Voices on Writing
Sunny San Diego Agent, Sally van Haitsma
by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Sally van Haitsma's route to becoming a literary agent was a circuitous one. She says: "As a teenager, I worked in the school library and read one or two novels a week for pleasure, mostly classics like Jane Eyre, The Return of the Native, and The Red and the Black. Novels such as The Centaur by John Updike also left a lasting impression. I earned my masters in communication at UC San Diego, considering a life in academia, but having worked in a law office during graduate school, I enjoyed the rough and tumble of the business world and decided to transition to publishing. I didn't know exactly how to pursue this goal, but I mentioned my quest to a friend, and voilá, I ended up at the San Diego Reader, one of the largest alternative weekly newspapers in the country. There I learned a lot about the intersection between the art of writing and the business of publishing. Then, in another kismet moment, I was introduced to Sandra Dijkstra, whom my husband knew through an arts and culture radio program he hosted on KPBS. I apprenticed at Sandy's agency and caught the bug to become a literary agent. The opportunity manifested when I met Julie Castiglia, also located in Del Mar, California. We hit it off and she offered me an amazing opportunity to learn first-hand the intricacies of the agenting world. I'm now heading into my seventh year at the Castiglia Literary Agency."

BDB: What do you represent?

SVH: I represent commercial and literary fiction, and a range of nonfiction, including memoir, popular culture, current affairs, and business. The best way to find out what I and the other agents in the office specifically represent is to check out our website: CastigliaLiteraryAgency.com, refer to our page at PublishersMarketplace.com, or our listing in the Jeff Herman guide.

BDB: Does that differ at all from what you're "thrilled" to see come in the door?

SVH: Not really. The types of projects I gravitate toward are those that I find personally intriguing. I subscribe to at least a half-dozen magazines, from Wired and The New Yorker to Vanity Fair and Esquire, and scan online news, business, and culture websites daily, so I feel like I have a pretty strong sense of what's going on in the world. One author I represent, Craig Brandon, has just finished writing a book entitled The Five-Year Party, which explores the current college tuition bubble and advises parents how to avoid third-tier party schools. Raul Ramos y Sanchez's thriller, America Libre, contemplates civil war breaking out in the Western United States over unresolved immigration issues, with a sequel forthcoming in 2010. Another work that particularly resonates during these times is The Leisure Seeker, by Michael Zadoorian, published in 2009, with a paperback out this February. Many of us are witnessing the challenges facing elderly parents and grandparents, so this bittersweet, romantic Route 66 road novel is a veritable Easy Rider for older people.

BDB: When you take on a client, do you use contracts or are you a handshake-type of agent?

SVH: Our agency has a one-page contract that our clients sign once they've accepted our offer of representation. It's very straightforward, and basically describes a business relationship based on mutual agreement.

BDB: What mistake do you see writers making over and over?

SVH: Their No. 1 mistake is querying our agency regarding the types of projects we don't represent. A close second is approaching us prematurely, when it's evident on the first page that their particular project needs a lot more work.

BDB: And what pleases you most that you see writers doing right?

SVH: A professional, well-organized presentation typically translates to the quality of the writing itself. If, through the query letter, I have a strong and evocative sense of a writer's particular project, I am more likely to ask to see their material if it fits within the type of work I'd typically represent. I love to be pleasantly surprised by a topic or theme that captures my imagination in one of those "aha" moments.

BDB: What should writers think about doing before they're published? In other words, what should authors do about establishing or building a platform?

SVH: Publishers are specifically interested in writers who have already established a large, potential audience for their work. Most authors don't write a column for The New York Times, regularly appear on The Daily Show, or head the psychiatric department at Johns Hopkins, however, so they have some serious work to do. A year or two before aspiring authors even contemplate being published, they need to think about professional/social networking, especially if they are writing nonfiction pertaining to a specific topic (for which they should have credentials). This can entail joining like-minded organizations and members-only websites that could potentially help promote their book down the road. The Internet has become the preeminent platform-building tool for authors, with a capacity for reaching out to millions of readers. Due to its expanding popularity and complexity, it's all the more essential to network strategically since you are competing with cute killer kitties and James Patterson. Author websites and their associated blogs have to be interesting and interactive to be effective. Besides having regularly updated, fresh material compelling people to return, an author website needs to link to larger sites to encourage traffic. Facebook has become a popular networking forum for authors, and an easy way to connect people to their website. By the time their book is released, they need to have an army of enthusiasts helping them promote it. If this all sounds intimidating, attending a workshop on social media at a local community college or writers' conference can be of great benefit. There's a lot of experimentation going on right now, so it's a bit like the Wild West.

BDB: As regards book tours, are publishers still doing many of these for authors?

SVH: Unless you are a celebrity, legacy, or best-selling author, the multi-city book tour is basically dead. Because the return on investment is so poor, most of the larger publishers will not pay for the associated travel costs of a full-blown book tour for new authors, though they will often support specific, targeted events that are likely to draw solid attendance and reviews. It's very helpful, though, for writers to coordinate bookstore events within their immediate vicinity, especially if they live in a metropolitan area where their book and event might get covered by a major newspaper—in print and online—and that coverage might get picked up by the Internet. The publisher's marketing team is out there competing with other newly released books for just a few slots of national media exposure. Therefore, authors need to be proactive and entrepreneurial as far as doing the footwork to secure signing and speaking events that can have a cumulative effect. And even though traditional book tours are on the wane, the good news is that much of the buzz over new books is happening online, where hundreds of book clubs and blogs are blossoming.

BDB: What do you read in your leisure time or for non-work pleasure? What's the latest book you loved?

SVH: I recently finished The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, which I absolutely loved. Many of the ramshackle mining towns she describes are places I'd seen on family road trips through the Arizona desert, so these scenes conjured some vivid childhood memories. I also have several books on my nightstand in various stages of reading, including Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos, and Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart. There are so many new books I want to read, but with my workload I just don't have much time.

BDB: Are you a hands-on agent? In other words, do you like getting involved with the book proposal or manuscript before submitting it, or do you hope the writer has perfected it?

SVH: Yes, I'm very hands-on, and work with my clients through the final polishing stages of their proposal and/or manuscript. My graduate school experiences in writing and critical thinking, as well as my legal background, serve me well in this regard, since I've years of editing experience with my own writing.

BDB: What are the advantages/disadvantages to being located in San Diego County?

SVH: There are successful literary agencies such as ours located all over the United States, and with the advent of rapid online communications, physical location is no longer a major factor in our business. Perhaps West Coast agents do have to work a little harder, and make more of an effort to get out there and network with editors, but during these challenging times in the publishing industry, our work ethic certainly has served us well. I'd also have to say that the spectacular San Diego weather puts us in a sunny mood, and we enjoy synchronicity from proximity to the culture/entertainment industry in Los Angeles.

BDB: Your thoughts on self-publishing or POD publishing?

SVH: I encourage authors to consider this route when they hit the wall pursuing a traditional path to publication. There have been many success stories where authors, who had written about topics that had been untested in the marketplace, were able to develop a significant readership for their self-published book and parlay this success into a deal with a major publisher. I represent several authors who originally self-published, and through entrepreneurial zeal, sold tens of thousands of copies on their own. I was able to place their books with major publishers, opening the doors to better distribution and reviews. It's critical, though, for authors contemplating self-publishing that their work be professionally edited; preferably by a freelance editor with first-hand experience in the publishing industry.

BDB: How important is chemistry between you and an author, and should this be important, from an author's POV?

SVH: Especially if an author is in the lucky position of choosing between agents offering representation, then chemistry certainly should be a factor in their decision. All reputable literary agents will perform similar work on behalf of their clients. So with this in mind, an author should gauge whether their personality meshes well with the agent's. An author/agent relationship is often compared to a marriage, with similar dynamics. We share in your joys, but along the way difficult decisions must often be made. Therefore, there should be mutual respect, trust, and goals. Equally important is determining a compatible level of communication. If an author expects to hear back from his or her agent within the day or week, and months go by without a peep, then there's a problem. The No. 1 complaint I hear from authors who currently have representation is "a failure to communicate."

BDB: What makes love fade between you and a client?

SVH: This is a tough question—every author is dealing with a different set of circumstances with regard to a particular work. Generally speaking, perhaps the hardest obstacle to overcome is unrealistic author expectations. It's easy to be influenced by media hype, and assume a similar outcome, such as an overnight best-seller. We all want our clients to thrive and succeed, but we also need our clients to be clear-eyed and adaptable to a quickly changing publishing environment.

BDB: And any hopeful, encouraging words for authors?

SVH: Don't just obsess about your writing; allow plenty of time to read both classic and contemporary books. Get out there and explore the world; follow your instincts and passions. Often, there's no substitute for genuine experience. I know it's a cliché, but some of the best books I read come from authors who "write what they know." And don't try to second-guess what readers want. If you do the hard work of perfecting your craft, and stay true to yourself, your writing will find its voice. Despite all the challenges, there's plenty of room at the table for a remarkably written book. We are looking for you!

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett is editor of The ASJA Monthly and author of the award-winning best-seller, Pen on Fire (Harcourt, 2004). She hosts Writers on Writing on KUCI-FM, which you can now access on your iPhone and that podcasts at http://penonfire.blogspot.com