Author Behaving Badly

I am posting this rather long author/agent correspondence to share what I feel is an example of an author behaving badly, but thinking he has been wronged.

What is wrong with this behavior, you may ask? He's being polite. But he's not. He's being entitled polite. He seems to have forgotten that he has asked the L. Perkins Agency (and Sandy Lu has agreed) to read and evaluate his manuscript in our free time. Sandy has repeatedly told him she is interested and that she is very busy, but he seems to feel that that will change if he is persistent enough. If this kind of correspondence took place with every submission, we would never get any work done.

Then the bad behavior really kicks in. When he doesn't get yet another assurance that she is still interested and is still very busy, he writes to her boss (me), hoping that I will go in and chastise her enough to jump his book to the top of the pile.

However, I do hear him, and respond to him right away. It's very late and after business hours, which, of course, is when agents do all their reading. I make it very clear to him that he is one of many, and needs to wait his turn like everyone else. His feathers are ruffled, and he pulls his book.

I can't imagine what he thought he had gained from that exchange.

Sandy Lu commented. "There are only two things I want to add. First of all, he only checked status with me once, which I responded to within a few days. I have no records of him every checking in with me again, so I was shocked when he contacted you claiming that I ignored his status check. Of course, he may have left a phone message instead the second time, which I just deleted without responding. I should address this issue too - that it is never okay to check status by phone. "


Lori and Sandy,

Please feel free to pull my ms from your pile, I simply requested a status update of which I feel two weeks is sufficient time to reply with "still very busy please continue to hold on."
I have been waiting for seven months if you check the dates.
I am very glad to see your true attitude before representation.
Please feel free not to contact me further.
P

--- On Fri, 3/5/10, L Perkins wrote:


She obviously hasn't read it yet.

You do realize that all ms. reading is done after hours and that it takes 6 hours to read a 300 page ms.?

That she has probably requested about 100 300 page ms.? That we get 30,000 queries a year?

You are welcome to pull your ms. from the pile or wait your turn.

Lori Perkins,
Author of THE INSIDER'S GUIDE
TO GETTING AN AGENT (Writer Digest Books)
L. Perkins Agency
(718) 543-5344
agentinthemiddle.blogspot.com
visit ravenousromance.com

Twitter:LoriPerkinsRR

--- On Thu, 3/4/10, P wrote:

Dear Ms. Perkins,

I am curious as to the status of consideration of my work CXXXX of the Fxxxxx. I originally contact you on July 23, 2009, and you referred the work to Ms. Lu. I have received one update since at my request. My latest attempt has gone un-answered though, and I am now seeking your assistance. Your help in this matter is greatly appreciated. For your convenience I have put all correspondence in line from oldest to newest.

Thank you for your time,

P

**********

Query Thursday, July 23, 2009 2:30 AM
From:"P

To:lperkinsagency@yahoo.com

Dear Ms. Perkins,


Begins with 3 paragraph description of a dark fantasy novel.....


This is my fantasy novel, "CXXXX of the FXXX," containing 85873 words and based in both Greek mythology and in the Judao-Christian belief system. In keeping a potentially more religious audience in mind during the writing process, I have kept the book relatively free of objectionable material and language. Some may argue with some of my Biblical interpretations, such as portraying God equally as both female and male. I feel that this work would stand alone on the store shelves, as to my knowledge there is no other author that has used my unique take on mythology or on fallen angels.

As for myself, I have been a life long reader, to the point of reading Tolstoy and Tolkien at a rather young age. I have taken the required college level English and composition classes, as well as public speaking, drama, and Shakespeare. I have been told that my literary voice is very much like Charlaine Harris, and in some work reminiscent of Anne Rice. Some of my favorite authors are J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, Douglas Adams, Agatha Christie, and Anne Rice. I am open to all forms of publication from traditional to electronic.

If you are interested, please drop me a line. I can be reached at:

P

I look forward to working with you on this project and am anxiously awaiting your response.

Yours truly,

P


*********
Fw: Query Thursday, August 13, 2009 6:26 PM
From:"Sandy Lu"



Dear P:

Thank you for sending us a query letter describing your novel. My name is Sandy Lu, and I am an associate agent at L Perkins Agency. I would like to take a look at sample chapters (the first 50 pages) of your manuscript.

Please email your submission as a Word document attachment, including your bio and a two-page synopsis (all in one document). Please make sure your file name contains your manuscript title and not simply “requested material” or “sample chapters”, so I can locate your manuscript easily among all the other submissions I receive every day. Put “Requested Material” in the subject headline, as well as your full name and the title of your book. Make sure your manuscript is in Times New Roman font size 12, double space, with 1” margin all around, add page I.D. (your last name and title of your novel) on the upper-left corner and page number on the upper-right corner of each page (both in font size 10).

Kindly allow me at least 10 weeks for a reply before contacting me to inquire about your manuscript's status (although I will try to respond sooner).

I look forward to receiving your submission.

Sincerely,

Sandy Lu
Associate Agent
L. Perkins Agency


--- On Sun, 8/9/09, L Perkins wrote:


From: L Perkins
Subject: Fw: Query
To: "Sandy Lu"
Date: Sunday, August 9, 2009, 4:02 PM

Lori Perkins,
Author of THE INSIDER GUIDE
TO GETTING AN AGENT (Writer Digest Books)
L. Perkins Agency
(718) 543-5344
agentinthemiddle.blogspot.com
visit ravenousromance.com

**********


Requested Material-P Friday, August 14, 2009 2:41 AM
To:sandy@lperkinsagency.com
Message contains attachments
1 File (150KB)

Dear Ms. Lu,

Thank you for taking an interest in my work. Attached are the materials you requested; however, being new to this I was not sure if you wanted the first 50 pages as I wrote them in single space or the first 50 as double space. I chose the later, if this is insufficient for your needs please let me know, and I will gladly send more. On that pretext, if you desire a more complete synopsis, again please let me know. It was very difficult to paraphrase the story down after spending two years researching through Bulfinch, Edith Hamilton, Dante and the Bible.

Again, I would like to thank you for your consideration of my work, and I hope to be working with you in the near future.

Sincerly,
P
***********


Status: Cxxxxx of the Fxxxx Tuesday, November 3, 2009 3:14 PM
From:"P
To:"Sandy Lu"

Dear Ms. Lu,
I am curious as to the status of your work with my book CXXXX of the Fxxxxx. By my calculations it has been eleven weeks and I am sure you know how anticipation is, I can also understand how work can pile up around ones self, so if you or an assistant could just drop me a line I would appreciate it.
Thanks,
P

************


Re: Status: Cxxx of the Fxxx Thursday, November 12, 2009 8:01 PM
From:"Sandy Lu"

To:P
I am behind in my submission review and won't get to anything sent in August until late December. Thank you for your patience.

Sandy Lu
Associate Agent
L. Perkins Agency
5800 Arlington Avenue
Riverdale, NY 10471
Tel: (718)710-3662
E-mail: sandy@lperkinsagency.com

*************


Status: Cxxxxx of the Fxxxx Tuesday, February 16, 2010 2:55 AM
From:"P
To:sandy@lperkinsagency.com

Dear Ms. Lu,

I am once again checking in for a status update about my book Cxxxx of the Fxxxx. On November the twelfth, you had stated you were behind in your submission work and would not be getting to your August submissions until late December. So, I am now wondering how you are doing?

Again, I can understand how things can pile up, and I am sure you can understand how I can get antsy with anticipation as I await your reply. If you or an assistant could please drop me a line I would greatly appreciate the effort.

Thank you for all your time and trouble,

P

Meet My New Agent Marisa

I'm thrilled to report that I've just joined forces with another new agent, Marisa Corvisiero.

Marisa is an author and an attorney as well as an agent. She is the founder of The Corvisiero Law Practice, P.C., a boutique law firm in midtown New York City, where she practices Entertainment Law and Corporate Law among other areas. Marisa is currently being featured by the National Association of Professional Women. In the last few years Marisa has merged her passions for writing and the law into her entertainment law practice, and she is now representing several authors. Marisa is actively building her client list now. She has a facebook page and a LinkedIn network.

Marisa will be specializing in science fiction, fantasy, horror and romance, as well as some young adult and children's literature. In non-fiction, she is interested in seeing proposals for memoirs, how-to (in any industry), guides and tales about the legal practice, parenting, self-help, and mainstream science (no text books please)..

How to contact: Send your query and first two chapters (or full book for children’s books – illustrations are not necessary) to Marisa at marisa@lperkinsagency.com.

And come here again soon for a more detailed description of the kind of books Marisa is looking for, and the books that she wishes she sold.

Tell your writer friends there's a new agent in town!

A Writer in the Family

I've been writing this blog for three years, so most of you know that I have a teen-aged son who goes to my alma mater, the Bronx High school of Science, where he's been an active member of the robotics team. He's been building robots since he was 5, so I assumed he would become an engineer. He thought he would too, until he started writing.

My son also loves science fiction, and fantasy, and to my joy, horror (you all know that my heart belongs to horror?). I was overjoyed when he came home form camp one year and told me that 1984 was his favorite book (it's at the top of my list too). I attend the World Fantasy Convention almost every year, as well as NeCon, a small horror and dark fantasy writers' con in Rhode Island every summer. And every year I ask my son if he wants to go with me, and every year he says no, as though the thought of hanging out with his mother and her old horror-writing friends is worse than sitting through a My Little Pony marathon. So, two years ago I didn't even ask him if he wanted to go. And, of course, he asked me if he could.

I was shocked. "Why would you want to go to a writers con?" I asked.

"Because I'm working on my novel." Now, I knew he was "writing," but I figured he was "writing" like most other 15 year olds.

"How many pages have you written?" I asked

"Two hundred twenty of about 400," he answered.

And I was shocked again, because I really had no idea just how bitten by the bug he had been.

He went to NeCon, where he not only held his own, but did a horror/fantasy stand up routine that will live on in NeCon history forever, as well as made a whole bunch of his own friends (meaning separate from mine).

He went on to write a 550 page first draft of a dystopian urban fantasy, which I refused to read. (agents should never represent family, and parents in the publishing business should never give their writer kids the slightest reason to not write). I paired him up with two of my oldest friends who are writers, who guided him though the writing and rewriting process. The only advice I gave him (and not on purpose) was he heard me telling another writer that a fantasy novel in today's market has to come in at about 300 pages, so he rewrote his book into two separate novels.

Meanwhile he was also playing World of Warcraft religiously and moderating a whole bunch of WOW sites. He eventually became the co-host of a WOW podcast, and met his colleagues from the station in Anaheim last year for the WOW convention. Heady stuff for a 16 year-old.

I was proud of him, but still thought he would go into engineering.

Then we started the college application process. We had been thinking MIT, John Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, RIT as a safe.

He told me that maybe he didn't want to major in engineering, since he was doing so much writing. I said, "no prob. Just double major," thinking I had everything under control.

About three weeks before all the applications were due, he said, "I think I want to major in English."

I took to my bed and wished I had smelling salts.

I said to myself, "what's he going to do for a living?"

And then I realized, what do I do for a living?

So I told him he could get that English degree, if he considered becoming an agent when he graduated. He emailed all his comic book and gaming friends and asked if they thought they'd need agents in the future, and they all said, "we need one now," so we know where he's heading in the near future.

And this weekend we learned that he sold his first short story to an anthology published by one of the major NY houses!

It's kind of amazing, because I didn't see it coming, although everyone else I know says it was written on the wall. I just never turned around to read it. Duh!

Marsha's Suggestion for Haitian Help

As many of you know, my senior agent, Marsha Philitas, is Haitian-American. Below is a letter she sent to colleagues who have asked her how to help:

As most of you know, I am Haitian-American and watching Haiti be devastated by one powerful earthquake after another has been heartbreaking. Fortunately, my family is safe. We have heard from our extended family in Port-au-Prince and they survived the quake with minor injuries. But I worry for all those that haven't been found and for the sustainability of the rescue that is now taking place.

Many of you have asked me the best way to help contribute to the relief efforts. From my research, I've chosen to donate to Partners In Health at this time and urge you to do the same. PIH has been providing healthcare in the poorest areas of Haiti for over 25 years, so they are well equipped to provide aid with little resources. They were also one of the first organizations to respond on the ground when collapsed hospitals were abandoned. They maintained their clinics on the Haitian countryside and set up make-shift clinics in Port-au-Prince.

Personally, I've been a long time fan of PIH for their dedication to working WITH Haitians to provide much needed healthcare in a way that honors local culture and national pride.

They also have a 6% overhead, the lowest I've seen in a relief organization already established in Haiti. (Though please correct me if you have more information on this).

So I am raising funds for Partners In Health and I hope that you will join me.

Please help me reach my goal by making a contribution at:

http://act.pih.org/page/outreach/view/haitiearthquake/Marsha

Thank you!
Marsha

I've Joined the Twitterati

After much kicking and screaming, I've given in and am now tweeting voraciously, so please feel free to join me and follow my every waking move @LoriPerkinsRR. You'll know when I get up and when I go to sleep, and what I've had for dinner and what I watch on TV. Nothing is sacred.

It's an amazing social networking world.

Its funny. I've been on Facebook for over a year, and on Twitter for less than a week, and they are very different mediums.

I love Facebook, because it's like short articles, you can attach websites with a brief photo, and my "friends" bios are so much more insightful. It's also much easier to find people by their real names on Facebook. And I like the comment and "like" features of Facebook to comment on something one of my friends wrote. There's no way to do that on Twitter - you have to retweet.

Twitter is great for fast news, notes and ideas, as well as reactions to news, notes and ideas. It's like a constant IM conversation with the people I want to hear from.

But all this social networking leaves me even less time to blog.

And I haven't written in my journal in weeks.