AMA with Book Agent Mackenzie Brady Watson

On October 2, 2018, Study Hall held an AMA with Mackenzie Brady Watson, an agent at SKLA. Here’s a condensed version of the AMA.

Q: Mackenzie, how did you get into literary agency work? Were you a writer before?

A: Good Q. I was an aspiring writer once (as most publishing professionals are). I went to the One Story Writers Workshop in BK 8 years ago or so and that’s actually where I first heard of the term “agent” and met a few. Shortly thereafter I did an internship at an agency and really fell in love with the business of publishing.

Q: I’m in the very early stages of thinking about a (reported) nonfiction book proposal; what kinds of mistakes do you see people make most often with these?

A: One of the mistakes I often see is a journalist trying to create a book out of an article they’ve written that can’t fully suppose the weight of 60-90k words. So, one of the most important questions you should ask yourself when trying to figure out if something really has book potential is: Will I still find this interesting and important in 1-3 years? Also, are there characters readers could root for? Or a bigger argument you can make? etc.

Q: I have a question about memoir. I write a lot of personal essays and creative non-fiction and while the idea of writing a memoir is appealing, I’m also hesitant because of the way memoirs are often packaged as this is about one big thing or process that can be easily pitched, for example, getting sober, a medical emergency, etc. But what I would like to write about is like a ten-year period where a bunch of crazy shit happened, and coming out the other side. But it’s not easily pitch-able, if that makes sense. Do you think I would need to figure out that thing before working up a proposal?

A: So, you’re right. Memoirs these days are often packaged around a single subject, but there are exceptions. Often it’s the writer’s voice or style that will make the difference in this case. I’d most recommend thinking about what the “heart” of your story is and see if you can condense it down to a short narrative. Is it about surviving crazy shit? Is it about being a woman/writer/whatever else you are in today’s society? If you’re using your personal experience to talk about bigger issues, you can say that. At the end of the day memoir usually sells on platform or voice.

Q: I’ve heard from a couple of friendly agents I’ve queried that my book idea would be better suited for an academic publisher. Is there more I can do or ask to make sure that’s the right call? I’m a little nervous about making the switch because, as I understand it, there wouldn’t be an agent to guide me through that process with publishers. [My book idea is] not for academics or particularly scholarly. It does relate to TV, which I know can be hard to sell, so they’ve been suggesting it’s too niche. Also, should say I’m not an academic myself.

A: Some major publishers have published books on TV, but so have smaller, indie presses. You might want to consider those in addition to academic presses. It’s certainly worth querying a few more agents to see if you can find someone willing to partner with you in the process, even if it’s likely going to sell to an academic publisher. I’ve sold books to university presses and it still helps to have an advocate on your side.

Q: I wondered about platform. Let’s assume a writer has an appealing idea and corresponding proposal that you like and know is good + has a market. But it’s a first-time writer (like many of us) without a celebrity connection or big name. What do you like to see in terms of outlets published in, number of Twitter followers, etc.? I’m imagining, but wanted to confirm, that it’s not whether the writer has been published in a range of major outlets, but which ones he/she is a regular contributor to and/or are most relevant to the book subject, is that right?

A: I get asked this question most of all I think. Yes, sometimes all someone needs is a huge following online to get a book deal, but that isn’t the case for most writers. Usually publishers are looking for writers who have established themselves as thought leaders or experts on a certain subject. So, publishing work that covers a certain topic consistently on one site/ in one paper or across a wide variety of outlets is one way to do that. Or, if you are an academic or have some other kind of “expert” credentials, that usually carries a lot of weight, too.

Q: It also seems like one of the most important things for mainstream publishers is for there to be an actual story, with interesting characters, fleshed out in the proposal, not just an idea or topic, and that often differentiates commercial books from academic ones. Am I right in thinking that?

A: That can be one differentiation! Academic books are often fact/research/statistic heavy and don’t often have characters, but some break that mold. I think audience is also a big factor. One of the most important facets of a book proposal is the “about the audience” section… Writers need to show a publisher who will read this book (and why). So many academic presses publish for the academic markets (thinking mainly about course adoption) but larger, more commercial presses are looking for books that speak to multiple audiences at once.

Q: To your point about the importance of the “About the Audience” section: What does a successful example of that kind of section look like? Like, do you want data?

A: This section definitely varies depending on the type of book you’re pitching, but yes, data always helps. If you’re writing a book about a particular subject, like say fungus, and there is a fungus society out there with 500k members, that is important to include. It demonstrates the size of the potential audience (and a potential marketing opportunity). Staying with the same example, it would be important to note any recent articles published about fungus (i.e. which magazine/newspaper readers might come to your book). You can also draw parallels to other books here, saying that fans of this big bestselling book about moss would also naturally gravitate toward your fungus book. There is a book about fungus being published by Random House, so the example is weird but from real life!

Q: Related question – Is it good, then, sometimes, that similar books have been published to show that there’s an audience? Or is there a point when it’s too many?

A: Yes! We always include “comparable titles” in proposals because publishers need them to use as models when they are crunching their numbers in a P&L (profits and losses spreadsheet that helps them determine what they can offer). You want to include books that have been recently published (w/in last 3 years) to show that the market is still primed for a book like yours. and you want to include only books that were reviewed well or sold well. Markets can get saturated, so there are also moments where every publisher has their own version of a fungus book (to keep this ridiculous example going), so you’d have to help a publisher understand how yours is new/ different, if that is a concern.

Q: What are some red flags when you’re represented that your agent is not a good fit, or not a great agent? And if you decide to part ways, what’s the best etiquette?

A: The agent-author relationship is truly like a marriage in that you have to trust each other completely for the relationship to work. So, if ever you’re wondering if your agent is not telling you the truth or doing his/her job that’s a huge red flag. Also, you want an agent who is going to help you write the book YOU want to write, so their editorial ideas should feel right to you. And there should be open communication – you should never feel bad about calling or emailing your agent.

Q: There have been a number of occasions when I’ve wondered if my agent is being completely honest, and it’s made me quite uncomfortable. My book has been on submission and it doesn’t look like it’ll sell this first round. The contract is really vague, and says I can leave if we have a disagreement. Would now be a good time to disband since she’s thinking about submitting the book to another group of editors?

A: The best thing to do is be upfront and honest. Tell your agent you don’t think the relationship is working out. If there are ways to save it, suggest them, or simply say you’d like to move on and want to know how to formally handle that (if there is a contract between you). I think it would be helpful to have a frank conversation with your agent. Again, they are meant to be your partner in this business, so you need to trust them. But there are ways to build that trust back up. Explaining what has made you feel uncomfortable and seeing how he/she responds is a good place to start.

Q: Can you share, in a typical week, how many NF proposals you get? And what percentage are viable? I’ve been told a tiny tiny fraction. What’s your typical response time?

A: It depends on the time of year, but I can get upwards of 50-75 queries a week and I usually take on no more than 5 clients a year (and some of those are referrals or people I’ve approached). And I usually get back to queries within 2 weeks. I’m faster with referrals, so maybe a week there.

Q: Can you tell us about the general trajectory of nonfiction publishing right now? A few years ago, it seemed that all publishers wanted were collections of personal essays. What’s hot right now? Any trends you see in the future, or should people ignore all those and just focus on pitching good things?

A: So, I may be an exception here, but I try not to focus on trends – they are often so short lived and lead to market saturation. Instead, I prefer to find writers who are so interested in their subject that they force me to be, even if I never thought about that subject before (or at least in that way). Right now, a lot of hyper-political/current events books are selling, but I’ve had so many conversations with editors, who are looking for anything but. They want books that will live beyond this moment and have a shot at a long paperback life (often dependent on course adoption).

So, you want a writer who is obsessed with his/her subject and brings that passion to the page, and you want him/her to show you why this subject is so cool. Because you’ll need that level of interest to dive as deeply as you’ll need to, to fill 300 pages. If ever you write an article and think, “There is SO much more to this story,” that’s usually a good sign to make it a book.

I’m publicly closed to queries, but I am reading. So, if any of you are working on projects that might be right for my list, please do send a note: [email protected].

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