Laurie McLean
Literary Agent, Fuse Literary
Director of the 2019 San Francisco Writer’s Conference
Laurie McLean wears many hats. She is the Director of the San Francisco Writers Conference and the San Francisco Writers Foundation. She is a literary agent, and founder of Fuse Literary, a next generation literary agency headquartered in California’s Silicon Valley with agents located throughout the U.S. As a literary agent she specializes in genre fiction and middle-grade/young-adult children’s books.
She is a former Silicon Valley marketing and PR professional and has been writing professionally since high school, first as a journalist, then as a public relations agent and finally as a novelist. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from SUNY-Binghamton and a master’s from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Journalism.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a journalist and how did that interest manifest in high school?
When I was in high school, I watched the reports about the Watergate break-in, and followed the investigative reporting of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with a fever! I too wanted to root out corruption wherever it was found and make the world a better place. I had also already been a high school sports reporter for our local newspaper in upstate New York, so it was obvious to me that I would earn a degree in journalism in college and follow in Woodward and Bernstein’s footsteps.
What did you learn about yourself in college at Binghamton University and at Syracuse Newhouse School of Journalism?
College is an interesting transition time in a young person’s life. You go from having your parents as your problem-solving back-ups and main advisors to doing it all on your own… whether that means selecting classes, dealing with bullying or partying, making decisions of all sorts, and learning who you are as a person and who you want to become. I learned that I wanted to become an entrepreneur (so far, I’ve started four successful businesses), a writer (I still write fiction and lots of business-related writing), and someone who could change the world.
What triggered you to start your own public relations agency, McLean Public Relations after grad school?
After I graduated with a master’s degree in magazine journalism from the prestigious Newhouse School of Communication at Syracuse University, I came out West and could not find a job in journalism. Every magazine needed their reporters to be experts in their subject matter (Guitar Player, Runner’s World, Homebrew Computer magazine, etc.) as well as a great interviewer and writer. And because you need money to live, I went back to what I was doing between college and grad school… public relations. But it was in the early days of the microcomputer revolution and I was surrounded by super-successful computer nerds, so I started my own agency after a few years in a few high-tech PR jobs. That was the beginning of a 20-year mega-successful time in my life where I was working with big name companies in their formative years and beyond (Apple, Adobe, Intuit, Hotmail, etc.). I have never had so much fun or worked so hard than when I was the CEO of McLean Public Relations. I was even profiled in a magazine as one of the Top 100 Movers and Shakers in the Mac industry! Head spinning!
After writing various manuscripts, what was the reason you decided that the life of a literary agent was your calling? What are your future plans?
After I retired from marketing, I discovered something about myself that I hadn’t really known previously. I like using both halves of my brain—the creative half and the analytical half. I love writing and creating and working with writers and other artists. But I equally like the shark part of deal-making and negotiating. Being a literary agent allowed me to fully utilize both halves of my brain and have fun too. I plan to keep growing Fuse Literary with my business partner Gordon Warnock, to be the model of the literary agency of the future. This current revolution in book publishing has so much left to explore. And we are eager to keep innovating.
What are your goals and expectations for the 2019 San Francisco Writers Conference?
I always want the San Francisco Writers Conference to do two things: Be the best writers conference in the world (we’re always in the Top 3) and be better than the year before. So far, so good. Most of the revolution engine in publishing is coming from the Silicon Valley, so since we’re the Silicon Valley’s writers conference, we want to cover everything from the craft of writing to building a fan base to the commerce of publishing. Our motto is “Craft, Commerce and Community” and we want to strengthen and grow that every year.
If you could tell your younger self anything what would it be?
Don’t sweat the small stuff (Hint: It’s all small stuff!).
What are the biggest lessons that you hope to share with young aspiring writers entering the field today?Don’t give up. The business of publishing is ruthless. The exact opposite of the art of creating. But there are many options today to get your work into the hands of readers. So, if you don’t get a literary agent right away, don’t sweat it. Keep learning about the craft of writing (it’s a journey, not a destination), the business of self-publishing and traditional publishing, and remember why you started writing in the first place. Never forget that initial spark. You probably didn’t start writing to become a bestselling author. You did it because you love writing. And maybe you had something to say. If you change one person in the world for the better, doesn’t that make your efforts worthwhile?
Is there anything else you would like to share?
We have student scholarships every year for a full Saturday at the San Francisco Writers Conference. There is no excuse not to try for one of those and come to the event. You will learn so much, meet amazing people at all levels of writing proficiency, and it will be a life-changing experience. Go for it! I hope to see you there.
I was one of the students lucky enough to obtain a student scholarship to the 2019 San Francisco Writers Conference and was amazed by the community of authors, editors, agents, publishing professionals and other presenters and their willingness to share information and welcome me to their community.
Thank you so much!
Jackie Prata
All art/photos belong to Laurie McLean and are used with her permission.