interview by Aggie Villanueva

I first encountered Laurie Alice Eakes at several blog sites where she shared her experiences with agents, an issue all writers grapple with.  I knew this was information my readers would want to know.

But as I researched more into Ms. Eakes career, I discovered a woman passionate about her causes, her writing and helping other writers. I discovered a romance writer whose is not blinded by romantic notions, but shares some cold facts she was forced to learn and we all need in order to endure in a search for an agent.

From Texas, Laurie Alice Eakes has traveled internationally to study history, culture, and languages of other nations.

She began writing at the age of ten, taught high school English, and freelanced her short stories and poetry. As a technical writer she received a contract for, Virginia Wine, a Tasteful Guide, a non-fiction work on the history and current state of the Virginia wine industry.

A graduate of the Seton Hill University with a Master of Arts degree in Writing Popular Fiction, she is an experienced speaker, making presentations at local and national Romance Writers of America conferences, as well as universities, schools, and libraries.

Ms. Eakes first hardcover was a 2006 Regency historical from Avalon Books and won the National Readers Choice Award for Best Regency (read an excerpt here), as well as being a finalist for Best First Book.

Next came a book of essays in Scripture to Live by: True Stories and Spiritual Lessons Inspired by the Word of God, Adams Media 2007, and Cup of Comfort for Dog Lovers: Stories That Celebrate Love, Loyalty, and Companionship, published by Adams Media 2007, followed closely by Better Than Gold published by Barbour Publishing, Inc 2008. This year Laurie’s career skyrocketed with the sale of 11 books in nine months.

Ms. Eakes is also blind.

Aggie: Laurie, thank you so much for sharing your time and knowledge with us. You say, “A bad agent is worse than no agent.” What brought you to that conclusion? Please share your story with us.

LAURIE: It’s a long and involved story. To make it simple, I jumped at the first agent opportunity I had back in the mid ‘90s, and she not only did nothing to advance my career, she sent nothing out after the first year. Then, when I didn’t sell, she demolished my self-confidence by telling me I couldn’t write. I didn’t for many years. I didn’t even grow as a writer or stay involved with writers’ organizations. I withdrew from something I loved.

For the detailed story, the story that birthed this interview, see BookingIt posts Author Laurie Alice Eakes on having the Right Agent, Part 1, and Author Laurie Alice Eakes on having the Right Agent, Part 2

Aggie: I think all writers can relate to the heartbreak of those harsh words from your first agent. And you’ve shared how hearing something so cold was devastating. How did you react? And what brought about your re-determination to write?

LAURIE: I shared a bit of this above and will reiterate how the agent’s negative comments devastated my confidence to the point I could finish nothing and even stopped writing altogether. But I kept remembering how Jo Beverley said in a talk she was giving once that if you can stop writing then you should. I couldn’t stop writing. It kept bugging me. Stories kept nagging at my brain, and I still had writer friends who loved my stuff and kept encouraging me to get into the work again and submit.

Aggie: I love what Jo Beverley said. I’ve always told people I write because I can’t NOT write. You’ve been writing for a long time now. What is the most inspirational thing you ever heard to help you keep on track in your career?

LAURIE: Max Allan Collins told me in a workshop once that I had a strong voice. I was fairly clueless what he meant at that time, but I thought it was good and clung to that compliment. Surely if my voice was strong, it would prevail in a tough world.

Aggie: Mr. Allen was certainly right. You’ve proven your voice will prevail in a tough world. You’ve said that when you met with your New York agent the first time the two of you didn’t click. How important is it that you personally click with your agent?

LAURIE: I don’t think you need to be best friends; however, I think you need to like, respect, and trust one another. My situation with this agent was unique in that she was totally freaked by my guide dog—she didn’t like dogs—and my visual impairment.

Aggie: I can’t imagine not loving a dog, but I’m definitely a dog lover. Personality-wise, then, it’s important to find a fit. When most of our contact is through emails, and we may never meet in person, how is that possible?

LAURIE: Interestingly, with e-mail, connecting with your agent’s personality may mean even less than when you meet over the phone or in person. As long as they are polite and doing their job, personality doesn’t matter, unless you want an agent who is encouraging and a little hand-holding type, and that can be done through e-mail, too.

Aggie: Where should we go to find a qualified agent that fits us? Do you recommend certain agencies or sites?

LAURIE: The Association of Authors Representatives has a site, I do believe; Predators and Editors has caveats about agents; and joining a professional organization like Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, American Christian Fiction Writers, etc. is a great way to get data on agents.

Aggie: You said you didn’t ask the right questions of your first agent. What questions should we ask?

LAURIE: What they represent; what they expect to do for a writer—just sell or help career build; to which publishers do they sell most often; what do they like or dislike. If an agent doesn’t like a genre, she isn’t going to do a good job of selling it. Ask her what authors she likes.

Aggie: You found that your New York agent simply didn’t submit your work, even to editors you’d made contact with. How do we check up on our agent? And how do we do that without insulting them?

LAURIE: Honesty with tact and courtesy. And you have to trust. I never doubted my current agent would submit where she said, and asking for a monthly update is not unreasonable. If she thinks it is, wonder.

That’s another question to ask: “How often do you update your author or even make contact?” If I don’t hear from my agent within 24 hours, I grow concerned that she didn’t receive my e-mail or is sick or something. I usually give her 48 now because she’s gotten even busier than before, but after that, I follow-up. That is not unprofessional or rude or untrusting; it’s good business sense. I did that in the corporate world, too, so why not in the publishing business?

Aggie: Everywhere, writers talk about the need to get an agent. Agents seem to be a necessity. In your experience, is it vital to have one to get published by a traditional publishing house?

LAURIE: Nowadays, yes, with the exception of the category romance houses like Harlequin and Heartsong Presents by Barbour Publishing. Even there, wait times and contract negotiations can go more smoothly than without an agent, and often they will give an agent a more honest and thorough rejection letter than they will the sole author. With the bigger mainstream publishers, getting one’s work read is getting harder and harder without an agent. Most won’t touch your work without it being represented first.

Aggie: In recent years with the advent of self-publishing and print-on-demand, the stage has shifted somewhat. Could you define, in your opinion, the role an agent plays today? And how is that different from their role five years ago?

LAURIE: As with too many things, I have strong opinions about self publishing. An agent is completely unnecessary for that. E-publishing never used to require an agent, but I think that tide is changing with Amazon and Barnes and Noble getting into e-books in a huge way. Agents are professionals trained on how to read, interpret, and negotiate contracts. Most of the rest of us aren’t. I wouldn’t sign a contract now without my agent going over it first.

Aggie: What is the difference between e-publishing and print-on-demand or self-publishing?

LAURIE: With e-publishing and print-on-demand, if the house is a nonsubsidy house, the difference is format and, frankly, income. Few e-books publishers earn per book what a traditional house pays, and they don’t pay advances as a rule, but that is changing. Self-publishing is vanity press work and, unless you have a strong platform in your subject, I don’t think it’s a terribly wise choice for fiction writers. It’s expensive, the editing is rarely the quality a more traditional book gets, and the distribution channels aren’t there. My personal attitude is that if it’s not good enough for someone to pay me for the book, it shouldn’t be in the marketplace. It’s different for nonfiction.

Aggie: You published some books as e-books. What do you think is the role of the e-book in publishing?

LAURIE: I did publish some of my early books in the e-book market. Neither of the publishers is still in business, and one was not a pleasant experience, but Kathryn and Dick of Awe-Struck helped rebuild my confidence. They were encouraging and complimentary and all around great people with whom I am still in touch. They got me thinking about starting to write again. I am, however, glad those books are no longer available. They were secular and not what I want attached to my name now. They were also not as professional as I think my books are now.

That said, the e-book market has changed a great deal in ten years. It is a growing and vital part of the market. When I see women my mom’s age saying they want an e-book reader, I know the tide is changing. I very much hope all my books will end up as e-books one day, on Barnes and Noble and Amazon. E-books are not to be pushed aside as less important any longer, and I applaud writers organizations like Romance Writers of Ameica and American Christian Fiction Writers for beginning to recognize the nonsubsidy e-book market, too.

Aggie: Do you think agents approach publishing differently in the field of romance writing, or do they tend to work similarly across the field?

LAURIE: I don’t feel qualified to answer that, as I have only sold in romance, but I think they act pretty much the same across the field. My agent seems to with her nonfiction clients.

Aggie: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers that I haven’t touched on?

LAURIE: If you feel that writing is your calling, your vocation, your gift, then take it seriously; treat it like a second job and a priority. When I did that, I started selling. Set goals and deadlines and keep them.

And celebrate accomplishments along the way. If you love a pedicure, treat yourself to one after you finish a specified goal, for example. Don’t read your e-mail or favorite blogs or Facebook until you’ve reached a specified goal. That gives you something toward which to work. But if you want to be a writer, then you need to write and finish, and keep writing and finishing.

Aggie: Laurie, I can’t thank you enough for the information and inspiration you’ve shared so freely with us. I’ve enjoyed this time with you more than I can express.

Learn more about Laurie

Laurie’s Website

Seize the Chance blog

Laurie at LinkedIn

Laurie at Facebook