Agent Jennifer Laughran Breaks Down The Why, Why Nots, Code Language, and How of Those Publishers Marketplace Deal Announcements

This blog piece (at her archived blog) by Jennifer Laughran, Senior Agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, is excellent foundational information.

Did you know that "nice deal" is anything between $1 - $49,000?

Or the seven reasons agents might not report sales?

Or that some agents, sometimes, report sales to "drum up some early foreign or other subrights interest"?

There's lots more to learn, and Jennifer's post is a great place start. Read the whole post here. And thanks, Jennifer!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Listen to SCBWI's Newest Podcast: A Conversation with Jennifer Laughran

Jennifer Laughran is a senior agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. In this interview with Theo Baker, Jennifer talks about her running start as an agent, the elements of building a career, what goes into some "overnight" successes, what she's hoping for when she receives a submission, and much more!

Listen to the episode trailer here.

And SCBWI members can listen to the full podcast here (log in first!)

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

#LA17SCBWI Portfolio Showcase Advice from Jennifer Laughran of Andrea Brown Literary by Guest Team Blogger Susie Ghahremani

One of the most thrilling parts of attending #LA17SCBWI as an illustrator is an opportunity to show your work alongside your peers at the Portfolio Showcase. Find the guidelines for submission here.

In addition to the satisfaction of putting your hard work together and sharing it with the world, the showcase also presents opportunities to win awards and scholarships — for all levels of experience, from student to seasoned professional.

As a former mentorship winner, I can’t speak highly enough about this opportunity. A portfolio mentorship entails the opportunity to get detailed, focused feedback from the conference Illustration Faculty during the conference. Consider more than just the technical specifications when you enter your portfolio in this show; each judge and visitor comes to the portfolio show with her own sense of what she is looking for.

To find out a bit more, I interviewed Jennifer Laughran of Andrea Brown Literary about what an agent attending the conference might be looking for, and for her feedback and advice for illustrators entering this show:

Jennifer Laughran of Andrea Brown Literary

Susie: Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Jennifer: I'm a senior agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency. I rep authors and author-illustrators for books from PB through YA. 

Susie: How much of your roster is made up of illustrators (as opposed to authors, and author-illustrators)? If you’re primarily interested in author-illustrators, do you want to see a book dummy?

Jennifer: My own list is primarily authors - I do rep about 15 author-illustrators. I'd be open to somebody who was "just" an illustrator, but might have goals to be an author as well. As an agency we rep about 100 illustrators - you can see our roster here. 

If you are querying an author-illustrator piece, I'd want to see the text, a sketch dummy, and a couple of finishes. 

Susie: When browsing the portfolio show, what are some of the key things you look for (as an agent, or as a judge)?

Jennifer: I like a strong sense of MOVEMENT in illustration - dynamic pictures, rather than static. I like a picture that really tells a story, rather than just being a beautiful image or decoration. The thing is - lots of people are good at design and good at drawing, and might make swell editorial artists, or be great at surface design, textiles, cards, etc... but that DOESN'T automatically mean that they will be awesome at children's book illustration. 

Photo of the SCBWI LA Portfolio Showcase by Debbie Ridpath Ohi / @InkyElbows from the KidLitArtists blog

Susie: What’s something you recommend for the portfolio that illustrators might not think of doing?

Jennifer: It can be very helpful to see a couple of page turns. If you aren't an author, consider doing a couple of spreads from a well-known fairy or folk tale in your own way. 

Don't forget - illustration isn't JUST for picture books! It can be fun to see how an artist might approach book jackets and/or b+w interior spot art. If these are things that appeal to you, you might find your own way to interpret a "classic" book jacket or iconic literary scene. 

Susie: What are common portfolio or book dummy missteps you recommend illustrators avoid?

Jennifer: I think sometimes illustrators put in everything and the kitchen sink just so the portfolio is "big" but some pieces are obviously of lesser quality, or in a more amateur style, etc. I'd rather have fewer pieces of higher quality, than a portfolio bursting with filler. 

Susie: What subjects would you like to see appear more in portfolio pieces?

Jennifer: For illustrators doing humans, I'd like to see diversity. 

Susie: As an agent, what do you look for in a takeaway promo piece?

Jennifer: I look for pretty art and contact information. And if you are already agented PLEASE put your agent info on there, too. 

Susie: Any other general SCBWI conference advice?

Jennifer: Have fun. Stay sober. Drink lots of water. 

Susie: Thank you, Jennifer! Good luck to all the illustrators working hard to be part of this amazing show!

Grand Prize winner at #LA16SCBWI, Oge Mora, a student of the Rhode Island School of Design

For more portfolio advice, visit the SCBWI conference mentorship alumni blog, KidLitArtists here. And this post on the SCBWI site, Portfolio Tips From SCBWI Mentorship Winners.

Registration is still open - get all the details on the 2017 SCBWI Summer Conference, July 7-10, here.

Got a Six-Figure Deal? Agent Jennifer Laughran helps us do the numbers...

A six-figure deal sounds impressive. And it is. But when you break down your actual income from a two-book, six-figure deal the numbers are... well, as Jennifer puts it in her blog post, REAL TALK: $ix Figure Book Deal$, 

it's not exactly "bathe in champagne" time.

After factoring in commission, taxes, expenses, and the multi-part payouts, in Jennifer's hypothetical $100,000 two-book deal signed for a client in March 2015, that client would earn about $60,000 --spread out over the course of four years. As she writes,

"In this example, $24k in 2015, $12k in 2016, $18k in 2017, $6k in 2018."

The point of the exercise isn't to rain on anyone's parade, but to help us have more realistic expectations about the money side of writing for young people. Both what the average advances might be (she covers PB, MG and YA) and even what it means when we DO land one of those impressive six-figure deals.

As Jennifer writes,

SO, what to do?

The single best thing you can do for your career is KEEP WRITING GREAT BOOKS. 

Enough of me telling you about the blog post. Go read it yourself. Knowledge is power.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Some Excellent Advice for Kid Lit Writers and Illustrators On Where To Draw The Private/Public Line On Facebook, Twitter and in all Social Media

Jennifer Laughran, an Agent at Andrea Brown Literary, has a fantastic blog post at her "Jennifer Represents..." blog that you need to read: The Fine Art of Zipping it, or XYZ PDQ.  It's about what you should and probably shouldn't share in our new facebook/twitter/online world of social media.   Go read it and pop back so we can chat about it.

I'll wait.


Okay, now that you're back, let's do some self-examination.  Jennifer writes,

"...the tone of my social media reflects the tone of my work."

What's the tone of your facebook posts?  Your tweets?  Your blog?

What about the photos you post on facebook and your profile pictures across social media?  If a picture is worth 1,000 words, what does your profile pic say?

When I get a friend request from someone I don't know, if they're not wearing a shirt in their profile pic (guys or girls), I do not friend them back or accept the request.  No offense meant, but clearly, they're not there for the same reasons I am.

(An extension of this is that in places where you can, send a message with your friending request, explaining the connection, and showing your professional intent.  It's certainly something I appreciate.)

I'm online to be my public, professional self.  To have and contribute to great discussions about kid lit and diversity and ending bullying and GLBTQ equality ...and to gather with like-minded tribe members - writers, illustrators, agents, editors, publishers, art directors, librarians, teachers, parents and teens.

Why are you online?  Who's your audience?

As Jennifer writes with her inimitable wit,

...if you have a public account on which you are promoting your work for children, and you are friending/following readers, teachers, librarians and publishing professionals, use your dang noodle. And not THAT noodle, mister.

Think about it in terms of what Alexandra Penfold, Editor at Paula Wiseman Books at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, suggested in her panel at #NY12SCBWI:

"Google yourself and make sure it's what you want agents and editors to see with your submission."

Wise words.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee