A blog for Writers
Women and Adversity
Carly Watters, Literary agent
In the first post of my new blog: Women and Adversity, I featured New York Times bestselling author Kimberla Lawson Roby (www.kimroby.com). She answered questions I asked about overcoming obstacles to succeed as a writer in this competitive publishing world. I believe words of women who have succeeded will be inspirational for those aiming to get their stories and books in print.
Carly Watters, literary agent with P.S. Literary Agency, writes a popular blog (http://carlywatters.com/blog) giving writers advice on getting published. It is compiled in her ebook, “Getting Published in the 21st Century, Advice from a Literary Agent.” The book covers all aspects of the journey to publication and provides a valuable resource for aspiring writers.
The first question I asked Carly: What was the biggest obstacle you faced when you first began writing?
Answer: Starting out as an agent is like starting your own company. You need to acquire all your own clients and build all your own professional relationships with editors—whether you’re with an established agency or starting out on your own it’s all the same. It’s a lot of hard work, long hours, and little reward for years. You have to love books, love authors, and love advocating for their success.
I followed with: What was the biggest obstacle you had to face when you decided to write your book?
Answer: Writing my ebook How To Get Published in the 21st Century was a fun side project for me. My blog was picking up steam and won an award from Writer’s Digest in 2013 for one of the best blogs for writers to follow and I thought about making the posts more accessible to a wider audience. Immediately, the idea of a book came to mind: an ebook where all my best blog posts can easily be found and consumed. It’s on sale for $2.99 from Amazon and Smashwords.
Finally: What obstacle/s do you face now?
Answer: There are always obstacles for a literary agent. If you think writers get faced with rejection, agents do even more so. We get passes on all our clients’ work—even the ones that sell inevitably get a few passes. You have to have thick skin and confidence in your taste to make this a career. Luckily, I love it.
You can check out Carly’s Web site and blog at http://carlywatters.com and follow her on Twitter: @carlywatters
