Guide to Literary Agents - Thursday, February 28, 2008

Reminder: Newer agencies are golden opportunities for new writers because they're likely building their client list; however, always make sure your work is as perfect as it can be before submitting, and only query agencies that are a great fit for your work. Otherwise, you're just wasting time and postage.

Davis Wager Literary Agency

419 N. Larchmont Blvd., #317, Los Angeles CA 90004. Phone: (323)962-7741. E-mail: timothy@daviswager.com. Web site: www.daviswager.com/. Contact: Timothy Wager. Seeking new and established writers. Prior to his current position, Mr. Wager was with the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, where he worked as a reader and associate agent. Established: 2004. Represents: Nonfiction and fiction.

How to Contact: Query with SASE. Submit Author Bio, short synopsis for fiction, full book proposal and outline for nonfiction. Query via e-mail. No fax queries. Actively seeking: "literary fiction and general-interest nonfiction."

New Agency Alerts

2/28/2008 1:47:44 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Pavilion Literary Management Seeks Specific Nonfiction
Posted by Chuck

I got a note from Jeff Kellogg at Pavilion Literary Management recently, noting that he was actively seeking some areas of nonfiction.

The categories are:
History
Popular Science
Medicine
Pop Culture

Submit your work to him at 660 Massachusetts Ave., #4, Boston, MA 02118, or at query@pavilionliterary.com. See the agency submission guidelines here. Pavilion actually represents a variety of fiction and nonfiction topics, in addition to those above being actively sought.

Nonfiction | Random Updates

2/28/2008 1:37:46 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Vines Agency Closed to Submissions Now
Posted by Chuck

Speaking of the Vines Agency, their Web page has BIG announcements saying not to send queries because they are not taken new clients right now.

When you see instructions in all CAPS like this, you get the feeling that some readers weren't listening at first...

Random Updates

2/28/2008 1:30:47 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Words of Wisdom: Let Your Writing Sell the Work
Posted by Chuck

Q. What's the biggest mistake a writer makes when contacting you (about a novel)?

"Trying to be a salesman never works for me; the material has to speak for itself. A writer who tells me everything he or she is going to do to promote a book doesn't work either. Tell me what you've already done, not what you want to do. Other than Jonathan Franzen, I've never known an author who said 'I do not want to be on Oprah.' "

- Harvey Klinger of Harvey Klinger Inc.

"Any author who thinks he can 'sell' me on his book is mistaken. Sales jazz in a query letter is just noise. After (so many) years in this business, I can spot a good project a mile away, and nobody needs to do anything spectacular to grab my attention. Let the book speak for itself by shaping a concise and appealing one-page query letter.

- James C. Vines of The Vines Agency, Inc., both excerpted from the 2005 edition of GLA.

Queries, Synopses and Proposals

2/28/2008 1:25:48 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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New Agency Alert: Bressler Scoggins Literary Agency
Posted by Chuck

Bressler Scoggins Literary Agency

338 N. Elm St., Suite 308, Greensboro NC 27401. Phone: (336)553-3982; NY phone (646)688-5043. Fax: (336)553-0959. E-mail: becky@amplify-comm.com. Web site: www.bresslerscoggins.com. Contact: Becky Scoggins. Member Agents: Becky Scoggins (fiction, juvenile, children's, picture); Jordan Bressler (fiction: romance, Southern, literary, mystery). New agency actively seeking clients. Prior to becoming an agent, Ms. Scoggins spent several years in corporate sales and marketing for Borders Group. Established: 2007. Specializes in: "We specialize in romance, Southern and literary fiction. We are an energetic and fun agency that acts as your advocate and team in the publishing industry." Currently Handles: 10% Nonfiction Books; 70% Novels; 20% Juvenile Books

Nonfiction areas of interest: Child Guidance/Parenting, Humor/Satire, Memoirs. Fiction areas of interest: Action/Adventure, Humor/Satire, Juvenile, Literary, Mainstream/Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense, Picture Books, Regional, Romance, Young Adult, Women's. How to Contact: Query with SASE. Submit: Synopsis, 3 sample chapters. Accepts e-mail queries. Accepts fax queries. Accepts simultaneous submissions. Responds in 3 months to queries. Responds in 6 months to manuscripts. Returns materials only with SASE.

Actively seeking: romance, Southern lit, juvenile and young adult. Does not want: No poetry, business, historical nonfiction or short stories. Terms: Agent receives 15% commission on domestic sales; 20% commission on foreign sales. Offers written contract. Termination notice: 60-day. This agency charges for copying of ms. and sometimes for shipping/postage. Writers' Conferences: South Carolina Book Festival; BookExpo America. Tips: "Read our submission guidelines carefully! Please be sure your manuscript is polished and completed. Have someone read it who can give you an honest opinion before sending it to an agent. In your query, be unique and eye-catching. Most of all, be patient."

New Agency Alerts

2/28/2008 11:03:04 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Nathan Bransford Talks Word Count for Novels
Posted by Chuck

Literary Agent Nathan Bransford of Curtis Brown has a great post here on how writers commonly make their manuscripts too long. See his entire post for his thoughts on all this.

He says that more than 150,000 words is high (and it is!), but I would just come out and say "Aim for 100,000 words." That's a pretty darn good number to aim for. Keep in mind, though, that we're talking adult fiction here - not YA or middle grade.

2/28/2008 12:12:15 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Words of Wisdom: Moving on to a New Agent
Posted by Chuck

Q. I recently parted ways with my agent after a few years of representation. As I move forward, do I tell a prospective agent that I previously worked with another agent? If I am fortunate enough to find another agent, do I send copies of the publishers' rejection letters so there won't be a duplication of effort?

A. "Absolutely, and you should be able to speak to what did and did not work in the relationship with your former agent. Candor is the best policy; it prevents most misunderstandings and can even lead to a more creative and productive agent/client relationship. Most agents will want to see where the work has been submitted. It is possible, depending on the agent's clout and access, that previous submissions won't matter to him or her."
- William Clark, founder of Wm Clark Associates; printed from the 2007 edition of GLA.

2/27/2008 11:56:55 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Concerning Names and Backstory in a Synopsis
Posted by Chuck

Q. In a novel synopsis, how much should you go into detail about a character in terms of their backstory and past? I want to keep my synopsis short, as you suggest, so I don't know how to approach this.
- Angela

A. Simply because of length, you will need to keep backstory to a minimum. But info needs to be in there, sure.  Try and squeeze in as much as you can. Start by combining sentences. "Following an injury that derailed his hopes of playing professional football, Jack hit the bottle hard, and had trouble getting to all his dead-end jobs on time."  With this sentence, I'm trying to squeeze in lots of info. You don't have to give the agents much more detail, because they know that detail is in the manuscript itself.
      This brings up another point. Don't let your synopsis nor your pitch be bogged down with character names. If you meet an agent in person and pitch her, throwing out all kinds of names in the pitch ("Sally," "Colonel Byrd," "Billy Bob," "Randolph Inky the Clown Guy," "Officer Shane Matthews") will more than likely leave her very confused. Stick to the basics. Use the name of the protagonist, the antagonist and the love interest in a pitch. If a cab driver enters the story briefly, call him "the cab driver." Don't say "Etienne, the French cab driver who's hard of hearing and loves a good joke." Even that little unnecessary tangent can affect your pitch.
      Synopses are longer than pitches, so you have more time to mention characters, but avoid their proper names if you can. What you want to avoid is an agent reading your synopsis and seeing a name, then backtracking to refamiliarize herself with who exactly this character is.

Queries, Synopses and Proposals

2/27/2008 11:42:10 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Around the Properties: 2-28-2008
Posted by Chuck

The new issue of Writer's Digest (March/April) is out. Some of the content is online at www.writersdigest.com, including the following articles:

An interview with genre writer Laurell K. Hamilton
J.A. Konrath's take on Amazon shorts and digital publishing in general
How to form a support group for novelists
and more...

WD staffer Brian A. Klems runs the Questions & Quandaries blog, where he answers questions of all sorts. In the past month, he's answered submitted questions regarding the veracity of Wikipedia, how to get a late payment from a publisher, and what exactly a film "logline" is.

Our awesome blog dedicated to poetry, Poetic Asides, has its first "Poet Interview" up recently, with poet Dorianne Laux answering questions from blog editor Robert Brewer.

Around the Properties

2/27/2008 10:58:04 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Sunday, February 24, 2008

Oscar Picks, Anyone?
Posted by Chuck

The Oscars start in two hours. I have to make my picks public somewhere, so here I go...

(FYI, I'm only picking the big 9, not everything)

Best Picture: No Country for Old Men
Best Director: Coen brothers for No Country for Old Men
Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis for There Will be Blood
Best Actress: Julie Christie for Away From Her (This was my toughest choice. Since there is no clear frontrunner, I think Ellen Page (Juno) could pull an insane upset.)
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men
Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett for ~~I'm Not There~~
Best Animated Feature: Ratatouille
Best Original Screenplay: Juno
Best Adapted Screenplay: No Country for Old Men

2/24/2008 7:17:22 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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New Agency Alert: Max & Co., A Literary Agency and Social Club
Posted by Chuck

Max and Co., a Literary Agency and Social Club.

115 Hosea Ave., Cincinnati OH 45220. Phone: (201)704-2483. E-mail: mmurphy@maxlit.com. Web site: www.maxliterary.org. Contact: Michael Murphy. Seeking new and established writers. Prior to his current position, Mr. Murphy was with Queen Literary Agency. He has been in book publishing since 1981. His first 13 years were with Random House, where he was a vice president. Later, he ran William Morrow as their publisher, up until the company’s acquisition and merger into HarperCollins. Established: 2007. Nonfiction areas of interest: Humor/Satire, Memoirs, narrative nonfiction. Fiction areas of interest: literary.

How to Contact: E-queries preferred. Include brief synopsis, author bio and sample writing. Actively seeking: narrative nonfiction, memoir, literary fiction, humor, and visual books. Does not want to receive: genre fiction nor YA and children's books. Recent Sales: Down and Out on Murder Mile, by Tony O'Neill (HarperCollins);Family Sentence, by Jeanine Cornillot (Beacon Press); Hero of the Underground, by Jason Peter (St. Martin's); Familial Ground (Princeton Architectural).

New Agency Alerts

2/24/2008 1:17:53 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Agent Advice: Jenny Bent of Trident Media Group
Posted by Chuck

Agent interview by
blog contributor Robin Mizell:

"Agent Advice" is a series of quick interviews with literary and script agents who talk with Guide to Literary Agents about their thoughts on writing, publishing, and just about anything else.

This installment features Trident Media Group’s Jenny Bent, who has represented more than a dozen books on the New York Times bestseller lists since becoming an agent in 1996. At Writer’s Digest Books, we were pleased to have her as a contributor to the 2003 Guide to Literary Agents.

GLA: What's the most recent thing you've sold?

JB: Ronda Rich’s What Southern Women Know About Faith to Dudley Delffs at Zondervan.

GLA: You've said you're looking for literary fiction and women's commercial fiction, humor, narrative nonfiction, biography, health, and how-to books. Do other kinds of manuscripts ever interest you?

JB: Not so much the health books or biography anymore. In terms of practical nonfiction, I’m really looking for projects which can be best described as women’s lifestyle. I also like dog books and, occasionally, branded authors that I can make work in the CBA. I’m actually looking right now for a dog book that would work in the CBA, but it has to be from an author with a platform.

GLA: If a writer sends you a promising query outside your specific areas of interest, will you pass it along to one of your colleagues at Trident Media Group?

JB: Yes, absolutely.

GLA: How would you describe your ideal client?

JB: Ah, the famous "ideal client" question. Someone who writes quickly and sells well.

GLA: How can writers best learn your particular tastes and preferences?

JB: I think it’s really trial and error when it comes to finding that out. You can look on the Internet for old interviews, etc., which might be helpful, or read books that I’ve agented.

GLA: Do you want to receive queries from writers in countries other than the U.S.?

JB: I represent authors from Australia and England. What nonfiction writers should know is that it can be very difficult to place an author who sells well abroad in the U.S. It’s not impossible, but if the base of your readership is abroad, that doesn’t necessarily translate to sales in the U.S.

GLA: How do you prefer to be contacted by writers seeking representation?

JB: E-mail, definitely.

GLA: What kinds of writing credentials or professional affiliations do you look for when you receive a query?

JB: This really varies by project, I’m afraid. An active speaking schedule is always helpful.

GLA: Do you identify and acquire new clients from among contest winners, whose work is published in literary journals, or through online networking sites for emerging writers?

JB: My list is so full right now that I mostly rely on referrals or queries or ideas that I originate. I did absolutely find clients this way in the beginning of my career, however.

GLA: Is the Internet dramatically changing the way you do business? If so, in what ways?

JB: The Internet is both harmful and helpful. I do very much like getting e-mail submissions, and also I think authors can find out more about agents online. When I first started, it was much more difficult to research agents. But I find that there is a lot of wrong information getting circulated, and I also feel that the anonymous nature of the Internet encourages people to act with a real lack of civility.

GLA: Can you tell us a little about selling the dramatic rights to your clients' books?

JB: I think there’s no formula to doing this. What Hollywood is looking for is constantly changing and seems to depend on whatever movie is currently working at the box office. Deals in Hollywood often just seem to be a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

GLA: Do you read any publishing industry periodicals or blogs that might also be helpful to prospective clients?

JB: Publisher’s Lunch is one of the best things to happen to publishing. And I mourn the loss of Miss Snark.

GLA: Will you be attending any conferences or events in the future where writers can meet you?

JB: I’m going to RWA and to the South Carolina Writer’s Workshop.

Jenny Bent is a vice president of Trident Media Group, a large literary representation and management agency in New York City. The company was founded by Robert Gottlieb, Dan Strone, and Sheldon Schultz in 2000 and merged with the Ellen Levine Literary Agency in 2002. Submission guidelines can be found on Trident’s Web site.

Agent Advice (Agent Interviews) | Nonfiction

2/20/2008 10:45:38 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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