SARITZA HERNANDEZ 

E-Pub Agent extraordinaire and avid coffee-drinker, Saritza is as short and simple as this paragraph. Give her a good paranormal or fantasy romance, a giant mug of steaming Cuban coffee and a corner to put her feet up to read, and she's one happy camper!

Saritza represents both new and established authors and is currently looking for strong erotic romance in the following sub-genres: Paranormal, sci-fi, steampunk, cyberpunk, fantasy, BDSM, historical (emphasis on Ancient Egypt, Caribbean/MesoAmerican), intercultural and all GLBT-themed erotica for the digital marketplace. 

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How would you describe the L. Perkins Agency’s mission?

SARITZA HERNANDEZ: We believe in making things happen for our authors in both the traditional and electronic publishing markets while being their biggest advocates and supporters.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How did you first get started at the agency?

SARITZA HERNANDEZ: I reached out to Lori Perkins after she made a post on Twitter asking for those interested in an opportunity to learn more about representing authors in the new digital era. After helping several of my friends draft their query letters, research publishers for their submission list and edit their manuscripts, I realized I have always enjoyed being an advocate for authors. Learning from Lori Perkins, Louise Fury and Marisa Corvisiero about contract negotiation, foreign rights and the transition between traditional and digital publishing has been really exciting! I couldn't have asked for a better opportunity.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What was your background prior to joining the agency?

SARITZA HERNANDEZ: I suppose I'm a publishing jack-of-all-trades! My career in publishing started in college where I managed the weekly newspaper and annual arts magazines as Editor-In-Chief of the newspaper and metro editor of the magazine. After college I worked at Harcourt in the technical production department in their digital content conversion group then moved into technical support while doing freelance editorial work for a local small business newsletter.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: You are the agency’s digital rights specialist. What are you most interested in representing?

SARITZA HERNANDEZ: Anyone who knows me will tell you I have rather eclectic tastes in everything from music to food and what I love to read is no different. I'm currently representing mostly erotic romance and am a big advocate of GLBT rights. I love strong, well-defined erotic romance with GLBT themes and characters; paranormal/urban fantasy romance, steampunk/cyberpunk romance and romantic suspense.

In digital publishing, the romance genre has done very well and continues to grow. In fact, one of Samhain Publishing's titles, Maya Banks' Colter's Daughter recently made the NYT Bestseller list! I'm looking to represent the next Bestselling romance author!

I'm also interested in representing more urban fantasy/paranormal, dark fantasy and gothic horror.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: A handful of smaller publishers have gone out of business in the past year, and Borders seems on the verge of financial collapse. How much of this is the result of eBooks, and what are your thoughts on whether traditional publishing can thrive in an increasingly digitized reading world?

SARITZA HERNANDEZ: The publishing industry is evolving. As its content delivery has evolved from the days of papyrus to bound books, the digital era has introduced another point in its evolution timeline. The digital product, to me is another format of content delivery and the publishers who see and embrace this new content delivery method will be the ones who survive the Big Bang of ePub's emergence. I don't believe eBooks are to blame for Borders' demise any more than I believe the Guttenberg Press to be responsible for the death of papyrus scrolls. If anything, the new method of content delivery has expanded the opportunity for increased readership.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: A number of writers and commentators on the blogosphere who are doing well with self-published eBooks have turned their rhetoric toward traditional publishing in an angry, chip-on-their-shoulder way. What are your feelings about self-published authors who do extremely well and seem to want to badmouth traditional publishing and steer aspiring writers away from New York?

SARITZA HERNANDEZ: First, let me clarify that self-publishing and ePublishing are not the same thing. Yes, those who self-publish do so through some of the ePublishing tool sets available to digital publishers but they do so on their own without any quality control methods in place. An ePublished author is one whose work has been accepted by a digital publisher who provides editorial, design, marketing and financial backing to produce a high-quality product in a very similar way the traditional publisher would. I find it very off-putting when I read authors badmouth anyone in the publishing industry (traditional or otherwise) and I steer clear of those authors both as an agent and a consumer.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How much editing work do you do with your clients?

SARITZA HERNANDEZ: I believe in providing the best work my clients have to offer to the editors I submit the work to, so I proofread everything they send me. I would love to have the time to edit their work as well but doing so would take time away from selling their work so I prefer to be another "set of eyes" on the work, not the only ones.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What advantages does an author get signing with an agent if he/she only wants to publish his/her books as eBooks?

SARITZA HERNANDEZ: The same advantages a traditional published author has: An advocate who will not only fight for the rights of the author to obtain and retain the best deal for their talent as well as a guide in the evolving market. ePublishers have editors who are looking to fill their lines, agents research these publishers and get to know the editors and what they like. We negotiate the best terms for the author and help guide the author's career path to success while allowing the author to do what they do best: write! My clients know they have someone in their corner when they need to address concerns with their publishers and someone they can call when they just need someone to "talk them down". An ePub Agent's role is not any different than your traditional literary agent and as the industry continues to change, agents are learning more about digital rights management than ever before.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What is the single kindest thing anyone in our business has done for you?

SARITZA HERNANDEZ: Hmm… I don't know that I can isolate just one thing but I suppose the one that stands out the most was having Literary Attorney Elaine English (whom I've secretly fangirled for YEARS) seek me out at a conference recently to introduce herself, shake my hand (which I hope was not as clammy as I feared it was) and offer to be available for questions and advice any time. When she handed me her card and wished me well, I swear I thought I was going to faint. I couldn't stop grinning the rest of the day!

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How should prospective clients contact you regarding representation?

SARITZA HERNANDEZ: Prospective clients should send me a query, detailed synopsis of their completed and edited work as well as the first three chapters to my email: sh@lperkinsagency.com.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: At the end of the day, what is the most satisfying thing about working in publishing as a literary agent?

SARITZA HERNANDEZ: Calling a client to let them know they will now be known as a published author is the greatest feeling in the world and one of the most satisfying things about the job. Sending out royalty checks comes in at a close second!

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Thanks so much, Saritza!

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