Interview with a literary agent – Insider information!

Today, I’m doing an interview with a literary agent. We’re talking about market trends and tips for submissions.

Hayley Steed, is my fab agent with Madeleine Milburn Literary, Film and TV Agency. They are a small London based agency with some BIG names on the books and some great deals under their belts.

Hayley was named in The Bookseller as a Rising Star in 2019 and the agency has won several awards.

Let’s start with market trends…

Historical novels and psychological thrillers have performed well in recent years, do you see any changes in the market going forwards? Which genres will be the star performers?

Changes are so hard to predict, but it doesn’t look like historical fiction is disappearing any time soon. Especially if the novel falls into the more upmarket end of the market.

We’ve seen tremendous success at the agency with The Doll Factory and The Animals at Lockwood Manor. I think their strength is that they’re set within a historical period but the narratives and characters feel fresh and relatable to a modern audience.

In the digital market, WWII is endlessly popular so it’s about finding a new angle to tell those stories.

The thriller market is incredibly competitive and saturated, but the readership continues to grow. I think we’ll continue to see star performers which stand out and excel in originality in this space. The Hunting Party, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, upcoming Girl A all feel notable. There have been so many successful takes on ‘the locked room mystery’ in the last few years and readers seem to be very keen for more of these too.

Book club fiction across all genres also feels like an area of strength in the market. I feel like we’re due another big love story or character-led heart-stopper like The Flatshare or Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

Is literary fiction a growing market?

It’s an interesting question and I think the answer is yes and no.

Perhaps it’s not that literary fiction is growing, and more that the divide between commercial and literary is becoming less clear.

The real sweet spot at the moment is fiction which delivers a compelling plot, hook, and characterisation on a commercial level but with high quality writing. That makes it both accessible for a wide audience, and also enjoyable for a more literary readership.

Books like Normal People captured fans of literary fiction whilst pleasing more commercial readers with great characterisation and delivery of emotion and story.

Literary fiction has always had a place in the market. I think perhaps there is more crossover than ever encouraging readers across the board to branch out into genres they may not always have naturally been drawn towards.

The rise in digital publishing has been a game-changer for both authors and readers. Do you think it’s been a positive change for the market?

I definitely think it’s been a positive change. Ultimately it’s another route to readers for brilliant writers, and some of our most successful and talented authors have found their readerships this way.

A bustling eBook market has been especially important in 2020 when browsing bookshops hasn’t been an option.

How has it changed the role of agents?

I don’t think it has changed my role a huge amount. We represent every author and book individually, dependent on what we feel would bring the most success. If we feel our authors would succeed in a digital market, we’ll gladly direct them that way.

Our jobs are much the same as they would be with a traditional deal. We submit these books for international rights, film/TV, and help craft and grow brands across several books. We feed into edits, covers and look ahead to what their career will look like so we can guide our clients appropriately.

There are several writers who choose to take that journey solo, which we completely respect. But we’ll always feel like we’re adding value. Whether that’s in finding the right publisher and continuing to push and challenge them to publish as best as they can, adding rights sales, crafting a brand, and also just being there to support the author’s journey.

For example, Fiona Valpy and Teresa Driscoll have found incredible success in the digital market and have since sold into over 20 languages respectively. All with individual deals and publishers directly around the globe. The agency also now represents Mark Edwards and we’ve found great success optioning his backlist for film and TV.

I also think it’s hard to have difficult conversations with your publisher directly. It’s always helpful to have someone with your best interests at heart who can also offer an informed opinion and help strategise your career with experience in the industry across several publishing models.

Talking about game-changers, how has Covid-19 affected agents and their ability to take on new authors? Has it changed the way agencies work going forwards?

It’s not changed anything for us thankfully. I’ve been chatting to potential authors over email, phone and Zoom, and we’ve still been taking on just as many clients as we usually would.

We’re fortunate that our job can nearly entirely be done from home, and often quite independently. But I don’t think it’ll change how we work long-term.

We’re a small team and really benefit from being around each other in the office so we’re all looking forward to some normality returning!

Following the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, has this made publishers more open to a diverse range of voices, stories and settings? How quickly are things changing?

Publishers were already calling for submissions from underrepresented writers before this year. But I think the Black Lives Matter movement really exposed how much needed to change still and focused their minds.

We saw them commit to this change much more urgently.

Advances went up, more books by Black writers were snapped up across the board, and we’re seeing more actively being done to making changes to their lists, staff and their strategies.

There’s a long way to go still, and it’s a shame this is what it took to really draw the attention of the industry, but it certainly accelerated the process.

Let’s turn to the subject of submissions…

Many authors have had the experience of being told an agent loved their story, their writing is fabulous and then they’re turned down. What is the decision-making process when taking on new authors?

So much of the decision comes down to timing and subjectivity.

If I’ve recently taken on a book in a very similar space, or I already represent a very similar author, I might be more likely to say no to another in the same vein unless it feels absolutely stand out. It wouldn’t be fair on either writer for there to be any conflict of interest.

More senior agents may only take on a handful of books a year. And there’s such a fine line between liking something and loving it so much you feel you have to represent it. That gut feeling is a purely subjective one. You fall for a voice, or a character, rather than there being anything objectively ‘wrong’ with the submission if you turn it down.

I would say my near-misses are books that I can see have potential and talent, but that I didn’t quite fall for personally, and I know it’s likely another agent will.

That’s why it’s so important to find the right person for your work!

The other thing I always have to think about is if I can see a clear route to market.

Sometimes I read a submission which is beautifully written, and the story is strong, but it feels familiar or doesn’t have that clear ‘hook’ that will make it stand out in a competitive market.

Publishers need to find the unique selling point to be able to pitch the book into the retailers, and to draw in readers, so I try to think of this early on so I can edit and pitch with this in mind.

Ultimately, I think of three things when reading a submission:

• do I love it enough to read it over and over?
• can I see a clear route to market with the pitch?
• is there a space on my list for an author writing in this area?

What makes your eyes light up and your heart sing when you’re scanning the submissions folder?

I love a strong concept.

A one line pitch that makes me stop and catch my breath;

An idea that feels new and exciting whilst having a clear audience and pitch;

A book that feels like it’s doing something different within a familiar genre.

A great example would be The Flatshare, where the tag line is ‘they share a bed but they’ve never met’. I immediately know it’s a love story, with a clear readership, but it’s also drawn me in with a great concept I’ve not seen done before which I know I could build a pitch around.

What are your three top tips to writers and authors who are in the submissions process at the moment?

1. Do your research

Send your book to a selected handful of agents who are right for your work and also feel right for you as a writer. You can tell a huge amount about an agent’s taste and personality from a quick google. Check on social media, and you can check their list for any similar writers.

2. Make sure you’ve done your reading.

You should always know where your readership is. Reading around in the area you’re writing in is crucial to know what’s working in that area and what’s already been done so you know your own book will deliver something new and satisfying to your readership.

3. Don’t give up.

It’s a tough year all round and we’re seeing a lot more submissions than usual. Take your time getting the submission right. Edit your novel, revise your covering letter, ask friends and family to look things over with a fresh pair of eyes so you know it makes sense to someone who has never read the book before.

Take the time to find the right agents, and keep a second list of names you can send to if you don’t hear back from those.

Is there anything specific that you look for in a query letter and synopsis?

Personally, I’m looking for a strong one line pitch and convincing comparison titles.

I’m always reassured that a novel is going to deliver if the writer knows exactly who they’re targeting and where it would sit in the market.

It’s also always nice to know why a writer has approached me specifically. It shows they’ve done their research and have thought about why their work makes sense for my list in particular.

As for the synopsis, I just want to know what happens in the story – succinct clarity is always preferable!

Thanks Hayley for your considered responses – I’m sure that’s given people a lot of things to think about!

If you’d like to submit to Hayley, you can find more information on what she’s looking for here.

Readers – if you’ve enjoyed this interview, you may also like a previous blog post – Do I need a Literary Agent to get published?