Interview with Agent Kristin Nelson, part II

By Pamela

Yesterday I posted the first part of my interview with the fabulous agent Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency, LLC.

Here our talk continues about contracts and what she's looking for in submissions from writers:

Pamela
You tout yourself as ‘a nice Midwesterner who breaks free of her genteel upbringing and says what's on her mind.’ What part of your job as an agent tests your ‘niceness’ the most?

Kristin
I would say the digital rights’ grabs that we’re seeing in new boilerplates from the Big Six Publishers definitely tests my ‘niceness.’ Digital publishing transforms rapidly, therefore publishers don’t know what the future is going to bring. Big changes have happened before; it’s not unusual. It usually happens every decade. But when something major is changing, then they start doing a ‘rights grab’ where they want to hold on to everything even if they can’t do anything with it or don’t know how to exploit it. Therefore we’re seeing in the new Macmillan and Harper Collins boilerplates a lot of ‘rights-grabby’ stuff that causes agents to have to negotiate strongly in order to make sure that the contract is fair to the author. 

For example, with Harper Collins’ new boilerplate, I just finished the contract yesterday and we started negotiating on November 28, 2010. That’s why it tests my niceness! 

Pamela
Speaking of negotiating contracts, what are some things writers need to be aware of when signing an agency agreement?

I don’t have a whole lot of opportunities to see other agents’ contracts, but I think there should be very clear language on what happens if the author wants to terminate the agreement. Recently one of my current clients rang me up and asked if I could help her good friend who found herself in a very sticky situation. In this situation, the author had left her agent and two weeks later an offer came in for her book. And because there was a not clear notation in the contract regarding termination, the agency was claiming that they should still get the deal and the author didn’t want to be with that agent any longer. 

Some authors say, ‘Oh, I’d never sign an agency agreement. Why would you do that?’ And I think, Are you kidding? As an author I’d want to have very clear expectations about what my business relationship is with my agent. I wouldn’t want to just shake hands and then wait for some clause to show up in my publishing contract which might have terms that aren’t advantageous to me that might be difficult to negotiate with that agent. I’m a big believer that straightforward and clear agreements make for very calm and happy business relationships. And if that business relationship goes sour, the agreement should specify a very clean way to break.

Over time, the agent and author relationship grows definitely more personal than business so you do end up becoming friends with your clients. I’ve had some of my clients for nine years. I’ve watched their kids grow up. I’ve met their spouses. I’ve been there through a lot with them. But we have a straightforward agency agreement so that if it does have to end, well then, everything is clear.

Another thing to watch for is granting an agent the rights into perpetuity. It’s not in my contract because I feel it’s inherently unfair to the author even though it’s quite common in a lot of agency contracts. My general philosophy is, if the publishing contract is in full force, then my agency—who negotiated and represented that deal—will receive its commission while that publishing agreement is in force. But after a book goes out of print, I believe the rights should revert back to the author, without any further obligation to me. But a lot of agencies take the viewpoint that if they sell your work once, and even if they don’t do anything in the future, and later you decide to self-publish it or e-publish it, then they’re entitled to more money, even if they’re not involved. As an author, I wouldn’t sign that. And I don’t expect my clients to agree to something that I personally would not agree to.

Pamela
For someone seeking representation, what do you think is the most important thing to look for in an agent or important questions to ask?

Kristin
Backspace has a great set of questions and I strongly recommend that people have a list of ten questions to ask an agent. Probably, the two most important are: Is this agent aligned with my editorial vision of the work; and do I think I could have a good working relationship with this agent? Do they have the type of communication style that I am going to feel comfortable with? 

And it’s also good to for an author to ask themselves: Do I want a really business-like relationship—no touchy-feely handholding—or do I feel like I need a more emotional connection? Because there are definitely agents who lean more one way or the other. 

Pamela
Your 2010 stats show you attended seven conferences last year. How many writers’ conferences are on your calendar this year and what are your goals for attending? 

Kristin
I tend to do the ones in my own backyard—Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, SCBWI Rocky Mountain Chapter conferences. I like going to conferences because it provides a way to connect with writers who you’d never get to meet otherwise. It reinvigorates you for the process to see that you’re in the business of people’s dreams, even though you’re very practical and pragmatic as an agent. I have a teaching background and enjoy the education process of publishing. So I’m much more interested in giving seminars, being on a panel, speaking and doing a lot of encouragement than hearing pitches. Pitches are fine and know that’s why a lot of people attend conferences, but it’s not how you’re going to learn the most. 

Pamela
Have you ever signed someone from a conference?

I have! My author Kimberly Reid who has a young adult trilogy coming out in October—first title is My Own Worst Frenemy—pitched me at a Pikes Peak Writers Conference. I convinced her not to write what she pitched me, but to write this other idea she mentioned which I took on and sold.

I met Janice Hardy of The Shifter series at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference in Canada. She had a ten minute pitch session and after she got up, I texted my assistant and told her we’d have some sample pages coming that I wanted to see right away because it was a great concept for a book. I read it and loved it and took it on. 

Marie Lu is generating a lot of excitement and buzz right now for her November debut called Legend. I met her at the Pike’s Peak Writers’ Conference, and she pitched me and I turned her down. She found another agent who took on her manuscript but couldn’t sell it and they ended up parting ways, which sometimes happens. But she had such a great interaction with me that she wrote something else and came back to me and I took it on and sold it. 

Pamela
What are some of the biggest surprises of your career as an agent?

Kristin
I have one author who I took on for a novel that I never actually shopped—an adult literary novel that we worked on for a while and never could get quite right—and now she’s huge: Ally Carter. She decided to drop the first project because she had another idea for a book and that’s the one I sold. Another author whose novel I had trouble selling—all these editors passed on it and I only had one editor offer for it— is now a NYT bestselling series and I almost couldn’t sell the first book Simone Elkeles for Perfect Chemistry.

There are always surprises. I have had some books that have taken me over a year to sell and that’s so wonderful. Granted, I love the ones that sell within a week, but there’s a certain amount of satisfaction in being able to say, ‘Ah … we kept at it! We did it!’

Pamela
What kind of manuscript would you love to see right now? 

Kristin
To put it bluntly—and writers hate it when they hear this—we’re looking for good stories well-told. Quite frankly, it just doesn’t matter. There are some genres I won’t take on—picture books, Christian inspirational, certain things out of my realm of expertise. But writers should go to our website for a list.

Pamela
Can you fill in this sentence? I never thought I’d rep ________, but now just love the genre.

 

Kristin
When I first started the agency, I didn’t envision myself representing children’s books—young adult and upper-level middle grade—but now it’s one of my favorite things. It started when I had an author, who was writing for the adult market, write a young adult novel and that’s what motivated me to explore that part of publishing. Now that’s one of my favorite parts.   

Pamela

Thanks, Kristin, for sharing so much good information with our readers. We wish you and your authors much continued publishing success!