News

Piu Eatwell - How We Work Together

17 Jun 2014

Piu Eatwell’s first non-fiction book , an examination of myths about the French entitled They Eat Horses, Don’t They? The Truth About The French, was awarded the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Award (category: multi-cultural nonfiction). Her next book, The Dead Duke, his Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse, is a historical true crime and mystery thriller, published by Head of Zeus in September 2014.

I discovered Andrew completely by chance. Knowing nobody in the publishing industry and with the vaguest idea for a book, I simply emailed the list of agents in the ‘Writers’ and Artists’ Handbook’, working through it alphabetically until I got bored at the letter ‘m.’ Thank goodness I didn’t give up at the letter ‘k’! Otherwise, the course of history….at least, my small personal corner of history….would have been irrevocably, and no doubt depressingly, different.

As it was, I was thrilled when an email bounced back almost immediately from Andrew, responding to my book idea with enthusiasm and a raft of helpful suggestions. The reply was so quick that – coupled with the fact of it being a late hour on a Saturday – I felt sure this must be a new agent, desperate for work. I was absolutely stunned on checking Andrew’s credentials, to find that he is in fact the leading agent for non-fiction. Over the subsequent years, I have come to expect – but never fail to appreciate – this phenomenal rapidity in response.

I am now two books down the line from that initial book, and find that my professional relationship with Andrew has developed apace. Of course, he ticks all the boxes that a top literary agent should: he checks all contracts with minute attention to detail, and immediately highlights any areas of concern in the small print; he chases unpaid bills; he reviews all book proposals and makes incisive comments, before they are sent out.

However, Andrew is much more than all of this. He is my first sounding board for any new book idea. Whatever the subject, he is bound to have read every single competing book in the field, know if anything else like it will be coming out in the future, and – on at least two occasions so far – has even acted as agent for the author who wrote the previous leading work on the subject.

He also has an unfailing nose for the latest ‘new thing’ in any given genre, an instinctive feel for the market and for what publishers are looking for. If Andrew predicts that, say, murders with a European wartime backdrop are the next ‘big thing’ in historical true crime, then he will invariably be correct. Most of all, you know that if Andrew believes in your book, he will fight to the death to make it a success in the market. Which means that you, the writer, can make yourself a cup of tea, switch off the mobile phone, and do what you always wanted to do…..write books.

Jeremy Dronfield - How We Work Together

16 Jun 2014

Jeremy Dronfield is the author of four novels and has ghosted four biographies.

I’m a ghost writer, biographer and book-doctor. It sometimes happens that the author of a biography, a history, or any other kind of non-fiction, having done the research and sketched out the book, struggles to bring out the qualities that would make it commercially viable. With a biography, for example, there may be a failure to capture the narrative drama of the subject’s life or the complexities of their character in a way that will captivate publishers and readers.

If Andrew believes that there is potential for a commercial book, but it’s just not coming through, no matter how many revisions the author does, he brings me in. If all parties agree, and if I believe passionately in the book, I come on board.

Sometimes it’s just the writing that’s lacking. In that case my job is simply to ghost or doctor it for finesse and readability. But more often the project evolves into full co-authorship; I go deep into the primary material, helping with the direction of the story and the analysis of the subject, and pursuing fresh lines of research. This is when the job is most satisfying – when I bring together my dual backgrounds in fiction and academic research. With me involved, a book gets the imaginative, vivid writing you’d expect from fiction, combined with the rigour of scholarship.

My recent books include the story of Robert Trimble, a WW2 pilot who undertook a secret mission to rescue POWs on the Eastern Front; a biography of Moura Budberg, the Russian spy who fell in love with a British agent during the Revolution and was haunted for the rest of her life by the shattering betrayal she suffered; the life of Peter Watson, millionaire art patron and doyen of the gay scene of pre-war Paris, who was murdered in his bath by his jealous lover; and the incredibly moving life of James Barry, a Victorian surgeon who was revealed after death to have been a woman, forced to disguise herself in order to pursue a career in medicine.

I always develop a close bond with my co-authors, but Andrew remains a crucial presence throughout, from inception to placing with a publisher, right up to delivery and beyond, as linchpin between me, my co-author(s) and publisher.

Jane Dismore - How We Work Together

15 Jun 2014

Jane Dismore’s next book is Duchesses : Living in 21st Century, a portrait of Britain’s non-royal duchesses .

I’m the ‘new girl on the block’ as far as being signed up by an agent is concerned. These days, when it seems everyone in the world has discovered that best-selling book inside them, many publishers won’t look at an author who has approached them direct, preferring to have the filtering process done for them. Those publishers who do accept a direct approach sometimes appear to think that an author has nothing better to do than spend the next aeon waiting for a reply, at the same time discouraging multiple submissions. It can be deeply depressing.

Enter the agent. Even then, the process is not for the faint-hearted or self-delusional. But with someone like Andrew, at least you won’t have to wait very long for a response. He replies to emails with impressive speed. He knows the market. He will tell it as he sees it, make suggestions on your submission if it needs it, and fight for better terms than the publisher seems prepared to offer. My next book is due out in September 2014, and I know he’ll be there to negotiate serial rights and do all the magic tricks to ensure I get the best deal.

Professor Tom Devine knighted in Queens Birthday Honours

14 Jun 2014

Congratulations to agency author Tom Devine who is knighted in today’s Birthday Honours for services to Scottish history. He has held various chairs at Edinburgh University since 2005 and is the author of over thirty books including the best-selling trilogy The Scottish Nation: 1700-2000 , Scotland’s Empire, 1600-1815 and Scotland’s Empire: The Origins of the Global Diaspora. Devine has won all three major prizes for Scottish historical research, been a Trustee of the National Museums of Scotland and a Member of Council of the British Academy.

Patrick Dillon - How We Work Together

14 Jun 2014

Patrick Dillon is a novelist, historian and architect whose books range from histories of Britain and world buildings for children to accounts of the 1688 Revolution and eighteenth-century gin craze.

My writing career has been unusually varied, ranging from serious history for adults, through children’s writing to fiction. Andrew hasn’t only been able to able to achieve excellent deals for all these books. He’s offered brilliant advice in choosing and shaping proposals. The starting point is clarity about what a book’s trying to achieve, whatever its genre. Andrew is invaluable in those early conversations. Who’s the book for? What’s distinctive about it? He brings clear thinking to the discussion, along with marketing nous and unrivalled knowledge of the trade. There’s no point expending time on an idea that’s unlikely to take off.

The same clear thinking helps shape the proposal. Publishers receive dozens of pitches, and it’s essential that what we make it clear what the book’s about, where the market is, and why people will want to read it. Andrew achieves his extraordinary hit-rate because he makes sure every proposal does the idea justice. If that means covering every base, it’s worth it.

Choosing where to send the proposal is very much one for Andrew. Success depends on his contacts, and his knowledge of each commissioning editor’s interest. When editors start to bite, it’s the agency that negotiates, and turns initial interest into firm offer and contract. It cuts in again when the book’s done. Publishers can’t always offer the marketing support a writer needs. Andrew has been brilliant in suggesting publicists and helping with contacts.

So Andrew is really part of a book’s life from start to finish. Long-term relationships between authors and publishing houses seem to belong to the past. For me, that continuity comes from the agency instead. Wherever my interest has shifted, Andrew has been ceaselessly encouraging. When an idea is being conceived, or a proposal shaped, in selling books and making deals, in helping when the process falters, and then giving my books the best chance in a highly competitive market – his support has been essential

Carol Acton in the Irish Times

13 Jun 2014

Discovering an Irish nurse’s unique WWII diary A researcher’s chance find at London’s Imperial War Museum gives a frank insight into war by a feisty, honest young Irish woman

Roger Crowley - How We Work Together

13 Jun 2014

Roger Crowley’s books include Constantinople: The Last Great Siege (sold in fourteen countries) , Empires of the Sea (sold in fifteen countries) and City of Fortune: How Venice won and lost a naval empire. His next book Lords of the Navigation: How the Portuguese launched the age of discovery and the first global empire will be published next year by Faber in the UK and Random House in the USA.

I have worked with Andrew for over ten years and four history books. Over this period the relationship has evolved in line with my writing career. At the outset, Andrew read my proposal, had his judgement checked with an experienced outside reader and took it on. This involved pitching it to a range of UK and US publishers, taking me on a series of meetings with interested publishers and conducting effective auctions.

Since then I have worked with the same UK publisher (though two different US ones) and the manuscript discussion tends to be direct with the relevant editor. Andrew pitches each new proposal to the publishers and works to improve the deals. He tries to dissuade me from ideas for books which he feels are unlikely to be sufficiently commercial or ones that deviate from the area of history in which I have built some reputation. His overall strategy has been to encourage me to develop a coherent profile (brand?) as a writer of history, though I’m not always inclined to listen. He purses his lips at the mention of writing a novel…

Andrew also works hard with sub-agents to squeeze every last opportunity for the books out of the translation market. It’s a good to see a little more money coming in from Korea or Brazil several years after the book was first published. He handles potential film and TV rights (we live in hope), suggests speaking engagements, passes on contacts and opportunities that are filtered through him and arranges occasional shared meetings with the UK publisher. From time to time I also like to have a face to face catch-up with him specifically to talk about the history and book market generally and potential future writing strategies.

Peter Daughtrey interviewed on Capricorn Radio

13 Jun 2014

Peter Daughtrey’s interview with Capricorn Radio is now online. Peter is promoting his exciting new book which promises to reveal the true location of Atlantis.

Capricorn Radio interview

Atlantis and the Silver City

Deborah Crewe - How We Work Together

12 Jun 2014

Deborah Crewe’s recent ghosted memoirs range from senior political figures to a West Country vet and Essex Bad Girl. Here she explains what having an agent means to her.

 

What is it like having an agent?

 

Well, first of all it’s extremely glamorous. It’s worth having an agent just to be able to casually drop him into conversation. For example:

 

‘How do you find work?’

‘Well, sometimes my agent finds work for me.’

‘Wow, you have an agent!’

 

Second, it allows me to quote endlessly (to myself, under my breath) the funniest film ever, Tootsie.

 

George Fields: Where do you come off sending me your roommate’s play for you to star in? I’m your agent, not your mother! I’m not supposed to find plays for you to star in - I’m supposed to field offers! And that’s what I do!

Michael Dorsey: ‘Field offers?’ Who told you that, the Agent Fairy? That was a significant piece of work - I could’ve been terrific in that part.

George Fields: Michael, nobody’s gonna do that play.

Michael Dorsey: Why?

George Fields: Because it’s a downer, that’s why. Because nobody wants to produce a play about a couple that moved back to Love Canal.

Michael Dorsey: But that actually happened!

George Fields: WHO GIVES A SHIT? Nobody wants to pay twenty dollars to watch people living next to chemical waste! They can see that in New Jersey!

 

I’ve never yet known Andrew to shout ‘WHO GIVES A SHIT’.  But he will tell me straight up when I bring him an idea that is like watching people living next to chemical waste. I hugely value this honesty. Like pulling off a plaster fast, it hurts a little, but it saves a lot of time.

 

Third, having an agent opens doors. Andrew is a brand. And his brand values, I think, are hard work, strong relationships, and quality writing. That means he makes me revise and re-revise my proposal until it is as good as it can be. It means he knows which editors are going to love my proposal. It means those editors tend to take the time to read it, because it comes from Andrew. Yes, Andrew handles the negotiations and the contract and the money, and that is fantastic because it would be fiddly and a bit awkward to do it myself. But that, for me, is the least of it.

 

What is it like having an agent? It is like having my own personal coach, clairvoyant, fixer, gamer, cheerleader. It’s like having a trusty guide through a strange and daunting landscape.

Nessa Carey - How We Work Together

11 Jun 2014

 

 Nessa Carey, author of two popular science books, The Epigenetics Revolution and Junk, discusses her relationshp with the agency.

Picture the scene.  You already have a demanding full-time job and for some reason decide it would be a great idea to write a book as well.  That’s the situation I created for myself, in one of those examples of being too delightfully ignorant of what I was taking on to understand how insane it was.

I just wanted to write a book on a subject about which I felt passionately, and which I felt hadn’t been covered by anyone else.  I had no experience of “proper” publishing at all.  My nearest brush in the past had been scientific papers, and the occasional seventy word paragraph for a wildlife magazine.  Hardly an adequate preparation.

Having looked at a few agents’ websites I thought that Andrew’s looked the friendliest (and if I am honest, he also needed the fewest chapters in the first round) so I followed the instructions carefully and sent off my submission.  I was delighted when he accepted me, and didn’t realise how fortunate I was to get an agent so quickly.  I blithely assumed this must be how it always works.  Where ignorance is bliss……..

I realised quickly how lucky I was to have this agent though.  He led me very patiently through various re-writes in response to his readers’ comments and once we’d agreed on a final version Andrew lined up interviews with various publishers.  I was delighted with the final deal.  The publisher was just right for me.  They were a small company, specialising in non-fiction, and able to give me a lot of help in really polishing the book.  A US deal followed quickly.

I love that I don’t have to get involved in anything contractual, or financial negotiations.  It’s all handled for me, so I just receive the offers and say yes or no.  The same is true with publicity opportunities that are sent my way.  Even the emails that remind me I haven’t done something are gentle enough that I am not paralysed with guilt on receiving them.

Three years on and again I decided it would be a great idea to write a book despite working full-time.  Far fewer re-writes confirmed for me that my original decision of working with people who could help a first-time writer learn to do things well had really paid off.