Elaine Markson
Interview by Lisa Pinckard
The Elaine Markson Literary Agency, Inc., located in New York City, is a member of the Association of Author Representatives, Inc.. Markson personally represents a list of writers including Alice Hoffman, Billie Letts, Iris Rainer Dart, and biographer, Donald Spoto. Spoto dedicated his book, Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, to Elaine Markson.
LM: Elaine, how long have you been a literary agent, and do you find that your job gets easier or harder as time passes?
EM: 29 years. It gets harder because of the changes in publishing--it's now more corporate. But I still love it.
LM: You represent authors who write literary/adult novels. Do you find that many writers who send their work to your office in the hopes of achieving representation don't really understand the meaning of what market you represent? (And to clear up any confusion on the part of those reading the interview, what is your definition of literary/adult?)
EM: I represent a wide market--fiction (mostly literary fiction), non-fiction, pop culture and even a few children's writers. The misguided queries I most often receive are from screenwriters--I handle clients who write books first.
LM: Did you come right out of college knowing you wanted to be a literary agent, or did you have other goals at that time. (And if you did have other goals, what made you change your course of direction?)
EM: No, I worked in magazines and also did publicity. I married a literary author who pulled me closer to the agenting [sic] scene.
LM: What are the requirements for being a literary agent, and how do they change over time?
EM: Good reader (and a fast one) with good editing skills, the ability to sell and sell well, and the sociability to meet editors and writers and relate well to them.
LM: You represent such bestselling (and diverse) authors as Alice Hoffman (River King, Practical Magic, Turtle Moon), Billie Letts (Where the Heart Is), Iris Dart (Beaches), and Donald Spoto, biographer of such luminaries as Tennessee Williams and Laurence Olivier. Are there times when you think about this to yourself and realize you made it; that you had achieved your hard-earned dream?
EM: My answer--Yes, quite often. And there's always the possibility of a new discovery. Always.
LM: Are there several agents in your office who read incoming material? If so, should one of them come across a book they think has promise, what process is then followed? Do one or more agents read the book, or is there just a general meeting held in which books such as this are discussed?
EM: There are four of us who take on books and it's a singular process. No approval from others is required, just passion on your own.
LM: When a publishing house agrees to publish one of your authors, does the project leave your hands, or do you continue to keep a hand in once it's actually been published and has hit the shelves?
EM: You continue keeping a hand in re publicity, cover art, sales potential, even editing and certainly the publication process. It never really ends, not for a good agent.
LM: When do foreign rights come into play? Do you automatically discuss this when a book is going to be published, or does this issue only come up when a book sells well?
EM: We have a foreign rights director and co-agents in each country/language. The process begins at contract when we notify our foreign agents. Proposals for non-fiction are sent to them then and they get copies of finished manuscripts (particularly in the U.K., they prefer manuscripts rather than finished books).
LM: What about screenplays? If one of your authors is approached with the intention of acquiring the rights to their book in order to write a movie screenplay, do you encourage them to explore this avenue, or is something like this decided on a book-by-book basis?
EM: We work with film agents in Hollywood on each author and query them when a book is finished.
LM: Have you ever had a writer sell the rights for such a screenplay and then regret it later? If so, how do you handle such a situation?
EM: No. Most writers know it's a different process, totally unlike book publishing.
LM: On to a different subject. What is your opinion of the current surge in e-publishing? Do you personally see it continuing its rise? Falling? Staying fairly level?
EM: It's too early to tell, and frankly it bores me.
LM: Has e-publishing eased the flux of manuscripts that come into your office?
EM: No.
LM: As mentioned before, you market literary/adult authors. Did you choose this particular market because it's your personal favorite, or because it's just a good market in general to work with?
EM: I also do some y.a. (young adult) and picture books. And I do commercial adult titles as well.
LM: Is there another job out there somewhere that has always intrigued you? If someone told you tomorrow you could no longer be an agent, what job would it be that you would try next?
EM: Linguist who travels--extensively.
LM: Last question, Elaine. Do you get a rush when you come across a book or author that you feel deep inside will be really big?
EM: Big doesn't bring the rush. IMPORTANT definitely brings the rush.
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