Good morning! Thank you for inviting me Edie—

I love women’s fiction. WITH A PASSION. Ever since I was a little girl, I knew the value of reading layered, juicy stories about women and their lives. My love affair started with FOREVER by Judy Blume— (I snuck this book off my mother’s bedside table and would read it on the sly in my closet, yes, balancing the flashlight!) the impact this book had on my young life— wow! It expanded my worldview and evoked strong feelings about issues I was desperate to make sense of at that age. And from there, I read a big book called THE MISTS OF AVALON by Marion Zimmer Bradley that inspired me to study Women and Religion at college. And now? I have built a career where I can help women make their books sing, bring their books to market, and build a readership with the understanding that somewhere out there is a woman or girl waiting to be inspired by the author’s story.

So, it’s safe to say my appetite for women’s fiction blossomed into a full blown addiction: Family sagas, unique women in history, women’s stories of healing and transformation, women’s friendships, women dealing with careers, young women raising children and finding love and purpose, fun and light hearted or dark and complicated— the power of women’s fiction is amazing— they have the ability to move you. What moves you about women’s fiction? How has a particular story touched you recently? Did it change you in some way? In writing women’s fiction, how do you find inspiration? In your life, in the lives around you? Is there one book that changed the course of your life, like me and the two I mentioned above? I would love to hear from you! As the day goes on, I will drop in too.

The market in my opinion is especially open to new voices in WF. These are hard times for many people, readers are especially looking for stories that move them. I am always actively looking for new projects in this genre. I like big, juicy, layered stories with real life characters and real life issues. I want to split my side laughing, cry my eyes out, heal my heart, swell with pride— if it hits the reader in a visceral way, I want to see it!! Please send your submissions to submission and in the subject line write WOMEN’S FICTION query. Check out our website for guidelines.

I look forward to seeing your work!!

Jennifer
Spencerhill Associates

We’re having our first agent guest blogger this Monday, the fabulous Jennifer Schober from Spencerhill Associates. She’s written a great blog and she’s taking questions. Be sure to stop off and comment.

Agent Jessica Faust from Bookends posted her New and Updated Publishing Dictionary. She says it’s an “ever-popular post.”

Agent Donald Maass wrote a blog about The Elements of Awe on Writer Unboxed that every writer should read. He used information from a New York Times article on a study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. The study shows which NY Times articles are most emailed to friends and family, and end up going viral. Maass brilliantly links the results to writing.

“Their conclusions have some relevance for fiction writers because they reveal what it is about stories that probably generate word of mouth. This month and next I’m going to discuss these elements and show how you can apply them in your novels.”

If you can bear reading one more article about e-book pricing, the Math of Publishing Meets the E-Book might be the one.

J.A. Konrath has only good things to say about e-books. His blog title says it all: “JA Konrath Kindle Sales: 30k Ebooks in 11 months.”

“I’m currently selling $1.99 ebooks at the rate of 170 per day. That means I’m earning around $120 per day just sitting on my butt. If this trend continues as-is, I’ll earn $43,800 this year on previously published short stories and novels that NY print publishing rejected.”

E-books aren’t the only unconventional alternative writers are taking. John Edgar Wideman, a two-time winner of the Faulker Award for fiction, is publishing his next book through Lulu. Briefs, Stories for the Palm of the Mind, are available now.

“I’ve been thinking about alternatives for a long time,” said Wideman, whose works of fiction and non-fiction include the award-winning Brothers and Keepers, Philadelphia Fire and Fanon. “Lulu seems to represent a very live possibility as the publishing industry mutates. I like the idea of being in charge. I have more control over what happens to my book. And I have more control over whom I reach.”

This study on The Short-Term Influence of Free Digital Versions of Books on Print Sales shows that for the most part giving free digital books increases sales. The only ones that didn’t work was Tor, and they concluded it could have been because of Tor’s distribution.

“Two of these books (titles 32 and 41) both had releases of paperback editions that preceded the free book by only a few weeks. Thus for the majority of the ‘pre’ weeks, a paperback version was not available. These newly released paperback versions could easily explain why the “pre” sales of these titles were less than the “post” sales.”

2010 is off to a busy start. First, Alicia Condon, former Editorial Director at Dorchester is moving to Kensington to take the job left open by the death of Kate Duffy. Leah Hultenschmidt has been appointed the new ED at Dorchester.

From Publishers Marketplace 1/7 lunch email:

“Elizabeth Evans has joined the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency. Evans began her career as an agent at Kimberley Cameron & Associates (formerly the Reece Halsey Agency), where she has worked for the past six years. She will represent a wide range of nonfiction, including memoir, travel/adventure writing, journalism, and science, as well as select titles in YA fiction, women’s fiction and mysteries.”

“Chelsea Gilmore has joined the Maria Carvainis Agency. Most recently, Gilmore was an editor at Avalon. She will focus on women’s fiction, literary fiction, mystery-suspense, pop culture, and YA books.”

Are you ready for more digital news? Here’s an article from the Guardian that has a bit of everything.

Scott Eagan from Greyhaus Literary Agency recently blogged about Romance vs. Women’s Fiction. He also talked about women’s fiction in a previous interview.

Jennifer Schober from Spencerhill Associates was spotlighted on Quick Brown Fox. One of her interests is women’s fiction.

Another agent interested in women’s fiction, Joanna Stampfel-Volpe of Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation, was spotlighted on Literary Rambles.

Selina McLemore, Grand Central editor, said in an interview on the American Chronicle:

“I also publish some romance and some general women´s fiction, but the bulk of my list is devoted books that are culturally relevant. That is how I describe them. I look for books that are by Latinos and give glimpses into Latino culture. In the past, I have done a little of everything. I have done some African American fiction in the past too as well.”

QueryTracker has Top 10 Lists of agents for the following:
1. Most Queried Agents
2. Most Accepting Agents (i.e. those who request most material)
3. Most Non-Responsive Agents
4. Most Rejecting Agents
5. Most Popular Fiction Genres (that are submitted to agents)
6. Most Requested Fiction Genres (requested by agents)
7. Most Popular Non-Fiction Genres
8. Most Requested Non-Fiction Genres

Similar to agents are scouts. You can read about Inside the Secret World of Literary Scouts, Part II and Part III. Part III tells how a Scout made The Kite Runner a success.

Read this to find out the Top Ten Questions Dutton Editors Ask Themselves When Looking At A Manuscript.

I love reading books about food and relationships. I’m not the only one. There’s even a name for it: Foodie Fiction. Barbara Samuel blogs about it on Writer Unbound.

I’ve heard about the Vook, which blends text and video. But seeing is always better. Here’s a great video about it.

It’s not news, but I’ve been noticing a new energy, a feeling that 2010 will rock. I hope that’s true for everyone reading this.