Breakups - Difficult, But Sometimes Necessary

Hi everyone! 

I am YA, and now MG author Barbara Binns , writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. My tagline tells you what I am about - Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them.  My newest book, Courage, is fiction for kids in grades third through seventh coming out July 31, 2018 from Harper Collins.


I just got an agent. Again.

The writer-agent relationship has been compared to a marriage or business partnership. And, just like either, the relationship can hit the skids if communication stops.

Andrea

It happened to me, resulting in the end of a long-term relationship, the kind I once thought would last forever and left me feeling like I walked on clouds. I signed with Andrea Somberg in 2009. She sold my first YA novel, Pull to Westside Books (unfortunately now defunct).

She and I kept up a steady stream of conversation in those days. Like newlyweds, we hated being apart from each other too long. The publisher was readying the manuscript, I was working on a new story, and we both remained close. But then...

I sent her another YA manuscript, and then another. She was unable to find homes for either of them among the publishers she knew. Like a marriage where one spouse is having job issues, our conversations faltered. Months passed, while bad news became no news.

As a change of pace, I sent her my 2009 Golden Heart finaling manuscript, an adult, interracial romance the judges had loved. That response was short and unsweetened, she had no interest.  I self-published the two YA manuscripts she had not been able to find homes for: Being God, about a teen alcoholic, and Minority Of One about a gay black youth. Somehow, that act, designed to at least make the stories available to young people, led her to think I wanted to become a self-published author. She sent me information on self-publishing, most of which I already knew. To me, that act felt like she was telling me my first book had been a fluke. That my writing was no longer good enough for her.

I have always been a sucker for this.

Still, I continued writing. In 2015, six years and multiple manuscripts after Pull, I switched genres. I sent Andrea a MG novel I titled Courage. She sold that story to Harper Collins. Surely, I thought then, our relationship was back on track.

Only, my agent and I still weren't communicating.

Because I was chose to attend the 2016 SCBWI conference in New York, I arranged to meet both my agent and editor for lunch. They both proved to be wonderful women. For the brief time we were together we actually talked and shared.  Surely, I thought, my agent and I are back on track.

But after that meeting...nothing. My agent was happy to forward me copies of emails from the editor. But she never initiated conversation with me. I sent her another manuscript, a YA again, I admit. She sent it to a few places and forwarded me the rejections. Even when I asked her what she thought might be wrong with the book, even though I was searching for some kind of guidance or feedback, her response was noncommittal. For better or for worse, the silence left me thinking she felt I was just not good enough.

In December of 2017 I sent her an email, once again seeking guidance, this time on what kind of story I should work on next. We were supposed to be partners, I reminded myself. I could ask for direction. I told her about some ideas I was considering working on.  I got one piece of feedback, a comment that another MG might be easier to sell.

Two months ago, I attended a writers conference where I was a speaker on diversity in writing. There, someone who  learned about the growing rift between me and my agent sat me down and lectured me. She told me I needed to let the relationship end. I hated her for saying that. I literally could not squelch my tears of anger as I protested, arguing with her that I could not ask for a "divorce."  I was afraid to be agentless. She told me no agent was better than one who left me feeling this ineffective.

The advice was harsh, yet sounded all too familiar.

In college, I once tried to hold onto a guy who had lost interest in me. He wasn't a bad man, I was simply no longer important to him, and other women were. I fought against leaving him. It was the most embarrassing experience of my life. And now I was doing exactly the same thing, holding onto another relationship that wasn't doing me any favors. And shedding angry tears over advice I really needed to pay attention to.

I wiped away those tears and wrote to my agent to say goodbye. She was honestly surprised.  She hadn't been trying to shove me away, she said she honestly thought I wanted to be a self-published author, even thought she had never asked me what I did want. I should have told her how I felt earlier, she said. I will give her that point. I should not have let things continue deteriorating for so long. I should have stopped holding on so tight much sooner. Communication on both our parts could have made a huge difference in our relationship.

Emily

I will remember that with my new agent, Emily Sylvan Kim of Prospect Literary. I met her at that same conference. Instead of making me cry, she expressed genuine interest when I mentioned one of my unpublished YA manuscripts. So here's to a new long-term relationship. One where we won't spend months at a time without a word, email or text.

Romancing the Writer in Me/ RWA Conference 2015

By Marcia King-Gamble
www.lovemarcia.com

http://amzn.com/B013U5ADOY

I grew up in New York, so naturally when this year's  Romance Writers of America's  conference  was held there, I couldn't miss it.  Now be warned,  I am a lousy conference attendee, and I rarely show up for  anything - keynote speeches being the exception and only if they are scheduled  after nine. Yet there isn't a conference that I've attended where I did not end up accomplishing something big,  and that includes selling a  few books.

Every agent I've ever had, I met at  a conference. Every editor I've had the good fortune to work with, started off as a chance encounter  Mind you, what works for me may not work for you, but  do not underestimate the power of networking. Combined with  your awesome talent, networking can and does open doors.

If you are the gregarious type, then by all means use that asset.  For someone like me, far better suited to yucking it  up in a bathroom or coffee shop, sitting through a workshop can be difficult.Workshops of course do serve their  purpose. Writers need to keep up with what's going on in the industry. I call it Minding Your Business

So I did pop in on one or two workshops and left with several kernels of wisdom. However, what works for me best, is getting out and about, meeting people. Weeks before I leave for a conference, I reach out to people and I set up appointments. This year I was super organized and those appointments found their way to an app. I even had a little buzzer alert me when I was at the ten minute mark.


 Here's my story, over eighteen years ago, I met my first editor at a  conference. I was totally clueless as to her identity and I don't recall if she ever did provide  a title, but a connection was made. It may have to do with me not being awed. Remember I didn't know who she was. We fell into easy conversation, none of which centered around publishing.  At that time, the line I would eventually end up writing for wasn't in existence, but six months later it was, and guess who my editor was, and guess who got a two book contract? I also met my first agent this way.

At these events you'd be amazed who you meet. We all have our idols and writers whose voices we love. Just  fancy rubbing elbows with the incomparable, Nora Roberts and RWA's president, Cindy Kirk, whom I was fortunate enough to work with on a Harlequin Mediterranean Night's series eons ago.

 

Back to the RWA 2015 Conference. My goals this year were to meet with my agent -  since face to face beats e-mails any day. I also wanted to pitch a story that has sat in my computer gathering cobwebs and catch up with industry friends.

I did all that, the added bonus being Restaurant Week in The City, and the perfect opportunity to sample some very nice places at a very nice price. Below is a picture of author friends at one of my all time favorite restaurants, Gotham Bar and Grill.

        LR authors Mary Leo, Carla Neggers, Joan Johnston, Laura Castoro Parker (AKA D.D. Ayres,) Sandra Kitt and me!

Years ago, someone gave me  a sage piece of advice that stuck - talk to everyone. That advice held true in a bathroom. There I was, applying lipstick, and chatting up a very nice woman who turned out to be an editor for a house I once wrote for. She liked my writing voice and invited me to submit to her.

During my pitch to an editor, I found common ground. His stepmother was an "Island Girl,"  and so am I. The story I was pitching happened to be set in the islands. He asked to see it. Kismet?

A meet up for coffee, with shop talk off limits, turned into a conversation about a current project and an opportunity that could be huge. A stop to support a friend at a book signing, led to a potential collaboration of sorts.    


While I didn't get to collaborate with the talented lady below,  I  enjoyed meeting Jude Deveraux - the epitome of graciousness.

What I am saying, is that some of your best connections are made in places you least expect it.  Just like any business, people hire the people they like. So be  your most charming and don't judge the "book" by the cover.

Speaking of covers, here is the cover of my latest novella scheduled to be released this week. Please check Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Apple. Reviews are very much appreciated!

Marcia King-Gamble is  a Caribbean/American national bestselling author with over thirty two books to her credit.

The Changing Market

Here are some trends in publishing and marketing which hit "big" in 2014. Will they still work going forward? Yes. Until the next "big" thing knocks them aside!

Ebook Tricks on Amazon:

• Permanently free ebooks: This is still touted as the best way to drive traffic to your additional books.

• 99-cent ebook collections/boxed sets: These are intended to accomplish two things. First, hit the New York Times bestselling list, and second, to get readers to sample your writing. Sometimes it works; but the super-cheap pricing also leads to…

• Book Hoarding: People have literally thousands of free or cheap ebooks on their Kindles, because they can. Most are never read.

Trends Based in Amazon Algorithms:

• Shorter books, with a maximum of 50,000 words. Not all of us want fluff, but there are enough readers who do.

• Publishing a new book every month. Yes. Every month. These can be new books, re-releases, compilations, bonus material, etc. The point is, Amazon likes active authors because they sell more books. Gone are the days when having new books releasing a year or more apart are the norm for success.

Major Shifts in Industry Attitudes:

• Submissions to editors & agents are down, and for two reasons: First, because new authors are scared of rejection, so they self-publish, generally prematurely. Second, because new authors think self publishing is so "easy."

• As a result, editors and agents are interested in talking to successful self-publishing authors. And not only about new works, but already-published works as well. Why? Because the authors have already done the work.

Reader Events:

• These are popping up EVERYWHERE.

• They can be genre specific, or even sub-genre specific.

• They vary from one day to five days.

• The best ones offer extended intentional face-time with readers.

• They are a wonderful chance for authors to spread word-of-mouth advertising.

• www.TheDreamsConvention.com You're welcome.

Random Feedback from Other Authors and Readers:

• All media are taking fewer risks as they lose revenue in the shifting trends. So, they'll publish the same stuff or remake the same movies but won't take a risk and try something new.

• Publishers are buying out other publishers.

• Indie publishing and e-books are giving readers so many new choices, and new authors a chance to shine. We no longer have to read what big publishers ALLOW us to see.

• We create a consumable product and have an insatiable audience. Therefore, we should help each other.