Caren Johnson Literary Agency

It is also comical to me how much time I spend reading non-work related books only to be energized so much by them that I turn back to my to do list with more energy than ever. I’m talking about the book that I just finished—The Faraday Girls by Monica McInerney. Yesterday afternoon I thought I’d give myself a treat. I decided to read a book just for the fun of it. Now, 32 hours later (subtract about 8 hours for sleep, 6 hours for time spent with friends yesterday and 4 hours visiting family today and you’ll see that I didn’t completely ignore everything around me as I read) I’m finished and eager than ever to get back to reading my own authors’ material. This isn’t because it is a bad book. It is really wonderful with vivid characters and a great plot. Now I want to apply everything I’ve learned from this well written book. Each character is distinctive even though they are a family of five sisters. There is an extended amount of time spent on the past. My first instict would be to tell the author that this is all backstory and the reader doesn’t need to know it. Here, though, it fits the story and makes it a wonderful family saga that spans decades. The reader should know the history. It invests them more in getting to that final page. And the end doesn’t disappoint. I won’t spill the beans but it was a very satisfying and fitting ending. The only reason I haven’t called up the editor is because it is the weekend. I’m doing the next best thing. I’m working.

I love my authors. I do. They come up with innovative ways of marketing themselves and getting the word out about themselves and their books. One of my authors, Steph Kuehnert, and I have been kicking around ideas for her promo campaign and I’m floored at how “out of the box” her thinking is. While some ideas might not translate well, I think others are fun and fresh. I thought this merited a blog post about effective publicity.

Publicity shouldn’t cost money. At least not at first. No need to spend money on full page ads in the NY Times or the Chicago Tribune. Effective publicity is about getting the word out about your book, not about writing a check.

Word of mouth is still the most effective form of publicity. Think about presenting workshops, teaching classes, doing readings, etc. You can keep costs down by keeping these talks in your area or in an area that you can get to by public transportation or car. The more entertaining or informative you are, the more people are going to book you (and this can extend to radio and tv appearances), possibly leading to a lucrative side business of becoming a media personality/lecturer. This is very attractive to publishers.

Network. This doesn’t have to be a solitary business. I try to team up my authors so they’re not left to write great books, promote their careers, take care of their families and hold full time jobs alone. No need to impersonate Wonder Woman or Superman.

And lastly, don’t forget to write good books. The best publicity in the world isn’t going to take the place of a good book.

And here is a picture of Steph at the reading she did a few days ago.

I keep getting this question when I’m on panels or doing interviews so I thought it deserves its own blog post: what makes a query letter stand out for you? I did a previous post on how I’d like a query letter formatted, but I don’t think I’ve ever talked about query letters that have really made me sit up straight in my chair and read faster.

First, the main thing that is going to get me to take notice is your idea. I see a lot of similar ideas, probably because I represent so much genre fiction. This means I’m searching for the funny, new, interesting take on the same old story. I represent Kelley St. John because she writes fun romance, but also because she has a different take on the same old romance lines. Her first book, Good Girl’s Don’t, is about a woman who works for an alibi agency; her newest client is none other than the niece of a guy she had a crush on in high school and while she’s excited about hearing his voice, she’s guilty as hell because she’s lying about where his niece is and what she’s doing. The alibi agency got me from the beginning. Who really works for those companies? I know they exist. She had tons of research to back it up. It made the perfect backdrop to this story about rekindling old passions.

Now please don’t confuse different with outrageous. The reason that I love Good Girl’s Don’t is that Kelley made it plausible. And the love story was front and center. That is important.

The second thing that is going to get me to take notice of your query letter is how well you can tell your story. If you have to include seven paragraphs (pushing the acceptable query length from 1 or 2 pages to 4 or 5) to get your point across, then I’m going to think that you’re either too close to your story to have perspective on it or that you don’t know your story well enough to explain it. Since I don’t have a lot of time to devote to every author, I cannot spare the extra five minutes it would take to reread and figure out what you mean. Be succinct and make sure that you can sum up without getting too wordy. I’ll find out more when I read your synopsis and your manuscript anyway. Just give me the highlights.

The third thing that is going to get me to take notice of your query letter is your bio. Please don’t ever, ever say that you’ve never written before. That makes me nervous. I get a ton of queries from people who get up one day and think that they’re going to make money by writing novels or the next great self-help book (for some reason I get most of my amateur writers in these areas). Tell me that you’ve written short stories and articles that have been published in a number of places (it is always nice when you are published in your local paper/journal, but make sure you have clips from other sources as well) and are now branching out into novels or a full book. If you don’t have clips, but you know you can write a good book, tell me a little about yourself and why you are the best person to write the book you’re proposing. The point to this is to tell me the relevant facts about you and your writing career that will wow me and in turn that I can possibly use to wow a publisher. If you have a background in marketing, sales, publicity, or promotion, don’t just mention it. Tell me how you’re going to use it to help your book get into the hands of your readers.

Lastly, don’t be too informal or cute. This is a sales tool. Keep it simple and let the story speak for itself. Do you really want your stationery distracting me from your prose? Do mention if you’ve met me at a conference; don’t forget to mention when and where. I’m looking forward to getting your query letters.

One last bit of wisdom: I only accept material by email. That means I want your query letters emailed to me or they get tossed in the trash. My email address is cjohnson@johnsonlitagency.com.

I brought my camera to BEA where I got some great photos of my authors and other publishing folk.

Here is my author Caridad Pineiro signing her book Blood Calls in the Harlequin booth. Pick up a copy of Blood Calls here. FYI, Cari is the NYC Golden Apple Author of the Year for best Nocturne and Fantasy 2006.

Here is another pic of Caridad Pineiro. She handed out t-shirts along with books with the Calling logo on the back. Check them out at her website here.

Here is Cari’s wonderful editor Stacy Boyd.

Here is me and my lovely author Anne Elizabeth. FYI, Anne also appears in the July issue of RT magazine looking beautifully sexy in her corset signing copies of anthology Caramel Flava in which she has a short story. Grab your copy from here.

Here are my authors Anne Elizabeth and Barb Caridad Ferrer. Both are going to be at RWA National’s. Barb is a double rita finalist for her book Adios to My Old Life.

Here I am with my good buddy and fellow agent Sandy Lu of Vanguard Literary.

Check out Kelley St. John’s new book Ghosts and Roses, published by Harlequin Blaze. It’s a top ten pick ( listed as #2) on the eharlequin site for paranormal books.

Here’s what the publisher had to say about Ghosts and Roses:

When a spirit from beyond begs Gage Vicknair to rescue a stranger named Makayla, he never expects that stranger to be the same sensuous woman he’s been enjoying so thoroughly in his nightly fantasies. But Makayla is very real—and she’s living a nightmare.

A vengeful murderer is determined to get her. And Gage is equally determined to save her.

Because the only way he and Makayla can have the love they’ve dreamed of is if they’re still around to live it…

Still feeling a little shy about getting the book? You can read an excerpt here and buy the book here. Paranormal books not your cup of tea? Then go check out Kelley’s book Real Women Don’t Wear Size 2, a finalist in the National Reader’s Choice Award for Best Single Title.