CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Christine Witthohn knows a good story when she sees it. In her line of work, she had better. A Charleston-based literary agent, the 42-year-old has seen thousands of query letters from dreamy authors hoping to find their way into a book deal.

"Most literary agents read the first three pages of a submission," she said. "If there's anything wrong with those first three pages, they won't go any further."

If the agent isn't too busy, and if the submitter remembered to enclose a self-addressed-stamped envelope, they might send the hopeful author a polite form letter. However, the query letter, the synopsis, the sample chapters, and maybe a little piece of the writer's soul are consigned to the incinerator.

Nobody said getting a book published was easy. Witthohn doesn't. If anything, she explains it's even harder now than it's ever been, thanks to electronic books, price wars between retailers and, yes, a glut in the market. As always, non-fiction sells better than fiction, and every new book competes for shelf space with the millions of books that came before it.

"But you know, as bad as it is," she said, "I had my best year this year. I've sold 16 books and three others are on the fence."

Upbeat and smiling, she sees the future as pretty bright.

Witthohn joining the business world of books was unlikely. Originally from upstate New York, her family, including five sisters and two brothers, moved to Pinch when she was 7. She attended Herbert Hoover High School, but also spent some of her school years back in New York before graduating from Hoover.

After high school, she went to the University of Charleston, then George Mason University. Witthohn studied biology and chemistry, became a nurse, and was looking into medical school when her father died of cancer. His death 10 years ago affected her profoundly, and made her reevaluate what it was she really wanted to do with her life. She chose books.

"Nobody in my family saw that one coming," she laughed, but she had always loved books. She loved to read.

Becoming a literary agent wasn't easy. Training programs for literary agents are scarce. While some of the larger agencies offer in-house programs, it's often a business about connections. Literary agents are often writers themselves or worked for publishers before deciding to represent clients.

When she first started, Witthohn says she offered herself to agencies as an intern, as someone willing to work for free, just to get experience and to learn skills. Nobody wanted anything to do with her.

"I would have emptied trash cans for them," she said. "But I think they saw me as a threat -- somebody who could become a competitor."

So instead, Witthohn started going to writers' conferences. She researched the publishing industry and made contacts. Four years ago, she opened Book Cents Literary Agency and started looking for clients.

Not everybody was impressed. Getting a book published is tricky, and the industry is filled with frauds who often con hopeful authors out of money with too-good-to-be-true promises.

As a resource, the Internet hosts many online forums for writers to swap information about publishers and agents. At least one of these forums, www.absolutewrite.com, seemed suspicious of Witthohn's agency and her lack of experience.

These suspicions faded as sales by Book Cents were reported by industry sources.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Christine Witthohn knows a good story when she sees it. In her line of work, she had better. A Charleston-based literary agent, the 42-year-old has seen thousands of query letters from dreamy authors hoping to find their way into a book deal.

"Most literary agents read the first three pages of a submission," she said. "If there's anything wrong with those first three pages, they won't go any further."

If the agent isn't too busy, and if the submitter remembered to enclose a self-addressed-stamped envelope, they might send the hopeful author a polite form letter. However, the query letter, the synopsis, the sample chapters, and maybe a little piece of the writer's soul are consigned to the incinerator.

Nobody said getting a book published was easy. Witthohn doesn't. If anything, she explains it's even harder now than it's ever been, thanks to electronic books, price wars between retailers and, yes, a glut in the market. As always, non-fiction sells better than fiction, and every new book competes for shelf space with the millions of books that came before it.

"But you know, as bad as it is," she said, "I had my best year this year. I've sold 16 books and three others are on the fence."

Upbeat and smiling, she sees the future as pretty bright.

Witthohn joining the business world of books was unlikely. Originally from upstate New York, her family, including five sisters and two brothers, moved to Pinch when she was 7. She attended Herbert Hoover High School, but also spent some of her school years back in New York before graduating from Hoover.

After high school, she went to the University of Charleston, then George Mason University. Witthohn studied biology and chemistry, became a nurse, and was looking into medical school when her father died of cancer. His death 10 years ago affected her profoundly, and made her reevaluate what it was she really wanted to do with her life. She chose books.

"Nobody in my family saw that one coming," she laughed, but she had always loved books. She loved to read.

Becoming a literary agent wasn't easy. Training programs for literary agents are scarce. While some of the larger agencies offer in-house programs, it's often a business about connections. Literary agents are often writers themselves or worked for publishers before deciding to represent clients.

When she first started, Witthohn says she offered herself to agencies as an intern, as someone willing to work for free, just to get experience and to learn skills. Nobody wanted anything to do with her.

"I would have emptied trash cans for them," she said. "But I think they saw me as a threat -- somebody who could become a competitor."

So instead, Witthohn started going to writers' conferences. She researched the publishing industry and made contacts. Four years ago, she opened Book Cents Literary Agency and started looking for clients.

Not everybody was impressed. Getting a book published is tricky, and the industry is filled with frauds who often con hopeful authors out of money with too-good-to-be-true promises.

As a resource, the Internet hosts many online forums for writers to swap information about publishers and agents. At least one of these forums, www.absolutewrite.com, seemed suspicious of Witthohn's agency and her lack of experience.

These suspicions faded as sales by Book Cents were reported by industry sources.

Witthohn's first client, Kari Lee Townsend, has only good things to say about her agent. Townsend, who lives in New York, writes romance and young adult novels. Her next book, "Digital Diva," comes out in November 2010 and has been optioned by Hollywood.

"She is more than an agent," Townsend said. "She's a good friend and my biggest supporter."

Witthohn loves what she does and loves that she can do it while living in West Virginia.

"There's a lot of travel in what I do," Witthohn said. "I'm at one to three writers' conferences a month. I also commute to New York. About once a month, I spend a week in the city."

Thanks in part to the Internet, she says, you don't have to live in New York to do business. Still, there are meetings, conventions and more meetings. When she's not pitching books to editors, she's negotiating with publishers or talking with clients. She spends a lot of time on the phone or chatting back and forth via e-mail.

"Sometimes, I have to get in the trenches and help with the writing," Witthohn explained. "Sometimes I'm a shoulder to cry on; someone to tell them their book isn't awful. The only thing I don't do is marriage counseling."

She always has a lot to do and it doesn't leave much time for a personal life. Whitthohn is married to Charleston lawyer Jeffrey V. Mehalic.  

"My husband is really a good sport," she said. "But it's tough."

They do try to spend as much time together as they can. Last month, they made a breakfast date at the airport in Atlanta. Witthohn had a stopover before flying out to another conference.

Meanwhile, she's working hard and even has a few tips for aspiring writers out there.

"Write every day," she said. "Get it out on paper."

She also recommends banding together with other writers, joining groups both formal and informal to get feedback. Locally, there's the West Virginia Writers.

"We all groan when we hear this," she said. "You know, 'I showed this to my mother-in-law and she thinks it's great,' but it's good to have somebody take a look at what you're doing. You never see all of your mistakes.'

Luck counts, too. Some of the books on the bestseller lists aren't particularly fresh, innovative or well written, but they were the right books at the right time.

"You just have to believe in what you're doing and stick it out," Witthohn said.

Reach Bill Lynch at ly...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5195.