Book Broker: an interview with Lucy Carson

Agent: Lucy Carson

Website: FriedrichAgency.com

Preferred genres:  Always with eyes peeled for elevated and stylish writing, I read widely across many genres, including thrillers, horror, sci-fi, and magical realism. Often the novels that are hardest to definitively categorize are the ones that most readily seduce me. In non-fiction, I always crave narrative—whether it’s a previously untold chapter of history, or an intimate memoir, or the portrait of a contemporary cultural phenomenon.

Bio: I was an over-achieving “theater kid” who joined every club I could jam into my high school schedule, and never missed a staged production. I attended The University of Michigan, but rarely attended any football games because the library was so blissfully quiet and empty on those Saturdays—a temptation too rare to pass up. At Michigan, I studied Film & Television, with an emphasis on production, and when some Juniors spent their semester abroad, I spent mine in Los Angeles, working for The Weinstein Company. I had planned to move to LA after graduation, but when Molly’s then-assistant had a maternity leave that coincided with graduation in April 2008, I decided to postpone LA for a few months, since the agency was newly formed and my mother needed a trusted temp. Working together proved to be far more fun than either of us expected, so I simply never left.

In my 17 years at the agency, I have cultivated a list of mostly fiction and narrative non-fiction for the adult trade audience. I have a particular weakness for voice-forward fiction that asks complicated questions about the intersection of tech, media, and modern relationships.

In addition to brokering domestic publishing deals for my own clients, I also oversee all Film, Television & Dramatic business for the wider agency list. This does not mean I represent screenplays! These services only apply to existing print publishing clients and their underlying intellectual property (i.e. the book, the short story, the article). The Friedrich Agency’s Film/TV relationships are non-exclusive and customized for each project, and have resulted in all manner of adaptations, from serialized TV shows to one-woman Broadway plays.

Five non-agency books that I loved: ASSEMBLY, CHEMISTRY, SPECIAL TOPICS IN CALAMITY PHYSICS, MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE, DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD.

1) What stands out in a good submission?

I'm going to interpret this question as it pertains to the manuscript, and not the query letter. Aside from the obvious—great writing, characters that leap off the page, a concept that feels fresh and timely—I always look for a kind of confidence in the prose. I don't think this is an element that can be edited/revised into a manuscript over time. There either is a confidence and authority to the voice on the page, or there isn't. I want to see a writer whose prose gently but firmly takes me by the hand and invites me into the world they've constructed. If a manuscript is introducing too many characters, or trying to be overly clever with mixed media and "found documents," then I don't feel "welcomed" into the story. 

2)  What's a typical warning sign that a manuscript isn't ready for representation?

This may sound too easy or simple, but—typos and lack of coherent formatting. If I'm spotting typos in your first 20 pages, it makes me feel like you're in such a rush to get to the finish line, you haven't respected the product enough to review it one more time and give it the polish it deserves. Formatting also matters. A lot of us open a document and blindly start printing it... only to find it wasn't paginated, and now any notes that we make are arduous to input at whatever stage we may want to share them with you. These are such basic things! You might roll your eyes at them, but you wouldn't believe how many writers skip the finishing touches before submitting to agents, and it contributes to an unfortunate first impression. 

3)  What's at the top of your manuscript wish list right now?

The world that we live in is deeply fucked... and I don't want to read about that right now. I'd love to escape it, and I'm happy for that escape to look like something ELSE that is dark (such as a really fresh and original literary horror novel) but I'm also happy for that escape to bring in the light with high-concept comedic family saga, or a timeless love story, or genre-bending grounded fantasy. I love novels that have something urgent to say, but do so without ever being didactic, or too on-the-nose. 

4) For writers without prior publications, what can they say in their "about me" query paragraph to catch your attention?

Tell me something about you that directly relates to why you chose to write THIS book—that's far more interesting to me than prior publications. What led you to spend your time crafting these pages?

Does it help to know if the manuscript has gone through workshopping or developmental editing? It can't hurt! But it doesn't feel like vital information, at least not for me.

5) Some people say that "agents hate prologues." Is that true for you? What is the most common reason that a prologue falls flat?

I won't hold a prologue against someone, but my feeling is: begin at the beginning. If you feel like you NEED a prologue in order to "hook" an agent, then you should revisit your true opening chapter, because chances are, it could be stronger. Let the story do its work without the flash of whatever teaser you feel you have to have... it's a crutch, most of the time (not always).

6) If you could change one thing about the publishing industry, what would it be and why?

Wait, I only get ONE thing?! Okay, I'd pay assistants more money. Everyone in this industry works way too hard and gets paid peanuts... and this also has the effect of weeding out job applicants who don't come from wealthy backgrounds. Publishing wants everyone based in NYC and working 24/7 for $45k a year... and then we wonder why we can't retain talent. High job turnover affects everyone, especially the authors, and if we want stability and career-building, we have to treat our assistants better and KEEP them around!

7) What are some common misconceptions authors have about the role of an agent?

That's a hard one, because I always talk to authors in depth about my role before we sign on to work together, so that we can be sure we are on the same page about our dynamic. But I suppose I have encountered authors in my submission pile who seem to think that agents will be enticed to work with them when a contract is already on the table, for example from a small press that the author has previously submitted to. I think some authors are under the impression that agents just want to do as many deals as possible, as opposed to the reality, which is that we want to be passionate about what we're working on, and if you just need someone to look over a contract, you should probably contact a lawyer for that. 

8) What role do you play in the development of an author's career beyond just selling manuscripts?

Well, even before the manuscript is sold, I often do multiple rounds of editorial work to ensure that we are sending out a submission that is as polished as it can possibly be. But after the sale itself, there are a range of roles to support the client emotionally, administratively, professionally—cover art mediations, editorial disputes, strategizing about how to get the maximum impact from our publicity, and marketing efforts. Most books have at least a full year between their sale and their publication, and usually much longer, as there is almost always editorial work to be done as well. A lot can go awry, and publishing isn't an industry you can learn about from researching—agents guide authors through the many obscure and unexpected moments that need to be navigated along the way, and a negligent agent can be detrimental to an author and a publication.

9) What's the best (non-client) book you've read recently, and how did it hook you?

I have always been a fan of Octavia Butler's work, but I had only read her most well-known works—KINDRED and the PARABLE trilogy. I was on maternity leave recently and looking for a new audiobook to keep me company during the many hours of laundry folding and bottle sterilizing, so I decided to check out some of Butler's less known titles, and I started with FLEDGLING. It's narrated by a vampire who is 53 years old but presents as a 10 year old girl, and it opens with her awaking from an injury that nearly killed her—she's alive but has total amnesia, and at first she doesn't even realize she IS a vampire. Getting to discover who a character is while the character herself is discovering it—and we're both horrified!—is a particular kind of hook that perhaps only Butler could pull off! The novel is fascinating, and no matter how many vampire books you've read, you haven't read anything like THIS one. 

10) Can you tell us about an exciting author you're working with at the moment? 

I have a debut novel coming out in a few weeks by an author named Daria Lavelle, titled AFTERTASTE, that is an epic love story about food and ghosts.

Coming up in June will be my client Leila Mottley's second novel, THE GIRLS WHO GREW BIG, which follows three teen mothers living in the Florida panhandle, who find community with one another.

Last Fall I sold a debut novel titled NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED by Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, which is about a fugitive running from her crime in Singapore, as she recounts the story of her adventures around the globe a decade later, in the format of anonymous podcast episodes. 

As these three examples illustrate, my taste is wide-ranging!