Cindy: Can you describe a typical day at the agency?
Kevan: I start very early given that New York is three hours ahead of me, and I am generally responding to email for several hours in the morning, both to editors and authors. I usually have one or two author calls scheduled in a day, and several unscheduled calls! Then, I try to get through a few hours of reading each day—and usually into the evening. I prioritize my reading based on reading clients’ work first, work that is nearly ready to go for submission, work that I am particularly hopeful about, and then “slush” bucket reading.
Cindy: Do you work exclusively with your clients? Do agents at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency ever “share” clients or offer other forms of back-up?
Kevan: Generally we do work exclusively, however if one of my clients is writing in a genre that is better suited for one of my colleagues I will refer them for that particular book. Jill and I work very closely together, doing reads for each other and giving feedback, so a client will get the benefit of comprehensive feedback on a manuscript.
Cindy: How has the economic downturn affected your client list and the agency?
Kevan: There is no doubt that the submission and acquisition process seems to be ever tighter in the past number of months. But publishers must acquire great books to exist. We continue to see strong projects selling—but maybe for lesser advances than in the past.
Cindy: What are your genres of interest? Do you specialize in certain areas?
Kevan: I am interested in both fiction and non-fiction work. For fiction, I work with women’s fiction; commercial women’s fiction and most genres of romance. I am particularly passionate about historical women’s fiction and would love to find more authors in this area. I love a sweeping, complex story with a unique, fresh plot concept that I can “lose myself in.” For non-fiction, I am interested in current events, memoir, environmental topics, narrative nonfiction, pets and other topics that generally appeal to women readers.
Cindy: What stands out for you in a query—positively AND negatively?
Kevan: What stands out in a query for me is a unique plot premise—something fresh that stands out from the rest.
Cindy: Kevan, are you open to electronic queries?
Kevan: Yes, we ask for an electronic query to query@MarsalLyonLiteraryAgency.com. If we are interested in seeing more of your work, we will ask you to send us a sample of the manuscript either by email or hard copy.
Cindy: If you reject a partial or full manuscript, are you open to seeing a query on a revised version?
Kevan: That varies by submission. In some cases the work and story ends up being not right for me, in other cases I may believe that it needs work, and if the author is willing to put in the work I will take another look.
Cindy: Describe your preferred methods of client communication. Email or phone contact? Generally speaking, how long does it take you to get back to your clients?
Kevan: I am on email constantly—for better or worse! I also speak on the phone regularly with my clients, depending where we are in the submission process. I try not to bother them if they are writing against a deadline, but always make myself available to them. My turnaround time on email is within hours, if not minutes!
Cindy: How about editorial advice? Do you offer it to your clients? What if the client doesn’t agree with the advice?
Kevan: Yes, I offer detailed editorial comments and suggestions—again, this will vary by manuscript. I also often share a sample of the work, or the entire manuscript, with a colleague so that we can give comprehensive feedback from a fresh perspective. If a client objects to our advice, we will generally discuss it, and depending on the nature of the revisions needed we would decide how to proceed. If it is a minor point we leave the decision up to the author, if it is something more fundamental that we feel needs revising then we may step aside on the work.
Cindy: Do you use a written or verbal contract? Is it book-by-book, for a set period of time, or for the duration of the writer’s career?
Kevan: Our goal at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency is to work with an author to build a career in writing. We approach the relationship with a long-term view, to successfully sell each book and work with them to build a strong career doing what they love.
Cindy: How do you work with a client to build her career?
Kevan: We work closely with a client at all stages of their career—first in working to make sure their first book is as successful as it can be, i.e. supporting the sale, marketing and publicity efforts in any way that we can. Next, we work with them to ensure their next books are as strong as they can be to ensure a long term relationship with a publisher, or will consider moving them to another publisher if that is what is best for their career. Our goal is to work with them to develop a lasting, successful career in publishing.
Cindy: How many editors do you submit a project to at once? Would you send a writer’s project to editors on its own or along with other writers’ projects?
Kevan: This varies with each submission, but generally I submit to several editors that are acquiring in the genre the author is writing in. I always try to avoid sending multiple submissions to any one editor, so that I can focus on one author at a time with an editor.
Cindy: Is there anything I’ve missed that you’d like to add?
Kevan: How about what do you love most about your work? And, I do love this work. I don’t think anyone could do this if they didn’t absolutely love it because it is all-consuming. I carry reading with me everywhere I go, or so it seems. There is always more to do, more to read and you always, always feel behind.
I hate to keep people waiting on hearing from us because I know their heart and soul is in their book, but sadly it is part of the process given the sheer volume of writers out there!
I love it when I find that story that absolutely “takes me away.” When you look up and realize over an hour has passed and you have barely taken a breath because you are so caught up in the story you are reading. That is one of my favorite moments in this job. I also LOVE successfully selling my clients’ books. It is such an exciting moment, and makes all of the hard work worthwhile.
To read the full interview, visit Cindy’s website.
A Golden Heart® finalist and author of two romantic comedies with Amber Quill Press, Cindy’s mission in life is to see her surname spelled properly—with an E. So take heed. That’s P-r-o-c-t-E-r. Not, no, never, under any flippin’ circumstances should you spell it with two O’s. Cindy lives in Canada with her husband, their two amazing sons, a tortoiseshell cat obsessed with dripping tap water, and Allie McBeagle.
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