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“I just want to say again how much I have enjoyed this class. Your professional generosity is so refreshing and valuable. I understand this is an industry of content overwhelm, but I think every single person in our class felt seen and personally guided.”
– Pam O’Hara
“This presentation was one of the best explanations about how the publishing business works that I’ve seen in a very long time”
– Sharon Michalove
““Allison is one of the most gifted writing teachers I know. She’s like a friend privately taking you aside, delivering the honest truth you need, in a way that makes you enthusiastic to keep on going, even when the work gets very hard.””
– Jane Friedman
AHA has gathered agents from different agencies and genres and brought them together to answer all of your questions. Social Media is FILLED with authors wondering WHAT WILL IT TAKE to get an agent. and WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG. This class was designed to answer those questions and help you get to your author goals faster.
This class is one hour – Saturday at 10 am ET and there will be a replay of the panel session sent to all who sign up. The first 30 minute is a presentation that walks through exactly what agents do all day, how they spend their time, what they are doing for their clients and how they choose NEW clients. Then there is a 30 minute Q&A where you can ask any of the agents all the things you have wanted to know about landing and working with an agent.
The Panelists are: Rachel McMillian, Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong, Jessica Berg, and Amy Collins.
In this class, you will learn:
1. The Duties of Literary Agents: Do literary agents play a key role in the publishing industry? Do you actually NEED one? Learn how they act as your advocate, advisor, and negotiator. Also learn when you DO NOT need an agent and what that looks like.
2. Manuscript Preparation and Submission: Understand how and IF literary agents help polish your manuscript to perfection. Learn what materials agents prepare for you vs. what materials they are going to ask YOU for.
3. Publishing Contracts and Rights Management: Agents negotiate the best deal for you. They unravel the complexities of publishing contracts with experience and insight. There is so much more to it than advances and royalties. Get the entire picture.
4. Market Trends and Publisher Connections: Does an agent’s extensive network of publisher connections increase your chances of landing a book deal? What happens in real life vs. the movies.
5. Queries: Get the REAL story on how agents feel about queries, where they find most of their clients, why it takes so long to hear back from agents you have queried.
Who Should Attend?
Don’t miss this opportunity to “pick the brain” of three fabulous agents!
Every pre-published author’s dream is a call of representation from an agent. But writers will tell you the only thing worse than no agent is an agent who is not the right fit for you or your career goals. More still, in an age where anyone can label themselves and agent, it is important to be able to make an informed decision based on research as to legitimacy of an agency.
This workshop will help you learn what to ask on a call of representation as well as how to leverage more than one offer of representation and the industry protocols when you hear from more than one agent at once.
It will also cover what to look for in an agency offer and contract and how to protect your career while determining the perfect agent champion.
Here’s What You’ll Learn:
1. How to Identify a Good Agent for You:
Not all agents are created equal. Learn how to assess whether an agent is a genuinely good fit for your personal and professional goals. Understand the key qualities that distinguish a committed, professional agent from those who may fall short, ensuring you find an advocate for your unique writing career.
2. The Client-Agent Relationship:
Delve into how agents work with their clients. You’ll get an insider’s look at the communication practices, support structures, and project management approaches that quality agents use to nurture their clients’ careers. This section will give you a clear view of what to expect and how to build a productive, rewarding partnership.
3. Fair Representation Contracts – What’s In, What’s Out:
Representation agreements can be complex. We’ll walk you through the essentials of a fair contract, the rights you should protect, and what to avoid. Knowing this information will help you safeguard your career, retain control over your work, and maintain clarity in your professional relationships.
4. What to Ask on “The Call”
When that long-awaited offer comes, what should you ask? This workshop prepares you with questions that reveal an agent’s working style, commitment level, and the resources they bring to your career. You’ll also learn about industry etiquette when you’re entertaining multiple offers of representation and how to handle each conversation with confidence and professionalism.
Who Should Attend?
Rachel McMillan is the author of over twenty works of fiction and non-fiction, including the bestselling titles The London Restoration and The Mozart Code. She has over twenty years of experience in the publishing industry, having worked every angle from marketing to sales, to six and a half years as a corporate, and now, independent literary agent. She is also a sought-after conference speaker.
“This Query class was a gift not only to my career but to my spirit. As a writer who finds all things self-marketing to be anxiety-provoking, I appreciated Amy’s breaking down the intimidating process into a set of small, easily actionable steps. She is a generous teacher who inspires as well as she informs. This offering is a not-to-be-missed learning experience for writers at any stage of their careers.
-Karen Novak
Do you have to write out the ENTIRE plot?
What if there are twists I don’t want to spoil the ending with?
How do I work with more than one point of view?
Is a Memoir different than a Novel for doing a synopsis?
How much do I put in? What do I leave out?
How long should it be? How do I get started?
There is a simple way to map out and write your plot synopsis that has been used by hundreds of successfully published authors. Amy Collins came up with this system and has been teaching it at conferences, universities, and to authors who struggle with wrestling their entire plot lines into a few pages.
A good plot synopsis can often make or break a submission/query. This easy step-by-step class will help you polish your existing synopsis or help you write one from scratch!
