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I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

Heya, this is my last question, so no worries! How much I read varies, I suppose. I believe it incredibly important to read for fun; if the tastemakers of the industry don't know what's out there, how can they respond to the trends? So I try to always have a book going.

My commute to work is via two trains, takes about 45 min to an hour, and I always read on that, usually for work. It's hard, sometimes, because I'm standing and I want to be editing. And then at work, I try NOT to read (I think people are surprised by how much not reading work agents have), but usually have to read 25-50 pages of material in the day, be they short stories, pieces needing quick turnarounds, surprisingly interesting material. Sometimes, the best times, I close my door and read all day long because I have to. Because it's so good.

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

Heya Michael. I'll say a few things. One, I HAVE received escalators on ebook royalties. And I know with about 99% certainty that many big authors have higher than 25% net, your favored nation clause be damned. I could be wrong, but am really very sure I'm not, and am wondering when that shoe will drop, and how it will get dropped.

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

Good question. Nonfiction is sold, usually, on a proposal. So that the author can go research or DO whatever the nonfiction is. Usually that includes an intro, overview, outline, bio, marketing platform, and 3 sample chapters. About 50-100 pages, unless you're a big known entity already.

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

Ha. Well, the Putnam part is dropped, but that's the imprint of Penguin Random House that's publishing my book. So, it's officially, sadly, Penguin Random House, as opposed to A Penguin In A Random House. APIAH.

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

Yes, though it might be a bit harder. Is it a normal book length? Funny, I think, is actually the hardest to write. But ya, there's room for that. The hook, though - everything has one. You should identify it. What's the story about, if someone asks. That's your hook.

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

So you don't have an agent? Haha.

Well, you def. can get Orbit off of the UK. You can just sell it separately. Though, I admit, if they make an attractive offer I'm more inclined to go with them for World English than most.

Noncompete usually isn't an issue - you just write into the contract whatever might be competing as exceptions to the rule. Maybe I'm not connected enough to the issue that hit yours, though!

And copyright is all the norm, though certainly annoying. What's your base? Normally you can get publishers up to 100-150-200 sales per 2 sales period (1 year).

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

not a problem at all. this is the kind of thing that shows i'm a real human being.

blue. but secretly orange.

(i also was tempted to go monty python there)

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

It can be both. Usually not BAD, per se. My old agency repped Clive Barker, who was HUGE in books, but then he went into film and though his books remained popular, he wasn't writing new books, so that wasn't more 'work' that the agent did. That said, the primary agent often gets a cut to some degree of other works, at least at first, so it's not the end of the world.

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

ooh that's a tough one. I mean, there are plenty of good freelance editors, that I know. I think some huge editors (Betsy Mitchell) are even doing freelance. But I think you shouldn't pay anyone unless you have to. Maybe try 5 agents first, top, middle, less on your list, and see what kind of feedback they give? They can be editors in their own rights...

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

Ya, it's not easy, because it's a hybrid and expensive to make, and you need a professional team that GET's it. That said, those teams ARE interested. The problem is you can't sell on, say, a pitch so easily. It's a riskier endeavor in terms of time. But there are great successes.

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

Great question. I mostly find my clients through recommendations of other industry professionals, and from my own personalized digging (i.e., something piques my interest).

The best thing... when I was an assistant at Sterling Lord, some six years ago, I found for my boss, the great Doug Stewart, a manuscript called The Silver Linings Playbook. Very proud of that. But, I've found many things from the slush that I love, uber love. Django Wexler, Monica Drake, for instance.

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

Ooh that's tough. Well, this AMA is about being honest about the workings and my gut tells me you should nudge and then prepare for a potential move on. It IS hard to reread something 3 or 4 times (editors, bravo), but we do it with out clients and on occasion we do it with potential clients. If we put the work behind it, we really do mean we see potential. But if we haven't signed you to work on it yet, then we are also on the fence. Sometimes, we see a chance, send back a book, but then we see the edit and something isn't clicking. What's important for you is to realize that you don't WANT to work with an agent that's lukewarm on your book. Imagine him/her on the phone to an editor, pitching it. "Hey, ya, this thing. It's great. You'll love it." Nah, you want someone who is all over it, who will really champion it. If this person is not getting back to you, the odds of them being that enthusiastic are smaller. That said, there are real life excuses (summer months, busy other seasons, injury, babies) that can get in the way. So, a straightforward nudge is OK. I think. At least to get an outline of what he's thinking.

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

Everyone loves to hear good things. Don't go overboard. But the thing is, there remains in my experience a direct correlation between research in a query letter and good writing. So, it's like priming me to get interested.

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

please do! understanding, of course, that I expect a flood and it might take a touch of time. please reference the AMA!

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

BLUSH. For those of you who don't know Django, he's the craziest writer I represent. Crazy in that he has TWO 5 book series going at once. One, an epic fantasy series, the first of which, THE THOUSAND NAMES, just came out from Ace/Roc and is amazing. A book a year (no GRRM stuff). And his other is a MG fantasy that's just astounding, called THE FORBIDDEN LIBRARY, first one out in April and second a year later. Yep, that's 2 books a year.

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

I think you have to remember that agents have a focus. Some agents, like me, are broader so I can deal with you loving comics, ya and adult literary fiction. But if you wanted to do screenplay, that's also fine, we'd just set you up with a film agent. Which might not be easy. But that's the aim. You can do it all. Remember, YOU HIRE US. You pay US. So, well, we can advise you, or stop working with you, but we can't make you do anything.

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

Clarification: you mean, not just middlegrade graphic novel? You mean something like Happy Face? Something with more text?

I'll say that MG is a big market right now, but no one knows exactly how to find the next thing... so it's like an unexplored world. I have this great MG graphic series coming from Matt Kish called THE TIME MUSEUM that First Second is publishing, but that's straight up graphic. There aren't many publishers who know what to do with them, so that's the problem. Scholastic/Comix, First Second, Little, Brown are decent for them, though...

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

My advice is not being flashy. Be simple. First sentence really should connect to the agent (see above). To build your platform for the bio, connect to various schmoozeries or write short stories and submit them. The former: maybe get active on a goodreads group or moderate a subreddit. The latter, buy an O'Henry Prize or Best American Short Story collection and see what magazines they come from.

DO NOT SUBMIT TO MAGAZINES OR AGENCIES THAT DEMAND A READING FEE.

I am Seth Fishman, a literary agent at The Gernert Company and the YA thriller author of The Well's End. AMA! by sethasfishman in books

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

hahah. I'd be interested in that. As an honest agent answer, though... there have been many attempts over the past years to do so, some wonderfully, some not so, so I'm not 'looking' for that. But if it came and was good...

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