Guide to Literary Agents - Thursday, June 26, 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.

Straus Literary Agency

319 Lafayette St., #220 New York, NY 10012. (646)843-9950. Fax: (646)390-3320. E-mail: jonah@strausliterary.com. Contact: Jonah Straus. New agency actively seeking clients. Prior to becoming an agent, Jonah spent 13 years in editorial, sales and marketing for publishing and book distributers in New York and San Francisco. Established: 2003. Currently handles: 50% Fiction, 50% Nonfiction.

Nonfiction areas of interest: biography, history, mind/body/spirit, travel, lifestyle, memoir, cookbooks, multicultural, current events, politics, humor. Fiction areas of interest: general fiction, historical fiction, literary fiction, multicultural fiction, mystery. How to Contact: E-mail query with synopsis, author bio and two sample chapters as attachment.

Recent sales: Above Top Secret: Uncover the Mysteries of the Digital Age by Jim Marrs (The Disinformation Company); Depression, War and Cold War: Studies in Political Economy by Robert Higgs (Oxford University Press, USA).

Note: This agency is not be confused with Robin Straus Literary, Inc.

New Agency Alerts

6/26/2008 11:27:27 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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A WD Editor's Agent Notes from NYC
Posted by Chuck

Writer's Digest magazine editor Maria Schneider was recently up in New York City accompanying the grand-prize winners of the WD Annual Writing Competition. The big winners get a trip to Manhattan to meet with several agents, who they can schmooze with and pitch. How cool is that?

Maria came back with some notes (in no particular order). They are worthwhile to check out, so here are the best ones:

      • The term “book club novel” is hot; consider using in lieu of “literary” fiction; “crossover appeal” is another good catchphrase.
      • Know what the core conflict/turning point of your story is.
      • It takes a long time and a lot of effort to find the right agent because you want to find an agent who shares your vision for your writing career. This is one of the most important relationships of your life.
      • Many newer/younger agents are coming into the field with strong editing background and expect to do a lot of editing. (Chuck's note: This is, naturally, good news, but you cannot expect this. Assuming an agent will help you edit is a big no-no. If they do step in, simply be grateful.)
      • Get some publishing credits however you can before you pitch a novel; this sends a signal to everyone that you are a publishable writer.

Ah. New York. I took this
photo at BookExpo America in 2007.

Contests

6/26/2008 10:38:39 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Querying for a Nonfiction Self-Published Book
Posted by Chuck

Q. Do agents like self-published books to be sent in with a proposal instead of a tradition set of printed chapters?

A. Agents will want a book proposal if the book is nonfiction. With a self-published book, you have to approach it much like a normal query, but there is added pressure to prove that the book needs a second incarnation and that new sales can justify this.
I just wrote a long piece on this (querying agents with a self-published book) for the October issue of Writer's Digest, which comes out in August. Keep an eye out for it.

Self-Publishing and Agents

6/26/2008 1:55:13 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Agent Advice: Julie Hill of Julie Hill & Assoc.
Posted by Chuck

"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 Julie Hill of Julie A. Hill and Assoc., LLC. Julie's specialty is nonfiction.

GLA: How did you become an agent?

JH: I was writing for periodicals. My friends, who were screenwriters and also going through the finding-an-agent process, suggested I'd be good at it. And here I am.

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

JH: Lately I've been doing a lot of contract negtotiating for other people, but I did most recently sell a title to Barricade Books that releases in October 2008, Return to Naples: My Italian Bar Mitzvah. My most well-known book of late is A Blessing in Disguise by Andrea Joy Cohen, MD, from Penguin, released January of 2008. I always have the Florida travel guides from Frommers and Dummies (by Laura Lea Miller), which get updated yearly. I'd love to do more travel guides. Cafe Life: Venice Pubs in September '08 is the third in the Cafe Life series. Two more are due out next year: Seattle and San Francisco.

GLA: What are you specifically looking for right now and not getting? For example, a great nonfiction book about massage...

JH: Really great writers for travel, travel and travel. Also memoir, self help, and advice. I am also looking for anything that is in regard to Jewish titles, such as books about the Holocaust.

GLA: Your website says you are actively seeking queries from good nonfiction authors with a platform. Can you help define what separates a decent platform from a great platform?

JH: A great platform includes an author with great name recognition through a regular writing or performance gig: a column, a show, with a large audience. Their books traditionally do better than unknown writers, though there are exceptions. Having a big web presence is also in the great platform category. If you get a million hits a month, your platform is one publishers will care about.

GLA: What happens when you get a writer with good visibility and platform, but not in the subject they want to write in? Can that still work?

JH: If they have an outside editor to work with and some viable ideas, yes.

GLA: Do you consider yourself to have any weird quirks as an agent? In other words, have you ever been on an agent panel and heard all the other agents agree on something while you yourself thought differently

JH: YES. Most agents do not handle travel guides and I love them. They seem to shun "work-for-hire" like travel guides and related content.

GLA: Do you find that writers who break into nonfiction books and prove themselves as a reliable writer are in a position to get further book assignments from publishers?

JH: Abso-friggin-lutely, especially if their platform and sales history is impressive.

GLA: Will you be at any upcoming writers conferences where writers can meet you?

JH: None planned at present - sorry.

GLA: Any other bit(s) of advice concerning something we haven't discussed?

JH: Know how to write a great book proposal!

Julie Hill of Julie A. Hill And Assoc., LLC is looking for nonfiction in the following subjects: Reference, Biography, History, Religious, Mind/body/spirit, Health, Travel, Lifestyle, Science.
Send all submissions via snail mail. Never send a complete ms unless requested. Send to Julie A. Hill and Assoc. LLC, 1155 Camino Del Mar, #530, Del Mar, CA. 92014.

Agent Advice (Agent Interviews) | Nonfiction

6/25/2008 3:05:02 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Verna Dreisbach Opens Dreisbach Literary
Posted by Chuck

Literary agent Verna Dreisbach, an agent at Andrea Hurst Literary in Sacramento, is branching off to form her own literary agency: Dreisbach Literary.

The happening is still in motion now (and her new website isn't even up and running yet), but take note if you were considering querying her. I would hold off on any submissions to The Vern until her transition is complete. In fact, I won't even paste her new contact info just yet because your query would be wasted right now.

Verna, who is a constant traveler to writers' conferences (much like me) is still headed to a lot of places - the Willamette Writers' Conference, for example, in Portland in August.

To learn more about Vern, check out the GLA blog announcement of her arrival as an agent, and then check out Robin Mizell's interview with her.

More info coming soon...

Random Updates

6/24/2008 11:29:37 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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What To Do When They Don't Want "Unsolicited Manuscripts"
Posted by Chuck

Q. I have recently completed a manuscript for a children's book. I have looked online for publishing companies to send the manuscript. All the publishers I contacted said they do not except "unsolicited" manuscripts. I came across the Guide to Literary Agents website looking for direction. Do you have any suggestions on how to get my manuscript to the publisher for review?
        - Marci H.

A. This basic question is probably one of the most common ones out there, so I thought I would address it, even if some readers already know the answer.
       First of all, let's just define it real quick: An unsolicited manuscript is one that has not been requested. So what that means is you can't send any mss in for review that were not first requested. If you do, these submissions will not be considered.
       To get over this hurdle, you basically have two options. First, you can look for a literary agent who will represent you. The literary agent represents your work when dealing with editors and only sends it to editors she knows. Therefore, the work is now solicited.
       Second, you can query the publisher. Just send them a one-page letter (the query) asking if you can submit the entire ms or at least a sample for review. If they like your query and are intrigued by the book's concept, they will request sample chapters or perhaps the entire thing. Since they have just requested some writing, the work is now solicited.

Queries and Synopses and Proposals

6/24/2008 2:36:27 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Be Realistic. It's a Tough Market Right Now.
Posted by Chuck

Talked to agent Andrea Hurst yesterday and the conversation turned to the current state of the market. According to Andrea, things are tough out there. The publishing business is in no way immune to the recession going on and it's difficult to sell books. To paraphrase her: How good are a new author's chances when agents are having trouble selling the work of their established authors? Eek.

Agent Rachelle Gardner, who specializes in Christian work, echoed the concern, saying times are tight.

The point is: Don't get discouraged if you're having trouble finding an agent right now. It's a tough time. When you've got agents spending more time than usual trying to sell the work of their client list, that doesn't leave a whole lot of time for them to be reading queries. Just tell yourself: It's a bad time right now; this will pass.

Keep your chin up!

6/24/2008 2:26:39 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, June 23, 2008

Calling All SW Virginia Writers!
Posted by Chuck

I will be presenting to the Smith Mountain Lake Writers Group the night of Wednesday, July 2. That's right - I'll be in "the jewel of the blue ridge mountains." Smith Mountain Lake is somewhat close to Roanoke (southeast of it) and not terribly far from Greensboro, N.C., if you're trying to place it on a map.

If you're in the area and have time prior to your July 4 plans, I will be presenting on "How To Get an Agent" and then I will answer any and all questions on publishing and writing that the crowd dares to ask.

According to the official agenda, I begin at 7 p.m. and will go for at least two hours. We meet at the Moneta/Smith Mountain Lake Library. Members of the Valley Chapter of the Virginia Writers Club near Roanoke are warmly invited, it seems.

Hope to see you there!

Some of Smith Mountain Lake from the air.

Writers' Conferences

6/23/2008 5:53:10 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Expert Guidance: Janet Reid
Posted by Chuck

"I cannot emphasize strongly enough how important it is to be PLAINSPOKEN in a query letter. I'll be happy if you never use more than one adjective, adverb or metaphor in a paragraph. Tell me who the characters are, what happens to them, and why I should care."

- Agent Janet Reid of FinePrint Literary Management, on her Query Shark blog.

Queries and Synopses and Proposals

6/23/2008 11:09:54 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Sunday, June 22, 2008

My Adventures in Austin...
Posted by Chuck

Just got back from the Agents & Editors Conference in Austin, put on by the Writers League of Texas. Good conference in a crazy city that brings out the fun in everyone. There was so much to see and do. Live music everywhere - too much to handle, actually. Music overload. Amazing amount of tattoo parlors per capita. We saw the bats fly out from underneath the bridge, which is a famed Austin spectacle each day at dusk. I also got to see the Barton Springs pool. Just imagine if the UT kids would have been all there. Insanity.

The conference seemed to go real well. Sara Nelson from Publishers Weekly was the keynote speaker. There were plenty of agents and editors around, who were taking pitches day and night (though agent Lilly Ghahremani and editor Toni Plummer did stop long enough one night to get owned by me and editor Brooke Warner at pool. Lilly and Toni will deny this up and down, perhaps even adding that they did indeed "win" the first game. But there is no proof of this. So we'll just go with how I remember things: They got owned).

I did three sessions, including a pre-conference workshop on pitching to agents. Everything went well.

All pictures below courtesy of photo master Deanna Roy!

Me presenting on how to woo
an agent. This session was
pretty packed.

I love this photo. The
man on the left is Uwe Stender
of Triada U.S. Literary Agency.
He's talking to writers and hearing
pitches, but secretly I think
they're all playing Texas Hold 'Em poker.

Each day had a cocktail party where
writers, editors and agents all
informally schmoozed and talked.
Pictured here: Agent Andrea Somberg
of Harvey Klinger (right) listens to writers.

Writers' Conferences

6/22/2008 11:30:01 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

New Agent Alert: Guichard Cadet of Serendipity Literary
Posted by Kristen Howe

Serendipity Literary, a cool boutique agency founded by Regina Brooks, has a new literary agent looking for material.

Guichard Cadet is "looking to represent a balanced mix of fiction and nonfiction but is not interested in magical realism, fantasy or science fiction. He has a special affinity for pop culture, sports and Caribbean themed titles."

Previously, Guichard founded the independent press, La Caille Nous Publishing. See his full bio here!

The agency has different submission guidelines for adult fiction/nonfiction than they do for children's and juvenile work. Adjust accordingly.

Genre Writing

6/17/2008 10:41:22 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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New Agent Alert: Eddie Schneider of JABberwocky Literary
Posted by Kristen Howe

JABberwocky Literary has a new literary agent: Eddie Schneider.

Contact info:
Eddie Schneider
JABberwocky Literary
P.O. Box 4558
New York, NY 11104
(718)392-5985

Fiction areas of interest: Literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy, humor/satire, young adult. How to contact: Send a query with a SASE. No e-mails. He's seeking projects with a greater literary emphasis to his tastes than is typical of many agents who represent authors in these genres.

Tips: "I like things that are dark, that break rules, and that possess wit and humor. I like being thrust into other cultures, and similarly, I go for books that draw me into other worlds that exist on their own terms. Strong, evocative writing is a must."

Prior to his current position, he was an agent with Folio Literary. Do not send Eddie any unsolicited mss. Query him through snail mail and include a SASE.

Eddie Schneider.

Children's Writing | Genre Writing | New Agency Alerts

6/17/2008 10:37:23 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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