Submission Policy Update

Dear Authors,

In the interest of streamlining our query process, KC&A has closed down our old email, "info (at) kimberleycameron.com." Our submission policy requests that you email the agent you wish to query directly to their individual KC&A email. For those of you who queried the info box previously and did not receive an automated response, please feel free to re-query under the new submission guidelines.

Thank you and best of luck in your literary ventures.

- The KC&A Team

The "Good News" About Writing Your Query

Last week our agency served as the coaches in the Writer’s Digest University class “Agent One-on-One: How to Craft Query Letters & Other Submission Materials That Get Noticed Bootcamp.”  (Catchy title, I know!) There was a seminar, a couple of fast-paced one-on-one online Q&As, and manuscript reviews (I did 22 critiques over Labor Day weekend!) After all of that, I noticed clear trends in the questions from frustrated writers trying to navigate the querying process, so I've boiled down the query advice that was most commonly sought.

Format:  Shoot for THREE paragraphs containing: (1) info about your genre, your title, comparable titles, and word count; (2) a paragraph introducing your protagonist, the main plot points, and the themes; and (3) a brief bio. WHY WRITERS ARE FRUSTRATED: Different agents will tell you different things. Some want the word count, genre, and title at the top. Some want you to dive straight into the hook of the story. How can you know an individual agent’s format preference before you send your query? GOOD NEW: As long as your query is concise and well organized, agents will be able to quickly find the info they want, and they will respect your professionalism.

Query word count: Keep it under 250 words. WHY WRITERS ARE FRUSTRATED: Honestly, it is challenging to boil the plot of an entire manuscript into one paragraph. Writers tend to want to push this beyond its limits. GOOD NEWS: By keeping your query short, agents are less likely to skim and more likely to read it word for word, so YOU can focus their attention on what you think is the most important information.

Comparables: Find comparable that have been published within the last 5 years (1 to 2 years is even better!) WHY WRITERS ARE FRUSTRATED: They think Jane Austen is the best comp or they don’t know of anything that is quite like their manuscript. GOOD NEWS: Here is the deal. Comps are important because agents want to know what to expect when they open your manuscript, and publishers want to know how to position your book in the marketplace. So if you do your research and identify a book (or two) that could legitimately sit on the bookshelf next to yours (and, ideally, has had some success recently), agents and publishers will take notice.  

Bio:  Include previous creative writing credits, your education, jobs related to creative writing and literature, the writing organizations you belong to, web and social media presence related to your writing, and your awards. You do not need to include that your beta readers (or friends and family) love it.  WHY WRITERS ARE FRUSTRATED: Some don’t have many (or any) of these things. So then what? GOOD NEWS: If you don’t have anything, just keep it simple by mentioning in one sentence that this is your debut novel and move on! An agent will value your brevity over having to weed through irrelevant info. That said, get on twitter! Join an organization! Beef up that bio!

Writing a query can be challenging. I write queries to pitch my client’s books to editors, and it takes time and work to capture a book with brevity. But with so much competition, putting in the time to create a professional query will make you stand out and go a long way toward earning you the result you seek. Good luck!

Follow Amy on Twitter: @amycloughley

Dear Readers - welcome to our blog - it's been a busy summer with the Mystery Book Passage and Willamette, Portland Conferences... we are now offering our unique services to help you master the Submission Process!  Please see below and sign up!  It's happening this month...

Cordially,

The Gang at KC & A

 

AUGUST 26-29 BOOT CAMP: HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK. AGENTS AT KIMBERLEY CAMERON LITERARY CRITIQUE QUERIES, SYNOPSES, MANUSCRIPTS & MORE

Categories: Chuck Sambuchino's Guide to Literary Agents Blog, Getting Published, Webinars, What's New.

When your submission materials – a query letter, synopsis, manuscript, or book proposal – arrive in an agent’s inbox, they land among hundreds of others. Our all-new August 2013 Writer’s Digest Boot Camp is designed to help you streamline your submission materials to stand out in a good way.  Attendees will learn how to write a dynamite query letter, tackle a one-page synopsis (for fiction) and a book proposal (for nonfiction). The instructing literary agents will also explain the importance of author platform in addition to basic etiquette in dealing with an agent and manuscript basics.

Lastly, all attendees will have an opportunity to interact one-on-one with an agent at Kimberley Cameron & Associates and submit 10 double-spaced pages of materials (in any combination–query, synopsis, book proposal, first pages of your manuscript) for valuable feedback provided by successful literary agents. It all happens starting Aug. 26, 2013. WD Boot Camps often sell out, and there is a limited number of seats. Sign up for the boot camp here.

Agent One-on-One: How to Craft Query Letters & Other Submission Materials That Get Noticed Bootcamp: 8/26/13 – 8/29/13. There are 175 available seats.

Here’s how it works:

On August 26, you will gain access to a special 60-minute online tutorial presented by literary agents Kimberley Cameron and Elizabeth Kracht. This tutorial will provide nuts & bolts advice on how to help you streamline your submission materials—including the query letter, novel synopsis, nonfiction book proposal, and first pages.

After listening to the presentation, attendees will spend the next two days revising materials as necessary. Following the tutorial, writers will have two days in which to log onto the blackboard and ask your assigned agent critiquer questions related to revising your materials. The agents will be available on the blackboard from 1-3 p.m. (PDT) on both Tuesday, August 27 and Wednesday, August 28. By end of day (11:59 p.m., PDT) on Thursday, August 29, attendees will submit up to 10 double-spaced pages for review to their assigned agents. These pages can include any combination of double-spaced query, synopsis, book proposal, or pages of their manuscript.

The agents will spend one week reviewing all assigned pages, provide relevant feedback and offer suggestions to help attendees improve upon them. The agents reserve the right to request more materials if they feel a strong connection to the work and want to read more.

Sign up for the Boot Camp here!

Critique options explained:

The agents at Kimberley Cameron & Associates are allowing all attendees to individually choose exactly what they want to receive instructor feedback on. The total amount of material you can submit is ten pages of double-spaced material.

If submitting a query letter: Keep the query letter to 2-4 pages in length, double-spaced. (One single-spaced page is the recommended industry standard, which would be two double-spaced pages for the purposes of this boot camp.) While you can indeed turn in one single-spaced page of a query letter (equaling the same length as two double-spaced pages), submitting two double-spaced pages is preferred simply so that the agents can quickly verify the length of submitted materials to make sure that neither too much nor too little material was turned in.

If submitting a synopsis: Keep the novel/memoir synopsis to 2-4 pages in length, double-spaced. (One single-spaced page is the recommended industry standard, which would be two double-spaced pages for the purposes of this boot camp.)

If submitting book proposal text or manuscript pages: Please make sure to only turn in the exact number of pages allowed. For example, if you turn in a two-page query as well as a synopsis that runs on to a third page, the maximum number of manuscript pages allowed for critique will be five—thus equaling ten double-spaced pages total.

If there are questions about how to submit work for critique, please ask them during the boot camp’s multiple Blackboard Q&A sessions, and either an agent or WD staffer can help you with an answer. Please note that agents cannot edit materials a second time, so please do not send your revisions back to them for a second review, unless they have specifically requested more work from you in an effort to consider your book for representation.

RECAP ON DATES:

Monday, August 26th: Online Tutorial

Tuesday, August 27th: Agent Blackboard Q&A 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM (PDT)

Wednesday, August 28th: Agent Blackboard Q&A 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM (PDT)

Thursday, August 29th: Submit Ten Double-Spaced Pages by EOD (11:59 pm PDT)

Thursday, September 5th: Agent Critiques Due

Only registered students can access the blackboards. You’ll also be able to ask questions of your fellow students. Feel free to share your work and gain support from your peers.

Please note that any one of the agents may ask for additional pages if the initial submission shows serious promise.

In addition to feedback from agents, attendees will also receive:

– Download of “Everything You Need to Know About Literary Agents,” an on-demand webinar by WD editor Chuck Sambuchino

– 1-year subscription to the WritersMarket.com literary agent database

Please note that all attendees should have ten double-spaced pages (of any combination–query, synopsis, book proposal, first pages of manuscript) finished and ready to submit to the agent prior to the beginning of the event. If attendees have a preferred agent they want to work with, please notify the assigning WD editor. Though not guaranteed, we will try to link attendees with a preferred agent if they have one.

About the Agents:

KIMBERLEY CAMERON

Kimberley was educated at Marlborough School for Girls in Los Angeles, Humboldt State University, and Mount St. Mary’s College. She began her literary career as an agent trainee at the Marjel de Lauer Agency in association with Jay Garon in New York and worked for several years at MGM developing books for motion pictures. She was the co-founder of Knightsbridge Publishing Company with offices in New York and Los Angeles. In 1993 Kimberley became partners with Dorris Halsey of The Reece Halsey Agency, founded in 1957. Among its clients have been Aldous Huxley, William Faulkner, Upton Sinclair, and Henry Miller. She opened Reece Halsey North in 1995 and Reece Halsey Paris in 2006. In 2009 the agency became Kimberley Cameron & Associates. Kimberley resides and works from Tiburon, California and Paris, France, with many visits to New York to make the rounds of editorial offices. She is looking for exceptional writing in any field, particularly writing that touches the heart, and makes us feel something. She’s been successful with many different genres, and especially loves the thrill of securing representation for debut authors. She represents both fiction and nonfiction manuscripts, with the exception of romance, children’s books and screenplays.

ELIZABETH KRACHT

Elizabeth Kracht 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. Elizabeth’s eclectic life experience drives her interests. She appreciates writing that has depth, an introspective voice or that offers wisdom for contemporary living. Having lived in cities such as New York, San Francisco and San Juan, Puerto Rico, she is compelled by urban and multicultural themes and loves settings that are characters unto themselves. In fiction, she represents literary, commercial, women’s, thrillers, mysteries, and YA with crossover appeal. She is intrigued by untrustworthy narrators, tragic tales of class and circumstance, and identifies with flawed yet sterling characters. In nonfiction, she particularly loves memoir and other narrative nonfiction projects that contribute to the well-being of the self or others in addition to niche projects that fill holes in the market, offer a fresh approach, or make her laugh. She also has a soft spot for nonfiction heroic pet stories.

AMY CLOUGHLEY

Amy Cloughley came to Kimberley Cameron & Associates with a background in editing, writing, and marketing. She seeks authors with unique, clear voices who put forth smart, tightly-written prose. As a new agent, she is now actively building her client list with both debut and veteran writers. She enjoys literary and upmarket fiction of all types in addition to commercial—including well-researched historical and well-told women’s fiction. She also loves a page-turning mystery, suspense, or thriller with sharp wit and unexpected twists and turns. She has a soft spot for distinctive, strong, contemporary characters set in small towns. Amy always looks for an unexpected story arc, a suitable pace, and a compelling protagonist. She is interested in narrative nonfiction when the plot and characters are immersed in a culture, lifestyle, discipline, or industry. She will also consider a travel or adventure memoir. Amy has studied creative writing, journalism, and literature and holds a B.S. in magazine journalism. She worked in editorial and marketing roles in magazine publishing and corporate business before shifting her professional focus to her lifelong love of books. She leverages her background in both words and business to benefit her clients.

POOJA MENON

Pooja Menon represents both fiction and nonfiction for Adult and YA markets. Her passion for reading inspired her to acquire a BA in Literature and Media from England. Her love for writing then took her to Los Angeles where she pursued an M.F.A in Fiction from the Otis School of Art and Design. As a new agent, Pooja is looking to build her client list and is eager for submissions by debut novelists and veteran writers. She’s looking for writing that has an easy flow and a timely pacing, along with a unique perspective and a strong voice. In fiction, she is interested in literary, historical, commercial, and high-end women’s fiction. However, she’s most drawn to stories with an international flavor, vibrant characters, multi-cultural themes, and lush settings. In fantasy, she’s looking for original, layered plots with worlds as real and alive as the ones that were created by J.K Rowling and Tolkien. In nonfiction, she’s looking for adventure & travel memoirs, journalism & human-interest stories, and self-help books addressing relationships and the human psychology from a fresh perspective. In YA, she’s looking for stories that deal with the prevalent issues that face teenagers today. She is also interested in fantasy, magical-realism, and historical fiction.

ETHAN VAUGHAN

Ethan Vaughan joined Kimberley Cameron & Associates after completing a summer internship with Folio Literary Management in New York. He is a lifelong bookworm who’s looking for that manuscript that will make him believe in magic again. In fantasy and science fiction manuscripts Ethan is very selective and particularly looks for believable characters, unique premises, and the integration of mythology into modern life (think the Percy Jackson series). He has a soft spot for quirky, under-the-radar stories like And Having Writ…and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul. Ethan is also looking for literary fiction, horror, historical fiction, accessible historical non-fiction (Cleopatra: A Life is a good example), well-done political literature, and women’s fiction. Ethan graduated from George Mason University with a degree in government and international politics. First professionally published at thirteen, he has written for most of his life and before joining Kimberley Cameron & Associates worked as a journalist covering politics and popular culture. He is actively searching for new voices.

How To Tame The Wild Slusher: Formatting Your Submission to Professionally Stand Out in The Slush Pile

Authors, if you are looking to submit to KC&A, I hope you will find this post useful, as it gives some insight to the slushpile process, and the animals that guard the threshold, the slushers.

Kimberley Cameron & Associates has one of the classiest submission policies that I have seen.
Firstly, the policy allows--in fact even would rather--you attach the first 50 pages of your manuscript. There is no need to convince them to read your partial via the dreaded and ubiquitous QUERY LETTER. Your writing sample is right there, and yes, it gets read.
Secondly, every query is responded to. every. single. one. This does back up things a bit, so have patience, you will get a response, hopefully within a few months.
Thirdly, the submissions are open year round. All the time. Whenever you want.

This means that already, as an author, you have an advantage submitting to KC&A. Your writing is getting read! That means you can go wild, right? Submit! Submit it all, right now! SUBMIT! Feed the beasts!

I am here to say, please, take a moment, a breath. As a slushpile reader, I beg you for my sanity and the sanity of the other agents/interns in the office, please follow the submission guidelines and make sure your query is clean and easy to read. Let's put it this way. We are reading 100 plus emails a day, sloughing through hundreds of writing samples a week. Our eyes hurt, our brain hurts, our butts hurt, heck, even our hair hurts. But we do it, because we love it. We love to read, and we love books. And when we do stumble across that breathtaking novel, it's all worth it. That excitement of getting someone signed, watching their manuscript draft develop into a full-blown book, and then seeing it out on the shelves, there's nothing like it. We are not evil gatekeepers, rather hopeful hunters. So when you do send us your query and writing sample, take the time to make it as painless as possible for us to read it. Trust me, if you do this, you have an advantage over other submissions, because a grumpy slusher is way more trigger happy with the rejection button than a slusher in a good mood.

A few things to sooth the wild beast that is the slushpile reader:

1. First and foremost. Formatting. Times. New. Roman. 12 point. Double spaced. Please. For the love of sanity, NO COURIER NEW. Don't get me wrong, Courier New is a lovely font. It looks great on some websites, fine on paper, adds a touch of class to designed work, makes poetry pop, but on the screen, after straining the eyes reading for five plus hours, multiple pages of Courier New looks like a bunch of ants squirming around on white sand. It hurts. Beastly we may be, but we're not anteaters.
2. "Unique Formatting." Know this. Anything that is meant to make your submission stand out, i.e. images, colored fonts, LARGE FONT, borders will not make your submission stand out in a good way. It will appear unprofessional, and again. IT HURTS THE EYES! This causes the slusher's hackles to raise and they can't read like that.
3. Your front matter. A lot of authors like to insert in their submission an opening quote, or dedication, or table of contents, as if it were already in print. It's not. This is a draft manuscript. Anything that requires more work to get to that opening sentence, the less patience the slusher has. The less patience the slusher has, the more likely your manuscript gets chomped.
4. Italics. Or more specifically, the loathed ITALICIZED PROLOGUE. I must confess I have been guilty of this offense as well. It looks so... dreamy. I now realize, dreamy = blurry which equals, rumbling growls from the slusher and no desire to read any of it. *see comments on Courier New for a clearer explanation. (Now if you have the sort of manuscript that has caught the slusher's eye, and they are happily reading along, when suddenly flashback! Pages and pages of italicized flashback! It goes on forever and ever and ever! You may have just broken the slusher's spirit. Doesn't mean you'll get a full request though. Just a tear stained rejection.) 
5. Which brings us to the prologue. Try reading your manuscript starting at Chapter 1. Does it need the prologue? Yes? Then the prologue is Chapter 1. No? Take the prologue out. Start your manuscript where the story/action starts, i. e. Chapter 1. Trust me, this will make your slusher purr.
6. Minor points. Number your pages. Don't use the term "heaving" to describe a woman's uhm assets. Have your name and the title of your manuscript at the top. Make your query brief (a paragraph, maybe two). Address your email query to the agent you are querying and spell their name correctly. Follow their submission guidelines. Try to keep your manuscript between 75,000 and 90,000 words.
7. Finally, the big one. The thing that causes the slusher to bare their teeth and growl and futilely swipe at the screen. The cliche introduction. Here's the big three cliches. In the first paragraph, does your main character: - Wake up? - Look in a mirror (or any other reflective surface)? - Die (or almost die)? If your character does one (or all) of these these things, don't be ashamed. You are the majority. Over 50% of the submissions that go through the slusher's claws have one of these three cliches in the opening paragraph. Just slink away, start your story in a different, unique way that is full of action.

If you are reading this blog, then you are already ahead of others in getting your submission to stand out. Remember, although content is king, formatting that content professionally will create the gentle reading mood to sooth the wild slusher and may even cause them to drool just a little bit. If your slusher is drooling and purring, then that means your submission is in the place you want it to be for a proper read.

For tweets on slushpile advice follow me @Mary_C_Moore
To see what I'm about besides slushpile reading: marycmoore.com