Who you know?

[Coolhand]

Hey John.
I don't mean to pry into any industry secrets here, but how much of getting published and getting an agent is down to "who you know" rather than what you write?
Do authors sometimes sneak in the back door because they're mates with the publishing company CEO, or move in certain literary circles, whereas a total unknown who submitted identical work would have been ignored?

[John Jarrold]

In terms of SF and Fantasy, no. I have seen two or three general books taken on, over fifteen years, that might well not have been, had they been submitted to a senior editor rather directly to than the managing director (and where there were personal connections in one way or another) , but certainly no editor is going to take on a book they don't totally believe in, because in publishing today you live or die - as an editor - by how well your authors do, financially.

[John Jarrold]

And of course, one of an agent's jobs is to enthuse an editor about their clients' work in advance. I saw all the major genre agents regularly for those years I was in publishnig, to discuss clients of theirs I was already publishing and to talk about up-coming their projects - and just to shoot the breeze. Now, I'm on the other side of that equation!

[John Jarrold]

Sorry, you also asked about agents taking on clients in the same light - is it 'who you know'. No, it's not. I've turned down authors who have been recommended to me by close friends and by authors I respect greatly. I've also taken on clients whose work appeared by e-mail when I'd never previously heard of them. It's the writing, the book, that matters, and one's reaction to it, both personally and professionally.

[Teresa Edgerton]

From what I've seen, "who you know" does sometimes work in terms of being asked to contribute short fiction to theme anthologies (you still have to deliver a good story of course), but the most it can do when you are trying to sell a novel is get you an earlier reading.

I know a handful of first-time writers who networked their way into invitations to anthologies back in the early 90's. How and where and if this still goes on, I don't know.

[I, Brian]

From a business perspective, I think it's worth suggesting that - regardless of the industry you're in - networking is important.

The importance being in simply learning more about your industry, meeting the people in it, and learning your way better around the industry from their experiences.

And while I'd certainly agree that simply knowing someone isn't going to give you an easy ticket to anywhere, where it counts is that *when* a purchasing decision needs to be made - if you can offer the right product, then at least being known makes you a contender to be purchased from.

Translated for the publishing industry - if you meet a few agents/editors/publishers over a couple of years - have congenial chats with them, and maybe even be recognisable - then when you are ready to submit a manuscript, then at least:

a) you may have a better idea of who to submit to
b) the agent/editor/publisher may know already if they think they can work with you

So long as you have a good product (book), and the agent believes you have the right attitude to work with professionally, then I figure you're on the right track.

Of course, the danger of networking, is there's is always the danger that people may think you a complete prat.

[SJAB]

The problem is some folks don't know the difference between "networking" and being a pain in the rear end. At Eastercon I saw some rather aggressive networking by some want-to-bes and lower to mid-range authors that made my hair curl.

The thing folks need to remember that as such gatherings, yes, there is business going on, but there is a lot of socialising, getting together with old friends for a drink and a laugh. The last thing people want is some idiot to crash their group of friends and bang on about "their" book.

I was fortunate to be in the midst of a number of gatherings in the bar, one included a top agent, who had rejected my last work lol... At no time did I ask him why Or even mention the fact that I was a writer. It did not feel right during any of the conversations, as they were mainly social in nature and people were relaxed. You could see people stiffen if someone started a pitch.

Though many of the late night talks were of course about the subject in hand.

[Mark Robson]

For me, networking is important, but secondary to hard work and determination. If you network, then people will know your name - that's fine and important, but you have to build a reputation to go with that name. My own feelings are that if I ever make it anywhere near the upper echelons of earners in this business, I don't want anyone to be able to say I got there because of who I knew, or on the strength of someone else's hard work.

Everyone above me has made the point that your work must stand under its own merit. Teresa was certainly right in saying that who you know might get you an earlier reading, but at the end of the day nobody hands out contracts in this business without believing in the product.

I work hard at my writing. I work hard at selling what I write. I sell a lot of books. Selling a lot of books makes an editor more comfortable about taking on more of my work. My reputation amongst the retail industry helped me get taken on by a major publishing house, but it did not get me the contract. The book they accepted was by far the best book I had written at that point in time. It was also well timed with regard to the market and what the publisher was looking to acquire.

[I, Brian]

Those are very good points about pitching and reputation.

[John Jarrold]

Yes, networking is useful, but it can only get you so far. When it comes down to it, the book is the thing. No one in a bookshop on a wet Wednesday afternoon cares that the author of the book they pick up is a good networker - only that they have heard good things about this book, or that the cover and blurb look interesting to them.