tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post2460269881700658273..comments2024-02-27T03:36:20.256-07:00Comments on Krista Van Dolzer: Interactive Interview with an Agent: Jenny BentKrista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-25667048354206080922011-04-20T15:24:19.679-06:002011-04-20T15:24:19.679-06:00That's exciting, Lynne! Good luck finishing up...That's exciting, Lynne! Good luck finishing up that manuscript! You'll have to let us know how it goes! (I'm declaring today National Exclamation Point Day!)Krista Van Dolzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-1581229739971236712011-04-20T13:49:46.771-06:002011-04-20T13:49:46.771-06:00Way to stick with it. You have lots of writers/blo...Way to stick with it. You have lots of writers/blog followers cheering for you. It's nice to see a writer succeed who has done so much to help other writers. :)<br /><br />I'll be starting the query carousel myself soon *cough* *again* so I'll see you around QT! Best of luck-<br />LynneLynne Matsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18415839149588934992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-23918150213474611942011-04-20T09:27:27.914-06:002011-04-20T09:27:27.914-06:00Lynne, thank you! My fingers - and toes and elbows...Lynne, thank you! My fingers - and toes and elbows and knees - are crossed, too:) I'm still working on my agent-requested revision, but I hope to finish it in another month or so, and then I'll be jumping back onto the query-go-round. Woohoo!Krista Van Dolzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-76300502899349965842011-04-20T07:15:57.240-06:002011-04-20T07:15:57.240-06:00Thanks, both to Jenny & Krista.
@Krista: My f...Thanks, both to Jenny & Krista.<br /><br />@Krista: My fingers are crossed for you on the query front. I hope good things happen soon, if they haven't already.<br />Lynne (aka Gatorwriter from QT) :)Lynne Matsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18415839149588934992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-36467873791169908462011-04-17T19:58:23.974-06:002011-04-17T19:58:23.974-06:00Aw, Jenny. Thanks for answering the question anywa...Aw, Jenny. Thanks for answering the question anyway :)Tarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09008153523366719973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-45603309969319707372011-04-17T15:16:03.741-06:002011-04-17T15:16:03.741-06:00Great interview and questions. Thanks to Jenny and...Great interview and questions. Thanks to Jenny and Krista!<br /><br />AmyA.L. Sonnichsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11358456786727534289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-40611679315939670692011-04-16T00:42:36.350-06:002011-04-16T00:42:36.350-06:00Thank you Jenny.Thank you Jenny.Mrs Dubaihttp://mrsdubai.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-89120561116791132312011-04-15T21:56:04.394-06:002011-04-15T21:56:04.394-06:00The interactive part is over, Linda. Sorry about t...The interactive part is over, Linda. Sorry about that! But former agent Nathan Bransford blogged about that elusive term a while back, and I think he did an awesome job explaining it, so here's that link:<br /><br />http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2010/08/what-high-concept-means.html<br /><br />Thank you, everyone, for participating in today's interactive interview, and thank you, Ms. Bent, for sharing your insights with us!Krista Van Dolzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-33545956732931204802011-04-15T18:56:00.199-06:002011-04-15T18:56:00.199-06:00Firstly thank you to the both of you. A wonderful...Firstly thank you to the both of you. A wonderful thing to do for the writing community, so my thanks first. <br />I might be too late for a question due to time zones but I'll pop it in anyway.<br />Jenny, could you please explain 'high concept'.<br />Thanks again.<br />My best,<br />LindaWrite Lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11243460609179141414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-40510664833799388772011-04-15T16:44:30.462-06:002011-04-15T16:44:30.462-06:00Uh oh Tara, off to the Dharma Initiative!
If a bo...Uh oh Tara, off to the Dharma Initiative!<br /><br />If a book has series potential I do think it is a good idea to put it in the query, absolutely.Jenny Benthttp://thebentagency.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-64298352287270081292011-04-15T16:42:29.451-06:002011-04-15T16:42:29.451-06:00Can an author debut with YA and then follow up wit...Can an author debut with YA and then follow up with a novel in an adult genre?<br /><br />Hi Jenna,<br /><br />Short answer: Yes. <br /><br />Longer answer: Yes, but keep in mind that you want to establish an audience. If you can write in both genres in a relatively timely manner, that's great. If you can't, best to pick one or the other.Jenny Benthttp://www.thebentagency.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-83517416380525350452011-04-15T16:40:07.859-06:002011-04-15T16:40:07.859-06:00It looks like queries go to a general address at y...It looks like queries go to a general address at your agency. Can we query both of you (one at a time) or just one? Thanks!<br /><br />Hi Anonymous!<br />Queries to me go to queries@thebentagency.com. Queries to Susan go to kidsqueries@thebentagency.com. We have different taste, so you can submit to us both, but one at a time only please.Jenny Benthttp://www.thebentagency.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-78167944353460527532011-04-15T16:37:54.730-06:002011-04-15T16:37:54.730-06:00Anonymous Mrs Dubai said...
Hi Jenny. Please ...Anonymous Mrs Dubai said...<br /><br /> Hi Jenny. Please could you clarify what's meant by 'women's book club fiction' - is there something specific that makes it different to women's fiction?<br /><br />Hi Mrs. Dubai,<br />It's really exactly what it sounds like: a book that would be discussed at a book club. It's generally somewhere between very literary fiction and mass market fiction like romance: Jodi Picoult, Elin Hilderbrand, Kristin Hannah, THE HELP, books/authors like that.Jenny Benthttp://thebentagency.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-67065170011284016432011-04-15T16:35:28.164-06:002011-04-15T16:35:28.164-06:00"I've heard that literary fiction does no..."I've heard that literary fiction does not sell as well as other genre fiction (romance, sci-fi, paranormal etc)in digital format. Do you have thoughts on why this is or how it might change in the future?"<br />Hi Nicki,<br />I actually hadn't heard that! I wonder if it's really a break-down of format rather than reading taste. If you have a choice of buying a mass market paperback (often the format for genre fiction) or an e-book, you might just as happily buy an e-book because you have no investment in owning a mass market paperback. But literary fiction is usually published in hardcover and people tend to enjoy owning and collecting hardcover books. That's pure conjecture of course...don't quote me!Jenny Benthttp://thebentagency.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-45347258494389021842011-04-15T16:03:49.251-06:002011-04-15T16:03:49.251-06:00I apologize for deleting your question, nice-perso...I apologize for deleting your question, nice-person-whose-comment-I-just-deleted! I just don't want Ms. Bent to have to worry about those extra questions. (We do interactive interviews fairly regularly, though, so do check back another time and feel free to pose that question to another agent.)Krista Van Dolzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-62859819970376368232011-04-15T15:24:01.448-06:002011-04-15T15:24:01.448-06:00I apologize. I was trying to be sneaky and get two...I apologize. I was trying to be sneaky and get two questions in there without it seeming that way - so that's what I get, I suppose. ;) <br /><br />The basic question was whether you preferred it specified in the query if a book has series potential?<br /><br />TaraTLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01613912638668399684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-10877122941147584762011-04-15T15:04:49.907-06:002011-04-15T15:04:49.907-06:00Thank you! I'm glad you're willing to look...Thank you! I'm glad you're willing to look at YA fantasy.Myrna Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13534358757278599925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-58966663761112316132011-04-15T14:57:20.035-06:002011-04-15T14:57:20.035-06:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-70363772121303947972011-04-15T14:40:07.885-06:002011-04-15T14:40:07.885-06:00Christie,
It depends on the way you are handling i...Christie,<br />It depends on the way you are handling it. Does the mc's relationship with faith become a defining part of the narrative, with her conversion or return to the church the final outcome? Then you're probably in CBA territory. I do think you also want to watch out for a lot of explicit mentions of God and Jesus because even it the book actually isn't appropriate for the CBA, an editor from a "mainstream" house could think that it is, and pass for that reason.Jenny Benthttp://www.thebentagency.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-79985837531884588612011-04-15T14:36:55.815-06:002011-04-15T14:36:55.815-06:00Neal,
I think that publishers will be reducing e-b...Neal,<br />I think that publishers will be reducing e-book royalties further--they've reduced them once before and I think as e-book sales continue to grow they will reduce them again. They've also started asking for multimedia rights, in some cases asserting their ownership of those rights rather than asking, where previously those rights were retained by the author. Currently, it's unclear as to whether original e-book publications fall under the non-compete clause in every author's contract; I expect any moment that this will be made explicit. Authors and agents have never been able to influence changes like these (for instance, e-book rights used to be retained by authors, until publishers decided unilaterally that these were their primary right) -- we just don't have the leverage against the big conglomerates. I could go on and on about this, but will spare everyone the boredom!jenny benthttp://www.thebentagency.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-39343062083651208432011-04-15T14:32:05.709-06:002011-04-15T14:32:05.709-06:00Hi Tara,
Sorry, I'm confused! :) What is &quo...Hi Tara,<br />Sorry, I'm confused! :) What is "[absolute stand-alone] series potential?" Is it part of a series or is it stand-alone? If you do mean a series, I don't think you can really switch genres within one series, I'm sorry to say. I may be misunderstanding you however...Jenny Benthttp://www.thebentagency.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-62886755986217227612011-04-15T14:30:13.682-06:002011-04-15T14:30:13.682-06:00Hi Lisa,
I think it's very nice and perfectly ...Hi Lisa,<br />I think it's very nice and perfectly appropriate to do that. I always appreciate getting a thank you!Jenny Benthttp://www.thebentagency.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-37901219906129041902011-04-15T14:28:34.390-06:002011-04-15T14:28:34.390-06:00Hi Barbara,
I should probably clarify that I'm...Hi Barbara,<br />I should probably clarify that I'm referring to adult sci fi. I would look at YA sci fi if it were reality-based (i.e. moves from a "real" world to a sci fi world), as well as YA fantasy, both straight fantasy and reality-based.Jenny Benthttp://thebentagency.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-27338196690234617262011-04-15T14:26:11.683-06:002011-04-15T14:26:11.683-06:00Hi Tamara,
I don't feel that strongly about it...Hi Tamara,<br />I don't feel that strongly about it one way or the other, but I don't think it's necessary. If you tell me the age of your protagonist that pretty much says it all.jenny benthttp://www.thebentagency.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-77098957128685930992011-04-15T14:05:43.184-06:002011-04-15T14:05:43.184-06:00What a great interview! Thanks Krista for arrangin...What a great interview! Thanks Krista for arranging this. I'm excited to see read more answers to the questions above.Michelle Merrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00040685503147648297noreply@blogger.com