Does past representation impede your ability to find a new agent? Search their database of members by genre or name. Interview conducted by e-mail after panel conversation held at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, Virginia, on March 19, Ian Thomas Healy Kristen Tsetsi's interview with Healy, a prolific author and publisher in speculative genres. A bad agent wants you to change your story, drastically perhaps, to make it more attractive to prospective buyers. You can rail about how unfair that is, and how it makes publishing into an incestuous little club, and to a degree you would be right.
There is a market, however tiny, for good books, and there are a small number of smart, hard-working people who live for the thrill of finding a talented author. If you are one of those talented authors, then it is your job to stop whining and figure out how to make it easy for them to find you. Check out the pitch workshops, too. Be sure to read the items any good agent will negotiate. Some consider it a conflict of interest if an agent offers to refer you to an editorial service--some agents run editorial businesses on the side, or get a referral fee for referring you to one.
It might not be the best way to find a good editor or book doctor. Similarly, many consider it a conflict of interest that agents are beginning to act as publishers, since agents are supposed to represent authors' interests with publishers--but that's another whole ball of wax. As for why you might want an agent: The smaller publishers will often accept submissions directly from authors, but the big five or six major publishing groups generally require submissions through an agent--partly because agents filter out some of the worst material, screening authors and mss.
A good agent will know how to orchestrate a book contract in the author's best interest--will know where the publisher might bend or be known for never accepting certain terms. Not to mention that the whole process of negotiating contracts is odious to most authors, who tend not to understand the implications of various contract terms, to know that they can ask for alternatives, and to know which ones ought to be deal breakers.
Even if you have an agent, it may pay to join the Authors Guild and get its book explaining book contract terms--so you know how to talk to your agent. Not surprisingly, many first-time authors are so excited to find a publisher that they accept the contract the publisher sends them, not even daring to ask questions.
Don't give up rights that will put you in limbo if the book goes out of print which is highly likely.
An agent is expected to be tough and in theory at least can protect your long-term interests. Some do that better than others, and experience helps, which is one reason I'd think twice about using novices. There's one agent BD we'll call him who routinely sends out calls for writers for projects that require a good deal of research on often complex topics. This is not an agent you want representing you. He or she is going to be your champion, fighting for you and your work every step of the way.
You need someone who wants to be your partner for this book and beyond. See also Ask a Literary Agent Lukeman answers aspiring authors' questions about writing and getting published. You get [screenwriting] jobs by being great in a room, having what the people who you meet with want, and impressing the hell out of them with your personality and talent. If you can do this, then you get to keep your agent or manager to go out and do it again, keeping in mind that the person waiting in the outer office when you finish is there to do the same thing. The agent clause is the clause in a book publishing contract that says payments come to author through the agent.
So what happens if you and your agent fall out? Rusch provides a roadmap to pitfalls common in this clause. The big money almost always goes to the agented author whose work is sold to a big house. The rest of it is, from an overall industry perspective, still a sideshow. With writer-pays options becoming not only more common and accessible, but more sensible as a commercial choice and, indeed, becoming part of the step-ladder to commercial success, it increasingly will not.
Arrangements "where the agent actually charges a fee for helping an author manage self-publishing options, are going to have to become more common in the future. Here you can find opinions and write-ups on the trend: If authors start self-publishing, will agents become consultants? How will e-books change the agents' role? It's starting in the UK.
Rob, The Fiction Desk, [Back to Top] How to protect yourself against not-so-great If you end up making a lot of money through deals they negotiate, they're going to probably be handling your money before you get it. You want an agent who is experienced, knows the ropes, and will get you what you're owed, among other things. She made a career out of scamming writers. These are the women of color who were her victims. Who is Anna March? But there are enough of them that writers need to be careful. The Adventures of Comma Boy by Keith Cronin a comic strip for aspiring writers, agents, publishers, and publishing fantasizers, featured in Publishers Marketplace.
Comma Boy archives here. Anatomy of a book proposal Tim Bete. Too often writers send their drafts out before they are ready to submit. Barbara Ehrenreich's blog, Realistic advice from an interesting and worthwhile writer. If you're like me, you'll wander through the other discussions on her blog. She writes about Real Problems and Real Life. Building a Memoir Writing Platform: What Is Your Message?
What's your message is part of figuring out who is your audience, which means who will buy your books! A very helpful discussion. What you need to know Alan Rinzler, The confessions of a semi-successful author Jane Austen Doe, Salon. Dissection of a query letter for fantasy fiction agent Colleen Lindsay, The Swivet. What Rights Do Authors Have? Sangeeta Mehta, editor, interviews agents Mary C. What's the best way to speak up? Agents are swamped get 12 to 15 queries a day.
A bit of a reality check on how swamped agents who handle fiction are. Second part of the piece talks about what happens when an agent or author or both want to end an agent-author relationship. How to format your manuscript agent Nathan Bransford. How to write a computer book proposal Adler Books. How to write a nonfiction book proposal agent Nathan Bransford. The New Farm System: NovelRank track your Amazon sales rank.
Sample fiction book proposal, with synopsis Greenleaf Literary Services. Should you, the writer, hire an editor? Writer Beware's excellent links, including some of these: Publishers give better contracts to authors with clout, lesser contracts to newbies; agents vary in how well they advocate for their authors. Be aware of what goes on. Agents, Writers, and Editors: How does it all fit together by?? Collaboration agreements and agreement forms Contract terms for book publishing full section of links to everything from the Author's Guild's Improving Your Book Contract: Evaluating an agent's website by Victoria Strauss.
If you don't have an offer, you don't want the kind of agent you're likely to get.
- Avarice (Pyrrh Considerable Crimes Division Book 1);
- Children's literature!
- See a Problem?;
- Give In.
- Crossroads?
- Mgr. Hyacinthe Thiandoum : A force de foi (Sociétés Africaines & Diaspora) (French Edition).
- Elon Musk Quotes.
One of Jane's many helpful articles on writing, publishing, self-publishing, marketing, platform building, and so on. What the future might hold for scouts. Top Literary Agents for This series compiled in , by the blog Literary Agent News is far from perfect. I'll add comments as I get them from readers: Top Literary Agents for Memoirs , for literary fiction , for true crime books "does not include the 1 agent in the genre, Jane Dystel, or anyone at Dystel Goderich; and Wendy Keller agency says thanks, but they've never sold a true crime book" ; for horror novels , for mystery novels , for science fiction novels , for fantasy novels , for young adult novels , for romance novels , for self-help books , for travel books , and for business books.
Tell me if these links are, or are not, useful. For more up-to-date information, check out the sites profiles of individual agents. Why you need an agent Moonrat, the anonymous blogging editorial assistant, or Editorial Ass. How to Write and Publish a Book.
Learning how to write a memoir might seem simple.
This is a book about not taking yourself, or anyone else for granted. Reviewed by Stacey on www. View all 4 comments.
- How to Stop Time by Matt Haig.
- Agents and book proposals - Writers and Editors?
- Disasters, Hazards, and Law: 17 (Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance).
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Feb 22, Carol added it Shelves: The Hook - Many fine and rave reviews by my GoodReads friends including this one by convinced me to scoff up this book toot sweet, or as kindly corrected by C. It was this line in Gail's review that was the clincher. It is, quite simply, a breath of fresh air and just wonderful. Emily Dickinson said, is composed of nows. B The Hook - Many fine and rave reviews by my GoodReads friends including this one by convinced me to scoff up this book toot sweet, or as kindly corrected by C.
But how do you inhabit the now you are in? How do you stop the ghosts of all the other nows from getting in? Ho, in short, do you live? Though Tom does not travel to the past or future, we do as his story spans more than hundred years. To understand the present, Tom takes us back to his beginnings, as he struggles with the realities of his future.
As we journey with him a wish we might desire, to live forever, may dwindle as what this truly means sinks in. A love story for all time at its core may be the driving force of this book but for me it was so much more. Not exactly what I expected but very well received by this reader. View all 31 comments. This book was so bad it actually did stop time for me - stopped time on my reading, bigtime. I've been trying to finish it for the past three weeks or more! Just the thought of picking it up was too much. Just as there are some books you can't put down - there are books you can't bloody pick up - and this, for me, was one of them.
I do enjoy your writing. But I should have known better after reading 'The Humans. But this was something else entirely. After just one paragraph my attention would wander. All that telling and no showing. The first problem was the characters. I couldn't care less about the characters - because they weren't characterized that much, just puppets in a poorly realised show. And with the narrator coming across as unlikable and unremarkable unusual for someone who has lived over years If there's one thing I can't stand about bad writing, it's the fact that there is no story, rather a pretence of a story, a thin wispy veil that acts as a vehicle for the author's abundant sentimentalities.
The thing I most disliked about this novel was the many regurgitated cliches about life and Time rehashed in a plot that is as flat as a steamrolled chicken. At times, I felt I was reading the author's Twitter feed condensed into prose! There are so many unique things that could have been done with the cool premise that all the blurbs of this book promise. But sadly, they weren't. I don't think I've ever read anything as deflating, anything that elicited a 'wait, that's it?
And the clip-clopping, staccato stuttering chapters from the present to the past, marked so awkwardly by 'Oooh I feel a memory coming on,' were just so cumbersome, cringe-worthy and just tired. And to add insult to injury - the curveball chapters of meeting Shakespeare and F Scott Fitzgerald!!
That's what you get when the author is telling the story I suppose, and not the narrator. Which was how this novel came across to me. I'm sorry, I don't want to sound like a hater, but when writing a novel, you make sure you leave yourself out of it! A true writer surrenders everything to story.
A bad writer surrenders story to everything else - the sentimental motives, personal creeds and other concerns that unfortunately blot out the vitals of fiction. This is what this novel feels like. Was tempted so many times to give it up. It was only the thought of venting my frustration here that kept me going to the end! I really couldn't stand this book. And I wanted to like it so much View all 16 comments. Somehow the cultural references in his books always hit the spot and there is a humanity, humour and generosity that that gives one faith in We join him in the present, teaching History in a London secondary school seemingly about 40 years old!
The plot jumps about epochs taking in a search for a lost daughter, meetings with famous people, iconic events and an entanglement with a sinister secret society. His everyday wisdom and humour are drawn from his own experiences some of them difficult judging by his previous non fiction books. His writings help make a little sense of the world around us and feel a little more empathy with those we share it with.
View all 37 comments. The emotional sense of his writing is enduring and never anything less than compelling no matter the story being told or the premise that starts it. So there is that — and How To Stop Time falls firmly under page turner, with a dash of passionate prose, a smattering of emotional trauma and a big hit of poignant insightful commentary on the human race.
Pretty much what this author does in a nutshell. Tom is one of those characters that will stay with you long after you have finished reading his story — and what a story it is. He is old, plagued or blessed maybe that will be subjective with a condition that means he ages at a much slower rate.
Not immortal but feeling that way, he is part of history and an observer of it — we see him over time, at his best and his worst, this is a love story with a touch of mystery and is hugely gripping from the very first page until the tear inducing poignant finale. The characters he and we meet along the way all come with their own peculiarities and sense of self, the story weaves somewhat of a magic spell on the reader, or it did on me at least I was totally immersed into this one all the way.
The thing about stories is that they transport you to other places, make you think about other things.
How to Stop Time
Matt Haig is simply, when you remove the white noise, a master storyteller. I loved this book. Easy and likeable but somewhat unsatisfying read. Tom Hazard has a terrible case of existential angst brought on by the fact he's existed for over years. His life is controlled by The Albatross Society, an organization for people with Tom's disorder, anageria, which causes a person to age at a very slow rate, leading to lives that can last for a millennia.
The head of the society is Heindrich, a controlling and manipulative man who has set out a series of rules for himself and the o 3 Stars. The head of the society is Heindrich, a controlling and manipulative man who has set out a series of rules for himself and the other Albas to follow; never fall in love or get attached to regular humans, move every eight years and do whatever Heindrich tells you to do or else.
It is only the hope of finding Marion that has kept Tom from ending his life. She is all he has left of Rose, a woman loved and married in Shakespearean London. Now Tom is leading a new life in London and he's tempted again by the idea of love and connection. He must decide what makes life worth living and what he's willing to risk to get it. Although I did like this there were a few hiccups for me; the scenes set in Shakespearean London didn't quite ring true and Tom bumping into or meeting so many famous people felt contrived. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald? Thank you to Viking and Edelweiss for a copy of the book.
View all 6 comments. Jan 30, Marialyce rated it it was amazing. We are all given a certain amount of time to make the most of it. In some cases the years spread out before us while for others their time here is cut short. In fact he has loads of time. You see Tom has a special condition which allows him to be a semi immortal.
He ages slowly, ever so slowly, and 5 truly wonderful stars Your life is a gift. He ages slowly, ever so slowly, and by the time we meet him, he is over four hundred years old.
Some Literary Criticism quotes
In the fifteen hundreds, Tom falls in love with a fruit seller in Shakespearean London and of course she ages, while Tom doesn't. They have a daughter born like Tom. However, the fact of Tom's inability to age, raises the specter of witchcraft and deals made with the devil. Tom is desperate and realizes he must leave, leave the woman and child he adores for their safety and hide, never to see his beloved Rose or his daughter.
This was a sad but telling tale of the idea of what is life. There was so many wonderful concepts and ideas that Mr Haig brings forth in this novel. The hurt we feel for Tom who is eventually pursued by a nine hundred year old bad guy, who incidentally just wants what is best for the Albatrosses as they call themselves. He ultimately convinces Tom to go to "work" for him.
Tom is guaranteed anonymity and is required to move every eight years. The society will always provide for him. Tom is not alone, there are other albatrosses who must be convinced they need the society's protection. Secrecy is the key. Most of all Tom and the albatrosses must never fall in love and they need to keep their secret or people will die, those people being us, the Mayflies.
Tom and Mr Haig take us on a historical adventure meeting and seeing some notables throughout the centuries that Tom has lived. They both makes us believe, with the ability to feel with your heart the struggles, what many might feel is idyllic to live while others around you die. It was a book that I could hardly put aside, one that filled me with a case of wonder and delight even as I read of Tom's hardships. Finding and fulfilling the life you are given is a gift. It is one that we all should search for.
For Tom, he found that wondrous ability to be just as life has always wanted him to be, alive, free to love, and enjoy the moments of just plain being. View all 11 comments. This review can also be found on my blog, Dana and the Books. How to Stop Time is a book that is going to be talked about for a while. It made headlines when Benedict Cumberbatch signed on to star in the movie adaptation before the book had even been released.
After reading the description and seeing it virtually everywhere, of course I had to see what all the fuss was about. He looks forty but is actually more than four hundred. He's part of a small group of people who age about fifte This review can also be found on my blog, Dana and the Books. He's part of a small group of people who age about fifteen times slower than the average human. But being blessed with a long life is more of a curse than a gift — you are guaranteed to lose all that matters to you and falling in love is the ultimate rule you can't break.
The plot is told through two stories: It's a wonderful novel; surprisingly short, but captivating nonetheless. I can see why the film rights were snatched up before the book hit the shelves! How to Stop Time is type of book that stays with you days after you've finished reading it. View all 3 comments. Matt Haig envisions a world where a small group of individuals age at a much slower pace than the average human.
While the main character, Tom Hazard, looks 41, he is actually centuries old. To avoid being institutionalized or treated as a medical research subject, Tom has moved around his entire life staying nowhere more than years. When the book opens, Tom has decided to return to London and teach history at a local low-income high sc 4. When the book opens, Tom has decided to return to London and teach history at a local low-income high school. He is tired of constantly being on the move and wants to have an ordinary life.
As his quest for a normal life unfolds, we are taken back and forth in time to learn about the many places and people Tom has experienced over his long and storied life. I loved the history aspects of the story. In his lengthy life, Tom met Shakespeare, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Captain Cook and many others, and their encounters were so much fun to read about.
He also observes that humans are bound to repeat the mistakes of the past, a sentiment that addresses what the United States is experiencing right now. And what starts as a doubt in a mind can swiftly become an act in the world. I enjoyed How to Stop Time. Occasionally, I was ready for it to move along a little faster but overall it was a very entertaining read. View all 5 comments. Mar 12, Scarlett Readz and Runz Timeless, elegant, exquisite, thoughtful and a sweet surrender.
This was one of my favorite reads of the year thus far. Tom has lived a long time. A really long time. He does not age at the same rate as regular 'mayflies'…normal mortal humans. He is not immortal, but every human year equals and affords him many more than normal. When others are turning grey, he not so much shows but the earliest sprouts of plume to shave. Soon, he outlasts his friends 5 timeless stars Soon, he outlasts his friends and family. The world is not ready for a human like him.
He has to keep secrets wherever he goes. This is a blessing and a curse. This has also made him tired. Tired of humans not learning from mistakes. Tired of events in time repeating themselves. Told in first person narrative, he is telling his story injected with flashbacks of those times above for the reader to grasp the scope of his experiences. How he became, what he has seen, and that of a loss he is desperate to uncover. And that is where he is at now. The Albatross Society is there to protect people like him.
Yes, there are others. Tom has met the leader of the society several times. Tom is getting a bit weary with this life and all he wants is to be ordinary, with a job and live quietly while uncovering the loss of someone dear to him. The one thing he is never supposed to feel or have. The conclusion is a sweet surrender that even mayflies have come to grips with….. The lifetime of humans, the growth and changes that take place with age, the struggles and joys of the different phases we enter during our life time, as well as the patterns in history for the last couple hundred years.
This may be the perfect read for me, as I am middle aged, and have experienced loss and joys and a few phases of life, but also because I love history. And I know, by no account is this a flawless historical work of art, nor does it serve as a scholarly tool, but I enjoyed living in the moments with the character during his telling of the different time periods.
It was vivid, the backgrounds were researched and well executed into the story line and I savored the experiences. It culminates to the sweet surrender of life and time itself. This is not a fast paced, action packed read. But if you like something lasting for your palette and your heart, move this book up onto your tbr pile.
View all 10 comments. I can't take it anymore. I can't believe this is the same author as the one who wrote The Humans. After reading and enjoying The Humans , I was eager to give this one a go, despite the fact that "time travel" and other such concepts don't necessarily float my boat, but I was willing to sail away with it. I got the audiobook for this, as I enjoy British accents, plus, it was easier to fit in with other reading. Honestly, I was getting murderous thoughts towards the hero, Tom Hazard, who was four hundred something years old. Oh, the moaning, and the over-explaining, and the self-pity - I wanted to slap him or worse.
I was willing to suspend my disbelief, after all, I did it successfully with The Humans. But I just couldn't. It felt as if Haig took the history book out and then picked some events and some cool historical figures, just to spice things up a little. I used to be a huge history buff. Re-acquainting myself with some historical events and meeting important historical figures via Tom Hazard - should have been interesting. It was lacking authenticity and it felt too much like reading journal entries: And oh, I feel so lonely and so, so sad. You see, in order to continue to live his miserable life, he couldn't fall in love again.
So the poor guy has been single for centuries. He seems to have been celibate for centuries as well. Oh, and despite meeting so many important people in different parts of the world, he just couldn't find his daughter, who'd inherited his condition - which was why he still wanted to keep living. The premise was good, the execution though was uninspired and a bit too much like a readers digest of historic events and who's who of historical figures.
View all 34 comments. Jul 15, Victoria rated it it was amazing Shelves: We are who we become. We are what life does to us. Entertaining AND introspective, what more can I ask of a book? To talk about memories is to live them a little. While not a time travel story per se, it does take us from the gritty s Ignorance changes over time. There is a creeping tendency to use made up acronyms at SpaceX.
Excessive use of made up acronyms is a significant impediment to communication and keeping communication good as we grow is incredibly important. Individually, a few acronyms here and there may not seem so bad, but if a thousand people are making these up, over time the result will be a huge glossary that we have to issue to new employees.
This is particularly tough on new employees. That needs to stop immediately or I will take drastic action—I have given enough warnings over the years. Unless an acronym is approved by me, it should not enter the SpaceX glossary. If there is an existing acronym that cannot reasonably be justified, it should be eliminated, as I have requested in the past.
Those are particularly dumb, as they contain unnecessary words. The key test for an acronym is to ask whether it helps or hurts communication. He knows he can generate it. Can you do it?