March 29, 2018 Interview with BookEnds Owner & President, Jessica Faust

As owner and President at BookEnds Literary Agency, Jessica Faust takes great joy in helping both her clients/authors and her agents achieve their dreams. In the nearly 20 years since opening BookEnds, Jessica has worked with a number of bestselling and award-winning authors. She has represented authors writing mystery, suspense, thrillers, women’s fiction, romance, and young adult. In nonfiction, her focus has been primarily on business, entrepreneurship, career, personal growth, current affairs, parenting, and self-help. Specifics on what she’s currently looking to add to her list can be found on the submissions page of the BookEnds Website www.bookendsliterary.com

Jessica began her career in 1994 as an acquisitions editor at Berkley Publishing, Macmillan, and Wiley. She has maintained a blog for roughly ten years (there was a brief hiatus in there), been a regular columnist with Romantic Times magazine, taught at New York University’s Continuing Education Program, been recognized as Agent of the Year by the NYC Romance Writers of America, and is asked regularly to speak at writers’ conferences throughout the world. She is a member of RWA, MWA, SCBWI, ITW, and AAR.

A native of Minnesota, Jessica now lives in New Jersey. Her personal interests include cooking, entertaining, reading, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Connect with Jessica:

Blog/Website: http://bookendsliterary.com

Twitter: twitter.com/BookEndsJessica

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookends_literary/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BookEndsLiterary/

Email: Jfaust@bookendsliterary.com

Why and/or how did you become an agent?

The decision to go out on my own was made during a long subway ride between Manhattan and Brooklyn. I had been working as an editor for The Complete Idiot’s Guide series for close to a year and I was becoming bored. I mean, essentially I was working on the same book over and over and over. I wanted more. I also had the epiphany that I could do the exact same job on my own time and for myself. BookEnds was born.

Originally we started out as packagers which means we found authors to write books for other people (publishers), but quickly we became disenchanted with that and realized that we missed fiction, and authors, and the ideas authors bring. In other words, I still wanted more. So about a year after opening our doors as a packager we converted our brand to agency.

I think one of the biggest whys to becoming an agent was I wanted freedom. I wanted the freedom to work in my own space (and not commute) and the freedom to make my own decisions. Mostly though, I wanted the freedom to do whatever books spoke to me and excited me. Working for a publisher means you are working within the confines of what that publisher does (romance, nonfiction, business books, or mysteries). As an agent I can work on a thriller one day, women’s fiction the next, and a business book on Friday.

What’s a day in the life of literary agent Jessica Faust like?

I’m an early riser. I love being awake and moving before anyone else in the world. My alarm goes off at 4:30 (I think technically 4:27am). I meditate, write in my gratitude journal and listen to podcasts while I drink my bulletproof coffee. By 5:30 I’m making my way to the office to check on Query Manager (the database we use to manage all of our queries and submissions), sort email, check Slack, and ready my day.

Around 7 or 7:30am I head back home to get breakfast, touch base with my family, and finish up some last minute home chores.

Then I’m back in the office by 8:30 or so and how my day goes from there really depends on what’s going on. I could spend my morning editing or revising a manuscript, I could spend it reviewing my goals or my clients’ goals. I check in with my team on Slack and assist them in achieving their goals or answering any questions they have. My afternoons are often spent doing “CEO” work—banking, royalty reviews, contract reviews, coaching my team, and talking with clients. I’ll also often have lunch meetings with editors, our weekly BookEnds meeting, I might write a blog post or two, and I spend some time on email or the phone.

My office day usually ends around 4:30 or 5. I finish up by making my way into the gym for a mind-clearing workout.

Congratulations on the recent launch of BookEnds Jr.! You’ve said that it has long been a dream of yours to open a children’s division at BookEnds, so what is it about children’s literature that you love (or love most)?

Thank you. This is a really exciting time for BookEnds and for me.

Children’s literature is about discovery and exploration, and joy. It’s because of books and characters like Laura Ingalls Wilder, Anne of Green Gables, Jo March, Betsy, Tacy, & Tib, and Meg from A Wrinkle in Time that I am who I am and I am where I am. If you look carefully you’ll notice that most of my favorite fictional characters grew up to become writers. All of these girls were strong-willed and determined. They traveled and followed their dreams. They inspired me and encouraged me. They still do. Books open the doors to new worlds, they allow us to dream, and they make us better people and all of that that starts in childhood.

I have also always loved art. I grew up surrounded by artists and the walls of our home were decorated with their works. My own home is the same, my walls are filled with the art of friends. Children’s picture books aren’t just wonderful stories, but they are also an art form. If you are a child who doesn’t quite connect with the words, or isn’t a reader, you have the art to open the world to you.

I want everyone to feel the magic of books the way I have. Books have defined me and that’s all because I read and was read to as a child. So if I want people to read the books I’m falling in love with now (mostly for adults), I need to have a way to give them books when they are children. BookEnds, Jr. is already doing that. I am so thrilled with the books and illustrators we are working with and as time goes on I expect my office walls to not just be filled with the covers of the bestsellers I have represented, but also the art of the illustrators I’m thrilled to have on our list.

How long has BookEnds Jr. been in the works?

We started planning the logo and website about a year ago, but I think BookEnds, Jr. has been slowly in the works since we first started representing YA about five or more years ago. Things really went into high gear when I hired Tracy Marchini to come on board in 2016. Tracy was the first full-time BookEnds children’s agent and rocketed us into the picture book world. She also represents middle grade and YA. Since then our foray into children’s book has exploded. Nearly all of our agents represent YA and we have four agents representing middle grade and picture books (including illustrators).

How many people are part of the BookEnds team?

There are ten full-time agents at BookEnds, including me, as well as a full-time assistant and Buford the office dog (who does not represent books and, in fact has been known to  eat them). We also have a team of support people who are often the lifeline of BookEnds. They help us manage contract negotiations, website development, royalty tracking, and sub rights.

Do any of the BookEnds agents work together out of an office?

For the most part we all work independently in our own spaces. However, thanks to apps like Slack we are in constant communication. So although we aren’t physically in the same space, we communicate and work as if we were.

What are some of your goals for BookEnds Jr.? Overall vision?

To become a leading agency for picture books, middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction. I really want to see BookEnds, Jr. lead the way in own voices and diverse books, in finding the books that marginalized children need to see and need to see more of. I’d like us to be a leading force in changing publishing and, frankly, if you look at our list I think you’ll see that we are doing exactly that.

Imagine we’re five or ten years into the future. BookEnds Jr. is going very strong. Tell us what BookEnds Jr. as a whole has accomplished these past five to ten years that it’s most proud of. Go big!

New York Times bestsellers (especially with diverse books), Newberrys, Caldecotts, top reviews, top sales and, of course, being the name of children’s publishing—the agency authors and illustrators automatically turn to and want to be with, and that publishers can’t say no to.

Can you roughly break down the ratio of children’s literature (pb, mg, and ya) that Bookends Jr. currently represents?

I don’t have numbers and, to be honest, we are growing so fast that those change daily, but right now I can tell you that our YA and PB lists are fairly comparable in size. MG is a little smaller because the voice has to be spot-in. However, I know our agents are actively looking to grow MG to the same size as our YA and PB lists.

Is there anything in particular you’re especially hoping BookEnds Jr. will represent, or represent more of?

I would like to see both BookEnds, Jr. and BookEnds be leaders in the movement for more diverse books and own voices authors, something all of our agents are striving for. Ultimately though, I leave the particulars to my team. They are all incredibly talented and have their own tastes and interests and I just love to see what each of them brings to the table each week.

What type or authors and illustrators do you hope to attract to BookEnds Jr.?

Good ones! lol. Each agent has her own personal passions and interests. It’s one of the great things about having a team. I want each of them to bring the authors and illustrators they connect to which gives us a wonderful range of talent and ideas.

How does BookEnds as a whole champion its clients?

We see our clients as an extension of the BookEnds team. Their successes are ours as our their struggles. From the beginning we work with the author to perfect the manuscript and make it as rejection-proof as possible. We work together as a team to build a submission list to get each project in the hands of not just any editor, but the best fit and when it comes to negotiations we work our hardest to get the author the very best deal possible. And it doesn’t stop there. Throughout the author’s career we will watch carefully and advise on next steps and career decisions. Is it time for option material, should we start thinking about a change in course? We work with the publisher on covers and cover copy and will advise the author on social media decisions as well as marketing plans. In other words, we keep our hands and fingers in every step of the author’s career, because the career is our goal. We want to build the author from that first book on and I think that’s been proven by the fact that many of our clients have written and sold close to or more than 20 books in less than 20 years in business.

Your agency is very active on social media. So, what are your thoughts on social media presence for authors and illustrators?

I think it’s important for all authors and illustrators to find the medium that works best for them, and not to wait until you have a contract in hand. Social media isn’t going away and it is and will be a critical marketing tool for authors once they become published, but learning how to use that tool well before you need to is important and that doesn’t mean just hawking your book every three hours, it means using it to really connect with readers on a personal level so that when the book comes out they want to buy it without you needing to jam it down their throats.

Does your agency receive many manuscripts from diverse authors?

We do, but not enough. There are so many areas we’ve broken into in terms of authors and sales, but there are so many more left untapped. I am thrilled to say though that the number of submissions from diverse authors is increasing daily and it’s exciting for me, and for all of us.

What diverse groups do you feel are especially underrepresented within the industry? As characters within novels?

I’m not sure there’s any group who has yet to be represented enough well, except for a white male. So is there a diverse group that’s the most underrepresented? No, we could use more diverse characters and stories from all groups and in all areas of publishing. I mean if I try to think of the LGBTQ community I can’t think of enough books with transgender or LGBTQ leading characters. If I think about the Muslim community there aren’t enough stories. Heck, I’m not even sure there are enough women, but certainly there aren’t enough Black women. I think if we want to make real change and really represent diverse groups we have to just keep buying and representing as many books with diverse characters as we can. Sadly, I don’t think we are at the point where we can say that any one group is well represented, or represented enough.

What do you perceive to be some of the greatest challenges to diversity faced within the industry?

The first thing that comes to mind is implicit bias. We see how it impacts books in every segment of the publishing process, from finding agents, to selling the book to publishers, to getting the books into bookstores.

I’ve seen cringe-worthy rejections in which editors didn’t feel a character was “diverse enough,” as if there was a certain way to be Latino, Jewish, Black or a woman. I see expectations of characters that closely align with the way we expect people to behave. I see male characters getting away with more unlikable and tough behavior while female characters are expected to be more “likable”. I see book covers called unmarketable when the only thing truly different between that book and the competition is the color of the character’s skin.

The real struggle to building more diversity in publishing starts with building our business from the ground up, with authors and the team they will one day work with (editors, agents, publicity, sales, and everyone else). We need to build more opportunities for all authors to attend conferences, obtain internships and jobs in publishing, and generally learn and master the craft of writing. The more diverse we make publishing and the more we support everyone, the more rejection-proof we make diverse books.

How does BookEnds and BookEnds Jr. approach and encourage diversity?

All BookEnds agents have a passion for building a more diverse list and we are living… But in addition to taking on authors from diverse groups and selling them to publishers we are speaking out when we have concerns about decisions publishers might be making.

When it comes to diversity, what would you like to see more of in children’s literature?

Everything. As I said above, I don’t think we can have enough diversity. That being said, I would really like if publishers and editors (and agents) would push for own voices as much as possible with both the writing and the illustrations.

Any advice for authors regarding crafting diverse characters? Pitfalls to avoid?

I think this goes back to the oldest advice in publishing, “write what you know,” and if you are writing outside of your own experience I think it’s important to find a sensitivity reader who can help you identify situations and experiences that you might not be getting quite right.

Pitfalls to avoid for anything falling under the umbrella of children’s literature?

I would defer to my children’s team on this one.

Are there any upcoming conferences or twitter events you’ll be participating in?

I’m attending Thrillerfest in NYC in July, the Alaska Writers Conference in September, and Bouchercon in Florida in September. I often pop into various Twitter events as they are happening, as does most of the BookEnds team, but I don’t plan them ahead of time.

Final advice for writers and/or illustrators?

You do you. The most successful writers stop looking at what everyone else is doing and instead hone and perfect what they do best. They push the limits of the genre they write in and create products that are uniquely them.

Wildcard Questions:

If you could spend a day with any person, living or dead, who would it be?

My grandmother. I lost her eight years ago and I miss her every day. She was and still is a guiding light in my life.

If you had a magic wand that could change anything in the world, what’s the one thing you would change? 

Inequality. I believe it starts with our children and I would like all children to have access to the exact same education, three healthy meals a day, and a future where they truly believe they can do and be anything.

What’s your spirit animal and why?

I’m not sure I’ve made that identification yet.

If you could have any career (outside of publishing), what would it be and why?

A serial entrepreneur. I love growing and building this business.

Thanks for your time, Ms. Faust!

Below is the #MSWL for each agent of the BookEnds Jr. team!

Rachel Brooks:

-YA manuscripts by authors of color and LGBTQIA authors (although this applies to adult projects too).

-YA rom-com in the vein of WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI. Would love to find a F/F one. Must have a happy ending, and more layers to it than solely the romance (like in WDMR). No cheating or characters outing other characters, please.

-YA contemporary friendship story, where a close-knit group of friends is the focus and driving force of the story.

-YA in which the protagonist drives the bookmobile to the rural towns in their area. Not the hook of the story, but an element and their passion!

Tracy Marchini:

Tracy represents fiction, non-fiction and illustration for children and teens. She loves picture books that are deliciously dark or hysterically clever. In middle grade, she loves stories of friendship and family – be they contemporary, historical, or magical realism. She’s also looking for a great middle grade mystery series. She likes her YA a bit grittier, though would also be up for a good road trip beach read. In non-fiction, she’s looking for unsung heroes and heroines of history (especially women in STEAM), and little known events that changed the world. In all genres, she’d love to see more own voices and welcomes work from authors/illustrators that are neurodivergent, LGBT+, of color and/or otherwise underrepresented. (Intersectional work always welcome.) A recent round up of what she’s looking for can be found here: http://bookendsliterary.com/2018/03/15/tracy-marchinis-mswl-madness/ (edited)

Beth Campbell:

I am looking for YA of all genres but am most excited for contemporary stories with strong hooks–STEM related hooks are always a win–and a touch of magical realism, near-future sci-fi, and alternate world fantasy. Diverse character are very important to me in YA, and I want true diversity of multiple types, not tokenism. I want to see a wilderness survival story featuring a small, isolated cast. I want a sci-fi set in space with the narrative tone and suspense of The 5th Wave. I want anything and everything you can realistically comp with Tamora Pierce or Scott Westerfeld.

Natascha Morris: 

My #MSWL brief list:

-YA Contemporary Professional Mermaids

-YA graphic novel

-First gen experience and dealing with being caught between 2 cultures

-PBs that feature diversity but are fun, ala HARRIET GETS CARRIED AWAY.

Kim Lionetti:

Kim is actively looking for new voices in YA fiction.  She’d love to find suspense along the lines of Karen M. McManus’s One of Us Is Lying.  She’s also desperate to find more #ownvoices authors, especially those that are neurodiverse or differently abled.  While Kim doesn’t represent as much fantasy as some of the other BookEnds agents, she’d love to add some to her list and gravitates toward worlds that are dark and gritty.  She is also obsessed with morally ambiguous, tortured characters.

Naomi Davis: 

I am seeking Young Adult fiction that explores the world in a way that resonates with today’s youth. I’m looking for settings and stories that resonate with today’s youth, and I’ll consider contemporary, fantasy, and science fiction stories for that age range, with technology and dialogue in those stories that matches today’s youth and their interests.

I am not looking for YA stories based on elements of suicide or suicidal ideation at this time. I do want to see YA stories that embrace diversity across races, religions, and gender and sexuality spectrums, done in an authentic and immersed way that really matters to the character. Coming out stories are absolutely welcome, but they are not the only LGBTQ+ stories I’d like to see in YA.

I’m also looking for Middle Grade fiction that represents diversity the way today’s adults wish they’d seen in the fiction of their youth. In middle grade, magical elements are always a plus but I really want to see sharp new representations of diversity in middle grade fiction. All kids deserve characters they can relate to. Children learn kindness through understanding, and they can grow to understand people who are different from them through fiction.

I would love to consider diverse picture books, including stories that show life in a family on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. I’m also a big fan of picture books that show families connecting over food, and clever word play is always a plus.

Moe Ferrara: MG/YA:

I am still forever looking for my lyrical Middle Grade that’s reminiscent of Coraline. Gorgeous, evocative writing, dark, magical realism. Give it to me.

– A MG book with a boy having his first crush on another boy a la the In A Heartbeat short film.

– YA Light Horror that’s in a similar vein as the Twilight Zone or the 90s Christopher Pike books. (If you can comp your book to THE MIDNIGHT CLUB I will flail.) In a similar vein, I’d love something with great Hitchcockian suspense a la Rear Window.

– I think we can all agree The Breakfast Club is probably one of the greatest 80s films ever. I’d kill to have a YA with that feel set in a space. Or some fantasy locale. I’m not picky.

– I am always looking for re-tellings! The one atop my wishlist: COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, especially if done as a contemporary YA!

– I want a heist novel a la Oceans Eleven (or Eight, I’m not picky) or Leverage as a YA contemporary (really no SciFi/Fantasy here).