Interview of new agent Andy Scheer by Diana

Joyce Hart and the entire staff of Hartline Literary Agency welcomes Andy Scheer to our Agency. Andy brings to Hartline a wealth of experience as a publishing professional since 1976, and we are delighted that he has accepted a position as agent with us. 

With 18 years on staff with Moody magazine (12 years as  managing editor), 8 years as managing editor for the Christian Writer’s Guild, and currently a free-lance writer and editor, Andy is a frequent instructor at writing conferences. A journalism graduate from Colorado State University, he also attended Denver Seminary. Andy writes:

As the Writers Guild’s first reader/screener in their Operation First Novel and Operation First Book contests, I am convinced of the importance of grabbing the reader with the first sentence and paragraph. Too many manuscripts show a good concept but lack the craft not only to keep readers engaged, but also to hook them in the first place. I sympathize with publishers’ insistence on looking only at material that’s been screened by agents who can find the grain of wheat in a stack of chaff.

I personally enjoy mysteries and writers who are able to immerse me in a story and transport me to another time and place. So I particularly like (in the general market) the work of such writers as Tony Hillerman, Aaron Elkins, Elizabeth Peters, Lawrence Block, and Patrick O'Brian.

A voracious reader, I also tend to read multiple books. I currently have open three nonfiction titles: The Spirit of St. Louis (Charles Lindbergh), Guns, Germs, and Steel (Jared Diamond), and Hold the Enlightenment (Tim Cahill--a great adventure travel writer). In fiction, I’m re-reading The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco), I just finished Coyote Waits (Tony Hillerman), and because I was attracted by the author photo on his website (he’s standing in front of a 1936 Cord automobile), I’ve just started reading Farraday Road by Ace Collins.

In my spare time I enjoy hiking with my wife, photography, antique automobiles, and jazz music from the 1920s and ’30s.  The picture is of Andy and his wife on a hike in the Rockies.

Andy lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with his wife, Carol, in a multi-generational home that includes their daughter, son-in-law, an incredibly cute granddaughter, their lab/chow mix, and Andy and Carol’s lab/bloodhound mix. Their son just graduated from college, moved out, got married, and began a job as a computer programmer.

Andy's first writers conference representing Hartline as an agent will be the Heart of America Christian Writers Conference, Kansas City, MO November 10-12 ( www.hacwn.org) where he will be taking author appointments. In fiction, Andy will be looking for a well-told story, and in nonfiction, a felt need with a strong platform.

Do Your Characters Smack of Reality? by Linda Glaz

I just returned from a visit with my wonderful mother-in-law
who has been quite ill. She’s Polish through and through, has
always been a tough cookie, and her stature was such that I have
to admit to having been a bit intimidated by her early on
(I’ve since learned she’s not a tough cookie, but a cream puff).

Now, with illness seemingly winning a battle I never thought she’d
have to face, I watch as this formidable woman, just as my mother
did fifteen years ago, has lost weight, lost energy, and lost her drive.
Her mind, still sharp as a tack has allowed our visits to be a lot of fun,
but I watch as she fights a terrible disease, and I know in my heart,
this is one fight she probably won’t win.

I had the drive home to mull over all the change I saw in her this visit,
and I realized that she’s taught me so much over the last 30 years,
but even in illness, continues to teach me.

We can talk all we want about our characters changing from scene to scene,
and even mention how a person might suddenly seem frail, but do you take
your character from being a robust, active individual, to losing all but
their spark? How far do you allow your reader to get to actually know what
the person is going through?

My mom passed away fifteen years ago, and while she was always a svelte
and beautiful woman, scleroderma and the effects of it on her body left
her a mere 81 pounds. The disease changed more than just how it ravaged
her system, it changed how she looked at what was left of her life. She,
like my mother-in-law now, taught me what really mattered: family, faith,
and the dignity that can be had while fighting a losing battle.

Both of these precious women have taught me so much, and I want to be
able to put their life lessons into my characters. I want them to live
on through the eyes of many of the wonderful women who I expect to grace
the pages of my books. They will never live up to Barbara and Irene, but
I’ll do my best.

Study individuals and draw from them. Listen to the elderly concerning
what life is really about. Listen to the young to understand exuberance.
Spend time with newlyweds to remember what budding passion is all about.
Don’t miss an opportunity to discover the realities of life that should
be part of each of your characters.

An Author's Life Through a Spouse's Eyes -guest post by Jennifer's husband

Guest Post By Dwayne Taylor

So you you want to be an author? Ready for the money, fame and glory?

Well let me give you a reality check.

You won't make tons of money. Fame is probably not going to happen. And glory only lasts for a moment. Once your book is read, readers head for the next great book that just came out, leaving a fading memory of your book now collecting dust on their bookshelf .

Being married to an author (Jennifer Hudson Taylor), I can tell you that there is a tremendous strain that it will put on your family and your life. You will need the complete support of every member in your household (yes, even the dog). Without family support, you will not have the time, energy, or presence of mind to do what an author has to do to be successful.

My wife works a full-time job. She gets up at 5:30 am and leaves for work at 8 am, not returning home sometimes until 7 pm. So, writing time is early morning and late at night. Oh but wait, she has to make time for the family, too. Now the writing time window is even smaller.

Then there is research, networking, promotion, marketing, building a platform for yourself and so on and so on.. So where does an author find the time to be a parent, spouse, or have any kind of social life? Well, they don't, unless they have that family support that I was speaking of.

An author that works full-time needs a supporting family that is going to make the meals, clean the house, do the shopping, mow the lawn, care for the kids, be understanding, make sacrifices and most importantly...be available to the author when the author has time to be available to the family or just needs the love of the family.

When tons of rejections start rolling in and you feel like giving up, you're disappointed, and depressed, only the support of a loving family will be able to build the author's confidence back up to keep them motivated to continue on.

The family must look at publication from the perspective that this is not only the author's dream, but it is a family dream. It isn't always easy and there are many bumps along the way, especially if you have children. Children don't understand deadlines, thought processes, interruptions, or the fact that you're on a roll. When they want mom or dad, they want mom or dad right then and there. As a parent you want to be there for your children. So, this is where the author must learn to have patience, understanding, and the ability to turn on and off their creative thought process.

Fortunately, my wife is a master at this. How she squeezes in so much quality time for our daughter in such little available time, I'll never understand.

My advice for those up and coming authors is to sit down with your family and discuss what it will take to make this dream a reality. Decide if being an author is a career move, a hobby, or just a desire to have your name on a book cover. Then consider the consequences of making it happen. Make your family aware of the sacrifices each of you will have to make along the way. Understand that it will be a life change for the entire family. It takes years before you actually get published as it took my wife over 10 years.

In the end, if you and your family are truly dedicated to making this dream happen, it can. You may be a one book wonder or you may be on your way to a successful career, but there is one thing I can guarantee. The first time you walk into a bookstore and see your book, it will not only be a rewarding experience for the author, but for the whole family, because in some way, they will feel that they had a part in making the dream become a reality.

The Issue with Ghost Blogging by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

As with Ghost Writing the practice of Ghost Blogging is becoming an increasing phenomenon these days--especially in the corporate world.

What is it?

It's when someone hires another blogger or writer to write their blogs for them and they slap their name on it as if they wrote it themselves.

Many people feel this is deceptive and and unethical.

I believe it is expected in the corporate world where many CEO's don't even answer their own email and phone calls and haven't written their own letters for years. It's "understood" that their Secretary or Administrative Assistant is writing their letters, emails, and responses.

The issue with blogging is that it's suppose to be a modern tool for transparency and a way to personally connect with one's readers--whether those readers are clients, patients, customers, students, or fans. Busy people claim they don't have the time to blog like clockwork on a regular schedule. Yet, they feel "obligated" to blog because everyone else is doing it, like their competitors, and it truly is a great promotional tool if utilized effectively.

So what about authors? Is okay for us to Ghost Blog or are we deceiving our readers? Shouldn't we be spending our time writing those great novels that our readers can't wait to read next? Don't we have an obligation to meet the deadlines looming over us like a big fat cloud that is turning darker by every minute we don't get something written? The temptation could be great for some of us--especially if we just need to get past a deadline for a short month or two.

I believe an author should carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages--and Christian writers should seriously pray about it. I have made my personal decision not to hire Ghost Bloggers on my personal blog--my main blog, but I do have guest bloggers who use their own name to blog. However, I wouldn't think twice about hiring a Ghost Blogger for my Today in Carolina History Blog, which is no longer active, since all I do is post historical events that took place on that day. I'm not really writing. I'm not giving writing tips, marketing tips, opinions or any insight into my personality or life--only stating facts.

If you do decide to hire a Guest Blogger, I would like to caution that if your readers find out, you may risk them feeling betrayed or deceived. You also risk losing them as readers on both your blog and your books. A certain amount of trust in you as a leader, as well as your knowledge and authority in authorship could be broken.

What are your thoughts? How do you feel about Ghost Blogging?

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT by Joyce Hart

I am so pleased to announce that two of my clients, Carrie Turansky and Suzanne Woods Fischer have both been named as finalists for the prestigious Carol Award conferred by the American Christian Fiction Writers.



Carrie is one of three finalists in the novella category with her A Trusting Heart in the Christmas Mail Order Brides collection from Barbour - Rebecca Germany, Editor.

Suzanne is one of three finalists in the long contemporary category with her novel The Choice from Revell - Andrea Doering, editor.

We are very proud of these ladies and proud of the recognition that they bring to themselves and to our agency.

Spiritual Growth through Writing-by Diana's client Katherine B. Hyde

I suppose it's a truism to say that each person finds, within the life appointed for him or her, his or her own particular path to growing in Christ. But lately it's been brought home to me how many opportunities the writing life offers me for growth in virtue.

First along the path comes humility. Each of us has that moment when we come out of the closet with the writing we've slaved so hard over and which, despite many misgivings, we really believe at some level is brilliant. Then someone reads it—someone, that is, who cares more for integrity in the work than for our feelings—and we find out how very far from brilliant it actually is. There may be some spark there, but it's been all but buried in adverbs, clichés, and purple prose. (I never dreamed how many clichés existed in the English language until I began trying to write without them.)

As we work to improve, the humbling comes at higher levels—instead of critique partners, we get agents and editors telling us our stuff stinks. Those who have attained the holy grail of publication have the privilege of being humiliated by critics and Amazon reviewers and bookstore customers who shun their signing table as if it were an IRS auditor's desk. But it's still the same thing: You're never as brilliant as you think you are.

After the early lessons in humility comes the really big lesson: patience. It takes months, often years, to finish a novel. Then you have to wait for people to make time in their own full lives to read it and give you feedback; then you go back and work on it some more. Lather, rinse, repeat until your hair falls out.

Finally, you think the book is ready to see the light, and you start sending it to agents. These days, a month seems to be the minimum response time; two to three months is not uncommon, and many agents never respond at all. Even with a book that is absolutely ready for the big-time, finding an agent can easily take a year or more. Then the agent has to find you a publisher—and if agents are tortoises (no offense intended!), publishers are giant sloths. If and when the book is finally sold, you may have to wait up to two years before it is published. And let's not even talk about how long you wait to get paid.

Somewhere along this journey, you may easily stumble over that big rock in the road called "the market." Maybe your book is the best thing since prepared mustard, but nobody is buying your genre right now. Or your vision seems a little ahead of its time and no one wants to take a risk on it. Sooner or later, someone—probably an agent or editor—is bound to suggest that you write something more salable. This seemingly innocent suggestion can be the Demon of Man-Pleasing in disguise. This is where you have to renew the commitment I hope you started out with: You are going to write to please God, not man. If you're not writing to please God, you may as well chuck it all in right now.

And that leads to the last and biggest lesson I'm going to talk about today: letting go. Humility, patience, and pleasing God are all part of it: Ultimately, you have to let go of the reins of your own writing career and abandon yourself to the will of God. Where you may have started out praying, "Lord, please let this agent like my book," or "Lord, please send me some good news today," or "Lord, please let me meet someone at this conference who will help me get published" (I've been through all of those), eventually you have to come down to something much more humble: some version of "Lord, Your will be done." My personal version at this point is, "Lord, prosper my writing according to Your will." And it wasn't until I began praying that way that He did begin to prosper it.

Lest anyone think I'm speaking from outside the battle, let me hasten to point out that all these lessons are continually being drilled into me, and I don't expect the learning to stop this side of the grave.

What spiritual lessons have you learned through writing?

Stop by and visit Katherine at her blog where she talks about writing, 'God Haunted Fiction'.

A call for a new breed of agent - by Terry Burns

Last month I used this blog to talk about all of the changes at Hartline and we continue to work on restructuring as agent Diana Flegal makes a move to establish a field office in Ashville NC and Kathy Myers joins us at the agency as Joyce Hart’s executive assistant.

This month I’d like to talk about WHY they are occurring. My good friend, Pulitzer nominee Jory Sherman, wrote a blog recently on a call for a new breed of agent. (http://jorysherman.blogspot.com/ ) It is interesting to note that at the time he wrote the blog Hartline had already begun to address some of the items he talks about.

He takes note that “legacy publishers are no longer promoting either midlist books or their authors, so the writer must promote and publicize their books in order to compete in today’s competitive market.” We did recognize some time ago the need to be more proactive on the behalf of the author as advances have gotten smaller and more and more houses don’t offer them at all. It’s true royalties have increased, but with a lot of publishers cutting back on promotion for smaller authors as Jory suggests we felt the need to offer the author more assistance on the sales and promotion end of the effort.

Our first response was to establish a client group for the discussion of PR and marketing, where they share tips, talk about what works and about what they have tried that doesn’t work. We stopped short of actually beginning to usurp the work of publicists as he suggests, I for one simply don’t have the time with the task of wading through all of the submissions I have to go through. The task of working the slush pile and culling submissions was passed to us by the editors at houses some time ago. And the need to continually research the constantly changing market and make submissions on behalf of our clients eats up the majority of the time.

Hartline chose a different route, adding an in-house publicist to work with our clients at no extra charge. Jennifer Hudson Taylor works with our authors as soon as they sign with an agent to start developing that all-important name recognition. When they sign a publishers contract she helps them prepare for the release of the book, and when they actually have a book released works with them on PR, sales, and promotion.

Jory suggests that literary agents are becoming obsolete since the writer can now directly publish their own book, but as Mark Twain said, “the rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated.” I recently surveyed over 400 editors at various mainstream and Christian publishing houses and asked them if they would be willing to take on a print project that had already been published as an ebook. 70% of them gave me a flat no as they don’t do reprints whether it is hard copy or ebook, and most of the remaining responders said they would look at one but it will have to have significant (multi-thousand) sales and the book would then have to be removed from any listing so the ebook rights could be in the publisher’s contract. Will this change? Maybe, but it is the situation at present.

It is true that those who go straight to ebook can also set up an account and self-publish to get a print copy via POD technology. But Publishers Weekly points out that over 80% of all books published today sell 100 copies or less. This number is primarily fueled by all of those suthors who have self published or feel they can go straight to ebook without help. Sure, some are doing it and doing it very successfully but apparently the large majority need some production, sales and marketing assistance.

While Hartline has chosen to not be involved in the production of books in this manner, we have instead allied ourselves with several providers that we feel give the author the most bang for the buck, assist in the contract, insure that it is well produced and supported in a manner that will give the author a chance to rise above the huge number of titles coming out now. And of course the PR and marketing help is there for them as well.

We don’t counsel and assist the client to take these steps as long as we think we can secure a contract for them at a “legacy publisher” as Jory termed it. But when the client does think it is time to consider other options, we help them to do it right and in a manner that assures they won’t get lost in the herd. While they can net a larger percentage on sales if they do it all on their own, it appears to us that they will actually end up with a larger return if they have the assistance to do it right and promote it properly.

Will we continue to evolve as he suggests? Who knows? A couple of years ago I would have scoffed at the idea that we would be taking that we are. The rate of change over the past few years, primarily due to emerging technology is amazing and we have no idea what else is in store for us. But we love a challenge and expect the future to be most exciting.