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Interview with Sam
Stoloff
Why did you become a literary agent? Serendipity. I was finishing a Ph.D in American Studies and looking for a college teaching job, but working part time as a reader for Frances Goldin, who was an old family friend. There came a moment when a manuscript I really liked didn't excite anybody in the office. Should I take it on? Was being an agent what I really wanted to do? What about my academic career? I only decided to take the plunge because I have such admiration for Frances, who's a marvel of energy and integrity. You've been at Frances Goldin Literary Agency since 1997. This is a small agency "by preference," representing several bestselling authors. What is it you like about working for a small agency? Since I haven't worked at any other kind, it's hard for me to compare. But I suspect it's more informal, and more personable, than a larger agency would be. I'm never sure of the definition of literary fiction. Can you give us an idea of what makes a novel fit the "literary" category? Well, there can be several kinds of criteria. It can be defined as fiction that is more language-oriented. Or it can be defined as fiction that is more invested in psychological realism. Or it can be defined in terms of plot, avoiding the easy devices and resolutions of genre fiction. But the division between "literary" and "commercial" is a very slippery one, and the terms are sloppy at best--there are lots of borderline cases. What types of work are you interested in representing? Literary fiction, but I prefer the psychologically realistic kind to the linguistically-oriented kind, in general. I'm open to high-quality genre fiction, thrillers, detective novels, crime novels, etc. But I do a lot more nonfiction, including history, journalism, memoir, biography. Books on politics, social and economic issues, sports, film and popular culture, food, science, psychology. And creative nonfiction. How far do you typically read before deciding whether or not something's rejection-worthy? That totally depends. Sometimes you know after a single paragraph, other times you're still unsure after you read the entire manuscript. I usually ask for 50 pages, and that's usually enough. If you sign an author, does that mean you're on-board for everything he or she writes? That is, if a client sends you a new idea or proposal, do you represent it no matter what, or do you pick and choose what you'll rep? I expect to represent my clients for all their work. But of course it often happens that I am not thrilled about a given project. I see it as my job to help advise my clients about what's marketable, and sometimes that means dissuading them from pursuing something. But I'm always open to talking about things--there's a certain amount of negotiation. On your agency's submissions page, it says you won't consider material that has been previously submitted to publishers, even by query letter. How stringent is this requirement? That is, if I wrote a novel and sent out queries to a few publishers, you won't consider it? In practice, I'm a little more flexible than that, and I decide on a case-by-case basis, though I try to stick to the rule. If something has been very casually submitted--for example, the writer gave it to his son's friend who's an editorial assistant somewhere (which is a recent actual case)--that doesn't matter. But if something has been submitted to a significant number of editors, that's a real problem and ordinarily I won't consider it. If I've just signed with a literary agent and I have two or three novels or nonfiction book proposals to sell, is there a time limit for how long I should give the agent to sell something? I wouldn't think about it that way. If you sign with an agent, you should have confidence in them, unless they give you good reason to doubt them. (That's the ideal, anyway.) It's not a matter of how long it takes, it's a matter of whether they are continuing their efforts for you (and communicating with you about their plans). It can take a long time to sell a book, especially fiction. And once you've committed to an agent, the truth is that if they are unable to sell a given project, others are unlikely to do better. You can't expect a new agent to sell something that your previous agent couldn't. Let's say something goes wrong during the editorial process with one of your clients. The publisher chose a title the author hates. The cover art is lousy. The publicity department seems to not realize the book exists. The editor isn't returning the author's calls. Whatever. Should the writer ask for your help with this, or is your role over once the book is sold? I troubleshoot these kinds of issues all the time; part of my job is to act as a liaison between writers and publishers throughout the process. But authors should recognize that in many cases, there's a limit to how much the agent can do, especially when it comes to marketing and publicity. How much do an author's past credits matter to you? Let's say an author's first book was self-published with a vanity press and it didn't sell well. Should the author omit the book from her credits? They matter a great deal--perhaps more than they should. A fiction writer needs to be publishing in literary journals and magazines. In the case of a nonfiction writer, credentials count. I may still read, but the bar is higher. In the case of a self-publication that didn't sell, yes, I think I'd skip it. Aside from talent, what other qualities are you looking for in a writer? How are your dream clients different from other writers? Here's my dream client. Aside from being highly talented, she approaches writing with a professional attitude. She has large ambitions but reasonable expectations. She is open to editorial feedback, and works quickly. When something is being submitted, she doesn't email me every half hour for news. And she's appreciative--at least, when I've earned it. Do you show authors feedback you've gotten from publishers when you're shopping their work? Yes, we show our clients copies of all letters and emails we receive from publishers concerning their work. What are some of the common mistakes you see new writers make? Being apologetic, or coy, or evasive in a query letter. Expecting the publication of a book to mean instant fame. Do you give editorial suggestions to your clients before shopping their work? Absolutely. And frequently more than that. We are usually heavily involved in the writing and rewriting, especially of nonfiction proposals, but sometimes also fiction and nonfiction manuscripts. Increasingly we find that the work must be highly polished before it will be considered by publishers. Visit Frances Goldin Literary Agency's website here. Contact: Sam Stoloff Jenna Glatzer is the author of Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer, among other books. Visit her at www.jennaglatzer.com and pick up a FREE editors' cheat sheet!
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Sam
Stoloff has been an agent with the Frances Goldin Literary Agency since 1997.
Prior to that he taught creative writing, literature, history and film studies
at Cornell University, Ithaca College, and the State University of New York.
He has an MFA in creative writing and a Ph.D in American Studies, both from
Cornell. He handles literary fiction, memoir, history, accessible
sociology and philosophy, psychology, cultural studies, serious journalism, and
narrative and topical nonfiction, preferably with a progressive orientation.
He is married with three children.
