Jan Fields is moderator of this interview/workshop, and Web Editor of the ICL Web Site. Green shows names or usernames of people and the questions they asked of our speaker.

Jan Fields: Our favorite Nanowrimo guru is back and this time she has help for all those who have recently finished a novel. What do you do now? How do you give your manuscript, the best chance of success?

Jan Fields: Tell me, do you approach revision in specific steps or is it different for every manuscript? What sorts of things do you always make sure to do?

Ann Gonzalez: I approach revision pretty much the same way each time, although, I'm always open to hearing about different processes and listening to myself and what works and what doesn't. I've been ill for the past few years and this has made revising an energetic challenge for me...it takes concentration and flexibility (IMO) to revise. Whether it's a class, a workshop class, or a critique group, I get feedback on the manuscript from trusted readers. Then I read the feedback all the way through, and get a sense of whether people are pointing out the same problems, where there's consensus about an issue and where there isn't. Or, if one person points something out that I think, "aha, yes," then I highlight that note. In essence I try to put together my own revision letter. From there I work my way through the manuscript from beginning to end, reading it aloud, and making changes along the way.

Ann Gonzalez: Once I get to the end, and I'm fairly happy with this second version, I resubmit it to my group or class. And the process happens again. I tend to write short in first drafts...meaning, I often need to expand the tense chapters and add chapters during the revision process. In the second and third version I may have chapters that are first drafts, but that's okay.

Ann Gonzalez: I should say that it's a good idea for writers to revise the first draft once, by themselves, before submitting it to a group. That first revision is important and possible by the writer, I think, because it gives her the opportunity to just look at what she's written. She doesn't want to give a critique group or her classmates something that is completely raw...that makes the classes job much harder, and the writer is going to get much broader revision suggestions. A story needs to have a character, or voice, or shape, or something for a critique group to connect with before they can give more specific critiques. I view revision as an iterative process...write/revise/critique/write(adding chapters)/revise/critique/revise/critique...etc.

ColoradoKate: What are your thoughts about querying agents vs. directly querying publishers? Thanks!

Ann Gonzalez: This is a great question, by the way. So many, if not most, publishers are closing their editorial doors to manuscripts that aren't represented by an agent. Why? Because the number of submissions is just too great for the publisher to manage. They're pushing that responsibility out to the agents and trying to make it such that the many, many manuscripts that they'll still receive have been read and liked by someone who knows the business, and the likes of the editor.

Ann Gonzalez: Many children's book publishers, however, still allow "over the transom" submissions. (That's a reference to when the writer used to take the completed, and perfectly typed, original manuscript and toss it over the door, through the window at the top.) They haven't all closed the shop to unrequested manuscripts because of, in my opinion, picture books. Reading picture book manuscripts takes less time, there's less money to go around and agents add another person to earn a percentage, and so many children's book publishers are still open to unsolicited manuscripts.

Ann Gonzalez: All this is to say, I believe that getting an agent for a novel is your best bet. In addition to the fact that your chances with the editor are better and faster (editors are much more responsive to agents than they are to the pile of unsolicited slush that has accumulated in their offices.) agents also know book contracts.

Ann Gonzalez: While book contracts may be fairly standard, they are complex. There are many rights that are included or not included: electronic, foreign, film, audio, etc. and there are different markets: school, special, trade. You want someone representing you, (again, in my opinion), who understands which rights should be included and which ones held out for a later time.

Ann Gonzalez: I vote agents.

anita3: I have read that agents can't help writers much with their first novel's contract because the contracts are usually standardized. What is your response to this?

Ann Gonzalez: When it comes to trade publishing, then the terms of the contract are negotiable: what rights will be included, markets included, and the amount of the advance.There may be aspects of the contract that are fairly standard, like percentage of trade sales and specialty market, however, with trade publishing the agent negotiates the sale of the book to the publisher.

Ann Gonzalez: Some publishers are specialty publishers and are geared up to publish for the schools, for example, and they may have boilerplate contracts. (I'm not as familiar with these publishers, so if anyone wants to jump in and correct me, help me revise my statements I should say, feel free. )

Ann Gonzalez: If you, the writer, is dealing directly with the editor/publisher, then the editor is going to want to have you sign the publishing houses standard contract. They're less likely to negotiate details of the contract with an author than they are an agent, because, typically they don't have to. (And, the boilerplate contracts are reasonable...I'm not saying they take advantage of writers, I'm just saying that negotiating a contract can take several phone calls and time, whereas this is what will offer you, yes or no, doesn't take as much time.)

anita3: Do agents ask you to revise a manuscript like publishers? Or, do they feel it's not their job?

Ann Gonzalez: The answer to your question is that some agents work with writers and some don't. (My guess is that more do than not, but that's just a sense.) Once you submit your query and first 3 chapters (or whatever the submission guidelines call for,) if an agent likes what she reads, she'll ask for a full manuscript. Meaning, of course, that there's interest and she wants to read the whole book. Oftentimes, when asking for the full the agent will request an exclusive. This means that you won't submit the manuscript to anyone else while she's reading it. If you've already submitted the ms to other agents you should let the agent requesting the full know, and usually it's fine, however you agree to not send anyone else the full manuscript until this agent has decided whether to represent you or not.

Ann Gonzalez: When agents ask for exclusives it's important that you put a reasonable time limit on the duration of the exclusive. (3 weeks a month) If you give the agent 6 months to exclusively read the manuscript then she'll take 6 months. Why? Because she has dozens of other manuscripts that have to be read and decided upon in 3 weeks. Everyone in the publishing business is overwhelmed with manuscripts that have to be read and decided about. Giving them a relaxed time frame won't make them want to publish your story if they don't like it, but it will allow them to comfortably put you off for a few months.

Ann Gonzalez: If an agent asks for a full, and reads it and likes it, but feels that there's a plot hole in the end that caused a problem, or she notices a couple of chapters that didn't work and are unnecessary, then, typically, it's in her best interest to tell you that she'd like to represent the book if these issues can be addressed. That's when the writer goes back and takes another whack at it.

KatieC: I definitely get the gist that you recommend getting an agent if at all possible! What about picture books? Should I even try getting an agent for the mss I've written? Or just go straight to the editors?

Ann Gonzalez: There aren't as many agents who represent picture books because there isn't much money in them. They're so expensive to publish, and the money is already divided up into 3 parts for publisher, illustrator and author, that, for an agent, she'd end up getting 15% of very little. Most of the agents I know who represent picture books do it as a courtesy for their writers who write picture books and middle-grade or young adult novels. Kirby Larson, for example, wrote the Newbery Honor book, Hattie Big Sky, and she's written several picture books, Nubs, Two Bobbies. She has an agent who represents both. It's easier to get an agent to represent your picture books if you have a name as a writer.

Ann Gonzalez: Now, I think I hear some picture book agents screaming in the distance. I don't know as much about picture book agents, and there may be some who take on first time books and happily so. Really, what I am trying to say is that picture books remains the one area of publishing that is still as "easy" to get in the door through direct submission as it is via an agent. When submitting a picture book manuscript to an editor, you typically include the whole picture book. (Assuming of course that it's around a 1000 words. )

MikkiS: I am ready to start querying agents. It's taking a lot of time and work to research those whom I want to query first, and I have run into a bit of a problem. In the Guide to Literary Agents, 2011, the needs and likes/dislikes of the agencies are spelled out pretty well. However, in going to the blogs/websites of a couple of individual agents, from some of the agencies, I've found the books they represent are not only NOT in my genre, but they are not mentioned specifically in the overall description of the various agencies they work with.

MikkiS: I'm not sure exactly what that means...that I should not submit to that particular agent, or that certain likes and dislikes have changed since the book was published? I know that these reference books are usually published several months after the date is received, and that needs, etc., can and do change quickly, so I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to be known among the agencies as a writer who submits something the agent doesn't want, even if that "something" was originally listed as one of the genres she was looking for. I guess a more precise question is: do we go by the reference books totally, or do we go by what's on the websites/blogs?

Ann Gonzalez: First whoot, whoot...congrats, congrats on completing a novel AND getting it in submission shape. I hope you allowed yourself a happy dance for that. (We should all remember to congratulate ourselves for these amazing accomplishments. Writing a novel, picture book, poem, whatever...these are not easy accomplishments, and publication is not the measure of success...completion is.)

Ann Gonzalez: You're right, any "marketplace" book that is printed is already out of date. I'd definitely use the agent's own web page as my primary guide on what he/she is interested in receiving. Not only is the marketplace book coming out months after it's completed, but the interviews and materials from the agents and editors are coming in for a full-year beforehand. No telling how long ago those materials from the agent or agency were submitted.

Ann Gonzalez: And, if you're ready to submit, I would recommend subscribing to publishers marketplace for a month and querying agents you think might be interested. See what kind of books they're selling. Also, you can check the imprint that you think your book would fit in with...see what agents they've bought from.

Ann Gonzalez:

MikkiS: Your reply about not sending exclusive queries is exactly what I'm reading from Noah Lukeman's book "How to Land and Keep an Agent." He suggests sending out queries to at least 50 agents at the same time. How's that for research and a half?

Ann Gonzalez: I think in the children's book market, sending queries to 50 agents at once might be too many. I'd limit the first round to 15 or 20, and then a month later if you haven't gotten any feedback maybe the next 15...at least stagger them somewhat. Besides, that is a lot of research and you want every query to be focused on the person you're querying...so breaking it up somewhat gives you time. (And, if you get interest in the first group, you save yourself a ton of work.) All aspects of publishing take a long, long time...so, you don't want to end up on that to-do-later pile unless you've got a lot of time and patience.

butterflii: How do you even go about finding an agent to begin with? Is there a website I could go to? I read on here there is a book with a list of agents in it. Is that something I should look into getting?

anita3: If you subscribe to "The Writer" magazine, you will find a listing of agents. You may also google "Writing & Agents" You can also find them throught the SCBWI Publication Guide.

Ann Gonzalez: There are books that list agents, and the Association of Authors' Representatives has a directory available online www.aaronline.org. Although, my suggestion is to identify books that are similar in style and genre to what you're writing and check the acknowledgments for the names of agents. These agents are going to be people who read a ms similar to the one you've written and liked it. When I talk about similarity, I mean generalities like, "realistic edgy ya" or "historical character driven fiction" etc. There's no point in sending a fantasy novel to an agent or editor who doesn't care for it, read it and has never represented it. They aren't likely to read past the first page if even that much. And, as I mentioned in a previous post...you can meet agents at conferences. And anita's suggestions remind me of another great source -- talk to other writers about how they identify agents to query.)

Kathy: I usually use www.agentquery.com

Jan Fields: Another great place to learn specifics about agents is http://caseylmccormick.blogspot.com/

ColoradoKate: I LOVE that one, and she's got links to all the places you can find info and interviews and so on about a given agent. Definitely go to her blog first; if she has "done" the agent you're studying, you won't need to look any further. It's all children's/YA agents, too. The only catch is that she hasn't gotten to everyone yet.

MikkiS: The sites mentioned are great, particularly Literary Rambles, which isthe one Jan mentioned. However, if you're still interested, the book you've heard about is "Guide to Literary Agents 2011." It is sold through Writers Digest, and includes a free one year online subscription to Writers Market, which is very good. You can order the book from: www.guidetoliteraryagents.com or www.writersdigestshop.com. I find the book very informative, BUT it is merely a good starting point. You should take what you find in the book and then search out a blog or website concerning the agency or the agent (s) you're interested in querying.

anita3: How do you separate the good agents from the not so good ones as you look for an agent?

Ann Gonzalez: Well, if you go to a conference and meet an agent that you have a connection with, and she ends up liking your work, that's great. However, most or many writers never meet their agents face to face.

Ann Gonzalez: Good agents have relationships with editors at publishing houses. The agent knows what the editor likes to read and acquire. Think about it -- if an editor receives a stack of manuscripts from an agent and the editor doesn't like any of them, doesn't think they fit with the imprint, then when the next stack comes in from the agent, how eager is the editor going to be to dive into it? On the other hand, if an agent submits a stack of manuscripts that the editor really enjoyed reading, even if she wasn't able to acquire any of the manuscripts, she's going to be much more interested in the next "stack" from this agent. She's going to feel like this agent knows what it is that she's looking for. That's a good agent.

Ann Gonzalez: As a writer, really the only ways you have to identify a "good" agent, is to check the acknowledgments of books you love that are similar to what you write (the truth is that the agent has to like the kind of books you write as well as the editor) and to check out publishers marketplace to see how many books an agent has sold in the past year...to see how much success they're having. (This criteria is a little tough though, because, publishers are publishing less, and the market is much tighter.)

Ann Gonzalez: I discourage writers from agents who request payment for editing or anything. Agents get paid when they sell the manuscript and when you earn royalties. In my opinion, agents shouldn't get paid to ready your manuscript for submission, that's a conflict of interest. If they want to recommend that you have a professional editor go over it with you, that's fine, but they shouldn't financially benefit. But, this is just my opinion.

Ann Gonzalez: The other criteria when looking for an agent is checking out whether they represent the different genres that you write. For example, do you write adult and young adult fiction? Do you want an agent who can represent you in both areas? Many can, some can't, and I'm not saying if the agent only represents young adult when you want to write adult as well that that necessarily excludes the agent from consideration. Really a contract with an agent is for a book, for the term of a year, however it's assumed that you will continue to submit exclusively to "your" agent until you sever the relationship/contract. Nevertheless, if an agent shows an interest in a ms, and you are considering signing a contract with the agent, you can talk to her about your other interests as a writer and discuss next steps. Most agents will list on their websites, what genres are represented. This is all part of the selection and research process...knowing something about the agent you're talking to.

anita3: How do you feel about agents that advertise in magazines such as "The Writer"? Are they good to work with, or are they too needy because they advertise?

Ann Gonzalez: No, no, I don't think that advertising is a sign of neediness. It could be a sign of success because advertising doesn't come cheaply. I'd still do a little research on the agent or agency, though...find out who they represent, whether they take on debut novelists or not, etc. There's an association called, "Association of Authors' Representatives" (AAR) that has ethical guidelines and which, while it doesn't guarantee professionalism, helps ensure a certain level of professional knowledge. Agents have to pay to be a member of AAR, and they have to agree to abide by certain ethics of being an agent.

Ann Gonzalez: Plus, there is a website called "Preditors and Editors" where authors who have been "wronged" can write about the agent or editor who mistreated them. I wouldn't put too much stock in this website though, because I've heard from very good agents that authors with a grudge can harm an agent by getting them named on this list of preditors and editors and it's very difficult for the agent or editor to have his/her voice heard on the subject. But, if many writers have similar experiences it might be something to consider.

Jan Fields: Do approach agent ads with super skepticism. While SOME good agents buy ads, almost ALL crappy/scam agents buy ads. So if you see an ad...be totally sure you've tracked down proof that it's a good agent before you send anything. Most writing magazines sell ads to anyone who wants to buy one. And many folks are been badly burned thinking surely an agent advertising in a reputable magazine must be reputable.

Ann Gonzalez: Good point, Jan. Here's the trick or problem with malicious or corrupt agents -- they're playing on your emotions and your passion for writing and your desire to be published. When you send to an agent and she shows an interest in your ms, it's so exciting that you want to believe her intentions are true and good. And, most times they are. But, when they're not, it's very painful.

Ann Gonzalez: That's why I caution you against responding to anyone with payment. Agents should only make money when you make money. Meaning they should only take a percentage of your earnings...not ask for an upfront payment of any kind. This is their incentive to negotiate higher advances, and to support you and the book once it's out...the better you do, the better they do.