Greetings from Caren Johnson | Resolutions
In the movies literary agents are usually identifiable by their affinity for tweed blazers with corduroy patches on the elbows (or corduroy blazers with tweed patches), for reading great canonical literature (Crime and Punishment anyone?) and for being slightly soused. Occasionally they’ll look smarmy. They’re almost always men.
But everyone knows the movies are wrong.
Duh, I’m not a guy. The rest is mostly true. To fill in the blanks I can be spotted wearing jeans and sneakers or cocktail dresses, depending on my mood, listening to Johnny Cash, Jay-Z, and Saving Jane on my iTunes, reading lots of romance novels and drinking endless cans of coke. While I can’t say that all literary agents are like me nowadays, I can say that no matter who we are, we all love our jobs. I’m in publishing because I never got over my insatiable love for reading. I’m an agent because I can combine two of my favorite things to do: read and sell (which is a variation of shopping and just as satisfying).
As part of my New Year’s resolutions I’m cutting back the amount of writer’s conferences I attend. Cutting back on my travel time means I’ll be able to concentrate more on my writers, but it also means I won’t meet as many new ones, both aspiring and published. As a way of keeping in contact with the industry, I thought I’d give blogging a try. Then I can brag about my authors (I love my authors), give tips on how to get published and let you know what’s going on in the publishing world. I can gush about good books and lament about ones that fell short of their potential, talk about books that should be made into movies and vice versa. And now I’m wondering why I didn’t have this brilliant idea a long time ago. Well, here’s to the New Year.
C.
Caren Johnson Estesen
5 Comments
Reader Comments (5)
Hooray! I can't wait!!!
Sounds like a blog I want to be reading. ^_^
Hi Caren,
Know what you mean about cutting down on workshops. I hope this doesn't mean you won't be going to RWA, though. Remember I live in Dallas so you can come over here when you want to get away from the crowd.
I just finished the first draft of my latest paranormal, Every Witch Way, and I'm coming up for a bit of air. Sorry I've missed the chats etc. I'll do better, I promise.
How exciting to launch into your own agency.
Rob Preece
Don't worry. I'll be going to a lot of the major conferences, RWA National, RT, and BEA. I'm just cutting down on some of the smaller conferences for the moment. See you in Dallas!
C.
Ms. Johnson,
I've never read a blog before with the curious exception of Ross, the intern on Jay Leno. Silly, I know, but I really enjoyed reading your thoughts. Not silly but entertaining. The section where you spoke about not attending so many conferences struck a chord with me. I attended the Willamette Conference, my first, and was most gratified to be asked by two agents to send my entire manuscript. One wrote that it wasn't for him, which is fine. The other never read it, pleading her life was too busy. I can't imagine the quandary of trying to find new authors while giving attention to the ones you have. I'll be querying you soon. It may be for you and may not, but keep blogging. Sincerely, Lorry Blath