How to Influence Editors in a Way That 90% of Other Writers Don’t

Words to live by:

Appeal to people’s self interest, never to their mercy or gratitude”- Robert Greene

Jane, this makes sense. It’s a bit like dating: when you’re desperate, you turn men off, when you’re confident, but not arrogant, you become more interesting. Your comment, “I realize that the industry is changing, and it might not be long before authors are rejecting EAs. I can’t wait for that day to arrive—truly.” This might make life easier for EA’s when they’re not interested, but what if they love the author’s work? Then the power struggle changes sides.

My shift was realizing that my book’s a product – it’s not me, and there’s nothing of ‘me’ in it. There’s just a story, floating around in the ether, and I’m putting it to paper.

That paradigm shift allowed the pain of rejection to melt away, and it’s made writing a LOT more fun.

Very Insightful. Great post. Thanks

I think as writers most of us are still looking to be “discovered,” waiting for that Hollywood moment when an editor of agent will recognize us and our career will take off. After more years in the business than I care to mention, I’m still waiting. Meantime I’ve been doing the writing I can do, publishing a lot but still not the blockbuster. Today, with the ease of self-publishing, there is no excuse not to be a published writer.
Writing is a journey, not a destination.

Thank you for a great and thought-provoking post, Jane.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with some incredible editors and have turned down larger advances to stay with an editor I love and trust. However, neediness seems to have appended itself to my psyche when I first decided to write for publication. I appreciate your commonsense tips on how important it is to keep that particular beast at bay!

I don’t know that we wanted to hear what Jane said, but we NEED to hear it. I wonder how EAs keep their heads up with so much apparent drivel coming across the transom. I guess they’re treasure hunters at heart.

Jane, I come at this a bit differently, I suppose, because of my experiences in medicine. When I first went into practice and encountered well-known specialists in my field at meetings, some of them were always looking over my shoulder, searching for someone more important. The ones who became my friends were those who fully engaged with me, not because I had something to offer (although later I did) but because I was a colleague in the profession.
I’ve tried to carry that over into writing, and have made some great friends–authors, editors, agents–along the way.
Thanks so much for sharing.

Congratulations at your job at VQR. That’s exciting. I hope the transition to your position is a smooth one.

I appreciate your post here today. As a writer who hasn’t yet had the privilege of meeting agents and editors, I appreciate you sharing what it looks like from your side of the desk. I think the thing that impacted me the most was remembering to view EA’s as equals. This is a shift in my mindset since I tend to look up to you folks. You are influencers.

I guess in thinking about the relationship between a writer and an EA as a business relationship it’s easier to consider both as equals. Thank you, Jane.

Jane, thank you for this honest post. I’m not normally snippy or snarky and I hope I didn’t come across that way in my response to P.J. Casselman’s comment above. Whether I am interacting with an agent or editor, a fellow writer, a follower on Twitter or one of my writing students, I am always highly aware that I am dealing with a human being and I am genuinely interested in and concerned for that human being. However, I know that some writers don’t treat EAs as people. They treat them as roadblocks and / or objects at which to vent their frustration. I’ve seen it happen to Rachelle on this blog (and to Wendy, Rachel and others). There have been commenters who have lambasted Rachelle with long rants that cast all EAs as the vilest villians known to humanity. Thankfully, those people are rare here. One of the reasons I come here daily, besides the good advice from Rachelle and guest bloggers such as yourself, is because the writing community here is composed of wonderful, empathetic, supportive, insightful people. If you glance through a few of the posts, especially the one from Monday (I think) on what writers don’t know about agents, you’ll find that the writers here responded to Rachelle with an outpouring of appreciation, compassion and support. And those comments were genuine, not some game played in order to get published.

Congratulations on your new position. I wish you many blessings as you venture into it. Just know that many of us writers realize that yours is a difficult and often thankless job and we respect and appreciate what you do.

One last note: I appreciate your attempt to be kind by remaining silent rather than sending a rejection slip to an author. Speaking for myself, however, I would much prefer to be rejected honestly than to be ignored.

Blessings.

This is good advice for all walks of life. It should never be ‘all about me’. You want to build a relationship not an obligation.

I appreciated this article much more than I appreciated the Forbes article you linked to (I admit I didn’t finish it, though). Something he said kind of bothered me–that when a person radiating neediness approaches, others want to run away. Is that actually true? It seems so wrong, so inhuman to run away from those with needs or anxieties. The process of casting off needs and anxieties is one that involves maturity and experience. The first time I went to a conference and had a meeting with an editor, I froze. I’m not exactly shy, so much as I’m not a great verbal communicator. But I’m sure this neediness emanated from my being. Instead of treating me badly and writing me off, she dealt with it mercifully and helped me by using leading questions. She was a human being! Today, after several conferences and more experience in sending off work, I don’t think I would freeze up the same way. Experience=confidence. At the same time, I don’t think I would ever be the light, positive, radiating type of person he extols as the type one wants to do business with.

Your article, however, seemed more focused on looking at editors and agents as human beings (we’re all humans, here, right?). All people have different motivations, and understanding their motivations is key. Yes, it certainly is. I could be wrong, but I believe many agents look for hardworking and loyal authors who don’t need to be prodded to get their work done. But how in the world do you show that to an A/E w/o having an established relationship?

I recently received a rejection from my first choice agent. She said that my genre, romantic suspense, wasn’t what she was looking to represent at the moment. She was looking for women’s fiction.

Was she just being nice, or do you think there’s a real difference between the two categories?

It’s been quite a day here in Rachelle-Land!

Thankfully, my Advil has kicked in and I can now form a sentence. Not sure about the coherant thoughts tho…

For most of the last 23 years, I’ve been a SAHM. But that gave me the chance to do and see things that aren’t always ‘important’ in the corporate world.

I was our church librarian for many years and I can tell you who is spewing out books, and who is writing them. I know what my demographic reads, I know what they want and what stays on the shelves. I know how often they beg for (insert name of writer here) and who they think is writing down to them.
Just because a book sells, doesn’t mean that author will sell the next one.
By having to answer for why I spent my church’s money, I had to chose wisely. I definitely know what the market is. And I know I write to market, and I write well. No, I wasn’t told that by my mom, but by my hand picked critique peeps who will tell me the truth.

Now that my MS is done, I must begin the uphill crawl. On broken glass.

Jane, the most difficult thing to to, (for someone who has been told to mind their manners and not brag, and has heard the “you’re just a housewife, what do you know, anyway?” insults) is to turn around, take my blood,sweat and tears, light up like Auntie Mame and SELL! BABY! SELL!!

I don’t think MY attitude towards agents and editors needs to shift. I’m sure you’re all hard working people who truly do want to help bring great stories to the world.
It’s the gauntlet mentality that takes a creative mind and forces it down the ever narrowing road of opportunity to become, in the end, management.

On one hand, I feel like I’m being told “Take who you are and become someone else. Approach people you don’t know at a conference you can’t afford and curry their favour in 2 minutes or you’re an epic fool and you’ve wasted the vacation money”.

On the other hand it’s “keep trying, you can do it”.

It’s Vegas vs Winnie the Poo!!

I have nothing but good things to say for what I have learned here, and many other industry blogs. But that’s the kicker, isn’t it? “Industry”. I did not sit down and pour my creative efforts into a novel, only to be told, “all right then, you have a paragraph to seal your future”.

I know I’m repeating myself and telling, not showing.

But I think that you know what I mean. I’m sure that you, Jane Friedman, do not get up each day thinking, “who can I crush?” I have learned by reading this short blog, that you care. And you care deeply.

Cream rises. It is your job to observe and nuture those who have *it*. We all want to find the magic formula that lights the beacons and brings Gondor and Rohan. I feel for you, I do. Being a gatekeeper has its own pressures. But I’m not a gatekeeper, I’m storming the gate.

As The Other Stephen King said, “I don’t need this”. I want it, but I don’t need it. So that lessens my emotional investment. But not my efforts.

Thank you for opening yourself up to the dartboard of all these comments. Best wishes on your new job.

At a conference two years ago, I was in the breakfast buffet line when I realized that the person in front of me was the EA I had an appointment with in an hour. I heard her fret about there being no cream for her coffee.

After she left the line and headed back to EA appoinmtment room, I went and found some cream, took it to the appointment room, and asked one of the “guards” at the entrance to deliver it to her. When I showed up at my appointment, she told me she appreciated the cream. She also asked for a full after I gave my pitch. The EA declined my book in the end, but I still credit my listening in the buffet line as helpful to getting my full request.

This may not be quite what you meant when you talked about listening to EAs. At the same time, a writer needs to show whenever possible that he/she is willing to listen.