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Gotham FacultyA CANDID TALKABOUT AGENTSFaculty InsightBY BARBARA DE MARCO-BARRET THere Gotham teacher BarbaraDeMarco-Barrett interviews a collection of agents and writers on thesubject of literary representation.This is a portion of an articlethat appears in its entirety on theGotham website.Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: Whatmakes a good agent?Betsy Amster (agent): A good agentis bonkers about your work, helpsyou shape it by holding you to yourown highest standards, knows whicheditors are likeliest to love it, too, andkeeps you posted on the responsesshe gets. Ideally, you’ll feel he or sheis your co-conspirator. The wholeprocess needs to be transparent. Ifyou’re lucky, it might even be fun.Jane Dystel (agent): A good agent ishonest, hardworking, to- tally accessible to you, well thought of by editorsand publishers and flexible. Aboveall else, he or she cares deeply abouthis or her clients and their work.Bret Anthony Johnston (writer):Passion for the work. I’m unconvinced that where an agent works orwhich writers she represents makesa lick of difference. What makes allthe difference in the world is howdeeply the agent identifies with thewriter and the work. The agent hasto be passionate about the work sherepresents. I would take passion overfancy letterhead or a rock star clientlist every time.Karen Karbo (writer): A goodagent understands your work, yourstrengths and weaknesses as a writerand human being, and is willing togo to the mat for you. Also, he or shereturns your phone calls within areasonable length of time. Basically,the rules of any functional relationship apply.Aline Ohanesian (writer): I’m adebut novelist who’s still in the honeymoon phase with my agent. Asin any relationship, there needs tobe a lot of trust. What I want in anagent is someone who believes in mywriting. I put everything I had intomy first novel. It took me six years towrite it, and after a year of researching and querying agents, I had a fewoffers of representation. I knew rightaway that Eleanor [Jackson] was themost enthusiastic about my work.She understood right away why Ihad written Orhan’s Inheritance, andI believe that was what helped hersell it at auction. It also helps to havesomeone who is professional, responsive and willing to go to bat foryou when the time comes. Also, shewould never give me advice aboutwhat to write next, and for that I’mvery grateful.DeMarco-Barrett: What’s the bestway for a first-timer to get an agent?Amster: I recommend that writersresearch agents on publishers marketplace.com, my favorite website.The most common mistake I seeaspiring writers make is approaching agents in categories they don’trepresent. That’s true for probablyhalf the queries I get. In fact, I sometimes get the distinct sense that theonly reason I’m being approachedis that my last name begins with A.Publishers Marketplace allows youto sort agents by the categories theyrepresent, which makes it possiblefor you to target your efforts.Dystel: Go online, of course. There isa wealth of resources on the Internetabout agents and their lists. Look atbooks like yours in the bookstoreand note who the agent is. Speakto your writer friends. Check outthe AAR [Association of Authors’Representatives] for agents’ names.There are plenty of ways, but the onethat has always made the most senseto me is to read the acknowledgments pages in the books of writersyou love. The writer should alwaysthank the agent, and if you’veidentified with the book, then there’sa reason for it. Maybe the reasonis the same as why the agent identified with it.Karbo: Scour the acknowledgmentsin works of contemporary fictionor nonfiction that speak to you forthe name of the agent. If the book issimilar to yours, even better. Writehim/her a succinct e-mail in whichyou mention your great affection forthe book and allow as how perhapsyour book is in the same vein. Thisaccomplishes several things. First,the agent gets the sense you’re notspamming eight hundred agencies.Second, it shows that you’re savvyenough to understand that publishing is often a matter of taste, andalso you understand that sharingsimilar tastes is important. Third, itsets you apart from the other ninehundred writers who’ve zipped offan e-mail that hour.Ohanesian: This question is so important. My first bit of advice is: takeyour time. The query is your veryfirst impression. Standard or stockletters that you send to a gaggle ofagents are never a good idea. Lookat and read books that are similar toyours, and find out who’s representing them. I wrote ten query letterswhen I started looking for an agent.Each one was crafted specifically forthe agent being queried. My first sentence would allude to other booksthat agent had represented. It toldthem that I was familiar with theirwork and that I’d done my homework. I was querying them specifically, not just any old agent. And itworked. I got three solid offers fromthose ten queries. It’s also important to state the genre and word countand to keep the query under a pagelong. It helps to have a few creditsfrom literary journals. I was a finalist for the PEN/ Bellwether Prizeas well as a finalist for the GlimmerTrain Best New Writers Award,and I made sure to put that in myfinal paragraph.triggered by Crohn’s disease. The doctor’s orders called for months without taking any food ordrink by mouth.In the hospital, Jon’s Esquire editor Mark Warrenasked him to write a feature article about his prescribed deprivation. Jon submitted 15,000 words.About 10,000 too many. “That’s okay,” Mark reassured him. “You’ll use it for the book.”That book is now a critically-acclaimed memoircalled The Man Who Couldn’t Eat, based on Jon’saward-winning Esquire story.JON REINERFaculty ProfileBY ST E PH SPE CTORGotham Teacher Jon Reiner thinks some of themost interesting, worthwhile, and exciting thingsin his life have happened to him by accident.Like almost having to die to get published.One moment he was considering his grandmother’s tuna fish recipe for lunch. The nextJon was doubled over, hit by a crippling episodeGOTH AMWRI T E RS .COMJon can eat now, but he continues to receiveemails from readers all too familiar with the nothing-by-mouth regimen. They share their storieswith him. Which is humbling. Jon says the upheaval and consequences they face are often extreme and make what he had to endure look like“a mosquito bite.”Still, Jon likes his memoir to be judged not by howsick he was, but by its literary merits. Like someof his favorite writers Ian McEwan, Jennifer Egan,and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jon enjoys taking on thechallenge of crafting perfect sentences. (Speakingof Fitzgerald, Jon rereads The Great Gatsby everysummer, much to his wife’s bewilderment.)Two years after his memoir was published, opportunity struck Jon a second time. He had anDeMarco-Barrett: I’ve noticed anew category in agent listings: “bookclub fiction.” I imagine it came aboutbecause of the influx of book groups,but how is “book club fiction” definedand how do you feel about it?Amster: “Book club fiction” is fictionthat exerts a strong pull on the emotions—the kind of book you mightbe tempted to start reading all overagain when you’re done. (I felt thatway about Emily St. John Mandel’sStation Eleven.) It’s the kind of bookyou want to press not only on yourfriends, but on random strangers.Remember that word of mouth is apowerful driver of sales.Student VoicesGotham helped me prepare formy future career as a women’sfiction writer.—Ashley Farley, authorInspiring.Encouraging.Affirming.Dystel: I would imagine this refersto “buzz” books and commercialwomen’s fiction, which is a category I love. I think of titles like GoneGirl and Still Alice as examples. Butyou also have to include bestsellerslike Fifty Shades of Grey, which hit amajor nerve for female readers.Johnston: I have no idea. I do lovebook clubs, though, so I hope I writebook club fiction.Ohanesian: From what I understand,book club fiction is a book that is literary but still accessible, somethingthat can be read in under a monthand still lend itself to a lively discussion. I think of books like The KiteRunner or The Lovely Bones as bookclub books. They often have supplementary material in the back of thebook. My editor and I had a lot offun coming up with discussion questions for Orhan’s Inheritance. I wasa member of a book club for a littlewhile, and those were some of themost sophisticated readers I’ve hadthe pleasure to interact with.Barbara DeMarco-Barrett is the author ofthe writing guide Pen on Fire and host ofthe radio show Writers on Writing—Melanie Brake, stay at home motherYou offer the best writing classesin New York City. Gotham guidedme through my apprenticeship andmade me a journeyman writer.—Gilbert Sprague, children’s book authorA place to go tolearn from otherkindred spirits.SEE MORE FACULTYARTICLES AND PROFILES ONOUR WEBSITE.idea for a documentary called Tree Man aboutthe community of Christmas tree salesmen whotrek to New York City every holiday season. Andhe knew just the right people to recruit to makeit happen: fellow parents whose children, like his,went to PS 166.They all had the types of professions that enabledthem flexible schedules—writing, cinematography, editing, and the like. Jon and his cohorts hadbeen meeting afternoons on their kids’ schoolplayground for quite some time. “Over the years,”Jon recalls, “we’d talk about how fun it would beto do a project together.”Unsurprisingly, they were game for Tree Man.“PS 166 Productions” successfully completedthe documentary, an official selection of the2015 Montreal World, DOC NYC, and St.Lawrence International Film Festivals. The filmhas been acquired for distribution this comingholiday season.Jon usually finds a way to make the best of things.When he was terribly sick, things seemed hopeless. But he remembers asking himself, “Do youwant to rise to the challenge? Or do you somedaywant to be 65 years old and say gee, I guess I never was a writer. I didn’t want to face that. I wantedto rise to the challenge.”twitter Facebook instagram LinkedIn @GOT HAM W RI T ERS—Karen Z. Waltensperger, international health advisorAn inspirational, once-in-a-lifetimeopportunity to overcome anyfear and anxiety of your personalwriting skills.—Timothy Kirkpatrick, HR directorCO N TACT @GOT HAMW RI T ERS .CO M2 12 – 974 – 837 7

CommunityWRITE-INSDo you wish there was a place you could go forwriting inspiration and practice? Where you couldhang out with other writers? Without needing to makea long-term commitment or spend a lot of money?With food and drink involved?FA L L C O N T E STFrighteningFirst LineGotham Write-Ins are that place.HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS:The teacher gives an interesting writingprompt. Everyone writes for a while.Then, those who want to read aloud theirwork. You take a break and socializeover refreshments. Then you go throughthe process one more time. Then yousocialize a little more. It’s two hoursof writer’s heaven. You can sign up inadvance or just drop in.FRIDAY EVENINGS IN MANHATTAN6:30–8:30 pm 20 per sessionSee our website for details.FREE EVENTSAutumn is the season of rustlingleaves, a chill in the air, and, ofcourse, Halloween.In that spirit, we invite you to createthe first line of a frightening story.Just the first line. But we wantthat first line to be so intriguing orchilling or scary that it makes ourskin tingle and our nerves twitch.We do free classes and other fun things around New YorkCity—at bookstores, bars, Bryant Park, etc. It’s our way ofshowcasing what we do and getting to know you. See ourwebsite for upcoming events.Whoever writes the first line thatbest accomplishes this goal willreceive a free Gotham class of hisor her choosing.(You can actually use more thanone sentence, but there is a limit of31 words.)GOTHAM WRITERS CONFERENCELike many writers, Stephen Kingworks tirelessly on his firstlines, saying, “My first sentencesstick with me. They were a doorwayI went through.”We are thrilled to announcethe very first Gotham Writers ConferenceFriday, October 25 andSaturday, October 26, 2019New York CityThe seller of lightning rods arrivedjust ahead of the storm.Something Wicked This Way Comes,Ray BradburyWhether the dreams brought onthe fever or the fever brought on thedreams Walter Gilman did not know.“The Dreams in the Witch House,”H.P. Lovecraft.The terror that would not end foranother 28 years, if it ever did,began so far as I can know or tell,with a boat made from a sheet ofnewspaper floating down a gutterswollen with rain.It, Stephen KingWhen I think of my wife, I alwaysthink of her head.Gone Girl, Gillian FlynnFor competition rules and online entry form,— visit —GOTHAMWRITERS.COM/CONFERENCEGOTH AMWRI T E RS .COMAs inspiration, here are some greatfirst lines from frightening stories:GOTHAMWRITERS .COM/FRIGHTENINGtwitter Facebook instagram LinkedIn @GOT HAM W RI T ERSCO N TACT @GOT HAMW RI T ERS .CO M2 12 – 974 – 837 7

Stories are, truly, everywhere—everyplace you look, everyone you meet,everything you experience.Every day is filled with hundredsof potential stories awaiting yourimagination and craft.Each month we invite you to post a story on Twitter at#GWstorieseverywhere. Your stories (which can be true or made up)will be inspired by what you see, know, or do, and they should relatein some way to these monthly last dateAt the end of each month, we will pickour favorite and reward that personwith a free Gotham writing class.Your story must be no longer than 25 words,with a max of 280 characters, including spacesand the hashtag #GWstorieseverywhere.Everyone has a story. Especially you.gothamwriters.com212–974–8377twitter Facebook instagram LinkedIn

Gotham Writers Workshop is a creative home in New York City and Online where writers develop their craft and come together in the spirit of discovery and fellowship. We’ve been teaching creative writing to students since 1993. We believe that everyone has a story to tell. Indeed, many sto