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I had a silly online exchange with my brother just now, on the topic of names. We currently have dealings with a firm of solicitors called Penman and something, and I said that Penman and Drudge had a good Dickensian ring to it. (Note to Americans: British solicitor are attorneys and soliciting is not a crime. Or rather, soliciting is a crime, but solicitors don’t usually get involved in soliciting.)

While on that topic, we admired the names of some real firms:

• Heidrick & Struggles (a recruitment firm)
• Reeves & Pain (a bunch of funeral directors in Oxford)
• Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (US lawyers)

And a few not so real ones: Dewey, Cheetham and Howe, a US partner to the well-known London firm of Sue, Grabbit and Runne. Oh heck, and if we’re on this topic, I have to tell you that – cross my heart and hope to die – I was at school with a boy called Robin Banks. He was, as it happens, perfectly nice and entirely honest, but an itsy-bitsy part of me does hope that he’s doing 20 years in maximum security.

There’s a pleasure in such thoughts, no? It’s fun messing about with things like this and, of course, authors used to mess about all the time. Henry Fielding’s The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling famously let his names tell you about the characters. There was the excellent Squire Allworthy, the villainous Reverend Thwackum, the selfish Honour Blackmore, the dilettante Mr Nightingale and so on.

Of those names, the most often quoted examples are the Thwackum / Allworthy pair. The purpose of those names is so loud it shouts.

But even in Fielding, the approach to naming is generally a little more subtle than the Thwackum example suggests. There actually are people called Nightingale, and nightingales are best known for their particularly melodious birdsong, not for their moneyed life in high society London.

Likewise, the name Tom Jones itself is on the one hand a nice way to indicate a sturdy man-of-the-people type, a healthy everyman, but the name is also one of the most common in the UK. It’s hard to argue that the name choice is artificial when it’s also a stunningly common one.

These days, the directness of the Thwackum / Allworthy approach seems too much. It’s a bit hard to articulate why. Yes, OK, it feels very artificial to call a character Allworthy – but who are we kidding? All of fiction is completely artificial. The whole damn thing is made up. Every other aspect of character – looks, clothes, speech mannerisms, backstory – is invented for a particular purpose. Why not names too?

I guess that the real answer is that names that are very on-the-nose (like Thwackum) have a flattening effect. They shout about one aspect of character and that invites the reader – and perhaps the author – to neglect the rest. Since rounded characters are THE essential tool for getting readers engaged in a book, names that kill the character are to be avoided.

Which leaves authors – you and me – in a little bit of a bind. On the one hand, we feel drawn to Fielding-style names. Not the grosser end of the scale, but the Mr Nightingale / Sophia Western end. On the other hand, we feel we should avoid it. We’re too modern, too sophisticated for those kind of naming games.

But, but, but …

Perhaps there’s a middle way here. Some suggestions:

• I think it matters that you are settled with a name. If a name feels wrong, then change it. (And, for because Find / Replace All is a useful tool, I try to use names that I can easily find with a word search. So ‘Ed’ would not be a name I’d use unless I was a million per cent confident that I wasn’t going to change it. ‘Edwina’ on the other hand would do fine.
• Some demographic matching does make sense and lend colour. One of the series characters in my Fiona books is her boss, Dennis Jackson. He’s much older than her, much bigger, much more solid. His name reflects his age. (How many twenty-something Dennises do you know?) It’s also a Wales-appropriate name, without shouting Welshness at you. The name rounds out and thickens the character. It’s a decent vessel for the man himself.
• You certainly can play a little. At one point in the first book, Fiona ‘Fi’ Griffiths explains to her beau that her name is iffy. Her first name is an ‘if’ in reverse, and there are two more ifs buried in her surname. That iffiness somehow suits her vocation (detective, solver of logic puzzles) but also her nature – provisional, ungrounded. The iffiness in her name is so hidden, so closed to the reader, that it doesn’t shout at you the way ‘Thwackum’ does. The fact that Fiona Griffiths finds that stuff in her name tells you more about her than the name itself.
• A former colleague, Sarah, suggested that, when you think about characters, you think about their story purpose. Her debut novel (one which JW helped find an agent for) was about a girl who had never been outside. That was the title of the book: Outside. One of the key characters was called Willow – a real, contemporary name, but also willow tree, branches, birdsong, light. It’s that kind of lightly associative touch which can enrich a book without toppling it into artifice.

I will say that I’m bad at names. I often don’t settle on important names until I have a complete draft. (I’ve switched genders of key characters too. That can make a really useful difference at times.) But my best names end up feeling like a pair of really comfortable shoes. There’s a quality of fit that just works. Whether that fit is just for me or whether it extends to readers too, I can’t quite say. But your comfort becomes their comfort. A character you feel comfortable with will end up being one you write better and more richly.

Go back to the name of that law firm: Skadden Arps Slate Meagher and Flom. That’s a genuine name. It’s not obviously comic, the way ‘Reeves and Pain’ is comic. But – it’s musical, it’s strange, it’s somehow suggestive without those suggestions ever becoming too clear, too specific. It’s that kind of name that wants to float down on to your page – not with every new name, but with some of the key ones.

Oh yes, and I can’t finish this email without telling you this. Psychologists do in fact believe there’s evidence to suggest that your name can (very slightly) affect your choice of career. So people called Denise are very slightly more likely to become dentists, for example. The article that inspired this search for ‘nominative determinism’? It was a piece on incontinence in the Journal of Urology. The authors of that magnificent piece? AJ Splatt and D Weedon.

Til soon.

Harry

PS: Did I mention that we have rebooted our Festival of Writing? I did not. But we have and you can learn all about it here. It’s miles more affordable than before and I hope you come.

PPS: Last week’s email was about the failures of agents and, as ever, the topic brought forth a torrent of replies. But you do know you don’t need an agent, right? When I sold the Fiona Griffiths series into the US, I had a superb literary agent and got one of the top editors and publishers in the business. But the books failed COMPLETELY. I bought back the rights and self-published them. A couple of years later, and with very little effort, I was making $100K a year.

I’m not saying that’s standard and it’s certainly not automatic. But it is possible. If you want to know the secrets of self-publishing then Debbie Young’s course, here, is outstanding. It’s a very, very expert guide to the art of self-pub, and it’ll save you years of fooling around and making mistakes. Go take a look.

Good morning, everyone! 

Following our feature on Paige Wheeler last month, we also have an exciting Spotlight On interview with Shannon Snow, also from Creative Media Agency. 

Shannon joined CMA in 2018 as an intern before becoming an Associate Agent in 2020. She also manages audio rights for the agency. Shannon represents adult and YA fiction, with a particular love for romance, women’s fiction and thrillers, especially those with strong characterisation and a powerful emotional core. She’s also searching for boundary-pushing stories from underrepresented writers.  

You can find Shannon on Twitter @ssnow_lit_agent. 

“I hate to see writers give up on being writers because they submitted before they were truly ready.” 

Hi Shannon, thanks for speaking with us today! 

What brought you to agenting?  

I think everyone who works in publishing probably began with a love of books. I’m no different. I’ve been in love with books since I was 6 years old and used to run a free book review blog just for fun because I loved talking about books. I even earned a BA in English with the intent to work in publishing in some form or fashion. When I first began my career, out of necessity and circumstance at the time, though, I had to go another direction and ended up working 18 years in Finance and Marketing in Fortune 500 companies and even ended up at the Executive level. At that point, though, I still felt that pull to publishing, even more strongly after so many years spent doing something I didn’t necessarily love but just happened to be good at. So, at that point, I made a career pivot and signed up at CMA to be an intern. I interned for a little over a year at CMA before finally moving up to be an Associate Agent. My journey into agenting was a circuitous route, but I think it’s made me love what I do as a literary agent even more because it was a sort of late gift that I now get to enjoy.  

What’s your favourite thing about being an agent?  

I love the connections I get to make with my clients, that partnership I can cultivate. I love the reading…sifting through manuscripts, and it’s extremely rewarding to find that sparkling new voice that I get to contact and hopefully sign. Then, it’s just a gift to be able to hear their enthusiasm and follow along in their excitement at various levels of our journey together. It’s highly rewarding for me to be there for, have a hand in, and experience their success along with them.  

What is a day in the life of an agent like for you?  

A lot of reading! I must break my day up into increments to keep myself and the work organized because there are so many pieces to this job. A certain amount of time is set aside for reviewing and responding to query letters, some time for reading partial submissions and completed manuscripts, etc. But the majority of that is done after hours or on weekends. Day hours are reserved for client work and managing the Audio arm for CMA. I’m preparing pitches for potential audiobook sales, and I’m reading clients’ books and creating editorial letters for their revisions. If something is revised and ready, I’m writing pitch letters that will go to the publishers and I’m picking out the most appropriate editors at the various houses whom I think would be the best fit for my clients’ projects. Between all that, I also squeeze in conferences, speaking at workshops, providing my time for author pitches, participating in contents where the authors can receive a critique of their query, ten pages, or partial, and participating in various Twitter pitch events. And then there’s more!  

What makes for a successful author-agent relationship? How can both parties get the most out of the relationship?  

Excellent communication is at the top of my list. Clear communication avoids misunderstandings and puts both parties on the same page, with the same understanding of the author’s career path, and it clarifies expectations for both parties. Having a good rapport with a client is also key. I want my authors to feel like they can call me up, text me or email me at any time with questions, concerns, thoughts, or even if they just want to brainstorm titles or bounce story ideas with me. With that communication and rapport, trust develops. For an author to trust that I have their best interests in mind and that any advice or career suggestions I make are for their career’s greater good is important. They should, however, also feel comfortable that they can discuss it with me if they disagree with a revision, an idea, etc. I don’t want my authors to feel like I’m Oz who just dictates ideas and they’re too nervous to talk with me about it. I want them to see me as that partner they can call up and talk to me about their reservations, discuss alternatives and solutions and then reach a good compromise.   

What’s at the top of your fiction wish-list?  

I’m really into contemporary romance right now, romcoms or serious stories. I do adore a slow burn romance or an enemies-to-lovers type romance. It can be sweet or steamy. I love it all. I’m also interested in Women’s Fiction, although I do like to have a bit of romance in those as well, but it’s not completely necessary. I love a good Women’s Fiction story centering around sisters or family issues.   

I’m definitely looking for thrillers, psychological thrillers, maybe even with a hint of eerie/creepy horror, although that last part isn’t necessary. In YA particularly, I’d love to find a strong, dark boarding school story with a diverse cast of characters.  

I’d also love to find any of the above written by under-represented authors and with diverse characters. Other than that, I’m also always looking at the other items on my wishlist posted on our website. The above are just the items I’m really hungry for at the moment.  

What do you want to see in a query letter? And what do you hate?  

I am most drawn to the summary of a query and making sure that it provides me the who, what, why, when, and how of their story. I need to have a concept of setting, and I need to understand the character(s)’ goals, motivations, and conflict. Basically, when I read the summary, I need to understand the type of setting, who the characters are, what are they trying to achieve, and what’s standing in the way. What bad things might happen if they can’t achieve their goal? And leave me wanting to read more.  

Additionally, since we request that the first five pages be pasted below the query, those pages should be great. I need to see that if the query was good, the actual writing lives up to it.   

I don’t think there’s anything that I really hate about a query, although I do have pet peeves. For example, I know you’re probably querying other agents besides me, but don’t send your query to all of us at once where we’re all listed in the TO field of your email. 

Also, make sure you’ve read our submission guidelines and follow them. Make sure to address your query to an actual agent’s name rather than Dear Agent, or worse, no salutation at all. Avoid spending the bulk of your query telling me why you wrote the story. Just tell me about the story. If there is a reason that makes you uniquely qualified to write this particular story, include that below your query with a sentence or two.  

Same question when it comes to the synopsis. What should writers do? What should they avoid?  

Synopses should be concise, laying out all the details of the story from start to finish, including the ending. If you can accomplish that in 1 page, 3, pages, or need 10, that’s fine, as long as it’s all there. That said, I would avoid synopses greater than 10 pages… 3 to 5 is optimal. As with the query, your synopsis should clearly show your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts woven throughout the story.  

Another thing to avoid is a rambling synopsis where you don’t stay on track. Those confuse the reader, in this case, the agent. If your story seems to ramble in the synopsis, an agent may assume your story does too. Lastly, be careful of overwhelming the agent with character names in your synopsis. Not every character requires naming in your synopsis. If you have characters that don’t play a significant role in the story, refer to them as “the housekeeper” or “the manager,” etc…  

What are you looking for in the opening pages of a novel? What really excites you?  

For the story to draw me in immediately, I need to be captured by either the narrative voice, a character, opening dialogue, or the inciting incident being presented immediately. I love it when an author is able to get what backstory they need into the story without me feeling as if I’m reading backstory. Info dumps hurt the pacing, and I know an author has a certain skill level when they can weave necessary backstory in very carefully where it doesn’t disrupt the flow of reading. I love a good opening hook line, but also love for the first page to hook me, and so on. Keep me wanting to read more because your story, its characters, or your prose are so engrossing that I don’t want to put it down. That excites me.  

What are some of your favourite authors and books?  

I’m a huge Dean Koontz fan from the time I was a teenager. My favorites of his are Strangers, Lightning, and Watchers. However, he hasn’t written many books I didn’t love. I also love David Eddings The Belgariad series, and The Mallorean series. They represent the type of epic quest fantasy stories I love to read. I’m a huge fan of Richelle Mead and her Vampire Academy series. Some of the best YA books I’ve read and favorites of mine. I also adore anything written by Jennifer Armentrout, adult or YA. This is just a few.  

What interests or passions do you have beyond the world of books? What do you love?  

I write poetry of my own. This is something I’ve done since I was old enough to hold a pen. Writing poetry is cathartic for me, as I tend to write my feelings, but I love playing with imagery in poetry to paint pictures with words. This has made me love prose in books that utilizes a lot of imagery. Although that’s not the only type of prose I enjoy.  

I also have to admit to being a big movie and tv show streamer and I love to binge watch shows.   

Any final words of advice for authors in the writing or querying process?  

Make sure you hone your craft prior to submitting to agents. I say this for several reasons. First, if you haven’t honed your craft and your work is not the best it could be when you begin submitting, you’ll probably receive a lot of rejections that may or may not break your enthusiasm for being a writer. I hate to see writers give up on being writers because they submitted before they were truly ready and received rejections that made them quit. Second, if you’ve honed your craft, there’s a certain level of confidence that comes with that which helps you take those rejections a bit better and still persevere. Not that receiving rejections is easy. It definitely isn’t easy. But if you have the confidence of knowing you’ve honed your craft and that your work is good, you’re much better able and more equipped to take those rejections in stride, take whatever feedback you might receive, utilize it, then shake it off and keep going. To hone your craft, attend writing conferences, writing workshops, join a critique group, read writing books on technique, etc. If you have a dream, believe in your talent, and have honed your craft, then don’t give up! Everyone will receive rejections. Take what you can from them, then shake them off and keep going.  

Make sure you research agents ahead of time. Check out their submission guidelines on their website and most particularly, their list of things they acquire. Don’t send a science fiction query, for example, to an agent who doesn’t handle science fiction. You could be giving yourself unnecessary rejections by not researching and targeting the correct agents who accept your genre.  

Don’t forget to take joy in what you do! 

The full interview can be found on Shannon’s AgentMatch profile. 

In the meantime, if you’re struggling with your query letter and synopsis, do check out our free resources on our website. We have lots of info to help you on your way. Or, better still, if you’re a member with us, our lovely Writers Support team will be happy to offer you a free query letter review! 

Housekeeping: We’ve just migrated our site from one webhost to another. We know that the site is still being a bit temperamental and are ironing out any issues now. I’m told that the new site will be much better behaved than the old one …

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Every now and then I get an email from one of you lovely people that sends me into a GRUMP.

It’s pretty rare that you yourselves are the cause of the grump. On the whole, it’s some instance of malpractice by the people who are meant to be there to support and further your career. On this occasion, the story is this:

THE SET UP

An author – called, I swear it, Penelope Potts – wrote a novel. It was a good novel (even better after a Jericho Writers manuscript assessment) and when the good Miss Potts sent her book to agents, an agent flung his hat into the air and cried out loud: I would like to represent you, oh Potty, my Pottifer.

Despite his hat-flinging, the agent seemed well-qualified. Though he hadn’t been an agent for long, his website looked professional and he’d had an excellent career in publishing.

INCITING INCIDENT

At this point, our excellent Potter was shortlisted or highly recommended in a couple of major awards. Other agents sniffed around. One offered representation.

Twist or stick? Stay loyal or jump?

It sounds like a dilemma, but it truly wasn’t. Young Penny Potts is nothing if not loyal and true, so (sternly, sternly) she raised a white-gloved hand and told the second agent that she was taken.

DEVELOPMENTS: THE DIFFICULT MIDDLE

The first agent told Penny that he was sending her book out to publishers large and small across the land. He told her that every avenue was being pursued, every stone was being turned.

Penny was puzzled at the idea that publishers were to be found beneath stones, but she trusted her expert. What did she know of these things, after all?

Weeks went by, and months. In an email to Jericho, she lamented, ‘nothing seemed to happen. My agent kept telling me I should be patient, and I understood that. But he seemed vague about the companies he was submitting to and very reluctant to give me much information. When I asked directly for names, he refused, saying he couldn’t disclose information about contacts! I started to realise that we had never had a proper conversation about my novel, and a horrible suspicion grew that he might not even have read the whole book.’

CRISIS!

Depending on what genre you favour:

1. Potts the Terrible stole into her agent’s office in the dead of night, spread a skin-permeable neurotoxin on his favourite executive fiddle-toy, then flew off to spend a long weekend in Lisbon – and returned to hear of her agent’s sudden and horrible death.
2. Pantifa Potiana commanded her stable of dragons to burn and then eat her agent, which they did, albeit unfortunately eating a rather meek and likeable intern by way of digestif.
3. Penny Potts simply gave her agent 60 days’ notice under the terms of their contract and terminated their relationship.

And, whichever story you prefer to tell, she ditched one agent and secured the services of the next. At the same time, she did a major rewrite of her novel and felt it was much improved.

But – the new agent said she couldn’t send the novel out to editors without knowing where it had already been submitted. The old agent wouldn’t even answer Penny’s email asking which editors had seen the manuscript.

And, in consequence, Penny now has an agent, a viable book – and nowhere to send it.

RESOLUTION

I can’t tell you what the resolution is, because I don’t know. That wheel is still in spin, the story still in progress.

But here are some comments:

1. Agents, even apparently reputable ones, and even ones at major agencies, can be AWFUL. They aren’t usually, but they can be. There aren’t meaningfully any professional standards that they have to adhere to and, even in bigger agencies, supervision of agents can be weak.
2. You have an absolute right to know where your book is being submitted. I mean, that’s obvious and unarguable no matter what, but it’s also a question of law. Anyone who holds data on you needs to tell you what they hold. That’s certainly the law in the UK and Europe. I don’t actually know-know that that’s the case in North America, but I’d be astonished if it weren’t. So don’t ask meekly to know who’s seen your book. Ask with force. If the agency is a multi-person agency and your agent doesn’t respond to your question, then write direct to the CEO. You’re in the right. They have to tell you.
3. Be willing to lie. I’ll bet a horse to a farthing that the first agent hadn’t properly read the book and hadn’t submitted it to anyone. Don’t allow that idiot’s idiocy to disrupt your career. If that means just not telling agent #2 about agent #1, then don’t. It’s your career, your book, your life. And, honestly, I think agent #2 should be a bit more assertive too. Here’s a fact: telephones exist. Agent #2 should just call agent #1 and say, “Did you submit that novel to anyone and if so where?” These stories often have a lot of Victorian decorum about them – oh, I couldn’t possibly send to X, if I’m not certain about the activities of Y. But the hell with decorum. What do you want? What helps your career? Actually poisoning agents is probably a bad idea. Ditto, anything that involves having them eaten by dragons. But beyond that, just look after your own interests. Everyone else looks after theirs.
4. There aren’t any very good outside bodies to support you, but make use of what there is. The Association of Authors Agents (in the UK) or the Association of American Literary agents in the US might send a mild rebuke to anyone behaving in the way described in this email. That rebuke won’t actually have any meaningful consequences, but nevertheless the threat of it might initiate some action.

And one last comment, an important one.

It’s not you, it’s them.

You’re not stupid. You didn’t make idiot choices. There weren’t checks you could sensibly have made beforehand. These things just happen and some agents are desperately unprofessional.

I do think that you should establish from the outset that agents will share the names of editors & publishers to whom that they submit your work. They should also share responses (perhaps not the full text, but the gist.) Those promises can’t in practice be cashed in anywhere – but you’d hope that an explicit upfront commitment does something to remind the agent about whose interests they are meant to serve.

And – hmm.

I entitled this email ‘short, fat and grumpy’ because I thought that such a simple story would end up taking 500 words, no more. But short is not my skillset, is it? A haiku-writer I amn’t.

Til soon.

Harry

If you want to reply, please please please please please please please can you send your reply by dragon. I’d absolutely love to see one.

PPS: I don’t want either a horse or a farthing. It wouldn’t be much of a bet.

Good morning, everyone!

We are excited to bring you another wonderful Spotlight On interview, this time with Stephen Fraser.

Stephen is an executive agent at The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency. He represents both children’s and adult books in a wide range of genres, and is currently looking for:
Good, original writing; picture books with delicious words; middle grade stories that endure, that have strong characters and plots; young adult novels that have identifiable teens and hopeful, interesting stories for the soon-to-be adult.

You can find Stephen on Twitter to see what he is up to.

"Let your writing speak for itself. If you have written a good story, nothing can prevent it from finding its proper home."

Hi Stephen, thanks for speaking with us today!

Q. What brought you to agenting?

I had worked as an editor at seven different publishers for about 25 years, including Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins. One of the agents I worked with was expanding her company, and when I decided to leave HarperCollins, she asked me if I wanted to work with her. I had never thought of agenting before, but it has proven to be a good career step for me. One of the things an agent needs is a solid knowledge of the industry and its players and I already had that.

Q. What’s your favourite thing about being an agent?

I love to be able to tell an author that there is an offer on the table for their manuscript, particularly a first time author. And I like discovering a new talent.

Q. What makes for a successful author-agent relationship? How can both parties get the most out of the relationship?

There needs to be a level of trust. I don’t mind input from clients about publishers that might be a good place for submission. And I expect clients to stay in touch every six weeks or so.  Some clients want to chat on the phone sometimes; some need hand-holding and some do not. The relationship is different with every client.

Q. What’s at the top of your fiction wish-list?

I am always looking for good middle-grade fiction. Those are the strongest and most loyal readers, so they need solid stories with good characters. Language to me is the key element, books that are beautifully and thoughtfully written. And of course, I love finding good picture book manuscripts. The key is to write a text that invites an illustrator to create a visual narrative; it needs to be imagistic yet understated; and you need to want to read it aloud over and over again.

Q. What’s at the top of your non-fiction wish-list?

Finding a bit of history that hasn’t been tackled before in a children’s book helps make a nonfiction book stand out for me, outstanding characters that can become role models for young readers. Or fascinating bits of science that have child-appeal.  The important nonfiction writing is what is called ‘narrative nonfiction.’ There needs to be a good story.

Q. Is there any genre you’d rather not receive?

I don’t like books that are snarky or gross. I don’t generally like dystopian literature. I think books for children need at least an element of hope.

Q. What do you want to see in a query letter? And what do you hate?

 A query letter is like a resume. All that it does is get your foot in the door. I like to know what the genre is, the word count, if the author has been published before (please name the publisher). Contact information, of course. Beyond that, I just need to read the manuscript. The writing should speak for itself. What I don’t like is if something addresses the query “to whom it may concern” or “dear agent.” And I don’t like if author apologizes. If you don’t have the poise to send off your manuscript with confidence, don’t submit it.

Q. Same question when it comes to the synopsis. What should writers do? What should they avoid?

A synopsis is simply for the editor to read in order to get a sense of the entire story arc. It shouldn’t be an entire outline of the novel, a couple of paragraphs only.

Q. What are you looking for in the opening pages of a novel? What really excites you?

From years of experience, I can usually tell a lot from the first few sentences: Do I want to read more from this author? What kind of writer are they? It is always the language that gets me. Certainly the story concept is important, but can the writer carry it off? I need to hear a fresh voice that begs for an audience.

Q. Any final words of advice for authors in the writing or querying process?

Let your writing speak for itself. If you have written a good story, nothing can prevent it from finding its proper home.

The full interview will be uploaded to Stephen's AgentMatch profile.

In the meantime, if you’re struggling with your query letter and synopsis, do check out our free resources on our website. We have lots of info to help you on your way. Or, better still, if you’re a member with us, our lovely Writers Support team will be happy to offer you a free query letter review!