Shooting the Shit About Agent Financial Details, Imprint Mergers and Risks of a Top Heavy Industry
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What are the implications of the recent Simon & Schuster merger for authors and agents?
What's up, everyone? This is Cece. So I recently grabbed lunch with an acquiring editor from HarperCollins who told me that the number of submissions she's been getting has nearly doubled. And I wasn't surprised at all because every agent and editor I know has been talking about how the volume of submission keeps increasing. So personally, that is a wonderful thing, because it's more reading for me, but it also means I have more chances of matching with authors. I consider it a privilege to review queries on Books with Hooks, and of course, in my submissions inbox. But at the same time, I talk to writers who tell me that they wish agents would read more than a few pages because... And I quote, my story gets better in chapter two.
I have to be honest, this kills me. It's like me wanting chocolate chip cookies to have the nutritional value of kale. It's just not realistic. Like it or not, no agent, no acquiring editor is going to stick around to see if a submission gets better. It's not because we're mean, it's because we get dozens and dozens every day. I know it's harsh, but ambitious writers embrace harsh realities. So here it goes.
How is the shrinking romance midlist affecting publishing dynamics?
It's your job to make your opening pages irresistible, to make agents crave it, to make agents want to read more. That's why I'm so excited about my upcoming course, Starting It Right. How to begin your story in the best place and in the best way. I created this course after studying hundreds of books. I've mapped out elements that are present in the beginning of all successful novels and memoirs. And I've designed checklists, actual checklists, that you can use to ensure that your story's beginning is seducing your reader. We'll cover how to write a great first line, different types of beginnings and how you can choose the best one, the best place to start and the best way to start, yes, these are totally different things, when it makes sense to add a prologue and when it doesn't, how to frame your inciting incident in an appealing way, how to balance exposition and mystery, how to include context but not weigh it down with too much backstory, and what to do if your story has more than one POV or timeline.
Most of all, I'm going to show you how to make readers want to turn to Chapter 2. Join me for this multi-day course designed to help you break through the noise. You'll leave with a clear, actionable breakdown of exactly what goes into a terrific beginning. If you've already signed up, come prepared to take lots of notes. We're talking hundreds of slides with real-world examples and specific techniques, plus a super fun surprise that I can't wait to share. I hope to see you there.
Welcome to another episode of Shooting the Shit with literary agents Carly Waters and CeCe Lira, where we dissect publishing gossip, discuss book industry trends, and the overall state of the book business. If you've ever wanted to grab a coffee with two literary agents, grab your mug and pull up a chair.
What insights does the AALA agent survey provide on income and financial stability?
Hello my friend, how are you? Hey, I am good. This is my third cup of coffee, but it is decaf. So I do one calf, two decafs at the most. How about you? How many cups of coffee have you had? I feel like that's a better question than how are you? We should start with that.
So I've had one cup of coffee, one cup of tea, and now I'm working. I'm like halfway through. Can you hear that? My clinking of my ice and my iced coffee. So it's like ASMR.
for everybody i like that listening or if you're watching on youtube i'm clanking my glass of iced coffee so you know we're well caffeinated i'm not you know that says enough i don't do iced coffee i find the concept of iced coffee very strange whenever it gets hot and i'm ordering coffee at like a coffee shop people go do you want that ice and i'm like yeah no i'm not a monster And I know everyone listening loves iced coffee, because it's just a thing here.
What are the ethical considerations surrounding AI in publishing?
But I was gonna say, it's a North American thing.
I'm trying to do like, maybe I'm trying to get ready for my European vacation. But I'm trying to do like, just like an espresso in the afternoon sometimes.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What are the implications of the recent Simon & Schuster merger for authors and agents?
0:03–1:16
2
How is the shrinking romance midlist affecting publishing dynamics?
1:16–3:24
3
What insights does the AALA agent survey provide on income and financial stability?
3:24–4:14
4
What are the ethical considerations surrounding AI in publishing?
4:14–6:06
5
How can writers identify and avoid common publishing scams?
6:06–7:33
6
What should authors know about querying after publication?
7:33–8:22
7
How can authors navigate agent-author relationships when projects don't align?
8:22–9:13
8
What should writers understand about analyzing sales data from their past books?
9:13–53:55
Speakers
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In Conversation with Editor and Author