As mentioned a couple weeks ago, my goal for 2011 is to bring to you a series of interviews done with real, live, working literary agents, editors, and folks in book publishing. I'm shooting for at least 25 interviews by the end of next year, and so that should work out to a new interview every couple of weeks.

Our first interview is with a new literary agent at D4EO Literary Agency.

 Weronika Janczuk 

As a literary agent at D4EO Literary Agency, Weronika represents a broad range of commercial fiction and non-fiction. She accepted the position after a wide array of experience in the industry, including work with acquisitions editor Brian Farrey at Flux and for four literary agents -- in different capacities -- before her promotion to agent.

In addition to agent, she is also a writer and student. Most recently a Midwesterner, Weronika now lives in NYC and, when she isn’t reading submissions, she enjoys ’80s music, witty novels, funky art, and time spent with good people.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Let’s start with an easy one. How do you pronounce your first name?

WERONIKA JANCZUK: Hehe! You’re the first person to ask me that in an interview (but no worries—everyone wonders). ‘Weronika’ is Polish for ‘Veronica’—it’s pronounced like the latter.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Congratulations on Teresa Frohock's debut Miserere: An Autumn Tale to Night Shade. What was that experience like? How does it feel to have secured your first book deal for a novel? (And for a debut author no less!)

WERONIKA JANCZUK: Thank you! Teresa and I couldn’t be more excited. Though sold in December 2010, the book will be published in July 2011, which is a mere eight months—super quick in publishing time! Miserere was a very tight manuscript that was ready to go once we finished some revisions.

As for the experience, it was interesting, as Night Shade is a small, independent press that’s published a lot of award-winning novels in the past, and we really had to think about where to place it. Because the novel is quirky in its execution of concept, I think it will do very well there.

And it feels awesome! Teresa is a fantastic writer, and I can only look forward to the many works that’ll come from her pen in the future.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What is Trucker Ghost Stories and how did the deal with Jim Frenkel at Tor Books come about?

WERONIKA JANCZUK: Trucker Ghost Stories is exactly that—a collection of trucker ghost stories collected by Annie Wilder, who's worked with and written about different true ghost stories before. (She lives in a haunted house and has written about it; she sold two books to Llewellyn on her own before we at D4EO signed her.)

As for the deal, it came about relatively traditionally—we sent the proposal to Jim and he felt passionate enough about it to push it through to a sale!

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How did you get your start in publishing?

WERONIKA JANCZUK: I started as an intern at Flux/Llewellyn, which is based out of Minnesota (where I’m from!), and I was able to do a lot of different things there, so I learned the ropes of a small press. Afterwards, I interned for and assisted various agents, in many different capacities, at the same time over the course of a year (I was juggling as many as three internships at a time).

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How did the job with Bob Diforio at D4EO Literary Agency come to you?

WERONIKA JANCZUK: I took on an assistant-like position with Bob in April 2010—he was looking for someone to help out as the woman who’d been doing that assisting for him before (Joyce Holland) had just been promoted to associate. The same turn of fortune came about for me—I was handling my own clients by August, and I still assist Bob with reading slush pile queries and manuscripts, etc.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: You’re also an excellent writer in your own right. How do you compare advocating for your own work in contrast to that of your clients? Is it basically the same, or does it feel different?

WERONIKA JANCZUK: Thank you! And the advocacy will always be a little bit different. As a writer, I have a hard time evaluating the quality of my work, and so the entire process is very subjective and fragile, in a way, not to mention there’s always a level of narcissism that is inherent to the way writers who seek publication work. At the same time, if I ever find myself with a published novel, I think it will be terribly hard to advocate for myself, as I’m terrified of outgrowing my writing, of hating something that I’ve created the second I’ve finished it.

With my clients, the passion that I feel for the work is what defines the relationship. I have to believe that said book will make its way to the shelves and that said author can be a passionate enough advocate for the book in their own right that investing my time and energy in the relationship is worth it. It’s completely shameless—it’s advocating for your favorite book, movie, T.V. show, whatever. The energy and the adrenaline should never go away. It’s why I tell my clients I’m their number one advocate, their number one fan.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What are you looking for in a prospective client?

WERONIKA JANCZUK: I look for writers who are enthusiastic about editorial-related work; I’m a hands-on agent and I expect my writers to be up to at least one, if not as many as three or four, rounds of revisions before the manuscript or proposal goes on submission. For some of my writers, these revisions have taken months (and continue to take time); there has to be a certain level of trust in the relationship and an agreement on editorial and career visions. Many of my clients have started to make my feedback an active part of their writing process, from brainstorming to outlining to guiding a manuscript’s growth.

I look for writers who are honest and open to extensive communication and cooperation—on everything from the book to marketing, to investing time for promotion online and in person, etc. This means writers who are smart, independent, and self-sufficient.

I’ve found that the relationships that produce the most vivid results are those that walk the fine line between business partners and friendship—those with whom I work understand that I’ve got an understanding of the business that they don’t possess and that I see their work objectively, so getting to know each other well has not posed problems. (There’s a reason a lot of writers and agents spend holidays together.) Strictly business relationships are most definitely not worse; for some writers, that’s the preference, and I’m always open to limiting our cooperation to thinking out business plans, etc. My ultimate goal is to get the writer what s/he wants—a home for their work.

In the end, it’s a compatibility that’s really hard to define—things either click into place perfectly with time, be it mutual respect or more, or it’s something that’s never quite right.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How long does it take you to know you’ve got a promising writer on your hands?

WERONIKA JANCZUK: Promising writer? First few paragraphs. This means someone who’s able to write in a relatively fine and engaging way.

It’s amazing, though, how many disjoints I see in quality between the first five or ten pages and the manuscript overall, so I’m usually certain that I would like to make an offer of representation if a manuscript holds up within twenty-five to fifty pages.

I only read on if that’s the case and then many manuscripts drop out of the race for me because the architecture of the novel doesn’t hold up (or the quality of the proposal is below par) and/or the writing starts to bore me. A lot of that is subjective—it’s “Do I like this?” versus “Do I love this? Am I dying to know what happens?”

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What is the best way for prospective clients to contact you regarding their work?

WERONIKA JANCZUK: I like to see queries via email—please send a query letter and the first ten pages of the manuscript (fiction or non-fiction; no proposals until I request them), both pasted in the body of an email, to weronika[at]d4eo[dot]com with “QUERY” in the subject line.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What are you most eager to represent?

WERONIKA JANCZUK: I am dying to find a piece of crime fiction—a super commercial espionage thriller and some literary crime, a la Gillian Flynn; a romance; and some really solid sci-fi. I’m also super eager for non-fiction from individuals with appropriate platforms. But really I’m open to anything. My interests genre-wise can be found on my website (http://www.weronikajanczuk.com).

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What are you thoughts on eBooks? How well are they competing with mass market paperbacks? Are eBooks ultimately good for traditional publishing and bookselling?

WERONIKA JANCZUK: Well, that’s certainly a big question. Would it be fair to say, “Nobody knows for certain just yet” as a copout to answering in more detail?

It’s a very interesting part of our marketplace. For example, fourteen publishers recently reported that their e-books slowed in the last quarter, but that doesn’t take into account the boom taking place online with self-published novelists selling as many as a few thousand e-books per day or the independent publishers who are starting to specialize in e-books or the traditional publishers who are launching e-book imprints. E-book royalties in boilerplate contracts with major publishers are bound to change in the next few years, at least once, so it’s not clear yet where the line will cement for an extended amount of time—the biggest battles, I feel, are yet to come.

Is there competition? In certain genres. Romance more so than thrillers and fantasy/sci-fi, for example, is a genre whose readers are switching to e-books (at a crazy rate!). That’s why there are multiple e-book publishers doing romance online now. But will the trend last? Depends.

I plan on taking advantage of e-books. It’s been demonstrated before that they can be crucial to the success of hardcover and paperback—mass or not—sales. Let’s say an author publishes a few novellas—or novels, even—online that sell very well, and then the agent sells the breakout novel to a major publisher. It’s almost guaranteed that the sales across all those mediums will explode; readers can be very loyal to good writers. What makes the difference here for an author seeking traditional publication is the success of any self-published works; if they were flops, it’s infinitely harder for an agent to place a book for traditional publication, as there is a sales record that all bookstores and book chain buyers can pull up with the click of a few keys—it all tells a story.

It’s definitely a revolution to watch, and I highly recommend aspiring novelists/writers watch the industry closely (and also seriously consider an agent—it’s our job to predict and jump on changes).

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: At the end of the day, what is the most satisfying thing about working in publishing?

WERONIKA JANCZUK: Being an active part of the process—from developing a book or a proposal to sending it out into the world to talking with an editor whose editorial vision on the book clicks with yours and the author’s to watching the book hit shelves. I’m honored—privileged—that writers want to work with me, and I love putting hours and hours of my time into making something come of their hard work and creative genius.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Thank you, Weronika.

________

Our next interview will be with literary agent Erica Spellman-Silverman of Trident Media Group. Look for it published here in the next couple weeks.

How to Publish a Book Readers,

We are officially a paying e-zine as of today. You can find our submission guidelines in the navigation bar at the top left corner of the page. As you'll see there, How to Publish a Book is interested in interviews with people in the publishing business: literary agents, editors, publishers, publicists, and illustrator/cover artists.

If you conduct the interview, submit the finished product to us and we like it, we will pay you 50 U.S. dollars.

It's that simple. Deliver us a quality interview; we pay you.

So, why the generosity? Why the change?

It's simple really. Traffic to How to Publish a Book has grown to a monthly average of over 2,000 visitors, and as a result the site has started making money. Advertising revenue on the internet is largely a numbers game. That is, if you make $500/mo with 2,000 visitors, you'll likely make $2,500/mo with 10,000 visitors per month.

Another thing I've learned by studying the analytics of the How to Publish a Book site is that like 98% of our visitors (that means you, Dear Reader) are first-time visitors. While it's cool that we're getting so many new folks visit us, that also means we have a very low return rate. I would like to change that.

And I believe that content is king.

If I can improve the quality and frequency of the content on How to Publish a Book, I suspect we'll see the return visitor percentages increase. We may also see an overall bump in total traffic to the site each month.

So, if you're an aspiring writer, you might consider trying to conduct a simple e-mail interview with someone in the publishing business. It's a good way to get your foot in the door, and if we like your interview, we'll actually pay you for your work here at How to Publish a Book.

I may be foolish for posting this here, but I would like to see our website traffic at 10,000 visitors per month by the end of 2011. That is my goal.

So what does this mean to you, the aspiring writer?

Set it as a goal to contact ten literary agents in the next month to ask them if they would consider doing an interview with you via e-mail. At the very least, you'll be finding a unique way to initiate contact with folks who could potentially sell your book and you could learn more about our industry. If you succeed and we like your interview here at How to Publish a Book, we will pay you, and you'll have a publishing credit to your name.

It's a win, win for everybody. So dust off your Compose Email function and query ten agents today.

I look forward to reading what you come up with.

As always, thanks for visiting us here at How to Publish a Book. We look forward to hearing from you!

Stacey Cochran

How to Publish a Book Readers,

December 2010 is here, and I think it's safe to say that the traditional book publishing world has been turned on its head. All of the market reports coming in from book publishers and from book retailers like Barnes and Noble suggest a massive and (relatively) quick decline in printed book sales over the last 18 months. Barnes & Noble in particular reports strong earnings in Nook eReading devices and digital content sold through its online store, while traditional book sales through its physical stores continues to see a decline.

Borders Books, the U.S.'s 2nd largest book retailer was forced to sell many overseas holdings just to generate enough capital to stay in business in its home country.

I've previously written a good deal about the rise of Amazon's Kindle eReading device and associated apps and eBook sales over the last two years, but to now see the U.S.'s largest chain bookstores reflecting similar bookselling trends is remarkable.

What does this mean to you, the aspiring writer?

Chain bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders will simply have to liquidate in the coming years. My hunch is that we'll see very few expansions in stores (i.e., fewer and fewer new BN and Borders stores opening) and will most likely see many close in the next 5-10 years. If Borders is still in business as a book retailer in 2020, I will be surprised. Their financial outlook is grim.

As a writer, this could seem very ominous. But here's what's remarkable. eBook sales and eReading devices are currently going through the roof. Earlier this year the Association of American Publishers noted a dizzying 251% gain for eBook sales. This kind of increase is stunning. Many folks are anticipating that eReading devices will be one of the most purchased items this Christmas for adults.

It's important to note that though these eBook sales numbers are doubling year over year, they're still a percentage of most major publishers revenues. In March, total industry-wide eBook sales was $28 million compared to $458 million overall.

Where this gets interesting is looking at mass market paperback sales industry-wide, which declined 18% in the same period to $53 million.

By March 2011, once the Christmas eReading device boost has settled in, I suspect we will see eBook sales eclipse mass market paperback sales.

Now is the Time to Embrace Digital Publishing

If you are an aspiring writer and you're wondering how to publish your book, you need to seriously be looking into eBook publishing. Amazon Kindle is out in front with its digital text platform.The platform is a user-friendly online publishing system that allows self-publishing and small press publishing authors to upload their content, track sales, and distribute their books to Amazon's eBook sales chain.

I personally have sold thousands of books in the past 18 months.

Stacey Cochran's CLAWS on Amazon Kindle

For now, Amazon tightly controls eBook sales through its retail chain. That said, that chain accounts for about 85% of all eBook sales. To get your eBook into BN.com and other online retail outlets, I would enourage you to try SmashWords.com

Stating the (Not So) Obvious

Over the past two years, I have been generating revenue through this very site. I get a lot of traffic because the site ranks high on Google searches for "How to Publish a Book" and other related search phrases. To think of a website as a publication is foreign to some folks, but websites have very much replaced traditional newspapers and magazines. That is, I think of this website as my own niche magazine. It is dedicated to publishing content related to book publishing and information regarding how to publish a book.

In essence, I am publishing an online magazine, and I've built into the site an advertising revenue that is not terribly different from how small magazines use advertising dollars to generate an income.

If you have a niche interest, you might consider building a website around that interest as a platform to reach a global audience and to generate capital.

As always, I would like to thank you for reading, and I invite you to drop me a line if you have any questions or comments.

Thanks so much!

Stacey Cochran