MWA interview--by popular demand (ok, one person but hey)

Janet Reid, FinePrint Literary Management

By Pari Noskin Taichert

Janet Reid represents crime novels. Her background is book pr. She’s hoping to sleep with Jack Reacher one of these days.

What kind of mysteries do you acquire?
All kinds of crime novels. I look for vivid writing, brisk pace, an element of humor, sardonic or otherwise, and characters who surprise me.

Do you accept email queries?
Yes. People assumed the agent was an electronic fuddy-duddy if they didn’t. Not so, but perception is all.

Do you use a contract or letter of agreement with your clients?
Yes. I like clients to know what they will be paying for, and to have an understanding of what we can and can not do for them.

Is it still important to have an agent physically located in the NYC area?
A lot of VERY good agents live and work outside New York. New York gives me opportunities to see people informally, go to readings and the wealth of events offered here (like WNBA, NYCIP, and Media Bistro panels), and be ready for serendipity.

That said, I do most of my business by phone and electrons. Everyone else does too. Location is one of the last qualifications for an agent.

What questions would be the best to ask a potential agent?
What have you sold?
Do you like your job?
Have you read a graphic novel, listened to a podcast or bought an e-book?

How much information do you give your clients about your submission process?
I tell them when I’m going out with the project, and they can ask for as much info as they want, no problem.

Do you have a personal time limit on how long you’ll pitch a particular work?
I don’t give something urgent attention if I’ve had it for a year and have 36 rejections. My preference is to keep something and be on the lookout for new opportunity. This week I sent out a project I’ve had for five years. If it sells great, if not, I keep at it. (PS I did sell it)

Is it true that if a manuscript is rejected by one imprint within a conglomerate, it can’t be submitted to any others within the same publishing group?
No, but that’s one of the skills an experienced agent brings to the mix. You can do that kind of finesse move.

What can new writers do to improve their odds of getting an agent?
Write something I haven’t seen before, and write it really really well.

If authors are dissatisfied with the way literary agents represent them, what do you suggest that they do?
Talk to their agent. Sometimes it’s just miscommunication. Query letters that say “I had an awful agent” generally indicate “problem client” to me, not “problem agent.”

What trends do you see in the publishing industry?
Positive: more smaller presses who can publish books they love, and more ways to reach the market and the reader.

Negative: The conglomertization of publishing houses which may benefit stockholders but doesn’t seem to have improved authors’ lots much at all.

Any advice for more experienced writers who are looking for a new agent?
Get introduced by one of the agent’s clients. Make friends first. My agent colleagues are friend and valuable resources. I’d rather have them than some of the authors who’ve broached me about making a change.

Pari Noskin Taichert is the two-time Agatha Award nominated author of the Sasha Solomon mystery series. Her new book, THE SOCORRO BLAST, will be in stores January 2008.