#agenting

Some agencies may not like that, but honestly, it doesn’t hurt to try. Lots of publishing positions that open up are not advertised publicly, but are instead circulated around publishers and agencies asking “if they know anyone” they can recommend--so, yes, there’s a lot of networking involved. Since you’re already in a publishing house, you’re already in a better position to network than most, plus you’ll have some extra credibility if you reach out to agencies cold. Reaching out may at least get you a notification when such a position becomes open. Also keep an eye on agencies’ social media accounts; sometimes internship openings are posted there. 

It is going to be harder to find something if you’re not in NYC, but not all agencies are NYC-based, and remote internships do exist--we have them at DMLA, in fact. Also, aim for paid! Publishing has long been an industry that doesn’t pay its interns (I started that way; it sucks), but that is starting to change, and more and more agencies offer stipends or hourly wages. You deserve to be paid for your work! 

However, I’m going to give you the honest truth about agenting: it is very, very hard to get started as an agent without some additional means to support yourself. Ideally, you’ll start in an assistant position to an agent who will mentor you and support you, and you can start building your own list within a couple of years. An assistant position is a great place to start not only because it’s how you learn, but also because it is salaried. Once you become a full agent, you will be paid based on commission instead... which means you only earn money when your authors do. Given the slow nature of publishing (typically 2 years from deal to pub date), this means it can be years before you start really seeing an actual return on your time. The general rule of thumb is that it takes about five years for agents to be able to support themselves on their agenting income alone. So be ready with a plan for how you’ll stay in the game when the going gets rough--because it will get rough sometimes. 

#WomenCrushWednesday & #NewWorkAlert! We interrupt our regularly scheduled post to bring you Dean Freeman's latest!

Check out this uplifting short ‘Make HERstory,’ which follows young Bangkok-based boxer Jade Marrisa Sirisompan, as she pushes herself to the limit and mentors other girls along the way, with spoken-word by artist Ty Scott King.

Normally when I’m bartending on an early- or mid- Saturday afternoon, and some sporting event is playing out on the TV overhead, I’ve noticed that the programmers must be targeting an older audience; perhaps elderly; and it seems evident not just in their advertising but in the listings of surrounding channels. While skimming for some new Sport!, I’ll see programs in the menu like the one…

writing a new book and it’s going well

It always feels a bit sticky to mention that I’ve written several novels at this point and pitched them to agents without ever catching enough interest–and I think another sign of insecurity is that I’m always compelled to mention, immediately after pointing out that failure to get an agent, that each successive failure has been sunnier than the last. With the first book, two agents expressed…

This latest monthlong absence from the blog had to do, again, with my book, Various Positions, which I’m glad to say is currently done, and sitting in the mailboxes of a few agents—it is off my desk, thank God, and but the reason it so completely took over my life these past few weeks is because, given that most agents ask that you allow two to six weeks before checking up about your query…