Book Broker—an interview with Rebecca Lawrence

Agent:  Rebecca Lawrence

Website: TheBookerAlbertAgency.com

Preferred genres:  fantasy, magical realism, historical fiction, graphic novels.

Bio: After graduating with a B.A. in Professional Writing, Rebecca completed internships with Christian Indie Publishing Association and ArtHouse Literary Agency before moving to Booker Albert Literary Agency. 

From a young age, she has been fascinated with epic worlds like LOTR and The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Books with romantic elements like Ella Enchanted, The Goose Girl, and The Cruel Prince all have places in her top ten. She also adores historical fiction like The Wednesday Wars and iconic masterpieces like Monica Hesse's They Went Left, but her all-time favorite novel has to be the grounded fantasy The Scorpio Races. Her favorite tropes are houses-with-personality (think House of Leaves or The Haunting of Hill House), zombie apocalypses like in the book World War Z, and underwater worlds.

Regardless of genre, Rebecca is looking for stories that have good pacing, grounded worlds, and believable characters. She is interested in fantasy of all kinds and anything that has a good hook. She would love to see more scary YA and MG historical fiction. 
 
You can find her on Instagram: @beccalawrence_

1) What stands out in a good submission?

I am always on the lookout for a unique concept (or a unique take on a well-used premise). Agents and editors are always looking for a voice and a premise that come together to create something out of the ordinary. There are many elements to a good submission, but the main one is making sure you put the unique aspect of your story first and foremost in your query. 

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

If the query letter is too long, too short, or doesn’t include a summary of the story, I sometimes feel like the author hasn’t spent time researching how to write a good query, which might make me think they haven’t spent time researching how to be a good writer. 

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

I have seen a lot of dark, long, first-of-a-five-book series. I am looking for some lighter fun fantasy right now. I would love to see a cozy romance with an intriguing world and interesting stakes. I am always a fan of standalones, or first books that read like standalones. And I am currently looking for something that scratches that The Scorpio Races itch.

I also find myself loving that interesting combination of fantasy/sci-fi that blends spacepunk athletics with fantasy characters, magic systems, and worldbuilding. 

4) For writers without prior publications, what can they say in their "about me" query paragraph to catch your attention? Does it help to know if the manuscript has gone through workshopping or developmental editing?

Authors can always talk about informal experience in writing. How long have you been writing? Do you have a lot of projects in the works? If all else fails don’t be afraid to talk about how much you love to read and what authors have inspired your journey. 

I think that any developmental editing or workshopping that the book has gone through increases the likelihood of the story being airtight. I always appreciate this kind of extra time and work that has been put into a manuscript pre-query-trenches.

Ultimately though, the story matters more than the bio. 

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

The main issue with prologues is that they often end up being too long. I like prologues and have suggested to some of my authors that they add in a prologue to their book. BUT I would say that the perfect length is anywhere from a paragraph to a page at most. If you make it too long you risk slowing down your hook and giving your reader false expectations about who the main characters will be.   

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

I wish that debut authors had an easier time becoming published. I think that exclusivity in the publishing industry is due to an aversion to risk. While this is perfectly understandable, I feel that many excellent stories have been passed over because the author doesn’t yet have the track record to prove that they can sell. 

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

I want to address a couple misconceptions here:

(1) Agents reject well-written stories all the time. Sometimes an agent just doesn’t connect with a voice, a main character, or plot. There are an infinite number of variables that can keep a book from making it into that 1% that really grabs an agent. It often comes down to not what you did wrong, but this just isn’t the project that the agent is looking for.

(2) Agents do not have time to craft a detailed rejection for every submission. Agents (and editors) often reject books based on subjective feelings that are backed by a nebulous objective issue. There are some times when I reject a book because the query or the voice is bad, but I often reject a book because it didn’t draw me in enough, I didn’t connect with the main character, or the plot and voice didn’t grab me enough to get me to finish reading the book.

Sometimes an author will email me asking for a detailed rejection. This is perfectly understandable, but often the answer would require an investment of time and thought that I simply do not have for every book that comes into my inbox. Most of the time these subjective feelings that keep me from reading are backed by a subtle objective reason that I would need to dive into the manuscript to figure out. Maybe character motivations don’t make sense, the dialogue is uncompelling, or perhaps the pacing is too slow or muddied. If an agent (or editor) wants to put in the time to craft a detailed editorial letter, this means the story is going to get a revise and resubmit request. 

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

There are a few things to consider besides pitching to editors. Can we submit the book to any competitions? Get author endorsements? How much should we be posting on social media? How can we get Amazon reviews? Have we built a launch team for when publication day finally rolls around? 

On a broader scope, I am always interested in the next project the author is working on, and when one book comes off the market, I prefer to continue to put books out by that author, since once I find an author, I really connect with their voice and writing style.  

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

I like to talk about current reads in our company newsletter.

A few that I have highlighted are The Merciless Crow, A Song to Wake a Thousand Sorrows, and The Spellshop. 

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

I am currently looking forward to my author Sheri Yutzy’s book which is scheduled to be published next year! 

Here's the deal report from Publisher's Marketplace: