Spying: Literary Style

    After pouring through websites, books, and lecture transcripts I noticed an interesting fact about the interworking’s of the publishing world.  Everyone must be a spy and the spying comes full circle.  Before you jump into the semantics about using the world spying I will mention that “research” could be used in its place, if you wish to be that polite and boring.  No matter which term you prefer there is no getting around the action.  When it comes to success in this field spying is the golden key to most doors, here’s how:

 

Writers:

1.    Spy on Other Writers

 

It started at an earlier age when Pokey Puppy stole their heart and Black Beauty broke it, writers are readers.  They didn’t know it then but as the peanut butter coated fingers turned pages and the wide eyes ran over the text their minds were eavesdropping and cataloging everything about the book.  Writers are expected to read as many books in their genera as possible and this is what their spying on:

 

-         Story Development

-         Point of view

-         Reading level

-         Sentence structure

-         Voice

The next step is to spy on other writer’s career paths and seek the answers to these questions. 

-         How did they find inspiration?

-         Who helped them in their writing journey?

-         Who was their agent?

-         Who was their editor?

-         Who was their publisher?

-         How long did they struggle before getting that “Yes”?

-         What are they working on now?

 

2.    Spy on Agents

Agents are vital to success.  Yes, there are stories of the odd man out who represented themselves and made it big, but there is a reason we all know the same stories, they are few and far between.  A good agent offers a leg up that is well worth the small %15 percent they take. (ok that rant is over) Regardless the educated writer understands that the best book deals typically go to writers who have the best agents…….. and how are these agents acquired (besides writing a killer book and query of course)?  SPYING.  To get a yes from an agent you have to understand them.  This knowledge helps build the perfect query and ensure time isn’t wasted barking up the wrong tree.  Here’s a short list of the things the “industry” suggests to spy on when it come to the Agent:

-         What they represent

-         Who they represent

-         What they crave in a next project

-         Are they good at what they do

-         Do they treat their clients well

-         What are their submission guidelines

-         How they rank among their peers

-         What are their tastes

-         What have they said in interviews

-         What have they said in seminars

-         What have they said on Twitter, on Facebook

*This is the short list, but you get the idea.

 

Who Agents Spy On:

          In my humble opinion, which is very humble based on the fact that I am a writer not an agent, the success of an agent is made in four parts.  Relationships, sell, spy, and apply the knowledge gained by spying to sell.  Here’s a short list on who they keep tabs on:

-         Editors (collect information on both their private and professional lives)

-         Publishers

-         Other Agents

-         Readers

-         Writers

-         Social trends / media

 

Who Editor’s Spy On:

-         Other Editors

-         Their Publishers

-         Other Publishers

-         Trends in the Markets

-         Readers

Who the Publishers Spy On:

-         Readers

-         Other publishers

-         Self-publishing establishments

-         The e-book trade

-         Trends and media

 

The circle of Spying is then completed with the individuals that all this work geared towards.   The final piece is the Readers, who undeniably spy on the writers.

 

Readers à   Writers à   Agents à  Editors à Publishers à Readers

 

In short, if you’re preparing to enter this crazy world better get ready to put your search engines to the test…. Thank goodness for the internet!