One of the tough aspects of the publishing biz is how impersonal it all can be. Writers pour their heart, souls, and hope into a full manuscript. They practice and learn how to boil down their concept into one-page query letters. They research agents until they’re blue in the face—just to find those top 25 choices that would be a good match and who rep what they write.

With loving care, they prepare the final query letter and send it on its way. Only to get a nice but completely impersonal rejection letter that begins with “Dear Author.”

No feedback. No information on what made the query miss. Nothing to help or inspire writers to rework, resend, and retry it all again.

I just want y’all to know that I completely sympathize with the frustration of the process but don’t take the impersonal nature of this biz personally. You’ve heard it once (but it won’t hurt you to hear it again) but it’s the sheer volume of what agents receive that force us to use standard rejection letters. Ultimately, our focus must be on the needs of our current clients rather than on queries from writers who may never be a part of our agency. And remember that someday, you may well be an agent’s client and then you’ll completely agree with that prioritization.

So, keep a stiff upper lip and persevere in the face of impersonality!

Best,

Kristin Nelson
Agent

Spring is here! This means it’s time for Kristin’s first trip to New York to meet with editors. She’ll be out of the office from March 22-31st. Not only does she have meetings lined up in NYC, she’ll be participating in two conferences—The Writers Retreat weekend and the New England RWA Chapter Conference.

The latter allows her to pop over to Boston and say hello to some editors at Houghton Mifflin and Adams Media as well.

TIPS FROM THE SLUSH PILE by Sara Megibow
Dear writers—

This month’s topic might be sensitive. My intention is to highlight a trend that I have seen recently in the query letters coming in to the agency. Specifically, I have seen multiple queries (more than thirty) for novels about on-line dating (both fiction and non-fiction). We always get mixed reviews when we venture into the world of discussing query specifics. Some writers are thankful that we are being blunt, and some writers feel that the discussion cuts too close to home. I hope you find my thoughts helpful (even those of you who may have written about this topic). Well, here goes…

What do I do when I see a query letter that is well written but is the tenth one that day touted as a chick lit novel with a heroine who is changing her image by venturing into the world of online dating? Remember, I am not being snarky here, I am just pointing out that in this case, pop culture means “popular”—popular enough that I am seeing the same concept over and over. Being well-written is only half the magic when it comes to successful query letters—it also has to be unique and when I’ve seen 10 online dating concepts in one day, my gut reaction is to pass on all ten.

My point? Trends can hinder you. Think of it this way—there are millions of people who are dating online now. Therefore, you can imagine that there are dozens (hundreds?) of people writing about online dating. Similarly, last year we saw dozens and dozens of queries about heroes or heroines who happened to be trying out for American Idol. Next year there will be a new trend. Of course, using pop cultural references and plots can make your story relatable, just be sure to also make it unique.

Here are my thoughts on how to be aware of trends.

• Try to answer this question in your query letter, “what is it that makes my story unique?”
• Make your characters leap off the page—maybe use a line of dialogue in their voice, or a more thorough description of their personality.
• Include some details about the plot. Avoid sentences like, “Many weird things happen to Jane in this book.”
• Take a look at some recent titles in the bookstore next time you stop in. Have you noticed the sudden increase in books about autistic children or about war veterans or set in New Orleans? This may help you get a sense of trends.
• Likewise, you could invest in a subscription to publishersmarketplace.com. Deal lunch, which is published every day, highlights books sold and includes a short description of each.
• If you are writing fiction, avoid statistical comments like, “25% of women from 25-45 have trouble finding a date on Friday night,” or “this book is geared for the 3 million women who registered last month on match.com.” These remarks read more like a magazine article than like a juicy tidbit about a novel.

WHAT’S HOT by Kristin Nelson
Editors are begging to see YA submissions for the 10-15 boy set.

Seriously, if you have a manuscript that targets this hard-to-reach audience, agents are willing to give it serious consideration because submissions that target boys are few and far between.

Lately it’s the girl readers who have been getting all the love and attention. It makes sense because they are far more likely to read and hence, the children’s publishers cater to that desire.

But publishers haven’t forgotten the boys. It’s just hard to find good submissions that are well-done, fresh, and will encourage boys to read. In fact, I just recently signed on a new YA author who has a terrific dark, urban fantasy that will really appeal to boys. It needed some work but because it’s so hard to find these boy-oriented projects, I was willing to work with the author to get the manuscript in submission shape.

Also, because there is such a dire need, former Houghton Mifflin executives Steven Hill and Peggy Hogan have just launched Flying Point Press packaging company—a business dedicated to creating narrative nonfiction titles that boys will read. Think Krakauer (INTO THIN AIR) and Junger (THE PERFECT STORM) but for male young adults.

Nelson Literary Agency is very proud to introduce Kelly Parra and her remarkable debut YA novel that is coming out in late April.

GRAFFITI GIRL by Kelly Parra

She’s ready to make her mark.

Graffiti art. It’s bold. It’s thrilling. And it can get a girl into serious trouble...

Raised by her single mom (who’s always dating the wrong kind of man) in a struggling California neighborhood, Angel Rodriguez is a headstrong, independent young woman who channels her hopes and dreams for the future into her painting. But when her entry for a community mural doesn’t rate, she’s heartbroken. Even with winning artist Nathan Ramos—a senior track star and Angel’s secret crush—taking a sudden interest in Angel and her art, she’s angry and hurt. She’s determined to find her own place in the art world, her own way.

That’s when Miguel Badalin—from the notorious graffiti crew Reyes Del Norte—opens her eyes to an underground world of graf tags and turf wars. She’s blown away by this bad boy’s fantastic work and finds herself drawn to his dangerous charm. Soon she’s running with Miguel’s crew, pushing her skills to the limit and beginning to emerge as the artist she always dreamed she could be. But Nathan and Miguel are bitter enemies with a shared past, and choosing between them and their wildly different approaches to life and art means that Angel must decide what matters most before the artist inside of her can truly break free.

THE STORY BEHIND THE SALE by Kristin Nelson
I initially signed Kelly on for a Latina romantic suspense, which was sold to Harlequin for their Bombshell line. With a 2-book contract on her resume, we could take out a young adult project on proposal. This means that we simply had a long synopsis and the first 50 pages or so of the manuscript. When an author is already established and with a proven track record, it’s very common to sell future fiction works on proposal.

Interestingly enough, children’s publishers are sometimes hesitant about proposals. Unlike their adult division counterparts, children’s editors often prefer to see a whole manuscript—especially if the author is only recently established. They will buy on proposal but it’s always an easier and more comfortable submission if a full is involved.

In fact, we had several editors who really liked the first 50 pages of GRAFFITI GIRL but still wanted to see the full before offering. Would we be willing to complete the work and come back to them?

We ended up not having to since Lauren Mckenna at MTV/Pocket books had seen Kelly’s prior romantic suspense and although Lauren didn’t buy that project, she liked the writing and wanted to see more from this author.

In just a few months, we were able to show her GRAFFITI GIRL. And here’s an insider tidbit about MTV/Pocket Books. Although it is a YA imprint at Simon & Schuster, it’s really more for older young adults and the editors there do both adult and YA material acquisitions. Not unlike Berkley/NAL Jam, it’s run more like an adult division than a children’s imprint.

Lauren wasn’t bothered by the proposal-only submission; it was instant love and an immediate offer.

KRISTIN’S BOOK CLUB
I can count on one hand the number of books that all members of my book club have loved. David Mitchell’s CLOUD ATLAS is one of them. (And for those of you who’d like to keep track, the only other titles to win this honor in our book club were BEL CANTO, ANGELA’S ASHES, and BRICK LANE. All other titles got mixed reviews—and we’ve done well over 50 or 60 titles in the last nine years of our club.)

We loved it. We quoted favorite sentences from the work and emailed them around. We couldn’t stop talking about the work—even during the book club dinner. And let me tell you, we are usually easily distracted.

In one word, CLOUD ATLAS is brilliant.

But try and explain what the work is about and I’m a little at a loss. It’s not a traditional novel. Nor is it a series of short stories.

There are five narratives and a bridge—each of which would normally be called a novella but they aren’t. I would call them mini-novels that are completely formed. In fact, there are two halves to each mini-novel and they are split in two in terms of the book’s organization. There is the first half of the novel that gives the beginning of each individual mini-novel up to the bridge narrative (which forms a story in and of itself) and then the second half of the novel that finishes the individual stories and concludes each mini-novel.

However, each mini-novel is intimately interconnected with the other novels so even though each stand on its own, the work itself cannot be read except in its entirety.

Trust me. I may not be explaining it well but it works.

Each mini-novel also encompasses a different writing approach. The first novel is a journal in 19th century language about a young seafaring man who must confront betrayal and racism; the second is an epistolary work set in the 1930s about a young composer struggling to make his mark in the world; the third is a hard-boiled detective story written in third person and tells the story of a young female journalist’s quest to solve a series of murders connected to a local nuclear power plant; the fourth is a hilarious first person British modern comic story of an aging publisher who is incarcerated at an old folks home and must escape; the fifth is science fiction (wow, what world building) and an interview with the first cyborg who becomes human and a legend; and the bridge narrative is written in the far far future, so far that language has reverted to primitive dialect that the author created but is linguistically sound and tells the story of the enslaving of one culture by another.

Amazingly written. Truly a writing tour-de-force. There is no summary on the back cover of the book and now I know why. It’s impossible to explain the story but once read, it’s unforgettable. At least for me.

This book is a keeper and is now permanently a part of my collection. This is a big deal. I usually give away books I know I’ll only read once. This one I can’t wait to reread and really savor. My first reading went too fast because I was dying to know what happened next.

A fast-paced literary novel is often hard to find (but I must include a reading warning—that first narrative set as a 19th century journal might initially be a hard slog if you are unused to the syntax of writing from that time period). Stick with it; you won’t regret it.

Next up for April is Daniel Gilbert’s STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS. We often rotate reading fiction and nonfiction for our club.

ON SARA’S NIGHTSTAND
I have a two year old son. I find it interesting how his presence in my life has affected the types of books I have been reading (and WHEN I get to read, but that’s life, huh?). For example, I picked up STRIP TEASE by Carl Hiaasen last week, and couldn’t finish it. It wasn’t an issue of quality—his writing is edgy, witty and fun. I just couldn’t deal with the cruelty. It must have been my inner mom showing through. In this cycle of my life I guess that violence, drugs, and people hurting each other are a no go.

So, I went back to my bookshelf and dug out JITTERBUG PERFUME by Tom Robbins. This is now officially one of my all-time favorites! It is also contemporary fiction, but with this book, I found myself laughing through three diaper changes. The way Robbins writes uses puns is hysterical (especially the one about Descartes in the middle of Part III)! Apparently, the new, more sensitive Sara is looking for funny and quirky books as opposed to gritty and quirky ones.

As a quick side note, if anyone is looking for the most fabulous kid book ever, my son’s favorite (and mine) is THE DOT by Peter Reynolds!!!!

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