A Candid Q+A with Juliet Mushens

The literary agent gives us an honest take on how publishers market books, advice to authors, advance levels and the highlights of the job...

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to The Honest Editor. I have a really candid interview for you today, from superstar literary agent Juliet Mushens of Mushens Entertainment. I asked Juliet some very honest questions and she has been so generous with her answers. I hope you all find it useful, and thank you as ever for reading.

Juliet Mushens has been an agent for over a decade. More than a dozen of her clients are Sunday Times bestsellers, with half a dozen claiming the number one slot in the last two years alone. Her clients include multi-million copy bestsellers such as Jessie Burton, Claire Douglas, Taran Matharu and Richard Osman. The Times ran a piece in 2021 recognising her as the first agent to represent the number 1, 2 and 3 UK fiction bestsellers in the same week: ‘Star literary agent first to top the charts three times’, a feat she repeated in 2022. Juliet sits on the advisory board of Book Brunch, is currently President of the British Fantasy Society and is a Trustee of the Women’s Prize Trust.

1. Hi Juliet, thank you so much for your time. Can you tell us a bit about your role as a literary agent - how did you get into it, and why was agenting what you wanted to do?

I came to agenting via a slightly circuitous path! My first job was as the fiction marketing assistant at HarperCollins – working on big brand commercial fiction authors, and doing everything from writing cover copy to drafting author newsletters and supporting on campaign briefings and pitches. I graduated into the recession and Harper had a hiring freeze shortly after I joined in 2008; the editorial assistant on the Voyager list had just left so they asked me to pick up his job too. It was a lot to juggle, but it meant that I got to experience the editorial side of the business alongside marketing.

I quickly realised that I enjoyed reading submissions and working closely with authors. But I also loved the variety of the marketing job and the ability to work across everything from fantasy to rom-com to thrillers. I’d never met an agent prior to working there, and as I was more exposed to that side of the business it seemed to me that agenting blended the marketing and commercial side, with the close editorial relationship. I interviewed to become assistant to two literary agents at PFD, and in time became an agent there. I learned a lot from the agents I worked for (Annabel Merullo and Rowan Lawton), and I’ve been very lucky to have great mentoring relationships with a variety of agents and publishers throughout my career.

I think you’re never too experienced to learn something new.

The agenting role is essentially to be the middle-man between author and publisher. That means reading submissions and deciding which I want to represent, working editorially with the author and then hopefully placing their book with publishers in the UK, US and internationally. I then negotiate the contract and act to troubleshoot and help manage the process throughout – whether that is strategizing about new ideas, weighing in on editorial notes, feeding back on the jacket, or the marketing and publicity plan and sales.

2. What do you think the number one reason is that some authors never find an agent, or a publishing deal?

Often the novels I read don’t contain enough stakes or tension. Whether it’s a love story, an historical novel, or a fantasy, there has to be a reason as a reader to continue to turn the pages, and to want to find out what happens to these characters.

My most common reason for passing on full manuscripts is that that core tension isn’t strong enough to keep me invested.

3. What are the biggest challenges facing authors today?

People have much shorter attention spans than they used to! I think you get less time to build a career or a brand. You’re competing against videogames, TikTok, social media, TV series… as well as many other authors, self-published as well as traditionally published. I think readers are often more ruthless in terms of moving onto a new author if a publication gap is too long.

4. How much money do literary agents make, and how is that money made?

It depends how successful you are! Our business is a commission-based one, so we take 15% of the advance and royalties from UK sales and 20% from film/TV and in translation, which is usually split with a co-agent, so 10% hits our bottom line. My list is largely made up of repeat authors now, i.e. those with an established track record already, meaning that I can roughly guess how much they (and I!) will make from book deals per year. Debuts are trickier to track.

There’s no ceiling (we’ve all read about twelve-way auctions, seven figure pre-empts and the like) but there’s also no floor. Sometimes I love something but can’t sell it.

Some literary agents are salaried – so their agency pays them a guaranteed amount, and they’re usually profitable to the agency once they make 3x their salary in commission, and they might have bonuses (discretionary or performance related) in the back end. Some don’t get paid a salary but get a percentage of the commission they make, and the agency gets the remainder.Some literary agents do 4 figures in commission a year. Some do 7 figures.

5. When you're choosing a publishing home for your authors, what are the factors you consider? Do you ever go with an under-bidder?

• Editorial vision

• Track record of editor/house

• Strategy – when will they publish, what format will they publish in, how will they position it, how will they market and publicise and sell the book.

• Will they make the book a priority?

• Money and financial package

We always reserve the right to go with the under-bidder and have done so in the past. Sometimes that’s because their strategy is stronger, or there’s less internal competition, or the back-end is better.

Sometimes the author really connects with an editor so even if they pay less they seem a better fit.

I always insist we do meetings (on Zoom or in person) in an auction situation, because pitches can look very similar on paper, but you learn a lot from hearing the publishers speak about their plan or vision. You also pick up on some of the intangibles – can the editor take control of the room and lead the meeting effectively? (That usually hints at how they can galvanise the marketing, publicity and sales teams during a publication process.) How is their rapport with the author? Are they confident if you ask a tricky question? Are there any red flags?

However, the money and financial package usually goes hand-in-hand with ambition. If they’re offering a big advance, you know that they’ll invest more into it from a publicity and marketing and sales perspective. It’s not the only marker, but it’s an important one. Having said that, I have had some hugely successful novels where the advance was low, but the publishing was ambitious and the book struck a chord - and the author made six figures of royalties in the back end.

6. What are the lowest and highest levels of advance you've accepted for your authors?

Advances range from the thousands to the millions. Big brand authors with guaranteed track records and royalties to point to can command the top end. I have occasionally sold a debut for 7 figures, but it’s very unusual and only in deeply competitive situations.

I would also say that the UK is not the only piece of the puzzle.

There are some authors who make 4 figures a book in the UK but they make a lot more from international markets. So, one author of mine makes six figures a book combined, but only 10% of that is UK. Or you might get a film option, or write for newspapers, or do a podcasting deal… Often my full-time authors have portfolio careers: their money is a mix of royalties, advances, journalism, rights deals etc.

7. What do you think of the way publishers market books?

A mixed bag. Because I started my career in-house in a marketing department, I have seen firsthand that some marketers are truly excellent at their job: they are innovative, they laugh in the face of no-budget, they are ambitious and creative. Some aren’t! That’s true of every industry though. I think that we need to get better at figuring out what works on new media, whilst not ignoring older readers who are reached in more traditional ways.

Overall, I think that marketing is irrelevant without solid distribution. You can have a great marketing campaign but if retailers haven’t taken many copies it’s largely pointless.

Of course, a great marketing campaign being planned for a book can be a key reason why a retailer takes a big quantity too, when the book is being sold in. Sometimes, if a hardback flops, the publisher won’t put much behind the paperback and it ends up being a self-fulfilling prophecy, which is disappointing.

8. What are the kinds of difficult conversations one has to have as an agent?

Agenting requires a lot of resilience, because you are typically the person that breaks the bad news. This can be: your publisher doesn’t want to acquire your next book, you didn’t chart, you got a horrendous review, you didn’t win a prize, the sales are terrible. It can also be sometimes that a book idea just doesn’t work, or that your editor is leaving, or your imprint is folding. I’m a very positive person by nature, and I always try to put a positive spin on it and look to the future. Okay, so this book hasn’t worked but let’s brainstorm the next book. Or, okay, your editor’s leaving but it means you have a big fan in another publishing house. I have absolutely had authors dropped by their publishers who think all hope is gone deliver a new book which is a banger and which leads to a new deal and their biggest ever chart position. I have to be able to be honest with my authors about bad news, as it’s part and parcel of being traditionally published.

9. What is the absolute best part of your job? Any proud moments you want to highlight?

I LOVE unpicking a knotty editorial question. Nothing gives me more joy than coming up with an absolute eureka moment that helps an author solve a big plot problem. It’s also great to share good news as well as bad! It’s extremely exciting to let an author know they’re getting their debut published, or a big book subs box, or picked for R&J, or a film adaptation is being made, or they’ve hit the Sunday Times list…

Sometimes my proudest moments are the invisible ones. We all see the starry ‘deal of the day’ announcements, things being sold in massive auctions or pre-empts, massive bestsellers or prize-winners. But sometimes selling a novel after the last one was rejected universally is so fulfilling.

Or everyone hating a jacket and me steering us through to one everyone loves. These are big moments no one really witnesses publicly, and are deeply satisfying.

10. What advice would you give to authors who want to be traditionally published?

I think it’s integral to remember that publishing is a business and also that rejection isn’t personal: it’s about the book and not you. I think it’s healthy to make sure that you don’t base your esteem around publishing success and have other things to focus on.

I would also say that hitting delivery deadlines and building professional relationships is a core part of building a long-term career too. It’s not for everyone – the money can be crap, it can take years to see a return on investment, and lots of people have a day-job alongside writing. But if you do want to make a traditionally published successful career, treat it like you would a normal job.

Write whenever you can. Focus on the things you can change, not the things you can’t.

And – every one of my authors knows this one! – comparison is the thief of joy. Focus on your own journey, not everyone else’s.

11. What do you think of the self-publishing industry?

Some of my favourite books of recent years were self-published. The people I know who have made a real success of it are extremely plugged into their audience and put a ton of time and effort into engaging with their fans through social media, newsletters, appearances etc. They also write FAST. Sometimes 6+ books a year. I think if you want to self-publish you have to carefully consider what you want to get out of it, and how realistic it is to achieve that.

12. How do agent beauty contests work? Do you feel competitive with other agents?

Sometimes I offer representation and other agents have also offered representation – we meet the author in Zoom or in person, share our editorial vision, strategy for the book and how we work as an agent. Then the author picks who they believe to be the best fit. However, with four of the last five novels I’ve signed I was the only person offering: I tend to trust my gut even if other agents don’t see what I see. I don’t feel particularly competitive with other agents (back to that ‘comparison is the thief of joy’ thing), partly I think because my taste is so broad, I rarely compete against the same people. I think if I was a crime agent and lost to the same other crime agent repeatedly, I’d probably feel differently!

13. What percentage of submissions do you take on from the ones you receive?

Last year I called in 30 full manuscripts and offered representation on three – so 10% exactly. I have no idea how many submissions in a year I receive however, and suspect it’s in the thousands. However, if you’re getting full requests you’re clearly doing something right…

Thank you so much, Juliet, for speaking to The Honest Editor. If anyone has any questions or comments, as always please pop them below, and share with your networks if you think they would find it useful!

Phoebe x