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Interview with Jeff KleinmanInterview by Mehroo Siddiqui
When and how did you start working as a literary agent? Why this choice of a profession?
I started as an agent in 1999. I was an associate in an art/entertainment/publishing law firm, and we had affiliated offices with a group of literary agents. I started reading manuscripts for the agents, and interacting with the authors. Since I’d already been negotiating publishing contracts, and since I knew a bunch of editors in New York already, it was an easy leap to make.
What’s it like working for the Graybill & English? How long have you been working there and where did you work before that? Tell me about the environment at Graybill & English. Are the law firm and literary agency connected in any way since the firm also represents writers and writing organizations?
G&E is a great place to be-- very relaxed, very easygoing, with warm nice people you want to go to work to see. I know some agencies can be pressure-cookers, where you’re constantly needing to perform, make a “bottom line,” and that kind of thing. Our agency consists of four agents-- Nina Graybill, Elaine English, Kristen Auclair, and Lynn Whittaker-- and a person who handles our foreign rights. We also share office space with two other agents, Deborah Grosvenor and Djana Pearson Morris, and they’re both lovely, cool people, as well.
Graybill & English, LLC is a law firm that focuses on publishing law; its wholly owned subdivision, the Graybill & English Literary Agency, LLC is the literary agency. Three of us-- Nina, Elaine, and myself-- are attorneys as well as agents, so we can wear two hats-- either as “attorney” or as “agent” depending on the client and the situation. The others are all agents.
You say you know by experience how frustrating it is to work with literary agents. Does that mean you wrote something and sent it to an agent, or do you just refer to agents you know or have been told about?
Well, nigh unto a dozen years or so I was working on a project and found a literary agent to represent me. I was living in Italy at the time, and was very daunted by the whole process, so I never called the agent or wrote to find out what was going on. When I came back to the U.S., I dropped my suitcase in the front door and called the agent, only to be told that she “wasn’t that enthusiastic” about the project after all, and never sent it out. It was pretty disheartening, as you can imagine.
That said, I also hear a lot of horror stories-- some of which I find difficult to believe, frankly. Agents not returning phone calls, agents not responding to e-mail, etc. I know there are times that I’m less than stellar about responding, but it seems like a pretty basic courtesy to just be available (during normal business hours, at least) to talk to the writers. So, probably because of my own experience, I’m pretty sensitive to these kinds of issues.
Why do you think it is important for new writers to go to literary agents and not just go directly to a publisher or editor themselves?
I think it’s incredibly important for the writer to assess himself/herself before going to talk to a literary agent. Not all projects or writers need literary agents. If your project has more of a regional appeal, or appeals to a niche market, or is better suited to a university press, you may not need an agent at all (although you should get an attorney to help you with the contract)-- a lot of publishing houses don’t even know how to deal with agents, to be honest. So the first thing any new writer should do is: 1) assess the writer; and 2) assess the project. If this is a project that has national scope, that would appeal to people from Maine to Utah to Alaska or if this is an author with a substantial or growing media platform, then having an agent involved is probably the way to go, because agents can open the doors to working with the bigger commercial (or university) presses, and can help you position your work where you hope it gets the maximum exposure.
Literary agents do serve a worthwhile purpose-- they make the initial contact, handle contractual and royalty details, and most importantly act as an intermediary between the editor (and publishing house) and the author. That way the author can always be the good guy, the nice guy, preserving the editor-author relationship, and the agent can do the dirty work.
What kind of work do you agree to represent? What kind do you not represent and why?
Nonfiction: especially narrative nonfiction with a historical bent, but also health, parenting, aging, nature, pets, how-to, travel, nature, ecology, politics, military, espionage, equestrian, memoir, biography.
Fiction: very well-written, character driven novels; suspense, thrillers; otherwise mainstream commercial and literary fiction.
No: children’s, romance, mysteries, westerns, poetry, or screenplays, novels about serial killers, suicide, or children in peril (kidnapped, killed, raped, etc.).
In general, I’m looking for well-written books that I can fall head-over-heels in love with, that I can gush about to any poor slob who will listen. I steer very clear of books where children are at all victimized or hurt-- I’m a complete softie.
What would your ideal client be like? Have you met someone like that yet?
At the moment, my ideal client is a guy named Robert Hicks, who wrote a book called The Widow of the South, which Warner Books will be publishing in the fall of 2006. Robert’s an incredibly nice, humble guy who’s grateful for everything that’s happening with his project-- he’s easy to talk to, accessible, listens to praise and criticism and acts as appropriate for either. If something needs to be cut, or expanded upon, he just does it. He’s also incredibly well-connected in the entertainment industry (music, primarily), so he knows some heavy hitters that may be helpful in marketing his book. Exceptionally eloquent, he can hold a room full of busy people spellbound as he recounts the simplest story. The novel he’s done is based on real events, so that will make the book a bit easier to promote. Most important, though, the book itself is glorious, dazzling, and achingly beautiful. Now let’s just hope the rest of the world feels about his book the way that I do!
And what would you call a dream project-- something you really hope to have an opportunity to represent?
I think everyone’s looking for the Next Big Novel-- some extraordinary combination of great writing and great storytelling-- that really sets the publishing world on end. I, alas, am just like all the rest-- looking for that next great book.
If a writer has no credits at all, what can he or she do to impress the agent to the extent that the agent goes all out to find a publisher for the book? How can she or he impress the publisher enough to take a chance with the writer’s first book?
It’s not the “credits” that will necessarily impress a publishing professional-- be it agent or editor: it’s the writing. It’s picking up the first page of the book and realizing, belatedly, twenty minutes later that you’ve been rapt, engrossed, transported into the world of the book you’re reading (I’m talking primarily about novels and narrative nonfiction here). You have absolutely no idea how difficult that is to find. I’m actually sitting on an airplane right now, traveling with a senior editor at Simon & Schuster to a writer’s conference, and not five minutes ago we were both bemoaning the fact that we just can’t find any Great New Novel. The problem is that writers tend to focus less on their craft and more on getting the “deal”-- so we see about 99.999% of books before they’re ready to go. Before all the plot problems have been addressed. Before the author really learned how to write effective, compelling dialogue. Before the characters came truly, deeply, and movingly to life.
Is there any part of your work that you dislike? Why?
Yes. I hate and loathe the rejection process. I hate rejecting writers’ projects, and I hate editors rejecting my writers’ projects.
What about the best part about being a literary agent?
Making people’s dreams come true. Which sounds goofy, I know, but it’s true. When you call somebody and say, “Yes, your book WILL be published,” there’s no feeling quite like it. Knowing I was a part of that experience is pretty amazing.
How can writers find the best person to represent their work?
Probably read a lot-- and find books that the writer thinks is similar, in some manner, to the writer’s own project. Similar voice? characters? “feel”? genre? Yes, maybe-- I don’t know. But if you find books that really resonate with you, and you really honestly feel that your book is somehow similar to that book, that book’s agent is the one I’d talk to, because hopefully that agent will understand your book in a similar manner, as well.
How do you think you are different from other agents?
I’m not sure that I am all that different. I find most agents to be friendly, nice, cool, outgoing people. There are exceptions, of course, but many agents are people that I really like. Maybe one thing that sets me apart is that I have an office in Washington, D.C. and another in New York, and spend my time going back and forth between the two-- so I have a slightly different perspective than many of my colleagues.
Have you ever agreed to represent a piece of work that did not find a publisher or a large market? When has that happened if it has and why? Looking back, do you think you might have handled it all differently now and it might have been a better experience if you had?
Sure, all agents have. Very, very few projects really break out in a big way. That said, I’m not sure that the agent can be blamed. Certainly we try to place the project with the publishing house that’s “right” for it, but after that there are a billion factors, usually well outside the agent’s control, for why a project works or doesn’t.
What kind of manuscripts do you see too much of? Is there a specific trend that is common among writers these days, as in a typical style or theme that a lot of manuscripts embody? What kind of manuscripts do you wish to see more of? (For instance, have you often felt that there were too many people writing memoirs and not too many writing self-help books or vice versa?)
I see a ton of Harry Potter and Tolkien knock-offs, and vast numbers of coming-of-age novels. Lots of commercial novels that are well-written, but not excruciatingly great enough to break out of the back of “mid-list commercial fiction,” a notoriously difficult category to publish in. What would I like to see more of? Great, fresh, “scopey,” surprising, extraordinarily well-written projects-- fiction or nonfiction. Stuff that makes me burst into tears, or burst out laughing, or force my wife to read it, too. Don’t think “What genre is selling this week?” or “What genre will sell next year?” Think: What kind of book am I absolutely passionate about, and totally committed to writing?
Is it harder to publicize first-time writers? What are the common mistakes first-time writers usually make?
Yes, because the public doesn’t know their names, and they don’t have an established fan-base. That said, the media is always looking for the next golden child, the next “new” story, so it’s often easier to publish an unknown first author than an author with a second book whose first book didn’t do particularly well.
The biggest mistake first-time writers make is that they expect that a publishing house will do all the work for them. If you have a book in the pipeline, or just published, do yourself a favor and buy Jacqueline Deval’s book [Publicize Your Book!: An Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book the Attention It Deserves] on promoting your book, published by Perigee. It’ll tell you everything you want to know, and then some.
How do you evaluate whether a book has too much competition, or whether there is room for another book on a particular topic?
This is a bit more applicable to nonfiction, so I’ll answer with nonfiction in mind. If you go to a bookstore and you see a ton of books that are similar to the one you have in mind to write, think about two things: first, think about your own platform (how much media, speaking engagements, etc., you do). If you don’t have a national platform, as most people don’t, then you need to focus on the message of your book-- it somehow has to meet an unfulfilled, clearly defined need. If your book’s message is similar to others, and your platform is less than others, I’d probably steer clear of asking to represent it.
Do you have any say in determining a release date or is that usually up to the writer and publisher? If you do have a say then how do you determine it?
I am often called upon to give my input in issues like this, but it’s usually something that the publisher determines. That said, the publisher often determines the release date based on input from the author (or agent), so it’s important that the author be up-front about key future events that might make publishing the book at a particular time better than at another time.
Do you have any advice for first time writers on how to get their book published?
The one thing that I really think writers need to know is that they REALLY need to hone their craft. Everybody says that it's so hard to get an agent, to get published, and so forth; it's just as hard for agents and editors to find really incredible novels to take on. We're all looking for the next novel that we fall absolutely head-over-heels in love with; and we very rarely find it-- mostly because authors don't take the necessary time to really learn how to craft realistic characters, solid dialogue, great premises, and so forth.
What sort of advice would you give to young writers who wish to make a name for themselves in this field? Anything in particular that they should or shouldn’t do? Anything that you think people who wish to work as agents should know?
By “this field,” I’m assuming that you’re talking about other people who are interested in becoming agents. If you are, the first thing you should do is learn the business-- either start out in an entry-level position at an agency; or, better, get a job as an assistant editor at a publishing house. Make connections. Learn the ropes. Then you can start doing the agenting, once you have all of that in place.
The thing that I think is important, as an agent, is to choose really good quality projects, so your taste in books will be respected in the industry. The other big thing is to be honest-- in this business, your word is your bond, and it’s not something that’s taken, or broken, lightly.
Lastly, where do you see yourself going from here? Any particular plans or projects that you have in mind?
Oh, I see myself hangin’ out in this business for a while longer yet-- lookin’ for good projects, and selling them, I hope.
Originally from Pakistan, where she worked in the publications department of an organization, Mehroo Siddiqui is currently doing her Masters from George Mason University in Virginia.
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Jeff
Kleinman is a literary agent and intellectual property attorney with Graybill &
English, LLC, a literary agency and law firm that works with all of the major
U.S. publishers (and through subagents with most international publishers).
He’s a graduate of Case Western Reserve University (J.D.), the University of
Chicago (M.A., Italian), and the University of Virginia (B.A. with high
distinction in English). As an agent, Kleinman feels privileged to have the
chance to learn an incredible variety of new subjects, meet an extraordinary
range of people, and feel, at the end of the day, that he’s helped to build
something-- a wonderful book, perhaps, or an author’s career. His authors
include Yolanda King, Philip Gerard, Barbara Holland, and Ron McLarty.
