Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

I read this on an agent blog today and light of the events that have happened to Sidney Somers at New Concepts Publishing, so I had to ask whether this is normal because it sounds strange to me.

Apparently the agent has two clients who have started their own erotic epress. The agent is editing down her clients’ works to fit into the new epress’ guidelines. The agent is also editing an anthology for the epress.

I have even heard a rumor that the agent is actually starting her own epress. So is it normal for an agent to edit down the work of her clients so that it fits into an epublishing venture started by two of the agent’s clients? I know that some authors refuse to work with certain agents because the agents themselves write. How about agents who edit? Or who own their own epress?

At first glance, while it seems odd, there doesn’t appear to be a direct conflict of interest so long as her clients know that a) she is doing the editing and b) she is being up front about her connection to the epublishing venture. …

I read the Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction report and I had to check the date, twice, because of what it contained as it related to romance. Steve Axelrod, agent to romance heavyweights like Suzanne Brockmann, Jayne Ann Krentz, Julia Quinn, Christine Feehan, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, was interviewed on the topic of what was hot in romance and according to Axelrod,

“The vampire is the new alpha male,” says Steven Axelrod, a romance agent for the past 30 years. “He’s definitely alpha—after all, he wants to suck your blood.”

Aren’t vampires on their way out? I can’t read another vampire story. I’m into shifters and in a poll I had a few weeks ago, shifters were preferred 3 to 1 over vamps.

He also stated this about erotica:

“You give a group of romance writers a couple of drinks and they’ll admit it’s pornography,” he says. “It’s hard to see it as true romance, and it has a limited audience—they can’t seem to grow it. Very few good storytellers seem to be staking their careers there.”

I know that agents before have said that there is a capped audience for erotica and erotic romance, which is essentially the same …

The Knight Agency was founded in 1996 by Deidre Knight, an author and agent whose background was the entertainment business. Today, the Knight Agency has sold over six hundred books for its hundred-plus clients. It specializes in romance and women’s fiction. Elaine Spencer is one of the seven agents of the Knight Agency and agents books such as Melissa Mayhue’s Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband from Pocket; Fearless from Dorchester; and Beyond Cool from Berkley.

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Tell us about your background.  What made you decide to become a literary agent?  How did you get started in your career? What made you decide to agent on behalf of romance authors?

I started at the Knight Agency fresh out of college. I am a lifelong book lover and a voracious reader. In college I majored in English, Comparitive Lit and Economics. I wanted the competition involved in the business world, but I couldn't quite give up my love to retreat into a good book. When I heard about an opportunity at the Knight Agency, I applied …

Jessica Faust of BookEnds, LLC is an agent who knows and loves the romance genre. While BookEnds represents the gamut from romance, women's fiction, mystery, thrillers, and suspense to self-help nonfiction, in Faust’s blog, you can see the attachment toward the genre that we love–romance. When I was at RWA’s National Convention, I had the good fortune to hear Faust speak on the state of erotic romance. She gave it to the authors straight so that they could arm themselves with market information but she also charged them that regardless of the market, a good book will sell.

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Jane: Tell us about your background. What made you decide to become a literary agent? How did you get started in your career? What types of books do you primarily agent?

Faust: I began my publishing career in 1994 as an editorial assistant at Berkley Publishing. The two editors I worked for at the time handled primarily romance and mystery including Nora Roberts. Ironically I had not read a lot of either of these genres, but discovered very early on that I loved them both. I always think I …

Kristin Nelson is one of the first agent blogs that I started reading. Her Pub Rants blog is famous amongst aspiring writers for no nonsense and candid advice. As a reader, I find the peak behind the curtain posts illuminating. I admit that she is the inspiration for the series so I was doubly glad that she shared her thoughts with the Dear Author crowd on agenting.

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Tell us about your background. What made you decide to become a literary agent? How did you get started in your career? What made you decide to agent on behalf of romance authors? Young adult authors?

Nelson: I have both an M.A. and a B.A. in English (from Purdue University and the University of Missouri—Columbia respectively). I had always wanted a career in publishing but didn't want to move to New York to pursue it. When the opportunity arose to work for literary agent Jody Rein, I jumped at it. That's what got me started.

As for the genres I rep, I've always loved reading romance as well as other genres such as SF and Fantasy. Jody did mostly nonfiction, …