March 13, 2018 Interview with Literary Agent Ben Grange of L. Perkins Agency

Before joining the L. Perkins Agency, Ben worked all over the publishing industry. He started out at a small publishing company in Salt Lake City and proceeded to do internships at three literary agencies before his most recent position as the assistant at JABberwocky Literary Agency. He decided he wanted to be an agent after his first internship, and is excited to start actively pursing clients.

His tastes gravitate towards middle grade fiction of all types, and is particularly on the lookout for exceptional author-illustrators who write middle grade or young adult. He has a penchant for young adult science fiction and fantasy, particularly weird or slightly dark stories (à la The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater). Thanks to his time at JABberwocky, he loves epic fantasy and science fiction, and although his focus is on middle grade and young adult, he won’t say no to a great fantasy or sci-fi. He is also interested in pop culture non-fiction for authors with established platforms.

Ben doesn’t represent picture books, women’s fiction, erotica, or non-fiction (other than specified above).

How to connect with Ben: Twitter 

How and why did you become an agent?

Oh, this is a long story. Short version: I wanted to work as a publishing professional from maybe age seventeen, though I had no idea what that meant. After doing a lot of internships from Salt Lake City to New York, and attending dozens of writers’ conferences, I decided I wanted to be an agent, thanks mostly to the influence of many of the agents I met during my education—Stephen Fraser and John Cusick being key figures. Agenting just seemed to fit my lifestyle goals, and so I went for it. I was fortunate enough to land a job as an assistant and build my way to being an agent in just a few years.

What’s your overall goal and vision as an agent?

My philosophy is to grow and build my career with my clients. I want to work with authors who are willing to put in the work that will turn them into powerhouse players, and not in terms of book sales, but the weight of their voice in the publishing conversation. OF course book sales are nice, and what allows us to continue our careers, but my goal overall is to always help my authors improve, even if they’ve seen success. I’m at the beginning of my career, and want to find authors to work with for decades.

What are you currently looking for?

Mostly middle grade. Middle grade fantasy, contemporary, sci-fi—those are my mainstays. I’m really open to any type of children’s lit, from some picture books, all the way up to YA. I’m not particularly on the lookout for picture books, but if one catches my eye, I’d be open to it.

What do you look for in mg and ya?

Voice. Voice is imperative, and something that adult authors find hard to capture while telling a story about young people. If the voice is off, it’s an automatic no. If the voice is spot on, it’s hard to say no.

What’s something you’re looking for and not getting that you would love to see in your slush pile?

I want a great middle grade fantasy series. Something like Fablehaven or Percy Jackson or (dare I say it) Harry Potter. However, please don’t tell me your book is like Harry Potter when you send it to me. That’s simply impossible.

Things you’re definitely not the right fit for?

If it’s for young people, it’s for me. Anything above that in terms of age range is pushing it. I’m open to an adult fantasy, but not really on the lookout for one of those just yet. Maybe in a year or two.

What would be your dream project? Dream big!

whispers I’m already working on my dream project. Keep your eyes open! Might take a few years to come out, but it’s coming.

What’s something you’ve sold that comes out soon that you’re excited about?

Like I said earlier, I’m at the beginning of my career, so I only have a few sales under my belt. My next book is coming out this fall, a book called SQUINT about a boy with keratoconus (rally bad eyes) who wants to be a comic book artist, and is working his tail off to create a comic (about a boy with eye powers) for a competition deadline. When a girl enters his life and challenges him to break out of his shell, things turn upside down, but it’s up to him to determine for better or worse.

Does your wish list depend on what you already represent, your current reading interests, the demands of the market, or a mixture?

Definitely a mixture of all those things.

Are you an editorial agent?

Absolutely! There’s hardly anything out there ready to see an editor right when it comes across my desk. I like to take a few months to develop my clients’ books with them before going on submission.

What’s a day in the life of literary agent Ben Grange like?

I wake up at 6:00 am every morning to write for myself. I try to hit between 500-1000 words before my wife gets up and starts getting ready for the day (she’s a production editor at HarperCollins, and is out the door at 7:45). I stay at home with our son, so my mornings after that are for taking care of him. After he goes to school, I read all my queries from the day before and respond to them (there is currently a backlog of queries from the last few months of 2017, but I still stay on top of current ones). After I take care of queries, I do all my other responsibilities—reading client work, submitting projects, negotiating with publishers, etc. After my son and wife come home, I try to limit my work, but I’m often working until midnight on some days.

What’s your ideal client like? Or what do you hope to see in a client? What makes a successful author-agent relationship? [Feel free to answer any one of these three questions]

My ideal client is a hard worker. Talent makes up for maybe ten percent of what we do. If you can work hard and know how to learn, you can become a good writer. I love seeing my clients learn from our back and forth editing sessions.

What are some ways, unique to you, in which you champion your clients?

I always brag about their accomplishments on Twitter and Facebook. We have an agency blog where we talk about releases, and put them up on our website. Trying to get them subsidiary deals. Things like that.

What sets a great manuscript apart from the rest of the crowd for you?

There’s not really one thing that sets a book apart from the rest. It’s a combination of things. Voice. Development. Strong characters. No plot holes, and well constructed story. Vivid setting.

You’ve said that you look for a strong voice. For you, what constitutes a strong voice?

Really, it comes down to how much development the authors have put into their work.

What’s something about you that you wish writers knew when querying you?

I wish they all knew how to use the internet. Look me up on my agency website, twitter, MSWL, Query Tracker—there are so many websites with my name that there are no reasons for anyone to misspell it. If I get a query addressed to “Mr. Perkins” or “Mr. Granger” or “Ms. Grange” I know automatically that these people have given maybe five seconds of thought into sending me a query.

What is your definition of diversity and what does diversity mean to you?

Diversity is a hot topic. I’m a white male, which makes me absolutely not an expert on this subject. However, I champion equality, and want to see authors from all backgrounds publish their work. I want the voices of those who have felt silenced to come to light. I want the impoverished to have opportunity. I want people of color to feel comfortable in the publishing industry, and we have a lot of work to do to make these things happen.

Do you receive many submissions from diverse authors?

Not sure. Some people I can tell, based on names and surnames, but there are diverse authors with stereotypically white names, and unless they mention that they’re PoC, I wouldn’t know. For example, I have a graphic novel author named Samuel Teer, and when I initially read his query, I had no idea he was Latinx. However, I would hope that diverse authors feel comfortable sending me their work, and know that I give it every consideration that I do for others.

What are some ways you feel literary agents can increase diversity in publishing?

Promote and follow groups such as @diversebooks (We Need Diverse Books) and @PoCPub (People of Color in Publishing). Promote diverse authors. Give diverse authors their time in the spotlight. Encourage people of color to participate in conferences, and work towards sending impoverished PoC to conferences. Setting up scholarships to these conferences meant specifically for diverse authors is a must.

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

I’ll be at LDStorymakers in May, and the Writer’s Digest conference in August.

Any final advice for writers seeking an agent?

Just keep trying! The rejected author who quits never gets an agent. The rejected author who keeps trying will eventually, if they keep working to improve.

Wildcard Round:

I saw you make video games? Can you tell us about that?

Sure. My brothers and I make video games in our (very limited) spare time. Our first game is available on Android and will hopefully come to iOS soon.

Favorite video game?

Currently, Breath of the Wild. All time? Possibly Link to the Past. What can I say? I’m a Zelda nerd.

What would you do in the event of a zombie apocalypse?

Go to Mars with Elon Musk.

If you could live in any fantasy world you desire (from television, film, literature), which would it be and why?

Harry Potter because of course.

Thanks for your time, Ben!

Absolutely!