Dear O'Abby: What happens if my agent dies?

 Dear O'Abby,

Please don't think I'm being morbid, but after an agent I've followed for most of my writing life died recently - she wasn't my agent - I have been wondering what happens to clients if their agent dies.  I assume there is some legal process, given how intimately involved an agent is with an author's finances?

Can you let me know?

Best wishes,

Not-that-morbid.

Dear not-that-morbid,

That is a good question!

The first thing you need to do if your agent dies is review any contracts you have relating to your partnership and any books your agent has sold.  In some cases the contract will state that obligations are with the agent as an individual, but in many others, the contract will be with the agency.

If the contract terms are with the agency, it is very possible that you and your work may be passed on to another agent within the same company.  If the contracts are with an individual agent, then their share of any royalties etc belong to their estate.

This is one of those situations you really need an agent to help you sort out where obligations and financial matters lie. Or at the very least, a lawyer familiar with publishing. If you are with a larger agency, it may be that the agent you get passed on to is not the best fit for your work in the longterm, but it is easier to negotiate an exit from working with them once all the legal and contractual matters have already been handled than to try and unravel them all alone.  

It may be that the old agency will continue to receive royalties and statements for any books sold by your former agent, and that you will continue to have a relationship with them into the future, even after you sign with a new agent or agency.

If your agent is a sole-trader, you may need to work with a lawyer to negotiate payment directly from the publisher (less the agent's fee that will belong to the deceased agent's estate).

If you haven't sold anything yet, or have a new project currently on submission, the most important thing to get is your now-deceased agent's submission list so when you secure new representation they have a record of editors and imprints that have already been approached.  

These steps are very similar if your agent doesn't die, but leaves agenting for a different career.

Hope that helps!

X O'Abby

Week #26 – Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Last year on Mondays we had fun with books. This year, we'll look at most of the same books but also some new ones, and see if the first line [or first paragraph] met the goal of a first line which is ==> to hook the reader's attention.

Here are some tips on writing a first line

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/tips-for-writing-the-opening-line-of-your-novel

Week #26 – Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/84/84-h/84-h.htm

First published: January 1, 1818

Here's what the story is about: Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley when she was just 18 years old. Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist, creates a living creature by piecing together body parts of cadavers and then giving it life in an unorthodox scientific experiment. He is then horrified by what he made and does not give it a name. The monster initially seeks affection and acceptance, but inspires loathing and fear in everyone who meets it.

First line/paragraph:
Letter 1
To Mrs. Saville, England.
St. Petersburgh, Dec. 11th, 17—.
You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings. I arrived here yesterday, and my first task is to assure my dear sister of my welfare and increasing confidence in the success of my undertaking.

The story starts with four letters before beginning with Chapter 1. So apparently the letters are similar to prologues. We have first person POV and a letter dated December 11 so the beginning of winter. The character is engaged in “the commencement of an enterprise” which the letter's recipient regarded “with such evil forebodings”. The letter writer assures the recipient that no disaster has occurred and s/he [we don't know yet] has confidence in ultimate success. Other than knowing the plot involves a probably-risky activity at the beginning of winter in the 18th century, we don't know much about the plot or even the main character yet.

This story is more than 200 years old and although it starts somewhat “in media res”, it's not hooking me yet.

Does this first line/paragraph hook your attention? If you had never heard of this story, would you buy this book in 2024? Knowing the story, would you change the first line? Tell us in the comments!

Dear O'Abby: Can I query a self-pubbed book?

 Dear O'Abby,

I have a book that I self-pubbed several years ago.  It never sold well and when I re-read it recently, I was kind of mortified by how badly written it was and unpublished it.  I have since re-written the entire thing, and feel like it's a much stronger novel now.

I didn't much enjoy the whole self-publishing journey, so this time around, I'd like to try and get an agent and traditionally publish.  Is it okay to query a novel that was previously self-pubbed? As I said, I have substantially re-written it and it now has a different title than the self-pubbed version.

Best wishes,

Unpubbed

Dear Unpubbed,

Yes, you can query this new version of your book.  But you should disclose in your query that it has been published before.  You don't want some eagle-eyed reader in the future calling you out for plagiarising something they have already read and your agent needs to know that there is another version of this story floating around out there, even if you only sold a handful of copies.

The best way to do this is to be completely honest upfront and say something in your query letter like "an earlier version of this novel was self-published as [title] in [year] and unpublished in [year] before being entirely rewritten."

That gives the agent all the info they need without telling them too much.  If they are interested in the book, they will probably do more research or ask you for more information, particularly around sales numbers.

Just be aware that even re-written,  it's often very difficult to get agent interest with a previously self-pubbed title unless you've sold a significant number of copies.  I would generally suggest that you query a new book, then bring up your previously published work once you've got the agent's interest already.

Hope that's helpful!

X O'Abby

Week #25 – Dracula by Bram Stoker

Last year on Mondays we had fun with books. This year, we'll look at most of the same books but also some new ones, and see if the first line [or first paragraph] met the goal of a first line which is ==> to hook the reader's attention.

Here are some tips on writing a first line

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/tips-for-writing-the-opening-line-of-your-novel

Week #25 – Dracula by Bram Stoker

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/345/345-h/345-h.htm

First published: May 26, 1897

Here's what the story is about: Dracula is an epistolary novel, told through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. Solicitor Jonathan Harker takes a business trip and stays at the castle of a Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula, who is a vampire.

First line/paragraph:
JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL
(Kept in shorthand.)
3 May. Bistritz.—Left Munich at 8:35 P. M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6:46, but train was an hour late. Buda-Pesth seems a wonderful place, from the glimpse which I got of it from the train and the little I could walk through the streets. I feared to go very far from the station, as we had arrived late and would start as near the correct time as possible. The impression I had was that we were leaving the West and entering the East; the most western of splendid bridges over the Danube, which is here of noble width and depth, took us among the traditions of Turkish rule.

Here we have first person POV, a journal entry on May 3 by a man named Jonathan Harker. He is traveling by train from Munich to Vienna and doesn't want to miss his next train which is apparently going to Turkey. We read a little of his opinions of the cities on his journey. Other than a train trip in springtime in Europe, we don't know much about the plot yet.

This story is more than 100 years old and although it starts somewhat “in media res”, it's not hooking me yet.

Does this first line/paragraph hook your attention? If you had never heard of this story, would you buy this book in 2024? Knowing the story, would you change the first line? Tell us in the comments!

Dear O'Abby: Can I use someone else's characters in my book?

 Dear O'Abby,

I'm writing a book in which my MCs end up in a world in which characters from classic literature appear from time to time - think Long John Silver, the Wicked Witch of the West, the Owl and the Pussycat etc.  - and I was wondering if that's going to cause me any copyright issues.  I feel like the texts I've drawn from are all old enough that they're probably public domain, but wanted to check if there was any reason not to include these characters.  Do you know?

Yours truly,

Peopled

Dear Peopled,

That is a good question!

But no, you're fine to use these characters as long as you don't use any of the language the original author used to tell the story.  That would be plagiarism!  But you can write whatever you want about these existing characters as long as you do so in your own words.  And from the sounds of it, you're placing them in a very different world to the ones they existed in originally, so there should be no problem.

That said, if I were you, I'd stick to characters from works published prior to 1923 if possible. Those books are now all in the public domain whereas a character from a book written more recently - Harry Potter for example -  might cause you a few more headaches. 

If you really need to use a character from something recent, the best way to go about it would be to get the author's permission, to well and truly cover yourself.  If it's possible...

Hopefully that helps!

X O'Abby

Week #24 – Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Last year on Mondays we had fun with books. This year, we'll look at most of the same books but also some new ones, and see if the first line [or first paragraph] met the goal of a first line which is ==> to hook the reader's attention.

Here are some tips on writing a first line

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/tips-for-writing-the-opening-line-of-your-novel

Week #24 – Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Twist

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/730/730-h/730-h.htm

First published: monthly installments from February 1837 to April 1839 

Here's what the story is about: Oliver was raised in a workhouse and escapes to London, where he meets a gang of juvenile pickpockets led by the elderly Fagin. The story is a social commentary on child labor, domestic violence, the recruitment of children as criminals, and street children.

First line/paragraph:
Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need not trouble myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader, in this stage of the business at all events; the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter.

Here we have first person POV, apparently of a story teller, not the main character. The story appears to be about a child born in a workhouse who is referred to as “the item of mortality” which dehumanizes him. The title of the chapter is “TREATS OF THE PLACE WHERE OLIVER TWIST WAS BORN AND OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES ATTENDING HIS BIRTH” so we know the name of the main character, Oliver Twist, which of course we already knew because it's the name of the book also.

No setting or plot yet, but the hint of the story is that it's about a boy who is probably poor because he was born in a workhouse, and he is considered a lesser human by the story teller. Just like last week, I must be a more modern reader, because except for a slight curiosity about the life of a boy born in poverty, this opening doesn't hook me.

Does this first line/paragraph hook your attention? If you had never heard of this story, would you buy this book in 2024? Knowing the story, would you change the first line? Tell us in the comments!

Dear O'Abby: How do I get paid for e-books in libraries

 Dear O'Abby,

My local library has recently started lending copies of my e-book (which is cool, I think), but I was wondering about how I get paid for that. Does the library just buy the file and then lend it to people forever?  Or do I get a small amount each time someone borrows the book?

Kind regards,

Librarian

Dear Librarian,

Ebooks have been really popular with libraries, especially since the pandemic.  They are typically cheaper that physical books and obviously don't take up shelf-space, get lost or stolen or get damaged when readers drop them in the bath (something I am all too guilty of).

Generally, a library buys an ebook for their collection and the author gets the royalty for that book. It can be lent to someone for a certain  period, then it will disappear out of their device and another reader can borrow it.  I believe ebooks from larger publishers can be licensed for a certain period that is then renewed after an agreed time - usually one or two years. If a book is likely to be popular, a library might buy multiple licenses/copies so more people can read it at the same time.

As a writer, it's often difficult to ascertain from royalty statements what is a library sale and what isn't.  If you're with a big publisher, it's possible that the price a library pays for an ebook is substantially higher than what a member of the public might pay.  And, as mentioned before, the right to lend it may need to be re-licensed at a later date.  

If you're self-published or with a small press, it's likely the only royalty you'll see from library sales is the initial sale - much the same as if the library buys a physical copy of your book to shelve.

Hope that's helpful!

X O'Abby

Week #23 – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Last year on Mondays we had fun with books. This year, we'll look at most of the same books but also some new ones, and see if the first line [or first paragraph] met the goal of a first line which is ==> to hook the reader's attention.

Here are some tips on writing a first line

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/tips-for-writing-the-opening-line-of-your-novel

Week #23 –   The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gatsby

First published: April 10, 1925

Here's what the story is about: Set in the Jazz Age [1920s] on Long Island near New York City, the novel describes narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with millionaire Jay Gatsby, and Gatsby's obsession with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.

First line/paragraph:
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.

"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."

Here we have first person POV. Not sure about the main character but s/he appears to be an adult. No setting or plot yet, but the hint of the story is something about a person who does, or does not, have advantages in life. I must be a more modern reader, because this opening doesn't hook me.

Does this first line/paragraph hook your attention? If you had never heard of this story, would you buy this book in 2024? Knowing the story, would you change the first line? Tell us in the comments!