WLT’s unconference – agents in their living rooms!

The program notes for the Writers’ League of Texas virtual “unconference” last weekend proclaimed, “it wouldn’t be an unconference without an agent or two.” WLT’s executive director, Becka Oliver, cornered two, Jennie Dunham of Dunham Literary, Inc., and Kirby Kim of Janklow & Nesbit Associates to ask what they do and what they hope to see from authors.

First, both agents want to see manuscripts that are as polished as possible, while still hoping writers will realize their “well-polished” is probably still several drafts away from what an editor at a publishing house will want.

“When I go out on submissions,” Dunham said, “I’m thinking about what an editor would like to see – which isn’t necessarily what the writer sees.”

clockwise, top left: Oliver, Dunham, Kim

Kim agreed. “Editors need to have it at a more camera-ready point.”

This doesn’t mean it’s her job as an agent to fix a manuscript, but “it’s important for (agent and writer) to be on the same page. . . sometimes that means asking the right questions” of an author.

Kim agreed that helping authors shape their pages was one of his goals. “I rarely take on a project that I don’t see couldn’t use some more work.”

However, he was adamant that “some work” has its limits, aiming to “get it to submission (with an editor) within four drafts, just because I have finite resources of time. . . A lot of times we sign on promise – on potential – but may get to a place where I just can’t finish.”

Because agents work on commission – they don’t get paid until a writer does -- a rejection may not mean a manuscript doesn’t have great stuff in it, as Kim noted, but only that he (and probably other agents) will pass if they can’t expect to get it ready for submission to a publisher within a financially-viable time frame.

Dunham noted, “Rejection doesn’t mean it’s not well-written. It just means I’m not the right agent for it. I have a saying, if I’m on the fence (about a manuscript) the answer is no.”

So, Oliver asked, when does an agent know when the answer is no? How far does he or she need to read?

“I read until I know the answer,” Dunham said. “Sometimes it’s the first paragraph and sometimes it’s halfway through the book.”

Her answer may reflect the more literary nature of her agency’s tastes, compared to Kim’s more commercial ones (although his page at Janklow & Nesbit indicates that he’s most interested in manuscripts that straddle the upmarket/commercial fence).

Writers should note that Dunham’s agency only requires a query letter and the first five pages of a fiction manuscript for initial submissions. Agents may request additional pages later, although Dunham cautions that if she provides authors with extensive notes, she expects resubmissions to be exclusive to her – within a definite time period.

Kim's agency requires a cover letter plus a synopsis and a manuscript’s first 10 pages, so most of his rejections take place within that limit. “The first line and first paragraph are really big signals for me.”

When he requests additional pages, “I like to ask for the same amount (from each author) because it gives me a sense of the pacing.”

Given how many submissions each agency receives (36,000 per year, Dunham notes for her own), does a nonresponse mean a rejection, Oliver asked.

Kim noted that his agency says yes, nonresponse is a rejection “but it’s OK to check back in a month” just in case he’s behind on his emails.

Dunham’s agency website doesn’t specify that nonresponse means rejection, but she noted that the volume of submissions means it isn’t always practical to send rejection letters for each submission. She will respond if an author has received another offer of representation, in case she needs to clear time to read their submission to Dunham Literary.

Since the guided discussion dealt almost exclusively with novel manuscripts, viewers also had questions about nonfiction and short story collection submissions.

Although both agents “theoretically” (in Dunham’s words) will represent short story collections, they admitted these are a tough sell to publishers.

Note that, except for memoirs, nonfiction submissions typically require a proposal and sample chapters rather than a completed manuscript. And Kim stated, “For nonfiction, I rarely sign from the slush,” preferring to reach out to writers for specific projects.

How about the importance of social media for writers, viewers asked.

“Go on social media to be a part of a discussion, boosting other things or replying to others. It’s not necessary to be on all (media platforms). Make it make sense for who you are as a writer.”

“For me,” Kim said, “for fiction, social media is not determinative but for nonfiction it is. It’s also something that publishers will want to scrutinize.”

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