Lorella Belli talk TTS 2018 PDF

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Lorella Belli, Literary Agent, talk to “Telling True Stories”, March 16, 2018

People buy on average 3 to 5 books per year. Mostly, women buy for men. Total sales per title have gone down: Waterstones used to order 2,000 copies of a title, now only 200. September is a big month for book launches – that’s like our Oscars.

Agents are the only people who will fight for the author, look at contracts. Agents know their way around the industry, what editors expect.

TO STAND OUT Never send to “general submission” – it’s the slush pile of the slush pile. Tailor your proposal to a specific agent. For example, research authors you love and identify their agents. Some genres are very specialized, e.g. graphic narratives; look for agencies that explicitly show interest in that form.

Agents take between 6 weeks and 2 months to read a submission. Don’t over-chase; a gentle reminder after 2 months is fine. Being rude doesn’t get you anywhere. Agents talk to each other, they might bitch about you. If they like the work they will call you in.

If it goes further, don’t get attached to anything, be really open. The second you send it to an agent, it’s not your book only. It’s an investment. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. You can’t be too precious, you have to trust the process – no one wants the book to fail. A truly gifted agent/editor will take it to the next level.

PROPOSAL Agents sell on the proposal, so it is essential that you get it right. [For all gatekeepers, either agents or editors] check out their guidance [on a website often called ”Submissions”]. Do exactly what the spec says. People get very pissed off if you don’t follow the guidelines.

The package should consist of: 1) Cover letter, 2) synopsis, 3) Sample text.

1

Cover letter Short and concise but comprehensive and NO MISTAKES. If you can’t write the cover letter well, there is no hope of doing a book. Jokes are a huge “no” – we smell desperation. Get over being uncomfortable about selling yourself. Hit the ground running, show a clear sense of strategy. You’re trying to hook us on the idea and then write to support it. Give us a sense of why you are writing the book; how the idea came to you; why is it interesting. It needs to be a story in itself. In more detail: •

Short intro – why this agent

•

Short synopsis. If you can’t boil it down to 1 para, you don’t know what it’s about

•

Something about yourself, positive

•

Something about the market, demographics of the reader, similar works, the relevant genre. For narrative nonfiction the latter is especially important: you need to define the LABEL for us. It’s all about the concept.

Synopsis 1 to 2 pages with a chapter breakdown, written so that it reads like the story (style, tone).

Chapter Samples For fiction, this has to be the first 3 chapters. For narrative nonfiction, that is not necessarily the case; instead, choose whatever you think is the most interesting selection. It could be the end of the beginning, or the beginning of the middle. The writing should be seamless, the tone a marriage of style and subject. We must feel that the writer completely understands the material and knows who s/he is writing for.

BUSINESS TERMS Advances can be anything from £5,000 to $300,000. The amount is based on an estimated Profit and Loss (PnL), plus broader consideration of markets. Publishers are careful because once the advance is paid, authors don’t have to pay it back. At any stage you can pull out. – Termination clause should never be more than 28 days – Commission: good agents only charge for deals they do. For UK 15%, for abroad 20% – Some agents will sign only for books, others cover everything (journalism, film, etc)

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US publishers are even more demanding because there is more money involved (reflecting a bigger market). They have a “fall on your sword” approach, they follow their passions and put everything into it. For nonfiction they like conceptual books (philosophy, business).

WORK EXPERIENCE You don’t need to know people to start with, but you do need internships. You want two to three months, not just 1 week. I was brazen and tenacious, I didn’t back down. I got on with every task no matter how menial.

Most publishing houses have an internship programme. I advise that you start with an agency and then use the contacts and references you acquire there. Or start with smaller publishers, independents.

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