Writer (and Agent) Spotlight: Eric Smith

You are passionate about advancing LGBTQ+ writers, and those who are under-represented and marginalized. You have no tolerance for racism and misogyny. You edited “Welcome Home,” an anthology of adoption stories. Did your early life tie these threads together?

I like to think so. I grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, outside Newark, in a super diverse community. Not just in my group of friends, but in my immediate family. I had a number of friends in high school and college that didn’t have books to see themselves in growing up. And when I look for diverse, LGBTQ+ titles, I’m thinking of them, and the teens today who could benefit from these books, in the ways they most likely could have.

As for my family, I’m an adoptee. My family is white, I’m Middle Eastern, my sister is Hispanic, we’re a delightful blend, the Smiths.

So yeah, the friends and family who surrounded me throughout my young life certainly influenced my taste in books. And my amazing wife pushes me to keep trying to find those voices.

You’ve been known to request a “guest pass” when you present, and to bring along a marginalized writer. Have any of your “guests” gone on to bigger things?

It’s true, I do that! It’s only been a year or so of doing that, so I haven’t heard any stories of them being scooped up by agents yet, but I’ve got my fingers crossed. So talented, every single one of them.

Your first book came about from a co-worker’s suggestion at Quirk Publishing. Obviously, he saw something in you: humor, geekiness, and what? a sustained ability to produce verbiage, to tackle the project. Was it a little bit more than semi-autobiographical? Do you think you would have written, if not The Geek’s Guide to Dating, then the novels that followed (Inked, Branded and the soon-to-be-released The Girl and the Grove) eventually?

So, I was busy working on Inked around the time The Geek’s Guide to Dating fell into my lap. Shout out to Jason Rekulak, the best publisher and coworker anyone could ask for. So I think I would have definitely kept writing my YA books if that book hadn’t happened. Though I really think it helped bolster my career. Having the sales and publicity from that book no doubt helped my agent in selling my future books.

And quite a bit of it was a little autobiographical. The opening of the book talks about an essay I’d published about Chrono Trigger, lists my best friend, little things like that. And there are pieces of me peppered throughout that book. From the mixtape (I specifically insist the reader listen to New Found Glory) to the specific references to Magic the Gathering, there’s a lot of me in there.

Does your writing self ever clash with your editing self? With your marketing self?

No, not really. I don’t believe in thinking about marketing when I’m writing something. Trends and all that… those are passing. If you’re thinking about marketing angles while writing your book, or when you’re considering writing a book, you’re doing it wrong.

The story comes first. That’s what matters. Write the book of your heart and ignore the marketing nonsense. It’s not important yet.

And I wish my editing self chimed in when it came to my own work. My stories are full of comma and ellipsis abuse. I’ll never change.

Published May 2018

With a BA and MA in English (I’ve got a BA in English too, and for me, total hubris) was writing (and reading) always part of the plan?

Kinda? I was studying theater and playwriting my first two years of college, until a professor told me I should probably be an English major, because I could write plays AND books if I went that route. And also I wasn’t a very good actor. Hahah.

Once I wrapped up graduate school, my plan was definitely to get into working at a publishing house. I got really lucky with the team at Quirk, and lucky again when P.S. Literary brought me on board as an agent.

Books were always in the future. I just didn’t know the route it would take to get there.

Has the addition of your son in September changed your working life?

Oh, well yes most definitely. I’m not working as much as I’d like to these days, but that’s a perfectly fine thing. I’ll take hanging out with my baby and having spontaneous dance parties in my living room with him over a new book deal any day.

Your blog work at Geekadelphia led to your job at Quirk Publishing. You helped to market such titles as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” and William Shakespeare’s Star Wars. What did you do to draw attention to these titles? Where does your marketing mojo come from?

Lots of personal attention? That’s what one of the biggest perks of smaller presses is. Smaller lists, meant I had lots of time to reach out to people individually, to see if they wanted to check out the books. We had a really great team there.

Your agent-seeking advice for potential clients is common sense (DO YOUR RESEARCH!) but unfortunately not so common. Do you attribute taking your own advice to landing an agent on the first try? Was your agent at all intimidated by your being an agent?

So, I wasn’t an agent yet when I signed with my Rockstar agent, Dawn Frederick (Red Sofa Literary). I was still working at Quirk. And I did pitch around another book before signing with Dawn that I never got signed with. But with Inked, Dawn was the very first person, and yup, done and done.

Inked is about teens with tattoos, and Dawn is a kick ass rollerderby referee with lots of ink. Also, she worked with some Quirk clients, and I loved the personal attention she gave them. I talked about a lot of that, and it was just a great fit.

Your career path is a winding road from co-founding a local events blog to Quirk Publishing to PS Literary. You’ve lived in New Jersey, Philadelphia and now Ann Arbor? Was this career path happenstance? Were you following your passion? What made you choose Michigan? Has it proven to be a good move?

There’s nothing particularly magical about any of those moves, really. Philadelphia was for graduate school. Ann Arbor was so me and my wife could be closer to her family when we had the baby. Sorry! Boring answer, I think.

Ann Arbor has been a great place though. It’s a wonderfully bookish town, tons of bookstores, lots of lovely writers everywhere. I’m still getting the hang of the place, but I am a fan.

More on Eric Smith

Click HERE to see his website

Click HERE  to read 5 questions with Eric Smith  

Click HERE to read how Eric grades queries

Click  HERE to read Eric's views on diversity

Click HERE  for posts by Eric on Book Riot

Click  HERE to hear Eric interviewed on a podcast

Click HERE to hear the very first Hey YA podcast with Eric Smith and Kelly Jensen

Eric Smith is a literary agent, author, book reviewer, blogger, podcast host and guest, a new father and a recent arrival to the state of Michigan.

Charlie Barshaw (pictured with better half Ruth) is, at this moment, driving cross-country from an agent retreat in the Seattle area.This  meeting fascinating, creative people (and writing, sometimes) is a great gig.