AGENT TINA WEXLER AND JESSICA LAWSON GUEST POST AND QUERY CRITIQUE AND WAITING FOR AUGUSTA GIVEAWAY

Happy Monday Everyone! Today I am thrilled to have Jessica Lawson here again with her agent Tina Wexler to share about Jessica's new MG WAITING FOR AUGUSTA. Jessica has been a long time follower, and I have been so excited to watch her career grow since she published her debut MG novel in 2014. It's not easy to continue to sell new manuscripts to publishers, especially in MG genres, but Jessica has found her niche and this is her third book.

Here's a blurb of WAITING FOR AUGUSTA from Goodreads:

With a fresh, funny voice, lots of adventure, and a healthy dose of magic, the author of The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher and Nooks & Crannies—which School Library Journal called “original, engaging, and funny” in a starred review—comes a profound tale of love, loss, and family.

Eleven-year-old Benjamin Putter has a lump in his throat, and he’s certain it’s a golf ball. He knows it sounds crazy, but everything’s been topsy-turvy since his father died last month. And he doesn’t know how to fix it.

Then, one day, something starts tugging at Ben, telling him to hurry to Augusta, Georgia—home of the most famous golf course in the world.

Ben might be going a little crazy, but escaping Hilltop, Alabama, sounds like a darn good idea. (And just maybe it will make that lump go away.) As he makes his way to Augusta, Ben partners up with a mysterious runaway named Noni, and they embark on a journey full of strange and wonderful surprises—and possibly magic—at every turn.

Now here's Jessica interviewing Tina!

Selling Past Book One:

Finding Your Niche As A Children’s Author

(Waiting for Augusta & Query Critique Giveaway)

My third book, Waiting for Augusta, came out last week and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Having a first book published was a dream come true, and it doesn’t get any less exciting with subsequent titles. Still, there comes a moment after that first sale or second sale when we writers start thinking, “How can I make that magic happen again? How do I find my niche in children’s literature?”

I think there can be a concern that we writers have to market ourselves as being consistent and reliable within a specific genre. Some authors are great at writing beautiful, dynamic stories that fit very nicely into a specific category—contemporary/realistic, mystery, fairy-tale retellings, etc. They’ve got their sweet spot and they write the heck out of it. Agent Tina Wexler didn’t get so lucky with me. My ideas are kind of all over the place.

So far, her sales for me include a retelling of Mark Twain’s classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

(The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher), a period mystery set in England with slightly over-the-top characters (Nooks & Crannies), and a historical journey story w/ hints of magical realism that incorporates themes of racism and grief (Waiting for Augusta). How the heck did she manage to do that for me? I suspect she has superpowers.

But really, what happens when our ideas and manuscripts don’t play nice in terms of being consistent? How important is it for an author to find their marketable “niche,” and how do authors and agents work together when forging ahead with what both of them hope will be a lengthy career?

There’s just one way to find out—please welcome Tina Wexler, Agent Extraordinaire!

Read on for Tina’s thoughts and advice about finding your niche as a writer. Just leave a comment to be entered to win a hardcover of Waiting for Augusta and a query critique from Tina!

When you pitch an author’s second, third, fourth books, how aware are you of building a consistent platform with that author’s work? What if your author wrote a historical/realistic novel and now wants to write about irritable/mischievous car gnomes or dragons (note: my 7YO daughter is constantly asking why there aren’t dragons in my books)?

I’m always aware of how an author’s new book will build on what’s come before, though I’m less concerned with consistency in genre than I am with maintaining that special something that marks each book as being written by that author. Your three books have several fundamental qualities that make them “Jessica Lawson” books: they are wickedly funny, they have distinct narrative voices, and they are grounded in a very specific time and place. They explore what is gained and what is lost by trying to fit in, what it means to be a good person, and the various ways one can define “family.” They introduce kids who have suffered big losses and are trying to find their way. They include a good amount of adventure, danger and mystery. And they tug very, very hard at my heartstrings. These are the things I’ve come to expect in your books, though your books come at these various themes in completely original ways. So when I’m pitching your next idea, I’m pitching both the ways in which it offers your readers something new---new premise, new characters, new setting, new voice---but also the ways in which it gives them exactly what they know and love about your stories. And maybe one day, dragons.

When you offer representation for a manuscript and ask about other works-in-progress, do you like to see a pattern in the writer’s ideas—is your agent brain already thinking of how this writer might be branding themselves? Along that line, do you brainstorm manuscript ideas with clients based on how you see their career being maintained or advancing?

I do look for commonalities that will help brand the author and I pay close attention if the author wants to write for many different age groups and/or in many different genres. I try to envision what her publishing map will look like. (You know how I love maps!) But mostly I’m hoping to hear original and ambitious ideas that I’ll be interested in reading, that speak to one another in some way, and that I feel confident I can sell. Sometimes, I’ll help an author brainstorm or figure out which project would be best to pursue next, though I tend to subscribe to the “write the one you’re most passionate about/scared to write” selection process.

What happens if book one is published, but doesn’t do great in terms of reviews or sales—does that limit your ability as an agent to submit a similar genre or storyline? Does it present any challenges that authors should be aware of as they prepare to write their next manuscript?

Low sales or negative reviews can limit my ability to get a second book the attention it deserves, and may mean the author needs to consider a different genre or age group. But if the author delivers a second book that has a strong premise, engaging characters, big ideas and powerful themes, I can speak to the author’s potential and growth and the likelihood of an upward sales trajectory. For those editors looking to build authors, that’s a solid place to work from. 

Is there any other advice (other than “write a great book”) you would give to both querying and agented writers in terms of finding their own unique voice within children’s literature?

Write the story only you can tell.

Thank you SO much for having us on Literary Rambles—I’ve been a follower for years and it’s an honor to be able to participate with posts like this!

JESSICA LAWSON LINKS:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JS_Lawson

Blog: http://fallingleaflets.blogspot.com/

Website: http://jessicalawsonbooks.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jessica-Lawson-Childrens-Author-149125145284531/

Add Waiting for Augusta to Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23203254-waiting-for-augusta?from_search=true&search_version=service

Jessica has generously offered a copy of WAITING FOR AUGUSTA for a giveaway and Tina is

offering a  query critique. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment through May 21st. If you do not want to be included in the query critique giveaway, please let me know in the comments. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter either contest.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. Both giveaways are international.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was started by Shannon Messenger. You can find the participating blogs on her blog.

Here's what's coming up:

Next  Monday I have an interview with debut author Lindsey Klingele and a giveaway of her YA fantasy THE MARKED GIRL.

Then I'm off the following Monday for Memorial Day. My first Monday off since the first of the year!

Wednesday that week I have a guest post by Fauzia Burke, who has spent her career working in book promotion and marketing and has worked with authors like Sue Grafton, Tim Burton, and Deepak Chopra, and a giveaway of her book, ONLINE MARKETING FOR BUSY AUTHORS: A STEP BY STEP GUIDE.

The following Monday I have a guest post by Cassandra Brown, a freelance editor, with a query, synopsis, 10 page manuscript critique, or 30 minute consultation--winner's choice.

Thursday that week I'll be participating in the Debut Author Book Giveaway Hop. I'll have both YA and MG debut books to choose from.

The following Monday I have a guest post by debut author Jen Bishop and a giveaway of her MG contemporary THE DISTANCE HOME.

Hope to see you on Monday!