Crits for Water Interview with Agent Suzie Townsend

(Or, Following Great Characters Anywhere)

A charity water fact: Unsafe drinking water results in diseases like dysentery, parasitic infections, and typhoid fever, killing 10,000 people per day.

Suzie Townsend is painfully aware of this statistic, which is why she jumped at the chance to donate to the 2012 Crits for Water campaign. And her donation is huge: a full manuscript critique with a two-page write-up AND a follow-up phone call. Bid early and often. We’ve got a lot of lives to save.

Meet Suzie, and read what she’s revealed about critiques.

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After teaching high school English for several years, Suzie Townsend is now an agent at Nancy Coffey Literary actively looking to build her list. She’s an active member of AAR, RWA, and SCBWI.

Suzie is specifically looking for adult romance (historical and paranormal) and fantasy (urban, science fiction, steam punk, and epic fantasy). In children’s books she loves Young Adult (all subgenres) and is dying to find great Middle Grade projects (especially something akin to the recent movie SUPER 8).

She drinks too much diet orange soda, has a Starbucks problem (those soy chai lattes are addictive), and lives in Brooklyn with two dogs who know that chewing on shoes is okay but chewing on books is not. Check out Suzie's Publisher's Marketplace page here. She also keeps a blog. And you can follow her on Twitter here.

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NAE: After a writer gets back an in-depth critique, what would you recommend in terms of a review/revise process?

Suzie: My first recommendation would be to read all of the notes--just read them. I would even go as far to say that sometimes the best revisions come after reading the notes, thinking about them for a few days, and then devising a plan of attack. This works especially when there's a lot of work to do. I always recommend to my clients that they attack the easiest revisions first, that way they can build up to the harder notes.

Really though, I think it's important for every writer (and reviser!) to remember that they need to find the the best method for them.

NAE: What’s one of the worst mistakes a critiquer can make?

Suzie: Making it about them. It's important for every critiquer to approach a manuscript with the idea that this is about the book and about readers. When you're doing a critique, you're not writing a review or your opinions. You have to focus on aspects of the writing and the storytelling that don't seem to be working as well as they could be, explaining why, and offering suggestions on how to make it work.

NAE: When you critique someone’s work, what is your general process?

Suzie: It depends. I approach each project differently. Usually I read through the manuscript once and jot down thoughts about overarching aspects like characters, worldbuilding, plot, pacing, etc. At the end of that read, if I have a lot of thoughts, I'll reread and type up and editorial letter. In contrast if all of my thoughts are minor, then I'll reread and do some line edits.

NAE: Is there one specific thing that you gravitate toward while critiquing?

Suzie: My first concern is always the characters. Readers will follow great characters anywhere. The stakes are high when you love the characters because you care about what they care about whether they're trying to stop a terrorist attack or just graduate high school. But for me I always start out looking at the big ideas: characters, worldbuilding, pacing, and plot.

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Crits for Water Quickfires – And, go:

1. Oxford comma?   Whatever. I'm not particular as long as I'm not confused.

2. Should "I like him too" have a comma before "too"?   It depends how it should be read.

3. Italicize or underline?   Italicize

4. How do you separate scenes: #, ***, line break?   Whatever.

5. What's your favorite verb?   Acquiesce.

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Thanks for the interview, Suzie, and for such a great donation to the campaign!

Okay, everyone. If you’d like to see if you’ve created a great character that Suzie would follow anywhere, bid on her full manuscript and follow-up call here.

Crits for Water Interview with Agent Sara Megibow

(Or, Speak to Me)

A charity water fact: 1 in 4 children in Africa die by the age of five from water-related disease.

Sara Megibow wants to save the lives of these children during the 2012 Crits for Water campaign (run by her client) with the help of the online writing community (read: you). Sara told me that she’s excited to help, so much so that she’s donated a 30-page critique to the cause (up for bid starting now: Monday, April 16^th).

Meet Sara.

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Sara Megibow is an Associate Literary Agent at the Nelson Literary Agency.

The Nelson Literary Agency specializes in representing young adult fiction,

romance (all genres except category and inspirational), science fiction and fantasy,

commercial and women’s fiction (including chick lit) and high concept literary fiction.

The Nelson Literary Agency is a member of AAR, RWA, SFWA and SCBWI. Submission

guidelines can be found here. Visit Sara’s Publisher’s Marketplace site to learn more

about her personal tastes and recent sales. You can also find her on facebook, and on twitter.

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NAE: What is your favorite thing about writing a critique?

Sara: As an agent, I choose manuscripts from the slush pile when they really speak to me. Yes, I do offer editorial services to my clients, but my mantra in general is that I'm looking for books to sell, not books to edit. So, if I review a manuscript that's great, but not sell-able as is, I don't offer a critique and I pass on representation. That's one difference between an agent and a critique group. However, when I do fall in love with a book and start working with an author, then we talk about the manuscript and I love the process of digging in to see how we can make the work stronger. For me, my favorite part about writing the critique is when the book is speaking to me, I feel connected to it, and there is something obvious that I see and can point out to the writer to make it stronger.

NAE: Why is critiquing important?

Sara: For me, critiquing is important because I am hoping that an author presents to me a polished manuscript. When that happens, then I can offer representation and we can go on to sell books, make money and woo readers. I love it when clients tell me they are part of a strong and helpful critique group - it's a wonderful asset to a writing career!

NAE: Your critique style is like which of the following: Red Pen Editor, Overall Commenter, Supportive Critic, You’ll Know It If I Catch It? 

Sara: Good question! Hmmmm….I guess I'd call myself a supportive critic. I tell my clients that their books are always their art. I may have suggestions, but ultimately it's their work and they can veto my suggestions. If I'm working with an author already, then I do a ton of cheerleading. Lots of "great work" and "you can do it."

NAE: What do your clients tell you they most appreciate about your agenting style?

Sara: I tend to be pretty chatty with my clients. They receive an email from me at least once a week - with sales numbers, submissions updates, subsidiary rights updates, marketing ideas, contract updates, etc. Many authors say it takes forever to hear back and that's true. It's not because agents and editors are drinking martinis all day (I wish), but because we're insanely busy. So, I try to keep my client list small and be as communicative as possible. That's the one thing I can add to this journey called publishing that I feel my clients appreciate.

NAE: Name one of your favorite 2012 books that is coming out or already released.

Sara: I read an advanced reader copy of KEEPING THE CASTLE by Patrice Kindl. It was absolutely hilarious, very smart and one of the best books I've read in years! It's basically a satire of a regency historical romance in which a young woman must marry well in order to support her family, but the mysterious stranger acting as her business liaison keeps getting in the way. I can't say enough good things about this book - if you've ever read an historical romance novel or want a truly unique and literary novel, this is it.

NAE: What specific type/style of manuscript is on your Must Have list this season?

Sara: Excellent question! The answer isn't an easy one though, so here we go...

Anything unique and well-written. I know that feels like a cop-out, but it's the truth. I would sign 10 more urban fantasy authors if the best manuscripts I saw this year were urban fantasy. I don't shop by genre or sub-genre, but rather by quality of writing. If I open a submission and fall head over heels in love, then that's the book for me. I rep science fiction and fantasy of all sub-genres and for all reading ages (except picture book or chapter book). I rep romance (all sub genres except category and inspirational). And I rep young adult and middle grade fiction. So, if it's in one of those categories, I will read the query with relish. After the query stage, my decision is based on quality of writing. This is why critiques help so much - the manuscript must be 99% polished in order for me to offer representation. It's my job then to take it to 100% polished before sending it to editors. Then, the editor will spend just as much (if not more) time making it 101% polished so it can compete in the marketplace.

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Because Sara is so committed to the Crits for Water campaign, this is her second year of participating. Check out her interview from the 2011 Crits for Water campaign here. Thank you, Sara, for this interview and for your dedication to this wonderful cause.

Do you think you have a unique, well-written project to send Sara? Bid on her 30-page critique on Monday the 16^th to see how much your work speaks to her. Good luck!

Crits for Water Interview: Author/Agent Lucienne Diver

(Or, Enhance the Vision) 

  

On your marks, critiquers/writers. My friend Kat Brauer means to raise $10,000 this year for charity water, and she’s rounded up a wave of authors and agents who’ve offered critiques. That’s right, my comrades-in-ink. You’ll have bucketsful of chances to bid on coveted critiques, while also helping people who will never be able to thank you. Every $20 earned for the campaign provides water for an individual for 20 years.

So, thank you.

As part of the campaign, check back here for critiquerly interviews with the donating authors/agents. I’ve pledged to help spray the news everywhere. And hear this: these people are fantastic.

Ready, set, go.

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A charity water fact: Over a billion people lack safe water. That accounts for one-sixth of the world's population.

That’s why author/agent Lucienne Diver has donated a 20-pagecritique to the 2012 Crits for Water campaign (available now, April 11-12). This woman does it all, and one lucky Crits for Water participant will win Lucienne’s full attention.

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Lucienne Diver is a literary agent with The Knight Agency.  She has over eighteen years experience in the areas of fantasy/science fiction, mystery, suspense, romance and young adult fiction.  She writes the Agent Anonymous articles for the SFWA Bulletin, as well as the Vamped young adult series for Flux Books and the Latter-Day Olympians series for Samhain Publishing, beginning with Bad Blood.  Further information is available on The Knight Agency website: www.knightagency.net, her author site: www.luciennediver.com and her blog: http://luciennediver.wordpress.com.

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NAE: After a writer receives an in-depth critique, what do you recommend in terms of a review/revise process?

Lucienne: I recommend waiting a few days after reading the critique to even begin the revision process.  Let the comments sink in, give your back-brain a chance to work on the solutions.  Also, this gives you the distance to react practically rather than emotionally to comments.  We all want to hear that our work is truly wonderful, and hopefully your critiquer will let you know where things have succeeded as well as where they've failed.  But the real benefit of a critique is discovering weak points so that they can be corrected before they become a reason for rejection.  Review and revision gives the writer a chance to make the work all it can be.  Once you've gone through the revision, read the whole work over again to make sure that you didn't introduce any inconsistencies or redundancies or skip over anything that might have been too overwhelming to tackle the first time through.  You'll be amazed at how many errors remain no matter how many times you've read a work.  The more read-throughs you do, the more you'll catch.

NAE: What is one of the worst mistakes a critiquer can make?

Lucienne:  There are two types of editors or critiquers: those who help the writer enhance his or her vision and those who try to impose their own. Don't be the latter.  Remember, it's not about how =you= would write the work.

NAE: What is your general process when you critique someone’s work?

Lucienne:  Because I represent over forty authors, many of whom write multiple books a year, I don't often get the chance to do a second read before critiquing.  This means that I read once, but very carefully, making notes as I go about inconsistencies, problems, sections that happened too quickly or two slowly and all off that sort of thing.  My approach is different depending on whether I'm reading material that's about to go out on submission or a manuscript that's already under contract.  In the case of the former, I do line and copyedit as I catch things, because I don't want anything at all to distract an editor from the quality of the writing.  On the former, I know that the editor, copyeditor, etc. will sweat the small stuff, and I mostly make comments about bigger issues.

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Thanks, Lucienne. If you’d like Lucienne to enhance your work’s vision with a 20-page critique, follow thedirections here (available April 11th). 

Good luck, save lives, and thank you again.