Q&A with Literary Agent Michelle Johnson
On 15 Dec 2015, my awesome agent, Michelle Johnson of Inklings Literary Agency joined us on Facebook during the Eerie book release party for a Q&A.
It was a fascinating glimpse into the life of a literary agent.
Here’s what she had to say:
Q1: From Michelle Fortune: How difficult is it to submit a story for review? And from Lori Hoopengardner: Where and how do you submit a story?
A: It’s not difficult at all. Just go to our website and follow the submission guidelines. Basically that means sending in a query, a short synopsis, and the first ten pages of your book (all in the body of the email). The tricky part is making sure the agent you want to submit to is open to submissions, and that they are interested in the kind of story you have. All of that information is on our website, and about 5 minutes of research time should fill you in.
Q2: From Amber Ag, Tina Oatts, Dawn Steele, Barbi Davis, and Sonja A Foos: What is your favorite part of being an agent? Karen White: What are the ups and downs of being an Agent ??
A: Since five (or more) of you asked, I will tell you the 5 best parts of being an agent:
- Sitting down with authors and getting to listen to them talk about the thing that puts the sparkle in their eyes. This book that they’ve poured their hearts into, this child of theirs that they’re so nervous about sharing, yet so excited that their hands are shaking and they’re not sure for which reason.
- Finding that book that you just know the world needs to read. (You all are now asking “which book is that?” and my answer is “Every one I’ve signed thus far”) (this is followed quickly by “yes, I know there are others out there that I missed, but I’m only one person and that is why I’m so thankful that there are other agents out there, not to mention other forms of publishing so that every voice that needs to be heard, can be heard”).
- After the call offering the author representation, when the author lets you know that they accept your offer.
- That call letting the author know that we’ve received an offer on their book, hearing them stop breathing, and having my cell phone in my other hand just in case I have to call 9-1-1 for them.
- Holding a book in my hand that I know I had a part in bringing into the world.
Q3: From Aneta Adamcová-Cruz: How do you take your coffee?
A: Two cream, two Splenda
Q4: From Ashley Martinez: What’s the hardest part of being an agent? Karen White: What are the ups and downs of being an Agent ??
A: There are a lot of hard parts. Let’s see if we can come up with 5:
- The rejection. I get rejections from editors for all of my authors, so at any given time I have 5-10 books out on submission, I get ten times the rejection one author gets. It can be tough to stay motivated.
- Delivering rejection to querying authors. When I started agenting I had no idea I would be rejecting so many authors. I only get to make that golden phone call one in every 100 or so manuscripts I read and I only read one manuscript for every 100 queries (this is a rough estimate). So all those others get rejected. It’s tough. Heartbreaking even.
- Delivering rejection to my represented authors. All those rejections I mentioned in #1? Yes, well, I have to pass them on. There’s never a good time for that.
- Balancing my life with my work. And by hard, I mean fairly impossible. With everything that I do on a daily basis, it is very difficult to make time for the family and almost impossible to make time for my own interests – such as writing. Somehow I did manage to complete a Creative Writing Certificate program over the last two years (I will officially graduate in June), but that was all done on caffeine-fueled sleepless nights and largely at the expense of the cleanliness level of my house.
- Not being able to represent ALL THE BOOKS. Because I love books. And I love authors. And I wish I were able to find a way to help get each and every one of them published. But I just can’t. And that makes me sad.
Comment from Ray Morris: I’m often on the look out for courses to better my writing, so curious – was this something you did online, or did you manage it on a campus setting?
Response from Michelle Johnson: I did it online. The one I took was through the University of Calgary, but Stanford offers one as well (it’s a lot more costly though)
Comment from Pintip Dunn: Love your five things. Also, :-/ to all the rejections! Grr, I guess nobody likes rejection, huh?
Response from Michelle Johnson: I don’t know anybody who likes rejection 🙁
Q5: From Michelle Hum: How do you balance being an Agent and the “normal life”
A: I touched on this in the previous question under #4, but the short answer is, I don’t do this well. I am open to suggestions!
Suggestion from Daniele Lanzarotta: Drink more coffee.
Response from Michelle Johnson: Daniele Lanzarotta Always my solution!
Q6: From Lori J Pouncey: Michelle, how did you get started as an agent? From Cory Boggs: what got u started doing what u do. Stacey Guilliatt PA: What inspired you to become an agent? Lisa C. La Rochelle-Davis: So my question is what was the deciding factor to make being an agent for authors and not just because you like reading. Jessica Maxon: What made you want to be an agent for author’s? Marija Josevska BookJunkie: How did you get started as an agent?
A: While running my writers’ center here in Virginia Beach, I did a lot of work promoting authors. That turned into a lot of researching and advocating for authors. My editing clients were asking me for advice with their contracts, and I ended up doing for them almost everything an agent would do. Several of my editing clients as well as friends and family suggested that I should look into a career as a literary agent.
My background was in business and books selling, including the negotiation of hefty contracts with huge corporations. All the pieces were there. I took an internship at Corvisiero Literary Agency and learned more of the ins and outs of being an agent, became an agent under Marisa Corvisiero, then later opened my own agency.
Q7: From Claudia Garcia: Being an agent was that your dream job? From Heather Ross Cicio: Have you always wanted to be an agent?
A: I can’t say that I used to sit around daydreaming about how I would be an agent when I grew up because I really always thought I would be Batman. But the job is so well suited to me that it most definitely IS my dream job.
Comment from Pintip Dunn: I’m sure this is what your clients like to hear!
Response from Michelle Johnson: Pintip Dunn Because they all love Batman 😉
Comment from Pintip Dunn: Ha ha, is this a requirement to being one of your clients, Michelle?
Response from Michelle Johnson: Pintip Dunn Pretty much, yes.
Q8: From Maxine McCormick: What are your favourite type of books to read? Chris Edwards: What genre of book is your favourite?
A: I love so many different types of books that this is a tough question for me and I think it changes depending on my mood. I lean heavily toward genre – and within that, character-based, adrenaline-spiked books. Basically I love books that make me FEEL. I’m sure that didn’t answer the question. Sorry.
Michelle Johnson: Okay, here’s the big one. What do I actually DO….
Q9: From Denae Hegefeld: So, what does being an agent entail? I’m always curious to put a job title with responsibilities!
A: I’m going to try to answer this, but I’m sure I’ll miss a lot, since there are so many facets to what I do daily. I tried to write it all out but that was a mess, so here’s a bullet point list of stuff I do:
- finding authors who have books I love and work very hard to sell them to publishers.
- sifting through hundreds of queries and manuscripts – reading and rejecting.
- writing hundreds of “I haven’t gotten to it yet, but will let you know when I have” emails per week.
- offering representation to an author and convincing them that I will be the best champion of their book.
- helping the author shape the story in a way that I feel will give it a better chance on the market.
- putting together a package to send to each editor that I hope will appeal to them personally.
- taking a look at the author’s platform and addressing the things I think we can work on.
- traveling to various conferences and meeting face to face with editors and nurturing relationships with them.
- maintaining relationships with editors through phone calls, emails and Skype calls that have nothing to do with pitching them books.
- keeping up on all of the industry news, which requires a lot of daily reading.
- negotiating the offer to try to get the best terms for the author. This involves many phone calls and emails back and forth with the editor and the client.
- agreeing upon the offer, then we get the contract, which must also be negotiated. This can sometimes take months, as contract departments are notoriously slow.
- following up on any money
- taking care of any issues that arise between the author and editor should there be something that would be better not coming straight from the author. This can be done either by coaching the author to address a situation in a more diplomatic fashion, or it can be handled directly. This hopefully keeps the relationship between the editor and the author from being tarnished when difficulties arise.
- selling the subsidiary rights of the book.
- talking to the author about what to write next, where to focus her efforts, which of the projects she has would be the best for her career and for the current market.
- taking care of all the money, coming in and distributing it to the authors, the agents and co-agents, etc.
- making public appearances to keep relevant, and as a way of finding new clients.
Everything else I do is directly related to running the business that would come with owning and operating any business, such as website creation and maintenance, bookkeeping, coordinating agents and interns, planning staff events, planning agency events, etc.
And basically, on top of all that the reading is done during all of my “free” time.
Comment From Aneta Adamcová-Cruz: OMG! You’re a superhumanbeing!
Response from Michelle Johnson: Just a little insight as to why my response time is SOOOOO SLOOOWWWWW
Comment From Colleen: I’m not saying you’re batman, I’m just saying I’ve never seen you and batman in a room together. (and yes, I stole this from a mug)
Q10: From Heather Sommer Eagar: Is it easier to attract an agent’s attention if you have already been published by a small publisher, rather than never been published?
A: Not necessarily. There are so many ways to be published nowadays. It’s nice to see if an author has a book out already that did well, but really the thing that attracts the agent’s attention is an awesome book. Of course, if the previous publication hit the top 100 on Amazon (overall) for any period of time, the NYT list, the USA Today list, or anything like that, then yes, that will attract attention for sure!
Q11: From Diana Ware-Page: Hi Michelle, so glad you became her agent !! Now she can write great books for us to read, with you handling all of us crazy fans !!
A: Michelle Johnson Thanks, Diana! Crazy fans are awesome. They give us the positive energy we need to carry on!
Q12: From Catherine Maguire: If you could could describe being an Agent with only one word, what one word would you pick?
A: This has been an evolution for me. When I first started and I thought I would be able to take on all the amazing books, I would have said “Dream-maker.” After the first few months of rejecting SO. MANY. AUTHORS. I would have said “Dream-crusher.”
But now that I’ve been at it a while? Probably “Advocate.” That’s really why I got into the business in the first place – to be a voice for authors. And that’s where I see myself now.
Q13: From Lisa Morgan: If you could only recommend one book for the rest of your life, which would it be? Esther Gerdzen: If you have to pick one book you love! What book would it be? Crystal Huber: What is your favorite book?
A: I feel the need to examine this question and see if there isn’t a way to find a loophole. There’s no way I could just pick one book for all people, since most people have different needs, likes, etc.
I guess my answer to this question is: What would it cost me to expand this? Honestly I can’t even narrow this down to 5 or 10.
Q14: From Stephanie Lawrence: What do you look for when you’re choosing a book to publish? Rachida TaiSsi: What do you look for when you choose the books you’re going to publish?
A: Firstly – I don’t publish books. I represent authors for the sale of their books to publishers. But what I look for in a book that I want to represent is something that feels fresh, has an author’s unique voice, really makes me feel – laugh, cry, be scared, be angry, be overwhelmed with emotion, fall in love with the characters, be filled with grief when something terrible happens to them, be filled with relief when they figure out a way to overcome incredible odds. I look for books that are relatable to everyone, and books that are beautifully written.
Q15: From Monica Baez: How did you two meet? Angela Marie Torres: How did you meet Colleen O’Felein?
A: I posted a PR internship on bookjobs (dot) com and Colleen responded. Colleen was the most amazing PR intern in the history of PR interns.
Comment From Colleen O’Felein: Awwww… thanks 🙂
Response From Michelle Johnson: Colleen O’Felein True story.
Q16: From Diana Ware-Page: Michelle, how did Colleen get you to take a chance on her?
A: Hang on, Diana, I think I answered that one… coming up!
Q17: From Jodi Armsby Gallegos: I’d love to know what things make Michelle stop reading a submission right away?
A: Let’s try for another top 5 list, shall we?
- Bad writing/beginner writing. Just to clarify, not all beginner writing is bad, but there are some telltale things that let us know right away if the writing isn’t ready. This includes a lot of passive voice, a lot of telling and little showing, a lot of adverbs, etc.
- Rudeness/threats/pompousness. It’s happened where I’ll open a query and it starts with something like “if you don’t represent me you’ll regret it!” or “I’m the best writer you’ve ever seen and you’re stupid if you can’t see that” or “I don’t even think agents are anything but money-stealing vultures, but you should read my stuff anyway.”
No really. I have a file.
- Incredibly high/low word counts. If the epic fantasy has 15,000 words, it’s obviously missing more than just a little world building. On the other side of that, if it’s 12 million words (this has happened!), then it needs some serious editing. And also I’m now picturing the author attached to her computer with cobwebs because obviously she hasn’t gotten out of her chair in 30 years or so…
- Something I don’t represent. I get some screenplays, some books of short stories and poetry, which are all things I don’t represent.
- Opening the story with the character opening their eyes, waking up, seeing the sun streaming in the windows, then looking in the mirror to describe him/herself. Or any other heaping serving of clichés like that.
Q18: From Linda Post: Does an agent do a lot of traveling for work?
A: I can only answer for myself, and that answer is yes. I travel to a lot of conferences, book shows, conventions, etc. This is one of the ways that I continually expand my circle of contacts, and also I enjoy getting out there and talking to authors, teaching seminars, and hopefully sharing whatever knowledge I can with anyone that’s interested.
Q19: From Colleen Myers: What genre are you interested now, Michelle? Cryssy Matz PA: Do you work with authors in only one genre or do you represent multiple genres?
A: I’m interested in a lot of genres, but my favorites are probably Mystery, Horror, SciFi/Fantasy, Thriller, and Romance. And YA of all of the above.
Q20: From Nazita Andrade: What do U like about Colleen ? n what are ur pet peeves? (Disclaimer, I may have misunderstood this question)
A: Colleen is an incredibly hard worker, a strong, resilient, and brilliant woman. She’s dedicated to her writing, her work, and her family (not necessarily in that order). And she’s funny as hell. (Can I say hell here? Too late!)
What are my pet peeves about Colleen?? Only that she doesn’t live closer. I’d love to hang out with her more.
Q21: From Diana Ware-Page Question: Why did she choose writing instead of being an Astronaut? Brenda England: How do you think up different situations? Are they from your past and a wanting for the future?
A: I think that Colleen will have to answer these ones. 😉
Response from Colleen O’Felein: Here’s the short answer to the astronaut question: I’m just not crazy enough to sit on top of a gazillion pounds of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and say, “ok, boys, light that fuse”
Response from Bokerah Brumley: Mwahahahaha. I freakin’ love this answer, Colleen <3 <3 <3
Q22: From Angel Kraintz: What do you think makes a good writer?
A: Someone who is dedicated to continually improving their craft and learning as much as they can about writing, and someone who has a relatively thick skin who can take constructive criticism and apply it without taking it personally. And nowadays, someone who is as skilled a storyteller as they are a promoter.
Q23: From Wren Michaels: Michelle Johnson How did you get to be so awesome?
A: <3 <3 <3 By surrounding myself with awesome people like you. <3 <3 <3
Q24: From Sheri Secord: How many authors do you represent?
A: 25 at the moment.
Q25: From Angela Mary Johnson: If an evil genie offered you 3 wishes, would you take them and what would you do with them?
A: Are they no-strings-attached wishes? If so, I would take them. And then I would very carefully craft the wording of each one so that I wouldn’t be living some horrific version of The Monkey’s Paw, and basically my wishes would be spent in an effort to eradicate prejudice of every kind, hunger, and that third one I would really have to think long and hard about. Is there a time limit? I can’t handle this pressure.
Q26: From Michelle Ferrari-Johnson: Do you have a specific book boyfriend?
A: I have a harem of book boyfriends. I represent a lot of amazing romance writers. Open any one of their books and you’ll find a member of my harem 😉 I have a major crush on John Charming, too (from Elliott James’s CHARMING series) – he’d be like… the alpha in my harem. that’s funnier if you’ve read the books.
Q27: From Dee Huff: Michelle Johnson, have you met Michelle Ferrari-Johnson? lol What are the chances of TWO of you!?! And, what led you to get into the business of books?
A: I’ve not met her personally – but I’m sure she’s super-awesome And really, a life of reading; a family of authors, illustrators, librarians; a desire to make a difference in the world through the thing that made the biggest difference in my own life – books.
Q28: From Terrie Meerschaert: Michelle, how did you begin working for Colleen?
A: I don’t work for Colleen. I work with her. We actually started out with her taking an internship with me doing PR, and while she was doing that, I asked to read her book. And it was incredible. And so I offered her representation.
Q29: From Kelsey Dobbins: How much do you love your job?
A: A lot. So much that I basically don’t do anything else.
Q30: From Wendy Davis: As an agent what is the most awkward situation you have found yourself in?
A: The first conference I attended as an agent, I did some critiquing of pages before I got to the conference, then was scheduled to meet up with the authors and discuss their pages with them. There was a book that I absolutely loved. It had a Watership Down feel to it, and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. I was dying to meet the author and hoping that the rest of the book would be as good as the first 30 pages. When the person came into the pitch room and sat down across from me, they couldn’t make eye contact and was very fidgety – which was fine, I wrote it off to nerves and proceeded to say that I’d love to see the rest of the book, then went on to ask questions about the manuscript. The person then told me that they actually hadn’t written the book. Their friend wrote the book. Their friend was in prison and was unable to pitch their own book. Because this was a children’s book (middle grade), I asked what the friend was in for. The look said it all. Pretty sure the child molester was writing children’s books from prison. The ensuing silence had all the awkward. All of it.
Response from Colleen O’Felein: Oh.My.God.
Response from Michelle Johnson: Colleen O’Felein Right?
Q31: From Danyelle Bayles Wadsworth: What do you enjoy most about yourself?
A: My ability to make people laugh when they need it the most.
Q32: From Mina Gerhart: Which of the books/authors you represent is your personal favorite?
A: Which of your children is your personal favorite?
Q33: From K Malore Barnes: My question is are you able to work from home the majority of the time?
A: My office is in my home, I work from there all the time, except when I’m traveling for work to conferences, book fairs, conventions, etc. And this is why when I hit the pj section at the department store, I get really excited and holler “Ohhh, work clothes!”
Q34: From Amy Bernal PA: My question is it hard to always be able to compromise?
A: Sometimes it is hard to find a compromise (if we’re talking contracts here, and I assume we are). But sometimes we shouldn’t compromise, and part of my job is to know when those times are, and be prepared to walk away from a deal.
Q35: From Nicole Anaya Avalos: Would you like to live in any book?
A: No. I like to escape into books, but I would never want to make my residence permanent. I’d miss my life and my loves.
Q36: From Michelle Guerrero: How do you feel about unicorns?
A: I love unicorns. I’m sorry they missed the boat.
Michelle represents my fiction and nonfiction.
Eerie
by C.M. McCoy
Release Date: 15 Dec 2015
Omnific / Simon & Schuster
Summary:
The sensational teen paranormal romance featured in PEOPLE Magazine!
Hailey Hartley has just enrolled in the world’s premier supernatural university. It’s a school she’s never heard of, located in a town called The Middle of Nowhere, and run by a creature that’s not supposed to exist. But at least she got a scholarship…
Hailey’s dreams have always been, well…vivid. As in monsters from her nightmares follow her into her waking life vivid. When her big sister goes missing, eighteen-year-old Hailey finds only one place offers her answers–a paranormal university in Alaska. There, she studies the science of the supernatural and must learn to live with a roommate from Hell, survive her otherworldly classes, and hope the only creature who can save her from an evil monster doesn’t decide to kill her himself.
Watch the awesome book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPx4FELVxH4
Buy Links for Eerie:
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2kKDqwT
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/
Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/
Apple iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/eerie/
BAM: http://www.booksamillion.com/
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/
Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Eerie/53312109
Funny to see I’m included in this article! But the pic of the winking coffee creeped me out!! lol Loved the joke about the unicorn! And wow, talk about all-encompassing!!! Quite an interview! So full of information, I feel like I almost know Michelle Johnson now. Wonderfully done!
-Devra “Dee” Huff
thanks Dee! 🙂 She’s such an awesome person!