![]() ![]() Give me a topic or an idea that I can’t wait to tell editors about – and that I can explain clearly and succinctly. Regardless of genre, I gravitate toward books that have both compelling concepts and impeccable, stop-you-in-your-tracks writing. I’m fascinated by “big idea” books that reveal underlying yet unexpected truths about our society (Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed, Susan Cain’s Quiet). I also enjoy memoirs that illuminate another culture or explore cross-cultural conflict (Alexandra Fuller’s Don’t Let’s Go To the Dogs Tonight, Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Infidel).ģ. I’m drawn to adventure narratives, particularly those in which physical and spiritual journeys become intertwined (Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, Cheryl Strayed’s Wild).Ģ. I am, however, open to YA books with highly original supernatural concepts or undertones.ġ. – Though I enjoy some paranormal romances (Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Josephine Angelini’s Starcrossed, and Lauren Oliver’s Delirium), I’m currently shying away from representing anything involving angels, chimera, Greek gods, and dystopias. – Contemporary, voice-driven novels that approach the universal experience of being a teenager from a surprising or an unlikely perspective (Some favorite authors: John Green, David Levithan, and Peter Cameron). (Think: Gillian Flynn, Tana French, and Lawrence Block.) – Novels with mystery and suspense in their DNA, or ones with a noir aesthetic. (I can’t get enough of novels in the vein of Karen Russell’s Swamplandia!, Téa Obrecht’s The Tiger’s Wife, and Karen Thomson Walker’s The Age of Miracles.) – Novels that incorporate some kind of surreal or magical element. (I’m a huge fan of Zadie Smith, Orhan Pamuk, Nicole Krauss, Chris Cleave, Sue Monk Kidd, Donald Ray Pollock, and Salman Rushdie.) I’m someone who believes fiction has much to teach us about history, psychology, and anthropology. – Novels set against the backdrop of another time, place, or culture. Regarding FICTION for adults, I’m especially interested in: I’m looking for literary fiction, book club fiction, women’s fiction, YA, and select narrative non-fiction. If it’s a book that deals with a popular subject matter or genre, the opening really needs to show me how the book will make a unique impact on editors. For instance, what is the hierarchy of a certain school, family, pack of wolves?įinally, because publishing is also a business, I like to see an opening that gives me a sense of how the book plans to differentiate itself from others on the market. I also love books that are set against the backdrop of another time, place, or culture – real or imagined.Whether realistic, speculative, or fantastical, it’s crucial to explain the “rules” or “logic” of thebook’s fictional universe in the opening. ![]() The reader must want to listen to this personfor the entire journey of the book. It’s crucial to find the right storyteller for your story-think of the ultimate narrator as a captivating traveling companion. ![]() I’m also likely to want to keep reading a novel with a compelling narrative voice. I personally love novels that begin with an intriguing conflict or mystery that I can’t wait to see play out over the course of the book. Once you’ve established these basic points, you want to make sure that you’ve written something engaging, an opening that will create an overwhelming desire in the agent to read more. This may sound simple, but you’d be surprised how many writers neglect to ground their readers at the outset! Theyshould also be chock full of “establishing details”- the basic Who, What, Where, When, and Why of the book. The opening pages should establish the basic premise of the story and introduce the major themes. You definitely want it to make a good first impression.Īs you set about trying to write the kind of opening that will pique an agent’s interest, it’s important not to forget the basics. It’s the handshake at the beginning of an interview. Your book’s opening is its way of introducing itself. These ten pages are crucial territory, because they tell me, almost immediately, whether or not to pursue her work. Erin shares some of her thoughts: When an author queries me, I ask her to include the first ten pages of her manuscript. She worked there for four and a half years, representing her own projects and selling subsidiary rights on behalf of the agency.Īs a literary agent, she has had the opportunity to read my fair share of book openings. In 2008, I joined the Irene Skolnick Literary Agency, where she experienced the thrill of advocating for books she believed in and writers she admired. Her publishing life began in 2007, when she interned for the literary agent William Clark of WM Clark Associates. Erin primarily represents literary fiction, book club fiction, women’s fiction, YA, and select narrative non-fiction.
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