1.Please tell us a little about yourself and BookEnds, LLC.
BookEnds, LLC, is a literary agency co-founded by myself and Jacky Sach. Originally started in 1999 as a book packaging company, BookEnds now operates as an AAR recognized literary agency focusing on fiction and nonfiction books for adult audiences.
I’ve been in the publishing business for over ten years, and began my career as an acquisitions editor. My editorial experience allows me to better understand the submission and contract negotiation processes as well as what goes on inside a publishing house—this works not only to my advantage, but to my authors’ as well.
As an agent, I welcome the challenge of representing published and unpublished authors of both fiction and nonfiction. My areas of expertise include romance, erotica, chick lit, women's fiction, mysteries, and suspense. In nonfiction, I specialize in business, finance, career, parenting, psychology, women's issues, self-help, health, sex, and general nonfiction. While open to anything, I’m most actively seeking unique romances and mysteries with a strong hook, and nonfiction with creative ideas and large author platforms (isn't everyone).
2. Can you tell us what a typical day might be like for an agent?
I truly wish there was such a thing as a typical day. I usually begin each day by opening my email and checking voicemail. More often than not those are the two things that will determine how the rest of the day goes—no matter what I had planned.
In all honesty, my entire day is often spent on the phone or answering email, either with editors or with my clients. Rarely is any part of my day spent reading (unless there’s something I absolutely must get to at that minute). All my reading is usually done at home in the evening or on weekends.
So what typically happens each day? I spend a good deal of time going through my mail and pulling out those submissions that might interest me the most as well as client and publisher mail. I might be negotiating contracts, career planning with authors, answering author questions and concerns, meeting with editors to discuss recent submissions, or giving authors feedback on their material. I also have meetings to attend with others in the agency as well as editors in New York and, on occasion, I have the opportunity to actually meet with my clients in person.
3. How important is it for an author to have an agent represent their work?
I think for the long-term career an agent is incredibly important. While it is definitely possible to sell your work without an agent, hopefully you want to do a lot more than just sell the book.
An agent can make sure that your manuscript gets in the right hands in the first place and is seen by the editors who can do the most for your book. An agent understands the publishing contract and can negotiate you the best deal possible (and this means a lot more than just an advance payment). An agent is your career advisor and most importantly your advocate in difficult situations.
4. Should an author wait until their manuscript is complete before submitting to an agent?
The answer for this differs for fiction and nonfiction.
Obviously there is an exception to every rule, but unless you’ve been published before I would suggest that if you are writing fiction, not only have you finished the entire manuscript before submitting, but that it’s been edited, revised and polished…and you’ve started on the next book. Sending out a submission is like a job interview, rarely do you get a second chance to impress a potential agent. For that reason it is imperative that the work you submit is the best it can be. If you’ve already started on your next book it’s likely that you’ve finally been able to put the first one aside and it’s finally ready for the world to see. I often wonder how an author can know whether or not her work is the best if it’s not finished. How do you know that those three chapters will continue to be the first three chapters at the end of the book?
Non-narrative nonfiction (narrative nonfiction should be submitted as if it were fiction) can be submitted and sold on proposal. To do this however, you need to make sure your sample chapters are strong and nearly perfect and that you are presenting marketing and competition information that will impress your reader.
5. What are the most important things an author should look for and/or avoid when seeking an agent to represent them?
Finding an agent can be a tricky undertaking for an author. While there are many, many wonderful agents out there, there are also those that are looking to take advantage of authors.
The first thing you should do is make sure that the agent isn’t asking for unnecessary fees. No reputable agent will ever charge you fees for critiquing, revisions, or simply reading your manuscript. Reputable agents and those who are members of AAR (Association of Author Representatives) will never charge reading fees. Instead they make a commission (usually 15% off of the sale of your book).
Another way to determine whether or not an agent is right for you is to ask for a list of recent sales or clients. If an agent is unwilling to share this information it is very likely she doesn’t have any and you should definitely be cautious. A reputable agent will be thrilled to share a client list and let you know of recent sales.
Once you have found a reputable agent, ask questions and make sure she is the person for you. Has she handled your type of book before? Do you have confidence in her? Are you comfortable with her? An agent can be a very personal thing and you shouldn’t just immediately agree to sign with someone because they called. Trust your instincts and make sure it’s someone you trust and like.
6. What are the most important aspects you look for when considering a manuscript?
Salability. There are a number of things I look for when offering representation, but in the end it all comes down to whether or not I think I’m the right agent to sell the book and whether or not I think the book will sell. So what goes into making a book salable? A number of things: I need to think the writing is wonderful and love the story, I need to know that I can advocate for the work and convince an editor to love it as much as I do. For me the idea and execution of the idea need to be new and different, something that will capture an editor’s imagination in the same way it has presumably captured mine. And lastly, there needs to be a market for this book and I need to have a strong understanding of that market.
7. We basically know the reasons why editors reject manuscripts. What are the main reasons agents decline to represent an author?
These reasons are one and the same. An agent will usually decline to represent an author because she knows that an editor would decline to buy the book.
What those reasons are can be many and varied. It can be as simple as the agent doesn’t represent that kind of book. A rejection can also be more specific, for example, in nonfiction it could be because the market is crowded or your platform isn’t strong enough. For fiction it could be the writing isn’t strong enough, the agent doesn’t like the characters, or the plot just didn’t mesh.
Unless an agent tells you very specifically why a book is rejected it’s very difficult to know. It’s also important to remember that this business is subjective and the book one agent loves can be the same one another couldn’t finish. It’s not always a mistake that an agent rejects a book. After all, if she doesn’t feel truly passionate about it, she clearly isn’t the right person to represent it.
8. When you agree to represent an author, how closely do you work with each other?
To a certain degree that depends on the author. Each author/agent relationship is very different. I speak to some authors almost daily and others I only hear from once or twice a year. What each author wants from an agent is different. It’s important to know what you expect from an agent and to find out before signing whether or not that agent can give you the type of relationship you are looking for.
9. If an agent can’t find a home for a manuscript after a certain amount of time, what do they do?
It’s important to remember that each and every agent operates differently. I don’t think a manuscript has a time limit. I will continue to submit a book as long as I think the submission still has life in it. If we are getting the exact same rejection feedback from every editor I might pull the submission and consider rewrites. If however, the feedback is varied I will continue to submit until I have nowhere else to go with it.
10. What advice would you like to share with our readers who may be looking for an agent at this time?
Remain persistent. It’s important to remember that rejection is part of the game and the best way to move ahead and find an agent is to continue to hone your craft and work on new books and new manuscripts. I strongly believe you will learn a lot more from writing that next book than you will from continuing to edit the same story over and over.
It’s also important to do your research. Save yourself time and money by really researching agents and trying to discover ahead of time those that are best for you—submitting your romance novel to agents who only represent children’s books isn’t going to do you a lot of good. If possible, read some of the books an agent has represented. This will truly help you understand what type of story an agent likes.
As a literary agent and cofounder of BookEnds, LLC, Jessica Faust welcomes the challenge of representing published and unpublished authors in both fiction and nonfiction. Her areas of expertise include romance, erotica, women's fiction, mysteries, and suspense. In nonfiction, Jessica specializes in business, finance, career, parenting, women's issues, self-help, health, sex, and general nonfiction. Just a few of the books and authors Jessica represents include erotic and romantica authors Bella Andre and Kate Douglas, mystery authors Maggie Sefton and Michelle Scott, and Mom Inventor, Tamara Monosoff.
A veteran of publishing for eight years, Jessica began her career as an acquisitions editor at Berkley Publishing and Macmillan, where she had the unique opportunity to acquire and edit both fiction and nonfiction. Now Jessica takes her editing experience to the agency, where she works closely with her authors to create the best possible proposal submissions.
To learn more about Jessica and BookEnds, LLC click here.
