On Agenting--Professional Spotlight

I'm very happy to today to welcome Kent Wolf, an agent at Lippincott Massie McQuilkin. As far as agents go, Kent is the gold standard: he has great taste and he works extremely hard for his clients. He's also just one of the nicest people in publishing and his interview is full of valuable information, especially for anyone interested in pursuing this career path.

So without further ado...

Thanks for joining us today, Kent. I'm really excited to talk to you today. I just recently learned that you began your career as a Scout, which is a fascinating way to begin in the business, I think. But Scout is also a publishing career path that people don't know much about. So can you give us a bit of a primer on Scouting and also share with us the progression of your career post-scouting and what you do now?

My pleasure, Stacey! I’m glad you asked about Scouting, as it’s an aspect of the publishing business that few outside the industry know much about.

I moved to New York in 1998 from Illinois, where I had spent a little over a year as an editorial assistant at a pretty amazing literary press, Dalkey Archive. Like many young twentysomethings with book-biz dreams, I envisioned a career in editorial, but after pounding the pavement for four months and countless interviews, I was down to $200 in the bank and was beginning to regret dropping out of grad school.

About ready to throw in the towel, I managed to snag an interview with a scouting agency. I’m embarrassed to admit that in my first days on the job I still wasn’t quite sure what the agency did. Thankfully, I’m a quick learner!

Basically, we were under contract to foreign publishers and Hollywood studios/production

companies, and I established relationships with agents, editors, and foreign rights professionals in order to report on upcoming books for possible translation or film/TV adaptation. When I heard about a book on submission to editors that might be of interest to a client, I would do my darndest to get a copy of the manuscript to read and review. The job was invaluable in making great professional contacts and it allowed me a bird’s-eye view of the industry.

From there I landed a job in the subsidiary rights department of Harcourt Trade Publishers. I spent over eight years there selling foreign and domestic rights (UK, translation, audio, large print, book club, etc.). It was at Harcourt where I learned how to sell, but the only drawback was that I was selling someone else’s books! I was pulling in over $2,000,000 a year in revenue but my salary, sadly, didn’t reflect it.

It was a blessing in disguise when I was laid off in the wake of the Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin merger, and I was finally free to pursue a career in agenting. I’d been wanting to take the leap for a number of years but needed to be pushed into the deep end to start swimming. I sold my first
book four weeks after donning my agent’s hat and never looked back!

What has been one of the biggest challenges of your career as an agent?

Honestly, the biggest challenge for all agents is selling books! Much of it has to do with the changing landscape. The big publishers continue to consolidate, the bookstore chains are shrinking, and playing Candy Crush now trumps reading as the preferred activity for morning train commuters. Like our writers, we’re suckers for punishment, but our love of the written word keeps us fighting the good fight!

What has been one of your biggest successes?

I’ve been quite lucky to have a number of bestsellers under my belt. My first, OOGY: THE DOG ONLY A FAMILY COULD LOVE, spent over ten weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List and to date has sold over 300,000 copies. I’m also quite proud of a debut novel published this year, THE CLOVER HOUSE, which was a Boston Globe Bestseller and a Target Emerging Author
selection.

What have you not yet done as an agent that you want to do?

I’m still waiting for my feature in The New York Times Style section! Seriously, though, I have yet to see one of my books hit the big screen. Titles have been optioned but nothing’s been greenlit. Hollywood, get on it!!

How has the changes in technology affected your job?

I don’t edit on paper anymore, for one. I’m all about “track changes” these days. And I read all manuscripts on my iPad, only printing out proposals. There’s tremendous pressure right now to maintain a strong social media presence (Authors, I feel your pain!), and it can be a chore to Tweet sometimes.


What are some of your books we should look for in the marketplace?

In May 2014 Thomas Dunne Books will publish a debut by Natalie Harnett, entitled THE HOLLOW
GROUND. It’s a dark and haunting voice-driven novel based on real events—the underground coal-mine fires that ravaged Pennsylvania and displaced entire towns.

And next fall be on the lookout for BEHOLDEN by Martina Boone, a YA debut from Simon Pulse. It’s a gorgeous Southern Gothic full of magic and romance. It’s the first in a trilogy and is perfect for lovers of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, but Martina creates a world all her own.

Are you taking new writers? What sorts of submissions are you looking for?

I sure am! I encourage those interested in querying me to visit our website at http://www.lmqlit.com for submission guidelines.

I’m pretty wide open to be honest. I represent literary fiction, upmarket women’s fiction, multicultural lit, literature in translation, YA, memoir, pop culture, smart thrillers, long-form journalism, and history (the non-stuffy kind). I don’t have a handle on self-help or feel compelled to
represent anything that proselytizes.

I’m dying to get my hands on something like Lev Grossman’s THE MAGICIANS. I’m such a sucker for genre-bending books! I’d love to discover a rollicking historical in the vein of Emma Donoghue, and a strong family story like THE MIDDLESTEINS would send me over the moon. Oh, and novels
that shed light on little-known figures or historical events are my catnip!

What's your best advice to new writers currently looking for an agent?
Work on those query letters! Agents can get upwards of a hundred queries per week, so your pitch should be as finely honed and targeted as possible. For me, the best queries are those that mimic the jacket copy on a published book. Give me an engaging, concise description. Flat queries leave me cold. Let me know where your book fits on the shelves. Who is your audience? What makes your book special? Do your homework to make sure that the agent you’re querying represents in your category. And for the love of God, avoid clichés when describing your work. I’m allergic to them.

What's your best advice to a recent college graduate thinking about a publishing career?

Don’t limit yourself to editorial positions. There are so many great jobs out there—from scouting to publicity to marketing to foreign rights—that are just as important and rewarding as an editor’s. Just get that foot in the door!

And get some internships under your belt. Literary agencies, especially, are always looking for interns. Entry-level positions are competitive and the more experience you have, the better. I’ve seen applicants for assistant positions who have upwards of three internships on their resumes. Most internships are unpaid, which stinks, but that’s the way the business works. Sorry, kids!