SHALLA
CHATS with Literary
Agent Daniel Lazar
“Getting
to Know You”
by
Shalla DeGuzman
So,
who ’s
Dan?
I've been with Writers House for over six years, and I'm always on the lookout for distinct fiction and great, lively non-fiction. I represent adult and children's books (and for children's books, I focus mainly on middle grade and YA). For fiction, I love stories that introduce me to new worlds -- or even better, recreate the ones I may already know. For non-fiction, I enjoy memoirs, narrative non-fiction, all stripes and studies of pop-culture, and even small gifty books that strike my fancy and make me smile. I'm a huge fan of graphic novels and memoirs. I also especially love historical fiction of all kinds. And as the oldest child of six who has changed many, many diapers in his life, I'm equally intrigued by any book with unique views on parenting and family life.
If you think your pages can make me hold my breath or miss my subway stop or even laugh out loud, please read my submission guidelines -- I'd love to hear from you.
For more info, check out his absolutely stunning website: http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/DanielLazar/
Shalla: Hi Dan, we enjoyed meeting you at the ShalladeGuzman
Writers Group , thanks for talking with us again.
Dan: My pleasure.
Shalla: Well, we’re all curious, what are the first things you
look at when you get a submission? And what are most important
to you? Dialogue
mechanics? If it starts with an exposition
or a scene?
Basic
formatting?
Dan: Proper
formatting -- and most important is a voice.
It's what stands out right away. I don't mean you have
to write in your characters voice, or use "voice-y" accessories, such as saying, "like,
oh my gosh, you know, can you believe, etc etc." I just mean the
way a writer crafts a sentence or closes a paragraph or constructs
dialogue. You can't learn
a voice; you either have it or you don't --
but it's
something I'll notice right away.
Shalla: Now, let’s talk POV’s (Point
of View), are you open
to first-person present? (e.g. The
Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, Winston
Groom ’s Forrest
Gump, etc.)
And many successful writers are mixing POV’s, such as 3rd person
and 1st person (e.g. Nicholas Sparks’ The
Notebook, Julie Kenner’s
The
Givenchy Code, etc.) are you open to this? What are your thoughts
on mixing POV’s?
Dan: Any
agent who rejects a manuscript because of a random p.o.v.preference
is either far too overworked and looking
for an easy
excuse – or
just really successful and can afford to be maniacally
choosy.
I think
mixing pov’s is a fine way to mix things up; Warner recently
published WIDOW
OF THE SOUTH which uses this
technique quite effectively. But you have to be careful that it doesn’t
become confusing. If there are two (or more) first person voices in
the same novel, they
might start sounding too similar to each other.
The best way to judge this is give your manuscript to a reader you
trust; see if it works
for them, or if it’s confusing.
Shalla: It seems there’s a connection between what’s
big on TV or on the theatres and what gets
published.
Since sitcoms have recently been receiving
lower Nielsen ratings, do you see a trend
away from
comedy? What type
of humor is
selling with publishers right now? Dark
Comedy? Parody? Satire?
Dan: I’m not entirely sure that’s a valid assertion, actually.
The lead time for publishing is usually 12 – 18 months from signing
to publication, so what’s on TV now is no
indication of what will be popular or funny a year
or more
from now.
In general, humor is a thorn in any
agent’s side to sell, because
it requires you to fall head over heels – which I do, time and
again, since I love to laugh – and then it requires patience,
patience, patience. And I’m not very patient
at all. You have to find an editor who agrees with
your
brilliant
sense of humor,
and who can convince his/her editorial board
and publisher and sales and
marketing teams that your manuscript is,
yes, funny stuff.
Think of this way – how many of your friends absolutely adore
the awkward hilarity of “Curb
Your Enthusiasm”? How many
of them would rather watch nails slide down a chalkboard? Humor is a
very subjective experience and convincing a random group of smart people
that one kind of writing is “funny,” worth
buying and publishing, is a feat nothing
short of miraculous.
Shalla: For those of us polishing
our manuscripts, do you have
suggestions on how we can learn
to edit like the pros?
Should we read and know The
Element of Style cover to cover? Should
we memorize
the
dictionary?
Where/how do the best editors
learn to edit?
Dan: The best editors, I think,
bring a certain natural ability
to the table – a sharp eye for inconsistency, or a good head for
seeing the most dramatic potential of a scene that isn’t technically
there yet. Couple that with a good mentor (a boss, a colleague, whatever)
who teaches them how to not just identify that something doesn’t
feel right, but to articulate clearly what
is wrong. And hopefully suggest ways to fix the
problem.
You can edit
your own work as easily as you can cut
your own hair.
I
suggest you don’t try either. You can only work to find
readers whose feedback you trust – and take their advice to heart.
One of the best writing books I’ve ever read is Stephen
King’s
memoir “On
Writing.” It made me want to move to Starbucks,
strap on a Frappuccino iv, and begin my magnum opus… and I’m
not even a writer!
In terms of dotting your
I’s and crossing your T’s, most
people who read widely pick these rules up intuitively. I personally
made it about halfway through Elements of Style before I went back to
watching “The
Simpsons.” There may be agents out there who
will reject a manuscript because of the occasional error, but I’m
not one of them. A slew of typos is a turn off, true; makes me think
that writer hasn’t bothered to spend money
on a book since they learned how to read. But a
fabulous
voice overrides
a stray comma,
every time.
Shalla: Well, thanks
so much Dan, best to
you and Writers
House. For more on
Daniel Lazar and Writers House
www.writershouse.com
More
SHALLA CHATS
More to come!
Stay tuned :)
