Caryn Wiseman is a literary agent who primarily represents children’s and middle grade for The Andrea Brown Literary Agency. In our interview with her, she talks about why she’s sick of vampire and werewolf stories, why she loves agenting and her biggest no-no when submitting to her.
Tell us about yourself and why you think that writers should consider you for representation. Why are you the best agent in the universe, Caryn?
I am an Agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc. and I’m the best agent in the universe because I love what I do! I get to use so many of my skills in agenting: editing skills, critical reading skills, and sales and negotiation skills, honed by an MBA and fifteen years of business experience prior to entering this field. I’m doing something right, as I have sold over 100 books, and I get up every day eager to work. I represent New York Times bestsellers, award winners, debut authors, and everyone in between, and I’m always thrilled to call and tell an author that he or she has on offer.
What has your agency done to prepare itself for all the changes that are happening in publishing?
We’re seeing a “barbell effect” in which books are selling at the high end and low end of the spectrum; it’s the midlist that’s suffering most. Publishers are less willing to take risks. They want books that are likely to be certified hits, or for which they don’t pay a lot of money. While you can’t write to the trends, I spend time discussing upcoming projects with my clients, and deciding which are the most likely to sell in this environment, before they put start to write. Once his or her book is published, the best thing an author can do is promote, promote, promote. It’s always extremely important, but in this economy, it’s more important than ever.
What are your thoughts about the Kindle, the iPad, and eBooks in general? How have they changed the marketplace?
I think that we’re in a time of flux right now, and it’s more important than ever that writers understand what their rights are, and why it’s important to hold on to them. No matter what new platforms technology brings us, the need for content won’t change. Even if everyone on the planet can easily self-publish, there have still got to be avenues for the cream to rise to the top.
Caryn, what would you say is hot now, what are editors currently looking for? And what are you looking for?
Funny middle-grade, horror, dystopian, steampunk, multicultural fiction. No more vampires, werewolves or zombies. I’d like to see a middle-grade or YA novel that explores a fresh, new paranormal category or a new twist on a dystopian world. I’d love to see a wonderful middle-grade or YA novel in which the protagonist is multicultural, and that informs his/her decisions, but is not the focus of the story. I’d love to see a great environmental novel. Most of all, I’d just like to see manuscripts that make me laugh, make me cry, and keep me up at night.
What’s the best way for writers to approach you? And what’s one of your pet peeves when writers query you?
We accept e-queries only. A pet peeve is when someone queries me who clearly hasn’t looked carefully at our website; they either query about categories that I don’t represent, or they don’t follow our guidelines and include sample pages. The biggest no-no is when they query more than one of the agents at my agency. It’s a waste of time for all involved. If I think that your manuscript has some merit, but it’s not right for me, I’ll pass it on to one of my colleagues. Otherwise, a no from one agent is a no from the agency as a whole. Finally, don’t make it obvious that you’re querying other agents, by including them in your addressees, or by addressing me by another agent’s name. I don’t expect exclusive submissions, but I’d like to think that you took the time to tailor your query just for me.
And finally, what is something about you that very few people know?
I love chocolate, but I think that everyone knows that! about me I used to do musical theater and sing opera (not professionally); that’s a little known fact.