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AuthorMBA Q&A with agent Christina Hogrebe
© 2007 AuthorMBA -
All rights reserved.
originally posted
12/10/07
As we gear up for our holiday hiatus here on the AuthorMBA blog, we are
delighted to wrap up the year with another agent Q&A. This week, the
AuthorMBA blog team is very pleased to welcome the charming and savvy
Christina Hogrebe from the Jane Rotrosen Agency. Knowing her busy
schedule wouldn't allow her to answer blog reader questions, Christina
graciously answered our normal questions and then some to give our blog
readers an extra special treat.
Welcome, Christina!
AuthorMBA Q&A, Part I - The Basics
1. Tell us about your agenting specialty. What genres are you most
excited about?
The Jane Rotrosen Agency is best known for its work with authors of
commercial fiction. I find myself instinctively drawn to women’s fiction
(including historical fiction), mysteries, thrillers, young adult, and
the occasional “gotta have it” prescriptive or narrative nonfiction.
2. What kinds of stories are you drawn to in those genres?
I am an avid reader of what people describe as “literary light”. It’s
what I look for in the book store, something my book group can discuss
for hours. It’s what Oprah used to recommend. While others may have
their own definitions of what that is, I see it as well told stories
with an unexpected twist or unique charm. I gravitate toward anything
featuring unusual settings (for a while, this meant the South, but
that’s been done a lot lately), multi-cultural characters, suburbia,
coming-of-middle-age plot lines, or anything that will make me cry. Of
course, I love a good cozy mystery with a unique hook, and I have my eye
out for well-researched thrillers. In nonfiction, I love stories about
people who have experimented with life. Those people have a story to
tell.
3. Can you share some of your recent sales?
Three most recent: THIS LITTLE MOMMY STAYED HOME to Bantam, a debut
novel by Samantha Wilde—the hilarious and heart-breaking story of how
one woman’s support system leaves her high and dry when she becomes a
new mom. Another recent project went to Pocket Books—Kate Emerson’s THE
PLEASURE PALACE, a historical fiction set among the juicy Tudors. Kate
is the pseudonym of
Kathy Lynn
Emerson who also writes historical mysteries with Kensington. The
biggest success story of my year is one that came to me as through
Providence: Kaya McLaren’s CHURCH OF THE DOG and ON THE DIVINITY OF
SECOND CHANCES. These are profound stories that the author originally
published through a small, regional press. They always deserved a wider
readership, and Penguin’s Viking imprint will give them that chance in
June 08 and Feb. 09. I sound like a proud parent… and I am (proud)!
4. May our blog readers query you? If so, what do you prefer to see
in the initial query/submission and how should they contact you?
I do respond to unsolicited queries that are sent by mail, but please be
mindful of what I’m looking for before you query. I do not accept email
queries, and I don’t have an eye for science fiction/fantasy, manga,
politics, or children’s picture books. Please be sure your fiction
manuscript or nonfiction proposal is complete and is in the best shape
possible before contacting me. I prefer a short synopsis and the first
three chapters in addition to the cover letter and SASE. I do my best to
keep up with incoming mail, but my response time for unsolicited queries
has been known to reach epic proportions. If you have been published by
a traditional publisher and are seeking representation, please email me
an introduction. I will want to learn about your publication history,
new material, and your goals going forward.
5. What is your typical turnaround time on queries, partials, and
fulls?
As I mentioned, unsolicited queries are my weak point since my priority
must remain with my current clients. I do respond to requested partials
and fulls within 4-8 weeks. If you have been offered representation,
it’s customary to notify other agents who requested your material and to
give them a certain amount of time to make their final decisions. I
certainly wouldn’t want to keep anyone waiting with an offer in hand.
AuthorMBA Q&A, Part II - The Business
1. How do you approach career planning with your clients?
Do you feel writers should take a proactive
approach to their career planning?
Absolutely. An author spends months, perhaps years nurturing
her work. I think it’s only logical that she should be very strategic
when it comes to planning for its future, setting reasonable short and
long-term goals. I like to discuss goals even prior to entering into a
partnership with a client, so it’s important that she’s thought about
her career plan—how many books she wants to write and what kind, for
whom and how much and how long--from the beginning. Moving forward
without a clear understanding of expectations could lead to
disappointment and may potentially threaten the working relationship.
What steps might you take to help your clients
grow their careers?
It depends where we’re growing from. I take a different
approach for a debut author than one whose sales have plateaued and a
completely different approach for an author whose star is already on the
rise. Growth may come from a New Big Idea, and while this is something
that must necessarily spring from the author, I may try to suggest that
direction and will certainly exploit it once we’ve found it. Growth may
also spring from a shift in the marketplace, a change in genre, a
different pseudonym, a new publisher, an accelerated writing & pub
schedule, or invigorated enthusiasm among the same publishing team—or a
combination of any of those. In every instance, my job is to create and
take advantage of opportunities, and to think one step ahead.
2. How do you feel about author-driven marketing efforts?
How beneficial do you think it is for writers
to have their own marketing plan in place prior to a book’s release?
An author’s participation in the promotion of her book is
important, but she doesn’t need to go it alone. I think it’s crucial for
an author to work with her agent and editor to develop a marketing
strategy that everyone can get behind and then to divide the
responsibilities. There are certain tasks that are better accomplished
by the publisher—galley mailings, press kits, regional tours--but often
an author’s grassroots efforts are equally important to the book’s
success.
Do you like to brainstorm marketing ideas with
your clients?
It’s one of the more enjoyable parts of the publishing
process. I’m always amazed by untapped resources and underestimated
contacts that brainstorming unearths. My clients and I have hatched a
lot of fun—and effective—plans for reaching their unique audience. One
of my clients, Toni
Blake, recently teamed up with an author friend on a multi-state
hit-and-run book signing tour in a blue convertible. They called it the
“Blondes Have More Fun Book Tour”. What a fun way to meet your readers!
3. How do you feel about web sites, blogs, and other web venues like
MySpace as marketing tools for writers today?
I think the internet is the most valuable tool an author can use to
supplement her publisher’s marketing plan. There is an unlimited amount
of inexpensive (or often free) ways to reach out to readers. It’s of
particular importance for category authors to use the internet to their
advantage, since the line, not the author, is the focus of promotion to
those houses.
What impresses you about a client’s web
presence? What things do you like to see?
I like to see the author use her website as a branding tool,
but also as a way to develop a community among readers. My favorite
sites are those that encourage you to stay and browse, to return often
to see what’s new, and that help readers connect in a personal way to
the author. One of my most favorite sites is Luanne Rice’s. I check in
more than I should because her blogs are as touching and
thought-provoking as her books. It’s how I satisfy my appetite for her
books between publication dates.
When you read work you like—from published or
unpublished writers—do you review the writer’s web site? If so, why?
If an author includes her web address on a query, I will
check it out before requesting more material. I’m a sucker for a good
website. At the query stage, I’m looking for professionalism above all.
For example, a blog that posts all her rejection letters with snide
remarks will send me running.
What is your perspective on using a blog as a
marketing tool for writers? Does your view change if they are
unpublished vs. published?
I love blogs myself. They’re addictive. Since authors are my
idea of celebrities, I enjoy opening that window into their lives. The
flip side is blogs are addictive to the author as well. It’s a great way
to procrastinate when you should be racing toward the deadline, or
worse, it can become an inappropriate way to vent frustrations. But
that’s not what you asked; those are just my fears. When they function
properly, a blog is a terrific way to keep unpublished authors motivated
and creatively-charged (and may just hook you an agent who loves your
personality), and to keep fans of published authors sated between books.
About Christina
Hogrebe
 Christina Hogrebe joined the Jane Rotrosen Agency as an over-eager
assistant in 2003. Having since ascended to the ranks of agent,
Christina has been tending a growing list of clients, including New York
Times bestseller Kevin O’Brien, and L.A Times Bestseller Amy Wallen.
Born in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Christina is a graduate of the
University of Denver Publishing Institute and Franklin & Marshall
College, where she studied English literature and Women’s Studies, thus
happily cementing a life in books. For more information about Christina,
visit
http://tgarey.blogspot.com/2006/03/interview-with-christina-hogrebe.html
where Christina was interviewed by her client, Terri Garey.
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