Monthly Archives: April 2012

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow: Choosing to Leave Your Agent

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Carla Harker is a writer and gamer from Texas who still thinks her former agent is the bee’s knees. Read her sporadic blog posts about games at carlaharker.com or follow her on Twitter @DeadlyAccurate.

You spend years writing, revising, editing, and querying. Rejection letter after rejection letter arrives, but still you persist. You know you’re getting close to that one yes.

And then it happens. You get the Call. A real agent with real sales wants to represent you. You do your happy dance. You sign the contract, certain this will be a relationship that lasts forever.

Then reality sets in. Maybe the book isn’t attracting editors. Maybe your agent suddenly ends up with more on her plate than she can handle and something has to give. As the newest or least successful client, that something is you. Or maybe it’s nothing like that. Maybe you simply move into a genre your agent isn’t familiar with. Whatever the reason, it’s time to say good-bye.

But how can you say good-bye when you spent so much time trying to get just one agent to say hello?

Politely. Professionally. Amicably.

The first step is to talk to your agent. The publishing world is a small place, and it’s important not to burn bridges. If there’s a problem, let them know. Is it something they can work on? If you’re moving into a genre your agent doesn’t represent, can they help with a recommendation? Suggest a fellow agent at the agency to be your co-agent? Before you say good-bye, let them know something isn’t working.

But you’ve talked, and it’s still not working out. You need a new agent. That doesn’t mean you run out and start querying. You’re still under contract. Not only is it unethical, it could cause problems if your new agent sells your work while you’re still bound by another agency agreement.

Read your contract carefully and make sure you understand it. Is terminating by email fine, or should you send a registered letter? Do you have to give thirty days notice? What happens if another agent sells the books your agent has represented? Your previous agent may be your agent of record for months after contract termination for books they’ve shopped. That means if a new agent sells the book within that time period, your previous agent is still owed a commission. You may not be able to query previously-represented work for weeks or months, unless you’re fine with paying 15% of your royalties to two different agents.

If you need to send a registered letter, consider giving them a heads up by phone or email. Don’t surprise them. Use this opportunity to ask about anything in the contract you don’t understand before you officially terminate.

Be professional in your cancellation letter. If you’re leaving because you feel there are problems that can’t be resolved, don’t use the letter as an opportunity to rant. Simply state that you’re severing the contract, when it takes effect, and thank them for their time and effort. If you’ve already talked to them, they’ll know why.

Leaving an agent is hard, and it’s not something most writers do lightly. The fear of never finding another one looms large. But it’s a business relationship first and foremost, and it’s important to remember that. You landed an agent once. You’ll do it again.

In Praise of Editors

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I love editors. I love them in theory and practice. In general and particular. Right now, every single editor I work with is awesome. And every single one of them would’ve eaten that previous sentence for lunch.

In fact, I wouldn’t dare file a story to any of them with “awesome” in it, except as a joke (or if I were really, really tired). Besides, the editors I work with know me well enough to know that “awesome” isn’t a word I’d use. That kind of familiarity is … well, it’s awesome!

Sure, there have been editors I didn’t get along with for various reasons.

Sometimes an editor wants something very specific, but doesn’t articulate exactly what it is that he or she wants. Freelance writer and designer Will Hindmarch calls this the “bring me a rock” scenario. It goes something like this:

Editor: “Bring me a rock.”

Writer: “Here’s a rock. I found it just for you!”

Editor: “I want a different rock.”

Writer: “Here’s another rock. Isn’t it wonderful?”

Editor: “Not that rock. Bring me a rock.”

Writer: “???”

Sometimes editor states very clearly what he or she wants and I don’t really listen.

Editor: “Bring me a rock.”

Writer: “Here’s that fish you wanted! Isn’t it neat?”

The latter example is all my fault. I can own that. And I also own a drawer (actually, a digital file folder) full of fish that have yet to find a place to swim. Want one? I’m giving them away free of charge.

I know the rules, the dos and don’ts of the writer/editor relationship. I’ve written about those rules and taught them in classes. I’ve even followed them (most of the time) since my first newspaper job over twenty years ago.

I’ve also broken just about every one of the rules and tried my darndest to learn from my mistakes.

Some of us, however, are slower learners than others. Being life-long learners, sometimes, has more to do with how slowly we learn than with the infinite scope of our curiosity.

The best thing about the editors I work with (other than their patience) is that every last one of them calls me on my BS and, for the most part, doesn’t hold that very same BS against me.

And that is so, so awesome.

I admit it: sometimes I blow deadlines or turn stories in so close to the print run that the editors involved have no time even to copy edit them. Sometimes I forget to update my editors or I drop completely off the grid. Sometimes I need to be re-angled multiple times. Sometimes my stories are, shall we say, structurally unsound, organizationally baffling, epically confounding. And I get wordy, especially when I’m tired. If I have too little to do, I procrastinate. I pitch stories impulsively. Heck, I even space out on sending in the invoices. And, let’s just face it: my comma usage is definitely not awesome.

I don’t do these things all the time, but for most editors once is enough. I should know better. I should do better. I should be a better writing professional.

That’s what an editor does. Pushes us to be better writers. Demands our best and deserves to get it.

Writers need editors. And I don’t just mean aspiring and new writers. Every writer. Each and every one of us needs editors.

Editors pull us out of our own heads, gives us fresh perspectives on our work while it’s still growing. Editors help us see with fresh eyes. They inspire us, have faith in us. They lend us their skill and the benefit of their experience. They teach us to be better writers … if we listen, if we keep our eyes and ears and egos open to what they have to offer.

How could we not love someone whose job it is to help make what we’ve written better?

Do I have an idealized view of editors? Maybe. Do I have an idealized view of the editors I work with? Not at all. They are human, every last one of them. They are imperfect. They get cranky. Annoyed. That’s all part of the give and take, the human interaction, the creative process.

Editors are awesome. And we writers should treat them as such. We should open up a document file or pull out a pen and some paper this very moment and write them some of the cleanest, smoothest, most on-topic copy we’ve ever written. Flesh it out. Develop it. Dig deep and push past clichés.

When we have something worthy, we should send it in early, receive edits as though they were birthday gifts, revise as though possessed by a higher being, and file glorious final drafts.

I’m not being sarcastic, here. I’m not kidding. These people play a vital role in what we do as writers. We should treat them as accordingly.

 

Norwescon: A Valuable Regional Convention

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Norwescon 35 was held April 5th-8th in SeaTac, a suburb of Seattle. Home to the Philip K. Dick awards ceremony and one of the five conventions where the Hugo Nominations are simultaneously announced, the convention sees yearly announcements of publishing industry news. With more than 3,000 attendees and 260 panelists in 2012, NWC is a robust regional convention, and valuable for writers of all career levels to attend.

There were 68 unique author readings listed this year, published and unpublished works, across science fiction, fantasy and horror. NWC has served as an incubator for a number of first time panelists, as well as fertile ground for developing panels. There’s a rich science track—in 2012 there were 20 panels on biological science alone. Mary Robinette Kowal’s workshop, on giving effective readings, is useful for all writers no matter where in their career.

Publishing industry parties were  standing room only; every square foot occupied by writers, editors, publishers, and other professionals in the industry. Though a contingent of guests and pros in attendance do come from outside the west coast, Norwescon retains a core of professionals from the region. If you want to meet your peers in speculative fiction who reside in the northwest, Norwescon is one of your best chances to do so.

Working During Air Travel

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Ryan Macklin is a freelance writer & editor in the hobby game industry and Creative Director for Evil Hat Productions. He’s flown over a hundred times in the last six years, with many travel hours spent working against deadline. His blog and projects can be found at RyanMacklin.com. Follow him on Twitter: @RyanMacklin.

Many of us have been there: you’re up against a tight deadline, and there’s a plane to catch. You think to yourself, “I’ll get some work done on the trip.” You think it’ll be easy, since you’ll have nothing to do for a few hours.

Truth is, it’s rough. Anyone who has traveled knows it can result in a weird fugue state, for many reasons: exhaustion due to waking up at odd hours; travel anxiety resulting in little sleep the night before; frustration with long lines while checking luggage or going through security; or that weird loneliness that happens right after conventions. But if you’re going to try it, here are a few tips.

Treat Every Hour as a Bonus Hour

You can’t predict how you’ll feel before boarding your plane, and you can’t predict exactly how much time you’ll have. And that’s nothing to say of finding a suitable place to work, with enough space, power , and wi-fi.

Then there’s the flight itself. You may not be able to work if there’s turbulence, if people in your row constantly need you to get up so they can use the bathroom, if you have to juggle a laptop and a drink on a tiny tray table, things like that.

So don’t assume you can get work done while traveling. Hope for the best, but assume travel days are a wash.

Work at a Different Gate

Your gate’s going to be crowded, with a hundred-some people waiting around for their flight. If you can’t find a good seat to work at, look around. There may be a gate nearby with plenty of seats available.

If you do this, be mindful of your own flight, particularly of any schedule or gate changes. If you’re on a flight that’s delayed, double-check every fifteen minutes or so; sometimes those delays are suddenly cleared up.

Make Friends, Bring Power

There are around a hundred at your gate, and far fewer power outlets, making getting an outlet feel like winning a jackpot. If you want to improve your odds (and make some other travelers happy), pack a small power strip. I use the Belkin Mini Surge, which has three outlets, rotates different directions.

Go cheap and go small. Cheap because you might lose it during travel, and small because you don’t want to lug around something huge in your carry-on and have something unwieldy to deal with if the TSA unpacks your bag to search it.

Don’t Plan on Wi-Fi

Many airports have wi-fi (at least the ones in the US that I’ve flown through). Some make you pay for it, and I’ve never seen the point in paying ten bucks for a 90-minute layover. Some are free, but use proxy servers that hijack your browser, putting everything in a frame that makes some browser-based software not work. For instance, I have given up trying to update entries on WordPress sites at Oakland International.

And the wi-fi will likely have two problems, especially if it’s free: it’ll be slow because of all the people using it, and it might be flaky because it’s poorly maintained. So don’t rely on wi-fi. Just as you should treat time working as bonus time, likewise treat having functional wi-fi as a bonus.

You might also be on an airplane with wi-fi. It’s just as expensive and likely to be problematic, so caveat emptor.

Cloud Storage and Potential Failure

Some people don’t worry about wi-fi because they use Dropbox or other cloud storage. If you’re one of these people, great! But just as a precaution, download local copies. Occasionally cloud storage systems glitch and overwrite your hard work with an earlier version. That happened to me once when the wi-fi went out and came back ten minutes later, and I was livid.

Choose Your Work Wisely

Once you’ve boarded your flight, focus on work that you can pick up & put away easily. Turbulence happens, forcing you to close your laptop or put away your notebook because it’s impossible to type or write. Choose work that uses the least amount of space; I don’t do graphic design or audio production on a plane, because I use a mouse for those.

Now, this might not be the work you need to do right now, depending on what you have on deadline. I’ve found I get more out of working on small things—like notes for upcoming projects, to-do lists for the next few days, and other preparation work—than I do on more intensive jobs.

Bring a Note Pad

For reasons that should be obvious by now, bring a note pad. You might not have the power or space to use a laptop. And on the plus side, flight attendants never tell you to turn off your note pad (though they will tell you to put your tray table up).

Remember That Travel Sucks For Everyone

I’ve focused on telling you ways to try to get work done and reduce some of the hassle, but it’s important to keep in mind that you’re not the only person having to deal with travel issues on this trip. If you’ve tried to work while you’re crabby, tired and frustrated, you know it’s no fun. And the folks next to you might be going through that very problem.

Moods are contagious, both good and bad. Trying to put forward a good mood is a fantastic defense against catching someone’s bad mood and losing productivity. (And as a plus, you might even make someone’s bad travel day a little better.)

 

Just because you can work doesn’t mean you should. If you’re tired or stressed, the work will be low quality, and you’ll have to do it over. And if you focus on working rather than relaxing, you may make your travel that much more stressful—which will make you worse company when you get off the plane. There’s no advantage to getting a couple hours of crap-quality work done if it’s going to make you a jerk after the flight.