The primary practice of a successful author is treating writing like a job, meaning you discipline yourself to keep at it even when it feels hard and the inspiration isn't coming.
Alyssa Jennette had no intention of becoming a literary agent. Thankfully, she eventually listened to an insistent friend, who knew she would be a perfect fit for the role. Now with Stonesong Agency, Alyssa tells us how authors can stand out, why you need to understand the rules of your genre, and what you should know if you are considering an agent career.
Please give us a brief overview of yourself and Stonesong Press
I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Illustration. I interned with Jessica Sinsheimer at the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency in 2014 and joined Stonesong in May 2015, which is where I’ve been learning and building my list ever since. Stonesong has been around for over forty years and is best known for their incredible illustrated nonfiction list, especially cookbooks (Smitten Kitchen, anyone?). I represent children’s and adult fiction and nonfiction, with a specialty in illustrated and designed works.
What made you want to become a literary agent?
I never had any explicit ambition to be an agent or work in publishing. I came to publishing a little later than some, and unconventionally—I was 25 when I got my agenting internship and had been working in fashion and magazine editorial, mostly as, you guessed it, an intern*. Book publishing had been casually mentioned by one of my bosses as a potential avenue for me, but the real foundation moment came when a friend of mine, Brandon Hoang, asked me to read his manuscript and give feedback. At the time I was working in a fashion showroom and had a ton of downtime, so I printed the manuscript at the office, marked it up, and returned it to him. He read the notes and told me that my responses were similar to other agent feedback he had received, and why don’t I consider being an agent? I had no real sense of what an agent was and what they did, and I’m a person who regards the unknown a little warily, so I put it aside.
We did this one more time, with a different manuscript, and when Brandon encouraged me—again!—to look into agenting, I finally started to look for internships. Luckily, I found Jessica very quickly, and we clicked right away. Pretty much from day one of my internship, I realized that I had found a job I knew I would enjoy and want to continue working at every day.
A year and a half later, Brandon would become my first-ever client.
*I graduated from college in 2010, so the job market wasn't ideal. I’m very lucky that I am a married person, and my husband made a salary that could support us both while I was working unpaid internships and a second job as a nanny.
First up, the question all writers want to know, what makes a manuscript/author stand out?
Understanding how stories work structurally and culturally, and how to execute them, is an important skill and knowledge set. There are people (published and successful authors, even!) who can write a beautiful sentence or a great first third but don’t know how to tell a compelling story from beginning to end. A great concept is exciting to hear in a pitch, but without execution, a great concept is all it remains. I would rather read a great story.
It’s essential to understand what genre you write in, and how the stories within that genre tend to be structured. I would never advocate for authors to embrace a formula no questions asked, but you do have to know the rules and the tropes in order to subvert them and surprise your audience.
In terms of authors standing out, I would be remiss not to include the slightly cynical answer of “a platform,” AKA a large existing audience (Twitter/Instagram followers, blog readers, YouTube subscribers). Which leads conveniently to the next question!
Is having an established author platform, and a following, an important factor in taking on an author?
A fiction author, generally no (but I think social media presence has probably tipped the scales more often lately, particularly for YA fiction). A nonfiction author, generally yes. Regardless of the quality of the content, big engagement numbers will do a lot to convince a publisher to invest in a book that can capitalize on that built-in buying base. Personally, I only place priority on platform when it comes to nonfiction.
When, in the writing process, should authors start querying agents?
For fiction authors, when your manuscript is complete has been taken as far as it can by you and your community. I advise almost every writer I meet to build a critique group or find a trusted critique partner. Your first draft should never, ever be submitted to an agent, even an agent you are signed with. Please build a supportive writing community around you! I promise it will make a huge difference.
For nonfiction authors, when your strong book concept is developed and your proposal (complete with platform/engagement info) and sample chapter/s are very polished.
Many authors are now turning to self-publishing. Why should an author still seek agent representation?
I think most people will admit that they have a hard time asking for what they want or need, even when they know they need it! This is one reason agents exist—we are an advocate for the author, and we have an understanding of the ways that publishers might not be acting in the author’s best interests. They are corporations that are inclined to prioritize their profit over any one author, book, or deal. They are working to promote their business interests, and so should you. Agents will help you do that and often act as editors and career managers on top. The right partnership will always bear a huge benefit for the author and agent alike. I would urge any author who wants to publish traditionally to exhaust their agent search before submitting to any publisher, including small presses. (Self-publishing is another subject altogether: I think some genres are a great avenue for un-agented authors, and there's a lot of information about that out there.)
When you sign an author with a traditional publisher what should they expect in terms of marketing their work?
Marketing attention generally depends a lot on how much upfront investment the publisher has made on a given book, and which titles have been singled out as leads. The fact is that all books will receive a "marketing plan," but a very small selection of books will receive the budget and specialized attention that will lead to a bigger return. And even that publisher-provided marketing plan will place a lot at the feet of the author. This is where a platform often comes in: one of the reasons it's a good idea to build your (healthy, nonexploitative!) relationships with your online audience, with local bookstores, with bloggers, and with other authors—you're going to want them to help you out when it comes time to promote your work.
What publishing industry trends excite you?
Unionization.
Are there any particular habits that you believe help to make an author successful?
I’m going to interpret "successful" as “finishes books at a consistent pace with consistent quality.” I think the primary practice of a successful author is treating writing like a job, meaning you discipline yourself to keep at it even when it feels hard and the inspiration isn't coming. That doesn't mean every writer needs to chain themselves to a desk eight hours a day—after all, being an author is usually a second or third job—but it does mean that an author should be writing consistently on some kind of schedule, and part of that means figuring out what schedule and routine is realistic and works best for them. Inspiration is fickle; good work habits tend to spark good work.
What advice do you have for authors seeking representation?
The best thing you can do when it comes to searching for representation is understanding what kind of books you want to write because that’s the key to narrowing down your list of possible agent fits. It's also very, very important to understand the different styles of agents, and what kind you want to work with. Do you want an editorial agent? Do you want someone with a smaller list who can devote more time to you? Do you want a big-name agent at a corporate agency? There are pros and cons to all styles and approaches. Remember: no agent at all is better than a bad agent fit.
What advice do you have for anyone wanting to become a literary agent?
When I was starting out, I was lucky to have people around me who were honest about the demands of the job, and that helped and prepared me immeasurably. If you are thinking about agenting as a career, consider very, very carefully whether you have the patience, fortitude, and determination to build your reputation from the ground up (with internships, often unpaid, and the assistance and mentorship of an established agency), to be constantly rejected by authors and editors, to work nights/weekends/multiple jobs, to have severely limited time to read published books, and to be very autonomous/a self-starter, all while making virtually zero income for about five years. I’m not saying this to scare anyone or to erase the many rewarding aspects of this career! This is just the bare minimum of what you need to be prepared to accept and handle when you pursue agenting. It will only benefit this industry to have people coming to agenting with their eyes open and their expectations clear.
Scary stuff aside, agenting offers near-total autonomy to choose the authors you want to work with and the projects you want to champion; you can usually make your own schedule because it's a very flexible gig; the successes truly feel earned, which is very satisfying!
You can find out more about Alyssa Jenette via Stonesong Press, get in touch via Twitter, and check out her manuscript wishlist here.
