Closed to submissions

The Kate Nash Literary Agency is now closed to new submissions until 1st December 2009.

If you have an outstanding submission with the Agency, thank you for your patience. Kate Nash reads all submissions personally but will be taking a maternity leave break over the next few weeks.

All glamour and champagne

There are no doubt people who assume the life of a literary agent is (apart from being drowned by vast paper mountains) all glamour and champagne. Actually, it’s hard work and at this time of year there is the additional drudgery of royalty statements. Royalty statements are produced by publishers, typically six-monthly, to show how many copies of an author’s books have been sold and therefore how much in royalties is owed to the author.

Advances and provisions for returns will generally be offset against this figure so authors receive additional monies only after their advance has “earned out” (as the phrase goes).

The upsides of royalty statements are:

• that hopefully royalties are owed and therefore a cheque is enclosed.
• they contain valuable information. The agent and author can see in detail how a title has sold and where things stand.

The downsides are:

• admin involved in dealing with them and checking. Especially if your agent is a one-person business like me and therefore there is no one else to pass this chore onto.
• every publisher has their own system and conventions and so deciphering what is going on isn’t as straightforward as you might think.

You never told me you were a writer…

A thoughtful blog post from Sam Ellis, a writer who did some work experience at a publisher.

Note for UK authors – Irish PLR

UK authors should have an had email today from UK PLR alerting them to the fact that they can automatically transfer all their book details over to the new Irish PLR system, to which they may be entitled to payments for borrowings from public libraries in Ireland. The process is simple and involves logging into your online account and pressing the “I agree” button at the end of the message which automatically appears on logging in.

There is only two weeks to do this, after which you would have to register directly with the Irish PLR system. I googled a few libraries in Ireland and found a number had editions of my books so fingers crossed there should be a few pounds (or will it be euros) coming my way from across the Irish sea in the future.

Especially in tough times like these, any opportunity for authors to increase their earnings is welcome news and so do take the opportunity to register for Irish PLR while it’s a ten second process.

Dealing with rejection

When you’re an author, dealing with rejection can be really hard. This is because it is almost impossible not to take it personally. I think this is because writing is such a personal thing, and you can (and should) put your heart and soul into your work.

What I hadn’t anticipated was how personally awful and down I would feel when my clients’ work is rejected by publishers, especially when a publisher has had a full manuscript for a while and been seriously considering it. Yes, I can keep telling myself ‘this is business’ but my feelings don’t seem to want to listen and obey.

What are your any tips or strategies for dealing with rejection? Are some rejections harder to bear than others?

Slightly Foxed by Jane Lovering

Slightly Foxed, Jane Lovering’s second novel, is published in trade paperback.

Slightly Foxed

They say you’ll know when you’re in love. What if you don’t?

Alys, a single parent and certified romantic disaster area, is always falling for unattainable men—the latest one being the dead author of a “borrowed” book of poetry. When she reluctantly returns the book to its rightful owner, she meets Leo. He’s very much alive, very much attracted to her and, well, it’s love at first sight.

Isn’t it?

After all, she’s a single mum with a boring job in a bookshop and, as her daughter puts it, gravity’s not going to hold off forever. Leo’s got the financial stability she’s been craving and he looks like an aftershave advert. So it must be love.

Mustn’t it?

Then there’s Piers, whose spontaneity draws her like a magnet. But is it love she feels, or just his infectious love of life? Before she can choose, an unexpected source threatens to lay bare the lie she has been living for the last sixteen years.

With happiness close to slipping out of her grasp, Alys is forced to ask herself whether she’s ever really been in love at all.

‘Throughly enjoyed’ Dear Author

Submissions update

Because of holidays and recent conferences, I’m running very behind in considering submissions. Please be aware that you may not have a response to your submission until mid to late August. Normal service should resume in September.

RNA Conference 2009

Following the Romantic Novelists Association annual conference, held this year at the University of Cumbria in Penrith, I stayed for a few days holiday in the Lake District so hence this report comes a little late.

It’s a long drive up to Cumbria but I did make it to the conference in time to see the author panel on Friday afternoon, and then enjoy dinner and catching up with lots of people. Saturday I did two hours of agent one to one appointments which I think went well. I was really impressed with several opening chapters and asked to see more from several writers. As with my experience at Winchester, the hardest I think is when you don’t want to see more of a manuscript and its nothing to do with the quality of the writing, it’s that you know that the story isn’t marketable at the current time, or that it’s just too far outside your own personal taste to get excited about.

I had time to attend several talks and sessions on Saturday including an excellent talk by Myra Kersner on putting together non-fiction proposals, from DC Thomson on writing for People’s Friend (both the magazine and the Pocket Novels) and a key note talk from bestselling author Veronica Henry, and on Sunday, from consultant and former editor Kathy Gale on what publshers want.

Saturday evening was the excuse to dress up and I’m pleased to see that my footwear, along with many others, has made it onto the RNA blog. At dinner was the presentation by RNA Chair Katie Fforde of the Elizabeth Goudge Award for a novel opening and I was delighted to see the trophy won by the talented Lesley Eames (click link for photo) who has been a friend for several years and whom I encouraged to join the RNA a couple of years ago. Well done Lesley and also thank you to Jan Jones and Roger Sanderson for putting together another very enjoyable conference.

Kate Nash Agency welcomes Janet Woods

The Kate Nash Literary Agency is delighted to be joined by award-winning author Janet Woods.

A British born Australian author, Janet writes popular fiction. Her style encompasses contemporary romance, mainstream fiction and historical romance. She belongs to several writer organisations and has been awarded life membership of The Society of Women Writers.

Janet’s forthcoming novel is Salting the Wound, a captivating romance set in 19th century Dorset, to be published on October 1st 2009 by Severn House.

Winchester Writers Conference – 2

A quick round-up of the conference from my point of view.

I arrived on Friday, spent about three hours in the student coffee bar locked away in my imagination writing… bliss! Then I checked into my room, which to my surprise, wasn’t en-suite. Having stayed at various University campuses over the last few years and always had an en-suite room I was unprepared. (The large bath towel I had brought with me was vital after all!) I spent the rest of Friday chatting with writers, which really is the pleasurable part of conferences. Caught up with Jean Fullerton, Catherine King, Sally Spedding, and Susan Franklin. I also met for the first time over the weekend Adrienne Dines, Lesley Horton, Sarah Ellender, agent Judith Murdoch, members of a writers group from Leicester and another from Worthing, and many other writers with whom it was a pleasure to meet and talk to.

Saturday was a marathon for me with my one-to-ones but most people attending the conference had a mixture of talks, workshops and a plenary session by Michael Morpurgo to enjoy. The evening ended with a gala dinner and a great talk by Lola Jaye in which she explained the determination needed on the long journey to publication. Lola got her lucky break at Winchester, which reminded me that I can attribute the “lucky break” to getting published first time myself to a conversation I overheard in the queue to the Ladies at a meeting of the Romantic Novelists Association. Get out and about, or as Lola described it, put yourself in position for those lucky breaks to become more likely.

This coming weekend is the Romantic Novelists Association conference in Penrith so I suspect I may get a little behind with submissions again. Do bear with me.