2016 Agents Guide PDF

The
ABC
Guide
to
Literary
Agents
T
he essential guide from the authoritative source
on everything you need to know about literary
agents, including information on what agents do
for authors, what they look for in a manuscript,
the best practices for sending proposals, and how
to find the right agent for you and your work.
ABC
H A N K Y O U F O R Y O U R O R D E R . We
hope you enjoy The Poets & Writers Guide to

Literary Agents, which includes a selection of
articles that offer a behind-the-scenes look at
literary agenting, Q&A s with literary agents
who answer the most commonly asked questions about publishing, plus insider tips and resources to help you find the best
agent to represent you and your work.
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The Staff of Poets & Writers, Inc.
ABC
GUIDE to
LITERARY
AGENTS
6
14
A DAY
IN THE LIFE
OF A LITERARY
AGENCY
FOUR YOUNG
AGENTS
By Michael Bourne
By Michael Szczerban
A Roundtable
Discussion
13
21
AGENT ADVICE
AGENT ADVICE
Chris Parris-Lamb of
the Gernert Company
Lucy Carson of the

Friedrich Agency
22
THE AGENTS AND
EDITORS SERIES
24
HOW I FOUND
MY AGENT
Ten Authors on Meeting
the One
By Kevin Nance
32
HOW I FOUND
MY WRITER
Five Agents on the Search
By Michael Bourne
35
36
Ten Tips for

Securing an
Agent
The Journals
Agents Are
Reading
41
AGENT ADVICE
Betsy Amster of Betsy
Amster Literary Enterprises
42
NECESSARY AGENT
How the Best Agents
Work Behind the Scenes
38
HOW TO IMPRESS
A LITERARY
AGENT
Advice for Writers Who
Want to Stand Out in
the Crowd
By Jofie Ferrari-Adler
49
AGENT ADVICE
Danielle Svetcov of Levine
Greenberg Rostan
50
BREAKING UP
IS HARD TO DO
When to End the
Author-Agent
Relationship
By Cathie Beck
53 Resources on
Agents
P OE TS & W R I T E R S GUI D E TO L I T E R A RY AGEN TS
A DAY IN THE LIFE

OF A LITERARY AGENCY
BY M I C H A E L B O U R N E
h e d a y b e g i n s w it h
t wo a g e nt s hu g g i n g
each other and dancing around the office,
laughing in delight. Molly Jaffa,
who handles international rights for
Folio Literary Management in New
York City, has just learned that the
German publisher Bastei Lbbe has
made an offer for the German-language rights to Up Jumps the Devil by
Michael Poore, who is represented
by Folio agent Michelle Brower, and
now the two women are celebrating.
The offer is exciting because Poores
debut novel, a dark comedy about
the devil coming to life in the 1960s,
to be published in the United States
by Ecco, is such a deeply American
book that the Folio agents had worried they would have trouble placing it overseas. That was a really
great way to start the day, Brower
remarks later.
h e rest of t he day, a
mildly overcast Wednesday in early April, is quieter. No more gleeful

laughter echoes off the walls of the
agencys central work space; instead,
there is a buzz of earnest industry
Michael Bourne is a contributing
editor of Poets & Writers Magazine.
about the place. Folios midtown

Manhattan offices are designed to
look like a cross between an Internet start-up and a public library, according to Scott Hoffman, one of
the firms three founding partners,
which explains the minimalist furniture and open-plan work area as
well as a row of stations reminiscent
of study carrels lining one wall of
the main room.
But the office has the energy of an
Internet start-up too. Lots of young,
attractive people with expensivelook i ng ha ir i nter ns, one
surmisesdart about on important
errands, and while beautiful collections of books adorn many of the
walls, nobody appears to be actually reading one. Instead, inside the
individual offices, where the doors
seem to be always open, agents are
tapping away on keyboards or purring into telephones. The people on
the other end of those phone lines
may well be sitting behind paperstrewn desks in filthy bathrobes,
sweating over the thirtieth draft of
an unsold novel, but here the pace is
brisk and upbeat.
Folio, which was founded by
Hoffman, Jeff Kleinman, and Paige
Wheeler in 2006, has agreed to let
a Poets & Writers Magazine reporter
spend a day as a fly on the wall to
capture a behind-the-scenes snap-
P W. O R G
shot of a literary agency. With a

staff of more than twenty full-time
agents and a client base ranging from
literary writerssuch as Eow yn
Ivey, author of the debut novel The
Snow Child, which was published by
Reagan Arthur Books in 2012 and
promptly picked for the Barnes &
Noble Discover Great New Writers programto writers of romance
novels, childrens books, and young
adult novels, Folio qualifies as a midsize agency, but it still has the edgy
feel of a boutique.
The nine-year-old agency has enjoyed its share of hits (Garth Stein,
the best-selling author of The Art
of Racing in the Rain, published by
Harper in 2008, is a client of Kleinmans), but none of its agents are
certified industry stars; most of the
staff is relatively up-and-coming,
which makes them hungry for new
clients. Folio lacks the stable of bigname writers with long backlists
that can help smooth out a slump,
but Wheeler says the agencys fiscally conservative business plan
helped it navigate the post-2008 recession and will get it through any
future lean years. Weve been in
the black since year one, she says.
Were scrappy, were hungry, were
doing great.
Folios motto is thinking beyond the page, and, as W heeler
explains, Folio is positioning itself

for the next wave of publishing by
look ing at its clients as creators
of intellectual property that can
be delivered not only via printed
books but also via digital formats,
apps, films, speaking tours, and ancillary merchandise. I mean, look
at Harry Potter. Thats now a ride
in an amusement park, Wheeler
says. It starts with a book. If there
isnt a book, we probably shouldnt
be involved. But if there is a book,
we need to help our authors think
about getting beyond the book and
maximize their intellectual property.
If the publishing industry is to survive in anything like its present form,
it is probably going to end up looking a little like Folio: wired, brandcentric, and attuned as much to pop
culture as to high literary style.
hile t he dozens
of Fol io c l ie nt s
have eas y access
to t hei r agent s
via phone, e-mail, and even the
relatively uncommon office visit
none were present on this particular
Wednesdaylegions of writers hoping to become Folio authors try on
a daily basis to get their foot in the
door. According to Hoffman, Folio
receives roughly a hundred thousand queries a year, or slightly more
than two hundred queries every
week for each of the thirteen Folio
agents currently accepting unsolicited queries. Out of that tsunami of
writers looking for representation,
each agent can afford to take on only
a handful of new authors a year, the
majority of whom arrive via referral by other clients. Hoffman, for
his part, took on four new clients in
2011, only one of whom came to his
attention via an unsolicited query

meaning that, in an average year,
the odds of an author without connections finding representation with
Hoffman are one in 11,111.
Agents at Folio say they are always
on the lookout for new talent, and
they sound like they mean it, but
as Hoffman explains, the practical
realities of their business militate
against taking a chance on an unknown writer. Literary agents work
on commissiontypically taking 15
percent of an authors gross domestic
earningsso if a book doesnt sell,
the agent doesnt make a dime. If Im
going to take on a novel, Im going
to spend at least fifty to a hundred
hours helping to shape the manuscript into final form and market it to
editors, Hoffman says. If it doesnt
sell at all, thats a hundred hours Ive
spent without getting paid.
What this means is that, from an

agents point of view, it is a safer bet
to pass on a book and risk letting
someone else make money off it,
than to take a chance on a dud. If
you wait long enough, the thinking
goes, another great book will come
along, but you can never get those
hundred unpaid hours back. You
learn very early on being an agent
that you cant kick yourself over the
ones you miss, Hoffman says. You
miss a lot.
It is breathtaking to watch this
steely-eyed calculus in action. Agents
at Folio receive nearly all unsolicited
queries directly by e-mail. While
everyones approach to these queries
varies, Michelle Brower, who will
eventually leave Folio to work for
the Zachary Shuster Harmsworth
agency, typically assigns an intern
to write a brief description of each
A D AY I N T H E L I F E O F R A C H E L S U S S M A N
AT C H A L B E R G & S U S S M A N
W hen I ar r ive at t he of f ice
each morning, I go through my
inbox and respond to Important
E-mailsthose from clients and
editors. I often glance at my queries, but dont respond immediately
unless something looks especially
promising. Once the first round of
e-mails is out of the way, I try to
focus on my editorial goal of the
day, which is usually to provide feedback to one of my clients on a proposal (nonfiction) or a manuscript
(fiction). I am usually interrupted
throughout the day by additional
e-mails that need attention, phone
calls (though there are fewer of these
POETS & WRITERS
than e-mails), and the infamous

agent-editor lunch. When Im back
at the office, Im editingunless I
have phone meetings set up with
clients and/or prospective clients.
Or unless Im gearing up to send
a project out, in which case I labor
over my pitch letter and perseverate
over my submission list. Or unless
Ive just received a contract that
needs to be vetted ASAP. Or unless I hear from a writer whos been
offered representation by another
agent and who needs an immediate
answer from me. Or unless I receive
a proposed book cover that my client and I hate. And on it goes. RS
PPOE
OE TS
TS && WWRRI T
I TEERRSS GUI
GUIDDEE TO
TO LLI T
I TEERRAARY
RY AGEN
AGENTS
TS
project and recommend whether she

should investigate it further or take
a pass. Brower then reads the query,
w it h t he recommendat ion, and
makes a decision. Given the volume
of unsolicited submissions, Brower,
like her fellow agents at Folio, often
goes through them in batches on
weekends or during downtime during the workweek. But today, Brower,
who handles mostly literary and
womens fiction along with a smattering of nonfiction, has agreed to read
her digital slush pile with a reporter
watching over her shoulder.
The queries she opens on her
computer are already more than a
month old, and Brower spends less
than a minute reading each one.
Few queries make it past the opening lines of the plot synopsis, and a
number never make it past the title if
it strikes Brower as clich or denotes
a genre that doesnt interest her. In

other cases, she rejects queries if the
author claims the work is similar to
that of another author whom Brower
doesnt care for, or if the letter seems
off-putting or creepy in some way.
In roughly fourteen minutes,
Brower clicks through nineteen queries, sends form rejections to eighteen
of them, and sets one aside for further consideration. When asked for
examples of successful queries, she
mentions a few in which the writer
points out either a connection to
someone Brower knows in the publishing world or deep research into
the sorts of books Brower tends to
represent. They also display a strong
understanding of the genre in which
the writer is working.
Browers process might seem
heartless, especially if you are an aspiring novelist receiving one of her
A D AY I N T H E L I F E O F L O R I N R E E S
AT R E E S L I T E R A R Y
The first thing I do when I wake
up is check e-mail on my iPhone.
Its like a box of Cracker Jack; Im
usually surprised and delighted by
what comes over the wires while Im
asleep. Once in my office, the day
continues with responding to more
e-mails, reading submissions, corresponding with authors, negotiating contracts with editors, setting
up meetings with either editors or
potential new clients, and anything
and everything else related to running a boutique agency. Every day
I leave the office and visit the Boston Athenaeum next door to read
manuscripts and proposals without
interruption, and when I return to
my desk I will likely have notes and

edits to share with authors via email or phone. If Im selling a work
I will be on the phone with editors,
advocating for it or managing the
sales process. Typically, there will
be a few rejections, a few nibbles,
and some sincere interest that leads
to a deal. Because the agency is almost thirty years old and we have
hundreds of clients, there is always
administrative work to do, e.g.,
answering questions about royalty
statements and contracts, dealing
with rights renewals, and processing
payments. Once home, after dinner,
Ill read to my daughter and then fall
asleep with a book in my hand. LR
W.OORRGG
PPW.
88
form rejections, but it isnt really all

that different from the one typical
book buyers use at the new-books
table at their local bookstore. Glancing at the title, reading a few lines
on the back cover, maybe sampling
a sentence or two of the authors
prose and then, based on nothing
more than that and perhaps a recommendation from a friend, they
decide to buy the book or move on
to the next one.
But the t y pical readers decision to buy a book is vastly easier
than Browers, because if a book
has made it all the way to the newbooks table at your local bookstore,
a team of publishing people have already staked their reputations and
livelihoods on its quality. And, really, all a reader is risking on a book
purchase is twenty-five dollars and
perhaps a few hours of unsatisfying
reading. The vast majority of the
unsolicited manuscripts coming in
over the digital transom at Folio
will never merit a book contract,
and every minute Brower spends
thinking about a book that wont
sell is a minute she is, in effect,
donating to an unpublished author
she doesnt know.
Even though shes actively looking for new authors, Brower says, she
needs to fall in love with an authors
work to take that author as a client.
It needs to be special. I cant talk
myself into working with someone,
because then I wont be a good agent
for that writer.
For Browers colleague Kleinman, falling in love with a book
often comes with a physical symptom: His hands go numb while hes
reading. When he first heard from
Garth Stein, the author had already
published two novels with another
agent, but he was having trouble
selling his third because no one

could figure out how to sell a novel
narrated by a dog. Kleinman, an
animal lover, saw no problem with
that, but he did ask Stein to tweak
the manuscript. When he received
the new draft of The Art of Racing
in the Rain, Kleinman was at the
horse farm in rural Virginia where
he lives part-time, and he decided
to read the draft on the train ride
to New York City. I remember I
started crying in Pennsylvania, he
says. By the time I got to Newark,
I had finished the book and I was
weeping. And his hands had gone
numb. I literally couldnt get out
the exit door of the train, he recalls,
laughing at the memory.
hile Brower
is at her computer dashing the

dreams of aspiring novelists, in another part of
the office, Steve Troha, a senior
vice president at Folio, is trawling the blogosphere and cable TV,
hunting for new authors, some of
whom might not yet think of themselves as such. Troha, whose background includes stints as a staffer
on Capitol Hill in Washington,
D.C., as well as public relations jobs
in the publishing world, often looks
first for a platform from which the
prospective author might gain public notice, and then figures out a way
for that author to shape that platform into a salable book.
Platform, like brand, is a word one
hears a lot at literary agencies, and
while it means different things to
different people, in general a platform is a niche in the public consciousness that will help an author
garner publicit y or make people
want to pick up the book in a store.
AGENTS WHO REPRESENT

FICTION WRITERS EXPECT TO
SEE FINISHED NOVELS RATHER
THAN MERE CONCEPTS.
For a literary writer, at least one
who isnt named James Franco, a
platform is likely to be past successes or literary honors. Philip
Roth has a platformdecades of
critical regard and strong sales
but to a lesser degree so does a
younger novelist like Ta Obreht,
who was named by the New Yorker
as one of the twenty best writers
under forty before her first novel,
The Tigers Wife (Random House,
2011), even came out.
Outside the realm of literar y
fiction, a platform can often mean
hosting a television show or writing
a popular blog, but it can also mean
simply having a recognizable name,
or proximity to someone who does.
Two cases in point: In 2011 Troha
sold The End of Normal by Stephanie Madoff Mack, daughter-in-law
of infamous Ponzi schemer Bernard
Madoff, to Blue Rider Press, and in
2010 he sold Fairy Tale Interrupted
by RoseMarie Terenzio, onetime
personal assistant to the late John
F. Kennedy Jr., to Gallery Books.
Sometimes, Troha says, he contacts authors before they have written a book, or have even considered
that they might have a book to write.
In 2009, for example, Troha saw an
article in the online magazine Slate
by an Entertainment Weekly writerturned-food-blogger named Jennifer Reese, in which Reese detailed
which common breakfast foods
POETS & WRITERS
could be easily made from scratch

and which ones a person would be
better off buying ready-made from
a store. Reeses blog, tipsybaker
.com, isnt especially well known,
but Troha recalls seeing the article and thinking, Hey, that could
make a book. He contacted Reese
and persuaded her to expand her
concept from breakfast foods to
all foods, and sold the resulting
book, Make the Bread, Buy the Butter, to Free Press. It was published
in 2011. I knew it would get publicity, Troha explains. I knew she
was a great writer, and I knew it was
a great idea.
Agents who represent f ict ion
writers expect to see finished novels
rather than mere concepts, but even
so, agents say it is extremely rare to
send out a novel from a new author
without first asking for revisions.
Everyone at Folio, it seems, has a
particular editing style. Kleinman
says he often simply stops reading a manuscript when he figures
out what he thinks isnt working,
so that after the author makes the
revisions, he can go back and read
t he repaired version wit h fresh
eyes. Brower is slightly more tender in her editing style, couching
her criticisms as questions aimed
at getting an author to see why a
certain scene needs to be pruned
or why two characters need more
spark in their relationship.
Br ower s a y s t h at w h i le s he
might advise an author to cut a
manuscript to better fit the industry norm of between 80,000 and
120,000 words for a commercially
viable novel, she isnt really thinking like an agent when she edits
manuscripts. As she puts it, she is
wearing her agents cap when shes
deciding whether or not to take
on a book, and she doesnt take
on projects she thinks wont sell.
Im not editing a manuscript as
someone who knows the market,
she explains. Im editing it as a
reader.
This editing work, and nearly
a l l read i ng of ma nuscr ipt s,
whether by current or prospective clients, takes place on nights
and weekends, or in the rare hour
squeezed in between meetings and
calls to editors during the workday. We do our reading at night,
says Jonathan Lyons, formerly an
agent with Folio who is now with
Curtis Brown. We do our reading
on the subway. We do our reading

whenever we can.
ut a great idea, even one

shaped into a perfect,
f i n ished ma nuscr ipt ,
still must find its way to
an editor willing to pay to bring the
book out as a published work. The
process of selling a manuscript to an
editor, with its bids and counterbids,
exclusives and open auctions, is far
too complex to observe in a single
day, but like most things in publishing it all seems to begin with lunch.
On this Wednesday, Brower has
been invited to lunch at Marseille,
a cozy French restaurant around the
corner from Folios offices, by Allie
Sommer, who is currently an assistant editor at Little, Brown (shell
go on to leave the company in 2014)
and looking to begin acquiring her
own books.
As they wait for a table at Marseilles zinc bar, Brower describes
lunch with a new editor as being like
A D AY I N T H E L I F E O F R E G I N A B R O O K S
AT S E R E N D I P I T Y L I T E R A R Y A G E N C Y
In the last two weeks I attended
two out-of-town literary conferences; two author events; a reading that I had coordinated with
a nonprof it for my aut hor Bi l
Wright; and an award ceremony
for Marilyn Nelson, who received
the Frost Medal from the Poetry
Society of America. I oriented my
interns on web development and
how to integrate updates with our
social media platforms (Twitter
and Facebook), edited two propos-
als, prepared submission letters for

several projects, interviewed two
ghostwriters as potential writers
for my authors, Skyped a publisher
in the U.K. to go over contract deal
points, developed a spreadsheet on
all the players involved in curating
an e-book, and conferenced with
my film-rights agentall that in
addition to reading submissions
(two hundred queries per week).
A re you dizzy yet? Agents are a
busy bunch. RB
P W. O R G
10
a first date. And so it is. With her

Brooklyn-chic office attire, Brower,
who is thirty and looks like someone
a director might cast to play the stylish literary agent on the rise if HBO
ever decided to make a drama about
life at Folio, is clearly in her element.
Sommer, who holds a more junior position than Brower, seems less sure of
herself. Conversation is a little forced
at first as the two compare notes on
their respective hometowns and work
histories, but they soon find common
ground on the guilty pleasures of
trashy reality TV and a shared adoration of the actor Ryan Gosling. Only
then, after some mildly salacious industry gossip has been swapped and
the busboys are clearing the dishes,
does Brower ask, So, what are you
interested in?
As Sommer outlines her editorial interests, Brower listens, nods,
asks a few clarifying questions, and
then says she might put Sommer in
touch with Molly Jaffa, the agent
who handles foreign rights and who
is also building her own client list.
Its all been quite pleasant, and anyone eavesdropping at another table
could be excused for thinking two
casual friends have met for lunch,
but it is hard to escape the conclusion that Brower, in her own diplomatic way, has made a definitive
business decision.
Informal meetings like this one
are the lifeblood of publishing, and
where much of the actual business
gets done. Agents and editors meet
for lunch, give one another advance
copies of books as gifts, mingle at
book parties, and sneak off for quiet
chats at writing conferences. Socializing is a part of the business,
explains Brower. You have to be a
bit of a social butterfly.
This blurring of the social and
business realms is a n essent ial

component of a successf ul relationship between an agent and editor, Kleinman says. An agent needs
not only to try to strike the best
financial deal for his client, but
also to be sure the author and editor can work well together, and to
see that the publishing house will
put market ing muscle behind a
bookall of which requires a deep
knowledge of an editors skills and
personality. Those people I had
lunch with when I was starting out,
theyre senior editors now, Kleinman says. You all kind of grow up
together.
Still, at the end of the day, the
product being sold is not friendship but the book, and in trying
to persuade an editor to take a
chance on a title, an agent faces
the same dilemma as the authors
sending their queries to Folio do:
How do you sell a new and untested product to a person whose
job security depends on not wasting time on products that wont
sell? To make matters worse, this
product is a book, usually three
hundred to four hundred pages
long, and, like agents, editors are
too busy attending to the day-today business of publishing to spend
their days reading everything that
comes their way.
Thus, every agent must master
the art of the pitch, a brief, pithy
description of a manuscript that
conveys a clear sense of its subject
and plot while whetting an editors
appetite to hear more. Often this
can boil down to naming comparisons, or comps: two or more known
and successful titles to which the
unknown title compares or that it
manages to mesh together in some
new and interesting way. Think
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

(Quirk Book s, 2009), which is,
in a sense, a pitch line in itself.
W hen comps dont work, agents
look for a not her way to m a ke
the book stand out in an editors
mind. Lyons describes beginning
his pitch for his client Jonathan
Benders book Lego: A Love Story
(Wiley, 2010) with the line: There
are sixty-two Lego bricks for every
person on the planet.
But agents stress that pitching a
book is more art than science, one
that depends as much on k nowing an editors personal tastes and
professional interests as it does on
being on top of industry trends and
fads. I tend to gush about books
with people who I think would love
them too, Kleinman explains. I
dont think of it as a sales pitch. I
know it is at some level, but thats
not how I think about it.
s the afternoon shad-
ows leng t hen across

the city blocks outside
the eleventh-floor windows of Folios conference room,
wh ich is dom i nated by a long,
wooden table with a dozen silver
chairs that sit empty for now, the
agency continues to be a hive of
activity.
Once a pitch has proven
successfulan editor bites on a
projectand the agent has hammered out the basic elements of the
deal, the contract goes to Lyons,
who reviews all Folio contracts to
ensure that clients are maximizing
the value of their books. The inhouse lawyer helps his fellow agents
navigate the fine print on contracts
for foreign rights as well as negotiate clauses covering digital and
audio editions and potential op-
11
POETS & WRITERS
tions for film and other media such

as computer apps or games.
Ten years ago, before the spread
of e-readers and smartphones,
agents didnt have to worry about
digital or other new-media rights,
but times have changed. Jaffa, one
of the agencys youngest members,
is focused on working in the digital
arena. Authors need to be thinking about new technology, even if
their books arent likely to spawn
an iPhone app or an amusement
park ride, Lyons explains. For example, publishing contracts have
long contained boilerplate clauses
stating that the rights to a book
revert to the author once a book
goes out of print, but in a digital
age, the term out of print has become meaningless. Because of ebooks, he says, books are always
available online, so you have to set
some [minimum] sales threshold,
below which the rights revert to
the author, who is then free to find
a better way to market the title.
But while Lyons and Folios
other subsidiary-rights specialists
are getting out their fine-tooth
combs, the agent who just received
an offer from a publisher gets to
make the phone call every agent
dreams about. The best part of
every agents job is calling a client
to say the clients book is going to
be published.
The first offer is almost never
the final offer, but its the most
thrilling, says Brower. Then
we go on and tweak terms and
run auctions and do all that other
great stuff, but in that one minute
theyve gone from being a writer
to being an author, and something
theyve most likely worked on for
years is going to show up in a bookstore.
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DEGREES OF VALUE
Hiking the Yaak Valley

With Novelist Rick Bass
History Lessons From an
Old-School Publisher
Rosmarie Waldrops
Poetry in Motion
Trademark Tips
Agent Advice
Jesmyn Ward
The National Book Awardwinning author

faces tragedy in her new memoir
AGENTADVICE
Chris Parris-Lamb of the Gernert Company
What type of query letter piques your interest?
Jennifer from Milford, Connecticut
Areas of interest: Literary

fiction, narrative nonfiction,
memoir, journalism, sports,
business, cultural criticism,
history, science, and biography
Representative clients:
Chad Harbach, Hillary Jordan,
Robert Kolker, Jane McGonigal,
Grant Wahl
Looking for: Query letter and
sample chapters (no more than
50 pages)
Preferred contact: E-mail
info@thegernertco.com
(Attention: Chris Parris-Lamb
in the subject line)
Agency contact:
The Gernert Company
136 East 57th Street, 18th
Floor
New York, NY 10022
Phone (212) 838-7777
Fax (212) 838-6020
www.thegernertco.com
One thats as well written as the book

itself. Even better is one thats short,
pithy, and demonstrates the authors
understanding of, and aspirations for,
how the book will be received as part of
the literary and cultural conversation.
Im more interested in knowing why an
author wrote something and what kinds
of books and authors inspired her, than
I am in a lengthy synopsis. The latter
should take no more than a paragraph.
Ive read that literary fiction writers should
consider submitting book-length manuscripts to contests and independent presses
at the same time they are querying agents.
This feels unorthodox to me, but given the
tight market for literary fiction, maybe its
warranted. What is your feeling on this?
Anne from Brooklyn, New York
I think thats probably a wise and realistic approach for short story collections.
The fact is, if youre publishing stories
in venues high profile enough to suggest
that a collection might be a viable commercial prospect for a major publisher,
youre probably going to be hearing
from agents already. For novels, however, Id save submissions to contests
and independent presses for a second
or third round. I dont think you need
to wait until youve queried every agent
in the world, but make sure youve given
yourself a chance with a few dozen or so
people who seem like theyd be a good
fit. You can then continue to submit to
other agents while submitting to contests and independent presses.
13
POETS & WRITERS
If Im a hermit by choice (find crowds draining,

dont do public speaking well), how does that
reduce my chances of being published? Would
an agent and/or publisher see that as a marketing nightmare?
Sandra from Perris, California
I think the answer depends a great deal

on the nature of what youre writing
(and perhaps the degree to which youre
really a hermit). Its almost impossible
to promote nonfiction without having
the author engage with the world in
some way. You can probably get away
with avoiding public-speaking events,
but if youre not willing to, say, do an
NPR interview about your book, thats
a problem. Fiction is a little different.
Whether its intended to be high literature or complete pulp, its all about
whats on the page and how the reader
responds to it. Yes, an author who is
willing to do anything and everything to promote his book is valuable
to a publisherbut that book has to
be good. All else being equal, having
written identical books, a social butterfly is more appealing to a publisher
than a hermit. But theyd never write
identical books, of course! I think the
best fiction requires a kind of monastic
discipline, even obsession, on the part
of people who create it that doesnt
necessarily lend itself to a raging social
life, or building a platform. So just be
you, and focus on making your book the
best it can be. We spend enough time
broadcasting ourselves to the ends of
the earth, and to me books represent
a respite from that. Literature needs
more hermits, I say!
FOUR YOUNG
AGENTS
A Roundtable Discussion
BY M I C H A E L S ZC Z E R B A N
ince the financial crisis
of 20072008 and the recession that followed, the

book business has shuddered through intense turbulence:
corporate mergers, acquisitions,
spinoffs, and bankruptcies; startups
that sizzled and then ceased; the fall
of Borders and the rise of Amazon;
new book formats, business models,
imprints, and agencies; litigation;
technological upheaval; and a host
of other unexpected challenges and
radical transformations.
And yet writers keep writing and
readers keep reading. In the midst
of such tumult, thats just about all
the stability I could ask forand
perhaps all our business really needs.
But what of the publishing professionals who came of age in the business during those disruptive years?
Could it be that the agents and editors who took root in this new climate are of a hardier stock, and that
their perspectives on culture and
commerce will differ significantly
from the generations that preceded
them? As this group of up-and-comers becomes the establishment, they
will shape what gets published, why,
and how.
Michael Szczerban is an executive
editor at Little, Brown.
I recently inv ited four young

agentsClaudia Ballard, Seth Fishman, Melissa Flashman, and Alia
Hanna Habibto my office to talk
about what it means to be a literary
representative today. Each of them
has achieved success in the postcrisis years. Over a couple of six-packs
of beer and some chips and cookies (blame the new economy for my
chintzy spread) our conversation
took off.
Lets start with your first interaction
with a writer. How does their material
find its way to you, and when it does,
what makes you respond to it?
Fishman: I was all about the small
magazines when I first started out.

My first client came from reading
Tin House. People ask now whether
those magazines matter; they do.
Even if we dont have time to read
them now to look for new clients,
our assistants are reading themat
least I hope they are. That first client
led me to a number of other clients,
including Ta Obreht and her book
The Tigers Wife, which was my first
sale. Those connections are incredibly important.
Habib: Whether Im reading the Atlantic or a literary journal, if something grabs me the way it would
grab anyone as a reader, Im going
to write to that person. Dont we all
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14
look for clients that way? But I do a

lot of nonfiction, and in many ways
that process is different.
Arent there also many similarities:
story and voice and that elemental thing that makes someone pay
attention?Whats universal about
how you respond as a reader and an
agent?
Habib: Ill give you an example. I
was reading an article in the Atlantic about the first diagnosed case of
autism by two writers, John Donvan and Caren Zucker, at a moment
when I thought I had read more than
enough about autism. The first line
caught my eye. The reader in me noticed that I was reading the article
really quickly. Then the literary
agent part of me asked, How do I
help make this a book a lot of people
will want to read? I think our job is
partly to see what the writer doesnt
see.
Ballard: Theres also a real community of writers out there, and incredible resources for unpublished
writers to connect to the publishing community so that agents can
find them. Tin House is a fantastic
magazine for that, because they
publish new voices every issue. It
isnt easy for writers who are just
starting out, but writers refer other
writers. The more you are tapped
into a community, the more youll
benefit from that f low. Its about
getting your feet on the ground
and getting your name out in the
universe.
Flashman: Two questions always
come up when Im at writers conferences. People in MFA programs
always ask if they need to be in San
Francisco or New York City, and
people in New York always ask if
they need to have an MFA . I dont
think either one matters, necessarily. What matters is that they are
both cultural ecosystems. Maybe
you dont have an MFA and you live
in Austin or Louisville. What matters is being around other writers,
support ing one anot hers work,
and reading. Maybe you start a literary magazine, or maybe someone gets into the Oxford American,
and through that door, three more
w r iters come i n. Thats how it
works.
What about social media?
Habib: Social media can create those
communities too. Roxane Gay did

that so brilliantlyshe created a
ready readership for her books by
engaging so openly and honestly on
Twitter. Shes not my writerI wish
she were! But thats another way to
open the door.
Fishman: Ive learned that different
social media systems are for totally
different things. For me, Twitter is
for professional contacts, and Facebook is personal. Im an agent but
I also write, and when I put something on Facebook about my book
publication day, I get three hundred
likesits like a superbirthday. But
if I put it on Twitter, I might get six
retweets and fifteen likes.
Ballard: I dont tweet, but I use Twitter to see what everyone else is talking about.
Flashman: I make secret lists on
Twitter for different ecosystems.
For instance, Ive been thinking
about a type of fiction you might
call an art-school novel, and where
to find the girls who like reading
it. I know where they are on social
media, and I know there are certain publishers and editors who can
publish that type of book well. And
I keep track.
15
So, social media is a way of being part

of a community, rather than what
publishers might call platform
thousands and thousands of followers who are primed to click Buy?
Ballard: Being tapped in doesnt
necessarily translate to platform.

Its a way in which you can engage.
It makes it a lot easier for people
who dont live in places where a lot
of writers happen to congregate.
St ill, when a w riter sends me a
query, I connect first and foremost
with the writing.
Whats important for you to see in a

query from a writer?
Fishman: All I want from a query
letter is reasons to go to the next

pagereasons to read the book.
While Id like to say I read everything, I have an assistant and we
have interns who look at things
first. When I look at a query letter,
I read the first and third paragraphs.
I dont care about the synopsisnot
because I dont care what the book
is about, but because a lot of writers
dont know how to write a good synopsis. The first paragraph is where
writers will tell you about any direct
connections to you.
Flashman: It will also tell you if this
book is even in a category that you
represent. I wouldnt know a good
science fiction novel if it punched
me in the face. So if someone is
pitching me science fiction, either
theres a connection or they liked
one of my other novels, in which
case I might be interested. But if
t heres no connect ion to any of
the authors Ive represented, Im
just not the right agent. There is a
great agent at my agency, John Silbersack, who does science fiction. He
represents the Dune estate. Hes edited Philip K. Dick. He is the man.
PPO
OE
ET
TSS &
&W
WR
RIIT
TE
ER
RSS
GROWING DIVERSITY IN
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Those writers should be e-mailing
him, not me.
How much material comes in to you
in comparison to what you take on?
Ballard: Well, if your name is listed
on the Poets & Writers website, you

will get a lot of queries. I probably
get a query every ten minutes. I have
to engage with them very, very, very
quickly. Its important to make your
query succinct and to target the right
agent for you.
Fishman: Otherwise itll just get put
away. My assistant filters things for
me. Now I probably get only three
Spencer
an MFA
orRochelle
four every
otherreceived
week that
the asf rom thinks
New York
Un iversit
y. A Im
n
sistant
are good
enough.
LaGuardia
Community
notinstructor
lookingatfor
much more
to repreCollege,
she isBut
currently
a
sent
right now.
the lastwriting
book that
mynovel.
assistant brought to me and said,
You have to read this now, I stopped
what I was doing, read it, loved it, and
sold it.
Ballard: I personally read all my queries, but its hard. Its a volume game.
But when you have a lot of volume,
you pick out the things that you feel
most connected with even more
quickly. I do take referrals more seriously. Its a two-way street. You want
to feel a connection to the work, but
you also want a writer to feel connected to you.
Do writers need to write better query
letters to get your attention, or do
they just need to write better books?
Flashman: They need to approach
the right agents. I think theres a way

of focusing queries to ten or fifteen
agents: Sit down with a legal pad, or
your iPad, and find roughly ten novels that are similar. Writers usually
thank their agent at the back of the
book. Keep a running list of novelist, novel, agency, agent. Go to the
Internet, make sure the agents still
alive and taking on clients, and go

from there.
Habib: Id add, when youre looking
at those books that you love, to also
look at lists of successful debuts and
see who represented them. I think
were all saying that when you get a
query, and its from someone whos
read and liked one of your clients
books, it helps.
Fishman: There are so many other
simple things. Make sure the person
is the correct gender!
Flashman: Dear Mr. Flashman
no.
Fishman: A nd sure, were overwhelmed, but we want to find something good. We want that desperately.
Were not being assholes. Were just
being human. We connect with the
things that we connect with. We
have bad days; we have good days. If
someone goes online and says, Dont
submit something to me today, on
Twitter, then you shouldnt, because
that persons really trying to tell you
something.
Lets talk about MFAs. Seth, you have
a masters in writing, and Melissa, you
wrote a great essay about them in the
anthology MFA vs NYC.
Flashman: I think some people might
think Im on Team NYC, and against

MFA s, because Im here in New York
publishing. But Im actually very
pro- MFA , because I think some of
those programs are like the WPA for
writersthe good state programs
especially, where they give writers
money to go study. You dont need
to go when youre twenty-two. Its
often better to go when youre thirty,
thirty-five, when you have more of a
life behind you. But you dont need
to go to an MFA program at all. You
can hang out with other writers and
write anywhere.
P W. O R G
16
Claudia Ballard
is an agent at
William Morris
BY R Endeavor,
O C H E L Lwhere
E
she has worked for
nine years.
Her clients include
Marie-Helene
Bertino, Marjorie Celona,
Amelia Gray, Eddie Joyce, and
Emma Straub.
Seth Fishman
started his career

in publishing at
Sterling Lord
Literistic in 2005, and
has been an agent
at the Gernert Company since 2010. His
authors include Kate Beaton, Anna
Bond, Ann Leckie, Randall Munroe,
and Ta Obreht.
Ballard: My take is that MFA pro-
grams attract like-minded writers.

People who want to be a part of the
writing community, or want to take
the time to say, Im going to focus
on this. It doesnt create talent, but it
can provide you a lot of feedback and
time. Some people feel the workshop
scenario is not for them, but I find
that people who are serious about a
writing career tend to seek them out.
Its not a necessity. But it signals seriousness to an agent. Seth, you went
to onewhat do you think?
Fishman: I dont necessarily perk
up based on where a writer went.
Weve all seen work from writers
who went to the famous places and
weve passed on it. There are other
hybrid programs that I would like
to recom mend, t hough. I n t he
speculative-fiction world, the best
Melissa
Flashman
became an agent at
Trident Media Group
in 2002, after working
as a coolhunter and
an assistant at ICM.
Her clients include
Stephanie Mannatt Danler, Kristin
Dombek, Stanley Fish, Emily Gould,
and Kate Zambreno.
Alia Hanna Habib
became an agent
at what is now McCormick Literary in
2010, after working
for five years as a
publicist at Houghton
Mifflin. Her clients
include John Donvan, Ophira Eisenberg, Elizabeth Green, Josh Levin,
and Caren Zucker.
thing Ive seen is called Clarion. Its

five thousand dollars for six weeks,
and features huge teachers like Neil
Gaiman and George R. R. Martin. I
represent a lot of people from there.
Its like a boot camp.
Flashman: So youve found that ecosystem.
Fishman: Right, Ive found the ecosystem thats perfect for me. And I
love it and I shouldnt be telling anyone about it. At the same time, Im
sure there are versions of it in other
genres. There have to be.
Ballard: There are also writers conferences like Bread Loaf or Sewanee
where writers seek out like-minded
people who cant take much time
away from making a living, but are
often incredibly talented.
Habib: And to get back to query letters: At least in our office, our as-
tony gale
17
sistants and interns do give a closer

read of the material in the slush pile
that says the writer got an MFA .
Fishman: Im looking for expertise.
If a book is about geology, I want
to know if youre a geologist. Same
with fiction and an MFA .
What else matters?
Flashman: Like all agents and edi-
tors, I want a novel that, as one of my

writers said, has blood in it. I want
a novel thats very deeply felt and urgent. I went to a PhD program almost right out of college and realized
very quickly I did not want to be an
English professor. Theres a tendency
among writers to go straight into an
MFA program, and for some writers,
like Ta Obreht, its great. She had a
great story and something urgent to
tell. But a lot of writers dont know
their story yet. It might not surface
till later.
Habib: I was a publicist before I became an agent, and when wed have
to publicize novels, the goal for fiction was always to develop a nonfiction hook. Thats the stuff that you
can talk about in interviews, and it
can develop naturally with writers
who have life experience. When a
book lands at a publisher and the
writer has had a world of experience
and can talk from a place of knowledge, thats gold. That gets publishers excited to publish a book well.
What has been most surprising to you
since you became an agent?
Ballard: Its surprising that the most
beneficial thing for my long-term

career was, in a funny way, to get
promoted in 2008, right when the
financial crash was happening. It felt
like everything we knew about publishing was going to change dramatically. I remember some older agents
17
POETS & WRITERS
POETS & WRITERS
bemoaning the fact that things used

to sell more easily, that there was a
guaranteed number of hardcover
copies sold if you were paid a certain level advance. But all those
guarantees went out the window. I
dont know if thats a good thing or a
bad thing. But I didnt have any false
expectations of what success would
look like in the industry. I think
that agents who came of age in the
nineties experienced a very different
business than what were experiencing right now.
Flashman: Another thing thats surprising is the sales numbers. When
you compare movie box office receipts to how many books you have
to sell to hit the New York Times bestseller listits pretty astonishing.
The best-selling books arent reporting millions of dollars of sales over a
weekend like the top movies do.
Flashman: R ight. A nd Ive had
books that end up in what I hear

publishers call the power backlist,
where they maybe hit the list once
but then go on to sell and sell and sell
just beneath that level. And sometimes the literary novel that you hear
about everywhere and think will be
a massive best-seller ends up selling
four thousand copies.
Fishman: I think literary fiction in
particular is a big echo chamber in
New York. I represent a lot of literary fiction at different levels of success, and I love it. But when I send
out a science fiction novel, I can send
it to five, six people in a first round.
I can send a literary novel to fifteen
to twenty people. And you can pour
your heart and soul into a literary
novel and be shocked by how few
sales there are. In other genres that
have dedicated groups of followers,
you may have less shelf space, but if
you get on that shelf, you sell more

copies at a minimum. Each genre
has its own dynamic.
Flashman: Each industry is weighted
to different sorts of backgrounds, too.
One thing I realized pretty quickly
when I got into publishing is that its
heavily weighted to English majors.
I love literary fiction, but I dont ever
worry that there arent going to be
enough editors to buy literary fiction.
I do worry about books about science
and technology.
Fishman: I want to comment on
what Claudia said a minute ago,
because I came up in 2008 as well.
A lot of people from my classthe
people we were drinking with when
we were startingare all moving
from publisher to publisher now.
When you sell a book, you sell it
to a house. The editor is the point
person, but editors move quite a bit.

Thats been a learning process for
me. Now its not just Are you the
right editor for this book? but also
Are you going to be around at this
place when the book comes out? In
the last two years Ive had eighteen
orphaned books.
Habib: The last, like, five books I
sold were orphaned.
Flashman: Ive had books become
best-sellers that were orphaned.
Sometimes those books have even
had three editors.
Ballard: You just want the house to
carry on the enthusiasm of the original editor.
What are some common mistakes
that beginning writers can avoid?
Flashman: Ive had this fantasy that
someday Im going to take a three-
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18
day vacation upstate, to a place like

Woodstock or Phoenicia, and write
a manifesto of my ten rules for writers. The biggest rule will be about
finding the sweet spot of perfect
communication with your agent
and with editors. Some writers undercommunicate, and I call this a
high-school-girl theory of being
in the worldyou want everyone
to come to you and recognize how
great you are. But you have to be
out there with other writers and
communicating with your agent. If
you publish a piece in the New York
Times, I really want to know about it
so I can tweet about it and tell your
editor and tell my foreign-rights
people. For those people, I would
say be less of a high-school girl. Be
like a high-school boy who wants
all these girls to know who you are.
I dont mean that in a sexist way. And

then, on the other hand, there are
writers who are trying to manage
their anxiety and send seventeen emails a day to me, the publicist, the
editor. We get so much e-mail, and
we just want to make sure were answering everyones questions. When
we get seventeen e-mails, we dont
know where to put our focus.
Fishman: A lot of authors dont fully
realize that we work for them. Its
a weird relationship because at the
beginning, theyre trying to impress
us. But the truth is that we work for
them.
What about issues of craft?
Fishman: I think focusing effort on
trying to grab someone at the beginning of your manuscript, instead

of focusing on the actual story, is a
problem. This is a personal thing,
but I often see that issue in prologues that take something exciting
from later in the book and move it
to the front. I know there are exceptions. I admit to the exceptions.
I have clients who have exceptions.
But I always make my clients think
about whether that prologue needs
to be there, and where the beginning of the story really is.
Flashman: It is a subjective industry. Especially with literary fiction,
we all have this sort of thing we
gravitate toward. For me, its elegiac
fiction. If your intro sounds like the
beginning of The Great Gatsby or
The Secret History, Im a sucker for
it. I call it book voice. I read the
intro to Gatsby along with one of
my authors intros this weekend out
loud just for fun. Im not a poetI
dont know much about poetry besides English 201but I love that
voice.
Ballard: I ran into Rob Spillman, the
19
editor of Tin House, recently, and he

was telling me that hes teaching a
class at his MFA program this semester thats all first paragraphs.
Habib: That is brilliant!
Ballard: All you can bring in is the
first paragraph, and those paragraphs are all you workshop the
whole semester. I think that is so
brilliant. That is the thing thats
going to hook you, that you form
that snap judgment on, whatever
youre readingeven if its a book
thats been published and widely acclaimed.
Habib: In some ways your experience as an agent should mimic the
experience of a reader who picks
up a book at a bookstore. I often
read e-books, and, before I buy a
book, I download the free sample.
Thats how I decide. So, for me, Id
say, Really think about your first
twenty pages.
Fishman: I read books that are not
my own all the time because I want
to find a query that makes me stop
reading that other book. If Im bored
I will pick up my regular book, and
enjoy it. If theres something that
keeps me from it, thats a real sign.
What other advice do you have for
authors?
Flashman: Im always telling au-
thors to storyboard their books with

big Post-It notes. Thats valuable
when Im working on big-thinking
narrative-nonfiction booksto look
at a really great book and see the architecture underneath it.
Ballard: I think that story is undervalued, in literary fiction at least. The
writing, obviously, is key. But you
need to tell a really good story. Its
hard to do.
Habib: Story is undervalued in nonfiction, too.
19
POETS & WRITERS POETS & WRITERS
Ballard: I actually think it can be
simpler than you think its going to

beor, it can be more classic than
you t hink its going to be. Your
voice and your telling of it are going
to make it more interesting. Some
people are trying to whiz-bang their
way through a novel. Others are just
so quiet that it doesnt matter how
pristinely beautiful the writing is
it doesnt have that thing that pulls
you through.
Habib: The number one bad habit I
see with nonfictionthe habit I have
to break my writers ofis they all
want to do a series of profiles instead
of telling a story. Every submission
comes in as, Im going to do a series
of profiles that explains X problem.
But most readers are not going to finish a book unless theres a narrative
thread that brings them through to
the end. It has to have a story.
What has gotten easier since you got
into the business?
Fishman: Submissions. When I was
an assistant, we used to print out

every manuscript and put them all in
boxes and put labels on them. It would
take all day to do a submission.
Ballard: For me, as someone who
does a lot of literary fiction, theres
this incredible part of our industry
that is so supportive of new voices,
and so interested in publishing difficult literary fiction. The importance
of those indie publishers has grown
exponentially since I started. The
ways in which they care about the creative atmosphere. The ways in which
theyre perpetuating these incredible
voice-driven authors who may not
find a home in the mainstream. They
have made my job easier, because I
know that my author is going to find
a home. You just have to sometimes
dig a little deeper to find it.
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isnt just about miracles but how they come your way when you
least expect them to.
www.hawkinspublishinggroup.com
www.spiritguests.com
Apple Creek Farm

By Gail Johnston
Hawkins Publishing Group
Ghost Man
By Donnelle McGee
Sibling Rivalry Press
After surviving two failed marriages, Sylvia is a recently divorced

mother living in the Illinois wilderness, struggling to raise two
teenagers while mending emotional scars meted out by domestic
violence as she attempts to rebuild her life on Apple Creek Farm.
The novel is an inspirational work that displays dogged determination and strength of will to survive at all cost.
Donnelle McGee writes with an incisive grace and insight.

Uncompromising in its exploration of grit and themes of history, weaving noir into the literary, Ghost Man is an exciting
and timely book. With some Chester Himes and some Walter
Mosley and hints of Mat Johnson and Victor LaValle, McGee
has made a style all his own. A strong debut.Chris Abani,
The Secret History of Las Vegas.
www.hawkinspublishinggroup.com
I Am Joseph: Shepherd, Dreamer, Savior

By Cathleen M. Horrell
This is the story of human developmentof one persons
journey to becoming fully human, showing us how we too can
deepen our capacity for personhood. The images in the narrative draw us into the heart of the story where revelation resides.
More than a biblical commentary, this book is about reading the
scriptures in their original languagethe language of the soul.
www.siblingrivalrypress.bigcartel.com
Your Life is a Book: How to Craft and Publish Your Memoir

By Brenda Peterson and Sarah Jane Freymann
Sasquatch Books
Your life is a story. Discover the transformative journey of memoir, guided by an acclaimed author and NYC literary agent.
Razor-sharp,Library Journal. Spot-on, affirmative, accessible,Booklist. If I were going to write the story of my life, this
is the book Id look to first and last for encouragement, inspiration, and practical advice.Nancy Pearl, author of Book Lust.
www.fortydayswithstpaul.com
www.BrendaPetersonBooks.com
Skin & Bones

By Stanley James
Another Day, Otro Da

By Kathleen E. Suits-Smith
This is the poets most diverse body of work when it comes

to subject matter, covering such topics as local/national politics,
police brutality, and relationships. He presents poems on these
subjects while remaining true to his style of realistic, down-toearth perspectives of everyday life.Christopher K.P. Brown.
This novel is a timely illustration of the shameful world

unknown to most Americans. Another Day, Otro Da depicts the
lives of contemporary migrant workers in the dairy industry of
rural New York. In desperation, the protagonist, Peggy Stewart,
turns to undocumented migrants. Through Ro, a Mexican
worker, Peggy learns the shocking realities of migrant life in
America and she finds love.
www.twopensandlint.com/james
www.amazon.com
If you have a book to promote in the New Titles section, e-mail advertising@pw.org
AGENTADVICE
Lucy Carson of the Friedrich Agency
I have a book I think would make a good
e-bookits fiction but with lots of relevant
(historical and political) links to videos, archival
photos, cultural analysis. Is it a good idea to
market this to agents and editors as a potential
e-book? Or would that seem gimmicky? Also,
would it make it seem less literary?
Monica from Soquel, California
Areas of interest: Adult fiction (womens and suspense),

young adult and middle grade
fiction, narrative nonfiction,
and science
Representative clients: Anna
Banks, Lori Goldstein, Jessica
Khoury, Sonya Rhodes, William
Ritter, Josh Sundquist
Looking for: Query letter that
introduces the project and the
writer in equal parts
lcarson@friedrichagency.com
Agency contact:
The Friedrich Agency
19 West 21st Street, Suite 201
New York, NY 10010
(212) 317-8810
www.friedrichagency.com
An e-book original is, unfortunately,

still perceived as a last resort for a
book. Since, to my knowledge, e-book
publishers operate on a no-advance
payment structure (with higher royalties most of the time, to make up for
that) pitching your project as a good
e-book is like telling agents they might
never make a dime on it. So, not an ideal
foot to put forward! Instead, pitch the
book based on all its general merit; then,
in a separate paragraph, argue that your
topic lends itself to unique opportunities for digital engagement in an e-book
edition, which would be an asset to the
overall publication if creatively constructed. Every print book is going to
have an e-book edition as well, so this
way your pitch sounds like theres a
bonus aspect.
If you are youngunder twentyis it better to
wait until an agent has said she will represent
you before you tell her your age, or to tell her
straight off?
Anonymous from Spokane, Washington
The prevailing reaction might be one

that is prejudiced based on the sole issue
of experience, but Ive seen so much
talent come from young writersand
its kind of fun to raise eyebrows when I
pitch them to an editor. That said, most
21
POETS & WRITERS
agents will offer representation based

on the manuscript itself, so if your age
isnt in the query letter (and why should
it be?) there wouldnt necessarily be another moment to bring it up. It all comes
down to the question, How relevant is
your personal experience to the book
you are pitching?
Is it not expedient to send a sample of a novelin-progress, to find out where interest might lie,
rather than wait until youve got it all done, and
then maybe spend the next five years sending
out queries?
Richard Atwood from Wichita, Kansas
Since we agents have such heavy reading,

you shouldnt go on a fishing expedition
with a work-in-progress (unless its nonfiction, where a proposal/sample can be
enough to sell). Either way, youre going
to finish your novel if youre committed
to it, so my advice is to use submission
energy wisely. Most agents wont offer
to represent fiction without digesting the complete project, so you dont
stand to gain much from reaching out
prematurely.
Is there a market for just plain funny fiction?
Chris from Dodgeville, Wisconsin
Oh, theres a marketits just so damn

hard to crack. Nothing is as subjective
as humor, hands down. Even if the
acquiring editor thinks the project is
funny, chances are that someone high
up in sales or marketing disagrees. But
I think the minute you start thinking
that your writing has to fit certain
parameters is the minute you lose an
essential part of your voice.
THE AGENTS AND EDITORS SERIES

offers a wealth of informationbeyond whats listed in reference books and databasesabout the likes and dislikes and
the dos and donts of the industrys leaders. In this series of in-depth interviews, which was started by Poets & Writers
Magazine contributing editor Jofie Ferrari-Alder and continues with Simon & Schuster editor Michael Szczerban, the
following eighteen agentsrepresenting both the veterans and the new guardtalk about whats wrong with the book
business, the dangers of MFA programs, what writers should never do, what they look for in a proposal, and more. Read
the full interviews at www.pw.org/magazine.
at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates

before starting her own agency, Barer
Literary, in 2004 and then cofounding
the Book Group in 2015. Her clients
include Zo Ferraris, Joshua Ferris, and
Gina Ochsner.
MOLLY FRIEDRICH began

her career in publishing as an intern at
Doubleday before being promoted to
director of publicity at the companys
paperback imprint, Anchor Press. She
worked at the Aaron Priest Literary
Agency for twenty-eight years before
founding the Friedrich Agency in 2006. Her clients include
Melissa Bank, Jane Smiley, and Elizabeth Strout.
GEORGES BORCHARDT,
DAVID GERNERT was the editor

in chief of Doubleday, where he edited
John Grisham, before starting his
own agency, with Grisham as his first
client. His other clients include Stewart ONan, Chris Pavone, and Peter
Straub.
with his wife and daughter (who joined

the Borchardt Agency in 1999), has
built a staggering list of clients over the
past half century. They include John
Ashbery, Robert Bly, T. C. Boyle, Rafael
Campo, Robert Coover, Ian McEwan,
Susan Minot, and Philip Schultz.
SUSAN GOLOMB is a senior

agent at Writers House. She founded
her own literary agency in 1988, with
Jonathan Franzen as her first client.
She represents Joshua Max Feldman,
Rachel Kushner, and William T. Vollmann, among many others.
DAWN DAVIS
is the vice president

and publisher of 37 INK, an imprint of
Simon & Schusters Atria Publishing
Group. Prior to 37 INK, Davis edited
Edward P. Joness Pulitzer Prize
winning novel The Known World, and
Chris Gardners The Pursuit of Happyness while at
HarperCollins.
JENNIFER JOEL is a partner

and literary agent at ICM Partners.
Her clients include Chris Cleave, Ian
Caldwell, Joe McGinniss Jr., Evan
Osnos, Shonda Rhimes, and Dustin
Thomason.
AMY EINHORN is the senior vice

president and publisher of Flatiron
Books, an imprint of Macmillan. She
was previously the head of Amy Einhorn Books, an imprint of the Penguin
Random House division G. P. Putnams
Sons, which she started in 2007. Authors published by Amy
Einhorn Books included Eleanor Brown, Liane Moriarty,
Kathryn Stockett, and M. O. Walsh.
PPW.
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JEFF KLEINMAN was an agent

at the Graybill & English Literary
Agency for seven years before cofounding Folio Literary Management in
2006. His clients include Robert Hicks,
Garth Stein, and Neil White.
22
brian smale, christy whitney, pieter van hattem
JULIE BARER spent six years
DANIEL LAZAR is an agent at

Writers House, where he has worked
for twelve years. His clients include
Richard Harvell, Ingrid Law, and
Jennifer McMahon.
PJ MARK has been a literary

agent since 2002, first at International
Management Group (IMG), then
Collins McCormick, McCormick &
Williams, and now Janklow & Nesbit
Associates, where he moved in 2010.
NAT SOBEL, former vice

president and marketing director
of Grove, founded his eponymous
consulting firm for independent
publishers in 1970. His wife, Judith
Weber, joined in 1977, when the
company became a full-service literary agency. Today Sobel Weber Associates counts James
Ellroy, Richard Russo, and the late F. X. Toole among its
clients.
MARIA MASSIE worked as an

agent for twelve years before joining
Lippincott Massie McQuilkin as a
partner in 2004. Her clients include
Uwem Akpan, Peter Ho Davies, and
Robin Romm.
ANNA STEIN is a literary

agent at ICM Partners. Previously,
she worked at four other agencies
before joining Aitken Alexander
Associates from 2009 to 2015. Her
clients include Ben Lerner, Maria
Semple, and Hanya Yanagihara.
LYNN NESBIT started the
PETER STEINBERG spent

eleven years at other agencies before
founding the Steinberg Agency
in 2007. He is now with Foundry
Media. His clients include Alicia
Erian, Keith Donohue, and John
Matteson.
agency that would become International Creative Management in 1965,

and in 1989 joined forces with Mort
Janklow to found Janklow & Nesbit
Associates. She has worked with authors such as John Cheever, Jeffrey
Eugenides, Jayne Anne Phillips, and Tom Wolfe.
MICH A EL W IEGERS
is the
editor in chief of Copper Canyon
Press, whose authors include W. S.
Merwin, Ruth Stone, A rthur Sze,
Dean Young, Alberto Ros, Matthew
Zapruder, Brenda Shaughnessy, Frank
Stafford, Ted Kooser, Roger Reeves,
and Michael Dickman.
JIM RUTMAN has been an agent

at Sterling Lord Literistic for the past
fourteen years. His clients include
Charles Bock, J. Robert Lennon, and
Peter Rock.
ERIC SIMONOFF was an agent
RENEE ZUCKERBROT was

an editor at Doubleday before founding her eponymous literary agency in
2002. Her clients include Kelly Link,
Deborah Lutz, and Eric Sanderson.
at Janklow & Nesbit Associates for

eighteen years before joining William
Morris Endeavor in 2009. His clients
include Edward P. Jones, Jhumpa
Lahiri, Jonathan Lethem, and ZZ
Packer.
23
23
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HOW I FOUND MY AGENT
n e of t he mo s t i m-
portant milestones in
a f ict ion writers careerand often one of
the most maddeningly difficultis
finding an agent. Without the benefit of a publishing track record or
strong name recognition, many
writers find that the process makes
them vulnerable to corrosive selfdoubt that can be agonizing. How
do I go about this? Why does no
one want to represent me? Have I
fooled myself into thinking Im really a writer? Is my book really not
worth an agents attention?
Once a contract with an agent is
signed, the existential pressure lessensbut even then, a writers troubles arent always over. Finding an
agent is one thing; finding the right
agent is something else entirely.
Authors often go through multiple
agents before they settle on the one
whose approach is a good fit.
To help readers navigate t his
sometimes-treacherous territory,
we asked ten midcareer authors to
share the stories of how they found
an agent, and to offer some advice
for writers who are still searching
for one.
Colson Whitehead is the author
of seven books, most recently the
Kevin Nance is a contributing editor
of Poets & Writers Magazine. Follow
him on Twitter, @KevinNance1.
memoir The Noble

Hustle: Poker, Beef
J e rk y, a n d D e a t h
(Doubleday, 2014)
and the novel Zone
O n e ( Double d ay,
2011). His agent is
N ic ole A r a g i of
Aragi, Inc.
How He Met
Her: I was fortunate
in that I worked at a
newspaper, the Village Voice, so I knew
jou r nal ist s whod
had book s publ ished. O ne g ave
me the name of his
a g e nt . I s e nt m y
first attempt at a novel to the Faith
Childs Literary Agency, and was
obviously pretty excited when they
accepted me. They gave me some
notes on how to fix it up, and sent
it out. Twenty-plus rejections later,
they dumped me as a client and I was
back to zero.
I dusted myself off; what else was
I going to do? I was friends with a
book editor named Tina Pohlman.
Shed passed on the noveljust
because you know a book editor,
it doesnt mean she is obligated to
publish your crummy book. I asked
Tina if she had any ideas about who
I should hit up next, as I was halfway through a novel about elevator
inspectors, and my prospects didnt
seem that great. She recommended a
new agent named Nicole Aragi, who
was making a name for herself. Tina
P W. O R G
24
BY K E V I N N A N C E
thought she might understand what

I was trying to do. Six months later,
I sent Nicole the manuscript, and,
luckily, she did indeed understand
what I was trying to do.
Advice: You want an agent whos
going to stick with you in the good
times and the bad times, and there
will be plenty of bad times. Good
novels fail to find publishers all the
time. Somehow you deluded yourself
into thinking that you could write
a novel. Now delude yourself into
thinking that your very worthy book
will find a proper home. If it worked
once, maybe it will work again.
Karen Russell is the author of
four books, most recently the novella Sleep Donation (Atavist Books,
2014) and the short story collection
Vampires in the Lemon Grove: And
tony gale
Ten Authors on Meeting the One
russell: michael lionstar; shannon: brian larkin
Other Stories (K nopf, 2013). Her

agent is Denise Shannon of Denise
Shannon Literary Agency.
How She Met Her: Somehow
I think the stars line up, or else I
dont know how to explain my extraordinary luck [in being] accepted
by my agent, Denise Shannon. This
happened early on in my careerso
early, in fact, that my use of the word
career here is a total fabrication. I
was a graduate student, with zero
publications to my name beyond a
prose poem in Lady Churchills Rosebud Wristlet and an online book review. (I remember debating whether
or not to mention this in my cover
letter.) It was the final semester of
my graduate program, and as I recall
we were all basically bug-eyed with
panic. Who wants to talk about
craft? our kindly professors would
ask, and as one, we would eyeball
them with silent questions of our
own: How did you buy those shoes?
Where can we turn in all these halffinished stories we wrote for cash
prizes? What happens now?
One night the program held a Meet
the Agents event.
What I remember is
a bunch of us cornering the tallest agent,
a beautiful woman
holding a plate of
sushi and wearing
a pr udent ly blan k
expression on her face, while MFA
students pitched their books at her
in this demented game of Skee-Ball.
Its a novel about a deaf beekeeper
and his illegitimate daughter! Its a
memoir of my Mexican bicycle trip,
the summer I became a psychic!
Etcetera. I dont think that is actually how the evening unfolded; Im
sure Im viewing it through the lens
25
of my own terrible insecurity. But

whats true is that I failed to network
with any of the agents who came to
meet us in person. I couldnt imagine
speaking about my book with any
sort of confidence. I had maybe eight
stories at this point, all set in the
same imaginary Florida; I felt shy
and fraudulent, referring to them as
a collection.
Then I heard someone suggest
that I query those agents who represented writers I loved, writers with
whose work I felt my own stories
shared an affinity. So I did that, and
waited to hear from them. My agent
still has the query letter that I sent
her; we laugh now: It was one of the
worst letters she has ever received.
Very painfully apologetic, which I
have since learned is maybe not the
way you want to approach agents, or
really anybody. I think it went something along the lines of Here are
my eight weird unfinished stories,
none of which have been published.
If you dont have time to read them
I will understand.
But! Thanks to the heroic and

mind-boggling generosity of one
of my professors, I got a second
chance. This professor, who is also
one of my agents clients, called her
and suggested that she should take
a look at the stories, even after I
had sunk my own battleship with
the worlds worst query letter. And
then I had the spectacular fortune
POETS & WRITERS
to get to be represented by her, and

for almost a decade now, we have
been working together. I cant tell
you how grateful I feel, to this day,
for my professors intervention, and
for my agents willingness to look at
my manuscript; I was twenty-three
when she took me on and I had not
published a single story. That she
saw potential in me and wanted to
work with me, that she was willing
to represent someone who wrote stories, that she loved
t he s a me aut hor s
I loved a nd spoke
about fiction so brilliantly, wit h obvious passion and the
keenest insightall
of this immediately
alerted me to the fact that I had just
won the lottery.
Advice: Extrapolating from my
own experience, I do think that its
important to wait until you have
a body of work that you feel solid
about before submitting to agents.
Writers should be wary of internal or external pressures to find an
agent before they have a book they
feel strongly about, a fully imagined story that is approaching its
final draft, ready for a reader. Ive
seen students race to find an agent
in a cart-before-the-horse kind of
panic, and from experience I know
thats a painful state to be in, and
also may be contrary to the story or
novels interests. Its really okay to
give your story collection or novel
the time it needs to develop and take
on its final form before submitting it
to agents. Sometimes I think writers
very understandably feel a pressure
to seek out an agent before theyve
really had a chance to get their sea
legs on board the vessel, whether
its a story or novel, that they are in

the process of building and sailing
from first to final paragraphwhich
makes sense to me! Who wants to
be alone on that weird journey? But
I think agents and editors can more
productively intervene at the later
stages of a project, when the world
has cooled and the characters have
taken on their full dimensions and
the sentences have crystallized.
Kate Christensen is the author

of a memoir, Blue Plate Special: An
Autobiography of My Appetites (Doubleday, 2013), and six novels, most
recently The Astral (Doubleday,
2011). Her agent is Richard Abate
of 3 Arts Entertainment.
How She Met Him: I had decided to leave my first agent, so I
needed to find a new one. The first
t wo I tried rejected me f lat out,
even though I had
published t hree
well-reviewed (but
small and quirky)
literar y novels
with Doubleday. I
begged them both
to reconsider, but
they held firm. I was
crest fa l len. I had
thought this would be a snap. This
unexpected rejection from not one
but two good agents was daunting.
Then my friend Gabrielle offered to
recommend me to her agent, Richard Abate, who was at International
P W. O R G
26
Creat ive Management ( IC M ) in

those days. I e-mailed him, and he
invited me to come and meet him at
his office. I did, and we chatted for
almost an hour about his masters
thesis on Henry James, my literary
influences, our favorite restaurants,
people we knew in common. We
laughed a lot and were instant pals.
Then at the end of the meeting, he
walked me out to the elevator. He
hadnt offered to represent me, so I
figured I was getting rejected again.
I summoned my courage and said,
SoI guess youll let me know what
you decide?
He said, About what?
About whether you want to represent me.
I thought you were going to let
me know if you decided you want me
as an agent, he said.
I do!
Then were on, he said.
We shook hands. I walked out,
beaming. Hes been my agent ever
since. (My next book was The Great
Man, which won the PEN/Faulkner
Award. Ive always secretly hoped
the two agents who rejected me regretted their decisions, just a little
bit, even briefly.)
Porochista K hakpour is the

author of two novels, The Last Illusion (Bloomsbury, 2014) and Sons
and Other Flammable Objects (Grove,
2007). Her agent is Seth Fishman of
the Gernert Company.
christensen: michael sharkey; khakpour: darcy rogers; fishman: chelin miller
mccracken: edward carey; moore: michael lionstar; karpfinger: eric marcus
How She Met Him: Ive had

three agents in the past decade. One
didnt work out (within the first few
weeks) and one was retiring (after
a few years). The one I have now,
Seth Fishman, came recommended
to me by another one of his clients,
a writer friend of mine. I sent the
manuscript of my second novel to
him and one other agent who came
recommended and whose client
list I knew well. Seth was newer,
you nger, so perhaps more of a
risk. But he read my novel superfast and responded
so enthusiastically,
so intelligently, so
all-around impress i v e l y t h at I w a s
b l o w n a w a y. H e
understood everything I was doing
and had some great
editing ideas. I also
liked that he had a creative writing
degree and that he himself had written books (his young-adult thriller
The Wells End recently came out
from Putnam). I also loved that
he was younger than I and savvier
about what was going on, full of energy and ambition.
Adv ice: A gent s all k now t he
same people and submit to the same
places. So, in a sense, it does not
matter who your agent is. What does
matter is that the agent loves your
work, believes in it, is as excited or
even more excited than you! Id look
at the pros and cons of [a potential
agents] experience and prestige;
some of that can come with downsides, too. Also, Id be careful to not
pick an agent as youd pick a friend;
the last agent I had was so close
to me, perhaps too close. She was
like a mother, and I was constantly
worried about offending her if I dis-
agreed with her, and that created its

own sort of unhealthiness. Finally,
its important to pick an agent you
trust with k nowledge of the ins
and outs of your finances, one who
will be there to represent you. You
might want to trust your agent more
than yourself in certain areas. They
should feel like a real support, an
ally, and a foundation. You should
not feel, as I did with my first one,
that you are working for your agent;
you should know that the agent is
working for you.
Elizabeth McCracken is the

author of five books, most recently
Thunderstruck and Other Stories (The
Dial Press, 2014), and the memoir
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My
Imagination (Little, Brown, 2008).
Her agent is Henr y Dunow of
Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary
Agency.
How She Met Him: I found my
agent twenty-four years ago, when I
was a graduate student. Hed come
to visit the program the year before,
and signed my dear friend Max Phillips; when he came
back, Max nudged
me to give Henry a
few stories. So I did,
even though I hadnt
really thought about
t h e s t o r ie s I w a s
writing adding up to
a book. It turned out
that Henry had tre-
27
POETS & WRITERS
mendous faith in my work, and has

continued to have faith for nearly a
quarter of a century, even when I
myself have been highly dubious. I
honestly couldnt do without him.
Advice: People who are less neurotic than I am can probably get
along with someone who is merely
a businessperson, but if youre given
to writerly neuroses and doubt, find
someone who, when talking about
your work, sounds like your dream
reader, the one who understands
what youre trying to do even in
the early drafts. Someone you can
talk to. Someone youre not afraid
to call on the phone. And if someone doesnt return your phone calls
or e-mails during your courtship, I
promise that wont get better.
Edward Kelsey Moore is the
author of the novel The Supremes
at Earls All-You-Can-Eat (Knopf,
2013). His agent is Barney Karpfinger at the Karpfinger Agency.
How He Met Him: Finding my
agent was the result of a combination of hard work and good luck.
Like all writers, I struggled to write
the best book I could. Then I faced
the equally difficult task of getting
it to readers. My luck changed when
I took the opening chapters of my
first novel to the Indiana University
Writers Conference. Julia Glass,
the instructor of my workshop, liked
my chapters and offered to connect
me with her agent. I was heartbroken when, after some initial interest,
that agent decided not to take the
book. But that experience helped me
handle the rejections that came from
the next few agents. The rejections
stung, but I used the critiques those
agents offered to make the book better. When, two years after meeting
me, Julia Glass kindly stepped in
again and connected me with Barney Karpfinger, I had a much more
polished book to show him. Barney
found a home for The Supremes at
Earls All-You-Can-Eat at K nopf
within two weeks.
Advice: Its easy to become frustrated and desperate when youve
worked hard on your writing and
cant get it to readers. But its important to remember that just finding any agent isnt the goal. You
want someone who

bel ieves i n you r
book and believes
in you as a writer.
Ideally, this is a relationship that will
continue throughout your career, and
you want to share
t hat journey wit h
the right person. Learn what kind of
work a particular agent likes before
you query him or her. Connect with
other writers and dont be afraid to
ask for advice. The harder you work,
the luckier youll get.
Bich Minh Nguyen is the author
of three books, most recently the
novels Pioneer Girl (Viking, 2014)
and Short Girls (Viking, 2009). Her
agent is Nicole Aragi of Aragi, Inc.
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28
How She Met Her: I usually

advise st udents to f ind out who
represents authors they admire, or
authors whose sensibilities or backgrounds might be similar to theirs.
Thats how I found my agent, Nicole
Aragi. I had no expectations or hope
of any kindI mean, Edwidge Danticat and Junot Daz are among her
writersbut I figured, why not try?
I e-mailed queries with writing samples to six agents; some were at large
nguyen: porter shreve; aragi: tony gale
robinson: david ignaszewski; nesbit: pieter m. van hattem; sneed: adam tinkham; bankoff: susan schiffer
agencies and some were independent. Two replied that they werent
accepting anyone new; one never got
back to me at all; and three asked to
speak with me on the phone. I had a
visit to New York already planned,
for a separate reason, and I thought
I might meet with the three agents.
But I ended up only seeing Nicole
because by then wed figured out
everything over the phone. The
whole process took about three or
four months.
Advice: Its important to have a
good understanding of the marketplace before pursuing representation. The search for an agent involves
a lot of research; as with everything
in this writing world, so much begins with being a good reader. And
ideally, you should like your agent
as a person. Its not just a business
relationship. I wanted to work with
someone who was incredibly knowledgeable as well as fierce and loyal, a
great reader, an advocate, a support
system. I knew Nicole Aragi was a
wonder-agent, but I soon learned
that she also thinks of her writers
as part of her extended family. Luck
plays a role in every part of this writing business, and I feel very lucky to
have landed with Nicole.
Roxana Robinson is the author

of five novels, most recently Sparta
(Sarah Crichton Books, 2013) and
Cost (Farrar, Straus and Giroux,
2008); three story collections; and a
biography of Georgia OKeeffe. Her

agent is Lynn Nesbit of Janklow &
Nesbit Associates.
How She Met Her: I had a terrible time finding an agent. I was
turned down by everyone I could
find. Their reasons were legion:
Your work is marvelous, but Im
turning it down. Your work is
wonderful, but Im going to graduate school. Your work is lovely,
but not lovely enough. You r
work is brilliant, but I have a terminal disease. One agent read the
manuscript of my first novel and her
sole response to it was to ask where
to find a recipe mentioned in the
text. Then she turned me down.
Finally I met another author who
said, I cant believe you dont have
an agent. Im calling
mine tomorrow to
tell her to take you
on. And so I got an
agent. He told me
later, She didnt just
cheer for you. She
stood on her chair
and cheered.
Advice: My advice
to writers is to join a cohort of some
kind, and get yourself into the literary community. Send out your work,
get it published in
the best places you
can. Go to graduate
school, take writing
work shops, go to
writing conferences.
You need some sort
of support, if not
from a person, from
a n i nst it ut ion a
school, or a publication. Simply
sending in the work, no matter how
lovely or brilliant it is, may not be
enough. Have someone else cheering for you.
2929
& RW
RE
IT
P OPEO
TES T&S W
IT
RE
SRS
Christine Sneed is the author

of three books, including the novel
Paris, He Said (Bloomsbury, 2015).
Her agent is Lisa Bankoff of International Creative Management
(ICM ).
How She Met Her: Im represented by Lisa Bankoff, who is
incredibly goodno-nonsense,
generous, experienced, wise. Shes
the third agent Ive worked with,
however. We started working together after she contacted me a
number of weeks after I met one
of the other writers she represents,
Susan Nusser, at a reading for my
first book (which I published without an agent; it won AWP s Grace
Paley Prize in short fiction, which
includes publication by the Uni-
versit y of Massachusetts Press).

Susan told Lisa about meeting me,
and Lisa looked me up and wrote
to ask if I had new work she might
take a look at it, and I did, and the
miracle is, she liked it, and in short
order she sold this book, my second, Little Known Facts.
Advice: Be professional, be polite, and remember to thank people
who reply to your messages; be
gracious. Id also be scrupulous and
proofread on the page (not just on
the computer screen) several times
before you send out queries with
your synopsis and sample pages.
Be humble, too. Dont tell people
why youre great; let your writing
sample speak for you in this respect. Make sure that your work
is as polished as it can possibly be,
and know that many writers look
for months, even years, before they
find the right agent who is able to
take them on. Lastly, thank agents
even when they send a rejection;
you never know when you might
encounter this likely overburdened
agent or might have an opportunity to query her or him again with
a new manuscript.
Darin Strauss is the author of
four books, most recently the memoir Half a Life (McSweeneys Books,
2010) and the novel More Than It
Hurts You (Dutton, 2008). His agent
is Suzanne Gluck of William Morris Endeavor ( WME).
How He Met Her: At twenty-
four, having written almost nothing

and published less,
I ment ioned to
a n e w f r ie n d m y
improbable hope:
that maybe I could
become a novelist.
Great. Becau se
I want to be a literar y agent, he said. Oh, awesome, I said. Meet you back here
in a few years. A nd thats what
happened.
I began my first book, Chang &
Eng, just as my friend began answering phones at a real agency. I
didnt have to go off searching for
big-time representation. (On the
other hand, I never got the chance
to try getting big-time representation. More in a minute.) I became
P W. O R G
30
my friends second or third client.

Which was in many ways wonderful. He was one of the best editors
Ill ever work with. And having a
friend as an agent, an agent with
few other clients, meant that I was
a huge pain in the ass conferred
with him quite often. But very soon
I could tell he didnt want to be an
agent. He wanted to be a writer.
He was right to want out. He
became a hugely successful writer/
strauss: susannah meadows
comedian/TV personality. And he

was very kind to me, to the end.
His last day was the day Michiko
Kakutani of the New York Times
reviewed my book benevolently,
setting me up well to find another
agent.
This led to my learning what
a t r u ly good agent does. I met
w it h a bu nch of t hem, a l l of
whom said, Sure, Ill represent
you. But since you have a second
book dealI forgot to tell you
that my first agent had gotten me
t hat dealt heres not hing for
me to do for you, at least for a few
years. A ll t he agents said t his,
except for Andrew Wylie. And he
didnt say it because my second
book deal was terrible. My f irst
agent had pressured me into taking it. A nd so while I was meet-
ing with Wylie and his colleague

Sarah Chalfant, he said: If you
sign w it h us, Ill need to get to
work right away. I saw, in other
words, what hypnotic convincers
he and Sarah were, and I signed
with them on the spot. And they
did it; A ndrew and Sarah got my
publisher to tear up that second
book deal, and to agree to a better (for me) contract. I had never
been a pa r t of somet h i ng t hat
badass. A nd it taught me a lesson. Had he not quit, I wouldve
stayed with my friend/first agent
forever, out of loyalt y. But these
people were playing in a different
leag ue. A nd if t he game is your
careerthe only one youll ever
haveyou want to pick the team
that plays in that exalted league.
I st ayed w it h Sara h a nd t he
31
POETS & WRITERS
Wylie Agency for a lot of happy

years. Colum McCann once told
me , Sa r a h c h a n g e d my l i fe ,
a nd t hats t r ue of me, too. But
then she moved to London, and I
was handed off to another Wylie
Agency agent, Scott Moyers. And
Scott was great too. He and I got
on greathe sold two books for
me. But then Scott left agenting to
go back into publishing. And I remembered the lesson I mentioned
above, the one about picking the
best team. So, rather than letting
someone else choose my agent for
me, I contacted Suzanne Gluck of
WME , whod once told me she liked
my writing. Suzanne struck me as
the agent with the best size-to-ferocity ratio Id ever meta lovely,
personable, tiny powerhouse. With
good taste.
HOW I FOUND
MY WRITER
Five Agents on the Search
Emma Sweeney of
the Emma Sweeney
Agency, whose client Sara Gruen is
the author of four
novels, most recently
Ape House (Spiegel &
Grau, 2010).
About twelve years
ago I received a
query outlining two
novels. I requested
both manuscripts, and while I liked
the second novel (about a woman
who owns a restaurant), I loved the
one about a horse. The author said
she had an offer from another agent
and days later called to tell me she
had chosen that agent. He told her he
would send out the restaurant novel
right away, and that he would make
her a star. (I can never bring myself
to make those kinds of promises to
writers, though I realize those words
are powerful.) I told her I still loved
the horse novel and that my door was
open should their relationship not
work out. Six months later she called:
Are you still interested? YES! She
explained that after signing with the
Michael Bourne is a contributing

other agent he had disappeared, not

answered calls or e-mails, and eventually she fired him. I sold the horse
novel within a month to Morrow.
It is called Riding Lessons, and it has
sold several hundred thousand copies. Sara Gruen also wrote Water for
Elephants, which has sold over ten
million copies and been translated
into more than forty languages. Oh,
and she had sent that same query to
129 agents.
Mol ly Fr ied r ich
o f t h e Fr i e d r i c h
Agency, whose client
Lisa Scottoline is
the author of twenty
novels, most recently
Keep Quiet (St. Martins Press, 2014).
Its 1995. Im working at Aaron Priests
P W. O R G
32
agency, and I get The Call. A writer

named Lisa Scottoline tells me that
shes parted ways with her agent, and
shes been given my name by Janet
Evanovich. I interrupt her immediately and say, Look, Im flattered,
but you really need to be talking
with Aaron, the guy who is just on
the other side of this wall, as I speak.
Hes the one who represents Janet,
not me. Lisa says, Oh, but weve
already met!
Really? When? I ask. Lisa replies, We met a couple of years ago
at the Edgars. We were standing in
the bathroom line and we talked for
twenty minutes about men, shoes,
kids, and hair. I then say, Wow!
Youre right, no male agent could
ever compete with such a conversation! Lisa and I have been together
ever since that first ridiculousbut
fortuitous!encounter, dozens of
sweeney: andrew lamberson; gruen: jerry bauer; friedrich: brandon schulman; scottoline: ryan collerd
BY M I C H A E L B O U R N E
kleinman: pieter m. van hattem; ivey: stephen nowers; ballard: laura rose; bertino: ted dodson
books later.
Jef f K leinman of
Folio Literary Management, whose client Eowyn Ivey is
t he aut hor of t he
novel The Snow Child
( Reaga n A r t hu r
Books, 2012).
In June 2008 I attended the Kachemak Bay Writers Conference in
picturesque Homer, Alaska (sweeping water vistas, pouncing bald
eagles, stunning mountain scenery, etc.). During the one-on-one
pitches, a lovely young woman sat
down across from me (she was late),
told me that she had written a novel
(no surprise there), but she wasnt
that interested in that novel; she
had another, half-finished, novel
(Great, I thought, Shes pitching
two at onceand this one isnt even
finished.) Novel No. 2s premise
sounded intriguing, so I asked for
the first fifty pages.
The pages dropped
into my inbox late
that evening. At 2
AM, when I couldnt
sleep because it was
still daylight outside
(the joys of Alaskan
summer), I started
reading.
Next morning, bleary-eyed, I
st umbled through
a speech, looking everywhere for
hershe wasnt in the audience.
Had some other agent swooped into
Homer and snatched her up? (Such
are an agents worries when he falls
in love.) Finally, toward the end of
the talk, she slipped in the back door.
I hurriedly wrapped up the Q&A
33
and made a beeline for her; then (in a

moment straight out of a Hollywood
movie) I begged her to let me represent her, and presented her with a
copy of my agency retainer agreement that Id (very thoughtfully
and feverishly) already printed out.
She told me later that her knees got
weak, but all I knew then was that
she signed the agreement (and I
breathed a sigh of relief).
We worked for a couple of years
writing and editing the novel before it sold to Little, Brown, then to
thirty-one additional countries. The
Snow Child went on to win several

prizes, and was named a finalist for
the Pulitzer Prize.
Claudia Ballard of William Morris Endeavor, whose client MarieHelene Bertino is the author of two
books, most recently the novel 2 A.M.
POETS & WRITERS
at the Cats Pajamas (Crown, 2014).

I was int roduced to t he superb
Marie-Helene Bertinos work at
the Center for Fiction. She was one
of the first fellows there, and the
center held a reading to showcase
the wonderful talent. The minute
I heard Marie at the podium, I was
hooked. Not only did she actually
sing out loud during her reading,
but her story flew off of the page
like the best jazzelegant, rhythmic, and transporting. Little did
I know that this was the opening
to her marvelous novel 2 A.M. at
the Cats Pajamas, for t hcom ing
f rom Crow n i n Aug ust. I went
up to Marie afterward and introduced myself, ut terly char med
and excited to read more. Luckily, she remembered our meeting
and wrote to me three years later,
when she was ready

to share the book in
full. As fate would
have it , I had accidentally t wisted
my ankle that same
weekend a nd was
couch-bound: Her
novel was a bright
s p ot du r i n g t h at
gloomy March.
I read it st r a ight
t hrough several t imes, dancing
my way through it on my couch.
I knew then that I would be a lifelong supporter of Maries inimitable voice.
Elyse Cheney of Elyse Cheney
Literary Associates, whose client
Benjamin Kunkel is the author of
the novel Indecision (Random House,
Get Away
Whether you are looking to connect
with agents and editors or need quiet
time for writing, your journey begins at
pw.org. Our Conferences & Residencies
database provides details about
more than 200 writing conferences,
residencies, and literary festivals in
the United States and abroad. Youll
find application deadlines, contact
information, and more.
pw.org/conferences_and_residencies
P W. O R G
34
2005).
At some point during the summer
of 2002, a friend sat at his desk
at the New York Review of Books,
where he was an editorial assistant
for the legendary Bob Silvers. He
wore four-inch heels and a sleeveless T-shirt that revealed tattoos
that spread across his chest and
shoulders. In the next cubicle was
cheney: nina subin; kunkel: chris anderson
another assistant who was talking

on t he phone. She hung up and
turned to him.
Remember Ben Kunkel? she
asked. Well, hes written a novel and
is looking for an agent. Who should
he call?
Elyse Cheney, said my friend,
always confident in his opinions of
people. The phone rang in my office.
Hey, theres a guy you should
meet, my friend told me. His
names Benjamin Kunkel. He went
to college with my friend YiLing
and just finished a novel. Hes supposed to be brilliant and is looking
for an agent. Should I give him your
e-mail?
Definitely, I answered, always
on the lookout for new talent, especially t hen. I ret urned to my
work, wondering over the next few
days when this man might reach
out. Eventually I received an email from him, in which he identified himself as YiLings friend
and asked whether he could send
along his manuscript. Yes, please
do, I wrote. As soon as it arrived
via e-mail I printed it outa copy
for my assistant and a copy for me.
Trusting my friends intuition, I
was eager to get to it. My assistant
and I sat at our desks, turning page
after page, laughing and marveling at the intelligence and wit of
t his novel about a conf used yet
charming man coming of age in
the wake of 9/11. I kept getting up
and going to my assistants desk.
Did you get to the part where?
Can you believe the line where he
says? After finishing, I could
hardly contain myself. I picked up
the phone. Two years later, after
editing the novel a bit, then selling
it and reading more drafts, Indecision was published.
10
Tips for Securing

an Agent
Do you r resea rch (see Resources on Agents on page 53).

Target your query to an agents particular tastes, and show that youre
familiar with the agents client list.
I n deciding which agents to

quer y, t h i n k ab out aut hor s
whose readership youd like to appeal to, and find out who represents
them. Check their books acknowledgments pages to see if they name
their agent, or look up the information online. If you cant find it
through either of those routes, call
the rights department at the authors
publisher.
M a ke a l ist of t he agent s
you pla n to cont act , a nd
note how each prefers to be approached: E-mail? Regular mail?
M a ny agent s h ave g iven i nter views (see The Agents and Editors
Series on page 22) in which they
explain their tastes and preferences.
Seek these interviews outthey often
contain useful specifics (including
personal lists of what not to do).
How many agents should you

query in the first round? Some
agents say ten is a reasonable number. You can always send more later,
and theres no reason to cover too
much ground before you get some
feedback.
A gent s a re bu s y; dont g ive

them a reason to dismiss your
query. Triple-check your work before you send it. Sending a query
twice, the second time with corrections, is often considered unprofessional. And when sending an e-mail
35
POETS & WRITERS
query, never address the same e-mail

to more than one agent. Theres a
good chance those will get deleted.
I n your quer y, craf t a brief,

compelling description of your
book, and then be prepared to let
the work speak for itself. According to Chris Parris-Lamb, a great
proposal should be a work of art in
its own right. It needs to be engaging and well written, and give the
same pleasures as the book will
but leave you wanting more.
Is your book relevant to somet hing t hats going on in our

culture? If so, make those connections clear. Tell an agent why your
book is necessary.
Your proposal should be written in t he same voice as t he

actual book. Make the agent feel
like shes reading the book in short
form.
Put yourself out there: Make

connections, spread the word
about your work, publish your writing online and in print (see The
Journals Agents Are Reading, page
36). There are many routes to finding an agent, and your odds in some
are higher than others. But agents
do actively look for writers, and your
chance of being noticed increases as
your works visibility grows.
10
Youre a writerfocus on
the writing. Put the work
f irst, and worr y about t he business second. Dont forget that the
most important thing is always the
writing.
THE JOURNALS AGENTS ARE READING

W
e asked a group of agents to name

their favorite literary magazines.
After some persuadingturns out favorite is not their favorite wordheres what
they said:
JULIE BARER of Barer Literary
I hate to pick just one. Recently

Ive become ver y fond of newer
magazines, such as Electric Literature and Subtropics, and Glimmer Train Stories almost always
h a s a new aut hor I wa nt to see
more work from, as does the Cincinnati Review and Mississippi
Review. The Oxford A merican
has been publishing some g reat
fiction lately as well.
BILL CLEGG
Fence is known for its poetry, but

t he f ict ion is always surprising,
always interesting. Also, Ploughshares. The great staff, combined
with the guest editors, always produces first-rate issues. Ive never
been disappointed by an issue of
Ploughshares.
DIANA FINCH of Diana Finch
Literary Agency
I dont have a favorite. Wouldnt
that be like having a favorite child?
I l i ke to keep t abs on t he more
established magazines, like Tin
House, Glimmer Train Stories,
and One Stor y. But to me, reading literar y magazines is a commitment to seeking out whats new
and different, so I try to keep up
w it h Words W it hout Border s
a nd a m a lway s look i ng for new
recommendationsIm currently
c hec k i ng out Hob a r t , PA N K ,
a nd Gig a nt ic, a l l sugge sted to
me by Michael FitzGerald of [the
submission-management system]
Submittable.
JUDY HEIBLUM of Sterling Lord

Literistic
Its terribly difficult to pick a fa-
vorite literary magazinethere are

so many wonderful ones. But Im
happy to give special mention to
Alaska Quarterly Review, which
always features varied voices, and
in whose pages Ive found a number of clients over the years.
CHRIS PARRIS-L AMB of t he

Gernert Company
That would be n+1. There are other
places I turn to first for short fiction, but n+1 is the only magazine
I read cover to cover, every issue:
Its the smartest, most interesting,
and most culturally and intellectually engagedand engagingrag
around.
DEBOR AH RITCHKEN of t he
M a r s a l Ly o n L it e r a r y A g e nc y
Hands down, Tin House. I love
it s spect r u m of w r iters a nd t he
variet y in content. Great graphics, too.
JIM RUTMAN of Sterling Lord
Literistic
Im a devotee of several, including
the Paris Review, for whom I play
softball (crucial f ull disclosure),
Tin House, A Public Space, and
several other staples. But for these
purposes, I think I will risk minor
r id ic u le for pret en s ion a nd g o
with the still young upstart n+1.
For thoughtful, adventurous, and
opi n ionated la rge m i nded ne ss,
there is no better or more expansive outlet for the ambitious young
writer.
DENISE SHANNON of Denise
Shannon Literary Agency

I dont have one favorite. The New
Yorker, Tin House, Electric Literat ure, Zoet rope: A ll-Stor y,
Grantathese are all great reads.
Im always looking for something
that surprises me a bit, and these
magazines are all rich in wonderful and sometimes surprising work.
PPW.
W.O
OR
RG
G
36
ANNA STEIN of ICM Partners

I have to say, for now, n+1. They
came on the scene only a few years
ago, but t heyve int roduced t he
k inds of writers that no one else
wou ld go nea r, a nd Im t a l k i ng
about important literar y writers
who push the envelope (and whom
we see six months later in the New
Yorker, or with a book contract).
A lso, important ly, t hey publish
very good narrative nonfiction essays, which so few good literar y
journals are willing to do. They
have personalit y. Of course, my
ot her favorite literar y magazine
is the Paris Review. Im just waiting for the first issue by new editor
Lorin Stein to come out. Meanwhile, its blog is my daily treat.
PETER STEINBERG of Foundry
Ive always gravitated toward the

Sout her n Rev iew bec au se t he
quality of its short stories is consistently high. Also, being a New
Yorker t h rough a nd t h rough, I
t hink Im nat urally att racted to
characters in the midst of opposite
life experiences from the one Im
enjoying (maybe I unconsciously
le a r n mor e t h at w a y), a nd t he
Souther n Review of ten t akes me
there.
RENEE ZUCKERBROT of Renee

Zuckerbrot Literary Agency
A Public Space consistently publishes bold and provocative pieces
by both up-and-coming and established American writers as well as
innovative work in translation that
I probably wouldnt have discovered
on my own.
To see specific books agents acquire and

the editors and publicists they work
with, visit Page One: W here New
and Noteworthy Books Begin at www
.pw.org/magazine.
Toot
your own horn
EVERY AUTHOR NEEDS TO.
The Poets & Writers Guide to Publicity
& Promotion will help you sound just
the right notes with expert advice
from industry professionals on
harnessing social media, organizing
book tours, joining reading series,
targeting news outlets, and more.
$4.99; PDF Format

Download July 1 at pw.org.
HOW TO IMPRESS
A LITERARY AGENT
Advice for Writers Who Want to Stand Out in the Crowd

Emily Forland
Brandt & Hochman

Literary Agents, Inc.
New York City
brandthochman.com
Disarm me. Like everybody in publishing, my reading stacks are teetering and Im knee-deep in e-mail, so
when I open a query letter, I want
to like what I read. We all do. All
the things you hear about the importance of doing your research and
spelling names correctly are true.
And if youre a fan of an author I
represent, why not mention that?
(Especially if you spell the authors
name correctly, and if there really
is some affinity between your work
and that authors.) But what Im really looking for in that letter is you.
And your work. Of course Im eyeing your publication history, but Im
also looking for an intelligent and
honest voice. If you have that voice,
I want to read what you are writing.
And if you have that voice, please let
it come through in your letter.
Emilys clients include Alice Fulton,
Bill Hayes, Dominic Smith, James
Magnuson, Mary Helen Specht, Joseph Skibell, Andrea Barrett, Greil
Marcus, and Susanna Daniel.
Mitchell Waters
Curtis Brown, Ltd.
New York City
curtisbrown.com
This may seem counterintuitive,

but it was prompted by a query that
arrived via snail mail (one side tip:
Agents do still read snail mail!)
just minutes before I sat down to
compose this advice. One approach
that is rarely tried is to attempt to
persuade an agent that what you
have to of fer, wh ile not neat ly
within his bailiwick, is appealing
precisely because it will introduce
him to aspects of art and life with
which he may be less familiaror,
possibly, less comfortable. One of
the things Ive always loved most
about my work is the opportunity
it affords me to work on any project
that captures my attention. There
are downsides to being a generalist,
but they are far outweighed by the
benefits of getting to explore new
worldsand doing so, one hopes,
in the hands of the most appropriate guide. There are obvious advantages to submitting your work
to someone who has a great deal of
experience with similar books, but
one potential hurdle in that case
might be that the agent feels satisfied by what he or she already has.
If you can persuade an agent who
may not be the most obvious fit
to take that journey with you, together you may be able to convince
a publisher and, ultimately, reach
a wider readership than either of
you expected.
P W. O R G
38
Mitchells clients include Joy Castro,

Michael Thomas Ford, Sheri Joseph, X.
J. Kennedy, Michael Lowenthal, Joseph
Olshan, Jonathan Papernick, and Jessamyn Hope.
Elizabeth Wales
Wales Literary Agency

Seattle, Washington
waleslit.com
A writers search for a literary agent

is not unlike an agents search for
the right editor and publisher for
a client. In both cases its about a
really good fit. How to find that?
For a writer looking for an agent,
the best way to find that hand-inglove sort of fit is for the writer
to f irst research a nd k now her
peers. Which established writers
are writing for the same readers?
W hich writers share similarities
in style, subject, and story? Pick
worthy peers; your models should
be the very best. Then turn to the
ack nowledgments page in books
by those authors. The agents are
often thanked. Make note of them.
Those agents might be added to
your list of agents to query. The
trick of introducing yourself in a
quer y letter to a likely agent by
naming one of her titles compliments t he agent for her success
while giv ing t he agent a handy
compa rable t it le or aut hor. So
make sure you are comparable in
some way, and that you have exhausted yourself writing an outstanding proposal or manuscript.
Dont waste an uncertain draft on
a good agent. Then persevere!
Elizabeths clients include Bryce Andrews, Chrystos, Jean Hegland, Heather
Lende, David Mas Masumoto, David
R. Montgomery, Lucia Perillo, and Dan
Savage.
Michael V. Carlisle
InkWell Management
Literary Agency
New York City
inkwellmanagement.com
A mong the steps to avoid while

seeking representation are: sending the same query to more than
one agent (nothing gets deleted
faster than the query addressed to
sixty competitors); misspelling the
agents name; and sharing the lessthan-final iteration of the manuscript. In the age of Internet access,
including Publishers Lunch (lunch
.publishers marketplace
.com), the publishing industr ys
daily essent ial read, it should
be possible to craft an approach
to a literary agent that references
something that agent has handled
before or at least gives the feeling
t hat she has been selected for a
reason (success in a similar genre,
ack nowledg ment i n a n aut hor/
clients book, or some other individualized connection). Personally,
I look for originality and a literary voice suited to the particular
subject the author is pursuing. And
nothing is more exciting than an
unsolicited submission that really
works.
Michaels clients include Elin Hilderbrand, John Casey, James Grady, David
Sanger, Dava Sobel, James Gleick, and
Robert Greene.
Betsy Amster
Betsy Amster Literary

Enterprises
Portland, Oregon
amsterlit.com
One of the best ways to get an agent

is to join a writers group. With the
help of fellow writers whose advice
you trust, who hold you to your own
highest standards in your work, and
who show you what it means to build
a bridge to readers by the way they
react to your efforts, you increase
your chances of finding representation immeasurably. Eventually the
thoughts of your entire group will
turn to agents, and you can put the
hive mind to work researching the
ones appropriate for each of you. At
that point youll want to employ all
the usual strategiesasking published writer friends for referrals;
check ing t he ack nowledgments
section of books you admire; researching agents online at Publishers Marketplace and on the agents
websites. Your advantage? Youve
got a familiar group of writers who
are fans now, ready to vet the names
you come up with, help you polish
your query, and cheer you on as you
send your work out into the world.
Lucky you.
Betsys clients include Margaret Leslie
Davis, Christopher Noxon, Mara Amparo Escandn, Tanya Ward Goodman,
Joy Nicholson, and Louise Steinman.
Jackie Kaiser
Westwood Creative
Artists
Toronto, Ontario
wcaltd.com
Think like an agent. The best way

to get an agents attention is to devote yourself to understanding as
much as you can about the business
of publishing in general and agent-
39
POETS & WRITERS
PICK WORTHY
PEERS; YOUR
MODELS SHOULD
BE THE VERY
BEST.
Elizabeth Wales
ing in particular. Its great that you

are reading Poets & Writers Magazine;
read as many other industry magazines as you can, in print or online.
Do your research: Look up the deals
the agent has done, the writers she
represents, what she is looking for.
Many writers and editors share information about their publishing experiences via social media, and you
can glean a lot by following those
whose work you admire. Show that
you are a good listener when you receive advice. And, if possible, secure
advance praise for your work, ideally
from a well-positioned, high-profile
writer whose readership you covet.
Impossible? Dont sell yourself short.
If you dig deep, think creatively, and
make the most of your connections
with friends, family, and colleagues,
you may be happily surprised at the
support you can generate. In an
increasingly competitive literary
marketplace, agents and editors are
busier than ever, and writers who
make a genuine effort to understand
the business of publishing have a
definite edge. Be your own best advocate.
Jackies clients include Rosemary
Sullivan, Kimberley Fu, Kyo Maclear,
Zsuzsi Gartner, Thomas King, and
Yann Martel.
Its a big deal

SIGNING A BOOK CONTRACT IS THE
fulfillment of your dream. But its important
to know what youre getting into. The
Poets & Writers Guide to the Book Deal
will help you understand your rights and
responsibilities, and what to anticipate
as you move from signing your contract
to signing your book.
$4.99; PDF Format

Download now at pw.org.
Antioch
Writers Workshop
Programs year-round for beginning and experienced
writers in Fiction, Creative Nonfiction and Poetry.
Summer Workshop, July 9-15, 2016,
Featuring Keynoter and Instructor Roxane Gay.
For more information or to register, visit
www.AntiochWritersWorkshop.com
Antioch Writers Workshop, c/o Antioch University Midwest
900 Dayton Street, Yellow Springs, OH 45387
Phone: 937-769-1803 E-mail: info@antiochwritersworkshop.com
AGENTADVICE
Betsy Amster of Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises
If I have many different forms of writing
(self-published memoir, finished screenplay,
short stories, already produced commercials,
and short films) how do I approach an agent
with the work?
Armand from Austin, Texas
Areas of interest: Literary

fiction, mysteries and thrillers,
narrative nonfiction (especially
by journalists), research-based
psychology and self-help,
cooking, design, gift
Representative clients:
Elaine N. Aron, Margaret Leslie
Davis, Christopher Noxon,
Mara Amparo Escandn, Tanya
Ward Goodman, Joy Nicholson,
Louise Steinman
Looking for: Smart, businesslike query letter sent by e-mail
with the first three pages of
any narrative work (fiction or
nonfiction) embedded; for nonnarrative work, the proposal
overview embedded
b.amster.assistant@gmail.com
Agency contact:
Betsy Amster Literary
Enterprises
6312 SW Capitol Hwy. #503
Portland, OR 97239
www.amsterlit.com
Trying to flog too many projects at once

tends to be a red flag for agents. We
dont mind learning how broad your accomplishments are in your query letter,
but we want you to seek representation
for a single project. Also, most book
agents dont handle screenplays, short
films, or commercials, so by putting
any emphasis on these, you may inadvertently suggest that you dont understand our business.
I have a draft of a memoir that has been in
progress for several years. Does the draft
need to be near perfect before seeking an
agent to read it?
Rhonda from Richmond, Virginia
Near perfect soundswell, perfect.

Agents, particularly those with an editorial background, are often happy to
help you put the finishing touches on a
manuscript. But you need to take it as far
as you can first. It shows that youre serious and that you know how to self-edit.
If I am in the process of writing a work of
fiction, at what point should I submit the project to an agent? Should I wait until I have a
completed first draft? Or should I just go for
it with a bucket of disassembled scenes and a
half-cooked idea of how they all tie together?
Irving from New York, New York
Ha! Something tells me that youre

going to write a great query letter. All
41
POETS & WRITERS
joking aside (you were joking, werent

you?) please see the answer to the
previous question.
My manuscript is currently posted online (as a
serial novel). Can I just put the link to it in my
query for the agent to take a look at?
Heidi from Grand Junction, Colorado
Most agents react badly to this because its a one-size-fits-all approach.

If you dont tailor your approach to our
submission guidelines, we inevitably
wonder whether youre blanketing the
universe with queries.
Should one submit a query to a particular
agent, or to his or her agency?
Rich from Long Beach, California
Agents within agencies arent fungible. Part of the fun of this business is
that its so taste-driven, and we each
have different tastes. If you dont take
the time to research us individually,
chances are were going to get cranky.
What do agents find annoying? What would
make an agent not consider my work?
Samuel from Sacramento, California
Dont try to pitch your project over

the phone. (Even more egregious:
leaving a message after hours to ask
if the agent will call you back to answer just a few questions.)
And dont try to pitch something in a
category the agents youre approaching dont handle. This happens more
often than you would think, even
though agents post their submission
guidelines and areas of interest on
their websites.
How the Best Agents

Work Behind the Scenes
BY J O F I E F E R R A R I -A D L E R
his is a story about literary

agents. Its a story about
good literary agents and
bad literary agents and,
more specifically, its a story about
the tireless, often intangible work
that good literary agents perform for
their clients during the period after
the contract is signed but before the
book is published. Before the story
can begin, however, I need to explain
something about book editors: We
have almost no power.
Let me hasten to add that if your
editors title is publisher, editorial
director, or editor in chief, this truth
doesnt apply. But if she doesnt have
any of those titlesand most editors do notIm here to tell you that
your editor is one of the least powerful people she knows. You probably
already know that she needed the
go-ahead from several of her colleagues who work in the sales, marketing, and publicity departments,
not to mention the aforementioned
publisher, editorial director, and editor in chief, to buy your book in the
first place. What you may not realize
is that in the twelve months before
your book is published, that same
Jofie Ferrari-Adler is a senior editor at
Simon & Schuster and a contributing
team of people will make a series

of decisions about the promotional
money and energy it will receive relative to the other books on the same
Molly Friedrich
list; decisions that could ultimately

have far more impact on your books
success or failure than anything
your editor will ever be able to do. In
fact, your editor probably wont even
be invited to the meetings at which
those decisions are made. This is not
because she is disliked by her colleagues. Its not because she is bad at
her job. On the contrary, its because
if she is any good at her job she is a
PPW.
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here are a lot of really

sticky, messy, unwholesome situations that require the beady eye of
an agentnot so much working with
authors but working on the inside of
the publishing track.
Its a sleepy afternoon in the spring
and Molly Friedrich and I are talking on the phone. The first thing you
need to know about Molly Friedrich
pieter van hattem
NECESSARY AGENT
fiercely loyal advocate for each and

every one of her books. She nurtures
them, protects them, and is as deeply
invested in their well-being as any
mother. She doesnt want to see any
of them held back by vulgar fiscal
considerations. She wants them all
to be lavished with attention and
praiseand promotional dollars.
Which is precisely why she cant be
trusted to make objective business
decisions about their potential.
This is where a good literary agent
comes in. An agent who understands
t hat at a t ime when t here is an
industry-wide blockbuster mentality
that makes it harder than its ever
been for editors to find the institutional support it takes to publish serious work well, it is more important
than ever for agents to be fearless,
savvy, and relentless advocates for
their clients after their books are
under contract. An agent who understands that the long and winding road to publication is fraught
with trouble, and that her role has
evolved into a symbiotic partnership with your editor. An agent who
understands that in todays publishing industry, your editor needs her
constant presence and support
needling, brainstorming, cajoling,
and sometimes even harassing. An
agent who understands, in short,
that your editor needs her help.
is that she has the greatest voice of

any literary agent who has ever lived.
As you might imagine, Molly is very,
very good at talking on the phone.
To be honest, part of the reason I
wanted to write this article was to
have an excuse to talk to Molly on
the phone.
Molly is telling me stories about
the many different kinds of advocacy she has to perform on the road
to publicationshe loves it, lets
not kid ourselveswhen a sticky,
messy, or unwholesome situation
arises with one of her clients. Molly
has made deals for fifteen million
dollars and three thousand dollars
and everything in between. She says
that if you get more than a million
for your book (lets say eight hundred thousand if you want to adjust
for deflation) you can usually count
on having the full attention of your
publisher. So Molly is telling me
stories that apply to the other 99
percent of authors. Unfortunately,
I cant tell you most of them because
if theyre any good theyre off the
record. You get a lot of that in this
business; its a small world. At the
end of one of her stories she goes
back on the record, so I can give
you the kicker: I told the editor,
I see whats happening. This book
is really, really wonderful, and its
absolutely, presold, dead, and the
only person who doesnt know it is
the author. And that is the saddest
thing in the world.
The story in question was about
a major editor at a major house who
is also majorly ambit ious. This
means that he can be majorly ruthless when he needs to be. Writers
dont know this before they go into
business with him. Molly knows it,
but she sold him two of this authors
books anyway. Sometimes you dont
have much choice. Anyway, after

the first book tanked, the second
one never had a prayer, even if the
writer never knew it. Molly knew
it. She knew it when she tried to
get a meeting before publication to
talk about marketing and promotion and they wouldnt give her one.
This meant there wasnt going to be
any marketing or promotion.
I wasnt aware that this kind of
thing happened to Molly. Molly
represents a lot of famous writers,
and a lot of commercial writers, and
I would think that gives her leverage.
When I ask Molly if she considered
flexing her musclesreminding this
major editor that she doesnt have to
keep submitting her major manuscripts to himshe is aghast. Stop
? I couldnt
submitting to
stop submitting to a major house
. When I express my
like
surprise, Molly adds, It takes years
and years and years to build really
reliable relationships, where you
feel, 95 percent of the time, that you
have the ear of that publishing house.
Thats really what youre doing when
you fight on behalf of an author. Its
building relationships over time.
But even Molly is not immune to
shoddy treatment on occasion. No
agent is.
The other thing that Molly wants
to talk about, while were on the
subject of the sticky, messy, and unwholesome things that happen on the
road to publication, is how routinely
authors are being orphaned by their
editors these days. Sometimes this
is because the editor who acquired
the book leaves for a better job, and
sometimes its because the editor is
fired or laid off. Molly says that half
of her authors have editors whom
they inherited. Molly says that this
is really, really saying something,
43
POETS & WRITERS
and Molly is right. It takes a lot of

finessing to make sure the new editor has half the emotional investment
of the editor who bought the book,
she says. For starters, the new editor
is overwhelmed with all the other
books shes inherited from the editor
who left. It requires the finessing
of an eighteenth-century Viennese
diplomat. You cant start yelling.
You have to keep the process moving along without alienating the new
editor. Instead of raising hell, Molly
tells the new editor, I know youve
just inherited fourteen new books. I
know you have your own list. I also
know you have no assistant and that
youre overworked and underpaid in
the extreme. But I want you to long
to do business with me. Please take
my authors book and put it on the
top of the pile.
Im sorry to tell you that this isnt
how every agent handles these situations. One editor told me a story
about a prominent agent who reaches
for the stick instead of the carrot. By
the time I inherited the book, she
said, the agent was already mad. Ive
never gotten a phone call from her
that hasnt been hostile. Which really doesnt help or make me want to
do more for the book. It makes me
not want to deal with it at all.
Molly doesnt understand that
strategy. She doesnt think it works
and she doesnt think its good business. She thinks its important to be
known as a friend to the entire publishing communitythe assistants,
the publicists, the rights people, the
royalty peoplethat is going to be
taking care of her books. She thinks
the agents who get on the phone
and scream at people have dropped
the ball themselves. They havent
really done much. They havent really paid attention. They havent
Jud Laghi
really been working all along on

behalf of their clients. As usual,
Molly is right.
h e r es a c u lt u re of
fear right now, says
Jud Laghi, who is anot her l itera r y agent
w ho k no w s w h at hes t a l k i n g
about. Juds voice doesnt compare
to Mollyssorry, dudebut Jud
is still a very good literary agent.
Youd be lucky to have Jud in your
corner. Jud plays the guitar and
has a cool tattoo and occasionally
wears a mustache that makes him
look like a biker. Jud has worked at
ICM . Jud has worked at LJK . These
days hes on his own.
Jud is telling me about the culture
of fear. A lot of it has to do with how
hard its been to predict which books
are going to sell, he says. The
people in sales and marketing have
the most direct connection to the
money side of things, so theyve developed more and more power. The
editors have had their legs cut out

from under them. As an agent, you
can find yourself in a position where
youre conspiring with the editor to
come up with ways to impress sales
and marketing.
Jud was talking on the record just
there so he was trying to be nice,
but I can tell you that what he said
was an understatement. As an editor, the experience of trying to publish a book for which your house has
paid an unexceptional advance and
that nobody else in your company
has any personal investment in can
make you feel like youd have more
luck wandering back in time to 1916
and plopping down in a trench in
Europe. It can be quite a feeling.
I asked some editors I know to
tell me what they want and need
from an agent on the road to publication. Their responses read like a
cry for help:
A good agent will help us fight the
battles we need to fight.
The most productive relationships I have with agents are the
ones where I can level with them.
If I can call the agent up and say,
Heres what I need you to harass me
about, and they do, I can take it to
my boss, or the publicity director,
or whomever.
There are some agents I like
tremendously as people, but I know
that my writers would be better off
if they had someone who was more
aggressive.
Id rather have someone who
oversteps boundaries.
A good agent puts the editor on
the defense every now and then. In
certain situations, to do his job well,
he should.
I wish I could tell you the names of
the five editors I just quoted. I truly
do, because they would impress you.
PPW.
W.O
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But editors are a little afraid of losing their jobs at the moment, and
because I wanted the ones I talked
to for this piece to tell me things
that were true, interesting, and useful instead of hot air, I promised that
I wouldnt use their names. What I
can tell you about them is that they
are all senior-level editors at good
literary houses. Youre just going to
have to trust me.
Lets go back to the first editor,
the one who said, A good agent will
help us fight the battles we need to
fight. She said something else that
was true and interesting and useful: The editor is in the position
of being the defender of the house
to both the author and the agent in
terms of describing why were doing
what were doing, but its also a huge
part of the editors role to be the
defender of the book within the
house. Particularly when it comes
to the smaller books, you have to
spend a lot of time mak ing sure
people realize what a great opportunity they have on their hands.
Then she said another thing that
was even more true and interesting
and useful, if a bit depressing. The
problem is theres always this one
book thats got to work, and youre
all focused on that.
I k new what she was t a l k i ng
about, of course. What editor hasnt
sat there pounding the drum pointlessly for some terrific little novel
while all of her colleagues are feverishly flogging the book that got a
bazillion-dollar advance? I forced
myself to ask her t he follow-up
question anyway: What happens
to everything else on the list?
Its just not the thing that has
to get done this afternoon until the
agent makes it the thing that has to
get done this afternoon.
amber canavan
different senior editor

told me a story about a
book shes publishing
right now. There was
genuine heartbreak in her voice.
The marketing department is just
not interested in it at all, she said.
Theyve put their priorities elsewhere. So the book has sort of been
forgotten. The editor is very unhappy about this, and so is the agent.
(It isnt clear if the author knows that
his book has sort of been forgotten,
but I suppose he will know soon
enough.) The editor told me that
the agent has at least tried various
things. She has pressed for a meeting
to discuss marketing and publicity.
She has pressed for a marketing plan.
Shes done as much as she can possibly do, the editor said. But there
comes a point when even she realizes
that she cant force the marketing department to do anything.
victor g. jeffreys ii
hris Parris-Lamb has

b een t here. I f Mol ly
Friedrich has the greatest
voice of any literary agent
who has ever lived, then Chris ParrisLamb is the tallest literary agent who
has ever lived. This tends to give him
a good perspective on things. The
most important part of my job is to
have a sense, which an author wont
necessarily have, that things need
to be happening. I never presume
to know better than the publisher
how to publish a book. But Ive been
around long enough to know when
warning flags are going upwhen
things are happening that shouldnt
be happening or, more often, when
things arent happening that should
be happening.
Chris stresses that you have to
be caref ul not to cross the line.
He underscores that you have to
be careful with your tone, that you

have to be careful not to become a
problem. He adds that this applies
to both agents and authors, and he
is right. But if you just sit back and
expect that all these great things are
going to happen for your book, then
other authors and their agents who
are making more noise and asking
more questions Chris trails off.
Chris Parris-Lamb
He is choosing his words with care.

He knows that this part of our conversation will be quoted, and he is
trying to articulate something in a
way that is both true and responsible.
Eventually he puts it like this: Every
time I pick up the phone or send an
e-mail to ask the editor whats happening with the publication of the
book, and they have to go get an answer, it means that a conversation is
being had about that book within the
house. A conversation that probably
wouldnt have happened without an
agent like Chris to make it happen.
Chris tries to keep a cool head on
the road to publication. Chris likes
to assume that were all adults here,
were all professionalseven if some
45
POETS & WRITERS
of us routinely prove otherwise

and he just wants to get the job done
for his authors. He goes into the
editorial process hoping it will go
so smoothly that he wont really be
necessary. But hes also encountered
some frankly shocking situations
of editors not editing. With one
first-time writer who realized that
his first draft needed a lot of work,
the editors comments just scratched
the surface. So Chris and the author
rolled up their sleeves and worked
on it around the clock for four days
to make the production deadline.
When they delivered a totally different manuscript to the editor, she
never said a word. Did Chris call her
on it? Its very delicate, he says. I
tend to think purely pragmatically
about it. We need that editor to
continue to be an advocate for the
book throughout the process. So I
didnt think it was worth it to scold
her for something that had already
been fixed. I think its more a case
of, Well, I learned something about
that editor.
Another time the conflict involved
a books title; the publisher wanted
to change it and the author did not.
Chris framed the conflict for the author in this way: I said, If you want
to fight this, we can fight it. The
title is different than the coverthe
title is a part of the work. But the
more capital we spend here, the less
were going to have in the bank down
the road when other conflicts come
up. After giving it some thought,
the author decided that he wanted
to spend the capital. The publisher
wasnt happy about it, Chris says,
but the rest of the process went
very smoothly because the author
understood that he basically couldnt
complain too much about anything
else. He had to be flexible.
matter more than mine? But the

agent can explain that.
W hat many first-time authors
dont qu ite realize is t he sheer
number of people who need to be
satisfied with the cover. Theres a
huge amount of plain old education,
says Molly Friedrich. You have to
say to the author, Dont get excited
about this jacket. Dont get attached
to this jacket. This jacket has to be
shared with the reps. This jacket has
o step in the publishing
process is more prone to

conflict, or more emot iona l ly w rench i ng,
than the process of selecting a cover.
Many authors view their cover as a
deeply personal expression of their
book. At the same time, many publishers view covers as little more than
marketing devices. Both arguments
have some merit, of course, and the
result is that conf licts can rise to
the level of blood sport. According
to one editor, the bloodier it gets,
the more valuable a good agent is.
When the author is unhappy with
something and I think that unhappiness is unwarranted, she says, I will
speak to the agent because I know
I can explain to them in business
terms why something is happening.
I can say to the agent, for example,
Sessalee Hensley [the fiction buyer]
at Barnes & Noble really loves this
jacket, and thats why we cant change
it. The writer may think, Why does
the opinion of someone I dont know
tors sometimes find themselves in a

position where, in order to remain
good team players, they cant go back
to the art department with their concerns. In that situation, one editor
told me, I have on many occasions
called the agent and said, I cant put
what Im about to say in writing. But
Im going to send you a cover. I dont
think its bad. But I do think we could
do better. My e-mail is going to say
that were all excited about it. If you
and the author love it, great. But if
you dont, this is just my invitation
to you to be very explicit about why,
and what we could do. Because in
that situation I cant really go back
to the art department and get anything done without the agent weighing in.
cott Moyers spent about
Scott Moyers
to be shared with the buyers. Just tell

me whether you can live with it at
four in the morning.
A nd then there are the internal politics within the publishing
house. When it comes to covers,
the variables can range from time
constraints to financial considerations to the artistic temperaments of
jacket designers. In a perfect world,
no editor wants to show an author
a cover that she doesnt like herself.
But when a deadline is looming, edi-
PPW.
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fifteen years working as an

editor before he switched
sides a few years ago and
became an agent. Scott is smart
and cheerf ul and good natured.
Ive never heard anyone say a bad
word about him. People like Scott,
and were a little surprised when he
went to work for Andrew Wylie at
the Wylie Agency. In case you dont
know, people do not like Andrew
Wylie. I would not go so far as to
say that most people in the publishing industry actively want Andrew
Wylie to die, but I would say that
most people in the publishing industry were excited by the idea that Scott
would take over for Andrew Wylie
some day. But Moyers switched sides
again, becoming publisher of Penguin Press in 2011.
I thought it would be interesting to
get Scotts take on all of this, given
his experience on both sides of the
desk. Here is the first thing Scott
says: I do have some sense of what a
lindy hess
Bad things can happen when authors dont have good agents to explain things like this to them. One
editor told me, Your agent should
really counsel you on how to interact with the publishing house.
Another said, The agent is crucial
in holding the author back from
being obnox ious. A not her was
even more pointed: When youre
talking about a midlist book that
people in-house are moderately excited about, a lot of writers dont realize how much it matters for them
to just be a decent person. Ive seen
books totally killed because people are like, Hes an asshole. We
may like the book, but its not a big
enough book for us to want to work
with an asshole.
ron rinaldi
well-managed process looks like and

what best practices look like. So, on
the one hand, as an agent, I could help
manage an authors expectations and
return him to the reality-based community if that was necessary. On the
other hand, I could be pretty critical
when I thought something was being
handled in a sloppy or thoughtless
way on the publishers side.
Scott acknowledges that a big part
of agenting is to try to have some
kind of effect on the allocation of
resources before the die is cast, but
adds that he tried not to be a squeaky
wheel unless there is something to
squeak about. I ask Scott to try to
recall some of the tricks he would use
to make his masters pay attention to a
book when he was a powerless editor.
I would encourage agents to, you
knownudge, winkask me to set
up a meeting before publication to
talk about the launch. It was easier
if it came from the agent. Its just
good to get everybodys mind concentrated and get everybody in the
room together to meet the author
and just kind of kick the tires and
talk things through. Things emerge
in the spirit of brainstorming. People
come up with things and commit to
doing things for the book.
When I ask Scott to explain why
its easier if the agent asks for the
meeting, he says, Its easier on the
editor because a request like that can
be perceived by his colleagues as a
sort of implicit rebuke, even though
thats not the intent. If you ask publicists whether these meetings are
necessary, by and large they would
choose not to have them. A publicist
would say, Im doing everything
I can do. Ive got my plan. I dont
need the backseat driving. Scott
notes that these meetings require a
lot of preparation for the people in
the marketing and publicity departments and that, as an editor, you have
to be careful about how often you request them. You dont want to burn
out the circuits, he says.
But as all agents know, editors
have no power over their publicity
or marketing departments (other
than their powers of persuasion),
and the point of setting up a meeting before publication is less about
backseat driving than about making
Jennifer Joel
sure driving is being contemplated.

When I ask one editorwho cops
to sending the same kind of surreptitious e-mails as Scottif it
helps her when agents are aggressive in the run-up to publication,
she is unequivocal. Absolutely. I
can walk around to the different
departments and say, I really wish
you were doing more for this book,
but if the agent comes in, then its
somebody they need to respond to.
There have been many times when
47
POETS & WRITERS
Ive asked the agent to put something in writing so I can forward it

on. Believe me, my colleagues are
not always happy about it, but they
do feel a little more responsible to
somebody outside of the house.
The problem, the same editor
points out, is that editors get so
busy. Youre work ing on quite
a few different books at the same
time and youre not always going to
notice that a book isnt getting the
attention it needs until the agent
calls you up and complains. If the
agent is aggressive enough about it,
you do want to keep her happy. Because a good agent is someone who
also has good taste and you want to
make sure shes going to keep submitting to you. I know that motivates me.
On the flip side, the editor says,
A lot of agents sell you a book and
sort of cross it off their list and go
on to the next sale. And some of the
agents we think of as the best agents
are slackers like that.
When I mention this comment to
another editor, along with the name
of a very prominent agent that I artfully edited out of the last quote
youre welcome, slackershe laughs
and says, Im always surprised at
how unhelpf ul some agents are.
Sometimes Im just thinking, How
is this working for you not to be helping me with this?
After the editing of a book is done,
she says, her job is basically to have
one million conversations about that
book. A good agent will help start
those conversations and give me all
the fuel I need to do that well. For example, a good agent keeps me completely abreast of everything thats
happening with foreign rights. If
anything good happens for it anywhere, and I know about it, that adds
one new thing that I can say in my

one million conversations.
W hen the time comes to start
thinking about blurbs for the jacket,
this editor, like most good editors,
will call up the agent to brainstorm.
Who do you know? Who does the author know? Who do we not know but
can figure out how to reach? Some
agents are very helpful and gung ho
and inspired about that, and some
are not, which shocks me. Dont
get her wrong. She understands that
rounding up four midlist writers to
comment on her midlist book is not
going to launch it onto the best-seller
list. But those blurbs let me have another conversation about the book,
she says. They let me continue trying to build enthusiasm and add to
how often the people in my circle
are hearing about the book. If theres
nothing new to say, Im not going to
just keep saying the same thing.
f Molly Friedrich has t he
greatest voice and Jud Laghi

has the greatest mustache and
Chris Parris-Lamb is the tallest and Scott Moyers is the nice guy,
then Jennifer Joel is the best literary agent youve never heard of. Or
at least thats the impression I get
when I mention her name to writers.
I dont know why this should be
Lord knows, every other book you
see on the subway is one of hers
but it certainly feels true.
One night I mention this questionable insight to my wife, who is
both a literary agent and a writer
who is represented by Jennifer Joel.
My wife agrees that it feels true. She
doesnt know why it is, either, and
hazards a guess that maybe Jennifer
Joel spends so much time kicking the
crap out of editors and hanging out
with heads of house that she doesnt
have time to attend writers conferences or give interviews to writers

magazines.
I vow to change that and call up
ICM , where Jennifer Joel works.
When I finally get her on the line
it always takes a few minutes to get
Jennifer Joel on the line, which is
a good signI ask her whats up
with some agents. I elaborate a little. When Im done, Jenn chuckles
the chuckle of a literary agent wise
beyond her years. I think a lot of
agents are under pressure to keep
selling new things, she says judiciously. But then she gives me something I can use: Im always amazed
at the bad-agent stories I hear about
people not participating in the least.
It amazes me that some agents think
its always a better use of their time
to move on to the next thing. To me,
its so much easier to focus on the
books youve already sold and make
sure they work.
It also feels a lot better. Even in the
worst case of a publisher not caring
about a book, if the editor has a good
enough relationship with the agent
to tell them whats really going on,
a wonderful spirit of teamwork can
emerge among author, editor, and
agent. One editor notes that the best
agents find a way to be aggressive
and collaborative, as opposed to aggressive and adversarial. She adds,
Theres an intangible feeling of
closeness and collaboration that we
all know leads to the success of a
book.
Scott Moyers agrees with that
sentiment: Over time you develop
deeper relationships with editors
who have the right sort of collaborative spirit and share information
without your feeling like you have
to be a noodge about it. One editor
goes even further: The best agents
PPW.
W.O
OR
RG
G
48
Ive worked with are the ones who

are really great at facilitating a relationship between the author and
the editor. They are okay with that
relationship being as close as theirs
is. It sounds simple, but its really
important for the author to have a
trusting relationship with both his
agent and his editor.
A different editor sums it up best.
When agents are working well, she
says, they give you the sense that
they trust you know what youre
doing but that they want to help you
do it better. They sold you the book
in good faith and with the understanding that they will be there to
help you out.
All of the agents I spoke with for
this article are that kind of agent, and
there are dozens like them across the
country, from Boston to Denver to
San Francisco. The hard work they
do after their manuscripts are sold,
Jennifer Joel notes, is not always visible or tangible. Theres not a deal to
announce at the end of that process,
she says. When I ask her why some
agents havent gotten the memo
about how important it is to be an
active partner on the road to publication, she speculates that some agents
may not see the financial incentive.
As an agent, after all, your author
would have to sell a lot of books for
the commission you receive to seem
like it was worth your time and energy. Why not move on to the next
sale? A n estimated 80 percent of
agents do just that, according to one
senior editor I interviewed.
At this, Jennifer Joel unleashes
another of her knowing chuckles.
Because when a book really works,
and youve played a big role in making that happen, its worth everything youve put into itand then
some.
AGENTADVICE
Danielle Svetcov of Levine Greenberg Rostan
How strongly do you believe in paying to have
a manuscript edited?
Richard from Wichita, Kansas
Areas of interest: Fiction,

journalism, science, adventure,
sports, memoir, illustrated,
food, humor
Representative clients: Taffy
Brodesser-Akner; Jodi Angel;
Kasper Hauser; James Nestor;
Eben Weiss, aka Bike Snob;
State Bird Provisions
Looking for: Chatty query
that conveys your abilities as a
writer and tells me who you are
and why you have written what
youve written, plus proposal
and/or small sample from the
book
dsvetcov@lgrliterary.com
Agency contact:
Levine Greenberg Rostan
Literary Agency
307 Seventh Avenue,
Suite 2407
New York, NY 10001
(212) 337-0934
lgrliterary.com
One way or another, you need to have

your manuscript edited before you
send it to an agent. That edit may
come from your writing group (free)
or from a talented writing friend who
owes you a big fat favor (free), or it
may come from an experienced editor, ideally one whos worked as a professional book editor for a long time
(not free). The thing about the last
option is: You usually get what you
pay for. A paid editor will think about
grammar, syntax, main and secondary characters, theme, plot, chapter
length, order of events, etcetera, and
will hopefully point out some of your
unfortunate tics. The best of the best
pay editors to improve their work.
( Yes, you read that correctly: Famous authors with advances from big
houses pay freelance editors to clean
up their workand then they send
their work off to their assigned editors at the publishing houses.) If you
have a burning desire to get your book
published by a big press, and you have
the money to pay an editor, spend it.
Its worth noting that once you land
an agent, he or she will likely edit your
book too (free, but often bloody).
Are queries sent via snail mail viewed any differently than those sent via e-mail?
Marcia from Uniondale, New York
When I began working as an agents

assistant in 2002, my boss was still
receiving queries by snail mail. They
49
49
PPO
OEETTSS &
&W
WRRIITTEERRSS
stacked up on her side desk, looking

wretched and appropriately yellow. It
was obvious that the envelopes and queries in them had been mailed numerous
times before arriving at our door. Bent
and worn SASE s. Wite-Out over addresses. Were we the second recipients?
The thirty-third? Many of the queriers
used typewriters to prepare their letters and address their envelopes. Some
handwrote their queries. The Internet
hadnt been around all that long, but already it was clear that madness resided
in the snail-mailed queries, and sanity
was reserved for the e-mailed variety.
Do I believe in snail mail? Yes, I do.
For postcards, love letters, notes from
camp, condolences, thank-yous, and
estimated taxes. But when it comes to
queries, send them by e-mail. When
we agents love something sent via email, we can reply immediately; we
can transmit our unbridled joy and
surprise with the speed of our unromantic cable connections.
Can I send a query for my book to more than
one agent?
Russell from Coral Springs, Florida
You bet. And if, later, you find out that

multiple agents are reading and loving
your book, e-mail all of them (separately) and say something like, Most
exciting news to share! You are not the
only agent enjoying my manuscript.
Lets set up a call as soon as youve
finished reading, as Im in the most
unexpected, thrilling position: I get to
choose my agent. Avoid maniacal glee.
You get the idea.
BREAKING UP
IS HARD TO DO
When to End the Author-Agent

BY C AT H I E B EC K
Relationship
o your agent did well. She

took your first novel and
negot iated a t wo-book
deal with a top publishing
house. What began as a business relationship has quickly evolved into a
full-blown friendship, and you are
understandably elated. She is a lovely
person, talented, capable, and fun to
be with. She forever changed your
writing career and your financial
future.
But shes got to go. At first, its a
niggling itch in your gut that you
deny because youre a writer and sensitive and loyal. Like most people,
you prefer to avoid conflict; you consider kindness the key to anything
of consequence, includingand in
particularyour career. Perhaps
youve bought into some notion of the
writers place in the publishing industry
that suggests youre lucky to ever have
sold a book at alllet alone two books
on a first try. To ask or expect anything
else would expose your ingratitude.
C at h ie B e c k is a Denver-ba sed
jou r nalist a nd t he aut hor of t he
a w a r d -w i n n i n g m e m o i r C h e a p
Cabernet: A Friendship. She is the Wine
Wench columnist for ColoradoBiz
Magazine and on radio station KUVO
in Denver.
Thats how novelist Katrina Kittle

felt as she fired her agent. There was
no drama, just discomfort in varying flavors that she felt encroaching
upon her, her relationship with her
agent, and ultimately her writing.
Yet paralyzing indecision stopped
her from acting, though shed known
for years that she needed to look for
another agent.
The decision was absolutely
fraught with anxiety for me, says Kittle, author of the novels The Blessings of
the Animals (Harper Perennial, 2010),
The Kindness of Strangers (William
Morrow, 2005), and Two Truths and a
Lie (Warner Books, 2001). Wed developed a friendship that I cherished.
We initially met at a writers conference, when Id yet to sell anything. She
took an interest in my work, offering
very specific, useful edits and revisions. Then she negotiated an amazing contract and turned an initial offer
into a two-book deal.
Yet Kittle could no longer ignore
what needed to be done: She needed
to find another agent. I terminated
my agreement with my first agent
with a registered letter, which I regret
immensely, she says.
hose on both sides of

the issue speak in terms
of divorce when discussing how to manage
P W. O R G
50
the dicey, often painful and politically charged business of changing

agents. Most suggest that as in the
case of a marriage going south,
there are clear indicators that the
delicate decision to move a writers
career to new representation must
be made.
Sally van Haitsma, an agent at
the van Haitsma Literary agency
in Encinitas, California, says the
agent-author marriage is about a
relationship, which involves shared
goals, good communication, and
realistic expectations. If an agent is
unresponsive to phone calls and emails over a certain period of time,
thats a red flag that something isnt
quite right. If youre consistently
brushed off by your agent, looking elsewhere for representation is
justified.
Malaga Baldi, who has been a literary agent for twenty-nine years,
identifies a few more warning signs
to look out for: Theres no comprehensive list of submissions or a plan;
or an agent is bored and the magic
feeling is gone; and/or theres another
agent excited about your current or
future work.
Yes, the secret to unbridled and
unmitigated publishing success
would seem to be passion. Even more
than connections, experience, talent,
and tenacity, it is an ingredient that
cannot be left out. If it dwindles, so
does everything else. Few books are
written by a bored author; even fewer
are sold by a bored literary agent.
E l i s e C apron of t he Sa nd r a
Dijkstra Literary Agency in Del
Mar, California, who sold Tiphanie Yaniques novel Land of Love and
Drowning to Riverhead in January
and Rikki Ducornets novel Netsuke
to Coffee House Press in 2010, advises authors to ask a few fundamen-
tal questions: Is my agent passionate

and energized about my work? Can I
envision working with this agent for
the long-term? Find the agent who
is just right for yousomeone who
represents books like yours and can
be passionate about your work, who
is in the same arena as you.
Doug Crandell, author of Theyre
Calling You Home (Sw itchg rass
Books, 2012), The Peculiar Boars of
Malloy (Switchgrass Books, 2010),
and Hairdos of the Mildly Depressed
(Virgin Books, 2008), believes that
an agent without passion for ones
work is not, in the full sense of the
word, an agent. If an agent isnt
sending a manuscript out to many
editors, and isnt being demonstrative about how much they love the
book and wont rest until it sells,
I think its time to move on, he
says. Polite, even enjoyable, conversations with an agent are nice,
and certainly can be beneficial, but
the book has to be supported with
an attitude of passion, or a writer
basically has a publishing therapist
rather than a professional literary
agent working to sell a book.
Its vital that an agents interest
in the writers work be genuine, says
Lisa Bankoff of ICM in New York
City, who has represented Nancy
Horan, author of Loving Frank (Ballantine, 2007), and Ann Patchett.
Im reminded of the words of a former colleague who told me, I dont
smell it, I sell it. In other words, the
agents job is not to judge the work on
literary merit; the agents job is to sell
it. Its a product.
Just because an agent cant move
a particular product doesnt mean
she should be dumped. Few agents
would advise finding new representation just because a specific
manuscript isnt selling. Its hard
to pick up where another agent has

left off, says Dorian Karchmar of
William Morris Endeavor in New
York City. Once a novel or collection has made the rounds, its very
hard to revisit it. Its hard to go back
to places that have already seen it.
Its tough even with revisions, unless there were one or two editors
on the first go-around who said that
if the work was revised theyd want
to see it again. Sometimes there
are still places to go, and if the new
agent adores the project, its possible. But most of the time, when
the book is passed on at a particular
house, its done.
K a rch ma r shou ld k now: She
tried to sell a manuscript that had
been repeatedly rejected u nder
different representation. I have a
client whod gone out with a story
collection and was unable to sell it.
After eight or ten houses rejected
it, she felt her agents interest in
the project waning and decided to
ask her to stop submitting, Karchmar says. When those situations
happen, I really try to advise the
writer. Im not interested in poaching people from other agents. In
this particular case, it seemed obvious that the first agent had her
own doubts about the salability of
the project.
Karchmar accepted the client,
but found the first agent had been
right about the manuscripts commercial prospect s. Somet imes,
however, an agents success isnt
mea s u red solely by how m a ny
transactions shes completed. I did
submit that collection and, while I
was not able to sell it, it won a prize
and the prize included publication
with a university press. Now that
authors finishing a novel and Ill be
going out with that shortly.
51
POETS & WRITERS
hen an author and
her agent have truly

come to the end of
the line, when the
passion is gone, the phone calls arent
returned, and the work is suffering,
there is the delicate and often uncomfortable matter of lining up a replacement. Should the author cut her
agent loose first, then set out to secure
another one? Or should she find a new
agent before dispensing with the old?
From a pragmatic point of view
it is probably better for a writer to
secure new representation before
leaving their agent, says Karchmar.
Writers write in order to be read and
their ultimate loyalty needs to be to
their work. While I would certainly
hope that any writer I have taken a
risk on and believed in and sweated
for and sacrificed time with my family forI would certainly hope that
that person would trust me enough to
communicate with me before problems became irreconcilable.
Arielle Eckstut, an agent with the
Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency in New York City who
represents the New York Times bestselling authors Larry Dossey (Healing
Words, HarperCollins, 1993), agrees.
Its just hard to get an agent, period,
she says. In order for the writer to
protect herself, its best to start an
agent search without terminating the
current relationship. A writer should
have conversations with potential
agents and gauge their level of interest before making a move. When
the writer finds a better match who
is enthusiastic about the writer and
the work, its time to let the former
agent know of the move. If, however,
a writer tells her agent that she is
moving on before shes explored the
marketplace, the writer might be in
for a rude awakening.
While Karchmars and Eckstuts

experiences may demonstrate the
pragmatic reality of the situation,
theyand other agentsrefer to an
unspoken code in the business: If the
relationship must end, most agents
will say, a writer should sever ties
before seeking a replacement.
Its best to be up front with an
agent and give that agent a chance to
mend his or her ways, says former
literary agent Jennifer Cayea. But
if an authors trust has been broken,
and there is no possibility of reconciliation, then call the agent and fire
him, and follow up with a letter so
that the end is in writing.
Even good agents get fired, adds
Cayea, who represented K. L. Cook,
author of three books, most recently
Love Songs for the Quarantined (Willow Springs Editions, 2011). Its
part of the business. But it should
be handled professionally and respectfully. Agents do talk to each
other, and a writer doesnt want to
get labeled as a bad author by other
agents.
One way for a writer to protect
her reputation after a breakup with
an agent is to be up front in the first
place with complaints, and thus
avoid drama. Hard as it might seem
to place the dreaded phone call, a
clean, simple, declarative approach
works best. Thats the tactic that
Crandall employed, and he has no
regrets. For him, the discomfort of
having to switch was mitigated by the
fact that his next work was of a different genre than the book his first agent
had brokered.
After several months of hemming and hawing around the issue,
he says, I called my agent up while I
was driving and just told him straight
out, I would like your blessing in my
search for an agent that represents lit-
erary fiction writers. I did not want

to insult him, or create drama. In the
end, it went off without a hitch, but
then again, I never let the discussion
turn to the negative.
Id written a new novel, and wanted
to make a clean break, Crandall adds.
The old agent never had the novel,
and so I knew there wouldnt be an
awkward intro to a potential new
agent. Still, I would advise, when at all
possible, to make the break cleanly.
Agents arent the only ones who
are dumped, of course, and t he
sting of being on the receiving end
of were not a good fit anymore is
just as sharpif not sharperfor
authors. Consider Jennifer Anne
Moses, short story writer and author
of the memoir Bagels and Grits: A Jew
on the Bayou (Terrace Books, 2007),
who has switched
agents three times
in a decade. Shes
been on both sides
of bre a k i n g up.
My f i r s t ag ent
sold my first book
in about two minutes, but she scared
me, says Moses.
I always felt like
I was bugging her,
and I didnt want to be intimidated
by my own agent. She really did intimidate me, and I wanted someone
who would hold my hand a little
more.
When my second agent took me
on, I thought all my professional
problems had come to an end, that
I had made it with a big-time agent
who would, lickety-split, place my
work. Five years later, about the
time he finally did place my second
book, he fired me. After the shock
of being fired wore offwhich took
about five minutesI realized that

he was right: We werent such a
great match after all, something I
had known for well over a year. I
really needed someone who could
handle literary fiction, childrens
fiction, and anything else. So I got
another agent.
No matter who does the leaving,
kindness is the crucial ingredient.
Or, if kindness isnt possible, says Michael Kun, author of Corrections to My
Memoirs (MacAdam/Cage, 2006),
then maybe use a little humor. The
cleanest way for an agent to let an
author go, he suggests, would
probably be to kill the author. Perhaps make it look like an accident.
Something involving a large truck or
a piece of heavy machinery. Short of
FEW AGENTS WOULD

ADVISE FINDING NEW
REPRESENTATION JUST
BECAUSE A SPECIFIC
MANUSCRIPT ISNT
SELLING.
P W. O R G
52
that, I imagine it is exceedingly difficult to let an author go without making the author question his talent.
nevitably, some author-agent

relationships die. Often its no
ones fault; the magic drifts away.
Typically, both parties can feel it
as it happens. On some level, Id have
to understand when a writer felt that I
was not able to serve their work well,
says Karchmar. In the end a writer
really does need to do what is going
to serve their career best.
RESOURCES ON AGENTS
A gent Quer y (w w w.agentquer y
.com) is a free database of agents and
publishers that also provides sections
of advice on querying agents and formatting submissions.
Jeff Hermans Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents

2011 (Sourcebooks, 2011) is a popular
resource that contains tips from nearly
two hundred agents.
Association of Authors Representatives (aaronline.org) features a free

database of nearly four hundred agents
with a wide range of interests.
Poets & Writers Agent Advice

(www.pw.org/agent_advice) is an online
feature, drawn from Poets & Writers
Magazines popular column of the
same name, where literary agents answer writers most frequently asked
questions about how to land an agent
and publish a book.
The Complete Idiots Guide to Book

Proposals and Query Letters (Alpha
Books, 2011) by Marilyn Allen and
Coleen OShea uses the same guidelines an agent uses when submitting
clients books to publishers to provide
in-depth information on composing
query letters and crafting elements of
a proposal.
The First Five Pages: A Writers
Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection
Pile (Fireside, 2000) by agent Noah
Lukeman offers advice on how to
hook an agent with the first five pages
of a manuscriptand how to avoid
certain pitfalls of weak writing.
The Forest for the Trees (www
.betsylerner.com), a blog by agent and
author Betsy Lerner, offers advice on
publishing minutiae, answers to readers questions, and creates a space to
regularly vent about publishing.
How to Get a Literary Agent (Sourcebooks, 2006) by Michael Larsen,
cofounder of Larsen-Pomada Literary
Agents in San Francisco, covers the
subjects of how to find and query the
right agent, how to work with an agent,
and a summary of the book business.
53
Poets & Writers Literary Agents

Database (w w w.pw.org/literar y
_agents), available for free, includes
agents who represent poetry, fiction,
and creative nonfiction, plus details
about the kind of books theyre interested in representing, their clients, and
the best way to contact them.
Poets & Writers Top Topics for
Writers: Literary Agents (www
.pw.org/content/literary_agents) offers
an overview of the best practices for
finding and contacting agents.
Publishers Marketplace (www.pub
lishersmarketplace.com) includes a
database of over four hundred agents
looking for work representing a range
of genres. Access is for registered
members only and costs twenty-five
dollars a month.
Wr iter Beware (w w w.sf wa.org
/other-resources/for-authors/writer
-beware) provides warnings about
scams and tips on how to tell a reputable agent from a questionable one.
POETS & WRITERS
CLASSIFIEDS
CFM: BOOKS
LOOSE MOOSE
PUBLISHING
is now accepting manuscripts of
poetry, short stories,
and novels. Fee for
reading and a written
evaluation of poetry
and short stories is
$20, and novel $25.
See details at www
.loosemoose
publishing.com.
CFM: CHAPBOOKS
SWAN SCYTHE
PRESS, founded
by poet Sandra
McPherson in 2000,
announces its 2016
poetry chapbook
contest. Entry fee:
$18. Postmark deadline: June 15. Winner
receives $200 and
25 perfect-bound
chapbooks. The
2015 winner is David
Oates for The Heron
Place. For full details
and guidelines, visit
www.swanscythe.com
and swanscythepress
.submittable.com/
submit.
CFM: MAGAZINES
AJN, THE
AMERICAN
JOURNAL OF
NURSING (print
circ. 80,000 + digital
editions), seeks poems, flash fiction,
and visual art related
to health or health
care for its Art of
Nursing department.
Authors need not be
health care professionals. Original
perspectives and
clear, unsentimental
writing are preferred.

$150 honorarium
paid upon publication. Query the Art
of Nursing coordinator before submitting
(use Art of Nursing
in subject line):
sylvia.foley@
wolterskluwer.com.
ARROYO
LITERARY Review
is an award-winning
national magazine
with a West Coast
orientation. We are
seeking fiction, flash
fiction, poetry, essays, and translation
for our eighth issue.
Open reading period
from December 1 to
May 31. No e-mail
submissions. Please
see our website for
submission guidelines: www.arroyo
literaryreview.com.
BELLEVUE
LITERARY
REVIEW publishes
poetry, fiction, and
creative nonfiction
that explore our lives
both in illness and
in health. To explore
our archive, editors
picks, reading guides,
roundtable discussions, and literary
prizes, visit www
.blreview.org.
CHANGES IN
LIFE monthly online
newsletter is seeking personal essays
from women of all
ages. New writers are
encouraged to submit
their work. For
details and submission guidelines, see
www.changesinlife
.com.
COMSTOCK
REVIEW celebrates
30 years of well-crafted, unique work in
2016. Marge Piercy is
the final judge for the
Muriel Craft Bailey
Memorial Award.
Total Prizes: $1,350.
Submit single poems,
following guidelines,
April 1 to July 1.
Chapbook Contest
screened by editors;
Michael A. Sickler, Judge. Submit
manuscripts August
1October 31. Open
reading period yearly
January 1March
31no fee. Complete
rules must be followed for all contests
or entries will be
disqualified. Guidelines and more: www
.comstockreview
.org. Also visit us on
Facebook: www
.facebook.com/
pages/comstock
-review/18648889
8068352?ref=ts.
Address: Comstock
Review, 4956 St. John
Dr., Syracuse, NY
13215.
CRAB CREEK
REVIEW publishes
poetry, short fiction,
and short creative
nonfiction. Open
reading period September 15December
15, no fee. Looking
for originality, risktaking, and consummate craftsmanship
in all genres. Simultaneous submissions
welcome. Crab Creek
Review Poetry Prize
runs February 15
May 15. Guidelines
P W. O R G
54
at http://crabcreek
review.org/
submissions.html.
DRIFTWOOD
PRESS. John Updike
once said, Creativity is a plus name for
regular activity. Any
activity becomes creative when the doer
cares about doing it
better. Driftwood
Press accepts fiction,
poetry, graphic narrative, and visual art.
Were partial towards
narrative poetry and
stream of consciousness prose, but open
to all literary styles.
www.driftwoodpress
.net.
HELEN: A
LITERARY
MAGAZINE is
open for submissions. We appreciate
polished work in all
genres and actively
seek pieces that
explore a sense of
perseverance. Our
issues include poetry,
flash fiction, short
stories, essays, personal narratives, art,
and photography. For
more information,
visit www.helen
presents.com.
MISTAKE
HOUSE: Show us
your world and your
voice. We welcome
the familiar revealed
in new ways, the
curious, inventive,
tenacious. Poetry and
fiction submissions
open to students
currently enrolled in
graduate and undergraduate programs.
Deadline: April 3.
Submission fee $2.
See guidelines at
www.mistakehouse
.org.
SUBMIT WHATEVER poems
whenever. Please
e-mail your poems in
just one attachment
or in the body of the
e-mail. Simultaneous submissions and
previously published
poems are welcome.
The Great American
Poetry Show. E-mail:
larry@tgaps.com;
website: www.tgaps
.net.
WOLVES AND
MERMAIDS Literary Journal is a new
venture looking
to publish WOC
writers. We are
seeking work that
echoes deep into the
intersections of race
and gender; we want
writing that opens
up new narratives.
We are also looking
for editors to join
the team. For more
information, see the
about page and the
submissions page on
our website at www
.wolvesandmermaids
.com.
CONFERENCES
2017 SAN
MIGUEL Writers
Conference & Literary Festival February
1519 (Mexico): largest, most prestigious
bilingual literary
gathering in the
Americas. Attracts
600+ established and
emerging writers and
industry experts from

US, CA, MX. Readers and writers fill
10,000 seats over 5
days. Its an inspiring
week of intellectual
exchange, community connection,
cultural celebration.
San Miguel de Allende: #1 City in the
World, CNTraveler.
sanmiguelwriters
conference.org.
THE CARNEGIE
Books-in-Progress
Conference will be
held in picturesque
Lexington, KY, June
34, with optional
pre-conference sessions and a welcome
reception on June
2. Wendell Berry
(World Lost, Jayber
Crow, and Hannah Coulter, among
others) will keynote.
Immerse yourself
in craft & business
workshops led top
writers, editors, and
other professionals.
Topics include revision, childrens literature, fiction, nonfiction, publishing, and
more. One-on-one
pitches with literary agents available.
www.carnegiecenter
lex.org.
SANTA BARBARA
Writers Conference:
Attention Writers of
All Genres! Join us
June 510 to connect
with agents, authors,
and mentors, beachside at the premier
Santa Barbara
Writers Conference.
Attend day and night
workshops, speaker
events and industry

panels. Meet agents
& editors, publishing leaders and new
author scouts. Get
insider tips, register for an advanced
critique and meet
1-on-1 with an agent.
Improve your craft,
find your tribe, and
make lifelong connections. Only 200
spots availablethis
conference will sell
out. Only $650. Register today at www
.sbwriters.com.
CONTESTS
19TH ANNUAL
Mark Fischer Poetry
Prize of $1,000 plus
three $100 awards.
Open to American and Canadian
poets of the West
and awarded at the
Telluride Literary
Arts Festival May 20
in Colorado. Judge:
Judyth Hill. Fee: $9
per poem (3 for $20).
Deadline: April 15.
talkinggourds.weebly
.com.
THE 20TH
ANNUAL BLUE
LYNX PRIZE,
$2,000 plus publication, is awarded
for an unpublished,
full-length volume
of poems by a U.S.
resident or citizen.
Send manuscript of
at least 48 pages, a
$28 reading fee plus
SASE (for notification) to Lynx House
Press, P.O. Box 940,
Spokane, WA 99210;
or electronically to
lynxhousepress
.submittable.com.
Postmark deadline:
May 15. Make checks
payable to Lynx
House Press. The
2015 winner was
David Nielsen for
Unfinished Figures,
selected by Kathleen
Flenniken. Judges
have included Yusef
Komunyakaa, Melissa
Kwasny, Robert
Wrigley, Dorianne
Laux, Dara Wier, and
David Wojahn. More
details at www
.lynxhousepress.org.
CALL FOR
contemporary poetry
for chapbook prize,
$300, and authors
copies, submit 2430
pages, acknowledgments, bio, cover
letter with contact
information, SASE ,
$15 fee. Deadline:
November 20. Look
up Pearn and Associates on Facebook.
Send check and
manuscript to Pearn
and Associates, Inc.,
1315 Kirkwood Dr.
#905, Fort Collins,
CO, 80525-1984.
NEW RIVERS
PRESS will publish
approximately 20
short stories in American Fiction Volume
16, subtitled The Best
Unpublished Stories
by Emerging Writers.
We seek well-crafted,
character-driven
literary fiction in any
genre with a maximum of 10,000 words
per story. Each of the
selected story authors
will receive national
publication and
distribution, author
P W. O R G
55
discount, and 2 complimentary copies.

$1,750 in prizes will
be awarded ($1,000
for first place, $500
for second, and $250
for third). Previous
finalist judges include
Louise Erdrich,
Elizabeth Strout, and
Steve Almond. This
years finalist judge
is TBA. There is a
reading fee of $16 for
each online submission from February
1 through June 15
at http://newrivers
press.submittable
.com. There is a
reading fee of $16 for
each online submission from February
1 through June 15.
Find complete details
and other submission opportunities
at http://newrivers
press.submittable
.com.
RIVER STYX 2016
International Poetry
Contest. A prize of
$1,500 and publication in River Styx is
given annually for the
best poem. Heather
McHugh will judge.
Three poems maximum, up to 14 pages
per entry. $20 entry
fee includes a 1-year
subscription to River
Styx. May 31 postmark deadline. See
riverstyx.org or river
styx.submittable.
com for complete
guidelines. River Styx,
3139A South Grand
Blvd., Suite 203, St.
Louis, MO 63118.
Richard Newman,
Editor: bigriver@
riverstyx.org.
SRPR (SPOON
RIVER POETRY
REVIEW) 2016 Editors Prize: Winner
awarded $1,000 &
honorarium to read
at gala SRPR event in
Illinois in April 2016.
2 runners up awarded
$100 each. 3-5
honorable mentions.
All winning poems
plus several finalists are published.
2015 judge: Rachel Zucker. 2015
judge announced
after winners are
selected. Submit up
to 3 poems by April
15. Entry fee of
$20 includes 1-year
subscription (2 issues). See website for
guidelines and recent
winners: www.srpr
.org.
STONE CANOE,
the award-winning
annual journal of art,
writing, and ideas, is
now reading submissions sions for its
2017 issue. The journal is open to work
by poets, writers, and
artists who are either
current or former
residents of Upstate
New York. An annual
$500 prize is also
awarded to an emerging artist in each
genre; awards are
selected by our editors, from amongst
works accepted for
publication, and no
entry is required. For
complete submission
guidelines, visit www
.ycny.org/stone
-canoe.html, or email stonecanoe@
syracuseymca.org.
RENTALS/
RETREATS
JOIN THE
CAMBRIDGE
Writers Workshop
for our creative
writing retreats in
Newport, RI (April
2224), Barcelona &
South of France (July
1826) and Granada,
Spain (July 28August 5). Faculty includes David Shields,
Bret Anthony Johnston, Jade Sylvan,
Alexander Chee, Rita
Banerjee, and Diana
Norma Szokolyai.
Previous participants
have finished book
manuscripts and won
prestigious awards.
Apply by March 15,
2016 at cww
.submittable.com
and visit cww.nyc for
more information.
WELLSPRING
HOUSE Retreat
Center for writers and artists in
the Massachusetts
hills, 35 minutes
from Northampton/
Amherst. Sheltered
by towering spruce,
secluded but in town.
Private rooms, communal kitchen. Four
hours from New
York City. Unspoiled
village where writers
write, painters paint:
$260/week, single;
$280/week, double.
Special winter rates
November 15April
1. Rsum to P.O.
Box 2006, Ashfield,
MA 01330. Phone:
(413) 628-3276.
E-mail: browning@
wellspringhouse.net.
Website: wellspring
house.net.
SERVICES
4REVISIONS.
Your book: as good as
you can make it?
Before submitting to
an agent or publishing as an e-book,
make sure youve put
your best work, your
best words forward.
A second pair of eyes
is always helpful. No
flattery, but constructive criticism,
useful suggestions,
editing and proofing.
www.4revisions.com.
ACCOMPLISHED
EDITOR Wyn Cooper seeks poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and
memoir. I help writers revise and perfect
their manuscripts,
and offer publishing
advice. Twenty books
I edited have been
published in the last
3 years; 5 have won
awards. Free consultation. Sliding scale
fees. See website for
testimonials: www
.wyncooper.com.
E-mail: wyncooper@
gmail.com.
AUTHOR,
AUTHOR!
Professional editor,
literary midwife,
award-winning author (Bantam, Avon,
Scholastic, Berkeley/
Ace, others) offers
extensive critiques,
tutorials, revisions,
support. Upgrade
your writing skills;

solve problems with
plot, character development, pacing.
Specialties include
literary and mainstream fiction, mystery/thriller, juvenile/
YA, general nonfiction, psychology,
spirituality. Carol
Gaskin. Phone: (941)
377-7640. E-mail:
carol@editorial
alchemy.com. Website: www.editorial
alchemy.com.
AUTHORS, WE
ARE HERE here
to support you
with results-driven
professional editorial
services. Our handselected editors have
passed tests proving
their skills in everything from reorganizing text to creating flow to fixing
grammar, all while
keeping your voice.
We have expertise in
all genres. For rates
and camaraderie, visit
www.inkblotediting
.com.
AWARDWINNING
FICTION writer,
graduate of Iowa
Writers Workshop,
creative writing
teacher of 35 years,
provides personalized
manuscript editing.
I offer detailed editing, honest evaluation, and sensitive
critique. I work with
new and experienced
writers, fiction and
nonfiction. Contact
Hugh Cook. E-mail:
P W. O R G
56
jhcook@quickclic.net.
Website: hugh-cook
.ca.
BOOK EDITOR
Former publishing
house editor in chief.
Award-winning/
agented clients.
Story solutions that
elevate your novel
from good to exceptional. Critiques,
editing, coaching,
queries. Specializing
in womens lit, YA/
NA, thriller/mystery,
Christian, historical/
literary fiction, sci-fi.
Website: www
.jessiritahoffman
.com. Telephone:
(360) 264-5460. Email: jessihoffman8@
gmail.com.
CAUTION.
If your work isnt
ready, dont approach
agents until its as
perfect as it can be.
The competition is
fierce and you cant
knock on a closed
door twice. Id like
to help. Im an
experienced editor
in multiple genres,a
prizewinning author
of poetry and literary
fiction. Respectful.
Thorough. Together,
we can raise your
novel, poetry manuscript, short story,
memoir, query, or application letter to the
next level. Free initial
consultation. E-mail:
dmgordon@comcast
.net. Website: www
.dmgordoneditorial
.com.
DIVERSITY
SPECIALIST. I can
help you make sure
your writing doesnt

include harmful
stereotypes or other
offensive portrayals
that turn off readers
and publishers. Also
available to answer
questions about
LGBT, disability,
race, etc. Proven results and references.
Rates start $1/page
for indie authors. Email: katie.tastrom@
gmail.com; website:
katietastromfenton
.com.
MALONEEDITED BOOKS
books sell to traditional publishers.
Turning manuscripts
into traditionally
published books, and
developing writers into successful
authors. Malone
Editorial Services,
www.maloneeditorial
.com. E-mail:
maloneeditorial@
hotmail.com. Website: www.susanmary
malone.com.
THE POETS
BILLOW provides
editing, revision, and
submission services
for poets. We guide
writers through
revisions, submitted
manuscripts for busy
professionals, assist
poets in organizing
their submission material for MFA programs. We work with
those who see it as a
hobby as well as those
who received PhDs
in creative writing.
Website: http://
thepoetsbillow.org.

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Lucy Carson of the

Ten Tips for

P OE TS & W R I T E R S GUI D E TO L I T E R A RY AGEN TS

A DAY IN THE LIFE

mildly overcast Wednesday in early April, is quieter. No more gleeful

about the place. Folios midtown

shot of a literary agency. With a

explains, Folio is positioning itself

attention via an unsolicited query

What this means is that, from an

POETS & WRITERS

than e-mails), and the infamous

project and recommend whether she

a genre that doesnt interest her. In

my desk I will likely have notes and

form rejections, but it isnt really all

selling his third because no one

is at her computer dashing the

AGENTS WHO REPRESENT

POETS & WRITERS

could be easily made from scratch

P OE TS & W R I T E R S GUI D E TO L I T E R A RY AGEN TS

on the subway. We do our reading

ut a great idea, even one

als, prepared submission letters for

a first date. And so it is. With her

business realms is a n essent ial

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

s the afternoon shad-

ows leng t hen across

POETS & WRITERS

tions for film and other media such

CHOOSE YOUR DIGITAL EDITION OF

OVER 110 WRITING CONTESTS WITH UPCOMING DEADLINES

Hiking the Yaak Valley

The National Book Awardwinning author

Areas of interest: Literary

One thats as well written as the book

POETS & WRITERS

If Im a hermit by choice (find crowds draining,

I think the answer depends a great deal

P OE TS & W R I T E R S GUI D E TO L I T E R A RY AGEN TS

ince the financial crisis

of 20072008 and the recession that followed, the

I recently inv ited four young

magazines when I first started out.

look for clients that way? But I do a

communities too. Roxane Gay did

So, social media is a way of being part

necessarily translate to platform.

Whats important for you to see in a

letter is reasons to go to the next

P OE TS & W R I T E R S GUI D E TO L I T E R A RY AGEN TS

on the Poets & Writers website, you

the right agents. I think theres a way

alive and taking on clients, and go

think Im on Team NYC, and against

started his career

Ballard: My take is that MFA pro-

grams attract like-minded writers.