Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent.

A few weeks ago, I offered free social media critiques to those who replied before the 14th. You see, social media is a specialty of mine. Before becoming an agent, I worked for some years as a social media marketer at a marketing agency outside of Chicago. I worked with clients such as Vera Bradley, Peg Perego, Benjamin Moore and more. A somewhat longer description of what I did can be found in the first critique post.

1. Alicia Bruxvoort submitted her blog.

• Overall, the design is nice, but it doesn’t seem to fit the space correctly. Your tagline is way at the bottom of your masthead, your post titles are scrunched to the left and you have some funky lines going through your email address submission box. I wonder if you’ve tested the site in multiple browsers?
• Your font size is fairly small in your posts, and your post length is quite long. It may seem silly to point this out, but things like these encourage people to skim. The more they skim, the easier it is for them to stop visiting your site altogether.
• There seems to be a lot of clutter at the end of your posts. You have prayers, praises, links to other bloggers, stock images, verses and a conversation-starter question. That’s a lot of takeaway, and it’s probably overwhelming readers.
• I don’t see where I can share posts on Facebook or Twitter.

RECOMMENDATIONS

View your site in multiple browsers and on multiple screen sizes. Tweak accordingly. You should also think about reorganizing your content so that you are flooding everything into your daily posts. I suggest leaving the praises for a separate, daily evening post and removing some of the tags and prayers and verses at the end to focus on the questions you pose to the readers. This will give a clearer picture of what you’re wanting from your readers and it will help them deliver.

2. Pilgrim on the Loose is a blog by Verla Wallace

• Your book is buried in your website. I wouldn’t even know you have a book if I didn’t click on the tabs and see it as an option. I understand you may be in the midst of rebranding, but your books sales numbers are going to matter very much when you try and sell your next book. So it’s wise to continue to push sales.
• Your blog seems to be a place of encouragement and insight…possibly a daily devotional type place. It’s harder to get readers to interact on this type of site, so be sure to have another place people can go where it’s more casual (such as a facebook page)
• I like your bio section. It’s well written and entertaining.
• Is there a reason you post the same picture of yourself on each post? Try to change it up a bit.

RECOMMENDATIONS

I think you need to determine what you want this site to do for you. You’ve moved away from being an expert in the workplace to being more of a introspective, devotional writer. While that’s okay, those types of writers are a dime a dozen. In broadening your audience you may also be eliminating the very thing that makes you unique. Just a thought.

3. Elizabeth Jane Kitchens submitted her website

• I’d really like to see a picture of you on the home page!
• I’m not sure the theme here is big enough to constitute an active blog following. I know there’s a huge underground of people interested in fairy tales, but I’m just not sure that your posts are going to capture those readers. They just seem kind of plain and safe. I don’t feel like I’m coming away with new information or a good laugh or even the discovery of something new.
• You feel very distant from your readers. There’s no Twitter or Facebook links, and for the contact section, all we’re given is an email address. In addition to this, there’s no REASON for me to reach out and try to connect with you more. I’m not going to be met with a thriving fairy tale-lovers community, I’m not going to be given a weekly email blast of what’s happening in the world of fairy tale books, movies and stage productions. There just isn’t a takeaway that makes it worth my time to get connected.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Think of ways to take this blog content to the next level. Really dig into answering the question of “how can I present fairy tale content that people NEED?” You may want to turn that on its head and ask yourself “If there was a one-stop blog where I could find out about fairy tales, what type of information would I want it to provide?” If you find the answer to this question, you’ll have the foundation for a blog that could really appeal to a niche market, and you’ll soon be the fairy tale expert!

Okay, readers, how are YOU working to make sure your content has serious takeaway value?

Several questions have come in lately regarding relationships with agents…

One person asked, “Is it okay to take a proposal that you previously submitted to an agent, rework it to resolve the problems, then resubmit to them, explaining that you took their advice to heart and made the changes they suggested?

It depends on the agent and the situation. Here’s how I approach it… If I see potential in your writing, but I’m not crazy about the particular proposal I’m looking at, I may say to you, “This has potential, but it also has problems. Here’s what I’d suggest you do in order to improve it. Try this, this, and this. Then you’re welcome to send it back to me for another look.” I don’t do that often, but occasionally I’ll see talent in a writer and that causes me to want to work with them a bit more. Other times I’ll just say to an author, “You have talent, but this story isn’t working. Why don’t you write something else, then resubmit.” (I do this even less frequently.) If an agent invites an author to resubmit, that means the agent sees something they like in the author’s work — so by all means follow up, do the reshaping, and resubmit.

The same person wrote this: “I had an agent send me a letter, but he didn’t really decline my project. He just said it’s not a fit for his agency. What does that mean? Should I reshape it and try again?”

It means he’s declining the chance to represent you. I receive hundreds of proposals. Sometimes it’s clear the author just isn’t ready. The writing is weak or the story is bad. In those cases, I just decline. I’ll usually say we’re declining without giving a reason. Why? Because it’s not my job to fix all the bad writers in the world. Unless they’re paying me to do an edit, I don’t feel a need to offer a lot of input. But keep in mind that sometimes I’ll tell an author I’m not a fit for a particular project. For me, that means exactly what it says: I don’t know what to do with your project. If you come to me with a book that I have no idea how to sell, it doesn’t matter if I like the idea — if I can’t sell it, it’s no good to me. So I’ll just say, “This isn’t a fit.” Maybe I’ll encourage you to keep searching, or maybe I really have no idea what to do and can’t answer any questions for you.

Different agents decline things different ways, so I suppose this could also be a weasley way of simply declining you. There used to be an agent blogger called “Miss Snark,” who would look at proposals online, and did a wonderful job of telling bad writers to go to hell. It was her way of saying, “Look, there are a million people trying to write books. I can only represent a hundred of them. Do the math.” So if I say to someone, “This probably isn’t right for me,” then take my word for it — it probably isn’t right. I’m not the guy for it. You don’t want me selling it. Trying to fix it and send it back to me won’t help me become the guy for it. Just move on to another agent.

And someone wrote and asked, “What does an agent want to see in a novel proposal — a full manuscript? Or a synopsis and overview?

Initially, I just want a query that gives me the basic story and reveals your writing ability. If I like it, I’ll ask to see sample chapters. If I like those, I’ll ask to read the whole schlamozzle. It’s become almost impossible to sell a first-time novelist without a completed manuscript.

Another wants to know, “What is the best way to meet agents? (I don’t live in the US.) And are agents and publishers looking for sci-fi novels these days?”

If you don’t live in the States, you’re going to have a hard time meeting an agent. You may want to invest in a visit, and perhaps attend a writing conference where you can be face to face with an agent. It’s always nice to meet your agent face to face, though I’ll admit I represent a few authors I’ve never met. But getting connected, getting to know one another, makes for a better long-term relationship. However, I’ll give you a secret: If you really want to catch an agent, the best thing you can do is to become a great writer. It’s true. Work and rework your manuscript. Hone your craft. Become great, then all you’ll have to do is send in your samples and agents will fight to sign you. Honest. There are few great writers, and I’m not sure I know any great writers who aren’t represented or published. Become a great writer and you’ll get published.

As for your sci-fi novel question (usually referred to as “speculative” these days), I’d say that, like always, the response is mixed. There’s a hardcore speculative readership with a small number of publishers. It’s probably grown in recent years, but it’s divided into new categories recently. (Are all the vampire  and endtimes novel speculative? Are all the science novels we’ve seen lately sci-fi?) If you’ll check my business website you’ll see that I don’t personally deal with much speculative fiction. It’s not my thing — I don’t read much of it, so I don’t sell much of it. But other agents who work with me handle it, so it’s best to run it by them. And remember, you don’t want to be chasing the market, you want to be setting the market. So write a great novel, and no matter what the category is, somebody will be interested in publishing it.

Got a question about publishing or writing? Send it along and I’ll do my best not to screw up the answer.

Someone wrote to ask, “How do you handle the ending of individual books in a series that needs each book to stand alone, yet have threads of continuation? Is it possible to conclude the manuscript in the point of view of the antagonist?”

Fiction series have a tendency to flow in and out like the tide. For a while, publishers wanted everything to be written in two-to-four book series. But then they noticed that the second and third books of a series always seemed to decline in sales from the first book, so they began moving away from series. If you’re creating a series of novels, the most important lesson is that each book must stand on its own. You can’t have a middle novel that feels as though it’s nothing more than a placekeeper — words on pages that spread out the story from its opening to its eventual conclusion. Each book must be able to be read and enjoyed without feeling as though the reader doesn’t have the whole story. So the threads of continuation are typically an unresolved story element or a continuing character, all within the same setting, presenting a similar theme, and offering the same style and voice as the other books in the series. So yes, it’s possible to conclude a manuscript with a short blurb from the antagonist’s POV, or perhaps an extended note or conversation with the character. Thomas Harris did this with Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, and Ed McBain used this device successfully with his antagonist The Blind Man in some of his 82nd Precinct books. The ending left the antagonist uncaught — and ready to go commit more mayhem.

Another author asked, “Is it true the foreword of a book should be the author’s honest explanation of his or her novel? I ask because the author of the bestselling novel The Shack makes it sound as though he is presenting a true story — and in fact some people have been led to believe that is a true story.”

I would disagree with the notion that the foreword of a novel must be the author’s honest explanation. British novelist P.G. Wodehouse would often write a hilarious foreword to his book that had not the least bit of truth to it. Ken Follett often uses a historical reference as the foreword to his novels, but it’s always just the jumping-off place to a great story. And William Young uses his foreword to The Shack as a literary device to set up his novel — just as many authors have used newspaper clippings, court documents, or letters as a way of introducing their subject. It gives a feeling of “this COULD be real” to the story. So I don’t have a problem with him doing it. Of course, I also think anybody who believes The Shack is a true story is an idiot. So there you go. 

One reader wrote and noted, “I’m halfway through a story I originally intended for adults, but the more I work on it, the more I realize it’s going to appeal to younger readers. Can you tell me what the difference is between a novel for adults and one for a YA audience?”

Sure: a YA novel is a story written for those in the 12-to-17 market, offers a story and subsequent details that appeal to readers that age, and almost always has an adolescent as the protagonist. Since adolescents have a tendency to focus on certain challenges (the relationship with parents, the need to grow and discover one’s identity, a desire for autonomy, a search for truth, a need for fairness, a desire to be accepted, a wish to overcome difficulties and prove oneself worthy, etc), YA novels tend to offer storylines that include those elements. There are few limitations in terms of setting and characters that would make a YA novel different from an adult novel, but there are frequently limitations in terms of theme and subject matter — for example, while many adult novels explore violence or sexuality, you’ll find it tough to get much interest in a YA novel that does so (the Newbery Awards not withstanding).

For those who enjoy history, let me offer a brief lesson in YA history: Sarah Trimmer was a strong Anglican church-goer who dedicated her time and her fortune to building schools, teaching Sunday School, and writing books for children. She believed the surest path to success for British children of the working poor in the late 1700′s and early 1800′s was for them to learn to read, and she did all she could to make that happen. Ms Trimmer particularly believed that teaching children Bible stories would help them to live out their faith, make them better people, and therefore improve the world. She was a reformer, and one of the most influential women of her day. She is also the person who came up with the notion of classifying books as appropriate for “Children” or “Young Adults” (which in her day was from age 14 to 21), and explained that some books needed to be written especially for the members of our society who are no longer children but are not yet adults. I note this only because contemporary publishing still uses Ms Trimmer’s classifications for children and YA novels. (And yes, I love publishing history. This is the sort of thing we have to remember so that future generations understand where they came from.)

Someone named Dale wrote to me — which excited me no end, since I can now say this part of the blog is from Chip and Dale – and noted, “I am deep into a middle-grade novel that was inspired by some drawings done by a colleague of mine. I’ve heard that some agents might be leery of an author who includes illustrations along with his manuscript. Do you have any advice?”

Yes, I do: Don’t send the drawings with your novel. Just send the words, and try to get a deal based on the quality of your writing. Once a publisher likes it, you can always forward the drawings and say, “This is what inspired me, and I thought something like this might be appropriate for you to use with my book.” But don’t get your hopes up — it’s rare for an editor who likes the words to also like the artwork. Or sometimes to have much input into the artist. 

And someone wrote to ask, “What is your take on prologues — do they help or hinder a novel? It’s my opinion they can be helpful in providing some backstory when done properly, but I’ve heard some agents despise them.”

I’m always looking for a great story. If that story requires a short prologue to set it up, so be it. I’m not opposed to prologues per se, but the problem with most prologues is that they are either too long (offering a bunch of boring details) or completely unnecessary (and therefore pushing me away from the actual story). I frequently see beginning novelists insert a prologue because they think I’m not smart enough to follow the story on my own. They could be right, of course… maybe I’m not that smart. But what I’d prefer to see is writing that is strong enough we jump right into the story, and I pick up the details I need after I’m caught up in the events and characters.

Does that help? Happy to answer your publishing questions — send them along. 

Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent.

I’m interrupting the regularly scheduled Social Media Critiques to wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving.

I’ve been an agent for about two and a half years now, but I’ve only been full time for one of those years. So today, I’m reflecting on how blessed I am to have been doing this “book thing” full time for a full year.

I met Chip about four years ago at an author book signing. I was working as an Admissions Counselor at a university where he was a visiting professor. My friend, who happened to be a student there, kept telling me about this big time agent who was on campus and how I needed to meet him. But despite it being a very small school, I couldn’t for the life of me  figure out who he was.

So the only way to meet him was to trap him at an author book signing. At the time, I (ashamedly) didn’t know who the author was (Chip tells me it was Lisa Samson), and I honestly didn’t know very much about Chip other than the fact that my friend told me he was epic. So, we winged it. We walked in to the store, found Chip, and then I took a breath, walked up, and introduced myself.

He said something sarcastic.

I said something sarcastic.

The rest is history.

I started doing odd jobs for him (basically all the stuff he didn’t want to do himself), and in 2009 I was hired on as a part time assistant. In 2010, I was promoted to agent (though I maintained a full time job at a marketing agency). And last November, I quit my marketing job to pursue agenting full time.

When people see me and think that I’m like 22 years old (I’ll be 29 in December), they always ask me “How do you become an agent?” as if there’s some application you can fill out or secret fast track to success. The truth (as this story shows) is that it’s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time with the right skill set. Oh, and then you have to make the right impression.

And that’s what so much of this business is about, whether you’re on this side of the desk or not. It’s about relationships and proving yourself knowledgeable, skilled and likable.

I’m so very thankful to have me Chip those years ago. And I’m thankful that he saw something in me that told him I could make a go of this.

So what’s your industry story? How did you get connected and who saw that special something in YOU that made all the difference?

While on an agent’s panel at ACFW in September, I sat next to Lee Hough, one of the smartest and hardest working agents in the business. While we all fielded the typical questions we get as panelists, someone asked a question about the current state of affairs in publishing, and how agents are faring.

Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent.

A few weeks ago, I offered free social media critiques to those who replied before the 14th. You see, social media is a specialty of mine. Before becoming an agent, I worked for some years as a social media marketer at a marketing agency outside of Chicago. I worked with clients such as Vera Bradley, Peg Perego, Benjamin Moore and more. A somewhat longer description of what I did can be found in the first critique post.

1. dabneyland is a blog by Dabney Hedegard

• Super cute design!
• I feel as though the goal of this blog is to help people navigate sickness/loved ones that are sick/etc? If so, I think a stronger, more obvious tagline would help set the right expectations
• Your “About dabneyland” and “About the Blogger” page are very much focused on you, which is fine, but there isn’t anywhere I can go to get a clear picture of what you want this blog to do for ME as a reader. I suggest tweaking the “about the blogger” copy to make it more about reader takeaway value
• Great blog posts titles; very searchable

RECOMMENDATIONS: You’re doing so much right, that my suggestions are pretty nit-picky. I’d write a new tagline that is makes it clear that dabneyland is a place people can come when they’re in the midst of an illness. I’d also reiterate that in either your “About” or “About the Blogger” sections.

2. The Word Butcher is a blog by Jerry Eckert

I’m just going to give you a list of things I think you could do to make this site fit with your book:

• First, I must note that your memoir doesn’t sound like a memoir. It sounds like a short biography. A memoir doesn’t highlight every struggle of a person’s life but instead one snapshot of time…one theme that was lifechanging. It sounds as though your book is a hodge podge of things that have happened to you.
• When  you have focus to your memoir, make the title, tagline and content of this blog revolve around the memoir’s theme. For example: if it’s going to be about travel, it should have lots of photos with great stories of those countries you visited.
• Once you have the content down, get involved online with meeting other bloggers an interacting on their sites. Do this consistently, and you’ll see readership grow.

3. In Search of His Face is a blog by Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts

• wow, there’s a lot to like here. You have a great masthead, your book is prominent, and your blogging style is really great to read
• I suggest making the background just a solid cover. The repeated image of you just doesn’t look clean and professional
• I also suggest shortening your blog posts. There’s a lot of text there and without images to break it up, it can feel daunting to read in one sitting. I imagine if you posted shorter pieces, you may get more interaction.
• You got a bit political with your writings. And though I think you had some good things to say, it’s always very dangerous to talk politics on a blog or on the Internet! So with everything you write, make sure that it focuses on your blog’s promise of searching for the face of Christ.

RECOMMENDATIONS: These were all nit-picky things, but I hope they’re helpful. I think your main goal right now should be to get your blog some notice. So post links to your blog posts on Facebook and Twitter…frequent message boards and other blogs that have readers similar to yours. And always end your posts with a leading question that gets readers to contribute!

4. Cathy Gohlke provided her blog for review

• First, the fact that you had to tell me what to click on to get to your blog is probably a red flag. You want it to be intuitive. So my first suggestion is to change “Journal” to “blog”
• I’m not sure what I as a reader get out of reading your blog. You blog about everything from family to politics to social issues to events you attend, so each post feels like a grab-bag of content. But since this blog lives on your author site, I imagine there’s an expectation for it to be more fan-centric. And it’s just not quite there.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Restructure your blog posts to be all about your readers, not about you. Pose open-ended questions at the end that encourage conversation, and dabble in giveaways and contests and fun ways to get people excited and sharing the posts online. Include some pictures in each post and be careful of length and readability.

Cathy also sent her Facebook page for consideration:

• Can you find a different profile picture? It’s weird to have the same profile picture as your cover photo.
• You provide really great content on this page! Every post either pushes readers to DO something or it offers them some sort of takeaway. Nicely done.

RECOMMENDATIONS: I’d say your FB page is a better space for your to interact with fans than you blog. I’d drive people to FB. So make sure that it’s very easy to get to FB from your website and other social media outlets. Then, continue to groom your FB page into a place where readers can learn more about your author career but also come away with great info on happenings that may interest them.

That’s it for this week! And I must ask…Any NaNoWriMo-ers out there?? How many words do you have done?!

An author wrote with this question: “What would you say are the common areas of neglect you see in most second novels? Weak plot? Poor characterization? Underdeveloped themes?”

Love this question, since I tell the authors I represent that “your SECOND novel will be your most important.” You’ve doubtless spent years getting your first novel completed, then worked to edit it, got all sorts of advice, and went through the process of shopping it with an agent. It’s polished and ready to go after three or five years of working on it. Then you get a deal, and suddenly the publisher asks you to write another one in five months. Ack! You race through it, and it comes out disappointing. That can be a career killer, since you want your second novel to build off the sales of your first.

The biggest pitfalls in a second novel? A small idea (your first book was big; your second was hurried and not thought through as well.) Small characters (your first book contained characters you knew intimately; your second has people you don’t know as well). Less sense of place (your first novel is in a place you’ve spent considerable time exploring; your second is just a place). Less passion (your first novel grew out of a story you felt compelled to tell; your second is simply another book). You see the problem?

You see, your first novel sets a baseline in the marketplace. Retailers will be looking at your second book to decide if your audience is growing (and sales are up) or your audience is shrinking (your sales are down). They’ll take that as a sign of your future potential in the industry. Like it or not, that’s the tendency in today’s market. So you can’t scrimp on your second novel — it’s got to be as good as your first.

Someone else asked, “Should a novelist be thinking ‘sequel’ when she writes her first book? Has that become the industry norm? Should I have a story I can continue?”

Whether it’s the norm depends on the house — some publishers love sequels, others prefer not to sequence their books. But I would say the possibility for a sequel rests in your characters, not your story. Every novel needs a complete story (and aren’t we all sick to death of reading a novel that seems like nothing more than a long advertisement for the next book?). But if you have interesting characters than can continue, you’ve got the possibility of crafting a good sequel. So… no, I don’t believe the message that “you must always have a sequel.” The fact is, most second books in a series sell fewer copies than the first book in the series. So the idea that a sequel will automatically help you get established is a myth. However, you should always have another book in mind, whether it’s with these characters or others.

And someone else asked this question about sequels: “If your second novel is about the same characters as your first, how much description of them needs to occur for new readers, without frustrating repeat readers?”

Excellent question. My answer is probably, “Enough so that a reader will appreciate the characters in the current book.” Take a look at some great detective fiction for examples… You can pick up any Philip St Ives novel and feel you get to know the character, even though the author includes little description. Pull any Travis McGee novel off the shelf and you’ll see the character described in brief, then you’re quickly into the story. The same with Adam Dalgliesh or Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot. Too much description makes for a dull, wordy novel anyway. Get us introduced to the character, help us see what we need to see, then move us into the story.

And a friend had this follow-up question: “How far can you stray from expectations set by the first novel, before the reader feels betrayed?”

Not very far. It’s why many serial writers eventually feel trapped by their characters. You can’t have your God-fearing Priest Who Is A Weekend Sleuth With A Good Sense Of Humor suddenly transform into a Cross-Dressing Evil Genius. Readers won’t stand for it. If you create a character, you have to live with that character.

There’s a lot to say about second novels. It’s an overlooked topic, in my view. Happy to continue the discussion with your questions.