The Rejectionist has a very funny send-up of the romance advice in Cosmo and how it might apply to your pursuit of an agent:At Cosmo's Fun Fearless Males the Booker Awards, Mario Lopez Hilary Mantel confessed, "I'm not really working on trying to find Ms. Right an agent. I'm kind of working on being Mr.... Continue Reading →
Why agents matter–yet another reason
Michael Stearns at Upstart Crow has posted on everyone's favorite topic: subsidiary rights! You might have worn your jaw out talking about these over breakfast with your family (kidding!), but here's another reminder why having an agent is a good idea in the increasingly complicated, fast-changing publishing business: It is springtime here in New York,... Continue Reading →
Get to know Sara Crowe
Laurie Thompson interviewed Sara Crowe, one of our conference faculty. Here's a sneak peek:Welcome, Sara! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer some questions for me! Let’s jump right in at the top of my list… with a rather tricky one. Your various bios and listings say you accept nonfiction, but I don’t... Continue Reading →
New agent alert: Mandy Hubbard seeks MG/YA
Mandy Hubbard has joined the D4EO Literary Agency where she will concentrate on YA and Middle-Grade fiction. Here's the announcement:Mandy began her career in publishing on the other side of the desk: as an author. Her debut novel, PRADA AND PREJUDICE, (Razorbill/Penguin-- June 2009) is in its fifth printing. She has four other books under... Continue Reading →
What you need before you query
The literary agent Janet Reid has compiled a handy chart. Here's the start of it:....................................................Fiction..........Memoir........Non-fictionquery letter ....................................yes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,yes.............. yeswebsite* ........................................yes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,yes..............yesdedicated query/author email,,,,,,,yes............ ,,,yes.......... ....yesword count.....................................yes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,yes.............. noCheck out the rest.
Query contest: ends Friday
Kathleen Ortiz, an associate agent and foreign rights manager at Lowenstein Associates, is having a query contest on her brand-new blog. All you have to do is retweet it and post in the comments area before midnight Friday.Check it out.
Pitchfest! Ends tonight
The Caren Johnson literary agency is letting folks pitch them on projects today--and today only. The details:Post your pitch on the CJLA FORUM (www.johnsonliterary.com/forum) on Thursday, January 28th. This means 12AM until the following 11:59PM. No exceptions. Any pitches posted outside of those time stamps won't be responded to. (We have to draw the line... Continue Reading →
What Chris Richman wants
One of my favorite agents in the world, Chris Richman of Upstart Crow Literary, has posted an extensive wish list for queries in the New Year. Here's the top:Genuinely hilarious: Humor is tough. I get it. It’s also incredibly subjective. I’ve found, though, that because I say I’m looking for funny books for boys, I... Continue Reading →
More on queries
Agent Kristin Nelson is annotating more queries and opening pages on her blog. If you're thinking of querying, do check these out.Here's what intrigued Kristin: I have to say that Megan’s query immediately caught my attention as she had a whole different take on utilizing ghosts that I’ve never seen before. Besides, I like complex... Continue Reading →
On the road less traveled
Nathan Bransford gives some great advice on his blog:While I was away I was chatting with a friend who reads grants for a living, a job that bears some striking resemblance to query letter answering. And if you happen to be thinking about writing a grant at this very moment, I have a piece of... Continue Reading →