Page 35 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL10

I don’t think you can be a literary agent if you are a pessimist. I get up every morning thinking this will be a day where I can sell a book and I’m usually righteach other but have to compete with people’s interest in every area of entertainment, including digital. Although publishing is regarded by some as an industry in decline, books still get a lot of attention and Ms Blake sees the business in a positive way.“If you believe you are facing hard times you could become depressed about it. I don’t think you can be a literary agent if you are a pessimist. I get up every morning thinking this will be a day where I can sell a book and I’m usually right. When I take on new authors, I’ll work to make the manuscript as good as it can be. Obviously, new writers need guidance, and I work on their manuscripts to get them to a state that will give them the best chance of catching an editor’s eye. I always tell them that the editing I am suggesting is only my opinion, but it’s an opinion from someone who has worked in thepublishing industry for a long time. My view will not necessarily be definitive but I hope I’ll help the manuscript look good enough to persuade a publisher to take it on.”Self-publishing is a large market in Britain now. New authors are often impatient and no longer want to wait for responses from agents or publishers. After just a few rejections, many choose to publish by themselves. This has resulted in e-book stores offering thousands of unedited and badly written books. The shift to digital formats also provides new challenges for the publishing industry, but Ms Blake is not unduly worried.“I don’t care how people read my authors’ works as long as they do read them, and my authors get properly paid. We use social media to help promote our authors and their books. Our agency has it’s own Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts onElite+ 33