Ask the Industry Expert: Literary Agent Diana Beaumont

It's a great pleasure to welcome literary agent Diana Beaumont to the RNA blog today. Diana joined Marjacq Scripts in 2017.  She started agenting with Rupert Heath Literary Agency in 2011 before moving to UTA. Before that she was senior commissioning editor at Transworld. Diana was chosen as one of The Bookseller’s Rising Stars of 2012.

Diana is chatting with Helena Fairfax. Welcome, both!

Hello, Diana! Please tell us a little about the Marjacq Scripts, how long it’s been established, and how you came to join?

Marjacq Scripts was founded in 1974 and is a full service boutique literary agency. There are five agents plus our MD and we all specialise in different areas, although there is some overlap which is incredibly helpful. We work in a very collaborative way and it’s an exciting time to be part of the team as we have expanded significantly in recent years. I joined this year. I have known Phil Patterson – who heads up the book department as far as there is a formal hierarchy – since I was a commissioning editor at Transworld. I like and respect him very much and the same applies to my colleagues, so it seemed like a good fit.

What genres do you represent?

Women’s commercial fiction (although it does annoy me that we have to specify this!), reading group fiction, crime, thrillers and cover memoir, cookery and lifestyle when it comes to non-fiction. As an agency we also cover literary fiction and non-fiction, genre and speculative fiction, true crime, children’s and YA.

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 think the voice always has to resonate with you but the combination of a strong hook and plot is a winner for me. I get incredibly excited when it all comes together in that way. I am interested in motherhood, looking to take on more diverse voices and am drawn towards strong female/feminist central characters, but also like to keep an open mind.

Have you noticed any particular trends in romance in the past year or so, and if so, what do you think publishers are looking for at the moment?

There have been a number of novels coming out that would appeal to fans of Jojo Moyes – they cover dark subjects with a light touch so that humour sits alongside the sadness. They play on the emotions so that you laugh and cry. I am looking forward to seeing How to be Happy, by Eva Woods, launch in February 2018 from Little,Brown which is perfect for that audience. I can’t wait, either, for the paperback publication of Hot Mess, by Lucy Vine, from Orion which subverts the traditional rom com and reassesses attitudes to being single amongst millennials in a hilarious way and is, I hope, ahead of the curve, as well as providing a much needed laugh. Look Magazine said it was even better than Bridget Jones!  There seems to be an interest in what could have been: from Kate Atkinson to Kate Eberlen’s Miss You and Laura Barnett’s The Versions of Us. Publishers are also keen on upmarket sagas with family secrets or an element of mystery at the moment and the line between romantic fiction and psychological suspense is sometimes blurred, as the latter has been so successful of late. I wonder also whether there will also be a desire for pure escapist fun in such uncertain times.

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

Yes. Sometimes clients are kind enough to recommend others but I have also taken on a crime writer, Roz Watkins, who I met at The Festival of Writing in York. When it comes to non-fiction I have approached people direct.

What advice would you give someone submitting to you?

Take a look at my list and see if it fits, broadly, with the other books I represent. Follow the submission guidelines. Put lots of effort into your cover letter and make sure that the title, elevator pitch, further information about the book and author biography are as strong as possible – we get hundreds of submissions, so a good letter really makes a difference. It is also important to have a sense of where your book fits into the market. We don’t expect you to be experts but to show professionalism and savvy – it is both a business and creative relationship after all. It’s always worth looking round bookshops and reading as much as you can. Spell my name correctly. And, finally, make sure you’ve finished the book and that it is as polished as it can be.

What’s your favourite romance novel of all time?

I have an abiding love for The Pursuit of Love, by Nancy Mitford, but must also throw in Jane Eyre and Rebecca for good measure.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I wish I indulged in wildly imaginative pastimes like flamenco, potholing or skydiving but I most enjoy eating, reading, bathing, films, theatre and the company of good friends.

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

Never the same.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions, Diana. We love your list of spare time activities!

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

About Helena

Helena Fairfax is a romance author and editor. Her latest release is a feel good summer romance called Felicity at the Cross Hotel. You can find out more about Helena's books and her editing services on her website www.helenafairfax.com

If you would like to write for the RNA blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com

Chatting with Publishers: Sam Eades

Our guest in this month’s Chatting with Publishers series is Sam Eades, Editorial Director at Orion’s new imprint, Trapeze. Welcome, Sam.

Can you tell us something about your journey to your present job?
If you want the full journey my first job was at JJB putting coathangers on clothes… After graduating  I did work experience before getting my first publishing job as a publicity assistant at Transworld. I then worked in publicity at Headline and Macmillan before joining Orion in a joint editorial/publicity job. Authors I have worked with as a publicist include Neil Gaiman, Jessie Burton, Eowyn Ivey, Emily St John Mandel, Ann Cleeves, Kate Mosse and Linwood Barclay. A little shoutout to my fellow publicists here. Publicists direct and inform the publishing of a book. We read submissions, help with pitches for new business, share thoughts on the cover/copy/publishing vision. We think about the ideal reader for the book – working out which media and retailers to target, and coming up with a campaign strategy to reach them. We are also the person at a company who has direct contact with an author’s audience. We meet them at events, interact with them on social media.  I’ve found this experience so useful whilst learning the ropes as an editor. On the editorial side, learning how a book goes from typed manuscript to finished product has been eye-opening! I now work in Trapeze, a new imprint of Orion specialising in commercial fiction and non-fiction. We are looking for books to start conversations, and are a rowdy, collegiate bunch.

What is a typical day like as a busy editor – if there is such a thing as a typical day?
It is varied – a typical day could include meeting an agent to talk about potential projects, a film scout or literary scout to flag hot books, an author meeting to talk through edits, or an editorial meeting where we share thoughts on submissions. You might be writing back cover copy, editorial notes, or metadata to feed through to online retailers. You might be negotiating, or running through a contract. On the creative side you might be briefing a cover or brainstorming titles/shoutlines or pulling together a pitch for new business. You might be chatting through pr/marketing/sales plans for a forthcoming publication or presenting a book to colleagues at a sales conference or taking a book to acquisitions. Or you might be at home, flying solo and working on an edit! My day starts with a sprawling to do list and something will come in last minute that takes me off in an unexpected direction.

Have you ever wanted to write a book?

No.

When not surrounded by books in your job what do you like to read for leisure?

Cosy crime, psychological thrillers, police procedurals, YA novels, coming-of-age stories, and narrative non-fiction. I try and read one Non Work book a week, to refresh my palate!

What are you looking for at present?

A great sweeping love story or a book that blends magic/SF with another genre. And I’m learning to be prepared for unexpected books that might not be on my wishlist.

If you receive a submission that is not a genre you handle, do you pass it to another editor in your company?

I do! I can pass things on to several imprints at Orion.

Does your company accept un-agented submissions?

Gollancz occasionally accept un-agented submissions during specific times of the year (check their website for more details). You can also submit directly to W & N’s fantastic Hometown Tales programme: 

Do you have a crystal ball? What do you feel will be then next 'big thing’?

Our Crystal Ball is called the Consumer Insight department, a fantastic team who analyse the market and predict whether a trend might run out of steam or accelerate. I match this kind of information with my gut. I’ve looked at over 350 submissions so far and try and put myself in the mind of a reader. If I’m hungering after a certain type of fiction, might they be too? For example, I acquired a fantastic weepy called WE OWN THE SKY, as not only was it a brilliant book but I also had a feeling that readers (like me) might be ready for another FAULT IN OUR STARS.

If you have one piece of advice to give to anyone submitting a manuscript, what would it be?

Firstly finish the book. Then get an agent, don’t submit directly to a publisher unless they accept unsolicited submissions. Agents are a great thing, they protect your interests and will make sure your manuscript is seen by the relevant people. To find an agent get the Writers and Artists Yearbook and pull together a list of people who represent authors with work similar to yours. Read their submission guidelines and follow them to the letter. Keep your covering letter to a page – have a bit about you, a bit about the plot, a two line pitch and comparison titles. If you don’t know what your book is like, you might fall at the first hurdle. If an agent calls it in, feel free to chivvy other people on submission list. Be professional, honest and play by the rules.

If that doesn’t work… try creative writing courses to hone your manuscript, join writers groups, ask people you trust for feedback on your manuscript. Enter writing competitions/go to events where you can get feedback on your book such as York Festival of Writing or the Curtis Brown Discovery Day.

Or try self-publishing! If you do, you will need to put in a lot of work yourself to get the right cover, to perfect your online copy, and to publicise and market the book yourself. But that work can pay off. And publishers and agents are looking at the Kindle charts for self-published talent.

What a wealth of helpful information, Sam. Thank you so much and good luck with the new imprint.

Natalie Kleinman writes contemporary and historical romantic novels and has thrown a bit of a mystery into the mix in her current wip. She is accumulating a nice collection of Regency works to help with her research. You can follow her blog at http://nataliekleinman.blogspot.co.uk/

Thank you Natalie! 

If you would like to write for the RNA blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com