Rachel Downes is a junior literary agent at the Caren Johnson Literary Agency. She has a BA from Manhattan College in international studies and minored in economics and philosophy. She graduated as a member of Sigma Iota Rho, the national honor society for international studies students.

Rachel began as an intern for CJLA. She assisted on the following projects: Once Again to Zelda by Marlene Wagman-Geller (Perigee, November 2008), Where Am I Wearing? by Kelsey Timmerman (Wiley, November 2008) , The Old Fashioned Guide to Modern Girl Life by Jordan Christy (Center Street/Grand Central Publishing, Summer 2009), You Are So Undead To Me by Stacey Jay (Razorbill, Spring 2009), The Ex-Games by Jennifer Echols (Simon Pulse, Fall 2009), Skin Deep by Annaliese Evans/Anna J. Evans (Summer 2009), and The Briar Rose Series by Annaliese Evans/Anna J. Evans (Tor Books, beginning February 2009). She is looking to represent commercial and literary fiction as well as nonfiction in the following subjects: narrative, history, pop culture, humor, science, women’s studies and social science.

Rachel is a voracious reader and writer. She wrote for an independently-run student philosophy journal at her school, Praxis. She works closely with Caren to develop and nurture CJLA authors.

This entry is simply a laundry list of projects I’d like to see. Some are more developed than others, but feel free to use any ideas as your own if it inspires creativity. Of course the quality of the writing is the most important part of the equation. I feel like too many genre novels (this includes romance, mystery, science fiction, urban fantasy or anything that isn’t commercial/women’s fiction) are written without a thought to the quality of the writing. But books that have great hooks and that are well written really get more attention and make the reading experience more enjoyable. So pay attention to the words on the page as well as the story.

Contemporary romance/Romantic comedy: My favorite contemporary writers are Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Jennifer Crusie. I think both of the blend humor with strong story telling and I really want someone who can do this. I represent Kelley St. John so she’s a great example of what I read and love.

YA Romance: I represent Caridad Ferrer, Stephanie Kuehnert, Alex Echevarria and Emily Adler (they’re collaborating which is why they’re linked here), and Jennifer Echols. This should give some idea of the kinds of books I like. I want smart characters, strong plots and fun settings. In other words I want the sun, moon and stars. I have plenty of room for great writers in this area since I think editors and readers are still hungry for more fabulous writers.

YA Paranormal/Fantasy: I represent Stacey Jay and Terri Clark. Both are fabulous authors with a fun voice and happen to write about zombies, witches, mind readers, werewolves and other creatures that go bump in the night. For me, I want the focus to be heavily on the character and the story. I know world building is important, but I want a fully fleshed out story before this. We can always work on developing the world together before it goes to publishers.

I’m also looking for women’s fiction and commercial fiction. I try not to give examples here because I’ll inevitably get someone who writes exactly like X. I’m not looking for copy cats. I’m looking for writers who have novels that are well written and fun. Hopefully they’ll be commercial and would make good book club picks.

Hope this helps.

As promised this post is devoted to all things pitching:  how to pitch at a conference, how to pitch by email, how to pitch in an elevator and how to pitch in general. I can only speak for myself about the details of the pitch and what I prefer, but there are general rules that work for all agents.

Be professional. I stress this the most because it’s the hardest to do. I realize that everyone is nervous when they pitch. I still get nervous when I’m pitching an editor I haven’t worked with. It’s not a bad thing. The trick is to remember that if you fall back on manners, you’ll impress the agent (or editor) by being so calm, cool and collected. This doesn’t mean you can’t allow your personality to shine through. It just means that you need to understand that this is a business meeting and always treat it as such. Personally I like to make a little small talk to put the other person at ease, but you can launch straight into your pitch on the offset.

Remember to identify the conference or place that you met me at in your query letter. So many people forget to do this and I end up with twenty emails that say, “So nice to have met you. Here’s the book, as requested.” Make it easy for me. Make sure that you tell me where we met (personal connections do make me read faster), what the book is and include a little something about yourself. It doesn’t have to be a full query, but give me something so it can jog my memory and let me know why I wanted to read this book.

Don’t read directly from your notes. It makes me think you’re not as familiar with your material as you should be and I know this isn’t the case nine times out of ten. You know your material. Just talk about your book and make me see how special it is. Chances are I’ll want to take a look.

Do your research. This is important because while some agents like being pitched by snail mail, others only want to be pitched by email (this is the category I fall into; don’t pitch me or send me anything by snail mail, please). Make sure you have the latest information about the preferences. And don’t send me an email asking me to outline my preferences either. There are too many reliable information sources for you to check before you send me an introductory email to the introductory email about your book. It becomes redundant.

Be concise. Leave white space. Don’t list accomplishments that have nothing to do with your writing unless they help your career in some way.

Be polite. I inevitably get the person who comes to introduce themselves only to let me know that I rejected them. It’s not personal. I only want to represent things that I feel I can sell. What good is it to have an agent who can’t sell your book? And just because I say no to one book doesn’t mean I’m going to say no to everything. I definitely leave the door open to future queries. Most of you aren’t going to only write one book so while the first book may not catch my eye, another might. Don’t abuse this open door policy and send me a note every three weeks saying you’ve written a new book. That’s going to frustrate both you and me because I’m going to keep saying no and you’re going to keep getting turned down.

Make sure every book you send out is your best work. Don’t email me a week after you send me your book to let me know that you revised it and want to send me the newest version. It makes me crazy. I have a limited amount of time and if I think you’re wasting it, I get cranky.

I’m really looking forward to meeting lots of great writers and hearing lots of great stories. See you soon…

Later this week I’m going to be in Jacksonville, FL for the Southern Lights conference. It’s a great conference for romance writers to attend and I heartily recommend you do so if you can. Now this entire week I’m going to be in conference prep mode. That means I’m making sure that I get the bulk of my work done early in the week so that I don’t lose too much time with the hours spent at the airport and in transit. And in the spirit of getting ready for the conference I wanted to share some things I’ve learned to make the most out of your conference. 

Treat this like you would any business trip. Be professional, be courteous and be prepared. I feel like this is stating the obvious, but sometimes the most obvious points are overlooked first. The only iron-clad rule I have is not to pitch me in the bathroom. After that if you see an opening, feel free to come on over and talk to me.

Conferences are not only opportunities to meet agents and editors. They’re a chance to meet your colleagues. Don’t be afraid to make friends with other writers. Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to others and to exchange contact information. Kelley St. John is a pro at this. I love being in an elevator with her (as odd as that sounds) because I know by the time I get to my floor, I’ll know everyone’s name. She’s just that friendly. You don’t have to go out of your way to meet everybody, but make an effort to get to know one new person. It expands your circle of writers and can lead to great promo opportunities.

Be objective when assessing your work. Please don’t tell me what you’re working on is completely original, reads like a Nora Roberts/Danielle Steel/Stephen King/James Patterson novel, or is sure to be a NY Times Bestseller. This is the mark of a newbie and I will squirm uncomfortably until I can get away. Rather, tell me that you enjoy reading writers such as Barbara Samuel, Rosamunde Pilcher, Lisa Lutz, and Plum Sykes and have written a great women’s fiction/romantic comedy/YA that would fit in comfortably on the shelf with them. Let me see that you’ve done your research and know your market, especially if you’re writing in really crowded genres such as romantic suspense or paranormal romance. Let me see that you are prepared to answer questions about your characters, your plot, your setting, etc. I’ll have a post tomorrow about pitching your work so I’ll address this topic a little more.

Have a good time. I like conferences because they’re a chance for me to get out of the office and meet some really talented, smart people. I like getting to hang out with my authors so we can plot books, plan careers or just talk about our lives. I like being around the energy of creative people. I’m a writer’s groupie. Take advantage of being around so much talent. Listen, learn and enjoy yourself.

See you there…

Lots of people tell me that I seem to be everywhere on the internet. That’s funny. I don’t feel like I’m everywhere. I would love to surf the web all day, but I just can’t do it and still work my job and write my novels.

That said, I’ve been online long enough, and I’ve participated in enough writing communities, that I do have a lot of pages set up for myself in different places. And I think this is very important for writers—especially new writers whose publishers might not have huge advertising budgets set aside for them, or prepublished writers who are networking and learning.

I’m not aggressive online. I don’t go out and try to recruit new readers. I actually can’t remember the last time I friended someone on MySpace who didn’t friend me first. But whenever I go about my business in the cyberworld, I make it very easy for someone to follow my trail back to my web site, where they can find out more about my books. Build it and they will come.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve enjoyed a book and tried to look up the author online to find out more and view the backlist, only to discover that the author had no web site, no MySpace page, no nothing but perhaps a few mentions on a review site or two. In this day and age, what are these people thinking? Truth is, lots of readers will never come looking for me on the web. But if they do, I’m here with all the info they want. If I weren’t, I would be passing up an almost-free advertising opportunity.

Here’s a run-down of my little planet in cyberspace.

My web site: www.jennifer-echols.com. If it looks like I built this page myself, I do not want to hear it. You will find much prettier web sites that have been professionally designed, but you will not find a web site with easier access to pertinent information about the author’s books.

MySpace: www.myspace.com/jenniferechols. Basically I just have a description of my books here, and a link to my web site. I have blogged and run contests here before, and I do get a lot of private messages from readers. I think a lot of YA readers find messaging an author on MySpace less intimidating than sending an e-mail.

LiveJournal: jenniferechols.livejournal.com. This is where I feel most at home, posting comments about trying to be a writer and live a life at the same time. Most of my friends here are writers too. My profile page provides a description of my books and a link back to my web page.

Blogger: I’ve started two group blogs for authors in the lines I write for: www.simonpulseromanticcomedies.blogspot.com and www.mtvbooks.blogspot.com. Group blogging is a great way to make readers aware of you and your books without having to post very often. Again, my profile page tells people what I want them to know and invites them back to my web page.

FaceBook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=619987057. Unlike the other pages, I’m pretty sure you can’t view this one unless you log in. I’m new to FaceBook and I’m not sure exactly how it works yet. People keep friending me and inviting me to be a vampire. But hey, if they want to bite me, I’m available. That’s how I play this game.

Note that for all my blog profile pictures, I use my latest book cover. Every time someone sees my icon in a post or someone else’s friend space, they become more likely to pick up my book when they encounter it in a store.

Also, when I make a comment on someone else’s blog post in any of these worlds, I always log in so readers of the post will see my book cover and possibly follow me back to my own blog or my web page. Unless I forget.

See, I try not to take all this cyberstuff too seriously. Some people can post a hilarious blog every single day and still have writing energy left to expend on their real work. I am not one of these people. To me, blogging is a lot easier than writing novels, and if I’m not careful I’ll waste a lot of time on this. Like cross-stitching. I had to stop cross-stitching cold turkey. So I only post on my Blogger group blogs once per month each. I post to LiveJournal when I have something to say. And I comment on other people’s blogs because I consider them friends, even if I’ve never met them.

Last but not least, I’m participating in my publisher’s blog event through March 24 at www.pulseblogfest.com. Wow, Simon Pulse has really been advertising this event. When they asked how many questions I’d like to answer between one and seven, of course I maxed out with seven. I am no fool. I get to be on the same blog as Judy Blume! Through no special effort on my part.

That’s my laissez faire introduction to the internet. So friend me, link to me, post on my posts. I’ll get back with you…eventually. But I will get back with you.

Tell us about your experience in online communities. Are you a member of any blog groups that I haven’t mentioned here? Any there any you recommend we join or avoid?

Jennifer Echols

(Note from Caren: Be sure to check out the first post here before reading this awesome post.)

I work for a publicity and marketing firm that specializes in arts & entertainment clients. It’s a new world for me, and it’s fascinating to witness the parallels that exist between the publishing industry and the PR/marketing industry.

Publicists “pitch” feature story ideas to newspaper and magazine editors in much the same way that agents “pitch” their clients’ books. Advertising reps generate advertising budgets and campaigns in much the same way that publishers generate advertising budgets and campaigns for their book releases. Marketing executives coordinate with printing & distribution companies to disseminate marketing materials in much the same way that authors market their own book readings through fliers and postcards. And at my company, we’re always brainstorming new promotional ideas—2-1 deals, discounts; contests; partnerships with other organization for free give-aways—in order to come up with fresh, inventive ways to generate word-of-mouth “buzz” about our clients and their events.

However, despite the similarities, I quickly learned that each department at my new job—publicity, advertising, marketing, and promotions—has very specific responsibilities that aren’t interchangeable.

For example, don’t ask a publicist about advertising rates. Don’t ask a marketing exec about how to pitch to a magazine editor. And don’t ever ask an advertising rep to brainstorm creative ways to get the word out for “free.” Free? Advertising reps are used to dealing in increments of thousands. “Free” isn’t in their vocabulary.

So whether you’re discussing promotional ideas for your book with your publisher’s publicist, or you’re considering hiring your own publicist, it’s important to understand the distinctions between PR, ads, marketing, and promo. And even if you’ve resigned yourself to the homemade “do-it yourself” marketing campaign, I hope you’ll follow along.

Once we’ve hammered out the differences between PR, advertising, marketing, and promotions, I’ll be dishing out some specific trade secrets in my next blog posts – specifically for all you renegade guerilla marketing fans.

Public Relations – PR is the catch phrase for “dealing with the press.” Most publicists are exclusively interested in gaining press coverage for their clients in the various media outlets: newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV. This is free coverage—articles that staff reporters and freelance stringers write about you—the debut author—in their magazines and newspapers. Newspapers and magazines are always hungry for fresh story ideas. It’s the job of your publicist to “pitch” to these media editors as a means of gaining free press coverage for you and your book.

Most publicists have established relationships with the same newspaper/magazine editors and TV/radio producers. Much like agents, who pitch the same publishing editors over and over, publicists pitch to the same newspaper editors and radio producers over and over. Maybe it’s a feature article with a great photo and the perfect tie-in (see more about “tie-ins” in my earlier post). Or maybe it’s just an inside blurb. Either way, PR is the art of getting media coverage—and getting it for free.

In the next blog post, I’ll cover specific ways that you can generate your own grass-roots PR campaign, including who to pitch at your local newspaper, the “art of the pitch,” and the importance of a stellar author photo.

Advertising – This is an easy one. Ads.

Advertising reps develop effective advertising campaigns on behalf of their clients. Advertising reps know the exact price—net and retail—of every print ad in every size in every newspaper and magazine in their market. They can tell you the spread in price between a black and white 2” listing in the Chicago Tribune weekday edition versus a 3” x 5” listing in color in the Chicago Sun Times Sunday edition. They know which radio spots to run during which hours of the day in order to reach the appropriate demographic. They know how to develop online campaigns for half the cost of print campaigns. And they’ll be the first ones to tell you that TV advertising is way out of your budget.

Media buying is big business. Advertising agencies get a commission on every ad placed, and they usually work with advertising budgets in increments of thousands. And that’s on a weekly basis. That said, it’s a fascinating time right now in the advertising industry. The internet is literally wiping out Goliath print conglomerates like the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times by stealing away its readers and its advertising dollars. Now, more than ever, even poor little authors with shoe-string budgets can create effective advertising campaigns all on the web. Next blog post, I’ll give you some tips on how to create your own advertising campaigns with a few hundred dollars—and in some cases—for free.

Marketing – Marketing focuses on reaching intended demographics through targeted strategies. Advertising is one form of marketing. But marketing also involves the production and distribution of fliers or posters to specific locations and organizations. It can also include email or mailing “list” rentals, which allow you to obtain the contact information (email and mailing addresses) of a specific group of a desired demographic.

If you’re printing fliers and dropping them off at local coffee shops to market your next literary reading, you’re already engaged in a marketing campaign. Next blog post, I’ll give you some creative tips on other guerilla marketing techniques—as well as ways to effectively market yourself on the internet.

Promotions – Promotion can be a broad term that encompasses all of the above. But usually, promotions deal with marketing a product through rewards, discounts, rebates, and free give-aways.

2-1 ticket deals. Half-priced products if purchased before a deadline. One-day sales. Charity events with tie-ins to client’s events. Contests in which the winner receives an all-expense trip to Cancun. All examples of promotions.

The good news is that you don’t have to cough up a free trip to Cancun to get people chatting about your new book (although it never hurts). If you’ve got a blog and some free time, there are tons of creative promotions you can offer to help generate “buzz”.

But that’s all in my next blog post… stay tuned.

Blog (Kong) vs. Website (Godzilla)

You’re a writer, which monster do you want on your side?

WEBSITES (Godzilla)

Websites are like Godzilla. They’ve been around longer, surviving the ice age of the internet until the U.S. military turned them loose. They took the world by storm and they breathe fire (well…maybe not that last bit). Websites have slightly evolved overtime, but for the most part, they do the scaly, utilitarian job they’ve always done.

Scaly Utilitarian

My accountant has a website. He says about six people visit it a year, but he has to have one for new clients wanting to checkout his firm. And if my accountant has to have one, you as a writer definitely must have one.

As a writer, I haven’t met many of the magazines, newspapers, and now publishing house (thanks Caren!) editors that I’ve worked with, so when I query or pitch them, I’m always sure to send a link to my site. It’s my “Howdy” to the world.

A website tells editors who you are and provides links to relevant writing samples or clips. Your fans – and you are so lucky to have lots of them – visit your site to see a list of what else you have available or even where you might be appearing in the media or at an event.

My first website was used primarily to promote a travel column that I was self-syndicating. I suppose it had a similar purpose as a site promoting a book, but was far less savvy than a site should be. It was loaded down with content and photos. Last week I registered a new site, because as a freelance writer/quasi-journalist/author I needed something that I could hang all my hats on. As the prolific writer that you are, you will likely write many books, so try to avoid the temptation of registering the site as www.(the name of your first book).com because this will look a little funny when your second book comes out. It’s best to use some version of your name.

Unevolved, money pits

I registered both of my sites through Yahoo! and built them using Yahoo!’s free Sitebuilder software. I’m sure there are cheaper ways to register and host your site, and better software with which to build it. But I’m by no means a computer guru and it’s all fairly simple for me to operate, so I’ve stuck with Yahoo!

Which brings us to the drawbacks about websites:

They are somewhat of hassle to maintain and edit. You have to manipulate your file and then upload it to the internet. I update mine every couple of months depending on what I’ve had published recently or what has to change in my bio.

They’re not free. I pay about $12/month for mine.

BLOGS (Kong)

And if websites are like Godzilla, Blogs are like King Kong. They are used to squashing the weak and picking up the ladies. Kong beats Godzilla in popularity any day. Donkey Kong, anyone? We see the human in Kong’s eyes, but not in Godzilla’s cold reptilian retinas. Blogs are constantly evolving and adapting to their surroundings.

Picking up ladies

Your blog is where you display your voice on a regular basis and win over the hearts of your audience. If you build it they will come. If you post on it daily they’ll keep coming back. The more you post the more you’ll show up on google searches for random things like “OneDerWear” disposable underwear (look at #6). And you never know who might stumble on your blog. I was contacted by an agent because of my blog Where Am I Wearing? before I even started looking for one.

Squashing people and things

I’ve campaigned for the return of Mrs. Butterworth’s boobs and taken on ridiculous Spammers. Blogging also gives me a chance to exhaust the heck out of any metaphor I choose with no real professional consequences.

Evolve

A blog helps you evolve your fan base and your writing. I find writing about something completely different than what I’m supposed to be working on a good way to get my writing wheels turning. On numerous occasions, I’ve gone back and recycled posts or pieces of posts for actual work.

The great thing is that blogging is easy and it’s free! You can post to your blog from anywhere, even from your cell phone. I’ve used both Word Press and Blogger and their both relatively user-friendly. You couldn’t go wrong with either one.

Posting to your blog is easy, but you don’t have as much control of the layout and overall appearance. They often look less professional than a well done website.

I can’t stop playing with my monkey

Writing a blog can become real work or, even worse, you could become a blog-o-holic and waste time writing pointless posts instead of working on your book. Some writers believe that you should save your words for your work.

Which monster do you want in your corner? I say, both. After all, who could stop the one-two punch of the Kong-Godzilla dream ticket or – depending on whom the delegates side with – the Godzilla-Kong dream ticket?

Not this author.

Kelsey Timmerman

I’m not the kind of person that can easily be categorized. I mean, I’m the punk rock girl who goes home and religiously watches her soap opera everyday. As a teenager I went through so many phases, hair styles, and hair colors that I’m shocked when people I went to high school with recognize me. It’s not surprising that my writing is difficult to categorize, too.

Caren spent a year shopping my first novel, I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE, to adult publishers and we received polite rejection after polite rejection. Finally she said to me, “I’d like to shop it as a YA.” My biggest concern was whether or not I’d be censored. After all, my character loses her virginity in the first chapter and the language I use is realistic for a rebellious punk rock girl and there’s a rape scene and some drug use, too. Caren promised me, “No, YA is edgier than you think.” And though I wondered what the difference between YA and adult really was then, when IWBYJR quickly sold to MTV Books, I stopped worrying about it. My editor didn’t ask me to make any major content changes. I toned down my language some, using profanity only where I felt it was necessary or realistic to give emotional emphasis. (This was a lesson I needed to learn anyway as someone who has sworn like a sailor since the age of 10 when I first dared to say “damn” at the dinner table.) But it’s essentially the same book. Ok, I thought, I guess it’s YA because my character is a teenager at the beginning of the book (it follows her from 14 to 23).

So I threw myself into the YA world. I joined a great yahoo group for teen lit writers. I started gobbling up YA books. I remembered why I loved teenage characters so much. They’re fun to write and read about because they are making major decisions that will shape them. I like to watch characters evolve over the course of a book, for better or worse, and teen characters are in that place in life where they can help but change and evolve. I was so psyched to be a YA writer, thrilled to be categorized for the first time in my life….

Then my editor told me that MTV Books had been successful with placing Laura Wiess’s books in the adult section of the bookstore and they planned to do this with IWBYJR as well. Okay, I thought, this makes sense, like Laura’s books mine is grittier, but this put me in limbo yet again. Am I still a YA writer? Or am I an adult writer with a YA publisher? Not to mention are MTV Books really considered YA? Barb Ferrer, with whom I share both agent and publisher with, mentioned that she didn’t see MTV Books included with the usual YA round-ups in PW, so she checked the inside of one of her books and found that as an imprint of Pocket Books, it’s considered part of Simon & Schuster’s adult line. Curiouser and curiouser.

Then, I go to my local bookstore, Barbara’s Books and find that they have divided their YA section into two. YA Books is marked for ages 12 and up and then there is “Teen Books,” which is designated “for older readers.” I found Barb’s (Caridad Ferrer’s)  IT’S NOT ABOUT THE ACCENT and Laura Wiess’s LEFTOVERS in that section and I imagine that this is where IWBYJR will end up at this particular store. Apparently it’s becoming a trend in bookstores and libraries to divide up YA this way.

It certainly makes sense. I read up as a kid, so I was perusing the YA section by 11 and had switched over to the adult section by 15 or 16 (with a few exceptions such as Francesca Lia Block which was about as edgy as I could find when I was a teen). But as much as I’d probably want to read a book like IWBYJR or LEFTOVERS or ALMOST HOME by Jessica Blank at 11 or 12, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me at that age. It would have been appropriate for me at 14 or 15 because of my maturity level. For other teens it might not be appropriate until they are 17. That’s why I liked that Barbara’s Books didn’t assign an age for their “Teen Books” section, leaving up to kids and parents to decide what an “older reader” is.

However, I wonder if the names are appropriate. I’d probably want to read “Teen Books” at age 12 because I aspired to be a teenager and “Young Adult” books at 14 or 15 because I wanted to be considered an adult. I don’t know, maybe that is just me, or maybe YA books have been considered for age 12 and up for so long that it would be confusing if a bookstore said they were for older readers.

And honestly, the more I think about it, I wonder if my editor’s original idea to shelve my book with the adult books is better than dividing up the YA section like this. My audience is probably late high school, college-age, and as someone told me this weekend, “the hip moms who used to be punk rockers,” and I’m not so sure those folks would go to the YA section. They probably shop in the adult section now, but are looking for books with a hip, eye-catching cover like many of the YAs have.

What it all comes down to is that even though I now consider myself a YA writer, I’m still not so sure what YA is. Is the only requirement a teenage character? And if so why aren’t books like HAIRSTYLES OF THE DAMNED and CROSSING CALIFORNIA shelved with YA? So, I’d love to hear people weigh in and tell me what they think YA is and what they think about splitting YA up in bookstores and libraries. And, hey, if you are so inclined, you can read part of the first chapter of IWBYJR here and tell me where you would shelve it.