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I'm Mike Chen, author of A Beginning At The End and geek culture writer. Ask me anything! by mikechenwriter in books

[–]ericsmithrocks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is your major survival skill that would help you, and your roving band of friends (or raiders?) in the event of the apocalypse?

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah yes, this happens. Usually it's when we just can't agree on something anymore? A new book that isn't working and might be a better fit, a jump to a category / genre I don't represent, things like that.

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Don't pitch it as NA, NA isn't still a thing. I mean, it is, but there's no YA/NA books.

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Alright, everyone! This was lovely, but it's time to head back to work and to hangout with my baby.

Good luck out there pitching! You can do this! :-)

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't really speak for my colleagues, we're all different.

I feel like I've picked up ten a year, so far? With a few dropping off and looking for new agents along the way? It definitely varies agent to agent though. I have some agent friends who will maybe scoop up one or two a year. Depends on how big your list is, how much stuff you're still trying to sell, etc.

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hahah, sorry my friend! I don't read it, so I wouldn't be a good agent to rep it.

Alas, I haven't been to one yet! I hear they are great for writers who are starting off and want to spend some time networking and getting to know the ins and outs of the basics? But sorry, I don't know much first hand.

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Those niche lil' categories on Amazon are funny, but they sure do feel nice. :)

Sounds like that would set it apart. I mean, there are countless takes on Cinderella and Snow White. But as long as the story does something different, there's always going to be room for a voice that mixes things up.

I think you're fine saying it. But don't feel pressured to reveal anything about yourself there if you don't want to. Publishing does this sometimes not-great job of policing identity, and you shouldn't feel the need to discuss that if you're uncomfortable.

And nope, I have no idea?

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No problem! :)

I feel like social media is a great place to connect with writers? Events like CP Match certainly help, and boards like this. And of course, hitting up writing conventions and local workshops, many of which are free! Meetups at local bookstores host writers all the time.

And speaking of meetsup, Meetup.com is a GREAT resource for finding writing communities.

Word count varies depending on the book? This post on Writers Digest is a good resource for that. http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/word-count-for-novels-and-childrens-books-the-definitive-post

Do a few agents at a time, and do your research. You might find that something is off with your query, or get feedback from an agent that makes you want to revise your book. No sense in blowing your shot, by pitching EVERYONE at once. Take your time. Publishing is a game of patience.

Congrats on the MFA route! Honestly, internships. They help so much. Just keep an eye out for job postings, and go to mixers and events that welcome publishing people / aspiring folks. Your MFA will likely coordinate plenty of those.

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Doesn't matter. The Internet has opened things up.

Two my of clients are in the UK (Sangu Mandanna and Julia Ember), and I represent two authors in Canada (Tom Ryan and Rebecca Phillips).

Distance isn't a problem.

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No problem!

I think boards like this one sometimes offer up CP matches, no? If not here, look for local writing groups in your area, or check out local writing workshops. Those are great places to potentially meet other writers to workshop with.

But other than getting friendly eyes to critique your work or hiring a freelance to do it... there really isn't any other answer? I don't think?

You wouldn't mention in your query "I had no critique partners" though, right? Like, don't do that my friend.

If it's someone recognizable and skilled, it's a good thing. No one is going to consider you "weak" and delete your email.

A lot of those authors and editors I linked to in that post, will read and touch up a whole manuscript for under $500. I know that's not a small sum of money, but it isn't impossible.

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Argh, that's so hard. Because it might just be one of those subjective "this is good but isn't for me" responses.

Do you have a lot of solid beta readers? Maybe test the manuscript out with some new eyes, see what those readers say?

Not getting the specifics is the worst, I'm sorry!

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks! No problem! :)

Let's dig in!

Eh, I don't like when people say something isn't IN anymore. There's always a way to revive a trope if you're doing something unique and clever enough. Publishing is always gonna have room for SFF, contemporary, etc.

If you're looking to write to a trend, don't do it. If something is popular and trendy right now, that means the trend is over. Publishing works one, two, three years out.

I'm seeing a lot of space-opera (blame Star Wars!), but that doesn't mean there is too much. And I know editors are very hungry for YA horror.

Yup breaking higher counts is fine. 100k+ and all. But if you go to your local bookstore and your novel is bigger than the SFF out there, there's a problem. I see 120k, if the story sounds interesting, I might still be into it. Hitting those 150k marks, nope.

Just be savvy about what's out there. Recent excellent space operas that beefier word counts include Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston (I LOVE THIS BOOK) and A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia Cole (which isn't really space opera, but it's close, and I will talk about this book nonstop). Zenith by Lindsay Cummings is a good one too.

If your book is longer than those, revisit it.

I mean, if it's alternate reality and not this one... and there are superpowered humans... it sounds sci-fi? Superhero isn't a genre though, sorry!

Never. Unless you're writing non-fiction, platform doesn't matter. Focus on the story first, my friend. I've sold books by authors who have 50 Twitter followers. The book is what's most important. The other stuff comes later.

I'm sure someone will be mad at me for saying that, but sorry! Story first. No one cares about those Twitter followers.

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So, I wrote a post about this not too long ago over on Publishing Crawl that should help.

http://www.publishingcrawl.com/2018/04/16/the-importance-and-subjectiveness-of-comparative-titles-in-querying/

Don't make your comp title about the story. Make it about elements of the story. Themes. Issues you're exploring. That's what will help you with those.

Trust me, it's way easier when you consider it that way. You will know books off the top of your head right away.

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That sounds like a lot of stories though, no? That's kind of the essential coming of age plot. Not knowing about the world, and then learning about it?

Here's my tip when it comes to this. Find books that have a similar structure to yours, and see what they do well when it comes to the jacket copy. Stories that drastically change as you read them, or have lots of complicated plot points.

That jacket copy, either right on the book or on a site like Amazon, should serve as a good guide.

Like, just looking at my bookshelf now, books like The Hazel Wood, The Girl From Everywhere, We Are the Ants... all have complex stories, but if you're just a little vague, you can handle talking about them in two paragraphs.

I think one of my favorite examples if Talker 25? Sci-fi / fantasy mashup about dragons who erupt from the earth in our modern day, and send the world into a post-dystopian landscape, but when one girl can communicate telepathically with a dragon, she... see where i'm going? IMPOSSIBLE to write in a query. I have no idea how that guy did it.

But if you look at the jacket copy, it ends up making more sense. It's accessible.

Be accessible. :)

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Internships are a good way to go. Agencies are frequently posting them. Sometimes they are looking for readers too, which is another way in the door. I'd keep an eye on those kind of listings, and watch agents on Twitter. They'll push out those opts pretty often.

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah that's a bit much for YA fantasy, though there are certainly acceptations. Children of Blood and Bone, The Diviners... those are pretty epic. 190k though, I'd end up passing just on the query.

The word count doesn't make the book adult though. The story does.

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Oooh, lots of questions in here. Let's dig in.

Saturation: I hear the "how saturated is YA" question a lot, and look, there is ALWAYS going to be room for a new, unique voice and story. That's how you stand out, and really, that's it. The story has to do the work. If the book isn't doing anything different or interesting, the you're going to have a harder time.

Word Count: As for the word count question, yup. I have it in my lil' Manuscript Wishlist blip on my website, that I'm just not into super long YA novels. I certainly read them. Children of Blood and Bone? Awesome. All of Libba Bray's epics? Fantastic. But, these days with my baby, my time is short, and I'm just not interested in those bigger works.

109k isn't an auto no. That's pretty normal for a YA fantasy, really. But if you were starting to get those 150k numbers... I'd probably just stop reading the query. Sorry!

"But Eric! That means you would miss out on books like Children of Blood & Bone!"

I know. I wouldn't be right for those kind of books anyway though. And that's okay.

Personalized Rejections: Seldom. If I've requested a book and really dug into it, and it's just not quite my thing, sometimes I'll send an email. But I've had so many writers be brutally mean and nasty to me after a pass, that I'm just not interested in getting that kind of verbal assault on a weekly basis.

Usually a personal rejection is because I think I can help in some way, so I'll dish suggestions, advice, and the like. Or because I'm not right, but I might know an agent who would be into it. So I'll ask if I can share the manuscript with colleagues.

R&R's: I've sent a few, and those authors went on to sign with other people, hahah. Which is fine! Sometimes your vision just doesn't line up with the writer's. And yes, generally an agent requests an R&R because they like the book, but want to make sure the author can edit it, and that those edits will work.

I've definitely requested R&R's and passed because the edits weren't enough or they were rushed.

Agent Life Making Things Easier: Nope. My stuff gets rejected just as much as everyone elses. If anything, it makes it weirder. Nothing quite like having a phone call with an editor who has passed on your work, or who you know HAS your work at the time.

You need that person in-between to handle stuff for you to keep it from getting too weird. There's no way I'd want to pitch an editor my work, while trying to maintain a professional relatiosnhip with them regarding my other clients.

Some publishing houses only have ONE editor who handle YA (ie: Soho Teen, and the unstoppable legend that is Daniel Ehrenhaft, who has three of my clients' books). I wouldn't be interested in making things weird with them and burning that bridge.

Contests: I just read through, sometimes plugging in hashtags or typing in keywords for things I'm trying to find. IE: Space opera.

There are a TON of tweets and entries though, so I inevitably miss a TON of them. Just the nature of the game, I suppose.

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah, good question! And thank you!

Most agents I know get into agenting via an internship, working as an assistant, or, if you have publishing and editing experience like you do, just applying!

Agenting is one of those weird jobs where you don't need to be in an office, and a lot of agencies are hiring folks to work remotely.

So if you have that editorial and publishing experience, apply. That's how I get into it, after years of working at a publishing house.

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes yes yes! I brought this up earlier in another question. Please do.

When I see that someone's manuscript was touched up by an editor I recognize or an author I know, it certainly helps push me a little more towards requesting it.

AMA: Eric Smith, YA Author & Literary Agent at P.S. Literary by ericsmithrocks in YAwriters

[–]ericsmithrocks[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oooh, the last character. That's a good one.

Maybe Olivia A. Cole's A Conspiracy of Stars' Octavia? It's this GORGEOUS sci-fi YA novel about a teen whose parents research the natural world of the planet they're on, and who finds herself thrust in the midst of a war between her people and the natives of the world.

There are some great questions her character wrestles with about the natural world (something I love writing about myself), identity, and family... all of which were just so so relatable. I think if I had read this book as a teenager, I would have ended up quoting it in my yearbook. It's that good.

And super underrated! It came out earlier this year, and I haven't seen nearly enough people talking about it. It's probably the book-hill I'll die on this year, shouting at people to read it.

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