Welcome To Our Guest Natasha Kern Literary Agent

Natasha Kern

Five Ways An Agent
can Save Your Career

Co-authored by Literary Agents:

Natasha Kern and Athena Kern
The Natasha Kern Literary Agency, Inc.

 Today we are celebrating Natasha's visit to Seekerville with giveaways from all of Natasha's Seeker Clients, including:
 

2 $25 gift cards to your choice of Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Books Missy Tippens—A House Full of Hope
Julie Lessman—Two copies of A Light in the Window
Myra Johnson—will give away both A Horseman’s Heart and A Horseman’s Gift.
Ruthy Logan Herne—Yuletide Hearts, Mended Hearts, Small-Town Hearts, Reunited Hearts, A Family to Cherish and His Mistletoe Family.
Mary Connealy—two copies of Candlelight Christmas by Mary Connealy and Linda Goodnight.
Glynna Kaye—2 winners their choice of one of my books

Five Ways An Agent can Save Your Career

First, and most important:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEEKERVILLE!!!!   I am looking back at all you have accomplished individually and as a group over these years.  Not only moving from unpubbed island to becoming a published author as well as publishing so many books in these years, but setting an example of how sisterhood can work and the many ways you have helped one another to succeed.  In addition, you have created a writers’ community where anyone can visit to become better informed about the craft of writing, about publishing, connecting with agents and editors, and the joys of writing stories that uplift readers. A wonderful thing indeed to celebrate {Applause}.

Athena Kern

There are many ways an agent can save a writer’s career and perhaps her sanity.  Athena Kern is now an Associate Agent at the Natasha Kern Literary Agency, and she and Natasha are going to focus today on five of the most important ways serious challenges that writers commonly face can be prevented from becoming long-term problems.

Publishing contracts can contain career killer terms that are hard to recognize and ameliorate without the guidance of a competent agent.  It isn’t just that writers are naïve and think “these problems will never happen to me.”  It is more that they have no idea of the potential problems to watch out for and then are shocked when something that can be a career killer does happen.  The following problems are not uncommon and have happened to my clients: A) Publisher goes bankrupt and won’t revert book rights back to the Author. B) The book is sold, but the publisher doesn't publish it. C) Contract is terminated and publisher drops the Author. D) Book royalties are not paid or statements are inaccurate, requiring an audit or legal action. E) Legal action threatened by publisher because an author unwittingly violates her option clause F) Author is accused of plagiarism or another writer does plagiarize a work and the Author is embroiled in legal problems. G) The Author’s editor leaves and the house no longer wants that genre. Finding yourself in these situations can be scary and reinforces why it's imperative for writers to have a good agent for help and protection.

An agent can sign a new client and then have to deal with getting that writer out of previous problematic contract terms, in addition to negotiating contracts for long-term clients. We are going to identify five things (of many) that agents do to help a writer to have a successful career.

1.      Negotiate your contract. Obviously, this is what agents do... isn’t it? Well, some “agents” do not do it. Many writers don’t realize that publishers have boilerplate contracts that no one should sign. Not ever. Because they only benefit the publisher in all possible ways. Agencies have different contracts with every house that have been negotiated and re-worked over time by the agents to provide maximum benefits to the author. Athena and I were recently discussing a contract from another agency that had NOT been negotiated and contained terms we wouldn't accept and, in fact, would never even see from that publisher.  Un-agented authors or those with “agents” who do not negotiate properly, receive radically different contracts from the beginning. Publishers are smart and their attorneys work for them, not the writer.

2.      Manage your career. From developing proposals to getting a sale to publication and marketing or PR plans, your agent should be involved in the entire process.  For example, it is commonly thought that writers who are self-publishing don’t need an agent. But, e-books and self-published books need to be coordinated with print publishers to prevent conflicts and to earn maximum income. Are you confident in deciding when to write for the house or on your own with so many publishers now offering contracts for e-books and novellas? NKLA has published e-books for clients’ backlist titles and also client books their print publishers had passed on.  Natasha had written to e-publishers and reviewed their contracts. But the terms were unacceptable, primarily because of royalties or control of rights or even cover consultation. So she decided to do it herself which resulted in some wonderful ebooks, like this fall: Julie Lessman’s A Light in the Window, Margaret Brownley’s Head Over Heels,  Robin Lee Hatcher’s Speak to Me of Love, Mary Connealy and Linda Goodnight’s A Candlelight Christmas, and Kelly Long’s Hart’s Truth. It can certainly affect a writer’s career and income if the right to self-publish is retained, including negotiating the option clause and non-compete clause so it gives the writer the most income streams possible. Managing all rights that can be retained or which the agent can place via subagents is an important aspect of agenting. An Author can ask an agent for a list of their subagents worldwide, who they work with in Hollywood and whether a co-agent has been assigned to them.

3.      Plan for the termination of rights.  Fact: the publisher can own your rights for 35 years until they terminate under federal copyright law if there are no other provisions in the contract. What a powerful affect on your career! Boilerplates often lack any recourse if the publisher fails to publish.  They may not provide for reversion if there are no sales or if the publisher goes bankrupt. A line or genre can be dropped or shifts in the market may occur and the author’s contract is terminated by the publisher. What happens if you cannot complete a contracted book? Under what circumstances can you, the author, terminate your contract? 

4.      Have a career growth and development plan.  We send a questionnaire to each new client requesting information that helps us to develop a plan.  Discuss with your agent how many books you can write each year and your long-term goals.  This, of course, varies greatly because of full-time jobs, family obligations, how much research is required for each book, and so on. Other things to consider are:  Writing in multiple genres or for several publishers; for the general market or CBA houses; combining mainstream and genre fiction or even nonfiction books.  Should you use a pseudonym or not?  Most of NKLA clients are doing these things, and it can take some careful strategizing to work out these career options. Consider the level of income you need to continue to write and make sure your agent understands your situation.  Create a career plan and then review it periodically, at least once each year to adjust to changes in your life or your writing goals. 

5.      Sticking by the author. When calamities happen which could include personal or family illness or having no publisher for a period of time or having terrible sales figures for a variety of reasons, let alone the MAJOR crises mentioned at the beginning of this blog, the agent can and should be a rock to depend upon.  All too often, agents drop writers who are not doing well or making them enough money. Natasha was once told by a publisher that other agents would have dropped her client when a major problem came up—instead she collected $100,000 for her client for the termination of her contract. Every career has ups and downs, sometimes dramatic ones. A hiatus in a writing career may not be avoidable.  Extensions of due dates may be needed. What happens if a book doesn’t work and the publisher rejects it?  Does your contract allow the publisher to hire someone else to write your book and bill you for the cost, putting your name on a book you have not written?  Are you free to sell that book to another house? It is harsh enough when tragedy strikes without then receiving a shocking bill and a rewritten book you don’t even like and don’t want to publicize to your readers. It is the agent’s responsibility to have alternate plans for your career if the original one is not working out for whatever reason.  You should have the clear sense that the agent is working for you and being paid by you to look out for you in every way.  The agent should provide advice about individual proposals and works, have submissions and sales plans, and be on your side especially if any dispute arises with your publisher. An agent should be familiar with working with author estates and how to plan for situations like divorce or death. The agent should have a corporate attorney who is available to provide support when truly serious situations arise.



Audra, Cara, Debby, Janet, Julie, Natasha, Mary

Writing is a challenging career.  Creating wonderful books is certainly not easy—I can’t do it!  And like every musician, performer, athlete, or singer, a writer needs a professional manager to take care of all the details that must be handled behind the scenes for that career to be a success.  There is a reason why New York Times best-selling authors who can easily get offers by contacting any publisher have agents and keep them even if they are self-publishing as well as working with their print publisher.  

Congratulations again to all of the Seekers at Seekerville, whether members of the original group or not, for five wonderful years or writing and reading.  Thanks to everyone for being here to share this happy occasion.

 

Natasha Kern and Athena Kern
The Natasha Kern Literary Agency, Inc.
www.natashakern.com

Natasha Kern has sold well over 1,000 books in her career for clients who have become bestsellers and won many awards. She is a true foodie and loves her garden (photos on the website).

Athena Kern is following her calling---to be a champion for authors who deserve to have their God-given writing gift become a published book. She is a member of the Association of Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. When relaxing you can usually find her playing in the kitchen or horseback riding.

Athena Kern is on Twitter: @athena_kern