The Breakdown - Week of 10/12/20
Hello, hello, hello! So, we’re back with a new edition of The Breakdown!
And just to get you up to speed, I’m happy to let you know that I’m making fairly good progress on the next Writer’s Workshop story breakdown, but it’s looking like it’ll be published in the beginning of November, rather than late October as I’d originally planned. I warned you…you know, life. What are you gonna do? 🤷🏾♀️
Also, I’ve decided on the next Industry Deep Dive, and it’s going to be a look inside a literary agent’s brain!
No, we’re not talking a cranial dissection here. Instead, I’ve got some incredible resources for you that will help you better understand what agents are looking for and how they do their jobs. Now, a few of these resources will probably be familiar to you, but I can guarantee there’ll be a few you’ve never seen before. And they’ll provide such incredible insight into the inner-workings of an agent’s job that I can’t wait to share them with you! Note - This will be the premium post for December, so be sure to keep an eye out for it!
News
(Click the titles for the source articles)
Book Deals: Week of October 12, 2020
The most interesting deals in this week’s Publisher’s Weekly deal post were by far the following:
With a six-figure preempt, Liz Stein at William Morrow bought world rights to Adele Myers’s debut novel, The Tobacco Wives. It follows a seamstress in 1947 North Carolina who, Morrow said, “discovers a shocking scandal that calls into question the ethics of the tobacco empire that employs her.” The novel is a “reimagining, from a feminist angle, of one of the largest corporate frauds of the 20th century.” Myers was represented by Stefanie Lieberman at Janklow & Nesbit Associates.
After a 10-bidder auction, Alessandra Balzer at Balzer + Bray won XiXi Tian’s debut YA novel. This Place Is Still Beautiful follows a pair of estranged sisters who, the HarperCollins imprint explained, “are forced to reunite in their small Midwestern town when their family becomes the victim of an anti-Asian hate crime.” There the sisters spend a summer clashing “as they navigate the ripple effects that the hate crime has had in their community and uncover the explosive truth behind the perpetrator’s identity.” The two-book deal, which includes a second, currently untitled YA novel, was brokered by Wendi Gu at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.
Kristin Daly Rens at HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray has bought, at auction, Brian D. Kennedy's debut YA contemporary novel, A Little Bit Country. Two boys—one who wants to be the biggest openly gay country music superstar, and one who, as the grandson of a faded Nashville star and hates country music more than anything—fall for each other while working at a Dollywood-esque theme park. Publication is slated for summer 2022; Lauren Spieller at Triada US brokered the deal for world English rights.
A few more interesting deals from debut authors, culled from Publisher’s Marketplace:
CantoMundo fellow John Manuel Arias's WHERE THERE WAS FIRE, set in Costa Rica between the Civil War of 1948 and the mid-1990s, following three generations of women in a family as they grapple with the specter of colonialism, the toxicity of American agribusiness, and long-buried family secrets, exploring how the tides of history and international politics impact their lives, to Nadxieli Nieto at Flatiron Books, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, by Erin Harris at Folio Literary Management (world).
Erin Swan's WALK THE VANISHED EARTH, following one American family over seven generations, from the Kansas plains in the 1800s to the year 2073 on Mars, about the future of humanity in the face of environmental collapse, to Margaux Weisman at Viking, at auction, by Danya Kukafka and Michelle Brower at Aevitas Creative Management (NA).
Colleen Hubbard's HOUSEBREAKING, in which following a long-standing family feud, a woman decides to dismantle her family home and move it, alone and by hand, across a frozen pond during a harsh New England winter, to Jen Monroe at Berkley, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, by Cathryn Summerhayes at Curtis Brown UK (NA).
Peter C. Baker's PLANES, unfolding across two seemingly distinct but ultimately interconnected narratives: one in Rome, where a woman waits for her husband's return from the black site where he's been held for two years; the other in suburban North Carolina, where a lapsed progressive activist learns of her unwitting proximity to the local airline the CIA used to fly him there, to Diana Tejerina Miller at Knopf, at auction, by Chris Clemans at Janklow & Nesbit (NA).
Freelance writer and former Bustle beauty editor Erin Mayer's FAN CLUB, a psychological thriller examining art, fan culture, and the modern millennial workplace through the lens of a directionless woman who gets caught up in an enigmatic group of super-fans for an international pop star, only to discover that the group is bound together by a sinister secret, to April Osborn at Mira, for publication in fall 2021, by Maria Whelan at Inkwell Management (world English).
Ariel Delgado Dixon's DON'T SAY WE DIDN'T WARN YOU, about two sisters sent to a wilderness behavioral compound for troubled girls, where they must navigate family traumas and secrets that cross time, place, and generations; and a second novel set on a marijuana farm in Humboldt County, California, to Andrea Walker at Random House, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, by Nicole Aragi at Aragi Inc. (NA).
Melody Razak's MOTH, the saga of a family's trials through India's bloody Partition, examining in particular the disproportionate violence on the lives of women in times of political unrest, what it means to be otherized, and the power of family, to Erin Wicks at Harper, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, for publication in spring 2022, by Stephanie Cabot at Susanna Lea Associates, on behalf of Caroline Wood at Felicity Bryan Associates (NA).
I love sharing a good mix of the most recent deals for debut authors with you because it really does give you insight into what’s resonating with the marketplace. Don’t you agree?
—
DHH Literary Agency - Virtual Pitch Day - Dec. 4th
Well, one upside to Lockdown is that agents and publishers are more open and accessible than ever. They’re all over Twitter, dispensing advice and participating more actively in online events. And some are even hosting their own pitchfests. One notable example is the DHH Literary Agency, who’s hosting their own pitchfest with a whole slew of agents, across all genres, taking pitches. Click on the article link to read more about it. One thing to note is that they’re a British agency, so British writers or writers from the Commonwealth stand a better chance, although I do know of a few American writers who work with British agents and publishers.
—
US National Book Awards: The 2020 Shortlisted Finalists
Because I listed the Booker Prize Shortlist last time, I thought it would be only right to mention the 71st annual National Book Awards. It’s a long list because it’s a multi-category award, encompassing Fiction, Non-Fiction, Translations, and Poetry. Click on the article title link to see the complete list.
One thing I found interesting is Michael Cader, the editor of Publisher’s Lunch, noted that “The biggest publishers are thoroughly under-represented this year, publishing only two of the fiction nominees, one of the nonfiction candidates, none of the poetry finalists, and two of the translated literature titles.”
Interesting…
If you’re into poetry, the T. S. Eliot prize (one of the most prestigious prizes in that category) also announced their shortlist. You can read more about that here.
—
More Deal Stats: A Lot of Debuts, and A Rebound for Fiction (This article is behind a paywall)
So, this article is behind a paywall, but I can give you the topline “deets.” According to Publisher’s Lunch, when they did an analysis on the deals reported to them in the five weeks leading up to the Frankfurt Book Fair (which is online this year with some panels being free), they noted that there was a surge in debut fiction sales, overall. As this chart makes clear, the 59 reports in the measured period are almost twice the average number of debut fiction sales from recent years and an increase in six-figure deals for both Non-Fiction and Fiction.
What was truly notable was the genre split. The biggest change in 2020 has been a real recovery in women’s fiction/romance: Transaction volume is up almost 30 percent over last year, and back to the levels seen in 2016 and 2017, before the market fell dramatically in 2018 and 2019.
Debut fiction has been strong throughout the year as well, not just in the pre-Frankfurt period. Debut sales have been rising for the measured period every year since 2016 — but even with that, 2020 shows a jump of about 15 percent over last year.
The other genres they track have all faded over the last five years, though thrillers and sci-fi-/fantasy deals are modestly ahead for year-to-date 2020 versus 2019, though still lower than in previous years.
—
Publisher’s Weekly Star Watch 2020: The Stars of 2020
It’s always good to keep track of up-and-comers industry folks in publishing. While most of these folks on the Publisher’s Weekly Star list aren’t folks you’ll ever have cause to encounter, there are definitely some agents and editors in the Finalist and Honoree’s list to note.
—
All the TV Shows That Were Canceled Due to COVID-19
So, yeah, the pandemic has been fairly brutal to TV shows (and outright brutal to film) with shows that actually had renewals on the table or had started filming their latest seasons, prior to the pandemic, getting canceled. It’s been kind of heartbreaking to see, to be honest. I know I lost one of my favorites, Stumptown, which was, IMHO, one of the best shows on network TV. But we also lost Glow, The Society, and I Am Not Okay With This on Netflix, as well as a few shows on HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central. Budgets, scheduling, and safety concerns were most frequently cited as the reasons, but there are definitely conspiracy theories floating around that some networks are using the pandemic as an excuse to make cuts and slash budgets, overall.
—
‘Bridgerton’: Netflix Announces Release Date, Shares First Looks At New Shonda Rhimes Series
Netflix has dropped the release date and first-look images for its upcoming Shonda Rhimes series Bridgerton. Based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling series of novels, Bridgerton is a romantic, scandalous and quick-witted series set in the peak age of Regency London high society and follows Daphne Bridgerton, the eldest daughter of a powerful family, as she puts herself out into Regency London’s highly competitive marriage market.
—
Netflix Orders Lesbian Teen Vampire Series ‘First Kill’ From Emma Roberts
Netflix has ordered First Kill, a YA vampire series centered on two lesbian characters, which will be executive produced by Emma Roberts through her Belletrist Productions banner. The show is based on a short story of the same name, written by New York Times best-selling author Victoria “V. E.” Schwab and was published in September in Imprint’s collection called Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite. The story was bought in a competitive situation with eighteen other companies in the running.
The premise of short story, “First Kill” is described thusly : “When it’s time for teenage vampire Juliette to make her first kill so she can take her place among a powerful vampire family, she sets her sights on a new girl in town named Calliope. But much to Juliette’s surprise, Calliope is a vampire hunter, from a family of celebrated slayers. Both find that the other won’t be so easy to kill and, unfortunately, way too easy to fall for.”
Final Thoughts
So, a pattern I noticed in the deals I pulled from Publisher’s Marketplace (and this was totally accidental, btw) was that the majority of the stories revolved around, or were told through, the lens of families. They all had some epic sweep to them. Honestly, even Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton book series, which Shonda Rhimes is adapting, covers the scope of one family’s experiences in Regency England, even if the TV series chooses to focus on just one protagonist.
In many ways, if stories aren’t terribly high concept, they need to have scope in order to have impact. One way to achieve this scope is by telling a multi-generational story or at least broadening the scope of your story in order to incorporate more of the protagonist’s family dynamics, whether that be their biological family or a “found” family of sorts.
It’s not that there’s no room for smaller, more intimate stories (I finally got around to watching Marriage Story on Netflix, which is very, very good, btw.) But if you’re trying to break into either publishing or film & TV, being able to tell a much bigger story, with a broader scope, bigger themes, and a deeper cast of characters is a good way to set yourself apart. Of course, for you screenwriters, the limitations of filming in the time of COVID are a very real concern, so you wouldn’t want to have a larger cast of characters just for the sake of it. But there are ways of telling intimate stories through multiple characters and multiple lenses that can allow you to explore bigger themes while still keeping everyone safe. Think anthologies (Black Mirror or AMC’s Soulmate), or multi-generational stories with strong individual narratives (This is Us or The Haunting of Hill House), or self-contained stories with ensemble casts (Love Actually).
Just something to think about. :-)
Until next time!
~ Paula
✨ Please don’t forget to vote or comment if you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read! And if you’re interested in learning more about my projects or contacting me outside of the newsletter, you can reach me on any of the platforms or channels listed here! ✨