big responsibility!

For all the many of you whose openness and courage make critiquing so rewarding – thank you. In those few minutes we can bond as human beings with a love of writing and books, and a shared understanding of how we can use language to encourage and inspire each other. It can be a really stimulating and enjoyable experience.

As you head off to whatever conference awaits you in the coming months, I believe there is a critiquer/critiqued pact we can make.

For the critiquer: To be very familiar with the pages before the meeting (and to have written some notes on a handover sheet); to be honest, with only the goal of helping to make these pages even better - and always speaking with great care and kindness. Above all, to leave that writer encouraged and positive for the journey ahead, perhaps with one big point that will stick in their mind.

For the critiqued: To approach the meeting with openness and a real desire to learn. A critique is not a fast-track to getting an agent (if that does happen, a wonderful surprise). It should not be a forum for a writer to argue with their critiquer and tell them that they are wrong and the manuscript is perfect. It probably IS a good idea to slip a fresh Kleenex into your pocket – just in case!

Always remember - you are paying for this time. It is YOUR critique, so use it to the max.

Going to LA? If so, I’ll be in town seeing film people, but staying at the conference hotel during the event. Look out for me in the lobby, around the pool, and we’ll have a drink. I’m not attending the conference, so won’t be doing critiques – this time - but I’ll be in action again at the Tri-State conference (WV, PA, DE) in Gettysburg in November!

The critique pact. Critiquer and critiqued – neither side is a walk in the park. Shall we pinkie promise to make it easier for each other?

Just back from nearly a week in New York, seeing editors, chatting with other agents, and hauling my weary self around the alternately chilly/stuffy vastness of BEA.  If there were prizes for the world’s least popular buildings, the Javits Center would be right up there.

Tempted to go to BEA one year? Sure, you can pick up ARCs and go to signings, but a weird kind of hallucinogenic disorientation sets in once you’ve shoved your way through the tightly packed millions, without natural light, for eight hours or more.  And the bathroom line? Are you female? Forget it. Anyway, you’ll be fine, since the lines to buy coffee are several miles long so your liquid intake will be minimal.

Whinge, whinge.  But in spite of the Javits, it was a great trip – met lots of new people, went to the brilliant Macmillan and HarperCollins parties, breakfasted with editor Erica Sussman of Harper, lunched with editors Alexandra Penfold (S&S;) and Stacie Barney (Putnam), dined with my agent buddy Jennifer Laughran and colleagues from Rights People who were in town . . . .  Oh, and lots more good stuff.

(Sorry, I know it sounds like a gastronomic tour of New York and you wouldn’t be far wrong.)

So what is the good word from the Big Apple this month? What are all those editors seeking – what’s hot and what’s not?

Well, the first thing I have to tell you – as always – is that if your manuscript is great it will sell. Which will make you roll your eyes with frustration, obviously.  Every ‘rule’ is ripe to be broken if you present me with a great, original concept and quality writing, and it’s the pairing of those two factors that everyone seeks.

Editors will tell you that dystopia is getting really tricky – so much is starting to publish, there are some serious frontrunners in terms of sales (obviously THE HUNGER GAMES and MATCHED, but now DIVERGENT is making inroads on the NYT Bestsellers), and lots more publishing later this year and next.

And yet . . . . a couple of weeks ago I did a major six-figure, 3-book deal for Sarah Crossan’s YA novel BREATHE (sold to Virginia Duncan/Martha Mihalick at Greenwillow, HarperCollins), and my email has been ablaze with film interest. We’re also about to announce a deal for UK/Commonwealth this coming week (congratulations, Julia, for that one!).

So what does BREATHE have that other futuristic manuscripts don’t?  For starters, a great concept – a world without trees where oxygen has become a valuable commodity, where the rich breathe easily, the poor struggle painfully with thin air, and where wrongdoers and misfits are thrown out of the inhabited glass pod to suffocate alone.

Told from the perspectives of three teens who set out into the Outlands beyond the pod, with just two days of oxygen in their tanks, it’s an exciting and very original story. And yes, the writing is really strong. In fact, Julia previously sold this author’s debut verse novel to Bloomsbury UK, so she is a writer with considerable range.

What am I saying therefore about dystopian/speculative/futuristic fiction? I’m saying great deals can still be done – if your premise truly feels new and if you match that with compelling writing. There’s GOT to be something unique about your story or it’s in danger of getting stuck at query stage.

Take a look at the books highlighted at the BEA YA Buzz Panel. As PW says, ‘This fall, it’s all about multi-layered thrills, chills, adventure, and romance, mixed in with the paranormal.’

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/47431-bea-2011-ya-buzz-panel-rocks-javits.html

This small selection of big up-and-comings underscores what editors are saying to me – that they’re in search of work that crosses, or rather blends, genres. Dystopian and magic; paranormal/witchcraft and history; love triangles and steampunk; futuristic thrillers etc etc.

There’s also a bit of a vogue for stories that ‘mess with time’ – perhaps influenced to some extent by the success of Lauren Oliver’s BEFORE I FALL.  The idea of a life unraveling and being put back together; revisiting the past.

And what about middle grade? It’s tough. All editors are saying how much they want it, but it’s got to be pitch perfect or they’ll reject it. They’re seeking the big ones, because MG is slower burn, slower build in terms of readership and sales.

Again here, it’s the ‘big’ story that is triumphing; the big canvas, the grand and imaginative ideas.  As PW says, ‘MG can have all the action, wonder, and power of books published for older readers.’ Take a look at the five books featured on the BEA MG Buzz Panel:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/47432-bea-2011-a-bea-first-a-middle-grade-buzz-panel.html

So where does this leave contemporary, real-world fiction in both MG and YA? Again, it’s not easy at the moment – to break through your novel in this area has got to have a real hook, disarming and quality writing, and characters who make that leap into the reader’s heart and head. But editors DO want to find contemporary stories to balance out their list – IF it’s really something that pops. Take, for example, Sheila O’Connor’s evocative, memorable and mysterious SPARROW ROAD, which Stacie Barney just sent me and which I’m already halfway through. A true delight.

Feeling down? Feeling like you can’t do it? Persevere, but wait till you have a really, really good idea for your story – and then make sure you know how best to get that story down on your screen. And even if you don’t hit the sweet spot the first five times, your sixth might get there. It’s been known to happen - and don’t forget that all those lofty BEA Buzz picks were once writers stumbling to find their way and their story.

Enjoy your holiday weekend. It’s a scorcher here!

Pix: 1) A dachsund + a river = a mess.  2) The roof of Javits Center; a metaphor and image of how you feel when you’re stuck in there for hours.  3) Continuing the abstract, design theme: a strange plant unfurling at the National Arboretum, DC; also a metaphor for your buzzy manuscript opening up.

To see what we’ve been up to in more detail, do make sure to follow us on Facebook – our address is http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Greenhouse-Literary-Agency/359292813053.

The overwhelming feeling I have this Spring, as we slide into Summer, is one of positivity and energy. In honour of that, all the pics on this post are of things that make me feel outstandingly excited and positive.  See below to find out more about them!

Let’s start with Bologna, which was great and we had lots of lovely comments about our upcoming titles and the books/authors we’ve already sold.  Industry professionals around the world seem to be liking our taste and what we offer – very encouraging to have so much affirmation that we’re on the right track.

Given how buoyant things feel generally, it took me by surprise when I was asked to do an online interview a while ago that felt quite gloomy in tone.  There were questions like, ‘Now editors don’t edit as much, how do you manage/deal with …. Etc etc.’ ‘Now publishers are paying smaller advances, how do you manage/deal with . . . .etc etc.’

It brought me up short because anyone who hangs around Twitter will know that many editors are hard at work editing at weekends, and the experience of our authors is overwhelmingly that today’s editors are incredibly precise, rigorous and dedicated as they go over and over texts in often multiple revisions. Plots are dismembered and reincarnated, editorial axes are taken (painfully) to dead wood, and no detail is spared in the exacting quest for the best possible manuscript.

I hate this negative stuff about editors – most do their utmost, often at considerable personal sacrifice of time and leisure, and we should give them a loud cheer for going beyond the call of duty (especially since not many are exactly earning a bomb of money). However arduous and scary a major revision can feel, all our authors have ultimately been delighted that they were asked/cajoled/persuaded into getting dug into their stories again and again. You will meet very few writers who won’t one day say, IT WAS ALL WORTH IT!

The thing about publishers paying ‘smaller advances’?  Well, I’d only say subscribe to Publishers Marketplace and you’ll see no shortage of deals being done – again a great feeling of acquisition energy. I recently had two publishers in one week contacting me to say, ‘We have money to spend, what can you sell us?’ And several more emailing: ‘It’s Spring – bear us in mind for any great manuscripts.’ While we shouldn’t get too fixated on those 6-figure deals, they are popping up everywhere too! Realistic advances? I can live with that – and your first royalty statement (ie, what is unearned) won’t look so terrifying either.

A pervasive sense of gloom can also be detected at times in my submissions inbox – a small percentage of (usually scrappy) queries written by people who say things like, ‘I know the submission process is all a lottery. My chances of being picked for representation are about a million to one.’

I want to grab those people, give them a shake – and then put a kindly arm around their defeated shoulders.  No – it’s NOT a lottery. It’s a weird, commercial kind of meritocracy, where writing skill, great ideas, WILL be spotted and ultimately win out. However, there’s one big proviso:  the submission in question has to be something I personally feel I can sell, at a time when I can do it, and you the writer, full justice.

At my conferences this Spring I’ve talked about novelist Graham Greene’s theory of ‘emotional compost’.  That each of us has our own personal history, experience, attitudes, perception, tastes – and that we READ from that place (authors WRITE from there too).  This means that we all react to stories differently; even editors and agents have a surprising range of opinions about the same manuscript.  So what I’m trying to say is – I can only take on the small number of manuscripts that hit that sweet spot for me personally - and I will inevitably make different decisions to other agents on some work. 

The decisions we make have nothing to do with the writer’s worth as a human being (though I’m guessing it must sometimes feel like that as most rejections and setbacks in life do). They are commercial decisions and very carefully considered.
But not, for one moment, is the submission system a lottery!  If you write something fabulous and unique, we – or another agent – will find it. And it’s worth reiterating that virtually all the authors Greenhouse represents came to us through a simple query.

The sun is shining. I was in London for the royal wedding and saw all the country come together in thousands of parties – in parks, pubs, and streets.  I saw a gorgeous wedding dress on a beautiful girl – and some truly insane hats. I stood in a field in the deepest English countryside waving my cellphone in the air to catch a signal and a call from New York that would transform the life of a debut author thousands of miles away.

Positive?  You bet I am.

Pix:  Sarah’s gallery of positivity: 1) Royal Wedding pic sneaked into a hair stylist’s window in my English home town; what fun that day was!  2) A foal, one hour old, in my favourite English village; such a happy memory. 3) The most gigantic piece of carrot cake, consumed with ease in the sunshine beside a pebbly beach. All the sweeter since I haven’t allowed myself cakes in weeks. FANTASTIC!!

UV has a special place in our hearts at Greenhouse. Sarah spotted and signed up Sarwat Chadda and Harriet Goodwin after judging the first anthology in 2008. And both authors have gone on to build thrilling careers and make us very proud.

For the second time running I’ll be on the judging panel and I can’t wait. It’s a fun, invigorating and eye-opening job, and the process also reveals a truth about our industry: in order to make it, you have to write something that another person is prepared to fight for.

Of course, the book business is a subjective one. You might not think too much of the book I love; I might feel a bit ‘blah’ about the book you’re raving about. When judging a writing competition you get to see that subjectivity up close and personal.

A couple of months before the judging on the 2010 anthology all of the six judges received a giant Jiffy bag filled with partials delivered to our offices. We had plenty of time to read through them, make notes, pick our favourites and think on our reasoning – and also to put aside the ones we weren’t so keen on. On judgment day everyone sat down around a table with bottles of (untouched) wine, clutching our top picks and brimming over with excitement for the job at hand.

Would it be a surprise if I told you that most judges had a different favourite? And a good few times it was a favourite that the other judges had discounted right at the first stage? As each of us went through our top picks there was nodding and agreement but also a fair bit of shaking heads and wide-eyed surprise.

Every writer who made it to the anthology was working at a high level, with a great many compliments to take home. Below are a few of the stories we talked about, and the reasons why they made it to the final 12.

FIFTEEN DAYS WITHOUT A HEAD – Fabulous title with a stand-out, original voice.

BLINDING DARKNESS – Contained one of the most sinister and memorable scenes of the anthology.

THE TRUTH ABOUT CELIA FROST – Started with some great drama and a dark, original premise.

BACK FROM THE DEAD – Punchy, poetic introduction and alarming, immediate first scene.

In the UV anthology there is no winner, there are 12 selected writers. And while we managed to bang out a fairly good consensus on the majority, getting to an agreement on the last few was like the UN. I wouldn’t say there was a lot blood on the walls of the judging room, but there were splatters.

I think every judge’s favourite made it through to the final 12. I made sure mine did. But the books which didn’t have a champion – a judge who put energy and a bit of fight behind them – fell out of the bottom. And that’s true of the industry as a whole. A champion is what a book needs from an agent and a publisher. And also a publicist and marketeer, a rights team and sales force, a bookseller, a librarian. A reader too. All these people have to have a bit of fight in them about the book, if it’s to become a success.

It really is a truth of our business. Not everyone is going to like a book, but a book doesn’t need to be liked. A book needs a fair few people to love it, like really LOVE it. To be prepared to back it, push, pull and defend it. It’s truly inspiring so see that play out on judgment day.

I’m counting the days till I get my Jiffy bag!

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