R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I struggled a little with this blog post today, not because I haven’t written one in a while (which is true, I’ve been delinquent), but mainly because this is not a subject I’m happy about.

My topic today is those agents, editors, publicists, and publishers, who use their social media sites to publicly belittle the writers who have queried them or inquired about their services. I’m talking about the folks who post sneering comments on their Facebook or Twitter pages about manuscripts and query letters they’ve received from authors. These are the comments about bad grammar, overblown plot lines/characters/dialogue, angry responses to rejections, or even deals that go down in inappropriate places (I recently saw a tweet from an agent who crowed that she had made a book deal while she was in the bathroom at her local gym).

In rare cases, there may be a legitimate reason to gripe (I’m thinking about a recent blog post by another agent who received a number of expletive-laden emails from an individual she had rejected), but that griping, in my view, should never take place in a public forum. If a professional has to vent, there are more appropriate venues (i.e., private conversations with coworkers, spouses, or friends) for sharing frustration about submissions, clients, or colleagues. But publicly humiliating authors who submit work, no matter how bad that work might be, is just not acceptable.

A writing professional has to believe that the manuscripts and letters she receives have been sent with the best intentions. Yes, many of these submissions are error-ridden and a great number of the manuscripts are not likely candidates for publication. But there is never a time when it's okay for a literary professional to poke public fun at an author who is making an honest attempt to submit a written work.

Maybe it’s because I’m an author myself, but I cringe when I read giddy Facebook posts ridiculing author submissions. Not only is it unprofessional to do so, it is extremely unkind. In my view, a client submission is a private document and one to be considered with the utmost courtesy. My policy is to never publicly discuss any type of inquiry sent to me, no matter how bad the writing (and I do receive some gems, on occasion) or how mismanaged the cover letter or email message. To me, every writer, along with his work, deserves consideration and a professional, private response from me, whether I agree to represent him or not. And every author deserves some amount of common courtesy and respect for at least having taken the time to produce a written work.

I don’t understand why authors continue to submit to literary professionals who openly belittle them in public forums. To me, a person who bashes potential clients in public is either unprofessional or unkind (or both), and hardly a good candidate for a business relationship.

To writers who are submitting work: I urge you to check out the public forums used by the professionals you plan to query before you submit. You may reconsider after visiting there.

And to my literary colleagues who have indulged in this type of behavior, I beg you to remember: public humiliation, in any form, is unprofessional. If that statement sounds too chastising, I submit this thought instead: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

First Impressions

As a book publicist and an avid reader, my first word of advice to anyone who contacts me regarding my services is to write the best book s/he possibly can. I am sent books by hundreds of people looking for promotional help, but since I only handle two or three clients at a time, I tend to be choosy about who I agree to represent.

Judging writing is a subjective art, and I try to be fair with every book I receive. Instead of asking whether or not I love the book (something I’ve heard a few agents say they must feel before they take on a client), I ask myself, Can I sell it? This is a bit of a different question – my concern is not whether the book is great fiction or non-fiction, but more whether booksellers, reporters, and media producers will be interested in it when I call to give them a pitch.

Even so, if a book is poorly written or riddled with typos and grammatical errors, it isn’t likely that I’ll be able to place it anywhere, even if it has a great topic. Likewise if the title is off-putting or the cover art is somehow wrong for the book or its audience. A young adult novel, for example, with a Goth title and violent cover art may fly with the kids it’s designed to reach, but it won’t get past librarians or teachers who are the gatekeepers that decide whether or not a YA author can appear at a library or school.

Every writer should have multiple pairs of eyes on a book before it goes to an agent, editor, or publicist. Best case, authors should revise and rewrite with a high-caliber writing group. After rounds of testing with other authors, the book should then go through a good edit, hopefully with a professional editor, but if that’s not possible, then with a trusted friend or another experienced writer or teacher who can help spot typos, grammatical issues, and flaws in the storyline.

I’m seeing more self-published work lately and many of those books, though interesting and decently written, have not had an agent or editor to help with the conceptual issues and editorial corrections that most books need. Although it’s tough to get an agent these days, and even tougher to be published by a larger press, the value those entities bring to an author’s work is immeasurable. I know this from experience – my first agent worked with me for four months on my debut novel before shopping it to publishing houses, offering input on what was missing and urging me to write seven new scenes for the book. Some agents give thorough critiques and mark-ups of manuscripts; others will work with authors for months, or even years, making certain that a book is the best it can be before it reaches an editor at a publishing house.

And editors, despite being over-worked and beleaguered by cut-backs and mergers, will put their own spin on a text. Some do more than others but, in most cases, a book will have gone through many rounds of revision and polishing before it hits the market if published by a larger house or even a diligent small press.

Can an author with a self-published book get the same quality end product without an agent and editor? Certainly, although the onus will be on the author to provide editorial and packaging resources for himself, which can be expensive and/or time-consuming. Many authors, in their hurry to get their books out, forego these steps and, sadly, their books don’t sell.

The bottom line is that self-published or not, if you want your book to be well-received by booksellers and the media, you must take the time to carefully edit, polish, and package it well.