Today I'm thrilled to bring literary agent Laura Bradford with Bradford Literary Agency to the blog!
Laura Bradford has fourteen years of professional experience as a literary agent, editor, writer and bookseller. Laura began her career as a literary agent at Manus and Associates Literary Agency and is a member of the Association of Authors Representatives and Romance Writers of America. She is a former board member of the San Francisco Area RWA chapter and an RWA-recognized agent. During her own misadventures as a writer, Laura came to understand the importance of having a friendly but critical eye on your side, a career strategist in your corner and a guide who can lead you through the travails of publication. With these qualities in mind, Laura delivers the personal and hands-on attention that a large corporate agency cannot offer. As an editorial-focused agent Laura works closely with her clients developing proposals and manuscripts for the most appropriate markets.
Please welcome Laura. And if you have any questions for her, leave them in the comment section. She'll be checking in during the day.
Thanks so much for being here today, Laura!
by Laura Bradford
A couple of days ago one of my authors Twittered that she was looking for recommendations of books that had ugly heroes or heroines. She did not mean one of those warrior-type heroes with a scarred face—the ones that really look more rakish than horrifying. She meant books with heroes and heroines that were plain old unattractive. When I saw that tweet, all I could think was, that sounds awesome! I want to see that list of recommendations, too. I totally adore a story that defies convention and I long ago realized that when referring to books, I use the phrase, “that NEVER should have worked” as a compliment. Which gave me the idea for this guest blog.
As an agent, my job is to sell books—yes, I do lots of other things too, but that is essentially what my job boils down to. I have to be aware of the market and know what will have broad appeal, I have to be aware of how markets shift and what editors and readers want. Some themes that are popular and salable aren’t at all to my personal taste and that is okay. I personally love work that is daring, that pushes the envelope, that is surprising but I absolutely understand the mainstream. It is how I make my living. However, I firmly believe there should be something out there for every taste.
Romance is romance because it embodies a certain set of characteristics or rules (like a happy-ever-after) and I, for one, love it. Then there are the conventions of romance, like pretty heroines and heroes who are, even if they are complete bad boys, ultimately redeemable. Authors may dabble with new ways to present those conventions but to completely defy them, well you run the risk of seriously falling on your face. Sometimes if you try to write something that should probably never work, it DOESN’T work. It is a disaster. It’s a hot mess. The characters are detestable, the plot twists are appalling, the romance is…not even remotely a romance.
But sometimes, those convention-defying elements that shouldn’t work, do. And it is brilliant and fresh and fabulous and breathes new life into the genre. There isn’t anything I love more than reading THAT book. The one that shouldn’t have worked. And I am grateful when I read those books, because they are what keep the genre from becoming hopelessly homogenized. How sad would it be if all the books on the market just started to run together and become the same? I’d cry. So I am here to say, please, please take risks with your writing from time to time. Don’t be afraid to try something that might spectacularly fail. It might just be spectacular.
If you have questions for Laura, comment away. She'll be checking in today several times, so don't miss this chance to ask what you really want to know about books, publishing, and agents.
34 comments:
Hi Laura, great to have you here!
Lately I've felt like I've read the same book over and over again. Writers seem to latch onto a successful formula and repeat it. This works except when dozens of other authors do the same.
Can you tell us some of the fresh and fabulous books you're referring to?
Hi Laura, thanks for blogging with us! This is a great topic. I find myself enjoying books with physically or aesthetically less pleasing characters, particularly heroines. I am overweight and when I read about a heroine who has the "perfect dancer's body" and instantly has the best sex ever with none of that in her head stuff, well, I'm pulled out a bit from the story. I like to read about characters with some of those flaws too - it deepens the connection between the H/h for me.
What kind of a Web presence do you look for in unpublished authors you are considering bringing on as your clients (i.e. blog, Web site, Twitter, message boards, etc)? Thank you!
I love that attitude about the genre, Laura! It's the books that are different and bend the so-called rules that really stand out and keep the genre vital and changing.
Hi Kendra,
One of my favoite that-never-should-have-worked books is one I have blogged about before, The Fifth Favor by Shelby Reed. The hero is an escort, which is a nice way of saying prostitute. He didn't used to be a prostitute sometime in his troubled past. He was currently working as an escort and sleeping with women for money. When the heroine meets him. That REALLY never should have worked. Even if he had a heart of gold, how can that ever be okay? How can a happy ever after ever spring from that? In a romance? But the author made me buy it and she made me care about him and the heroine and want for them to be together. It was hugely risk-taking, but I loved it. Most of my other recommendations will be shamelessly skewed towards some of my own client's work. Megan Hart has a book coming out next month called Pleasure and Purpose which is a collection of 3 novellas and one of the novellas has a beta, submissive, drug addicted hero that I loved. Speaking of drug addicted heroes, Judy Cuevas, who now writes as Judith Ivory has often put some rather convention defying elements in her books.
Yeah, LB in the house!!!
I'm one of Laura's authors and I have to say that she's a wealth of knowledge...so bombard her with your best questions!!!
Thank you, Laura, for being our guest bloggist -- is that a word?
For some reason, the subject you brought up reminds me of an article I read in a recent issue of The Week concerning a study of celebrities who are "famous for being famous." (Think Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Jon and Kate...)
"To better understand the nature of fame," the researchers chose to use sports figures instead of singers or actors since their achievements were tangible and could be measured by statistics. They gave volunteers a list of players and asked that they conduct email conversations with each other. What they found was that even the most expert volunteers chose to discuss well known players, bypassing more obscure players who nonetheless possessed glowing numbers. The conclusion reached was that by feeding each other information we may already know, we establish a connection with one another -- and that's what we crave. That's why there's a huge audience for stories about Michael Jackson's death, for instance. This commonality becomes "social currency" and hooks us up to a larger conversation.
I warned you the connection between what you said and this study is a little obscure, but I think maybe that's why so many of our books have so many things in common. From what I see, the only way for an astute reader to avoid burn out in a genre is not to read strictly within that genre.
All that said, I love your willingness to think outside the box and to embrace and encourage new directions. I remember reading a romance a long, long time ago where the heroine was plump. I can't remember the plot except that during the book she was stranded in some way with Mr. Hero and thus did not have access to Burger King or the bakery section of Safeway. By the end, lo and behold, she had morphed into a svelte goddess. The internal transformation was increased self confidence. So the book that promised at the beginning to confirm even plump girls deserve the opportunity to find love failed to deliver. Sigh.
As I lean toward mysteries, my question is this: I heard via friends who attended nationals, which I missed this year, that RS is increasingly "dark and edgy." Is this what you are seeing, as well?
Again, thanks for blogging today.
Hi Lisa,
In all honesty, if I am looking at an author to offer representation to, I am really more looking for an aura of professionalism rather than a kick-ass website prior to publication. I do look around online and check out their online footprint. I am more interested in seeing whether the author has a complete lack of boundaries and acts like a whackadoo on the loops than that her blog seems to have a large readership already. Lack of a twitter account, blog and website would not keep me from signing a new author. Seeing that the author often talks about her sex life with her husband and her miscarriages on her AUTHOR blog would definitely give me pause. Helping an author get a good, professional website going is much easier than trying to re-teach an author not to act unprofessionally online.
Hi Alice,
I think romantic suspense has been pretty dark and edgy for a while now and I haven't really noticed any movement towards lighter fare. I love dark and edgy and gritty, but within the romantic suspense subgenre (more than with other subgenres), it really does start to all run together for me. Because of that, I have really started personally gravitating towards lighter RS even as it gets closer to more of a romantic adventure (which was popular in the 80's). A couple of years ago, I pitched a RS/Romantic Adventure hybrid by Elisabeth Naughton, the series that begins with Stolen Fury. It is all rollicking adventure and treasure hunting and cat burglars and very Romancing the Stone-esque. I'd love to see more books out with that kind of mood, but alas, publishers still seem to be largely looking for more dark, gritty serial killer-type material.
Thanks so much for blogging with us Laura!
My question is whether you consider the depth of a new author's "backlist" when deciding whether or not to represent them? In other words, do you prefer an author with multiple unpublished manuscripts? Also, I've often heard that authors seeking to sell connected books or series books shouldn't write book 2 until after book 1 sells, but I'm wondering if that is always true.
Thanks for taking questions, Ms. Bradford. On looking at your agency's site, I notice that your submissions guidelines ask for the synopsis and first thirty pages of a manuscript.
Is there an industry default standard about the length and formatting of a synopsis? I ask because it would be nice to know what to shoot for, unless otherwise specified.
Hi wavybrains,
I don't really consider an unpublished author's "backlist" at all. It doesn't really carry much weight with me if the ms I have just read and loved is the author's 1st or her 20th. What I WOULD consider negative information is if the author said that the ms was the 1st ms she'd ever written and it had taken her 4 years to complete. Then I might have doubts that the author would be able comfortably produce new material in a typical commercial genre fiction schedule.
I tend to advise authors not to write the second book in a series until we know for sure that book 1 has a home first. However, I have had authors that have come to me with completed trilogies and the fact that all three books were finished (and good) ended up making them even more appealing to publishers when we pitched them. But as a general rule, I do advise people not to plunge ahead with a series without some assurances about its success first.
Hi hope101,
I consider industry standard synopsis length to be 3-5 pages. However, some editors and agents prefer longer or shorter synopses, so it is always good to check out a publisher's or agent's website (or ask) to see whether any particular length is specified. Personally, I don't care at all about synopsis length or anything having to do with formatting but I know others care a lot about those things. I don't expect an author to have to rewrite a new synopsis just so it fits my own personal guidelines--just send me what you have.
As a side note, I think the BEST thing you can do with your synopsis is sell your book the best way you can and I think that will vary from project to project. With my own authors, if I think a longer, more detailed synopsis will make the case for some particular project to the editor better, we'll make it 10 pages. If I think a 2 page synopsis does the job, that is fine with me.
Good Afternoon Laura,
Bravo on being open to the differences that make reading fun!!
After all, without agents and other publishing professionals being willing to try something new, things would quickly get very boring for those of us who are voracious readers. So thank you for that...
And thank you for being willing to share your knowledge on this blog.
I have the privilege of being acquainted with one of your authors whose indicated how AWESOME you are. So with her encouragement I'm going to "bombard you with a couple of questions".
First, I'm a pre-published author with a fully plotted manuscript half way through the first draft.
My wip is the first of a trilogy and the set up for a possible launch to a much broader world (at this point nine more are roughly plotted).
The world building has taken two years of careful construction to ensure logical branching and movement through the overall arc of the series as well as that of each individual hero and heroine.
I have been careful to see that this first manuscript can stand on its own, though, with it being part of a series there are some threads that aren't going to be completely resolved.
In your opinion, should I consider pitching this as a stand alone with possible sequels or should it be put out there as a definite first in a series? What is your read on the current market for this kind of submission?
And second, I'm anticipating being in a position to start pitching on this as soon as this fall and am looking at the business side of the industry in more detail now - to that end, what is your take on the pros and cons of using a pen name over an author's real name? And do you feel there are any advantages either way? If using a pseudonym are there any suggestion you would make for selecting one?
Thank you for your time Laura. As a "newbie" your advice is greatly appreciated.
Kimberley
Thank you for the book recommendation - I'm going to have to go hunt up Shelby's book this afternoon so I can see how that worked out.
If new authors shouldn't say that they are offering their first-born ms, what should they say?
My current strategy is to enter a few contests - in hopes of getting some good feedback and maybe a little name recognition, but wonder what else I could/should be doing.
I joined my local RWA chapter and know I have a ways to go before I need an agent.
I do have a "damaged" hero to offer... :)
Laurel N
RCRW member
Hi Laura,
I like the idea of not perfect looking heroes and heroines. And while my characters see each other through their eyes as pretty or beautiful or handsome, that doesn't mean they look that way to other people. After all love is blind. ;)
Thank you for your insightful answers to everyone's questions.
Thanks for being here, Laura! I love getting your "insight".
I have a question...since I missed RWA this year (and all the trend gossip), what's the next big thing everyone's talking about? Are historicals really making a come-back? Are demons the new vampires or are they wearing out their welcome already? And what do YOU think we'll see more of in romantic fiction?
Hi Kim B,
Re: pitching with a standalone that can have sequels vs. pitching something as the first of a series. To me, this is like 6 of one, half a dozen of another. I think that all books have to be able to stand alone to a certain extent...have a resolution and a satisfying ending even if there is clearly more that should or will come in the particular universe you are writing about. And it is more the exception than the rule that a publisher (major NY publisher) buys just one book instead of 2 or 3 at a time. Furthermore, readers love series, people often automatically buy subsequent books whenever they have started a series, so publishers like series as well (or connected books or whichever terminology you prefer--books that go together with other books). I personally don't see a downside to telling the person you are pitching to that you intend your book as the first in a series, or that you have plotted out x number of sequels. It sends the same message, that you would like to more with the characters/universe you have created. Since it is common for an editor to buy 2 books instead of 1 at a time, they would be happy to know you have something in mind for book 2. I think the editor would also like to know that you have some flexibility, so if they don't agree with you on the direction for the next book, you are willing to work with them. I suspect that the folks who caution against overwhelming an editor or agent with talk of a series are concerned about the author coming across as rigid. For example: I plotted out 6 books in the series, this is how it is going to be, I have invested years of my life on this universe and you are either on board with it all, or you aren't on board. I am TOTALLY MARRIED to all the plots I have developed. You may have liked book 1, but I want the assurance you will take what I give you for the other 5 books. I don't really think very many authors would ever want to send that message, and I certainly don't think mentioning a plan for a series says all of that. Indicating you are flexible is a good thing.
I have to answer the second question in a separate post because I am so long winded, lol.
Hi Kim B (again),
Pen names vs. real names: I don't have a really strong opinion on this with regards to should you or shouldn't you. I have some erotic romance authors who definitely feel thay have to have a pen name for the sake of privacy in their non-writerly lives. I have authors with really complicated, hard to spell names that have chosen pseudonyms simply for the sake of ease and others who would never consider writing under anything but their own name. It is really an individual choice, though sometimes publishers have strong opinions about author names and might want you to choose one name over another. When choosing a pen name, I advise that you use traditional spellings (Chris vs Khrys) and names that are easy to spell in general. I especially advise against names that have any internal punctuation like O'Claire. At a bookstore, when they look it up, it could be listed as O'Claire or Oclaire or O Claire so that is two ways a customer might not be able to find it. Of course then add in that it could also be misspelled as O'Clare or Oclare or O Clare, too. I feel the same way about names with initials, like R.S. Knight. If someone looks up RS Knight without the punctuation, it might not get to the author's books. Or you are R.S. Knight but the bookstore entered you as RS Knight. If you look up J.D. Robb on Amazon it pulls up 883 books. If you type in JD Robb, it pulls up 67 books. Can anyone tell yet that I used to work in a bookstore? I also dislike names that begin with letters after R in the alphabet because those names can often end up on shelves at knee level instead of eye level, plus people often shop for books by browsing a section starting with A and they could be shopped out, tired of looking or already have too many books picked out by the time they get past Nora Roberts. In romance, I think there are way more authors with names A-M than N-Z. Might as well pick a name right in the middle of the place on the shelves more shoppers will be looking.
Hi minxlaurel,
I don't have a problem with an author offering me their first borm ms. The truth is the truth. There really isn't a way to indicate you have completed more books than you have without lying. I have signed several authors on 1st manuscripts and successfully sold them.
As far as what you should be doing if you are just starting out, I think you should be educating yourself about the genre you write--and joining RWA is excellent for that. I also think it is a good idea to have some kind of critique group or critique partner--someone you trust that can give you the unvarnished truth about your work and help you get everything in good shape and all polished up. But be aware, not all crit partners/groups are created equal and the people in your chapter who live the closest, who are similarly available on Thursday nights at 7 pm might not be the best people to pick even if they are conveneient. You don't want to work with people who NEVER say anything negative about your work, or people who never say anything constructive either. You might not want to work with people who write in other genres...if they don't read and understand romance, they might not be advising you appropriately. Also, though I think it is good to crit with people that are at a similar place in their career as you are, sometimes a newbie working with another newbie can be a case of the blind leading the blind. The best crit partner for you might live 2000 miles away from you, so don't be afraid to be aggressive about finding someone that can help you make yourself better. And be prepared to give back as much as you expect to receive.
Hi Laura
Great to hear from someone on the other side of the desk. I'm a voracious reader. When I pick up a book I have a moment of worry - How long will the book take to grab me? Authors like Beth Kery, Elisabeth Naughton & Jaci Burton get me from the first page. Do you have to get that feeling too when you get a submission or will you read the whole synopsis & first chapters no matter what?
Hi Elisabeth!
My OWN author has to ask the dreaded trends question...LOL! Publishers still tend to want a lot of material that is more dark and gritty than light and fluffy, but I think that has been the case for a while. I have never had any difficulty selling historical in general and I think nearly every publisher is actively looking for historical. I think that light contemporary romance (without some secondary hook, like an element of paranormal or suspense or mystery)remains difficult to sell, however I do know that several publishers are looking for some contemorary romance/women's fiction hybrids (think Macomber, Sheryl Woods, Susan Wiggs). Publishers are actively seeking women's fiction in the vein of Jodi Picoult. I have heard that Vampires are coming back around again. There is a lot of Angels/Demons stuff out there... I have been seeing those themes pretty consistently for 6 months-1 year, which means there is going to be a whole bunch of paranormal books featuring angels and demons hitting shelves really soon. We'll all see how they do, but it may be, as with most trends, as soon as you identify it, it is already over. Paranormal of all types still seems to be going strong.
Laura,
Thank you so much for taking the time to be 'long winded' when answering my questions.
I have no problem being flexible with my story lines - that's why I have so many of them, surely one of the other ones will be of some interest if the one I had in mind as the next direct sequel wasn't just what they were looking for :-).
Your advice on both questions makes great sense and has given me some good food for thought.
As a first time author speaking for the first time with an industry professional your graciousness has been most appreciated. Thank you again for your time.
Vivianna was right you are AWESOME!!
Kim
CaRWA
Laura,
Thank you so much for taking the time to be 'long winded' when answering my questions.
I have no problem being flexible with my story lines - that's why I have so many of them, surely one of the other ones will be of some interest if the one I had in mind as the next direct sequel wasn't just what they were looking for :-).
Your advice on both questions makes great sense and has given me some good food for thought.
As a first time author speaking for the first time with an industry professional your graciousness has been most appreciated. Thank you again for your time.
Vivianna was right you are AWESOME!!
Kim
CaRWA
Hi Mary G,
How quickly a ms will grab me is always a concern and I do not feel any obligation to read past the point at which I am sure the writing isn't working. If the dialogue is flat and clumsy and stilted on page 1, it is very likely it will be on page 30 too. If the dialogue is flat and stilted and clumsy, the best plot in the world can't save that ms from getting a pass note from me. If the writing doesn't work, the book doesn't work. I always read the synopsis AFTER I read the sample pages, so the writing is far more important to me than any plot twists or narrative threads. Some mss are a bit slow to start, but sometimes that is just a structural issue that can be fixed. Good, sparkling writing will always make me read more of a ms, even if the opening of the book is on the ho-hum side. Maybe the book really started on page 6 and the author didn't know it ;) Happens all the time.
Kim B--
You are very welcome and thanks!
Couldn't let you get off the hook so easy, LB. :) Esp. since I missed out on all that gossip fun.
I was specifically curious about the demon thing because one editor I know mentioned on a blog somewhere that she was sick of seeing demon books. And as a reader, they seem to be just now growing in popularity, which made me wonder if editors and agents have been seeing a slew of them for a while now. (Asks the woman who has evil demons in her upcoming series. LOL)
Hi, Laura, and thanks for blogging today. :) Eli has told us so many wonderful things about you.
I'm going to piggy-back onto her trends question. Heh. My steampunk loop has been talking about trends lately after some of them returned from Nationals, saying steampunk is a hot commodity and so are zombies. Zombies! Eek! Zombie romances? I can't imagine, but apparently there was a panel of editors at Nationals who were raving about how much they're in demand. Have you heard this, too? If so, what's the appeal of flesh eating ghouls? :)
I've really enjoyed reading all your answers here today. Thanks again for giving us your time.
laura,
You said historicals are hot. Regency, westerns, ancient, medieval or ??? Or do they want any historical as long as it is HOT.
Thanks!
Hi Karen,
I have personally been wanting some Steampunk for about a year now. I have received a number Steampunk queries but I haven't really seen anything that was a successfully done with that classic Steampunk mood. It is a buzzword these days for sure, and I know of at least 3 forthcoming Steampunk romances. I do think that there are editors out there like me who have been hearing tons about it and would love to work with it but who haven't really seen any noteworthy examples...yet. And Zombies, yes. There are 2 forthcoming Zombie anthologies I know about. I'd pitched some zombie material a year or two ago and I don't think it was as ready to hit then as it is now. What's the appeal? It is a paranormal element we haven't seen too much of yet. Sometimes it is that simple.
Hi Paty,
Last year everyone seemed to be talking about western historicals coming back. This year I have heard burblings about medieval (or maybe that is wishful thinking on my part). Across the board romance is hotter than it was 5 years ago, so writing hot is pretty much the new black. I think all of the usual suspects of popular varieties of historicals are in, and all of the other more unusual types (like Ancient Greece for example) will still be harder to sell.
Thanks, Laura. I know the zombie thing is new and a novelty, but... *shivers* That's the only paranormal creature I don't like. Go figure.
My steampunk isn't a romance, though it has a strong romantic thread running through it that carries over to subsequent books. It's a bit of a hybrid because it's also urban fantasy. My hero is a demon (well, half demon) who drives a demon-possessed taxi cab and the heroine is an exorcist. My agent started submitting it a couple of months ago. No news yet, but my fingers are crossed.
Thanks Laura!
Sorry my typing was bad on that last one. Granddaughters- 3 & 5 are visiting. Need I say more?
Hey Laura! Another of your chica's here, and um, sheesh, S is a bad name to go with??!! :-)
You've mentioned the hot trends and I know you love some steampunk, but is there something you cannot sell or give away right now? just curious...I've even read somewhere that chick lit is on the comeback trail....is that true?
Thanks so much for all the great information. I love books where the hero/heroine aren't perfect looking or have some sort of hang up about their appearance. They're much easier to relate to, in my opinion.
I appreciate your thoughts on current trends and possible upcoming trends. What's your take on straight contemporary? It's what I love to read, thus, it's what I love to write. Someday, maybe it'll be hot again...
:)Becky
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