Dear Authors: Do Your Research!

Dear Authors:

Yes, I was a literary agent at Corvisiero Literary Agency for a very brief period of time. Note the "was" -- as in past tense. Due to personal reasons, I made the difficult decision to leave. (To learn more about why, please read this post.) When I made the announcement, I received an outpouring of support and encouraging messages. Heck,I'm still getting messages. I was humbled by the sheer amount of concern and well-wishes heaped upon me, and I cannot begin to tell you how much that has meant to me. So to everyone who reached out and to those who kept me and my family in your prayers, THANK YOU!

Just last week, the wonderful Chuck Sambuchino tweeted that I was a new agent looking for certain genres. (On a side note - I had the chance to meet Chuck earlier this year, and he's just as personable and friendly and knowledgeable in person as he is online. Seriously, if you have the chance to attend one of his workshops, do it!) That single tweet received dozens of retweets and favorites, and resulted in me gaining a lot of new followers. Chuck was simply doing what he does and trying to help. Unfortunately, in the midst of dealing with family issues, I never emailed Chuck to alert him to the fact I was no longer an agent. The blame for this is on me, and I fully own that. Let me be very clear: I do not blame Chuck in the least. He's a great guy and I fully support his efforts within the writing community.

However, since that tweet, I have gotten an influx of emails from authors seeking representation. At first, I answered all of them, explaining that I was no longer an agent and wishing them well. But the emails continue to come. I just got two more this morning. And you know what I realized? They are being sent to my Anaiah Press and / or my personal email address! And you know what this tells me?

Authors aren't doing their research! And that, dear authors, is on you. Yes, I should've made sure Chuck knew I was no longer an agent. Yes, I should've shared my announcement more frequently on social media. But it's your responsibility, as an author, to do your homework, to know who you're submitting to and what their role is withing the publishing industry.

I mean, that is the number one thing authors are told when they start querying -- DO YOUR RESEARCH! It's clear that none of these authors have, because if they did, they would've learned two very important things:

1. I am no longer an agent. I'm no longer listed on the Corvisiero Literary agency website. There is a post on my blog about it. I've tweeted about it. Posted on Facebook about it.

2. Anaiah Press is a publisher who is in the business of publishing Christian fiction. They are not a literary agency and they do not represent authors. They publish books.

I cannot stress this enough, authors, DO. YOUR. RESEARCH! Know who you're submitting to, know what they're looking for, and most importantly, know the difference between agent and publisher. Don't send a publisher an email asking them to represent you and your books. And conversely, don't send an agent an email and ask them to publish your book.

Anyone who knows me or has ever had any interactions with me will tell you that I am always more than willing to teach and help authors in anyway I can. And that hasn't changed. But please, I beg you, do your research. From this point forward, I won't continue to answer emails asking for representation; and honestly, I really shouldn't have to because if you're doing your research, you'll know I'm not a literary agent and that I don't represent authors or their careers.

All my best,

~Kara

A Sad End to a Short Endeavor

I'm not even sure where to begin this post...

Back in July, I joined Corvisiero Literary Agency as an Agent Apprentice. I was so excited to jump into this new endeavor and forge a new path in my career on the other side of publishing. I came out of the gate running, signed two clients fairly quickly, and was busy moving forward with both of them to get their projects sold.

Then.... Life happened.

Doesn't it always?

Due to some very personal family issues -- and no, I'm not going to go into detail or discuss them here as I firmly believe one's personal laundry has no business being aired online -- but suffice it to say, my family always has and always will come first. As a result, I had to make the very difficult decision to leave Corvisiero Literary Agency. I hope, someday, to be able to return to either CLA or another agency and continue this journey. In the interim, I'm going to focus on my family and my personal writing goals. I have some big things planned on that front ;-)

To any author who has queried me and is waiting on a response: Please feel free to resend your query to another agent within the agency.

To any author who has sent me requested material: I will be sure your materials are passed along to another, appropriate agent within the agency.

On this note, I want to take a moment to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry to all those authors who took the time to query me, who have waited patiently for a reply from me that will now not be coming, to any other who had their hopes set on possibly working with me. I never wanted to let any of you down or disappoint you in anyway. So, for that, I'm terribly sorry. I wish each and every one of you success in achieving your dreams ;)

And finally, THANK YOU to everyone who supported and helped me on this short journey, and an even bigger thank you to all the authors who trusted me enough send me their work. The writing community is amazing and there is a lot of talent out there waiting to be discovered.

Onward and upward!

Making "The Call" -- An Agent's Perspective

When an author gets that ever elusive, super exciting "call" from an agent, they will often talk about it with their friends, family, fellow writers. They'll blog about it, Tweet it, share it on Facebook. And they should. It's a huge deal! But, ever wonder how an agent reacts to making that call? Well, get comfy because you're about to find out...

Two weeks ago, I made two phone calls to potential clients. Both of whom are now signed with me  :) WOO HOO! If y'all haven't taken the time to check out Kelly Comarda and Winter Austin yet, go do it now. Trust me, you won't regret it. Anyway, back to "the call."

Long before the scheduled call, I prepared. I had some chats with a few of the Senior Agents on how to conduct the call, what to expect, and things to keep in mind while making my final decision whether or not to officially offer representation. Then, I took notes on what I liked about their book, what I felt could be improved, questions I wanted to ask them, and I even had talking points -- just in case things started off slow and neither of us had anything interesting to say -- because I'm kind of a dork.

Truth be told, I was a nervous wreck! My stomach was in knots, I couldn't sit still, worst case scenarios were running through my mind. Like, what if I say something stupid? What if they don't like me? What if I don't like them? What if they ask a question and I don't know the answer? What if they simply don't answer my call? And to make my nerves even worse, I had a Senior Agent listening in on the calls and assisting when needed. I'm sure that made the authors nervous, too, because let's face it -- talking with one agent can be scary enough. But two? Talk about pressure! Obviously things went very well. I mean, I signed two new authors!!!

You're probably wondering what the point of this was... Well, basically, it was to let all you querying authors know that it's just as exciting and nerve wracking for agents as it is for you. So, when your time comes for that call, just remember: We often have the same concerns and worries, and we often prepare just as frantically as you do.

Or, maybe I'm just neurotic ;-) 

There's a BIG career change coming my way...

As many of you may know, for the past (almost) two years, I've been the Editorial Director at Anaiah Press. During my time there, I've met some truly amazingly talented authors, and I've made some close, lifelong friends. I owe so much of my knowledge and skills as an editor and industry professional to the entire staff at Anaiah Press. I wholeheartedly acknowledge that I wouldn't be where I am today without the experiences and support of this publisher. With that said, today I embark on an exciting and new direction in my career. 

I'm an agent apprentice at The Corvisiero Agency!!!! 

Eventually, I will move up to a Junior Agent, and hopefully, someday, a Senior Agent. I'm both thrilled and nervous about this new opportunity. 

Please note: I am NOT leaving Anaiah Press. I will continue on as the Editorial Director for the foreseeable future. However, as a result of my increased workload and to avoid any and all conflicts of interest, I will no longer be taking submissions at Anaiah Press. Furthermore, any author that I offer representation to as an agent of The Corvisiero Agency will not be considered for publication at Anaiah Press. There are absolutely no exceptions to this, so please don't ask.