Says Diana Rubino, a multi-published author who is currently on her third agent, “I found it as hard to find an agent as it is to find a publisher; you need to query many of them before finding one who’s willing to represent you. Very few traditional publishers accept unagented material these days.”

Do you need an agent? Xandra James, who has multiple titles to her name in the genre of paranormal romance, contemporary romance and romantic suspense, says, “It depends on what you want for your career. If your goals consist of hitting the big New York traditional publishers, agents are a good bet although you can get their attention through self-publishing nowadays. I know of quite a few authors who simply want an agent to negotiate their foreign rights and movie rights. It depends on what you want from an agent and what one can offer you at this point in your career too.”

Increasingly, authors are exploring both options of being traditionally- and self-published. Says author Karen Duvall, who enjoys a “terrific working relationship” with her agent, “If you want to be a hybrid author with your feet in both camps, you’ll want a traditional publishing contract and the big ones aren’t easy without an agent. Most big publishers won’t consider unagented submissions (but this will likely change in the near future). Now that a few author/agent teams have broken through the traditional publisher wall that used to make an author’s claim to electronic rights a deal breaker, authors may be able to keep their books’ e-rights and contract only for paper. That’s a huge coup and it’s less likely to happen without an agent’s help.”

With the success of self-publishing more and more authors are using the D-I-Y approach to publishing. As romance author Téa Cooper says, “I thought it (finding an agent) was the holy grail. But now I’m changing my mind.” But as Karen Duvall cautions, “Typically, small publishers are open to unagented writers. Even if you do land a publisher, it’s strongly advised that the contract be reviewed by an agent or literary attorney.”

In the screenwriting world, an agent is the only way forward, says Julie Gray of Just Effin’ Entertain Me. The writing coach and mentor who also runs a top-tier screenwriting competition, writes in her blog: “Production companies have some pretty good reasons for not accepting unrepped work. A repped writer has been vetted, for one thing. Production companies would rather know the work is on the level where a manager or agent really believes in it. It’s a filtering system. It’s quality control. And it’s very necessary.” She further adds, “There are smaller companies that might respond to a killer query and ask to read your script—you just to have to find them.”

So, how do you find an agent? “It’s not so much about finding one as it is about knowing which one is the right for you,” says Karen. “The best source as a place to start is querytracker.net. Once you know the basic details about the agents who represent your type of book, you research them individually. You might go so far as to contact a few of the authors they represent. I also recommend attending a few writers conferences not only for the opportunity to pitch your work but also to hear what agents have to say when they sit on panels and give workshops. Knowledge is power. You want to make an informed decision before you start sending out your queries.”

Diana adds, “The Writers Market has listings of agents and you can google literary agents. Also, ask around, if your fellow authors have agents who are accepting new clients. Not all fellow authors will want to share this information but it never hurts to ask. Make sure the agents you query handle your genre.”

Another source for finding literary agents is AgentHunter. I personally checked out the site and found that not only does it list agents by name, genre and literary agency but you can use a number of search filters to find agents who meet your criteria. Narrowing the search by experience, ‘hunger for clients’, authors represented, makes it easier to draw up a laundry list of the agents you could query. The website offers search tools for “every literary agency in the UK and for every significant publisher”. So if an author decides that his/her project is more suited for direct submission to publishers, a list of potential publishers too can be generated.

The best part is that the website provides detailed biographies of the agents, and includes contact info, client list status, total number of clients as well as information about authors and books liked by the agent, links to their blogs and advice to writers, twitter handles and more. Having all this information in one place is of immense help to authors who are looking for the ‘right agent’. After all, as Diana points out, “It’s said that ‘a bad agent is worse than no agent at all’. So it’s very important that it’s a good match, like a marriage.”

Many ways to being discovered. Laurie Ashbourne, a writer and a story development consultant, feels that “there has never been a better time for writers to be discovered. Very recently I have seen agents for both screenwriters and novelists take to different approaches in reaching out to new writers. Regina Brooks who oversees Gotham’s Writers Digest YA contest, held an online seminar based on this. Twitter is also a great way to connect to agents for both worlds, there’s a television and film lit manager @BrooklynWeaver who occasionally holds #popupitch and he’s signed writers from that. There are also reputable script hosting services that can get you noticed such as the Blacklist and SpecScout.”

Laurie points out, “First, writers must realize that agents are a writer’s sales force. So if you can prove your material has traction in the marketplace (such as good reviews and ebook downloads) then that acts as a selling point for them and you. Second, even if you do get an agent to get you in front of decision makers, it’s up to you to sell the material, by it being good and also by presenting yourself as someone they want to do business with.”

Contests are also a great way of landing agents, says Laurie. “Top-tier (screenwriting) contests – Nicholl, Austin, Just Effing Entertain Me – all get your material in front of agents. But the resources popping up lately like the Blacklist and Specscout and some of the well-connected consultants will be happy to pass along a great script.”

So, what has your experience been in finding an agent? Do share with us your stories.

[Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net]

Can filmmakers go beyond the cliches and create content that is entertaining while not denigrating women? Join the debate and let me know your thoughts. Read the post here.

Here, Aloke pays a fitting tribute to a film industry that is uniquely Indian and yet has found universal appeal across the world.

Seeta Devi as Gopa in Prem Sanyas -The Light of Asia (Die Leuchte Asiens in German) 1925 silent film, directed by Franz Osten and Himansu Rai

A Pictorial History of Indian Cinema by Firoze Rangoonwala published in 1979, has a single sentence on the film ‘Sholay’, missing the importance of its contribution to Indian Cinema and its subsequent hallmark as a turning point.

“In recent years, this has reaped a large harvest of crude dacoit films with the hero as the much wronged wrongdoer. Another outcome is the ‘curry western’ best represented by the unbelievably successful Sholay (Flames) which had (has) a retired officer hiring gunmen with jail record to bust a dacoit gang terrorizing a lonely village.”

Rangoonwalla missed the importance of the film by several reels, which he rectified in the subsequent edition. Sholay was dubbed as ‘crude’, ‘curry western’, ‘unbelievably successful’ and ‘had’….a past tense to close the chapter of its subsequent success. He could not for the love of cinema, sitting in the hall, fathom the importance of Sholay, which changed the way the box office viewed films in India. It was left to a French-Canadian Jesuit priest, Father Gaston Roberge, from the cloister of his St. Xavier’s environ, to predict in his book Chitrabani, published the same year, the historic change that Sholay would bring about.

Interestingly, this has been the plight of most of Indian Cinema including that of Dada Saheb Phalke, V.Shantaram, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Raj Kapoor, Mehboob Khan, Satyajit Ray, Ritwick Ghatak and others. Most of the time we have failed to recognise our films.

A hundred years ago Dada Saheb Phalke made a movie about a king who never lied. Phalke’s inspiration came from an English film The Life and Passion of Christ and he too wanted to translate the lives of Indian Gods to the screen.

His first production Raja Harishchandra was screened at Coronation Cinema in Mumbai on 3 May 1913 marking the beginning of Indian cinema and thus the beginning of its hundred years. Regarded as the father of Indian cinema, Phalke went on to make several silent films but became the first casualty when the silent era passed.

Alam Ara debuted at Majestic Cinema in Mumbai on 14 March 1931, a love story between a gypsy and a prince, starring Zubeida, Master Vettal as well as Prithvi Raj Kapoor. It was so popular that the police had to be called in to control the crowds. Ironically, the first talkie was snuffed out as its print perished in a fire in the National Archives in 2003.

The talkies changed the face of Indian cinema. Apart from looks, the actors not only needed a commanding voice but also singing skills, as music became a defining element in Indian cinema.

In the middle of the Second World War in 1945 came Kismet starring Ashok Kumar which became one of the biggest hits in the history of Indian cinema. It came with some bold themes – the first anti-hero and an unmarried pregnancy. It clearly showed that the filmmakers of the era were bolder than the times in which they were living in. By the 1940s, the winning formula at the Box Office had been etched – songs, dance, drama and fantasy.

A close relationship between epic consciousness and the art of cinema was established. It was against this backdrop that filmmakers like V.Shantaram, Bimal Roy, Raj Kapoor and Mehboob Khan made their films.

In the meantime, the film industry had made rapid strides in the South, where Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films were taking South India by storm. By the late 1940s, films were being made in various Indian languages with religion being the dominant theme.

The golden period of the 1950’s provided a strong impetus to the industry, with themes changing to social issues relevant at the time. Sure, they were entertaining but the movies of that time also became a potent medium to educate the masses. The era established a 25 year actor/filmmaker as the showman of Indian cinema – Raj Kapoor, someone who had an eye for detail.

Recalling the magic of the golden age, Bollywood director Imtiaz Ali says, “The relationship was very tender, very real, and the influences of the contemporary society exhibited in movies of that time is something that I have not seen before.”

Raj Kapoor and Nargis in Awaara

The golden period also produced some of India’s most critically acclaimed films and memorable actors of all time. Among those in Bollywood’s hall of fame are Guru Dutt, Mehboob Khan, Balraj Sahani, Nargis, Bimal Roy, Meena Kumari, Dev Anand, Madhubala and Dilip Kumar.

This was the time when mavericks like Guru Dutt and Bimal Roy captivated the audiences with Pyaasa and Do Bigha Zamin, Indian cinema moved one step ahead with K Asif’s magum opus Mughal-e-Azam in 1960. It was after the release of this movie that the magnanimity of Indian cinema was established.

Changing social norms and changing economies influenced movies and the companies that made them. This had the effect of changing movies. The narrative style changed. The story structure changed. Characters changed. Content changed.

In the 1970’s a new genre was born – the masala movie. Masala films were the demand of the time. The genre promised instant attraction and had great entertainment value. People flocked to theatre to see their reflection on the big screen. Audiences were enthralled by the histrionics of actors such as Rajesh Khanna, Sanjeev Kumar, Waheeda Rehman, Asha Parekh, Tanuja and others.

Satyajit Ray

This was Bollywood’s prime period, a time when director Ramesh Sippy gave us his iconoclastic Sholay (1975). The film, which has been internationally acclaimed, also clinched the title of superstar for Amitabh Bachchan, who already had over 30 films under his belt. Some other worthies of the masala movie included Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra .

The 1980’s saw the emergence of several woman directors such as Aparna Sen, Prema Karnath and Meera Nair. It was also the decade when sultry siren Rekha wooed audiences with her stunning performance in Umrao Jaan (1981).

And then in 1990’s, it was a mixed genre of romantic, thrillers, action and comedy films. A stark upgrade can be seen on the canvas as technology gifted the industry Dolby digital sound effects, advanced special effects, choreography and international appeal. The development brought about investments from the corporate sector along with finer scripts and performances.

It was time to shift focus to aesthetic appeal. And stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Rajnikanth, Madhuri Dixit, Aamir Khan, Chiranjeevi, Juhi Chawla and Hrithik Roshan began to explore ways to use new techniques to enrich Indian cinema with their performances.

Indian cinema finally found global mass appeal at the turn of the 21st century. As the world became a global village, the industry reached out further to international audiences.

Apart from regular screenings at major international film festivals, the overseas market contributed a sizeable chunk to Bollywood’s box office collections.

With regular foreign investments made by major global studios such as 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros put a stamp of confirmation that Bollywood had etched itself on the global circuit.

A woman filmmaker recently said in an interview that she doesn’t like it when she is referred to as a “woman filmmaker”. What’s your take on it?

It is understandable that a lot of women don’t liked to be called as women film makers because it’s like bracketing your skill, talent and work with some stereotypical notions. I, however, have no such problems with being known as one. It’s what I am and there is a particular context and experience I come from being a woman, which is going to show in my work. So I am neither kicked about it, nor am I defensive or dismissive or celebrating it but dealing with it as a fact.

A film with three female lead characters would always be a “hard sell”. What kind of hurdles did you face in distributing your film? And what lessons did you take away from your experience?

Of course a story about three girls is hard to sell but that should not stop one from telling a story you feel compelled to tell. How many stories in mainstream cinema talk about reproductive rights of women or how many talk about women in same sex relationships and how many talk about the fears dreams, aspirations that we have as women? What is the point of doing what is tried and tested? There is no challenge in it. I faced all the hurdles a new filmmaker with a low budget faces. High theatre rates, no budget for publicity therefore leading to a lukewarm response. The other problem is that the general public is yet to understand the nuances of an Indie film. You can’t compare an Indie film to a mainstream film. There is a peculiar methodology in an Indie film in terms of budget, actors, the technical aspects etc. If I told people the kind of budget I made this film with they would think it’s impossible! The biggest lesson has been on pitching. How does one pitch one’s film? That is the key I feel. Also one needs more time and budgets for a full-fledged feature film. Doing eight to nine scenes in a day is suicidal and trying to complete it at one go in ten days is crazy.

Why did you choose to make your film in English? Surely, it would have had a wider appeal if you made it in Hindi or a regional language?

For the simple reason that I think in English. Well, it was my first film and I think my producers were quite indulgent. They just backed my idea of doing it in English. I thought it could be a multiplex film and in the cosmopolitan cities it would have an audience. In retrospect, I could have done a whole lot of things differently. However there will be more films from our banner in different languages in the future.

In hindsight, what are some of the things that you would have done differently in your film?

Done differently? I should have spent more time on the screenplay. I actually spent a little more than a year writing the script as I have a full time TV job. I should have spent another year on the screenplay and taken feedback from different sections of people. We should have spaced out the shoot, had time for feedback and just let the whole process seep in slowly. We did not even have the time to watch what we had shot, so time is what a filmmaker needs. A good marketing strategy for the film right at the beginning would have helped.

As a writer-director, when you conceive a story, what comes first: the plot, characters or theme? Can you give us one instance from your film?

The theme, characters and the plot…in this order. The film in general is the example. I first decided I want to make this film on three girls and friendship. Then I fleshed out the characters and then the entire story.

You have been running a women’s oriented TV programme, Naveena, for several years now. Has that experience influenced you as a filmmaker and the kind of films you want to make?

Naveena is a show I have been doing for eight years on TV9. It is based on women’s issues from a gender and rights perspective. Naveena is about our lives, our dreams and aspirations as women. All I Want Is Everything derives its inspiration from the programme. Naveena has influenced every part of my life, so I guess it would influence any kind of work that I might do even in the future. Which is not to say that I will do only serious stuff. The point is that though my film has serious shades there are fun scenes as well. To be more precise there will always be a way in which I will technically frame and characterize the female protagonist. And that’s where my ideology will come in.

What’s your next project about?
I don’t know really. I will just follow my heart. I might explore another form of art next. But more films in the future for sure.

Thanks, Shital, for sharing your experience and here’s wishing you a fulfilling, enriching and successful career as a filmmaker.

I feel so privileged to have met so many wonderful authors. Below, you’ll find the links to the authors who will be answering the same questions.

1. What is the working title/title of your book or project?
New Delhi Marriage Deal
2. Where did the idea come from for the book or project?
In 2012, I entered a short story contest organized by Harlequin Mills & Boon India and it went on to become one of the winners. I developed the short story into a full length novel.
3. What genre does it fall under, if any?
Romance
4. If applicable, who would you choose to play your characters in a movie?
I would pick Bollywood actors Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif to play Krish and Maya.
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your manuscript or project?
Maya wants revenge against the guy who destroyed her family but she falls in love with his impossibly arrogant and handsome son, Krish.
6. Will your book or story be self-published or represented by an agency?
It’s being published by Harlequin Mills & Boon and is slated for a September 2013 release.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I wrote the book under the mentorship of a HMB editor. So, rather than submit the entire draft, my process involved submitting a few chapters and revising them with the feedback from the editor before writing the next few chapters. It took me about six months to have a final draft manuscript ready.
8. What other book or stories would you compare this story to within the genre?
It’s a revenge story with a romantic twist — a very popular theme with Harlequin M&B.
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book or story?
I love M&B romances and Bollywood’s song-and-dance love stories. And I felt it would be great to do a mix-and-match. So, when I wrote the short story I designed a “meet cute” scene for Krish and Maya on the dance floor — while doing the tango!
10. What else about the book or story might pique the reader’s interest?
New Delhi as the setting for a romance is ideal — providing a unique backdrop, complete with its dramatic dust storms and its abundant flora.

Next on the Blog Hop:

Milan Vohra – Author of Tick-Tock We’re 30.

Reshmy Pillai – Will discuss her story The Secret of Ahiraah

Lady Blade — Author of Blood in the Moon [Book 1: Awakenings]

J.S. Winn – Author of The Spirit Keepers

Gemma Juliana – Author of The Sheikh’s Spy.

What a journey it has been. Winning a short story contest was just the beginning and I’d no clue as to what I was getting into. With every milestone — chapters submitted and multiple revisions — I made fascinating discoveries. Not just about my characters and the plot but also the craft of romance writing.

My Hero & Heroine’s Happy Ever After ending has nicely dovetailed into a new “deal” for yours truly — a second book for the same publisher. So, on to a fresh writing journey with brand new characters.

Stay tuned for more updates and news about NDMD and my forthcoming journey.

(Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

So…here’s a set of 2 x 11 factoids about me that you never wanted to know!

1. I have tried my hand at different kinds of writing — from feature writing for magazines to analysing and writing reports about consumer insights to screenwriting and now novel writing. But never poetry. Psst!! I don’t get poetry!

2. My dad was a passionate and entertaining raconteur. He could spin a story out of thin air… out of the mundane, everyday things around him. He always encouraged me to give flight to my imagination.

3. I love travelling and have been lucky enough to visit some cool places, including Budapest, Lubljana, Rome, Paris and Bali. Better still I love to send my characters off to exotic destinations and not worry about getting their travel papers organized or packing suitcases or even the $$$ needed to stay in 7-star resorts!

4. I have this tiresome habit of buying notebooks and scribbling down ideas for new stories. Downside: I have a ton of half-written plots or characters sketches. Upside: I can always pull them out for inspiration whenever I need to!

5. Scribbling random ideas in a notebook is fine, but I need the blank computer screen in front of me to get my creative juices flowing! Dread to think what would happen if I were to be stranded on an island without access to my laptop or electricity. Scary thought.

6. Walking in the park is more than a healthy habit for me. It’s a great time to sort out a tricky plot point or work out the sticking points in a story. Problem is mid-way through the walk, I want to rush back to my computer before I lose track of all those wonderful ideas!

7. I’m a master procrastinator who would probably not turn in a single assignment, chapter or word if it weren’t for my frenemy: Ms. Deadline with that nasty whip.

8. I HATE shopping… I would do anything to avoid it, unless of course I’m shopping for books or movie DVDs!

Baloo

10. I’m really, REALLY looking forward to the launch of my debut Harlequin Mills & Boon novel in October 2013. Did I tell you how excited I am? (Well, doh!)

11. I’m a dog lover and can’t resist books (or movies) that feature a K9 character in them. So in my book too, I have an adorable, hyperactive dog inspired by my lovable Irish Setter, Baloo.

Questions that Ruchita Summer Vasudeva set for me:

What’s your favourite movie of all time and in that which was your absolutely favourite scene?
It’s so difficult to pick one all-time favourite movie. So I will pick two — one from Hollywood: Casablanca and the other from Bollywood — Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. Almost every scene with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca is a favourite scene!

Have you ever said I love you and how did you say it?
Sure I have. Most recently I typed it… for my protagonist Maya’s happy ever after moment with Krish in my debut novel.

For a sufficient distance would you walk or take a car?
Depends on the weather. I could walk miles on a cool, pleasant day!

Who is your favourite singer?
Shubha Mudgal.

What’s your favourite dish to eat or make? Share its recipe if you want to.
I often bake cakes and I make a pretty mean chicken biryani!

What motivates you to write? In other words, what stimulates your muse?
I can daydream for weeks without writing a line. But when Ms Deadline cracks her nasty whip… that’s motivation enough for me!:D

Are you a summer person or winter person?
Give me an Indian winter any day!

Which sport do you like to play/watch? You can name indoor games as well.
I love to play with my dog.

While shopping do you buy the first thing you like or keep looking till you’ve seen everything available and then decide?
There’s only one way to shop for me — as quickly as possible and get the hell out!

One thing you wouldn’t step out of the house without, excepting phone, credit card and driving license.
My spectacles!

What makes you cry?
Oh, a mushy romantic movie.

Now, here are my 11 Questions for my Nominees (drum roll) Eleni Muller, Dakota Madison, Mohammad Ansari, Arunima Choudhury, Gemma Mawdsley, Jennifer Abeyta, Shirley Maya Tan, Reshmy Pillai, Eugenia Renskoff, Monique Guzman and Kevin Stuart Brodie.

1. What’s your favourite time to write or do creative work? And why?

2. What’s the first thing that crossed your mind when you woke up this morning?

3. What’s the one thing that drives you batshit crazy?

4. Describe briefly any one unforgettable moment in your life.

5. Which is your must-do dream vacation?

6. Fill this blank: At age 10 you dreamt of “being _____ when I grow up.”

7. If you could travel back in time which “period” would you visit?

8. If you could transform yourself into a celebrity for one day, who would you pick?

9. Complete this sentence. Fun is ________

10. If you could change any one of your (bad) habits what would that be? (You’re not allowed to say you don’t have any bad habits!!)

11. Tell us something that excites you about your current project.

[Image Courtesy "Love" Dynamite Imagery/FreeDigitalPhotos.net]

Here is a Part I of a blogpost that I wrote for Her Film Project — a global forum for women filmmakers.

And here’s the link to Part II of the POST at HER FILM PROJECT which discusses the role of Social Media.

Would appreciate your thoughts and feedback…

A passionate photographer, Sooni’s book of photographs PARSIS: The Zoroastrians of India. A Photographic Journey has received rave reviews. A labour of love, her photographs were compiled over a twenty year period.

On the 25th anniversary re-release of Salaam Bombay! Sooni talks about screenwriting, direction and her successful collaboration with Hollywood-based director Mira Nair  in an interview to DearCinema.com.

The moment for which wannabe authors spend their days and nights obsessing over their manuscripts before sending it off. You’ve had months to prepare for ‘the call’. And yet, when it happens, it strikes you dumb. No matter how the words are delivered — your manuscript has been approved for publication — the effect remains the same. If you’re not exactly dumb-struck, you’re probably trying to hold back an ear-shattering victory yelp that will probably damage your editor’s auditory canal, and with it whatever chance you have of becoming a published author!

In my case, I was struck deaf.

No kidding. I just couldn’t hear what my fabulous Harlequin Mills & Boon editor Pippa Roscoe was trying to tell me. OMG! For a nano-second I truly believed I’d go down in history as the only author who went deaf just before she could hear those sweet, sweet words. Thankfully, sanity returned quickly, and I realized the culprit was a bad Skype connection! Skype, my doughty ally in many of my writing adventures, nearly did me in this time.

Seconds later, Pippa was back on the line and as I stuttered that I hadn’t heard her, she laughed out loud, “You missed the most important bits!”

That little drama provided me with a light-bulb moment.  I had actually transitioned from a wannabe author to a soon-to-be-published author in a matter of seconds and a dropped phone connection. If the Cosmos was trying to send me a message, I haven’t figured it out yet!

And before I go off to pop the champagne, did I mention I was offered a two-book deal and my first book (title still to be finalised) will be out in the second half of this year? No? I guess, the shock hasn’t quite worn off!

Image courtesy: digitalart http://www.freedigitalphotos.net