[UPDATED] Special Guest on this Sunday's Pop-Up Submissions - YOUR QUESTIONS PLEASE!

[AgentPete]

I’m updating this to ask you to post any questions you may have for our guest Jon Wood right here, in this thread. While we will certainly take questions from the chatroom on Sunday, it would be good to have some questions in advance, too.

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I’m delighted to say that our special guest on this Sunday’s Pop-Up Submissions will be Jon Wood, formerly group publisher at Orion Publishing, part of Hachette. On 1st January 2019 Jon will become an agent with Rogers, Coleridge & White.

During his tenure at Orion, he ran both the Orion Fiction and Gollancz imprints. Along with Ian Rankin and Joanne Harris, Jon has published authors such as Harlan Coben, Kate Mosse, Andy McNab and RJ Ellory.

Jon is a vastly experienced publisher and will be a great agent. I urge everyone to come into the chatroom on Sunday to ask whatever they want. It will be a memorable show.
PLEASE POST ANY QUESTIONS FOR JON HERE!
And thank you to our kind supporters who enable Pop-Ups to keep growing...

 

[Emily]

Brilliant. I've cancelled our commitment on Sunday so I'm freeeeeee!!!

 

[Barbara]

Wow!

 

[Nikky Lee]

Awesome!

 

[Tim James]

Excellent.
A big welcome to Jon and thanks for taking part.

 

[Marc Joan]

Fab.

My question(s) (all related):

* Would you rather take on a 'me too' book (safe / unexciting, but decent chance of profit) or a truly novel novel (different, but risky)?​

* Do the big publishers look to small independent presses for the above-mentioned different/risky category (if they look for such work at all), or can the quirky author still get noticed in the giants' slushpiles?​

* In other words, should the inventive writer first clutch the skirts of a small publisher rather than immediately groping for the ankles of a Hachette? Or would that compromise the chances of a relationship with a larger partner later on?​

 

[KateESal]

Hi Jon, congratulations on your new position!

Will you be building a list from scratch, or are you taking on established authors in your new position?

What excites you most about the prospect of being an agent? Why be an agent instead working for a publisher?

What are your particular areas of interest? Will they include children's lit.? (vested interest in the answer to this question.... ;-))

In what order do you (plan to) read your submissions (cover letter, opening chapter/s, synopsis) and what do you think would stop you reading the submission in its entirity?

I'd be interested in the answer to any or all of these questions.

 

[Deleted member 604]

I’m updating this to ask you to post any questions you may have for our guest Jon Wood right here, in this thread. While we will certainly take questions from the chatroom on Sunday, it would be good to have some questions in advance, too.
@AgentPete Gutted I missed this one, absolutely gutted, due to the fact I was working. But @AgentPete please let me know if he joins us again as I may have something very interesting for him to have a look at, cheers
---
I’m delighted to say that our special guest on this Sunday’s Pop-Up Submissions will be Jon Wood, formerly group publisher at Orion Publishing, part of Hachette. On 1st January 2019 Jon will become an agent with Rogers, Coleridge & White.

During his tenure at Orion, he ran both the Orion Fiction and Gollancz imprints. Along with Ian Rankin and Joanne Harris, Jon has published authors such as Harlan Coben, Kate Mosse, Andy McNab and RJ Ellory.

Jon is a vastly experienced publisher and will be a great agent. I urge everyone to come into the chatroom on Sunday to ask whatever they want. It will be a memorable show.
PLEASE POST ANY QUESTIONS FOR JON HERE!
And thank you to our kind supporters who enable Pop-Ups to keep growing...

@AgentPete Gutted I missed this one, absolutely gutted, due to the fact I was working. But @AgentPete please let me know if he joins us again as I may have something very interesting for him to have a look at, cheers

 

[Eva Ulian]

I’m updating this to ask you to post any questions you may have for our guest Jon Wood right here, in this thread. While we will certainly take questions from the chatroom on Sunday, it would be good to have some questions in advance, too.

---
I’m delighted to say that our special guest on this Sunday’s Pop-Up Submissions will be Jon Wood, formerly group publisher at Orion Publishing, part of Hachette. On 1st January 2019 Jon will become an agent with Rogers, Coleridge & White.

During his tenure at Orion, he ran both the Orion Fiction and Gollancz imprints. Along with Ian Rankin and Joanne Harris, Jon has published authors such as Harlan Coben, Kate Mosse, Andy McNab and RJ Ellory.

Jon is a vastly experienced publisher and will be a great agent. I urge everyone to come into the chatroom on Sunday to ask whatever they want. It will be a memorable show.
PLEASE POST ANY QUESTIONS FOR JON HERE!
And thank you to our kind supporters who enable Pop-Ups to keep growing...

Hello Jon and welcome.
When your now colleague at RCW, Sam Copeland, tweeted he was tempted to change his job and become an Irish Exorcist, I tried to persuade him to remain an agent and fall in love with my novel of bitter nuns. Alas he did not. I think he wanted some horror and lots of erotica, which wasn't the case.

My question is, since you are now at the same agency, would it be a problem if I now queried you?

 

[Eva Ulian]

Oh my... I've just looked at the date... October!!! I've missed it, haven't I? Will he come back, because my question still stands. @AgentPete