Meet a literary agent

Jeff Herman is the president of the Jeff Herman

Agency (Web site: www.jeffherman.com).

He’s represented authors as a literary agent since

1987 and is responsible for helping to bring more

than 500 books into print. He’s also the author of

Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors,

& Literary Agents (Three Dog Press) and Write

the Perfect Book Proposal (Wiley).

Herman has worked with many first-time authors.

For someone interested in getting a book pub-

lished, he recommends using a literary agent but

stresses the importance of finding the right agent.

“Most literary agencies are mom-and-pop busi-

nesses that employ less than 10 people. Each

agent is individually quirky and has his own taste

and preferences. An agent who’s successful is by

definition someone who’s very selective about the

authors and projects he chooses to represent. So

most agents, including myself, wind up rejecting

over 90 percent of the proposals we see. An agent

builds up his credibility with publishers by care-

fully screening projects and only pitching viable

books. If an agent loses his credibility, he loses

access to publishers, which renders him ineffec-

tive as an agent,” explains Herman.

When a self-published author approaches a

respectable literary agent, Herman explains that

in most situations, the agent and most publishers

treat that book as a previously unpublished work,

because most self-published books don’t have

bookstore distribution. “A self-published book is

just like an unpublished book from my perspec-

tive as an agent. Major publishers are focused

on selling books to the booksellers. So, if a self-

published book has never been distributed

through bookstores, even if it’s sold a million

copies, as far as the publisher is concerned, it’s

an unpublished book,” says Herman.

A self-published author can benefit from using a

literary agent in the same way as any other

author. Herman says, “I look at what the self-

published book can do moving forward. If the

book has already sold 5,000 copies, I ask right

away if it could potentially sell an additional

5,000 copies if a publisher comes on board or if

the market for the book is already tapped out.

The literary agent takes the self-published book

and helps the author create a proposal package

for potential publishers, and then the agent uses

his connections to get the book seen by deci-

sion makers at the publishing companies. An

agent can never guarantee that a book will be

acquired by a publisher. An agent can guaran-

tee that the book is seen by decision makers at

major publishing companies.”

For someone looking to work with a literary

agent, Herman explains that the author should

never have to pay a reading fee to the agent.

“No reputable literary agent charges an author

a fee to read a proposal or manuscript. An agent

earns money by selling books to publishers and

collecting commissions,” he added. “Having a

self-published book doesn’t put you at a disad-

vantage when trying to sell a project to a pub-

lisher. You’d be surprised how many current

bestsellers started out as self-published books.

If as a self-published author you plan to con-

tinue to sell copies of your own book, be sure to

negotiate for the ability to purchase copies of

your book at a significant discount if you begin

working with a publisher. This agreement allows

you to continue earning a good margin on the

books you sell yourself, but you can rely on the

publisher to do what you couldn’t do yourself,

which is to get your book into the bookstores.”Licensing your book to foreign publishers

Many major publishing houses (as well as self-publishers) have found success

in tapping the international market by contacting overseas publishers and

offering them an exclusive licensing arrangement. In exchange for licensing

fees (or an advance, plus royalties), the overseas publisher obtains the rights

to publish, market, and distribute your book in the territories it does business

in. The overseas publisher also incurs the cost of translating your book into

other languages, if applicable. This method probably is the most cost-effective

and easiest way to obtain international distribution for your book.

A literary agent helps you determine if your book has international appeal

and then makes contact with overseas publishers and negotiates publishing

and distribution deals on your behalf. See “Having a literary agent represent

you” earlier in this chapter for more about finding an agent.

Directly selling your book overseas

Just as you’ve developed a distribution channel for your self-published book

in the United States and kicked off marketing, advertising, and public rela-

tions campaigns for it (see Part V for details), you can do the same things in

other countries. This process, however, requires a strong knowledge about

how business in done in each country you want to directly sell your book in,

and you need to develop local business contacts within those countries.Photo particulars

If you’re creating a traditional printed press kit, include either a 5-x-7- or

8-x-10-inch publicity photo of yourself. Place your full name, title (such as

“Author, [insert book title]”), and contact information (at least your phone

number and e-mail address) at the bottom of the photo.

Listing your contact information multiple times throughout your packet

ensures that people can reach you. Your publicity photo is no different.

Here are some suggestions for creating an attention-getting picture:

-

 Have a professional photographer take your publicity photo. If you

work with any professional photographer, they’ll know exactly what to

shoot, if you specifically request that a publicity head shot be taken.

-

 Have a tight headshot. This shot is a close-up photo, taken of your

upper chest and head. This shot shows more detail and what the author

looks like more than a full-body shot, and the headshot is considered

standard.

-

 Shoot black-and-white photos. Newspapers prefer black-and-white

photos for their publications.

-

 Make a full-color picture. Have this variety available by request.

Magazines tend to use color images for their stories.

-

 Consider the tone. The publicity conveys a message about your person-

ality and the tone of the book itself. If you’re promoting a funny or

upbeat book, for instance, make sure that the publicity photo suggests

your fun and cheerful personality.

Pricing pointers

Shooting a professional looking photo can be pricy, but if you know where to

look, you may snatch up a good deal. Check out these places for a quality

photo within a reasonable price range:

-

 Glamour Shots

-

 The Picture People

-

 Sears

-

 Target

-

 Wal-Mart

Posts les plus consultés de ce blog

 Your outfit Feeling stumped about what to wear? Try the following tips: -  Choose a stylish outfit, keeping in mind the image you’re trying to convey. For example, dress more formally for a business or news-oriented show and casually for an upbeat morning show. Overall, try to dress along the same lines as the host(s). -  Make sure that everything fits you perfectly and is wrinkle-free and looks good on you — not just the mannequin in the store. -  Pay attention to colors and patterns. Never wear busy patterns or solid white on television. Your objective is to look good, not to make a fashion statement like those celebrities waltzing down the red carpet at an awards show. If necessary, think about what Joan Rivers would say about your outfit if she were to see you on TV and rate your outfit like she does with celebrities. Would you make her best or worst dressed list? If you’re having trouble deciding on an outfit, read a few current issues of fashion magazines and ...
Lire la suite
 Developing sound bites Most television and radio interviews last only three to five minutes. You need to convey a lot of information, without speaking too quickly. The best way to do this is to speak in what the media industry calls sound bites. For every question, provide a comprehensive answer that lasts between 5 and 15 sec- onds (that’s fewer than 50 words). By anticipating what questions you may be asked (see the previous section) and knowing your subject matter well, you can write answers out ahead of time that communicate the necessary information but that are very concise. Answering a question in a sound bite means using as few words as possible. In other words, don’t babble or ramble on. Answer the question, get your key point across, and wait for the next question. Don’t go off on tangents. Discovering how to speak in sound bites ensures that you can answer the maximum number of interview questions in the time allotted, giving you greater opportunity to promote yourself ...
Lire la suite
 Examining different publishing deals Just as there are thousands of publishers, as well as imprints and subsidiaries within those publishers, there are many types of publishing deals that can be structured. If you’re working with a literary agent, he can help you evaluate and negotiate the best deal possible. The four most common scenarios are -  The publisher pays a one-time, flat fee for the manuscript and becomes the sole copyright owner of the material. You provide the manuscript on a work-for-hire basis. -  The publisher pays a licensing fee to print copies of your self-published book. -  The publisher pays an advance, plus royalties on all copies of the book sold. This means you’d receive money upfront and ongoing royalty payments based on sales of your book. The advance is usually fully recoupable from future sales. (When you receive an advance, that money is deducted from your initial book sales. Think of your advance as a loan against your future income. I...
Lire la suite