Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ann Rose. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ann, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I think there is a beauty in not rushing things. We live in a world where instant gratification is the norm, but getting all the things we want quickly and exactly when we want them isn’t always the best thing when you’re building a career. I’m not sure where the saying comes from, but it’s something along the lines of: we don’t learn anything from succeeding, we only truly learn from our failures. And I think this is correct. Rarely do people spend the time to think about what they did and how they did the thing when they get exactly what they want in the end. More often than not though, we will process and dissect all the things we did wrong when we fail. Why did things turn out the way they did? What could I have changed to get a different outcome.

So while on one hand, sure I’d have loved to learn all the things at a high pace and be ten times farther along than I am now, but also that’s just not how life works. And while I don’t love the mistakes I’ve made; I also recognize that they have helped me get to where I am now.

Working in publishing is not a simple or easy path. Nor is there one way to get there. If you were to ask anyone working in this industry, “Tell me how you got started.” I think you would get a variety of answers. That said, I do think there are some fundamental skills that will help anyone who wants to be in this industry.

First, is patience. Again, instant gratification is not really in the vernacular of the publishing industry. When I as an agent sell a book it likely won’t be released until years later. When my agent sells my book, again, it’s going to take time and work before it is out in the world. (And lots and lots of edits.)

Unlike most other industries I’ve worked in, publishing is a completely different beast when it comes to communication. Emails will go unanswered for days, weeks, months, and sometimes they’ll never be answered at all. Do I think this is right? No. But that’s working in publishing. Until there is more of a systematic change, be prepared to wait long periods of time and also wonder if the person even got your message at all.

Publishing is also riddled with obstacles. The biggest probably being that earning a living wage in this industry—as author or agent—is extremely difficult. It’s not like in the movies where a person sells a book, it becomes an instant NYT bestseller, and they make a gazillion dollars. We work long, hard hours, don’t make a lot of money, and we get up and do it all again the next day. Maybe one day it will pay to be passionate about the work you do. Unfortunately, that day is not today.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

About me? That feels like one of the hardest questions to answer. Not because I don’t know myself but because do people ever truly find themselves that interesting? I’ve written a number of bios in my life, and I think one of my favorites is:

Ann Rose—Literary agent, wrangler of words, drinker of way too much coffee, and someone who’s always looking for the bright side. If the quote, “Though she be but little, she is fierce!” were a person, it would be Ann.
She can be found at: The Tobias Literary Agency.
or
Read her book: The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean – Coming September 17, 2024, from Penguin Random House

It’s short, sweet, to the point, and I also think it gives anyone a quick snapshot of who I am. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think this is a good start.

From my job title (Literary Agent / Author), I think most can deduce that I work in the publishing industry. The quick and dirty of what I do is that I help authors sell their books to publishers, and then in my “spare time” I’m also a writer myself. (And no, I do not sell my own books. Just like everyone in the industry, I also had to find an agent.)

My path to this profession wasn’t a straight line. I’ve had a number of other jobs in my life that I think all in some way help inform what I’m doing now. Being an Executive Assistant and a Business System’s Analysist & Portfolio Manager—have helped me with inbox management. (A skill I’m more than happy to teach anyone in this industry who is having a hard time keeping their inbox tidy.) I’ve worked in Marketing & PR—which feels pretty self-explanatory as to why they would be helpful. And then I’ve done other things like Cosmetologist and Event Planner—which I think helps me with people.

Publishing, and even writing, had never been anything I had considered until the one fateful day my niece called me crying—telling me that her favorite book character had died. And being the auntie that I am, I did the only reasonable thing. I told her I would write her a book. And in that process I decided I should learn about publishing, got myself an internship (while I worked a fulltime job) and they rest, as they say, is history.

As for my brand, this is both a hard and easy question. In agenting, the authors I represent (are first and foremost some of the most talented writers and I’m honored to work with them) call ourselves the Rosebuds. And in the great words of one of my client’s (Tom Phillips) “If you mess with a Rosebud you get the thorns.” We are a very tightknit group—very much like a family—and that is how I like to run my business.

In publishing, it’s such a solitary experience being a writer. You go off and type the words on the page, creating people and worlds in your head, and then you are asked to share those words with the world. It’s both exciting and terrifying at the same time. So it’s in my opinion important for authors to have a team, a group, that they can go to that not only understand the process of writing and what it’s like to be a writer but also be a soft place to land when this industry chews you up and spits you out. Having a safe space, a place where you can ask questions and be vulnerable is very important to the business environment I want to run. I’m a supremely loyal person. (Taurus girl here through and through.) So my authors have been with me a long time, and I hope we stay that way.

As for my author brand, that’s a little trickier as I love to explore different genres—but in the end I think when you pick up an Ann Rose book you can expect a few things—humor, complex female characters, and twists. (Yes, I think I’m very funny.)

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think the biggest thing people who aren’t writers or don’t work in publishing have a hard time understanding is the that we aren’t all rich and famous. There are a great number of very successful authors. Who doesn’t know the name Colleen Hoover, or Stephen King, or Margaret Atwood? But the number of authors out there that aren’t “household names” are so many more.

How many of you had heard of me before today? I’m guessing there are quite a few—which is totally understandable.

But I think that just proves my point. In any industry, in any profession, there are so many more people who work there than are given credit—and those people those lesser-known ones are struggling and fighting to make a living while also doing the thing they love.

Most writers today (hell, even most agents and even editors) have other jobs. It’s very difficult to support oneself on what is being paid. Advances for authors are smaller. Agents only make money when they make a deal—meaning 90% of our day-to-day work isn’t paid at all. We are completely commissioned and when it can take weeks/months between deals, and then weeks/months before contracts are signed, and then more weeks/months/even years before those payments are made, this is a really tough industry to work in.

Don’t quit your day job is a saying for a reason!

Hollywood shows the lives of literary agents and writers as being so very glamourous—well they are starting to show how being a writer is tough, they still haven’t grasped the fact all agents don’t have giant offices that overlook Central Park—so it’s very deceiving to the everyday person how really difficult this industry is.
Most of us do this because we love it, and we believe in the work we are doing. But it would be incredible if we could go back to the time when having only one job is what we all needed to survive. (And I think that can be said about multiple industries not just publishing.)

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I’m going to be super blunt.

PAY US!

The price of everything is going up, but it is not an author’s fault that a publisher is now charging $30.00 for a hardcover book. Most people don’t know, but an author generally only gets (approximately) $1.00 from every book sale. That’s it! And authors have to earn out their advance before they make any royalties on their work. (And most never do.)

E-books, while yes are cheaper to produce, still require an author to have sat down and worked for months—for years—to create that story. So PLEASE do not be angry when an e-book isn’t free or only $0.99. Do publishers upcharge e-books in hopes that people will buy a physical copy of the book over the electronic version? Yes. They’ve made the investment and printed it, so they want to get a return on their investment. It’s not the author’s fault—and really it’s not even the publishers’ fault—that they are charging more for those e-books. (And fun fact, authors make a higher royalty rate on e-books than print copies.)

Being creative and supplying the world with content to enjoy shouldn’t be considered just a “passion project,” and we don’t need AI to create these things for us when actual humans are more than capable of it. We all seek and crave entertainment, so let’s make sure we are supporting all those who are creating it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.annroseauthor.com or https://thetobiasagency.com/ann-rose
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/totally_anntastic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/A.M.RoseAuthor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-rose-0854711/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/annmrose
• Youtube: N/A
• Yelp: N/A
• Soundcloud: N/A
• Other: Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/annmrose.bsky.social
  TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@totally_anntastic