Ask the Industry Expert: Literary Agent Kate Burke

It's a pleasure to welcome literary agent Kate Burke to the RNA blog today for an interview with Helena Fairfax. Kate is with Diane Banks Associates and worked previously at Headline, Penguin, HarperCollins, and as Editorial Director at Century (Random House). Thanks so much for joining us, Kate!

Please tell us a little about Diane Banks Associates, how long the agency has been established, and how you came to join. 

Diane set up the agency in 2006 after a career in publishing on the rights side. I head up the fiction side of things for the agency and we also have a non-fiction agent, a children’s/YA agent and a broadcast agent, so we are a full-service agency, handling all rights (translation, film & TV, audio, speaking engagements, etc) in house.

I joined five years ago and also came from the publishing side – I had been an editor for ten years, publishing all types of commercial fiction and editing lots of bestselling authors (Marian Keyes, Fern Britton, Lisa Jewell, Jane Fallon, Jane Green, Cecelia Ahern, Penny Vincenzi to name but a few!) I loved my time as an editor but what I really wanted to do was seek out new writers, so switching sides and becoming an agent was the perfect solution. From my experience at four major publishers, I know what editors are looking to acquire, what they want to see in a submission letter, how they want a book to be pitched to them and, above all, I know that a manuscript needs to be up to scratch before an editor can consider it and share it with their team, so I offer my clients extensive editorial feedback before submitting their manuscripts to publishers.

What genres do you represent personally?

My main areas of fiction are women’s/contemporary romance, historical, psychological/domestic suspense, crime, thrillers and sagas. I’m always looking for new writers in these areas.

You've had extensive experience in commissioning and publishing commercial fiction. What is it about a book that makes you decide it will sell well? (Difficult question, I know…!)

This probably sounds a bit basic but I need to be gripped by the writing and want to read on! It’s all about engaging the reader – I can work with a writer to fix a plot, timeline or structure of a novel – but that writing quality – the flow of words, the telling of the story, characters that feel real – needs to be there from the outset. What’s also needed (for me to see its selling potential) is an original storyline/hook, one that I can pitch to editors in just a couple of sentences.

Have you noticed any particular trends in romance recently, and if so, what do you think is going to be big this year?

I wish I had a crystal ball to predict what will be big this year! Sadly, I don’t, but dark women’s fiction (often labelled domestic or psychological suspense) continues to sell well and I think that trend of exploring the darker side of relationships and romance isn’t going away. That said, I think there has been so much dark and thrillerish romance published over the past few years that readers are now ready for something more uplifting! I think we will see more romantic comedies coming out over the next year or so – warm, romantic, life-affirming reads that will provide a nice balance to all the darker, creepier novels out there.

Do you ever find authors outside the slush pile? If so, how?

Rarely but it does happen. Sometimes I’ll meet authors at literary festivals or conferences and they’ll pitch their novel to me or sometimes a friend or contact of one of my authors will send their manuscript in. The slush pile is usually where I find most of my clients though.

What advice would you give someone submitting to you?

Know your audience and read widely in the area in which you’re writing. It really helps to know who you’re writing for and which genre your novel would fit into. I like it when writers can position their novel in terms of genre and comparable authors, and they know who they are writing for.

I would also advise that writers check out our submission guidelines on our website before submitting and that they send over clean chapters (ie, not ones riddled with mistakes!) Also, it helps if they get my name right on their submission email (if I had a dollar for every time I received an email saying ‘Dear Katie’…!)

What’s your favourite romance novel of all time?

Oh, so hard to choose! Not strictly romances, I know, but it’s a tie between The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro and The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. Oh, and I love Jane Eyre. Sorry – this question is impossible to answer!

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I have two small children so very little spare time these days but reading is my favourite past-time and I love the cinema and theatre too. 

If you could describe your working day in just three words, what would they be?

Emails, edits and negotiations. (Sadly, there’s no time for reading at my desk so that gets done outside of the office!)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer our questions, Kate. It's been a great pleasure getting to know you. Wishing you and Diane Banks Associates all the best for 2018!

If you've enjoyed Kate's interview, or have any questions or comments at all, please let us know. We'd love to hear from you!

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About Helena

Helena Fairfax is a romance author and freelance editor. Her latest novel – a feel good contemporary romance called Felicity at the Cross Hotel – is just the type of warm, romantic, life-affirming read Kate mentions in her interview. You can find out more about Helena's books and her editing services on her website www.helenafairfax.com

Ask the Industry Expert: David Haviland

We welcome back Helena Fairfax with the second in her series of interviews with prominent literary agents.

A few weeks ago I attended talk by Andrew Lownie at the Ilkley Literature Festival on the subject of ‘How to Pitch to an Agent.’ You can find details of Andrew Lownie’s excellent and informative talk in my write-up on my blog.  Andrew Lownie represents non-fiction at the Andrew Lownie Agency. Afterwards I approached David Haviland, who represents fiction at the agency, and was delighted when he agreed to be interviewed for the RNA.

Thanks for dropping in, David. Please tell us a little about the Andrew Lownie Literary Agency, how long you’ve been with the agency, and how you came to join.

I’ve been a literary agent for almost three years now. Before that I was an author, editor and ghostwriter, producing books for big publishers such as Harper Collins, Penguin, and Little Brown. Andrew Lownie was my agent, and as I became more involved in developing projects within the agency, it felt like a natural move to become an agent myself. The agency comprises just the two of us, with Andrew handling all the non-fiction, while I handle the fiction. Andrew has been the top-selling agent in the world for each of the last four years, and shortlisted for ‘Agent of the Year’ at the British Bookseller Awards for the last three years running, while I haven’t.

What do enjoy most about your job? And least?

The most exciting thing is discovering a brilliant new author in the slush pile, getting further into their manuscript, and finding that it really delivers right to the end. Even selling the book isn’t nearly as much fun as that moment of discovery. And what do I enjoy least? Going through contracts is pretty tedious (but important).

What is it you are looking for when a manuscript lands on your desk? Are there any specific plots or themes you’d like to see?

I cover all genres of adult fiction, so I’m not looking for any particular plot, theme or genre. Instead, I’m looking for storytelling skill. Writing a novel is more of a technical craft than many people imagine, and while most rules can be broken, they can rarely be broken successfully by someone who isn’t already intimately familiar with them. If a writer hasn’t thought carefully about things like tenses, character perspective, and psychic distance (regardless of whether or not they use this particular jargon), it’s usually going to be obvious on the first page, and not in a good way.

Where do you find your new authors, and how?

Most of my authors are debut novelists, who’ve come from the slush pile. I’m also lucky to be part of a major, well-established literary agency, which means authors also come through recommendations and Andrew’s huge network of contacts.

What advice would you give someone submitting to you?

Don’t rush to submit. Instead, take the time to edit and improve the work, over and over again, until your worst enemy couldn’t find a flaw. In the current market, publishers are extremely cautious, particularly when it comes to debut authors, which means that we as agents have to be just as picky. Too often, I’m sent half-decent novels by writers who have obvious talent, but have submitted too soon. In those cases, all I can do is pass.

What benefits do you feel an agent can offer an author?

It is possible to find success as an author through self-publishing, but very rare. For everyone else, an agent is crucial. An agent will develop the book, provide expert advice, reach publishers, improve terms and contracts, develop additional options such as translation, audio, film and television, and much more. I receive lots of submissions from authors who have self-published quite successfully, but who nonetheless recognise that working with an agent can open up many more opportunities.

Romance is the biggest-selling genre in publishing, and yet the one taken least seriously by the mainstream. Why do you think this is? And how do you think romance authors can address the negative perception?

I’ve always felt that there is an unhealthy snobbery towards genre writing, not just within publishing but within our culture as a whole. On the other hand, the popularity of romance with readers means there are bound to be more second-rate romance novels, purely because so many are produced. My advice to romance writers is to focus on the theme, and the characters’ emotional journeys, not just the plot. A common flaw in romance novels is that the plot twists and turns as it should, with obstacles and break-ups, but this is achieved through coincidences and confusion, rather than meaningful conflict between the characters. What is the real friction between the couple, that means they may not be able to make the relationship work?

What’s your favourite romance novel of all time?

The Remains of the Day.

Apart from your own authors, which book have you enjoyed most in the past twelve months, and why?

My reading is quite eclectic; in recent months I’ve particular enjoyed Blake Morrison’s The Last Weekend, Jesse Armstrong’s Love, Sex and Other Foreign Policy Goals, and Being Mortal by Atul Gawande.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I’ve become a pretty obsessive runner. Running is quite an odd hobby, in that people who aren’t into it think you must be quite mad, which isn’t really true of, say, tennis.

If you could describe your working-day in just three words, what would they be?

Varied, challenging, rewarding, innumerate.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful answers, David. I particularly enjoyed your point about the importance of focusing on the emotional conflict in romance writing – something my reader in the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme taught me very well!

Links:

Andrew Lownie Literary Agency

David Haviland Twitter

If you’ve enjoyed David’s interview, or have any questions or comments at all, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

Helena Fairfax writes contemporary romance novels. Her latest release is a romantic suspense novella called Palace of Deception. 

You can find out more on Helena’s website www.helenafairfax.com

Another great interview, Helena, thank you!

The RNA blog is brought to you by,

Elaine Everest & Natalie Kleinman

Would you like to write for the RNA blog? Please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com

Pippa Croft on New Adult Fiction

NEW ADULT – FRESH START

In May 2013, I was lucky enough to sign a three book deal with Penguin Books for a series of sexy ‘New Adult’ romances set at Oxford University. Although the process has thrown up some big challenges, I also think it’s revitalised my writing career and made me far more willing to experiment in future.

New Adult is a genre that focuses on the relationships and lives of young people who are over 18 but just starting out on adult life. They may be students or new to a career but definitely with their adult lives ahead of them. The books often contain gritty themes – they’re definitely not sex and shopping books.  Concerns about parents, siblings and friends, difficult childhoods, uncertainty about the future – all figure, just like in real life. There is also a lot of sex (hurrah.)

The Oxford Blue series tells the story of the tumultuous relationship between Alexander Hunt, an aristocratic British army officer who is studying a Master’s at the fictional Wyckham College, and Lauren Cusack, an American Senator’s daughter doing her Master’s in Art History. While the setting– an Oxbridge college – is very familiar to me, almost every other aspect of the series has been as much of an adventure for me as my characters!

At 21 and 25, Lauren and Alexander are the youngest hero and heroine I’ve ever featured and the novels are the first I’ve ever written in the first person, present. So, I’m now getting inside the head of a character (Lauren) who’s younger than my own daughter. This hasn’t been as difficult as it might seem because I used to write for Little Black Dress books which were aimed at a similar age group to this series.

While NA mainly focuses on the lives of young adults, the readership is much broader because we can all empathise with the joy and pain, and insecurities of early adulthood. I’ve already had a touching comment from a reader in her sixties who said she felt very emotional reading the book because it reminded her of the intense days when she first met her husband.

My daughter and her friends have also been a huge inspiration to me. I’m not suggesting you couldn’t write a series of this type without children of a similar age but the insight and feedback flying between my daughter and me has been invaluable.

Almost by definition, NA books tend to be very sexy, ranging from merely hot to erotic. This aspect was familiar ground to me because all my books have been very sexy.  However... it did take some getting used to writing sex scenes in the first person. There’s no POV ‘safety net’ between you and the character  and it can feel odd to describe lovemaking as it happens (but also a lot of fun.)

Combine the first person POV, the present tense and the young characters and you have an added intensity to the emotions and action. I recently had to go back and edit one of my other 3^rd person novels, and the difference was noticeable.  Many people have also said that the new series has a faster pace than my other books, which I also think may be due in part to the POV. I’m never going to be a New Adult but I feel rejuvenated as a writer and I’d definitely do it all over again!

Pippa Croft also writes as Phillipa Ashley.
Follow her on twitter @PippaCroftBooks or visit her page on Facebook. 
Website: www.phillipa-ashley.com
Link to Amazon: The First Time We Met

Thank you, Pippa, for joining us today.

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