Good Morning you beautiful guys and dolls! Today, we have the first AGENT INTERVIEW from Operation Agent Ink. How exciting!
Please be patient with the contest results. There were multiple ties and I had to draft a tie breaker reader. As soon as she sends me the results, I'll post the winner list. It will be today. I promise!
Our first interview is from Brittany Booker with the Booker Albert Literary Agency. She is awesome! and so is her interview!
You can ask questions, so read, enjoy, then get nosy!
What's your favorite book? Why? Who's your favorite author? Again, why?
Do you see a common mistake among new authors in their submission package?
Do you have a favorite genre?
How important is it to you for an unpublished author to have an established platform and brand? Is social media a real must for a writer?
And last, but certainly not least, please let us know what you would love to find during the pitch opportunity.
Please be patient with the contest results. There were multiple ties and I had to draft a tie breaker reader. As soon as she sends me the results, I'll post the winner list. It will be today. I promise!
Our first interview is from Brittany Booker with the Booker Albert Literary Agency. She is awesome! and so is her interview!
You can ask questions, so read, enjoy, then get nosy!
When did you decide you wanted to be a literary agent? What
helped you make that decision?
I first decided I wanted to be an agent after I
wrote my first book and ran across Marisa Corvisiero. She asked to see the
manuscript. When I realized how awesome her job must be, I asked how one
becomes a literary agent, she then offered to teach me the ropes. It all
escalated from there. I love my job, and I love to read. I feel like I’ve
picked the right place to be in my life.
What's your favorite book? Why? Who's your favorite author? Again, why?
I have many favorite books. I would
say that The Fault in Our Stars by
John Green is probably my favorite. I love the humor in his writing along with
the fact he takes such a serious matter as cancer, and gives it a love story.
It’s amazing. Oh, and Waiting on Normal by Leslie Conner, that
book made me cry, laugh and smile. I guess one of my favorite author’s would be
John Green and Alyson Noel. I really like her voice.
Do you see a common mistake among new authors in their submission package?
I would say just not reading what I am
interested in before submitting. I get a lot of children’s books and I do not
represent children’s books. I’ve received memoirs and it clearly states on my
interest that I DO NOT take those. That’s probably the main issue I have with
submissions.
Do you have a favorite genre?
YA is my favorite. I love
YA Contemporary books. They make me smile. I have also been looking for a good
YA time travel, I’ve received two that I’m reading at the moment that are
interesting!
How important is it to you for an unpublished author to have an established platform and brand? Is social media a real must for a writer?
Nowadays it is a must. I don’t
necessarily make a decision on whether I take on a book if they have a platform
or not, but it helps so much. I give my clients a to-do list and Facebook,
Twitter and a blog is on there. They might not have one when I take them on,
but I expect them to get them while I’m pitching their material.
And last, but certainly not least, please let us know what you would love to find during the pitch opportunity.
I really want a good YA Contemporary novel that
attract boys. I’m working with an author now on
one, but I think you can’t get enough of them. They are needed, because there aren’t
nearly enough of them. I would also love to find a great Contemporary Romance
that makes me keep turning pages, and I’m always on the lookout for a good YA
anything!
I know when I signed the contract for my first book with my publisher that it was a stipulation that I get my butt online - which I did!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview! TFIOS has an amazing balance of humour, poignancy, sadness, and romance it is incredible to read. Think it's one of my favourites too!
ReplyDelete<3
Great interview! Thanks for posting:) I'll come back for more of these!
ReplyDelete-Jenna
Wonderful interview, Talynn, good work!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a challenge to all the authors out there, a YA book for the boys!
Nice...
Nice insight :) Well done, Brittany and Talynn.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting interview thank you both!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview! Thanks to both of you. :) YA for boys and time travel seems to be in high demand at the moment.
ReplyDeleteYou know what's been surprising about my manuscript? My guy betas have been living it. As one put it, it's a relief not having the guy the girl has feelings for be an ass. (That is NOT a spoiler.) I'll add Ms. Booker to my query list.
ReplyDeleteDoes it help at all to already be online a lot? If two submissions are pretty close in interest, but the one that is just a smidgeon less so is by a writer who's been working to establish online presence and the other hasn't been, would that help at all, or is the effort a writer does that's not writing or editing not matter in the end?