Book Talk and Great People at the KT Literary Retreat – Austin 2019
Currently Reading: Wilder Girls
These are strange and hard times in the world, and it’s really had me thinking back to the KT Literary Retreat I had the privilege of attending at the end of February, which was one of the best times I’ve had in a long time!
Whenever a querying writer asks me how to choose an agent, or if they think a certain agent might be a good fit for them, I tell them to look at the agency as much as the agent they’re considering signing with.
Just like not all agents are the right fit for you, not all agencies are, either. I am so happy to say that I have both a stellar agent and am part of a stellar agency, filled with people who care about the people they represent as much as their books. I would not change them for anything!
One of the things that makes KT Literary so special is it’s bi-annual retreat, during which clients and staff gather to talk about the industry. I wanted to share a little bit of what I learned and what we did during the retreat.
The retreat itself was split up into free writing sessions and structured lessons and lots of good food and great company. Around thirty or forty writers represented by the agency attended and it amazing getting to meet and talk to so many writers! A dream, really!
Three highlights from my trip and what I learned:
MEETING MY AGENT & CONNECTING WITH MY AGENT SIBS
My agent, Hannah Fergesen, is amazing. It was the first time we met in person, so that was at times nerve-wrecking (’cause eep, of course you want to make a good impression on your agent!) and ultimately fabulous since she was so wonderful and welcoming. If you write speculative fiction for any age group, don’t forget to query her!
If you’re a new writer, or newly signed with an agent, I also can’t recommend enough connecting with your agent siblings! Getting to know other writers who likely write in a similar genre or style as you I think is so vital to finding support in this community! It was amazing to get to be able to meet some of my agent sibs in person and celebrate our love for stories together! We even now have a Discord we chat constantly on to support one another and problem solve. And, of course, share pet pictures with one another!
LEARNED SO MUCH FROM OTHER WRITERS AND INDUSTRY LEADERS
As an unpublished author it was so amazing to get to learn from writers who are on their seventh, eighth, tenth book releases. I left the retreat so motivated to join their ranks one day! It was also a great experience to have all the agents in the agency together, talking about the industry and sharing their knowledge with the group.
Below are 5 takeaways that I found super interesting:
- Shorter books are in now that printing books has gotten more and more expensive. So dust off your 70k manuscripts, and don’t fret if you’re not getting 100k.
- No matter how much money you spend on swag, giveaways, a publicist, your novel’s success is mostly all about luck; when it comes down to it, there’s plenty of things that go into success for your book, how salespeople in your publisher react to it, if book sellers are passionate about your book, where it is in your publisher’s catalog, etc., etc.
- NA is really unlikely to be a thing. Readers usually read up an age group, which is why NA has had such a difficult time getting established in the market. If you’re writing something you’d consider NA, you’re likely going to be going after the adult market.
- IP projects are becoming more and more popular.
- The shelf life of YA novels with a book seller is about four months, while MG is longer, which is why some authors are now going after the MG market.
FOUND THE MOTIVATION TO KEEP ON WRITING, EVEN WHEN MET WITH A HARD REALITY OF HOW DIFFICULT THE INDUSTRY IS
It’s a true testament to KT how honest and yet inspirational the retreat was. If you’ve been in the industry, whether already published or not, you know that becoming a published author, and continuing to be able to publish books, is anything but simple or easy. It takes stubborn determination as much as talent. The agents at KT at no point shied away from that fact. And yet, I came away from the retreat more motivated than ever.
Maybe your agency doesn’t have a retreat. But it doesn’t mean you can’t connect with other writers at your agency. Connect, find friends, and support one another!
What I’ve found important, is always to continue to write, and to continue to surround yourself with other writers who will motivate and support you, and to have an agent and agency that will do the same.
I hope if you’re thinking of querying an agent at KT, you do. And on a personal level, I hold this trip dear to my heart, as it might be the last one I take for a while.
