Please welcome Lori Perkins...Agent, ePublisher, Author

Welcome, Lori. We're so pleased to have you with us today! Lots of great advice here today folks!

WTR: Where can we find you online?
LP: You can reach me at lperkinsagency@yahoo.com. I have 2 blogs, ravenousromance.blogspot.com, and agentinthemiddle.com

WTR: What made you choose your career as an agent?
LP: I was a journalist, and left to become an agent because I wanted to work with both nonfiction and fiction.

WTR: What exactly are the duties of an agent?
LP: We get your book in shape for submission (edits and rewriting), find you the best publisher, negotiate your contract, and oversee your writing career.

WTR: What is the most important thing for a writer to do to catch your eye?
LP: Know what I sell and tell me why I should represent you

WTR: What is the worst thing an author can do to turn you off?
LP: Tell me you have 15 novels waiting for me to read. I can only sell one at a time, so tell me about your best and most commercial work.

WTR: What genres are you looking for at this time?
LP: Right now, I am not taking on new clients (I have 80, but I have 3 junior agents who are all looking for new authors (and I read everything).
* Marsha Philitas (mplperkinsagency@gmail.com) is looking for erotica and erotic romance,
* Sandy Lu (sllperkinsagency@lperkinsagency.com) is looking for thrillers, mysteries, chick lit and literary fiction, and
* EK (EK@lperkinsagency.com) is looking for YA, sci-fi, fantasy, and graphic novels. I oversee everything submitted.

WTR: What are you currently reading?
LP: I read three books a week for Ravenousromance.com, so right now I am reading volume II of VITAL SIGNS, our erotic version of Grey’s Anatomy.

WTR: What is your favorite book?
LP: I have four: 1984, Dracula, Gone with the Wind and Anne Rice’s Beauty Book series.

WTR: I understand you are part owner of Ravenous Romance, tell us a little about the company.
LP: Ravenousromance.com is an ebook and audio publisher of erotic romance fiction. We publish a book a day and a short story a day.
It was started by myself and two of my publishing colleagues, Holly Schmidt and Allan Penn, because we realized there was a growing readership for erotic romance and that epublishing was the wave of the future.
As an agent, I had sold a number of the erotica short story writers into the growing erotic romance market in traditional publishing, but the publishers only wanted one book a year. My authors could write 10, and there were readers waiting for their next book. Epublishing delivers books to readers at the pace they want them.

WTR: How does the current economy affect your views on publishing?
LP: People are getting tired of paying $30 for a hardcover, $20 for a trade paperback that should be a $5 mass market, and close to $10 for a mass market. Books are pricing themselves out of the entertainment budget. When they cost the same as a DVD or CD or a game, it’s a hard choice. A book should be $5, which is what a ravenousromance.com title is.

WTR: Do you think ebooks will ever replace print?
LP: No, people will always want books, but for entertainment purposes and/or high school and college reading, yes, I think people would prefer to download a copy of The Scarlet Letter rather than carry it around with them. And for traveling, I can carry 30 books on my ereader in my pocketbook, which sure beats loading up my suitcase.

WTR: I understand you are also an author, where can we find your work?
LP: On my two blogs, and on Amazon. I’ve written (and published) since I was 17, so I always find time to write. At Ravenousromance, I edit a number of anthologies (I just finished editing SEX AND TAXES which will pub on April 15th). But if I’m inspired, I’ll just get up a half hour earlier to write.

WTR: What does a typical day for you look like?
LP: I work 16 hours a day M-F, and about 5 hours each day on the weekend. I’m up at 7, check email, take my son to school, work-out, work until 6, cook dinner, watch some TV with the family, and then begin editing manuscripts until about midnight.

WTR: What advice would you give for new authors?
LP: Join a professional organization so then you can be mentored by someone further along who knows your genre. Research the genre and niche you are going into. Finish that first draft. Edit. Rewrite.

WTR: What are your current projects?
LP: I’m editing two Ravenousromance.com anthologies – Threesomes and Sex Toys, so I’m looking for stories. Submitting a story to RR is a great way to break in. At least 10 of the authors we’ve published broke in with short stories.

WTR: What do you think is more important, characterization or plot?
LP: Plot. There are some best-selling novelists who use wooden characters, but the plot just drives the story. I cannot think of a single novel where the characters alone can support the story.

WTR: What is your biggest pet peeve with submissions?
LP: Books are that are too long or short. Publishable novels are 70,000 to 100,000 words (50,000 for RR).

WTR: What is the most important thing for an author to consider when searching for an agent?
LP: Whether or not the agent is looking for clients in the area you are writing in and whether or not they are taking on new clients.

WTR: What is the most important thing to consider in maintaining an agent/author relationship?
LP: That your agents has many clients, while you usually have one book. Your agent is very busy.

WTR: What is the biggest mistake a new author can make?
LP: Having unrealistic expectations.

WTR: What are your duties at Ravenous Romance?
LP: I am the editorial director. With Holly Schmidt, the Publisher, we decide what we’re going to buy at RR. I edit three books a week.

WTR: About how many books per month/year does Ravenous Romance publish/plan to publish?
LP: We publish about 250 novels and anthologies a year and the same amount of short stories. Ravenousromance.com is one of the best markets for short stories today. When you include the anthologies, we probably buy 400 short stories a year.


Lori will be available throughout the day to answer questions that you post, so be sure to leave a comment/question for her! She is also giving away two $5 gift certificates to two lucky winners! Just leave a comment to be entered in the drawing. Good luck!