Two women spies expose the betrayal of Churchill's secret mission to stop Hitler from producing the first atomic bomb. This suspense novel is based on true events.

Bonnie Toews proves herself a master of surprises for readers trying to guess the outcome of this brilliant novel.
--Sharon Galligar Chance, BookBrowser
Five Stars

"Treason & Triumph" by gifted storyteller Bonnie Toews is an amazing war time tale of patriotism, espionage, strength and courage.
--Victoria Taylor Murray, author of "Thief of Hearts"
Five Stars

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• All subsidiary rights and publishing queries should be forwarded to:

Jeanette A. Lundgren
Book-to-Screen-Management
710 Wilshire Blvd., Suite #305
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone #: 310-917-5070
Fax #: 310-917-5080
Email:jlundgren@book-to-screen-management.com
Website: http://www.book-to-screen-management.com

Interview with Jeanette A. Lundren - Agent
Written by Shirley Johnson of Midwest Book Reviews

Contact information: Jeanette A. Lundgren 
Manager/Director of Book-To-Screen-Management 
710 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite #305 Santa Monica, CA 90401 
Phone #: 310-917-5070 Fax #: 310-917-5080 
Email: jlundgren@book-to-screen-management.com 
Website: http://www.book-to-screen-management.com

I chose to do this interview with Jeanette because she is an agent that I feel works for the benefit of authors and I would like her information known. Thank you, Jeanette, for allowing me this opportunity. Let's begin.

Q: Would you please tell us exactly what your job description is?

A: Job description: editor, proofreader, copyeditor, manager for film rights, coach, master of the pep-talk, friend, agent for North America with a full line-up of British and foreign sub-agents. I think I do it all from soup to nuts and then some. I can recognize a good story when I see one, even if the book needs editing to get it to its best form before submission. I read, edit and proofread a book all at the same time, get it to a place where I feel it can be submitted for North American publication as well as getting the author to do a synopsis for film submission via my film agent, and create a PDF file from the ms. for British and Foreign submission at the same time as it's on North American submission. I also work with several US and foreign publishers and 7 east coast agents, to pitch their film rights. Even though my last job was as rights director for a children's publisher, I prefer to be less involved with kids books except on the film rights level; and more involved with adult thriller and other adult titles on all levels. With the kids titles, I do represent a few hand-chosen ones that I feel will work in the various markets, but as an agent I really do prefer a good adult thriller of any kind any day of the week. However, this does not mean that if I discover an author who writes Young Adult novels who writes excellent stories in a literary style, I won't grab them - because I will!!!!! Some of my favorite authors over the years have been from the Young Adult end of things and when I go into a book store, I generally have to force myself not to enter the children's section.

I can see you wear a lot of hats, and all of them would be an asset for any author!

Q: Would you please tell us how long you have been in this job?

A: I've been building Book-to-Screen-Management, part-time, since February '02 and I went full-time in early May '02. However, I have 23 years in the business to back me up.

Q: Would you please tell us why you chose this Profession?

A: I sorta fell into it. I graduated from college knowing that I belonged in publishing; I interviewed for a job and got it, and the rest is history. I did foreign rights at Dell Publishing for about 14 years before becoming Rights Director at Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers and learning that building momentum is one of the best ways to get new authors licensed worldwide. The books with a hot name attached to them sell themselves, but new authors need momentum and I enjoy creating excitement and momentum. Over those years I've developed a knack for recognizing phenomenal fiction and somewhere along the line (probably reading books that had been published and badly edited or copyedited) I learned to edit. I also belong to several on-line writers groups where we feedback each others stories and I think that has helped me too. And all along, while working for the conglomerates, I started to think that at some point in time I would like to work solely on behalf of the author and to protect their (sub)rights as well as their rights as authors.

I think it's a shame that bigger agencies shy away from taking on new, non-published authors but I also applaud self-publishers like 1stBooks Library working with Lightning Print in providing a place for frustrated authors to get their work into print and recognized in some capacity. I already represent a good handful of self-published authors; they're all terrific and I'm going to make sure they're taken care of publishing and film-wise the world over. I hear that Stephen King is retiring. This news disappoints me because I love his work. On another hand, perhaps one of my writers -- new and wet behind the ears as they might be now -- will take his place on the bestseller list someday.

Q: I hope that they do Jeanette! Now let me get down to some questions I'm sure writers would like to know the answers to. Do you have certain genres that you lean towards? I believe you said you like a good adult thriller. Does a work in that genre have more of a chance of representation than one in another?

A: Funny thing about the adult thrillers - we just sorta fell into each other. I set out to represent a good mix of adult thriller, sci-fi (earth based), literary horror, contemporary fiction, paranormal and psychic fiction and non-fiction and good literary-leaning Young Adult novels. But it seemed that the first group of people who came to me as authors all had some sort of thriller in different categories, and I found out I liked 'em as long as they were tightly written and delivered a good punch. So that's how that happened. In addition to thrillers, however, ALL of the above categories are still very much of interest to me.

Q: What is the hardest part of your job and what is the most enjoyable?

A: I can't say that there is a hardest part yet since it's still early on. I love film rights, I love foreign rights, and I love to negotiate - there is negotiation in everything, across the board. Once you've done it a few hundred times, it's easy if you have a killer instinct and I seem to. I have a nickname from a previous boss of mine - he called me "the pitbull of rights"; I hate the word 'no' when I want my way. I would have to say that probably, at this point, the hardest part of my job is turning away authors but if their work isn't something I feel comfortable working with, at which point it's best that they find someone who will be better at it than I will. And I hate turning people away so to make myself feel better (and hopefully them too) I try and give them some helpful hints on how and where to find a good agent that might suit their needs.

Q: I think that is a wise decision Jeanette. Let me ask you, how many author submissions do you receive per month? And is there a limit to how many you will represent?

A: At the moment, I'm not getting that many since a lot of the people who are coming to me are coming via word-of-mouth. Once this interview goes live, it'll get more interesting except that for the time being I'm a bit full up UNLESS a proposal sounds intriguing to me and then I will agree to read the manuscript. I never want to turn something away that might have been brilliant so I will always try and read something that gets my blood going when it's described. However, I don't like receiving stuff in the mail - I'd rather hear from authors via email first so I can tell them who I am, how I work, etc.

Q: Let me ask you this, in your opinion why does an author need an agent? Why not just go it on their own and not have to share their royalties?

A: In my opinion, an author needs an agent to take care of all of the business details so that the author can live his/her life and write and not worry about the business details. Dealing with royalties and advances and contract clauses, subright splits that are unfavorable, and hoodwinking foreign publishers of North American publishers who won't sell the rights because it's a mid-list title, or all of the other little niggling things that can come up can probably drive a creative person nuts. All an author wants to do is write and he/she should be able to as long as he/she has an agent that he/she can trust to do it for them. A good agent should look out for his/her author, bottom line, and protect his/her author's rights in all matters.

Q: That is the way that I know I would like it. I would not like to have to deal with all that you have stated above. It would drive me crazy! *smile* When submitting work to publishers do you feel an agented author's percentage of being accepted is higher than one who is not represented?

A: Seeing as how several of the authors I represent are self-published, my answer to this question is yes. (Traditional) Publishers are understaffed and don't have the time or inclination to go thru the slush pile. This is left to the already overworked editorial assistants who already work for 2 or more editors. I think most publishers have the assistants go thru the slush pile once a month or so and those things that aren't accepted right away receive a form letter in reply. So if an agent represents an author, the publisher is gonna think that this agency isn't going to waste his/her time on someone who's not talented so they'll take the time and man/woman-power to read. In addition, an agent will know which editors to send various kinds of material to, as opposed to authors who will send stuff anonymously. An agent needs to build editorial relationships at a variety of publishing houses and it is these relationships, more often than not, that gets a manuscript in the doors and read, as opposed to an unsolicited manuscript sent by an author which gets put into the slush pile. This is less true on the kids side of things. There are more kids/YA authors who don't have agents than there are unagented adult authors. The adult market is a lot more cut-throat.

Wow! That almost sounds scary Jeanette! Good points for having an agent! However all writers know there are many vipers out there in the agent world. I, myself, have been bitten once to the tune of $300 because I believed their lies. What should an author look for when deciding if an agent is truthful and honest? What are the red flags, so to speak?

A: I think an author has to respect his or her own instincts about someone. I personally wonder about those people I've known in the business who were editors for 2-3 years and then became an agent. What does that editor know about all of the other parts of publishing other than editorial and having agent contacts? How can that agent represent foreign, film, and any other ancillary rights? Many of them don't, even tho they hang on to those rights. I think experience is key. I only know that I'm honest to a fault. I'm not sure what the red flags are....I know some of the people in business that I don't trust but it wouldn't be nice to list their names........

Thank you Jeanette! Here is a question I'm sure we all want to know. Since you have worked in publishing, let me ask you this. Why do some publishers only allow agented work to be presented to them when they know how hard it is for an author to obtain an agent? It just does not seem fair to me!

A: I don't think publishers are thinking about how hard it is to get an agent; publishers are a bit insular that way. See the above about the slush pile. They want to be able to have phenomenal books pitched to them without having to slog thru a million submissions. I'm a little insulated myself since I only worked for one conglomerate (in stages) for most of my pro life. So I can't speak about all the publishers.

Q: Let me ask you this. What do you do to help your authors?

A: I edit, proofread and copyedit at the same time as reading - I can't help it - it comes naturally. I'm a coach, I'm a teacher, I do great pep-talks, I'm an agent and a manager and everything else. I also do a weekly media email about all forms of media connected to publishing, with articles from all the email newsletters and on-line media magazines so that my authors will get a better idea of how vast the various markets are. I have pretty much decided that because I hardly trust any of the subrights departments out there save a very small handful, that I will keep all non-standard subsidiary rights for sale through my company and allow the North American publisher only standard North American publication and ancillary rights. I already have a chain of the foreign sub-agents I used throughout my professional life anyway, all of whom understand how I work and appreciate the momentum I like to build for an author, so that's good. And I have a great film agent too.

Q: Interesting! Tell me what do you require from your authors?

A: The ability to take criticism - to agree to changes into their work if required - the ability to understand that if they're new in the market that sometimes it takes time - I might have total faith in their work but it may take time to find the right publisher and/or venue for their work.

Q: That sound fair enough! Do you keep your authors informed often of the status of their work?

A: Yes, absolutely. Even when a film producer or a foreign sub-agent makes a comment about a title, I pass that along. I think it's important that the author knows that his/her agent/manager is out there championing the writer's cause!

Q: I'm interested to know and I'm sure our readers would be to. How long does it usually take to sell a work?

A:I can't tell you that yet - I only started up in May '02 and my first projects went out a few weeks back. I hope that my instincts are on the money but who knows? However, one of my self-published authors had a Japanese sale about a two months ago. Nice deal too! I would say it would take anywhere from 2 months to 2 years depending on the book and the market and the publishers and the market (did I say the market? because it all depends on what is being accepted by readers and its the readers who are the market as well as the state of the world).....I make no absolute promises other than that I am working my butt off and doing my best at all times. One thing I do know for certain is that if something is unable to sell now because of one reason or another, the markets are cyclical, so one just needs to be patient to wait for something old and unacceptable to become new and acceptable again. I saw romance novels go out of style and come right back into style 3-5 years later. The same happened for westerns and science fiction and war novels. It's cyclical; like Harry Chapin used to sing: "All My Life's a Circle". Well, so's publishing.

Q: May an author refuse placement with a publisher that you have found for their work?

A: Absolutely! The author has veto power, no ifs ands or buts. The way I work, and have always worked, is to keep the author informed of everything going on that affects them. It's always been my practice to get a deal to the best possible place and then present that offer to the author with my recommendations for acceptance (if I believe that it is the best deal possible) or not (if I don't think it's the best deal possible or we can do better elsewhere) and then the final decision lies with the author.

Q: That sounds great! Here is a question we all want to know! What percentage do you receive and what is the norm for the industry? Also do you work with a standard contract and what should the author watch out for in contracts with agents?

A: I think my percentages are standard for the industry. 15% for domestic rights, and 20% split evenly with my sub-agents for British, Foreign and Film. I don't know about other agents. I only know about those people I've known most of my pro life that gave me their standard contracts that I now use. I would tell an author not to sign his or her life away to an agent, but also to make sure they have an agreement up front before there is a deal. Weird to have to find out an agent takes a huge commission after the fact.

Q: You work with film rights, does a book have to be published to be considered for a film?

A: Absolutely not. I have several projects being looked at right now in synopsis form. My film agent, for adult titles, requires a good synopsis to use in pitching to studio execs and producers. The way I look at it, momentum can build a book. I can get a North American book deal which will peak film, foreign and British interest in a book. I can get a British, Japanese or German Language deal which will peak film, North American and other foreign interest in a title. It all works hand-in-hand as long as the agent is willing to help build that momentum by letting everyone concerned know what's going on. If the book gets a good review, it should be passed to whomever has and hasn't bought rights yet. It's like building a house, brick by brick. If you don't lay the foundation, you've got a problem. You've got to get everything working together, like cogs on intersecting mechanical wheels, to make it work or The Big Bad Wolf can blow it down with two huffs and a puff.

Q: That makes a lot of sense. Thank you for explaining that. The Website 'Predators and Editors' - the watch-dog for writers, warns against any agent or publisher that charges upfront fees. How do you feel about that and why?

A: I get upfront fees presently because I'm in startup and I do a lot of work on books before they get submitted. Because of editors who no longer edit and copywriters and proofreaders who don't do their jobs, I don't want anything to leave my office unless I feel good about it. I get (but I can waive the fee if I choose) $150. up front to read a ms. The fee is non-refundable BUT it is applicable against one or more things. If I like the manuscript and want to work with it but it needs editorial work, than the $150. is applied against my editing fee of $20. an hour (which is lower than standard - plus I do it all at one time - reading, editing, proofreading, fact-checking, copy-editing -- I read with a red pen in my right hand, a book of small colored stickees on my knee, and a dictionary and thesaurus at my side), if it doesn't need editorial work, than the $150. is applicable against my commission on a first license whatever that license might be. But I'm fair and up front and all that stuff. I don't know about other agents, but once more an author has to trust their gut instinct about someone.

As for publishers charging fees, I would think that would only be vanity and self-publishers and if that's the way an author wants to go there is money involved there yes....Just make sure that the vanity press won't own your work throughout the universe together with any yet undiscovered planets in perpetuity in any and all means of reading material, either already in existence or not yet created for the rest of your known life and beyond in case a traditional publisher comes along who wants to take over the title...Several of my self-published authors are published by 1stBooks Library. I like them too because they are up-front, their website is easy to read, and you can get out of the contract within 24 hours. Plus, though you have to pay them for their services at every turn and corner, they are helpful and polite, and offer some nice packages and deals. Not bad!

Q: Do you ever advise an author to self-publish while representing them?

A: I haven't been doing this long but for one of my authors I did recommend self-publication. The reason was that his book is a screenwriter's workbook and though, as a screenwriter and a teacher of same, he is known within the Hollywood community, he is not known within the world at large. Since he wrote the book to be a teaching tool for his seminars around town as well as to teach from when he gets a college teaching position (and his previous students were begging him to write a book for them to refer to), I figured that it would work best if we had it self-published first.

In this case, the author agreed with me. I worked on it editorially just like I do all the books I rep and it's currently on submission throughout the world as a PDF file in the interim while the self-publisher is working on getting it ready for publication. When ready, the books will be available via Amazon and B & N.com as well as on-line. In addition, I have someone who will be looking to book him into colleges and screenwriting courses around the country to give his seminar, where I'm sure we'll sell copies of the book. After two years of touting this title, I'll tally the copy sales we've had as well together with any foreign licenses and copies of all of the on-line reviews and author interviews, et al., and then take all that and offer the book to major publishers with proof that my author is just as good if not better than the screenwriters of name who already have screenwriting books available.

So, like in this case, it all depends on the book itself. Because there are publishers everywhere of every type, there's no reason to recommend self publication in every instance but sometimes it's worth it. As an agent it's my job to look after the author's work and make sure it's placed in the best way possible every step of the way.

Thank you Jeanette. Now would you please use this space for your final statement. Anything you think authors should know that would increase their chances of being accepted by an agent.

A: I think these two are the hardest of the questions you've asked so far. OK, I've got my thinking cap on. Um, I would say that authors, being creative people to start with, should be wary of anyone they're entering into any business dealings with. There are agents out there who were editors for under five years, and for whatever reason, lost/left their job and became agents - and though they may know something about the North American side of the publishing industry, they don't know anything about the rest of it - foreign, film, etc. I wouldn't give them all my rights; nuh uh. Not to mention that I know of agents who keep all rights other than the traditional ones sold to a North American publisher and then just sit on those rights. Depending on the book, the North American publisher's foreign rights department may have been able to license the book well throughout the world, which then helps to earn back the advance paid to the author by the publisher a heck of a lot faster than waiting for the royalties to be applied against said advance (in my case, I prefer to handle those foreign rights directly so that the author gets his/her money upfront in addition to the North American publishers advance BUT if another agent isn't going to try and do anything with those rights, they might as well go to the North American publisher for exploiting via their rights people). I'm not so sure about the film rights though - I think that they're best handled by a film rights professional. There aren't a lot of subrights departments in publishing houses out there who take an active interest in film rights. They don't understand the far reaching affects an option or film deal can do for their other rights or their copy sales for that matter.

What I'm saying here is that an author wants to find an agent who will do their best work for the author; and from all aspects of the various mediums out there, not just sell North American rights and get the advance and royalties and forget it after that. Authors need to be able to write with a clear mind and their agent needs to be the business-person; and there should be a good rapor between both...the author should be able to ask questions and get answers - etc.

Q: That was great Jeanette. Thank you so much!

I want to thank Jeanette Lundgren for a wonderful interview. I found her information extremely valuable and I know that I certainly have learned alot. I'm sure that you have too! Jeanette seems to truly care for her authors and their future. This is indeed a gift for them.

We wish Jeanette the best of luck in her Profession and good wishes to all of her authors, with Jeanette working for them, I believe they will all be winners!

E-Mail bonnie.toews@sympatico.ca