The Agents' Panel!

Moderated by Alexandra Penfold (far left)(, the panelists at the table are (left to right): Tanusri Prasanna, Ammi-Joan Paquette, Kevin Lewis, Kristen Hall, Tina Dubois, and Jenny Bent

Acquisitions Today – Agent Panel – Tina Wexler

Fabulous Tina Wexler of ICM Partners tells us a little bit of her Super Agent Origin Story. ICM is one of the oldest agencies around with offices all over the place, Tina works at the NY office. She started there as an assistant 13 years ago and loves the brain trust that is her extended family of agents and staff.

Her list is mostly MG and YA, she's not really looking for picture books. She's excited for nonfiction YA essay collections and she also wants to represent diverse books.

TINA IS A CAT PERSON. She says that's probably all we need to know.

Lin asks what does a manuscript need for Tina to acquire it?

Tina says it's two parts, and very simple: Do I love it? Can I sell it?

As she's reading it and falling in love, can Tina start to think of names of editors she can sell it to? If she can't think of those names, Tina will pass on it in the hopes it is picked up by another great agent who can polish/position it in the way the manuscript needs to be to get that great sale and success.

Lin asks if Tina is an editorial agent: Tina agrees with the majority of the panel that she does (and most agents today do) tend to edit an acquired manuscript to be its very best before it goes out to editors (who will then revise even more). But Tina wants to point out that the author MUST first revise enough on their own until they are sure what they are submitting to an agent is at its absolute best. Don't be sending your work out in the hopes an agent will edit it into shape, you do that on your own.

Something Tina says we need to take much more seriously than we do are our buying practices:

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES! SUPPORT LIBRARIES!

It's the Agent Panel!

Moderated by Lin Oliver (standing, far left), the agent panelists are, left to right: Victoria Wells Arms (Victoria Wells Arms Agency), Ginger Clark (Curtis Brown, Ltd.), Kirsten Hall (her own agency, Catbird), Brooks Sherman (The Bent Agency), Erica Ran Silverman (Stimola Literary Studio), and Tina Wexler (ICM Partners.)

Happy Hour Hangouts

A new opportunity at the SCBWI Summer Conference, these informal conversations with faculty members including agents and artist reps (Ginger Clark, Erica Rand Silverman, Tina Wexler, Kirsten Hall and Brooks Sherman) and editors and publishers (Krista Marino, Neal Porter, Sara Sargent, Melissa Manlove, Stacey Barney, Kat Brzozowski, and Reka Simonsen) are a big hit!

Attendees with agent Ginger Clark

Attendees with Publisher Neal Porter

Tina Wexler: Seven Things Your Manuscript Needs to Succeed

Tina Wexler is a literary agent ICM Partners.

Tina shares tips that will help us find success.

You need a strong story idea. An idea that will sustain you through the drafting and writing process. Do you have unfinished manuscripts in a drawer? It might be because it didn't have enough to sustain you.

Your manuscript needs to be researched. Read 3 other recently published books in your same genre and age range. Look up the things you don't know. Not all of your research will make it in, but it will inform your story.

Your manuscript needs to be revised. No one gets it right the first time.

Your manuscript needs a strong voice.

Your manuscript needs a vacation. Set it aside. Work on something else. Take time away so you can come back with fresh eyes. When you return to it, revise it again.

Your manuscript needs to be loved. Finishing is not a reason to send it out on submission. You need to love it. It needs to be ready.


Great reads from the session:

The Agents' Panel begins!

Agent Brenda Bowen (at podium, right) moderates the panel - right to left, Barry Goldblatt, Jennifer Laughran and Tina Wexler.

The LGBTQ Q&A

With conference faculty guest agent Tina Wexler, agent Jennifer Laughran, Art Director and Author Laurent Linn, Best-Selling and Award-Winning Author Jane Yolen, editor Emma Dryden and editor and publisher Arthur A. Levine, our group of more than forty attendees gathered to share and talk about  writing and illustrating LGBTQ characters and themes in works for children and teens.

In moments ranging from hilarious to somber,  topics covered included picture book art notes (dos and don'ts), gender non-conformity, gender challenges in the English language, and the urgent need for more books with LGBTQ diversity.

At one point, an ally voiced a concern about writing from a queer perspective, and the consensus was to not hold back about writing from other points of view (outside your own.) To do your homework, to run it by people who are members of that community...

Arthur: "I urge you to not be self-conscious"

Jane: "In terms of getting it right. In terms of getting the feelings right."

It was a great conversation and the room was filled with a sense of warmth and community. We sat in a circle, each person sharing their name and what they're working on, with our conference faculty (and myself) chiming in with thoughts, advice and insights.

Once the session ended, many participants stayed to exchange contact information and mingle. The pictures are from that part of the evening:

I was honored to host - my thanks and appreciation to the panel and all the attendees!

Lee

Writers Roundtable Intensive Afternoon Panel: Editorial Process: Model for Authors/Editors

After the afternoon roundtable critique, we were treated to an expert panel on the editorial process.

With Tina Wexler, Agent at International Creative Management

Jordan Brown, Senior Editor, Walden Pond Press and Balzer + Bray at HarperCollins Children's Books

Alexandra Penfold, Editor, Paula Wiseman Books at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

and

Kate Sullivan, Editor, Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Tina Wexler (at podium) moderating panelists Jordan Brown (left), Alexandra Penfold (center) and Kate Sullivan (right)

The panel covered a lot of territory, from acquiring books versus authors, preparing authors for that first editorial letter, the importance of managing your online reputation, author input into cover design, and even a description of their editorial letters!

Here are some highlights:

"An editor's job is to take what the author has in their head and help them get it on the page in the best way possible."

- Jordan Brown

Speaking of the acquisitions process, Kate Sullivan said, "At Little Brown we have a saying, Do you like this book or do you want to marry this book?"

And Alexandra Penfold offered this tip: "Google yourself and make sure it's what you want agents and editors to see with your submission."

An excellent panel, and the perfect conclusion to the Writers Roundtable Intensive!

Tina Wexler: Hook, Line, and Sinker!

On a day of intensives, I got a chance to stop by and listen to agent Tina Wexler. Tina is a literary agent at ICM, representing authors in both the children's and adult marketplace. Her intensive was: Hook, Line, and Sinker! How To Catch An Agent With A Perfect Query Letter.

Tina started by explaining some basics of the query letter, including how she personally reads them. She prefers her queries to be in email format, and not business letter format. She also likes to hear the reasons an author thinks she'd be a good fit for their manuscript.

Your query should only be a shadow compared to the brilliance that is the manuscript. And once you've figured out the mechanics and structure of your letter, go back through and work on word choice--interjecting authentic voice when you can.

Tina made a great point about trying something different with your query when you can. It doesn't have to always start with your character. It could be the bigger theme. Play around and see what you come up with.

Attendees were then broken up into groups where their queries were critiqued by both Tina and other writers. Very informative with great energy!

Agent Panel: Tina Wexler

Tina Wexler is a literary agent at International Creative Management (ICM).

ICM is one of the largest and oldest agencies in the world. The literary department consists of 11 agents representing everything from kids to adult. In the children's scope, she reps everything from tots to teens.


On Digital publishing:

Independently publishing a book is a vital option for some. It works if you just want something out there, but if your goal is to have a thriving career, it's just as much work, if not more work.


What if you have a client who has had several successful books, but the next one delivered doesn't seem strong enough. What do you do?

Tina has a relationship with her clients and she would have a conversation with that person, letting them know that this might not be the next book. It would be a difficult conversation, but an important one.

What happens if you have a author who's sold several books, but wants to take to the next level and get a better deal? 


If you want to get to that next level then you must take your writing there. "We're only as good as the material we're selling." You should ask, What are you doing to get there?

You have a magic wand, and you can fix anything in the publishing business, what would it be?

I want more bookstores to come back.

The lightning round:

What do you not want to see any more of?

Screen plays.

What's the next hot genre?

Sci-fi

Pet peeve about submissions?

Hostility.

What would you like to land on your desk? 

Ditto (to Marcia's, "Something brilliant")

Tina Wexler - The Five Things Your Manuscript Needs To Succeed

The packed room listening to Tina Wexler

Tina Wexler is a literary agent at ICM (International Creative Management) and represents authors for both the adult and children's marketplace. For children's she focuses on YA and MG "with a particular fondness for tall tales, contemporary sci-fi, and gothic love stories."

The room is full, with lots of people sitting on the floor, listening and furiously taking notes.

She describes herself as a "very very hands-on editorial agent" and starts her session by defining success – what we can work towards with these tools she’ll be presenting – that they’re not necessarily the secret to writing a best seller (no one has the magic formula for that!) but they will help us achieve success in terms of getting representation, and getting published.

On the surface, she warns us, her five tips sound simple, but that’s deceptive. She’s taking her time to explain why, with examples, we need to go deeper into each one:

Here' the simple version:

Your manuscript needs to get written, read, researched, revised and loved.

Now here are some of Tina's gems, unearthed when she went dug in:

When revising, look at the first decision your main character makes that really starts the story moving. Now try it the other way, and see where it takes you. Is it more interesting the new way, or did you get it right the first time? You won’t know until you try it…

Do some homework. Pick a topic from your manuscript (bee keeping, wormholes, something already in your story) and research it. And not just internet research. Get a book from the library. Go on a field trip. It will deepen your story.

Don’t just read your own pages out loud, have someone else read it out loud to you – it’s a great way to check if your sassy character dialog actually sounds sassy or... well, whiny.

She’s reading us different examples to illustrate her definition of voice:

The words you use and how you use them, and how the sentence length works to create a rhythm.
It’s the words that get the magic into the story..

The session ends with a great Q&A, with more details about what she loves and is hoping to find…

What an amazing opportunity to get the scoop directly from Tina!

Agent Panel: Tina Wexler

Tina says: There's always going to room for a great story, but it's going to be hard for me to call an editor and say, "I know you have 10 vampire stories, but you really should take a look at this one." As a writer you need to be aware of what's out there, aware of the competition. Otherwise you're giving an editor a reason to reject you.

The novels she's sold in this market have come about because the writer had interests beyond their story. She suggest cultivating not only writing, but other hobbies or interests that can somehow inform your writing and making it richer.

About 75% of her authors are first-timers. She loves working new authors and she accepts e-queries.

Hot Tip: Tina Wexler is really into bee keeping. (If you have a manuscript involving bee keeping, work up that query.)

Agent Panel: Tina Wexler

Tina Stared with a confession: She did want to work at ICM--she pictured an Entourage-type environment. But she was pleasantly surprised at the book-y atmosphere she discovered instead.

Remember why we're in this room: because we love books,

--POSTED BY ALICE

Agent Panel: 3 Agents Analyze the Market

Up next, agents share their insights on the market. The panel includes:

• Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio
• George Nicholson, Sterling Lord Literistic
• Tina Wexler, Director, ICM

(left to right, Stimola, Nicholson, Wexler)

--POSTED BY ALICE

Exclusive SCBWI TEAM BLOG Interview: Tina Wexler

The latest of our SCBWI TEAM BLOG series of pre-conference interviews with Winter Conference speakers and keynoters is up on Alice Pope's blog.

Alice interviewed Tina Wexler, literary agent with ICM.

Click here to read the interview with Tina. We'll continue to direct you to more exclusive TEAM BLOG interviews during the coming weeks leading up the conference!

Click here to register for the SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City where you can see Tina Wexler (as well as other agents) in person.