Do What You Love Interview – Caroline Hardman of Hardman & Swainson

Caroline Hardman is a literary agent and founding partner of Hardman & Swainson, a dynamic boutique literary agency with a diverse range of clients. We have shared several interviews with authors here on Do What You Love, but thought it would be fascinating to interview someone on the business side of books, who plays a vital role in helping authors get their books to market and into readers’ hands – so here you go… ~ Beth

Caroline

Caroline says, “We pride ourselves on our personal, hands-on care of our authors. I have a firm belief in the value and power of books and the magic of reading, and love working with authors to get books to market that people will enjoy and want to talk about.” 

1. How are you leading a life ‘doing what you love’?

As a fan of books and reading, working in publishing is an ideal career for me, and I think all the people we get approaching us about jobs would agree. I was lucky enough to find my metier within that broader industry: agenting. Being able to see a book through to publication from the very early states is incredibly rewarding and I love the key elements of working as an agent: close editorial work with writers, and, of course, negotiating deals!

International Publishing Fair (Frankfurt)

2. What did you do before this?

After leaving university I worked for Waterstones for a short time to get some industry sales experience and did some temp work whilst I fantasised about moving to London. Before running my own company, I worked at other agencies, including the Christopher Little Literary Agency and The Marsh Agency, where I specialised in selling translation rights – this is a fascinating job which involves dealing with publishers from all over the world and I got to negotiate deals on behalf of some bestselling authors, including Bill Bryson, Kate Atkinson, and Iain Banks. This meant I was fortunate enough to travel to places such as Seoul, Rio, Paris, and Athens to meet publishers, as well as attending international book fairs in Frankfurt, New York and at home in London.

Alastair Gunn (author of The Advent Killer) and Caroline at Harrogate Crime Writing Festival.

3. Why do you do what you do?

There’s nothing more satisfying than getting an author a publishing deal, and seeing that dream become a reality. I love receiving a batch of hot-off-the-press books. That satisfaction is topped when people read and buy that author’s work. I wanted to do a job that I felt had some creative and intellectual value – to me and to other people. I’m not very practical (!) or visually artistic, but I have a deep respect for words and how powerful, meaningful, enlightening, or simply entertaining they can be in the right hands.

Joanna (Swainson) & Caroline (Hardman)

4. What motivated you to start up your own business?

I was working for Christopher Little, the venerable agent who discovered JK Rowling, and it was clear that he was starting to wind down just as I was really getting the bit between my teeth. I’d been approached by a very large corporate agency and was thinking about my next move, when a colleague – my now partner Joanna Swainson – suggested setting up together. I’d never seriously considered running my own company, but once I started thinking about it, the idea of being independent was too enticing. As my friends pointed out at the time: I’ve never liked being told what to do!

5, What is the biggest obstacle that your business has overcome?

It’s not a real obstacle, but I think just setting up the business has been our biggest challenge. I had to think about things like accounting, royalties and legal matters, that previously had been handled by other people in the companies I’d worked for. It’s a new level of responsibility – the flipside of independence.

Dinah Jefferies, Caroline, Rights Director and German Publisher  and Dinah’s book – The Separation

6. What aspect of your business are you most proud of?

I’m most proud of our authors and what they’re achieving. We built our client list from 18 to 35 authors in one year, and our authors have gone on to achieve some amazing deals as well as stellar sales and reviews. The authors are what the business is all about.

Rebecca Wait at her bookshop signing and her book – The View on the Way Down 

7. How do you balance your work and the rest of your life?

It is hard to separate work and life sometimes, especially when publishing is a very sociable business and because I like to read outside of work too. It helps that I’ve got a lot of friends who aren’t in the industry and my husband also works in a different field. I try not to work late into the evening so I can spend time with him and it’s important for me (and for work) to have other interests and to just switch off. When I read for ‘pleasure’ I try to read physical books, as opposed to on a device, as I do most of my work reading on my iPad or on screen.

8. As a literary agent what is the best advice you would give to aspiring new writers?

I could be here all day talking with this one…

My number one piece of advice is: READ. It seems from the submissions we get that, surprisingly, there are many people who want to write a book, who don’t actually seem to read them. I think some people idealise being an author without really knowing the blood, sweat and tears writing entails. So, know the market you’re writing for and appreciate what makes a great crime novel or piece of literary fiction.

Then when it comes to the writing itself: EDIT.  Never consider submitting a piece of work that hasn’t been worked on many times, then put aside, re-read and re-worked. It’s essential to cut out what doesn’t need to be written or what isn’t working.

And keep in mind that most authors don’t get published straight away. Most of them have toiled at their craft for years and been rejected by many agents and publishers before they get a deal (not always, but most of the time!).

The Compatibility Gene – Daniel M. Davis