Into The Mind of a Literary Agent
Suite 101 Chats to Literary Agent Eve White About Memoirs
Jun 30, 2008 Dulcinea Norton-Smith
Eve White is a literary agent based in the United Kingdom. She deals with publishers all over the world.
Suite 101: How did you first become a literary agent?
As a TV soap actress, I represented several charities. Someone with whom I was working on a charity event, asked me to read his children’s novel. I told him the next day that I’d been unable to put it down and he asked me whether I’d consider being his agent. I was looking for a career change and it happened at just the right time. I got him two trilogies published with Hodder and realised that I loved the work and the world of books and five years later I’m still having a great time.
Suite 101: What has been your proudest moment as an agent?
I was thrilled when Andy Stanton won The Red House Children’s Book Award, voted for by 180,000 children in the UK, for his debut, You’re a Bad Man Mr Gum! When he came to me with this book he’d been turned down by several agents. I read his sample and knew instantly that this author was a genius. We now have the wonderful recipe of Andy, the fabulous Egmont Press and illustrator, David Tazzyman, to create what will be a series of eight books. It is already published in seventeen languages and Andy is now co-writing the TV series in America for Nickelodeon. He said to me a few weeks ago, ‘This is all I ever wanted to be doing.’ Helping to bring that together gives me immense satisfaction.
Suite 101: When submitting a manuscript to a literary agent what key pieces of advice do writers need to keep in mind?
What you need for this process is patience. Agents who accept submissions are absolutely inundated – we get 300 every month. This takes a lot of administration and a lot of time. Detail your successes neatly and concisely in a covering letter (we already have too much to read!). Apart from a brief description, there is no need to ‘sell’ your book to us, as the sample will speak for itself.
Suite 101: Have you ever considered writing an autobiography?
Never!
Suite 101: Do you think that the current trend for memoirs is coming to an end?
No; it is still a thriving market. There are lot of books out there, however, and they can’t all be best sellers. For years, Harper Collins have had great success with their memoirs and they are still going strong. In November this year they publish my client, Charlie Mitchell’s, Please Don’t Hurt Me Dad.
Suite 101: Which do you prefer to read; memoirs, biographies or autobiographies?
Autobiographies.
Suite 101: Which memoir, biography or autobiography do you wish you had represented?
It was way before my time, but Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was truly inspirational. She had an unhappy childhood, but her determination to perform music, changed her life. I have two clients who have written memoirs on a similar theme. In radio presenter, Rae Earl’s, hilarious My Fat, Mad Teenage Diary (Hodder), music is the one passion in a very difficult year of her life. In an as yet untitled memoir, cystic fibrosis sufferer, Alex Stobbs (star of Channel 4 documentary A Boy Called Alex), writes about his challenge to conduct a professional choir and orchestra in The Bach Magnificat, as he moves from school to university. This will be published by Hodder next summer.
Which do you enjoy most; reading a great published book cover to cover or discovering an unexpected gem of a submission?
Of course I absolutely love lying on the beach with a good novel, but there’s nothing like the excitement of discovering a gem.
With thanks to Eve White. For more information about the Eve White Literary Agency or the authors they represent visit their website.
Eve White - 'We have a lot to read!'
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Alex Stobbs - 'A Boy Called Alex'
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Mr Gum and the Power Crystals (Book 4)
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Andy Stanton receiving The Red House Book Award
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My Fat, Mad Teenage Diary by Rae Earl
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