Founder and President, Serendipity Literary Agency
Why are you a children's editor and agent?
Regina started in adult textbooks that focused on technology, science, and engineering but she wanted a different experience. Having attended the School of the Arts in high school, Regina loved being around artistic people and that is how she found her way into children's books. She loved the space, the people, and the creators and stayed for the joy.
With the question "What job experience did you have before becoming an agent that shaped the way you work?" the room erupted in surprise as Regina revealed that prior to agenting she was an aerospace engineer! That is how the agency got its name Serendipity. Regina wasn't looking for publishing but soon realized that the two fields shared a lot of aspects.
"As an engineer, you look at systems and find out where they might fail. You troubleshoot and design which is the same for an editor but with a book." When asked, what three words that describe her taste, Regina described herself as:
Entertaining
Eccentric
Things that don't necessarily go together
With a love of educational work, she enjoys reading books that you don't KNOW that you are learning.
What would you change about the process?
When asked about the process, and how would you change it for the better, Arthur Levine, Founder and Publisher Levine Querido, brought up auctions, and Regina chimed in, finding the auctions nerving racking.
"You don't always get the best editor when driven by finances."
She considers herself "more of a feeler when picking an editor" and believes that money shouldn't matter. She's more interested in finding the right "shepherd" for the project and auctions can take that away. Finding the right editor is so important. One of her best sellers didn't get a big advance, but with the right editor, the book was a success.
Personally, Regina would like to see a change when it comes to the publicity side. When you submit a project, the editor becomes the ring leader. Regina would like to shift the process so the entire team ("ensemble") can all work together to ensure a successful life of the book.
But change happens very slowly, and it is hard to make shifts in processes in publishing. With the shift of technology in the world, Regina feels that publishing needs to move in pace with that.
What sort of work stands out to you?
Early on Regina would fall in love with the author and would get so excited by the person, but realize the manuscript isn't quite there. She is now interested in working with good people that she gets along with but also, can she franchise this person? Do they have many stories to tell or are they a one-hit wonder? These are things that you have to keep in mind. as you take on new artists and creators.
With the pandemic and the changing world, Regina recommends keeping your hand on the pulse of what is happening and how we can serve our community-the young readers.
Regina Brooks is the founder and president of Serendipity Literary Agency. Her agency is the largest African American-owned agency in the country and has represented and established a diverse base of award-winning clients in adult and young adult fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature. Her authors have appeared in USA Today, the New York Times, and the Washington Post as well as on Oprah, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, MSBNC, TV One, BET, and a host of others. In 2015, Publishers Weekly nominated Regina Brooks as a PW Star Watch Finalist, and she was honored with a Stevie Award in Business. Writer’s Digest Magazine named Serendipity Literary Agency as one of the top 25 literary agencies. Formerly, she held senior editorial positions at John Wiley and Sons (where she was not only the youngest but also the first African American editor in their college division) and McGraw-Hill.
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