Sharon Pelletier of Dystel & Goderich is interested in witty literary fiction and smart commercial fiction featuring strong female characters. She is also interested in narrative nonfiction that tells a little-known story.
The answer is yes. Yes! YES!
Just last week a client of mine asked me to rewrite the query letter he had created for a juvenile manuscript. I had ghostwritten the story so was intimately familiar with the project and its potential impact on young readers today.
He sent out the new version of the query letter and received a request for sample chapters in less than 24 hours.
This author has never won any awards. He does not have other publications to his credit either for this age group or for any other, including adults. He doesn’t even work fulltime in anything remotely related to books, publishing or the media.
And yet he has what agents want: a strong story with current topical appeal that fills a void in the market.
If that describes your project, send out your query today! If you’re having trouble seeing how your project is unique in today’s market, please let me help.
Julie Just of Pippen Properties wants YA fiction and stories that cross genres and audiences. In YA and middle grade she is seeking adventure, fantasy, friendship, romance, mystery, and the occasional thriller.
Lisa Rodgers at Jabberwocky wants science fiction, fantasy, YA and middle grade of all genres, and romance.
Fiona Kenshole of Transatlantic is looking for all juvenile categories from picture book to YA. In middle grade and chapter books, humor or real children in magical circumstances and animal stories hit the spot. She also accepts literary and commercial fiction and chick lit.
Peter Knapp of Park Literary is focused on middle grade and young adult fiction, as well as suspense and thrillers for all ages.
Amazon offers a White Glove publishing service. In this program, your agent works directly with Amazon to publish your book.
I wrote not too long ago about agent-assisted publishing, and this is just another incarnation of the same process. You might end up walking this road if the traditional publishers reject your agent’s efforts to place your book. But again, you end up with the agent as your book’s advocate.
On this road, you don’t travel alone. That in and of itself can be a boost to your passion. The fact that it can also boost your career sweetens the deal.
Lately the news has been covering quite a number of agent-assisted books that have sold well. Agent-assisted publishing might sound repetative…after all, doesn’t an agent get authors published with traditional houses?
Yes, and nowadays agents are doing more. If they are unable to place a client with a publisher, they might funnel that client into their own publishing unit. The agent doesn’t become the publisher; they simply help the author self-publish.
The benefits to this kind of self-publishing are many. Agents have long done much more for authors than simply sell their books. They are fantastic advocates with the media and (when appropriate) colleges or other organizations that might offer paid speaking engagements. The agents can often boost sales for the author in a way that the writer could not do himself through regular self-publishing methods.
Sarah Nego of Corvisiero Literary accepts middle grade and YA fiction of any genre but prefers speculative fiction.
Beth Campbell of BookEnds is interested in romance, cozy mystery, YA, fantasy, science fiction, and women’s fiction.
Linda Epstein of Jennifer De Chiara Literary seeks accessible literary fiction, upscale commercial fiction, vibrant narrative nonfiction, some fantasy, and compelling memoirs. She also accepts middle-grade and YA fiction.
Nonfiction areas include alternative health and parenting books, cookbooks, select memoirs, and spiritual/self-actualization books.
Amy Tannenbaum of Jane Rotrosen is seeking new adult, romance, high quality commercial women’s fiction.
Berta Treitl of Grosvenor Literary is seeking nonfiction: science and technology; current events, law and politics, biography, business and marketing; and art, design, cooking, health, and lifestyle.
In fiction, she’s interested in historical and high-quality mysteries. Focuses on projects with unusual communities, travel and foreign locales, and female main characters.
Authors aren’t the only ones utilizing the internet for their careers. Literary agents are searching for information about authors who query to help them decide whether to follow up with the writer.
One of the top reasons they search is to see if they can verify what the author says about their credentials.
Agents also look at the author’s social media pages to check how active they are (and to verify any numbers the authors has provided in their pitch materials).
They also judge how the author’s web presentation looks…sloppy or professional, all sites up to date, and other indicators that tell them they’re dealing with a serious author.
Spruce up your web presence before sending out that first query.
Emma Patterson of Brandt and Hochman is looking for literary and commercial fiction, upmarket women’s fiction, historical fiction, narrative nonfiction, pop culture, memoir, food writing, and YA and MG fiction and nonfiction.
Writer's Resource/Sunspot Lit 