LiteraryScout
New York, NY
Female, 0
Literary scouts work with foreign publishers to help determine which American books they should acquire. We spend our days (and nights!) reading manuscripts, writing reports, meeting with agents and publishers, and speaking with clients to keep them apprised of developments. Scouts don’t make much money, but the perks and fun help make up for that.
Studying literature and writing would be the most helpful. In particular, classes that focus on elements of novels such as constructing plot, developing characters, etc, would be useful for pinpointing the strengths and weaknesses of a manuscript. Your own personal reading experience is the most valuable education, though. Read a range of new and old highly regarded fiction and nonfiction books to familiarize yourself with what is so special about them. It is kind of like learning a language where after a point you can just feel when something is right even before you can use the academic knowledge to point to what exactly that is. Plus when you interview for those invaluable internships, it would be very helpful to be able to actually name books that you admire and show your familiarity with the literary world. Plan to start interning as soon as you can, even freshman or sophomore year if possible. The experience of learning from professionals and making contacts is the most important first step.
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There are very, very few scouting agencies, so positions are hard to come by. Try talking to any agents you know and looking on Publisher's Marketplace and Media Bistro.
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Publishing houses tend to pay giant advances for the next "it" adult fiction novel these days. As a result they are very careful about what they purchase. Things tend to be safe and follow pretty specific formulas. There's more room for creativity in Young Adult writing and so that's one possible reason there's such an influx of attention to these series. The other possibility is that American adults aren't super smart and are overwhelmed by real literature. I don't mean there's anything wrong with reading YA stuff as part of a mix of books. The issue is when the books that make millions of dollars are primarily YA rather than adult novels.
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Probably two is the max. Keep in mind manuscripts may be between 250-800+ pages. I'm a pretty quick reader and could maybe somehow manage three, but you also want to be paying enough attention to what you're reading that you can write a 3 page report on it and discuss it in detail.
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MBA Student
How many years of work experience do you REALLY need before applying?
Subway Store Manager
The 6" sub is too small and the 12" is too big. Why no 9-inch sub?
Chef
Is it true that the "specials" are usually the stuff that's been sitting around awhile?
I would say that a successful scout needs good taste, an understanding of what makes a manuscript commercially viable, a nose for tracking down sources for the next big thing, and the ability to form strong, long-lasting bonds with clients. When clients are in town it's the scouts who typically arrange their schedules, go to some meetings with them, and meet with them frequently throughout the day. During books fairs we spend days with each other, going out for drinks, dinners, more drinks, etc. That friendship is what keeps clients with scouts for years and may cause them to follow a scout who leaves an agency.
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Nope. That's the responsibility of the American publishers working directly with the authors.
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I have to say that I really, really disliked Sarah's Key. The Tiger's Wife was pretty good, but didn't blow me away. A Visit from the Goon Squad was terrific, but the last few chapters really disappointed.
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