MEGHAN MACDONALD
After six years in academia, learning under the greats of Classical History such as Michael Dewar,
Timothy Barnes and Matthew Clarke, and ten years in medical health services, Meghan Macdonald
lived in the UK for two years, most of which time was spent working for literary agent David Grossman. While overseas, she
worked as a freelance editor for undergraduate and graduate students in English, History and Classics. Upon returning to
Canada, Meghan began working for TLA as an administrative assistant, researcher and assistant to the agents. She also acted
as the primary editor for a doctoral dissertation in Social Work for a student at Wilfrid Laurier University. She has recently
begun building her own list as a literary agent with TLA with excellent clients she is proud to work with.
HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How does your background in academia influence
your interests as a literary agent?
MEGHAN MACDONALD: It has set the bar high in terms of the calibre of finished manuscript I’ll consider; spelling,
grammar, sentence structure and an artfulness with the language are all vital to me, and they rightly should be in a business
that trades in literature.
HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Prior to working at TLA, you were with David Grossman for a year. What were the most important things you learned
while in the role?
MEGHAN MACDONALD: I learned so many things working for David Grossman, it’s almost impossible to narrow them down, particularly
because I’m still discovering new things that were standard fare in his agency. But generally, I learned to always
expect the very best, to enjoy the process as a whole, to utilize that quintessentially English stoicism to its best effect,
and to delight in good conversation.
HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What are you most interested in representing?
MEGHAN MACDONALD: I’m most interested in fiction that introduces me
to a new way of perceiving the world, and non-fiction that really challenges me.
HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What is the best way for prospective clients to contact
you?
MEGHAN
MACDONALD: Always
email. Everyone in publishing receives an incredible amount of email in a day, a week, a month, and although it’s sometimes
hard to respond to everyone in good time, it’s one of the best ways to be introduced to a writer’s work.
HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What are your thoughts on the recent trend
of some agencies functioning as an eBook publisher for their clients’ work?
MEGHAN MACDONALD: An agent is not a passive participant in the industry; we’re
facilitators. We’re here to get the best for our clients, to offer advice and, importantly, provide options. Digital
publishing is exactly that: an option, and we would be remiss not to offer it to our clients to consider pursuing.
HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: A few publishing news stories of late have
highlighted how some authors who have broken out as self-published eBook authors have gone on to sign print deals with major
publishers, while their agents fought to keep the digital rights with the author. What are your thoughts on keeping the eBook
rights reserved to the author? Is this something that publishers feel strongly about securing? And what do you do in a case
where you have an author who has sold very well on his/her own as an eBook self-published author and so only wants to sell
print rights?
MEGHAN MACDONALD: E-Books, enhanced e-Books and issues of rights are still being explored in many different ways by authors, publishers
and agencies alike. So there’s no blanket approach to take for all situations – everything depends on the author’s
preferences, the publishers’ mandates and resources, and any initiatives agencies pursue on behalf of their clients.
In many cases,
the publisher is very keen to secure e-Book rights and will produce an e-Book as another edition – along with hardback,
trade paperback, mass market paperback, etc – with the same editing, layout and cover art as the print editions. I
feel this is a good thing, because it standardizes the work across formats and platforms and allows the author to capitalize
on and enhance their own professional brand. In a lot of cases, a publisher won’t take on a work without e-Book rights
as well, because otherwise it could be considered a competing edition and would be in breach of most template contract language.
I’m still
early enough in my career as an agent that I don’t have any authors who have self-published an e-Book and want to sell
print rights only. My personal sense of things is to offer print and e-Book rights to a single publisher looking to acquire
the book so that the work will look and feel the same across multiple platforms. However, I’m always open to new ideas
and strategies for a client’s work and would readily consider alternative solutions in particular situations.
HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Where did your love of history first begin?
MEGHAN MACDONALD: With fiction, surprisingly enough. My parents
are big readers, so there were always stories to be told. It was books like The Jungle Book, The Dark Is Rising series, and
The Eagle of the Ninth that introduced me to the reality of other worlds, other times, and other peoples.
HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Why did you pursue a career outside of academia?
MEGHAN
MACDONALD: I never
really went about ‘pursuing a career’ in a structured, planned or meaningful sense, so the choice to pursue a
career outside of academia was never really mine to make. Academia is a tougher business than publishing, but they still
both essentially trade in ideas and the pursuit of articulating and discussing them.
HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Describe your dream client.
MEGHAN MACDONALD: I don’t have one. People always have
something unique to bring to the table and this is, after all, a perpetual relationship-building learning experience. I like
all of my clients for who they are and how they see the world.
HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: At the end of the day, what do you most love about working in publishing?
MEGHAN MACDONALD: The beauty of expression. It sounds simple
and idealistic, I know, but there are turns of phrase, ideas, and concepts that can stir the blood and galvanize the brain
into action. At the end of the day, we’re all in this because we’re enthusiastic about it.
HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Thanks
so much for speaking with us, Meghan.
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