Dear, Readers,

Thanks so much for visiting us at How to Publish a Book. As always, we are grateful for your interest and support, and we are dedicated to bringing you the very best literary agent interviews in publishing.

This week our spotlight literary agent is Elizabeth Kracht of Kimberly Cameron & Associates.

Let us know if you have any comments or feedback. We love hearing from visitors to our site. Enjoy the interview!

Stacey 

ELIZABETH KRACHT

Elizabeth Kracht joined Kimberley Cameron & Associates in the fall of 2010 to broaden her perspective on the publishing industry. She represents both literary and commercial fiction as well as nonfiction, and brings to the agency experience as a former acquisitions editor, freelance publicist and writer.

Elizabeth's career in publishing took root in Puerto Rico where she completed her BA in English and worked as a copyeditor for an English-language newspaper. When she returned to the mainland she found her "vein of gold" in book publishing. She thrives on working closely with authors and researching the potential market for new books.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How does the experience of having lived in Puerto Rico inform your tastes as a literary agent?

ELIZABETH KRACHT: Puerto Rico informed my tastes as a literary agent in many ways. Living in Puerto Rico gave me a radically different perspective on life as I embraced a different culture. One of the reasons I went to Puerto Rico was to improve my writing. As an American living in Puerto Rico, I was pretty invisible, so I spent a lot of time paying attention to my surroundings, trying to understand the culture, politics, subcultures... I don't think I'd appreciate quirky characters quite as much if I hadn't met so many of them while living in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico was a bittersweet experience for me, but I'll always feel connected to the island, especially the water on a calm day at Ocean Park beach. I would love to represent Puerto Rican or Hispanic authors. My experience in Puerto Rico also drives my general interest in multicultural settings and settings as characters.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Tell us about your experience working as an acquisitions editor. Specifically, what are some of the practical skills that taught you that translate into your job as a literary agent?

ELIZABETH KRACHT: I bring many skills to my job as a literary agent from my experience as an acquisitions editor. Some of those skills are: evaluating the marketplace, identifying niche markets, negotiating contracts, developmental editing, focusing the market of a project, working closely with authors... Having worked as an acquisitions editor, I understand the perspective of the publisher, which I am able to use as I evaluate new projects. Working for a small publisher often gives a person experience in other departments as well. I also worked closely with marketing and publicity, giving me not only a well-rounded perspective of the industry, but also the ability to direct my clients on career development/self-promotion, which is important in today's publishing climate.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: You completed your BA in English. Did you ever consider teaching as a career path? What about publishing was particularly attractive?

ELIZABETH KRACHT: I have never considered a career in teaching; I'm not sure why. I've always been interested in publishing, but mostly from a writer's perspective. I figured the more I knew about the publishing industry, the better. When I began work as a copyeditor/proofreader for a newspaper, I realized I had skill working with other people's writing, and really enjoyed it; it was an epiphany of sorts. Written communication is probably the biggest and most important theme in my life, and publishing is the industry that gives me an opportunity to live my life's work. I also love being a part of helping people fulfill their dreams.

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

ELIZABETH KRACHT: I'm open in terms of what I'm interested in and looking for. Of course, I'm looking for compelling, well-written projects. I love voice-driven works and strong settings. I would like to find a great piece of women's literary fiction. I never thought I would represent chicklit, but recently found a quick, fun read. I would like to find a memoir so compelling that author platform is a nonissue. I would love to represent a Native American author. I'm interested in helping disprove the notion that cat books don't sell. I would like to find an author like Carlos Castaneda, Dan Millman or Paulo Coelho (magical realism/spiritual quest). I would also like to see more nonfiction projects, maybe even a graphic novel. I'm very eclectic in my tastes, so I'm eager to see many different kinds of projects. Kimberley is eager to find a great horror manuscript, and we'd both like to represent some high-concept nonfiction.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What types of books do you see too much of?

ELIZABETH KRACHT: I'm not sure we really see too much of any one type of book, but there are common qualities many manuscripts share that we see too much of. We see too many adverbs, clichés and gimmicky query letters. We also see word counts from debut authors that the current publishing climate doesn't support. We do see too many vampire and zombie manuscripts. In general, we see too much fantasy, since we don't represent fantasy.

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

ELIZABETH KRACHT: The best way to contact me is at a conference or by e-mail. Our submission guidelines can be found on our website at www.kimberleycameron.com. We do accept unsolicited manuscripts. We ask to see the first fifty pages of the manuscript and a one-page synopsis as a Word attachment or PDF, along with a query letter in the body of the e-mail. Also, be sure to look over the associate bios on the website in order to decide which associate is the best fit for your project.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What are your thoughts on the recent impulse of some literary agencies becoming eBook publishers for their clients' books?

ELIZABETH KRACHT: I think this is something literary agencies have to consider as the publishing landscape changes; our clients require this of us. We recently published our first eBook at the request of one of our clients. This has been an experiment for the agency and our client. We are committed to maintaining our focus on the traditional publishing route, but as the definition of traditional publishing changes, we have to be prepared to change as well.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What are your thoughts on agents withholding digital rights from publishers when negotiating print deals for their clients? (Mostly in the case of writers who have broken out as self-published eBook authors, and as such, already have an established following in that market.)

ELIZABETH KRACHT: This is a tricky question to answer. We would not consider representing an author who has already published an eBook unless they could show impressive sales and a following. If we did represent a writer who was in this position, it may be a requirement of the publisher that the original eBook be taken down and digital rights granted as part of the print deal. Publishers want digital rights.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What advice do you have for aspiring writers regarding writers' conferences?

ELIZABETH KRACHT: Conferences are a great boon for writers of every caliber (I'm currently at the Surrey International Writers' Conference, getting ready for my next pitch session). I signed four clients from the last PNWA conference (and am still considering other works). Conferences are a great way to interact with agents and editors looking for new work; they are a place to get truly objective feedback from people who understand the industry from a commercial perspective. Writers can also find freelance editors in attendance, who can help tighten up that last pass before submitting to an agent. And there are also great teachers and speakers to help bolster confidence and improve writing skills. Conferences are a worthy investment. If finances are limited, a writer may want to be strategic about which conference(s) he or she chooses to attend. I'm a sucker for personal connection, and personal connection goes a long way in publishing.

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

ELIZABETH KRACHT: The most enjoyable thing to me is working in a creative industry with a lot of history where I can apply all of myself. Working closely with writers is also enjoyable. I love it when a manuscript makes me see everyday things through a new lens. It's also a blessing to be able to work with someone like Kimberley and be part of an agency with a great legacy.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Thanks so much for speaking with us, Elizabeth!

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Dear Readers,

Thanks so much for visiting the site. As always, we are grateful for your interest and support. I am happy to announce that our proposal to host the World Mystery Convention in Raleigh, North Carolina in October 2015 was successful at this year's Bouchercon in St. Louis. If you're a writer or reader interested in mystery, crime fiction, true crime, etc., I encourage you to follow us on Twitter at @BCon2015 for news and updates related to the coming conference. We're very excited and grateful that voters selected the Raleigh proposal.

This week we have an original literary agent interview for you. This week's spotlight agent is Meghan Macdonald. Meghan is an agent with Transatlantic Literary Agency.

Stacey

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How does your background in academia influence your interests as a literary agent?

MEGHAN MACDONALD: It has set the bar high in terms of the calibre of finished manuscript I’ll consider; spelling, grammar, sentence structure and an artfulness with the language are all vital to me, and they rightly should be in a business that trades in literature.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Prior to working at TLA, you were with David Grossman for a year. What were the most important things you learned while in the role?

MEGHAN MACDONALD: I learned so many things working for David Grossman, it’s almost impossible to narrow them down, particularly because I’m still discovering new things that were standard fare in his agency. But generally, I learned to always expect the very best, to enjoy the process as a whole, to utilize that quintessentially English stoicism to its best effect, and to delight in good conversation.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What are you most interested in representing?

MEGHAN MACDONALD: I’m most interested in fiction that introduces me to a new way of perceiving the world, and non-fiction that really challenges me.

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

MEGHAN MACDONALD: Always email. Everyone in publishing receives an incredible amount of email in a day, a week, a month, and although it’s sometimes hard to respond to everyone in good time, it’s one of the best ways to be introduced to a writer’s work.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What are your thoughts on the recent trend of some agencies functioning as an eBook publisher for their clients’ work?

MEGHAN MACDONALD: An agent is not a passive participant in the industry; we’re facilitators. We’re here to get the best for our clients, to offer advice and, importantly, provide options. Digital publishing is exactly that: an option, and we would be remiss not to offer it to our clients to consider pursuing.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: A few publishing news stories of late have highlighted how some authors who have broken out as self-published eBook authors have gone on to sign print deals with major publishers, while their agents fought to keep the digital rights with the author. What are your thoughts on keeping the eBook rights reserved to the author? Is this something that publishers feel strongly about securing? And what do you do in a case where you have an author who has sold very well on his/her own as an eBook self-published author and so only wants to sell print rights?

MEGHAN MACDONALD: E-Books, enhanced e-Books and issues of rights are still being explored in many different ways by authors, publishers and agencies alike. So there’s no blanket approach to take for all situations – everything depends on the author’s preferences, the publishers’ mandates and resources, and any initiatives agencies pursue on behalf of their clients.

In many cases, the publisher is very keen to secure e-Book rights and will produce an e-Book as another edition – along with hardback, trade paperback, mass market paperback, etc – with the same editing, layout and cover art as the print editions. I feel this is a good thing, because it standardizes the work across formats and platforms and allows the author to capitalize on and enhance their own professional brand. In a lot of cases, a publisher won’t take on a work without e-Book rights as well, because otherwise it could be considered a competing edition and would be in breach of most template contract language.

I’m still early enough in my career as an agent that I don’t have any authors who have self-published an e-Book and want to sell print rights only. My personal sense of things is to offer print and e-Book rights to a single publisher looking to acquire the book so that the work will look and feel the same across multiple platforms. However, I’m always open to new ideas and strategies for a client’s work and would readily consider alternative solutions in particular situations.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Where did your love of history first begin?

MEGHAN MACDONALD: With fiction, surprisingly enough. My parents are big readers, so there were always stories to be told. It was books like The Jungle Book, The Dark Is Rising series, and The Eagle of the Ninth that introduced me to the reality of other worlds, other times, and other peoples.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Why did you pursue a career outside of academia?

MEGHAN MACDONALD: I never really went about ‘pursuing a career’ in a structured, planned or meaningful sense, so the choice to pursue a career outside of academia was never really mine to make. Academia is a tougher business than publishing, but they still both essentially trade in ideas and the pursuit of articulating and discussing them.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Describe your dream client.

MEGHAN MACDONALD: I don’t have one. People always have something unique to bring to the table and this is, after all, a perpetual relationship-building learning experience. I like all of my clients for who they are and how they see the world.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: At the end of the day, what do you most love about working in publishing?

MEGHAN MACDONALD: The beauty of expression. It sounds simple and idealistic, I know, but there are turns of phrase, ideas, and concepts that can stir the blood and galvanize the brain into action. At the end of the day, we’re all in this because we’re enthusiastic about it.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Thanks so much for speaking with us, Meghan.

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