Happy Monday, RU crew! Today, we welcome Megan Records, Assistant Editor at Kensington Publishing. Unpublished (and published) authors hear lots of advice about agent hunting, such as having no agent is better than having a bad agent. Megan will give us some insight to how she evaluates agented and unagented submissions.
Kelsey: Does Kensington accept unagented submissions? Why or why not?
Megan: Yes, we do accept unagented submissions. I think it’s part of the nature of being a smaller house.
Kelsey: Does Kensington prefer agented authors?
Megan: Just as long as I know who to call with the offer, I don’t have a preference. I don’t work any differently with an agented author than I do with an unagented one.
Kelsey: Do you see a marked difference in quality between agented and unagented work? If so, what are some of those differences?
Megan: Yes. Some noticeable differences are:
1) I get a lot of unagented submissions/queries for genres I do not work on. Agented submissions are always targeted specifically for what I do.
2) The quality of writing in agented submissions tends to be higher. I’ve gotten unagented submissions that make me wonder if English is the author’s first language (this is obviously an extreme).
3) Agented submissions have already gone through a round of editing, so major plot holes or character issues are usually cleared up by the time the manuscript gets to me.
Kelsey: Does an agented manuscript have an advantage when being considered by an editor?
Megan: All manuscripts start off on the same page (no pun intended). It’s the voice and the story that count.
Kelsey: Do you recommend writers have an agent? Why or why not?
Megan: I leave that to the preference of the individual author. However, it is much better to have no agent than a bad agent! I know some authors who desperately feel they need an agent, and end up with one who is more detrimental than helpful. A good agent knows the genre you are writing in, reads through your manuscript, gives you advice on revisions if necessary, targets specific editors and sends out the manuscript, and negotiates the deal for you. If they aren’t doing this, why are you paying them a percentage? It’s also important that the agent is not only a good one, but the RIGHT agent for you. There are plenty of agents who are good agents, but perhaps they don’t usually work with books your genre, or maybe their personality just doesn’t work well with yours. If you have a healthy, productive relationship with your agent, I’m all for it. Otherwise, I suggest going without one.
Kelsey: How often do you buy unagented material?
Megan: Out of my authors, I’d say probably 10% are unagented. But it is also important to note that out of 500 submissions a year, I generally only buy 4 or 5. But like I said, unagented material has just as good of a chance of being one of those 4 or 5. I also find that while the first contract may be unagented, many authors secure an agent by the time we renew the contract.
Kelsey: Can an author at Kensington successfully manage her own contract negotiations?
Megan: Yes. Most of our contract is standard; I negotiate everything else personally with the author/agent. I am always open to questions during this process. I want the author to understand what they are signing!
Megan will be here on and off throughout the day to answer your questions. Please be sure to join us on Wednesday when Eliza Knight, author and founder of History Undressed blog, will tell us all about History-making Heroes.
Megan Records, Assistant Editor at Kensington Publishing Corp, has a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Master’s in Publishing. Megan has been at Kensington for 2 1/2 years, and before that worked at an educational publishing house. At Kensington she feels she’s finally found a job that pays her to read the books she was already reading in her spare time. Megan acquires for the Zebra and Brava lines and is currently looking for paranormal and historical romances, along with urban fantasy. She is also interested in the occasional women’s fiction project (mainly historical fiction or something Jane Austen related.)
Carrie Spencer, writing romantic comedy and goofy middle-grade, personifies her alter-ego - 
Hi Megan!
So good to have you join us at RU. Have you had contract negotiations with an unagented author stall because of one sticking point? Many agents say this is a good reason to have an agent. They can be the voice of reason during what could be an emotional time for an author.
A little off topic. I read on another blog definitions you gave to help readers understand the difference between Aphrodisia, Brava and Zebra. Could you share those definitions with our readers?
Thanks,
Tracey
Posted by TraceyDevlyn | August 10, 2009, 5:44 amI don’t send a contract request until I have the big points all figured out, so I rarely find a problem once the contract goes out. The emotional issues tend to be the bigger ones (money, foreign rights, etc), which have all been dealt with in the deal negotiations.
This is how I describe our imprints. Zebra is very mainstream romance: the number of sex scenes is generally lower and language is tamer. Brava is extremely sensual: the hero and heroine are constantly aware of each other sexually, there are usually more sex scenes, and the language is a bit coarser. I call Aphrodisia anything “extra”: lots of extra sex scenes, extra people, extra appendages, extra orifices, sex in animal form, bondage, etc. You could potentially have a taste of some of these in Brava or Zebra…light bondage in one scene, for example…it would just depend on how it is handled.
Posted by mrecords | August 10, 2009, 8:03 amThanks, Megan. Just a quick follow-up question – has negotiating the big points ever gotten in the way of having a good working relationship with the unagented author afterwards? I’m curious if an author presses (professionally) for something important to her does the editor admire her or get irritated with her.
Posted by Tracey Devlyn | August 10, 2009, 8:21 amFor me, it would depend on the reasoning behind the fuss. If it’s a logical, valid point, that certainly wouldn’t hurt the relationship any. However, if for example, a debut author is pushing for an astronomical advance, that would probably harm the relationship because I would be worried about their expectations of the whole publishing process. I have seen cases where the author put up so much fuss that we eventually withdrew the contract because we were never going to reach a consensus. Luckily that hasn’t happened to me yet!
Posted by mrecords | August 10, 2009, 8:38 amHey, Megan! Thanks for explaining the differences in lines. I’ve been reading several Bravas and the sex has varied. Glad to know it’s the difference of being primarily sensually aware of each other through the story.
And I can vouch and say that Megan turns around submissions quick for an un-agented writer!
Posted by Keri Ford | August 10, 2009, 9:12 amGood morning, Megan! I hope that bright Post-it note on your desk worked.
You say agented writers have no real advantage over unagented, but do you find that you read manuscripts of the agented writers first?
And as a random aside, how does an assistant editor’s job differ from an editor’s?
Thanks so much for being with us today!
Kelsey
Posted by KelseyBrowning | August 10, 2009, 6:57 amHi Kelsey!
I read agented submissions first only if I have a working relationship with the agent. I am lucky in that, for the most part, I get submissions read quickly, so separating them out by agented/not agented would probably result in a difference of a week or two. Hardly worth the sorting!
I also try to get a manuscript read more quickly if the agent/author calls and says they have another offer. It’s just professional courtesy to get an answer to them so the other offer doesn’t sit on the table forever.
Posted by mrecords | August 10, 2009, 7:51 amOh, and an assistant editor does exactly what an editor does, just with less experience :]
Posted by mrecords | August 10, 2009, 8:12 amHi, Megan.
As far as historicals are concerned, can you tell us what time period you prefer? Also, which you think are on the uprise and those on the decline. And for those writing contemporary, the same can apply.
Another question would be your favorite characteristics where heros/heroines are concerned. Anything that either grabs your attention or turns you off?
Thanks – Eddie
Posted by Tiffany Bryan | August 10, 2009, 10:39 amSorry, Megan. I guess that comment about contemporaries doesn’t quite relate to the previous sentence in my last comment. I guess what I meant was any particular settings/situations you’re looking for in contemporary.
And thanks so much about the submission insight. I really appreciate the information.
Eddie
Posted by Tiffany Bryan | August 10, 2009, 10:51 amI’ll be honest, I can’t create a good plot to save my life. Which is why I can never answer these questions about what I’m looking for. I can tell you what needs to be fixed with your plot, or what needs to be strengthened, or what elements aren’t working, but I cannot create one. Guess that’s why I’m an editor and not a writer :]
Posted by mrecords | August 10, 2009, 12:13 pmFor historicals, any time period medieval up until about 1900. Anything outside those boundaries is very hard to sell. For ones set in America, they generally have to be westerns. I honestly don’t have a preference; your writing will be what makes the book great, not the time period!
As for what’s on the uprise, I am seeing more good medievals lately. Regencies are still strong, but I don’t think they are the overwhelming force that they used to be. I don’t know that I’ve seen any trends within the contemporary genre.
I have a thing for the tortured hero. If he’s traumatized, missing an eye, etc, I usually love him. I fall in love with a lot of heroes, but those tortured ones hold a special place. I simply like the heroines smart. My pet peeve: a heroine that is stubborn to the point of stupidity.
But like I always say, if it’s written correctly, you can sell me anything. I’ve bought books with elements that would normally annoy me, but somehow the author wrote it in such a great way that she totally sold it to me. Have you ever read a book like that?
Posted by mrecords | August 10, 2009, 11:08 amHi, Megan. Thank you for being with us today. My question concerns contemporaries. There was a discussion at the RWA PRO retreat last month about what a contemporary truly is. The general gist was that a contemporary is a tough sell because (at times) there is not enough “meat” to carry an entire book. It was a lively discussion with the agent panel, but it left me wondering how publishers define a contemporary.
This is a personal dilemma for me because I just finished a book that I’m calling a contemporary. It does have some suspenseful moments, but it’s not a true romantic suspense.
Thanks!
Posted by Adrienne Giordano | August 10, 2009, 11:12 amFor us, romantic suspense is usually quite bloody and/or disturbing. I’m thinking of one Shannon McKenna title in particular that involved chasing down a group that was illegally harvesting childrens’ organs.
I think the difference between romantic suspense and a contemporary is teh balance. Romantic suspense has the romance, but the suspense is at least equal to, if not more than, the romantic storyline. I see some contemporaries that have a cozy mystery in them (i.e. amateur sleuth), but that’s really not what I would consider suspense.
In your case, if you aren’t 100% certain it’s romantic suspense, it probably isn’t. Pitch it as a contemporary.
Posted by mrecords | August 10, 2009, 12:06 pmHi Megan! Thank you for sharing your information here. I’ve always been curious what it is for an editor that takes a manuscript that needs work from the “rejection” pile to the “We’ll make an offer, but changes have to be made” pile. Is it all about the voice that you fall in love with?
Posted by Jeannie Ruesch | August 10, 2009, 11:25 amAll about the voice. I can fix plot holes, but I can’t fix a voice that doesn’t work.
Also, I rarely make an offer when significant changes need to be made. If the manuscript is about 95% there, but a scene needs to be taken out or expanded, then I’d make the offer. But I usually need the author to show me she can make the changes well before I go to contract.
Posted by mrecords | August 10, 2009, 12:10 pmHi Megan! Thanks for the great and informative post!
My question is about the same as Jeannie’s…=)…Is it voice that talks to you sometimes more than the story? Would you buy a book that has potential, due to a great story and voice but needs some overhauling? or is that all easier to have an agent deal with?
carrie
Posted by carrie | August 10, 2009, 11:54 amYou can’t ever overhaul a voice. Trust me. The thing is, the story could be great, but if you are telling it in a boring voice, the story is just going to sound boring. And there are lots more submissions out there that will have a fabulous voice and a great story.
I don’t ever deal with the agent when it comes to editing matters. Unless a contracted author turns in something that is truly unpublishable and we have to deal with the legal matters of missing a deadline, then it’s between the author and me. It is easier to let an agent do some editing before the submission gets to me, if that’s what you mean. Some authors need that type of feedback to get them on the right page, others don’t. But a manuscript that needs no changes? Heaven.
Posted by mrecords | August 10, 2009, 12:20 pmHi Megan! Thanks for the insight into Brava and Zebra. Have you ever rejected a submission on to wish that you hadn’t later?
Posted by Brenda M. | August 10, 2009, 11:55 amNo. That sounds rather cocky, haha. Most manuscripts are not “on the fence,” so to speak–it’s very clear whether I want to publish it or not. The few that are (and I mean few…maybe one or two a year out of 500), I either ask to see more of the author’s work or call and have a conversation about the manuscript and what we could work on to make it stronger.
Basically, when I read a manuscript I think, “Is this as good as my other authors?” Because that’s who your competition is going to be. If your writing can’t hold up to what’s already selling, you are dead in the water. And no, I’m not saying I expect your sales to be at the level of a NYT bestselling author right out of the gate. But I expect the writing and story quality to be just as good.
Posted by mrecords | August 10, 2009, 12:27 pmGiven an writer not represented by an agent, what would be the expected length of turn around for a manuscript. If it goes over this period should the writer consider it slush and begin again?
Posted by Nancy O'Berry | August 10, 2009, 2:01 pm3 months is the generally accepted amount of time. Lately I’ve been swamped and some are stretching closer to 4 months. After 3 months it’s usually safe to call/email and inquire whether your manuscript got there safely. I would never just assume it is slush…manuscripts and responses get lost in the mail all the time, and if it’s addressed incorrectly, that causes more problems. If no one responds to your follow up, then I’d say just assume no one got it and begin again.
Also, NEVER imply that the editor is not doing their job when you inquire about the status of your manuscript. You’d be shocked at the number of times an author has hinted that it shouldn’t take months to read a manuscript. Politely asking whether the manuscript arrived safely is the best way to go about this.
Posted by mrecords | August 10, 2009, 2:18 pmthanks Megan,
I sorry I didn’t reply sooner but we have had nasty heat in the east and I just had to shut down. Yes, I agree manners make the difference in all business matters. Thank you so much for answering.
Nancy
Posted by Nancy O'Berry | August 10, 2009, 6:05 pmThanks for being here, Megan. This has been very enlightening. I’ve seen some houses opening to WWI and WWII. Do you see Kensington going this way soon?
Posted by Megan Kelly | August 10, 2009, 2:16 pmAt the moment, it’s a tough sell. It seems that readers have a much harder time romanticizing WWI and WWII than they do earlier wars. We do have a fantasy series set in WWII, but no historical romance in this time period that I can think of off the top of my head. If there is one, it isn’t focused around the war…e.g. maybe it is set in India and the main characters only make small references to the war.
Posted by mrecords | August 10, 2009, 2:27 pmMegan, thank you for the wonderful information that you’ve shared today. I am unagented and considering sending a manuscript to Aphrodisia, but the manuscript is currently with an editor at Red Sage. Since I don’t know the status of that manuscript can I still send it out to other editors? Thanks again for the great insight.
Posted by Meladean | August 10, 2009, 2:21 pmYes. We pretty much assume all submissions are being looked at simultaneously by other editors. If you did get an offer from Red Sage, it would then be courteous to call the Kensington editor you submitted to and just let them know you have an offer on the table. You could choose to wait for our response, or accept the other offer and simply withdraw your manuscript from consideration.
However, I would caution you against sending to several editors at the same house. We talk. It doesn’t look good if you have submitted the same project to every editor that works on the imprint.
Posted by mrecords | August 10, 2009, 2:31 pmMegan — Thanks for all of your “insider information”.
I noticed in a recent RWA Romance Writers Report publication that Kensington is allowing published authors to submit three chapters of a manuscript, along with a copy of one of their previously published books. Is this true? Do we still need to query you first, if we have a manuscript that might be right for Brava? — Marcia James 
Posted by Marcia James | August 10, 2009, 4:24 pmQueries are pointless for me when it comes to romance. If the story sounds halfway viable, I’m going to request it, so you might as well skip the step and just send the chapters.
We’ve always allowed published authors to submit…they recently updated our website to make some things a bit more explicit. If you have a copy of your previous books, that’s great, but I usually only look at the manuscript in question.
Posted by mrecords | August 11, 2009, 7:23 amHi Megan! I see that Kensington accepts e-mail queries and wondered if you see the you and the other editors accepting submissions by e-mail in the future? Also, do you often request a manuscript from an e-mail query?
Thank you for your time today.
Angelina
Posted by Angelina Barbin | August 10, 2009, 5:19 pmAccepting submissions via email is dicey because of viruses and whatnot. I accept email submissions from agents, and occasionally authors. Also, if I accept it via email that means I have to read it on screen (I’m not lucky enough to have a Kindle), so I usually only do that if there is a spot in the schedule that needs to be filled asap. I request quite a lot from email queries, actually. I go through all my queries once a week, so sometimes you might have to wait a week to get a request.
Posted by mrecords | August 11, 2009, 7:30 amHello Ms. Records;
I was wondering what it was about a “voice” that reaches out and grabs you as an agent? And if it was more about the trends that helps dictate what you go after? I live in an area surrounded by military and have noticed there are a few books that would draw in the mc/ir couples and are on the rise. Is this a trend you see Kensington moving to aquire more of a presence in?
Thank you so much for taking the time to come here and answer my questions.
Happy reading,
~Aliyah
Posted by Aliyah Burke | August 10, 2009, 6:20 pmThe only thing I can say about a great voice is that is drags you into the story and transports you to another time and place. Other than that, it’s really dependent on the particular author. Sometimes it’s humor, dialogue, intense characters, etc.
I never buy to a trend. I only buy manuscripts that I love. That said, sometimes the trend dictates what submissions I receive. Once paranormal became hot, my submission pile was overloaded with this genre. So I was reading more of it, and perhaps buying more, but not because I was trying to buy towards the trend. That’s just what was available. Also, when I buy a book, it takes from a year to a year and a half to get that on the shelves. By that time, who knows what the trend could be? It’s just not practical to buy this way.
Military books have actually been strong for the last couple of years. I think it’s because the military lends itself to those sexy alpha males. Kensington has a few…ours are usually special units.
Posted by mrecords | August 11, 2009, 7:40 amThank you Ms. Records for answering me. Can’t argue with you on the military men…some of my fave stories.
Again, thank you for taking the time to answe me.
Happy reading,
~Aliyah
Posted by Aliyah Burke | August 11, 2009, 11:11 amWow…I am so sorry for calling you an agent when you are an assistant editor. Too many things going on at once. Again, I apologize for that.
Happy reading,
~Aliyah
Posted by Aliyah Burke | August 10, 2009, 9:18 pmThank you for explaining your submission preferences.
– Marcia James
Posted by Marcia James | August 11, 2009, 12:34 pmHello Megan. My question to you is, If I already have a book on sale on amazon can I submit said book for review? I really would like a book review from a editor.
Posted by Jacquline Bennett | October 13, 2009, 5:31 am