Curtis Brown Literary Agency — Blog

This is the third article in a four-part series written for Literature Wales on how to secure the interest of a literary agent…

Even if you follow all the advice in the world - including the advice in these articles! - it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be offered representation. This situation can arise due to lots of different reasons. Euan Thorneycroft, a literary agent who represents several writers from Wales and works at AM Heath, shares the top three most common mistakes with us below that he witnesses on the submission pile:

So often I read a really polished first three chapters, get all exited, but then the rest of the novel doesn’t match up. While the beginning is important, so is the other 80% of your book. Take the time to revise and polish the whole thing before you submit.
But don’t keep revising and polishing. At some point, you need to let your manuscript go.
Always check the spelling of the agent’s name so you don’t get it wrong.

Meanwhile, Cathryn Summerhayes, agent at Curtis Brown - who is Cardiff born and bred - shares on the Penguin website some of the reasons which cause her to bin a submission:

· Typos. Accidentally cc-ing every other agent you’ve sent to, submitting to the wrong agent – I often see material I wouldn’t consider on my list, even though my online profile and the agency’s website make it very clear what I do and don’t like.

· You’d be amazed how many times I see things like ‘I would LOVE to be represented by United Agents’ (I work for Curtis Brown). Sloppiness suggests your work will be lazy and that you might not be a good self-editor, and ultimately that you might not be the best author for me to represent.

· This is your audition, your biggest job interview ever, so do put the work in! If you have written something brilliant, you don’t want to fall at the final hurdle by messing up the covering letter.

Meanwhile, here are some other reasons that submissions can fall flat that I’ve witnessed over the years.

Submitting too soon

If you’re looking to submit a work of fiction, including children’s, to an agent then you’ll need to have written a first full draft – and revised it many times to polish it to as high a standard as you can on your own before you put together your submission package. It’s not worth the anguish of submitting before you’ve done this because, if the agent likes the initial three chapters, they’ll be chomping at the bit to read the balance of it. If you have to reply to say that you’ve not yet written it, you risk falling off their radar (or disappointing them as in Euan’s example above).

Mismatch

It’s a basic mistake, but one that many authors can fall foul of: not doing the desk research and submitting to an agent whose list isn’t open or to an agent whose list is not right for your project. It’s always worth that extra ten minutes checking the agent’s individual list before you submit – checking that they are looking for work in the genre you’re writing in, googling them or looking them up on Twitter to see if they’ve been writing about their current tastes recently. Just in the process of writing this article, I’ve spotted an agent on Twitter who’s keen to hear from working class writers – Nicola Barr at the Bent Agency.

You might find that agents who are more senior have lists which are closed and which reject you outright because, for example, they only work with six authors who are all world famous and that is enough business to keep them busy. Again, do your desk research.

Presentation

Because of the volume of submissions that agents receive – this will be in double figures daily for most agents – a concise and well-presented submission package is going to be important so that you don’t get dismissed within the first couple of seconds that the agent or initial reader opens the post or email. What does ‘well presented’ mean, though?

I would suggest that you consider using the same font and font size in all of your attachments and that you follow the advice in earlier articles around checking your submission package assiduously for typos. Keeping your manner professional in the cover note will help because, as we’ve discovered, this is about letting the writing speak for itself. I say this with experience; the submission packages which told me to ‘brew myself a cup of tea’ with a teabag affixed to the cover letter immediately went into the recycle pile (it happened more than once!). The packages I was more likely to pass on to the agent when I was in charge of sifting through the submission pile were those in which the author got the necessary information across while giving a flavour of their stellar writing – without gimmicks.

Expectation Management

The standard length of time I would wait before nudging agents is three months. Agents have phenomenal and relentless amounts to read and especially in the wake of Coronavirus, additional strains will be present in the months and years to come as the industry has to re-invent itself. A polite email after this period has elapsed to enquire about the book (and perhaps mentioning any new developments in your own writing career to increase your relevancy) is absolutely fine.

Not realising that seeking representation can be a marathon rather than a sprint

We have all heard the story of the multitude of times JK Rowling touted the manuscript for Harry Potter around British publishers, but it bears repeating in this context: think about the amount of sheer determination and resilience that author had summoned up in order to keep going. If you’re serious about seeking representation, I would set aside a full calendar year, if not longer, for this journey – you could initially sketch out your year into four quarters with each submission round needing around three months apiece. This will help you to set your expectations and not lose heart. A recent system I’ve become a devotee of is the method of Bullet Journaling and perhaps you could consider researching this as a methodology to apply to your search for representation?

For this reason, it can be a good idea to have another book project simmering which you can turn to in between submission rounds; having this to hand will give you a focus beyond the book on submission and a reason to keep going as well as distracting you from obsessing over your inbox waiting for responses from agents. Having another manuscript in development can also be a good idea because ideally agents are looking to represent you beyond the book project you’ve submitted. It will be music to the agent’s ears, if they are interested in taking you on, that you have more work up your sleeve and in the latter stages of development.

Under-selling yourself

A good friend of mine who worked in writer development and who was pitching their book once turned to me for advice and asked me to look over their submission package. They were a talented and experienced writer who had performed their work on one of the biggest stages in London as well as been involved in many other creative interventions. Their draft cover email simply stated that they looked forward to hearing back about the submission. That was it: one sentence. No mention of their track record or the acclaim their work had been met with. I gently pointed out that all of this was relevant.

The more you can give your potential agent an overview of where you see yourself on the landscape of your genre, and perhaps also where you’re at in your development as an artist, the easier it will be for them to grasp whether the time is right for them to engage with you to work in developing your career.

Over-selling yourself

I’m sure that you wouldn’t do this – in my experience under-selling is the far more common pitfall that writers fall into! – but it is important that you give an accurate impression of who you are and what your relevant achievements are to date.

In summary

Be authentic from the start. This is about a relationship between two people and the more ‘yourself’ you can be as a creative person with your agent, the more fruitful and potentially collaborative the business relationship can be between you. Have confidence in who you are rather than who you think you should be. Every single author has a completely different ‘journey’ or career trajectory.

Further links to agents mentioned in this piece:

Check out Cathryn Summherhayes at Curtis Brown

Check out Euan Thorneycorft at AM Heath

Check out Nicola Barr at the Bent Agency

I’ve been asked by young people several times now at author readings to promote What a Way to Go how I broke into a career in publishing. I’ve been asked enough times for me to think that perhaps it would be worth doing a little blog post to explain, as the answer – like most things with me, it seems – is far from straight forward and, may I be upfront about this now, not in the least strategic... I’m thrilled to be partnering up with the Writers & Artists’ Yearbook with this post, and I'm running Twitter giveaway of the current Yearbook and my novel, What a Way to Go, between 1.00pm on Tuesday 8 March until 9.00pm GMT on Thursday 10 March 2016 (see the end of this post for details on how to enter). The bestselling Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook and website not only offers industry advice on the journey to becoming a published author, but also – as I discovered in my early twenties – I found that the Yearbook was an essential resource as I started out in my career within the publishing industry.

It all began in May 2001.

I returned (early) from St Andrews where I’d been studying for a Masters in Creative Writing. I was that skint that I couldn’t afford to spend the summer there writing up my dissertation as I’d spent the vast majority of my student loan on whisky-laced hot chocolates and scones in an attempt to stay warm and insulated.

The day I dumped my suitcase in my childhood bedroom, I checked my overdraft: maxed out to £2,000.

On my bed, my stepfather had put a copy of the G2, the Guardian insert, turned to a double-spread in which there was a write-up about a new office opening in Bath. The publishers, Barefoot Books had just moved there (sadly, they’ve just closed their UK offices in 2016).

I borrowed my Mum’s computer and retrieved my CV from a dusty floppy disk. I re-formatted it and inserted information about the two-week work placements I’d recently completed at the journal PN Review and The Real World, a magazine which specialised in careers advice – none of it I had bothered to listen to, until that day.

The following morning, I jumped in my Mum’s red 2CV, peeled back the roof and drove the cross-country route from Bristol to Bath and buzzed the office of Barefoot Books. With my CV in my hot little hands, I walked up two flights of stairs and placed my CV on the publisher’s pine desk. Looking back, I can’t quite believe I had the nerve to do it.

As I got back into the car, my brand new (and first ever) mobile phone rang in my pocket. I was so new to the technology, I nearly dropped the phone in shock. It was the publisher, offering me a summer’s work experience, which then turned into my first full-time post.

Fast forward a year and a half, I’d left the company to research a novel set in New York and Venice and had returned – once again – to the family home and an empty bank account. While in Venice, I had tried to convince a gondola maker to employ me, despite my only experience of manufacturing something with my hands being an egg cup. And it being made out of red plastic.

Funnily enough, a job offer was not forthcoming from the gondola maker, but while I was in Italy, my CV had been circulating around Bristol and had landed in the hands of the publisher Alastair Sawday whose offices were then just a three-field walk from my Mum’s house. He needed a nine-month maternity cover in the trade marketing department. This was a natural next step after my year’s work in the consumer marketing department for Barefoot Books. I ditched my dream of working in Venice, and opted for Somerset, instead.

When that short-term contract was up, I moved to London, temped for an agency which specialised in placing temps at publishing firms while I researched my next steps. Someone had suggested I should work in a literary agency, and the idea appealed. Working in marketing departments, I felt I was missing out in that I rarely had contact with authors (I hazard a guess that this is probably less the case in 2016, as marketing has a far larger influence in publishing nowadays...). As a fledgling author myself, I was also intrigued to learn more about the creative process and I thought that a literary agency might offer some visibility into that aspect of authorship.

I bought a copy of the Writers and Artists’ Yearbook and circled any literary agency that specialised in fiction – commercial or literary – which were within a commutable distance from where I lived in Peckham. I then spent a Wednesday afternoon working through the list of about thirty or so agencies. I phoned up and asked if any of them had any potential or actual openings, and whether they’d be happy to have my CV on file, if not.

My success rate was 13%: four out of thirty had either an opening on the horizon, a position currently vacant or were willing to meet me for a cup of tea and a chat. Within a few weeks, this lead to two job offers, and I then spent a happy two and a half years working as an assistant in a small Soho-based agency which had a diverse list of authors from around the world and a lovely boss who had a similar taste in not only books, but also (crucially) chocolate, coffee and Campari.

Although this was over ten years ago, I don’t think much of my advice would change today. If there is a common theme that I can draw out now, I realise that it would be that my first junior jobs in publishing were all job opportunities which I didn’t apply directly for – it was more a matter of having my CV out there, and presenting myself in a professional manner, not being afraid of being rejected and bouncing back from any rebuffs.

To conclude, I thought I’d draw up my top tips on getting a job in publishing:

Take a look at the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, published annually by Bloomsbury. It gives you a complete overview of the publishing industry, including contact details of publishers (books; magazines; newspapers as well as TV, film, radio and theatre), as well as including useful essays and articles inside the publication. Read on for more details about how to enter my giveaway to be in with a chance of winning a copy of the current edition...
Check out the Society of Young Publishers. Since 1949, they have provided a network for people advancing a career in the publishing sector. Initially offering support for people under 35, they now specialise in support for people who have worked in the industry for ten years or fewer. Membership, which starts at £24, offers networking events, a regular magazine and email bulletin as well as access to a jobs database and also a discount off the annual conference.
Consider applying for a longer, paid internship such as the one at Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden, Flintshire (this one also covers your accommodation) or at the Curtis Brown literary agency in central London.
During your summer vacations, you could perhaps consider a shorter, one- or two-week internship at a smaller local magazine or press.
Join the industry mailing lists such as the Bookseller Jobs alert, Bookbrunch and Booktrade info. Also follow their updates on Twitter.
If you’re in Wales, check out opportunities at independent presses such as Honno Welsh Women’s Press and Parthian Books who take interns, and also have a look at the Welsh Books Council website and Literature Wales for an overview of the publishing industry and writing community in Wales.
Think about setting up a little blog, such as Emily Walter’s, who works on Saturdays as a bookseller for Griffin Books in Penarth. On your blog, you can collate reviews or thoughts about books. You can then include this blog on your CV and in your job applications.
Enquire after doing work experience at your local literary festival, bookshop or library, or even within the culture strand within a larger festival such as Festival No. 6 or the Wilderness festival. Local small-scale literature festivals are popping up more and more. Recent and forthcoming additions to the literary festival calendar in my area include Shrewsbury, Crickhowell and Cardiff. Stints volunteering for festivals like this bolster your CV and also give you visibility into different aspects of the circuit and industry.
If you attend an event at a literary festival, don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to the editors, publishers or PRs attending at the end of the event and ask after opportunities for jobs or work experience.
Look up Carole Blake’s From Pitch to Publication, a one-stop book on how to get published. It will also give you a good overview of how different departments in publishing work.
Cultivate your taste in books. Read plenty, read diversely - and then some more! Be confident about the genres you like, but also be bold in trying new things. Being part of a monthly book club is an excellent way to read outside of your comfort zone, with the added bonus that you get to dissect why you liked or didn’t like something – and eat crisps at the same time.
Literary magazines such as Granta, New Welsh Review or the Stinging Fly include shorter pieces by authors on the ascendant and as such give you a taste for what might be published in the future. I’ve got a regular supply of second-hand New Yorker magazines and even if they’re a little bit out of date, I feel like I’m keeping in touch with new writing from America through this magazine.
Check out excellent blogs such as Mslexia, BookTrust or Publishing for Humans which is run by literary agent at David Higham Associates, Lizzy Kremer. You’ll find lots of different angles into the publishing scene through reading these.
Consider doing a course at the Publishing Training Centre in London. I did a one-day course on ‘Negotiating in Publishing’ and it was really helpful and provided me with something to discuss in my job interview at literary agencies. If you’re still at university, do check out the lifelong learning prospectus and see if you can get on a course about editing or publishing. I did this while at Warwick, and ended up getting my first paid job for a literary agent (as a manuscript assessor) via this route.
Pack some energy food and visit the London Book Fair. This year, it will be held between 12-14 April at Olympia. This is one of the best ways of getting your head around current publishing trends in a very visual and hands-on way, and there are also daily seminars which you can attend to learn more about different aspects of publishing.

If my experience is anything to go by, you’ll find your natural home in time, fitting in with the right culture – whether that’s working on mass market commercial fiction or a more niche strand of publishing, working for a crime imprint or educational publishing, working in design or in the accounts department. Most important of all, I think my top tip to someone keen to break into a career in publishing is to be yourself.

GIVEAWAY!

To enter my Twitter giveaway and be in with a chance of winning the current edition of the Writers and Artists’ Yearbook plus a signed copy of What a Way to Go simply visit my Twitter profile, follow and retweet the promotional tweet (which is pinned to my profile page) by 9.00pm GMT on Thursday 10 March 2016. This giveaway is open to residents of the UK only. Good luck!

What are the common pitfalls in securing an agent? How can we overcome them?

One Way to Get a Job in Publishing...