Reminder: Agent Spotlights (with this spotlight featuring Chris Bucci of The McDermid Agency) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list. While Chris is not a new agent, a spotlight like this resembles a New Agent Alert in that the agent has put out a public call for more submissions.

About Chris: Chris Bucci is a literary agent, director, and full partner at The McDermid Agency. He represents bestselling authors such as Bob Rae, Timothy Caulfield, Susan Delacourt, Jowita Bydlowska, James Grainger, and Kerri Sakamoto. Most recently senior editor at McClelland & Stewart, he worked primarily with nonfiction, bringing to the M&S catalogue the likes of Alain de Botton, Christopher Hitchens, Paul Watson and Sir Martin Gilbert. He began his career at the University of Toronto Press and soon became an acquisitions editor in social sciences and cultural studies. Bucci joined HarperCollins Canada in 2003 as a nonfiction editor. Moving to M&S in 2004, Bucci helped revitalize the McClelland & Stewart nonfiction program, establishing relationships with international authors, agents and publishers.

(Is it best to query all your target agents at once? — or just a few to start?)

The biggest literary agent database anywhere
is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the
most recent updated edition online at a discount.

He is seeking: literary fiction, mysteries, thrillers, historical fiction, commercial literary fiction and narrative nonfiction. For nonfiction, he seeks popular science, sports, popular culture, politics, essays, and history.

Chris is not the agent for picture books, poetry, erotica, or inspirational fiction.

Upcoming writers conferences: The Toronto Writing Workshop on Aug. 20, 2016.

How to submit: Please email info [at] mcdermidagency.com with a query letter, which should include a brief description of yourself and your project. You are welcome to include the first 10-15 pages of your manuscript pasted into the body of the email. Please do not send any further material unless invited to do so.

(Do writers need MORE than one literary agent?)

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Your new complete and updated instructional guide
to finding an agent is finally here: The 2015 book
GET A LITERARY AGENT shares advice from more
than 110 literary agents who share advice on querying,
craft, the submission process, researching agents, and
much more. Filled with all the advice you’ll ever need to
find an agent, this resource makes a great partner book to
the agent database, Guide to Literary Agents.

The post Agent Spotlight: Chris Bucci of The McDermid Agency appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Latoya Smith of L. Perkins Agency) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.

About Latoya: Before joining the L. Perkins agency, Latoya C. Smith was an editor for over thirteen years working at publishing houses such as Kensington Publishing, Hachette Book Group, and Samhain Publishing. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Latoya started her editorial career as an administrative assistant to New York Times bestselling author, Teri Woods, while pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree at Temple University. In 2006, Latoya joined Grand Central Publishing, an imprint at Hachette Book Group, where she acquired a variety of titles from Hardcover fiction and non-fiction, to digital romance and erotica. In 2014, Latoya was Executive Editor at Samhain Publishing where she acquired short and long form romance as well as erotic fiction. She was also the winner of the 2012 RWA Golden Apple for Editor of the Year.

(Classifying Your Book: How to Research & Target Literary Agents.)

The biggest literary agent database anywhere
is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the
most recent updated edition online at a discount.

She is seeking: Latoya is seeking romance, erotica, erotic fiction, women’s fiction, women’s thriller, LGBTQ romance and erotic fiction, along with advice/how-to/memoir submissions. Latoya tends to shy away from YA, sci-fi/fantasy, historical, steampunk, and urban fantasy, however if she happens to fall in with projects within those genres, she is happy to represent them.

How to Submit: Please email a query letter containing the following to Latoya@lperkinsagency.com: A brief synopsis, your bio, and the first five (5) pages from your novel or book proposal in the body of your email.

(Querying? Read advice on how to find the most target agents to query.)

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Want to build your visibility and sell more books?
Create Your Writer Platform shows you how to
promote yourself and your books through social
media, public speaking, article writing, branding,
and more. Order the book from WD at a discount.

The post New Literary Agent: Latoya Smith of L. Perkins Agency appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Sarah Manning of United Talent Agency) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.

About Sarah: Sarah first worked at Orion before doing a stint in script development for TV and film. She  then moved to become assistant to Juliet Mushens and Diana Beaumont for two years. Twitter: @SarahManning123

(Why you should only query 6-8 agents at a time.)

The biggest literary agent database anywhere
is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the
most recent updated edition online at a discount.

Currently Seeking: She is looking to actively build her list and represents both fiction and non-fiction. Sarah’s taste is varied and she enjoys crime, thrillers, historical fiction, commercial women’s fiction, accessible literary fiction, fantasy and YA. She likes big ideas that look at events or characters from new perspectives.

How to Submit: Please send your cover letter in the body of your email, with synopsis and first three chapters as an attachment to: Sarah.Manning@UnitedTalent.com

(Is it best to query all your target agents at once? — or just a few to start?)

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Want to build your visibility and sell more books?
Create Your Writer Platform shows you how to
promote yourself and your books through social
media, public speaking, article writing, branding,
and more. Order the book from WD at a discount.

The post New Literary Agent Alert: Sarah Manning of United Talent Agency appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

Sometimes it’s difficult to pinpoint which agents are open to submissions at any given time. So with that in mind, I’m creating some new vertical lists of agents seeking queries right now, as of summer 2016.

This list is for thrillers.

All the agents listed below personally confirmed to me as of July 2016 that they are actively seeking historical romance submissions NOW. Some gave personal notes about their tastes while some did not. Good luck querying!

———————–

1. Carrie Pestritto (Prospect Agency)

Notes: “I am looking for thrillers, but am looking for more high-concept thrillers aimed at a female audience rather than police procedurals, etc.”

How to Submit: Upload submission through online submissions page. Do not query by mail or email. Include a synopsis and query letter with your email and contact information at the beginning of the manuscript body (3 chapters or first 30 pages).

———————–

2. Bernadette Baker Baughman (Victoria Sanders & Associates)

How to Submit: Send a query letter with the first three chapters (or about 25 pages) pasted into the body of the message to queriesvsa [@] gmail.com. Only accepts queries via e-mail. Query letters should describe the project and the author in the body of a single, one-page e-mail that does not contain any attached files.

———————–

3. Kimberly Brower (Rebecca Friedman Literary)

Notes: She seeks mysteries and thrillers for both adult and YA.

How to Submit: Include a query letter, a full synopsis (this should summarize the entire book), and your first chapter (pasted into the email, double spaced). Please submit to Kimberly [@] rfliterary.com.

———————–

Your new complete and updated instructional guide
to finding an agent is finally here: The 2015 book
GET A LITERARY AGENT shares advice from more 
than 110 literary agents who share advice on querying, 
craft, the submission process, researching agents, and
much more. Filled with all the advice you’ll ever need to
find an agent, this resource makes a great partner book to
the agent database, Guide to Literary Agents.

———————–

4.  Michelle Brower (Kuhn Projects)

Notes: “Sub categories I’m looking for are psychological suspense, literary suspense, thrillers with an international bent, and suspense with a touch of the supernatural (but only a touch). Nothing that involves the CIA or terrorism or evil corporations.”

How to Submit: Submit queries through the agency online form.

———————–

5. Veronica Park (Corvisiero Literary)

Notes: “I’m mostly interested in thrillers with a strong romantic element and/or modern political angle. (Female MCs a plus; not a huge fan of Jason Bourne.)”

How to Submit: Please query Veronica Park by emailing query [@] corvisieroagency.com and putting “Attn: Veronica Park – Query – [BOOK TITLE]” in the subject line. She prefers to see your query letter, synopsis and 15-20 page sample pasted into the body of the email. For bonus points, include links to your social media profiles in your email signature, and a brief description of your writing career goals.

———————–

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

———————–

6. Jessica Papin (Dystel & Goderich)

Notes: She seeks dark, twisty literary thrillers

How to Submit: Query by email to jpapin [@] dystel.com. Paster cover letter in the body of the email. Include a synopsis, outline, sample chapter (one chapter or the first 25 pages of your manuscript) either below the cover letter or attached as a separate document. We won’t open attachments if they come with a blank email.

———————–

7. Victoria Lowes Cappello (The Bent Agency)

Notes: She seeks crime fiction and atmospheric, haunting domestic thrillers

How to Submit: Send queries to cappelloqueries [@] thebentagency.com. Tell Victoria briefly who you are, about your book, and why you’re the one to write it. Include the title of your project in the subject line of your email. Then paste the first ten pages of your book in the body of your email (not as an attachment, please).

———————–

BONUS: Mitch Hoffman (Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency)

How to Submit: Please submit a one page query letter via e-mail. Please do not send attachments. However a first chapter pasted into the body of an e-mail query is acceptable. Send queries to queryhoffman [@] aaronpriest.com.

———————–

BONUS 2: Evan Gregory (Ethan Eilenberg)

How to Submit: Query by email only to agent [@] ethanellenberg.com. Paste all materials into the body of the email in the order mentioned below: a brief query letter, a synopsis (1-2 pages long), the first 50 pages (approximately) of your manuscript. No attachments.

———————–

Want to build your visibility and sell more books?
Create Your Writer Platform shows you how to
promote yourself and your books through social
media, public speaking, article writing, branding,
and more. Order the book from WD at a discount.

Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:

• Agent Spotlight: Lana Popovic (Chalberg and Sussman Literary Agency) seeks Fiction, Nonfiction, YA and MG.
• 5 Tips For Writing Suspense.
• How I Got My Literary Agent: Margo Kelly (Young Adult).
• Agent Spotlight: Brent Taylor (TriadaUS Literary Agency) seeks YA, MG and New Adult.
• Follow Chuck Sambuchino on Twitter or find him on Facebook. Learn all about his writing guides on how to get published, how to find a literary agent, and writing a query letter.

The post 7 Literary Agents Seeking Thrillers NOW appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

“How I Got My Agent” is a recurring feature on the Guide to Literary Agents Blog, with this installment featuring Jackie Copleton, author of A DICTIONARY OF MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING. These columns are great ways for you to learn how to find a literary agent. Some tales are of long roads and many setbacks, while others are of good luck and quick signings. If you have a literary agent and would be interested in writing a short guest column for this GLA blog, e-mail me at literaryagent@fwmedia.com and we’ll talk specifics.

Column by Jackie Copleton, debut author of A DICTIONARY OF
MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING (Dec. 2015, Penguin Books). Jackie
Copleton’s novel is inspired by her time living in the beautiful city of
Nagasaki in the 1990s. It is a Richard and Judy book club pick for
summer 2016, was long-listed for the Baileys Women’s Prize for
Fiction 2016 and was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick in 2015.
Follow Jackie on Twitter. 

A long hard road
Boil a packet of desperation. Dollop on some panic. Add a sprinkle of shame. That’s how I landed my agent.

In 2010, I’d given up a journalism job in London to do a writing course in Scotland. By the time I’d finished I had 25,000 words of what I thought I could turn into a novel. I then moved from Glasgow to the Middle East, where the heat left me trapped indoors for most of my time. You can get a lot of writing done when you can’t walk in the sun.

(Why you should only query 6-8 agents at a time.)

Those 25,000 words grew to 200,000. I thought I had the beginnings of three novels when in reality I had none – and no off button. My inner editor was snoozing by the pool.

In 2012 I was back in the UK, working from home as a subeditor for a press agency, which left me with free time to write in the mornings. The words were still flowing but I knew they weren’t right.

Onwards I typed, slowly, keenly, sadly, and with each passing month fewer people asked me, ‘How’s the writing going?’

My job took me down to London to do contract work with my old employer in 2012. Have you ever returned to a working environment where you are miles lower down the food chain than when you left? Tends to focus the mind. The inner critic had a rare old time.

Moving forward
I had to act! I printed off three chapters of the book in the business centre at my hotel. The sun bounced off the glass skyscrapers and canals of Canary Wharf as I stuffed envelopes and licked stamps during my lunch break, my hands shaking. This decisiveness felt like a big deal. More a confession than a statement of intent.

When I finished my shift, I went to one of the pubs where the journalists drank – and left the envelopes. I had to retrieve them the following day with the horror that maybe a former colleague had looked inside and discovered my secret: I wanted to be a published writer.

I chose two agents, both of whom had done talks during my course. The first was a well-respected former Penguin editor based in Edinburgh.

For some reason I decided to include an experimental piece of writing to ‘show my range’, with an opening paragraph that included as many slang terms for vagina as my imagination could summon. I have no idea why. It will not surprise you to read she sent me a rejection letter, where she had changed the title of this piece from ‘Pud’ as in pudendum to ‘Mud’.

I had been named the joint winner of a now defunct prize during my writing course at Glasgow University and sent my second submission to the agency who had sponsored the award. One of their agents wrote back saying my style was too formal for her but she saw I could write. She advised me to get back in touch when I had something new to show her.

I had a choice: throw out the book and start again or ignore the only professional feedback I had received about the novel. I couldn’t dump the work. I knew there was a tale somewhere hiding within those reams of words. I just had to figure out who the narrator was.

Join the Writer’s Digest VIP Program today!
You’ll get a subscription to the magazine, a
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and much more great stuff.

Rewrite, revise, retry
I then spent about a year rewriting what would become A DICTIONARY OF MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING. I decided to tell the story from the perspectives of four women, before figuring out I only needed to focus on the relationship between the mother and daughter. Still I stumbled around, killing off the wrong character before a moment of clarity made me realise Amaterasu, the mother, was my narrator. The plot crystallised from that point on and late in 2013 I decided to send the book out again.

I chose three agents, which I suspect is not best practice, but I was in a hurry once more. I felt the same urgency I’d experienced down in London. I sent one submission to an agent who was also a guest speaker at my writing course; another agent in London based on her warm bio on her agency’s website; and Mark Stanton, of Jenny Brown Associates.

Mark, or Stan as he is known, had worked with a friend of mine on a short story collection that sadly didn’t make it into print. His name popped out while searching through the literary agencies listed in the Writers’ Handbook. He had been shortlisted as agent of the year in the 2011 Bookseller awards, which impressed and intimidated me.

The London agent emailed a couple of days later and asked to read the full novel. Within a week she had sent a no, saying she had to really a love a book to take it on. I never heard from the other agent. Stan had also emailed me, wanting to read the full manuscript, and within a week or so he  suggested we meet up for a chat.

Slow and steady wins the race
I was living in Newcastle in the north-east of England at the time, and he was based twenty miles away. We met in a pub a couple of hours before I had to start work. Many of his clients are sports writers, which happens to be my husband’s job, so the conversation flowed. We were around the same age, he was dressed casually, it all felt nice and relaxed. I didn’t mention my friend. I didn’t want to put him on the spot.

We ended up talking about my main character and Stan gently confirmed what I had feared: she just wasn’t sympathetic enough. Rather than curl into a ball of embarrassment at this critique, I found myself thinking, ‘Yippee, he’s not some stuffy school master fellow who’s going to terrify me with his opinions.’ At the end of the 90-minute meeting, he said these lovely words: “I’d like to represent you.”

(How many markets should you send your novel out to?)

That was just before Christmas in December 2013. During the summer of 2014, after Stan had helped me work on a couple more drafts, he sold the novel to Hutchinson. On July 16, 2015 the book came out in the UK, two days after GO SET A WATCHMAN. I couldn’t begrudge the timing or Harper Lee. The years of panic and desperation had paid off.

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Your new complete and updated instructional guide
to finding an agent is finally here: The 2015 book
GET A LITERARY AGENT shares advice from more 
than 110 literary agents who share advice on querying, 
craft, the submission process, researching agents, and
much more. Filled with all the advice you’ll ever need to
find an agent, this resource makes a great partner book to
the agent database, Guide to Literary Agents.

Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:

• Agent Spotlight: Nikki Terpilowski (Holloway Literary Agency) seeks Fiction, Nonfiction and Children’s.
• Got Rejection Dejection?
• Why Dogs Make Fun Writing Partners.
• 5 Things To Consider Before Writing A Memoir.
• Follow Chuck Sambuchino on Twitter or find him on Facebook. Learn all about his writing guides on how to get published, how to find a literary agent, and writing a query letter.

The post How I Got My Literary Agent: Jackie Copleton appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

“How I Got My Agent” is a recurring feature on the Guide to Literary Agents Blog, with this installment featuring Meghan Rogers, author of CROSSING THE LINE. These columns are great ways for you to learn how to find a literary agent. Some tales are of long roads and many setbacks, while others are of good luck and quick signings. If you have a literary agent and would be interested in writing a short guest column for this GLA blog, e-mail me at literaryagent@fwmedia.com and we’ll talk specifics.

Column by Meghan Rogers, author CROSSING THE LINE (April 2016,
Philomel Books). Meghan has been telling stories since she could talk
and writing creatively since she was first introduced to the concept in
third grade. She spent her high school years completing her first novel
and has been actively writing ever since. After college, Meghan went
on to work with high school writers while earning her MFA in Creative
Writing from Rosemont College. She is currently living in the Philadelphia
area and working on the next Raven Files novel. Follow her on Instagram or Twitter. 

Straight-up Querying
When I started seriously querying, I read a lot of  “How I Got My Agent” posts from published authors. At the time, it felt like a lot of stories—more than half at the very least—discussed how authors either went to a conference and met their agent, or entered a contest and caught their agent’s attention, or knew someone who was able to get their book in front of an agent.

(Literary agents explain and define book genres.)

I was in my early twenties and in grad school. I couldn’t afford to go to conferences. The contests I came across either weren’t a fit for my book or had bad timing. And I knew no one in a position to put my book in front of an agent (or anyone in publishing for that matter). So when I found stories about authors who got their agent from straight-up querying, I clung to them. And now I can add my own to that list.

My first attempt at querying, I don’t completely count. Short version: I wrote my first book in high school, and it was SO not query ready. But I didn’t totally realize that and I tried anyway. I only sent about 10-15 queries before pulling it back.

Write and Query: Take Two
I wrote another book in college, which I then revised my first year in grad school. This is when I seriously started querying. I cultivated a list of agents I thought would be a good fit through querytracker.com and dove in. I didn’t get any interest.

About couple months in, I read a query tip (I can’t remember where I saw it) that suggested one way to find agents is to read the acknowledgements of books you like/think your writing is similar to, since most authors thank their agents in the acknowledgements. I grabbed a bunch of books I had read recently and liked. Some agents I’d already queried, but one I hadn’t was Michelle Wolfson.  Not only that, she was the agent of not one but two books I’d recently read and enjoyed. I sent my query off to her almost at once.

The biggest literary agent database anywhere
is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the
most recent updated edition online at a discount.

Michelle is very upfront with what you can expect when querying her. She only responds to queries if she’s interested, but if she is interested, she gets back to you very quickly. And she answered my email in less than half an hour. It turned out to be rejection, but one full of encouragement and thoughtful feedback. She also asked me to keep her in mind for the future if this book didn’t get me an agent. I was thrilled that she’d taken the time to answer me at all. Aside from that, her feedback also hit on something in the book that that wasn’t sitting quite right with me, though I hadn’t been able to put my finger on why. I felt like Michelle got what I was trying to do, even if I wasn’t quite pulling it off yet. I actually remember saying out loud, “that’s my agent.”

I pulled the book back to revise based on Michelle’s comments and then continued querying it while I wrote CROSSING THE LINE, which took about a year.

New book, same agent
CROSSING THE LINE is very different from my previous project. It’s a YA spy thriller where my other project was a YA fantasy. I wasn’t sure if it was too different to go back to Michelle with, but she was my first choice agent so I was going to give it a shot. The one problem was that Michelle wasn’t open to queries at the time.

I started querying the book to other agents while regularly checking Michelle’s website and twitter feed waiting for her to open again. Then, about six weeks into querying, she did and I pounced. Again, Michelle got back to me quickly, and this time she asked for a partial. This eventually led to a full request, then an offer for representation.

The two big takeaways: 1) Querying can work!, and 2) when agents say, “keep me in mind for the future,” it’s not just a line. They really mean it. (It’s also pretty cool when they’ve in some way responded to two very different projects.)

Also worth noting: It was about eight months between Michelle asking for the partial and her offering to represent me (these things take time). And in that time, I queried a total of 111 agents. Aside from Michelle, only one other agent asked to read pages (a full) and that agent passed.

(Literary agents examine and define complicated book genres & definitions.)

So not only can you get an agent from querying, but that cliché—the one that says, “You only need one ‘yes’”— it’s true. It’s literally all I got. But there’s nothing that says that ‘yes’ can’t come from your first choice dream agent.

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Your new complete and updated instructional guide
to finding an agent is finally here: The 2015 book
GET A LITERARY AGENT shares advice from more 
than 110 literary agents who share advice on querying, 
craft, the submission process, researching agents, and
much more. Filled with all the advice you’ll ever need to
find an agent, this resource makes a great partner book to
the agent database, Guide to Literary Agents.

Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:

• Polish Your Work Before Submitting: 6 Revision Tips for Writers.
• Agent Jordy Albert puts out a call for more young adult, middle grade and new adult.
• “If you can’t figure out what’s wrong with a story, put it away for a few months.”
• Do writers need an outside edit before querying agents?
• Querying agent Suzie Townsend? Read this story from a client of hers. 
• Between Acceptance and Final Product — What Happens After You Sell Your Book?
• Follow Chuck Sambuchino on Twitter or find him on Facebook. Learn all about his writing guides on how to get published, how to find a literary agent, and writing a query letter.

The post How I Got My Literary Agent: Meghan Rogers appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Suzy Evans of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.

About Suzy: Suzy is an attorney, author, and agent who holds a Ph.D. in history from UC Berkeley. Her most recent books include MACHIAVELLI FOR MOMS (Simon & Schuster) and FORGOTTEN CRIMES: THE HOLOCAUST AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. She is also a ghostwriter for a #1 New York Times best-selling author with more than 25 million copies in print and her first children’s book will be published by HarperCollins in 2018.

(4 ways besides query letters you can contact literary agents.)

The biggest literary agent database anywhere
is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the
most recent updated edition online at a discount.

She is Seeking:  In the adult market, Suzy is particularly on the hunt for great serious nonfiction, especially by historians who are looking to make a transition from an academic to trade readership and journalists who have something unique and significant to say. She’s also on the lookout for smart parenting books with useful, original hooks that fill a gap in the market; food, cooking, health and diet-related titles, especially culinary histories of all flavors; sports books with smart crossover appeal in other genres, especially history and philosophy (she’d love to find the next Golf in the Kingdom or Zen and the Art of Archery!); self-help of every stripe by authors with national platforms and riveting, elegantly-written memoir (recent favorites include Barbarian Days and When Breath Becomes Air), as well as popular culture, humor, and small quirky books that make her smile and think about the world in entirely new and unexpected ways.

On the children’s front, Suzy is looking for engaging, original nonfiction that pops off the page and makes kids excited about learning; wacky/hilarious MG commercial fiction with series potential; and YA graphic novels that bring history, literature and fascinating historical figures (think Socrates! Machiavelli! Queen Elizabeth!) to life.

She also has a soft spot for heartwarming, coming-of-age MG works; contemporary YA fiction that tackles difficult issues in bold, daring ways and with inventive formats that can be brought into the classroom to stimulate meaningful discussion and thought; and sweet, lyrical picture books that capture the imagination and call for multiple readings (favorites include Stellaluna and The Cat Who Walked Across France.) She’d also love to find an exciting, high-concept YA thriller that has “movie!”written all over it.

Please note that Suzy is not looking for: romance, sci-fi/ fantasy, or anything with vampires, unless it’s a history of vampires, then she’d be happy to take a look!

(Hate writing queries? Find agents through contests, referrals, critiques and conferences.)

How to Submit: For fiction, please send a synopsis and the first chapter of your polished manuscript pasted below your query (quick, friendly tip: resist the temptation to hit “send” too quickly. Revise, revise, and revise and THEN hit send). For nonfiction, send your query with a concise author bio to suzy@dijkstraagency.com.

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Your new complete and updated instructional guide
to finding an agent is finally here: The 2015 book
GET A LITERARY AGENT shares advice from more 
than 110 literary agents who share advice on querying, 
craft, the submission process, researching agents, and
much more. Filled with all the advice you’ll ever need to
find an agent, this resource makes a great partner book to
the agent database, Guide to Literary Agents.

Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:

• An Old Idea Can Still Be A Good Idea.
• How To Overcome The Sophomore Slump; Author Jolina Petersheim Shares 5 Tips.
• Successful Queries: Literary Agent Jim McCarthy and The Midnight Thief.
• Agent Spotlight: Jessica Watterson (Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency) seeks Women’s Fiction, Adult and New Adult Romance.
• Follow Chuck Sambuchino on Twitter or find him on Facebook. Learn all about his writing guides on how to get published, how to find a literary agent, and writing a query letter.

The post New Literary Agent Alert: Suzy Evans of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

“How I Got My Agent” is a recurring feature on the Guide to Literary Agents Blog, with this installment featuring Cate Holahan, author of THE WIDOWER’S WIFE. These columns are great ways for you to learn how to find a literary agent. Some tales are of long roads and many setbacks, while others are of good luck and quick signings. If you have a literary agent and would be interested in writing a short guest column for this GLA blog, e-mail me at literaryagent@fwmedia.com and we’ll talk specifics.

Column by Catherine “Cate” Holahan, author of THE WIDOWER’S
WIFE (Aug. 9, 2016, Crooked Lane Books). Cate is an award-winning
journalist turned fiction author. Her articles have appeared in BusinessWeek,
The Boston Globe, The Record and on plenty of Web pages. She lives in
New Jersey with her husband, two daughters, ages 6 and 4, and dog. 
Follow her on Twitter. 

Nerves abound at conferences
I talk too fast. Blame a Queens birth. An upbringing in the New York City suburbs. That post-breakup binge on Gilmore Girls. Whatever the reason, I have a regrettable tendency to blab away like a verbal bullet train, words whizzing at a speed that defies the mechanics of the frenulum linguae, aka that stringy muscle keeping the tongue tethered to the mouth.

(Attending a writers’ conference soon? Learn how to prepare.)

I talk faster when anxious. And, I was never as nervous as when pitching the man who would eventually publish my first book.

We met at a writer’s conference. I’d quit my journalism job with the promise to get serious about “real writing.” Everyday, I’d worked as though on imminent deadline. Soon, I had my first novel—a thriller about a budding sociopath and the undocumented nanny hired by the kid’s oblivious, overworked parents.

I queried agent after agent, starting at A and working my way through the alphabet. It was a decent day when someone rejected me by full name. It was a better day when someone said no with a word of encouragement about my writing.

The New York Pitch
As the better days grew farther apart, I decided maybe there was something wrong with my story that I couldn’t see. So, I spent more money that my book wasn’t earning on the Algonkian Writer’s Conference.

The New York Pitch proved the best decision of my fiction writing career—though it didn’t feel that way at first. I was assigned to a small workshop with the woman who would become my agent, Paula Munier. She critiqued our query letters and first pages explaining what sells and what makes industry professionals ship things to the slush pile. Afterward, we had the opportunity to pitch real editors.

Do you have an idea for a great novel? Are you at a loss
for where to start? Look no further. You Can Write a 
Novel, 2nd Edition, gives you concrete, proven
techniques to get from idea to manuscript to bookstore.

My future publisher, then an editor at St. Martin’s Press, was first up. He walked into the room and out went all the confidence I’d built up during small group critiques. Here was my version of the Nursery Magic Fairy. I was a velveteen writer and he could make me a real one. My stomach clenched. I felt mildly ill. My underarms were moist despite the blasting air conditioner.

My future agent asked who wanted to go first. I volunteered. Better to go before I turned green. I stood in front of the seated editor, a court jester before the king, and launched into my elevator pitch.

Was I selling a novel or auctioning livestock? Words jumped from my mouth, fleeing a sinking ship only to drown beneath waves of additional verbiage. At the end, the editor blinked and said something about not being into evil children.

And that was it. I blew it. Spectacularly.

Taking a chance
Fortunately, my future agent had seen some of my writing and decided to take a chance on me. She encouraged me to age up my villain, perhaps put her in high school. The subsequent novel, DARK TURNS, sold to Crooked Lane Books, acquired by the same editor who had rejected its predecessor.

My second novel with Crooked Lane, THE WIDOWER’S WIFE, comes out Aug. 9. In a starred review for the upcoming book, Kirkus said that the thriller “really will keep you reading all night” and praised my “uncanny skill in pacing.”

(Literary agents share advice on how to approach them at a writers’ conference and pitch your work successfully.)

Pacing! Thankfully, my fingers have better control of the English language than my mouth… And my agent does the talking.

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Your new complete and updated instructional guide
to finding an agent is finally here: The 2015 book
GET A LITERARY AGENT shares advice from more 
than 110 literary agents who share advice on querying, 
craft, the submission process, researching agents, and
much more. Filled with all the advice you’ll ever need to
find an agent, this resource makes a great partner book to
the agent database, Guide to Literary Agents.

Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:

• Agent Spotlight: Rena Rossner (The Deborah Harris Agency) seeks Children’s, Fiction, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy.
• How I Got My Literary Agent: Elizabeth Blackwell (Fiction, Fantasy).
• 3 Ways Military Service Has Made Me A Better Writer.
• 6 Steps To Seeing Your Book Published.
• Follow Chuck Sambuchino on Twitter or find him on Facebook. Learn all about his writing guides on how to get published, how to find a literary agent, and writing a query letter.

The post How I Got My Literary Agent: Cate Holahan appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Shannon Powers of McIntosh & Otis, Inc.) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.

About Shannon: Shannon Powers is a graduate of New York University. She began her career in publishing at McIntosh and Otis as an intern in 2011, and then went on to intern at The Book Report Network and W.W. Norton & Company. She has also worked as a bookseller. She returned to M&O in 2014, where she assists Shira Hoffman and Christa Heschke and is also looking to build her own list as a junior agent. Twitter: @S_E_Powers

(In the middle of querying? Here are some helpful tips.)

The biggest literary agent database anywhere
is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the
most recent updated edition online at a discount.

Currently Seeking: Shannon is interested in representing a range of both adult and children’s genres. Above all, she looks for projects with a strong hook, smart plotting, memorable characters, and an addictive voice. She is open to both lighter projects and projects with a darker edge. For adult, her reading interests include literary fiction, mystery, horror, popular history, and romance. In YA and middle grade, she is searching for mysteries and thrillers with high emotional stakes, projects with romantic elements (whether fun or angsty), horror, light sci-fi or fantasy, and contemporary with a unique premise.

How to Submit:  To query Shannon Powers please email SPquery@mcintoshandotis.com. To submit, please email our agents at the email addresses listed below. To find out more about our agents and their interests please visit our Agents page. We ask that all text be pasted in the body of the email as outlined in the submission guidelines. Emails containing attachments will not be opened and will be automatically deleted due to security reasons.

(How long should you wait before following up with an agent?)

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Want to build your visibility and sell more books?
Create Your Writer Platform shows you how to
promote yourself and your books through social
media, public speaking, article writing, branding,
and more. Order the book from WD at a discount.

The post New Literary Agent Alert: Shannon Powers of McIntosh & Otis, Inc. appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

Domestic noir is a growing genre. Given successes such as Paula Hawkin’s GIRL ON A TRAIN and Gillian Flynn’s GONE GIRL, it appears that regular domestic situations are a fertile breeding ground for suspense thrillers. Everyday dramas play out around the kitchen tables and the bedrooms of family homes. In fact, generally speaking, the more life is presented as “perfect’ to the outside world, the more we find very strange goings-on behind closed doors.

Column by Siobhán MacDonald, author of TWISTED RIVER
(March 2016, Penguin Books). Siobhán studied in university in
Galway, Ireland. She then worked as a writer for the technology
industry in Scotland, and then in France, before returning to Ireland.
She now lives in Limerick with her husband and two sons. Follow her on Twitter. 

We only have to look to the bizarre and dubious private behavior of high-profile people in public life to attest to this. Of course, such behavior is not confined only to those in the public eye. Individuals who appear to be normal, professional, respectable, family people can just as easily turn out to be sinister and deviant. Perhaps this is exactly why domestic noir is so powerful. It’s unsettling precisely because it lies darkly somewhere between the creepy and the familiar.

(Literary terms defined — the uncommon and common.)

My novel, TWISTED RIVER, is a chilling tale of domestic noir that recounts what happens when a seemingly ideal house-swap goes horrendously wrong. In this thriller two families come to an arrangement about swapping homes on either side of the Atlantic, one—a quirky house at Curragower Falls in Limerick, and the other—a smart Manhattan apartment at Riverside Drive, New York. They have never met in person, only on the Internet.

On the surface, the O’Brien and Harvey families are similar. Two professional couples, each with two kids roughly the same age. Both families badly need a holiday as they are going through troubled times. However, as the holiday unfolds, they soon realize that rather than soothe their ills they have unwittingly stepped into the dark spaces the other has left behind.

Hook agents, editors and readers immediately.
Check out Les Edgerton’s guide, HOOKED, to
learn about how your fiction can pull readers in.

Domestic Noir allows the reader to get under the skin of the characters and to explore what’s going on in their heads—their wants, desires, and motivations. It allows for increased voyeurism. No longer is it enough for this new breed of savvy readers to know who committed the crime, or how they committed it. These readers want to know far more. They want to get involved in the psychology of a crime—why a villain did something as well as how they did it.

It’s fair to say that Domestic Noir draws much of its appeal from characters that are generally engaging. Certainly for me, when characters are flawed, they’re at their most intriguing. Often, the reader is never quite sure who the villain is—perhaps that too is part of its appeal. Readers are allowed to become armchair detectives, solving crimes from afar. They’re allowed to connect with their inner Sherlock Holmes from the comfort of their living rooms or their train commute.

(What does that one word mean? Read definitions of unique & unusual literary words.)

What happens to relationships of ordinary people when they’re put under pressure both from inside and outside relationships makes for engrossing reading. People do strange things and react bizarrely when under pressure. Everyday life can turn on a dime and catastrophic events sometimes happen out of nowhere. Someone can just be in the wrong place at the wrong time, say the wrong thing to the wrong person, or simply make a small mistake that snowballs into something grievous and sinister. Domestic Noir explores these many possibilities and extrapolates on everyday situations that we can all identify with.

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Your new complete and updated instructional guide
to finding an agent is finally here: The 2015 book
GET A LITERARY AGENT shares advice from more 
than 110 literary agents who share advice on querying, 
craft, the submission process, researching agents, and
much more. Filled with all the advice you’ll ever need to
find an agent, this resource makes a great partner book to
the agent database, Guide to Literary Agents.

Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:

• Polish Your Work Before Submitting: 6 Revision Tips for Writers.
• Agent Jordy Albert puts out a call for more young adult, middle grade and new adult.
• “If you can’t figure out what’s wrong with a story, put it away for a few months.”
• Do writers need an outside edit before querying agents?
• Querying agent Suzie Townsend? Read this story from a client of hers. 
• Between Acceptance and Final Product — What Happens After You Sell Your Book?
• Follow Chuck Sambuchino on Twitter or find him on Facebook. Learn all about his writing guides on how to get published, how to find a literary agent, and writing a query letter.

The post The Lure of Domestic Noir appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Annie Hwang of Folio Literary Management) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.

About Annie: Originally from Los Angeles, Annie first worked in journalism before moving to New York to pursue her love of book publishing. Since joining Folio Literary Management she has had the pleasure of working with both debut and seasoned authors alike. Find her on Twitter: @AnnieAHwang. (On Tuesday, August 30, 2016, Annie is teaching a webinar for Writer’s Digest called “The First Impression: How to Get Your Novel Noticed with Stronger First Pages.” All attendees get their first few manuscript pages critiqued by her. Sign up for it here.)

(11 literary agents share what NOT to write in your query letter.)

The biggest literary agent database anywhere
is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the
most recent updated edition online at a discount.

Currently Seeking: She specializes in all categories of literary and upmarket fiction. She’s especially drawn to historical novels and psychological thrillers. In addition, she loves working with debut authors who have a gift for storytelling and are able immerse her deep within a well-built world in the space of a few sentences. Braided narratives, layered plots, and characters with deep emotional resonance all occupy a strong place in her heart . Annie is also open to nonfiction in the categories of pop science, diet/health/fitness, food, lifestyle, humor, pop culture, and select narrative nonfiction. (On Tuesday, August 30, 2016, Annie is teaching a webinar for Writer’s Digest called “The First Impression: How to Get Your Novel Noticed with Stronger First Pages.” All attendees get their first few manuscript pages critiqued by her. Sign up for it here.)

How to Submit: Please submit queries to annie [at] foliolit.com. Please include the query letter and first ten pages of your manuscript or proposal in the body of the email. “Please be sure to write QUERY in the subject line as this will ensure I do not miss your letter.”

(Query letter pet peeves — Agents Tell All.)

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Want to build your visibility and sell more books?
Create Your Writer Platform shows you how to
promote yourself and your books through social
media, public speaking, article writing, branding,
and more. Order the book from WD at a discount.

The post New Literary Agent Alert: Annie Hwang of Folio Literary Management appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Jess Dallow of Rebecca Friedman Literary Agency) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.

About Jess: Having grown up with the same name as her favorite Sweet Valley High twin, Jess has always had a love for books, especially those that feature well developed, strong female characters. She is fascinated with complex characters and a world that she can fall in love with, stories that make her want to sob and laugh within minutes of each other, and a book that she can’t put down no matter what time it is or what rerun of SVU is on. Jess is interested in both YA and adult literary and commercial fiction with a focus in romance, thrillers, and women’s fiction. She has a BFA in Writing for Film and Television from the University of the Arts and worked in entertainment for eight years before returning to her home state of NY where she worked at a literary agency for two years before joining Rebecca Friedman Literary Agency. Email: jess@rfliterary.com; Twitter: @JLDallow

 (16 things to do prior to sending your work out to agents & editors.)

The biggest literary agent database anywhere
is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the
most recent updated edition online at a discount.

Currently Seeking: Jess specializes in YA and adult, with a keen interest in contemporary, thriller, romance, and women’s fiction.

How to Submit: Queries for Jess Dallow should include a query letter and your first chapter (pasted into the email, not to exceed fifteen double-spaced pages) and should be sent to Jess@rfliterary.com.

(Before you send out your query, look over a submission checklist.)

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• June 4, 2016: The Writers’ Conference of Cleveland (Cleveland, OH)
• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 15, 2016: Pittsburgh Writers Conference (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)

Want to build your visibility and sell more books?
Create Your Writer Platform shows you how to
promote yourself and your books through social
media, public speaking, article writing, branding,
and more. Order the book from WD at a discount.

The post New Literary Agent Alert: Jess Dallow of Rebecca Friedman Literary Agency appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Tracy Marchini of BookEnds) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.

About Tracy:  After four years as a Literary Agents Assistant at Curtis Brown, Tracy Marchini left to pursue her own editorial business and to earn her MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons College. Her editorial clients have gone on to secure representation, sell books to traditional publishers, win awards and become bestsellers in the UK. She’s looking forward to being able to work with her BookEnds clients throughout their careers and to (hopefully!) see them grow as authors in the same way.

(How long should you wait before following up with an agent?)

Growing up, Tracy made it a personal goal to read every Nancy Drew Case Files in her school’s library and still has a soft spot for a good girl detective story. As an adult, she loves the sense of possibility in children’s and young adult literature – and can still empathize with the soul-crushing feeling that is mandatory gym class.

The biggest literary agent database anywhere
is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the
most recent updated edition online at a discount.

She is seeking: Tracy Marchini is looking for picture book, middle grade and young adult manuscripts across most genres, including contemporary, mysteries, thrillers, magical realism, historical fiction, and non-fiction. For picture book fiction, she’s particularly interested in manuscripts that are laugh out loud funny or deliciously dark. For middle grade and young adult, she’s interested in underdogs, strong female characters and/or unreliable narrators. She believes that it’s important for readers of all backgrounds to see themselves reflected in the media they consume, and is looking to bring that diversity to her list.

How to Submit: Submissions to Tracy can be sent to TMSubmissions@bookendsliterary.com.

(Secrets to querying literary agents: 10 questions answered.)

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Want to build your visibility and sell more books?
Create Your Writer Platform shows you how to
promote yourself and your books through social
media, public speaking, article writing, branding,
and more. Order the book from WD at a discount.

Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:

• How To Write Middle Grade Horror: 7 Tips.
• Agent Spotlight: Taylor Haggerty (Waxman Leavell Literary Agency) seeks YA, Historical Fiction and Historical Romance.
• How To Critique A Friend’s Writing.
• Agent Spotlight: Allison Hunter (Inkwell Management) seeks Literary and Commercial Fiction and Nonfiction.
• Follow Chuck Sambuchino on Twitter or find him on Facebook. Learn all about his writing guides on how to get published, how to find a literary agent, and writing a query letter.

The post New Literary Agent Alert: Tracy Marchini of BookEnds appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Anna Worrall of The Gernert Company) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.

About Anna: Anna is the Director of Marketing and Social Media and a literary agent at The Gernert Company, which she joined in 2010. After graduating from NYU with a degree in history, she worked in the marketing department at an academic publisher in her native Philadelphia before moving to Hungary, where she taught conversational English and traveled extensively. Twitter: @annaworrall

(How to pitch agents at a writers’ conference.)

The biggest literary agent database anywhere
is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the
most recent updated edition online at a discount.

 Currently Seeking: She’s looking to represent smart women’s literary and commercial fiction, psychological thrillers, and narrative nonfiction. 

How to Submit: Queries by e-mail should be directed to: info@thegernertco.com. Please indicate in your letter which agent you are querying. You can visit the OUR TEAM section of the website to get a sense of who might be a good fit for your work. If you have previously corresponded with one of their agents and choose to query another, please let them know of any communication history in your letter. Please do not send e-mails directly to individual agents, even if their email addresses are available elsewhere online. The agency asks that you do not phone the office regarding unsolicited manuscripts for any reason.

(Headed to a conference? Learn how to approach an agent.)

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Want to build your visibility and sell more books?
Create Your Writer Platform shows you how to
promote yourself and your books through social
media, public speaking, article writing, branding,
and more. Order the book from WD at a discount.

The post New Literary Agent Alert: Anna Worrall of The Gernert Company appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

Like most unpublished writers, I believed that there were only two paths to getting my words and thoughts before the world’s readers. I could go the traditional route of sending out query letters, and hope my brilliant writing would be plucked from the slush pile on a discerning agent’s desk. She would then successfully pitch it to an editor, and a lucrative contract would follow.

Column by John Keyse-Walker, author of SUN, SAND MURDER
(Sept. 2016, Minotaur Books). John practiced law for thirty years
before retiring and commencing his writing career. He is an avid
salt- and freshwater angler, tennis player, kayaker, and an
accomplished cook. He has travelled extensively both inside and
outside the US. He and his wife, Irene, live part of the year in Ohio
and part in Florida. SUN, SAND MURDER, his first novel, is the
winner of the 2015 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America
First Crime Novel Award. Connect with him on Facebook.

Or I could do it all myself—cut agent, editor, and publisher out of the process, cast my words on the electronic wind, and hope that my own editing and marketing efforts would cause readers to pick my work from the Amazon river of self-published authors.

(Hate writing queries? Here are 4 other ways you can reach out to agents.)

Neither course seemed particularly attractive, and I didn’t feel like one was more likely to succeed than the other. But then I learned of another method available to land that publishing contract with one of the big traditional New York publishers—entering a writing contest. In the genre of mystery and crime fiction, the area I am most familiar with, it was the path to publication taken by authors Stefanie Pintoff, C. B. McKenzie, Les Roberts, Doug Corleone, Linda Rodriguez, Donna Andrews, Eleanor Kuhns, Mary Miley Theobald, Christine Barber, and Tricia Fields, to name a few.

It was also my route to publication. After a try using the time-honored agent-query-send-some-pages-not-for-me method, I entered the Mystery Writers of America/Minotaur Books First Crime Novel Competition and won the 2015 award. The prize was a $10,000 advance and a publishing contract with Minotaur Books, the U.S. mystery/crime imprint of international publishing giant Macmillan—my first book, SUN, SAND MURDER, released on September 13. The contest win opened a number of doors; I now have an agent, a second book written, and a third in process.

The MWA contest I won is not the only one available to the unpublished writer. Even considering only the mystery/crime fiction field, there are a fair number of contests that offer publication to the winner, including the Tony Hillerman Prize, Malice Domestic, and Private Eye Writers of America. There are also contests for romance, children’s, and literary fiction writers. Dig a little and you will probably find contests in your specific genre that have a publishing contract as the prize.

Are you a subscriber to Writer’s Digest magazine
yet? If not, get a discounted one-year sub here.

I’ve heard some writers say contests are a waste of effort because the odds of success are too long, with thousands of entries in each. That is not the actual case. There are surprisingly modest numbers of entries in most contests. The MWA First Crime Novel contest usually receives just shy of four hundred entries. The Hillerman Prize usually sees around two hundred. Those odds are certainly no worse than the ones faced in most literary agent’s slush piles, and may be better. Also, keep in mind that contests are not about who can write the best query letter, the factor on which most opportunities with literary agents hinge. In contests, the judges, usually writers and editors, actually read your work, or at least some of it. If query letters are not your strong suit, a contest may be the way to go.

Perhaps the best kept secret about contests is that you don’t need to win in order to receive a publishing contract. While most contests have only a single formal winner, and many do not name who the finalists are, those who make the final cut are read by editors/judges in the sponsoring publishing houses, and are sometimes offered contracts even if they don’t win. I personally know of one author who followed this route to a first contract and who has gone on to multiple contracts since that time. And even if you don’t get a contract the first time around, those who read your work may like what they see, and remember you the next time your name or your work is in front of them.

(4 ways besides query letters you can contact literary agents.)

So if you are trying to find your way through the crowds of writers to a publishing contract with a traditional publisher, consider taking the third path—enter a contest. The result may change your writing life.

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Your new complete and updated instructional guide
to finding an agent is finally here: The 2015 book
GET A LITERARY AGENT shares advice from more 
than 110 literary agents who share advice on querying, 
craft, the submission process, researching agents, and
much more. Filled with all the advice you’ll ever need to
find an agent, this resource makes a great partner book to
the agent database, Guide to Literary Agents.

Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:

• 6 Rules For Writing A Medical Thriller.
• Agent Spotlight: Holly Lorincz (MacGregor Literary Agency) seeks Historical Romance, Westerns and Fiction.
• How I Got My Literary Agent: Maria Mutch (Memoir).
• How I Sold My Supernatural Thriller By Matt Manochio.
• Follow Chuck Sambuchino on Twitter or find him on Facebook. Learn all about his writing guides on how to get published, how to find a literary agent, and writing a query letter.

The post Contests: A Non-Traditional Route to Publication appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Amelia Appel of McIntosh & Otis, Inc.) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.

About Amelia: Amelia Appel is a graduate of Hamilton College. Prior to joining the McIntosh & Otis team, Amelia interned at HSG Agency and Writers House, where she was later an assistant. She joined M&O in 2014 as Elizabeth Winick Rubinstein’s assistant and is currently seeking to build her own list as a junior agent. Twitter: @AmeliaLAppel

(What does a literary agent want to see when they Google you?)

The biggest literary agent database anywhere
is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the
most recent updated edition online at a discount.

Currently Seeking: Amelia is looking to represent primarily adult fiction with some YA. For adult, she is most interested in literary fiction, mystery, thriller, historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy, and horror.  Projects with a smart, distinct voice, a fantastic setting to jump into, and/or a witty protagonist are all up her alley. For YA in particular she’s interested in stories with a savvy protagonist and a slightly dark tone that deals with serious coming-of-age issues well.

How to Submit: To query Amelia Appel please email AAquery@mcintoshandotis.com. To submit, please email our agents at the email addresses listed below. To find out more about our agents and their interests please visit our Agents page. We ask that all text be pasted in the body of the email as outlined in the submission guidelines. Emails containing attachments will not be opened and will be automatically deleted due to security reasons.

(Will a literary agent search for you online after you query them?)

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Want to build your visibility and sell more books?
Create Your Writer Platform shows you how to
promote yourself and your books through social
media, public speaking, article writing, branding,
and more. Order the book from WD at a discount.

The post New Literary Agent Alert: Amelia Appel of McIntosh & Otis, Inc. appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

The book is out and available everywhere books or sold — in major bookstores and online (WD Shop, Amazon, Bn.com)!

The new 2017 edition of the Guide to Literary Agents is out, all updated and packed with info. I realize there are other places you can turn to for information on agents, but the Guide to Literary Agents has always prided itself as being the biggest (we list almost every agent) and the most thorough (guidelines, sales, agent by agent breakdowns, etc.). It’s a huge Yellow Pages of agents, with interviews and query examples and profiles of new agents seeking clients now. That’s why it’s been around for 26 years and that’s why it’s sold more than 360,000 copies. It works—and if you keep reading, I’ll prove it to you below with proof from more than 50 people.

Buy it here at on WritersDigestShop.com a discount. Need more reasons to buy? How about some testimonials below from these very cool people.

THE GIVEAWAY!!! Comment on this post and just say anything nice about any element of Writer’s Digest you enjoy — from a blog post to a class or a book or anything else. In three weeks (deadline October 20, 2016), I will pick 3 winners randomly to win a copy of the book! It’s that easy. And if you optionally tweet news of this giveaway, you will get 2 entries into the contest instead of just 1. Just post the following tweet, and leave your Twitter handle in your comment when you comment below: Giveaway: Writer’s Digest is giving away 3 copies of the new 2017 GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS http://tinyurl.com/jjboo8z via @chucksambuchino.

1. Anise Eden, author of ALL THE BROKEN PLACES

“The Guide to Literary Agents blog has been a wonderful resource for me over the years.”

2. Emily France, author of SIGNS OF YOU

“It was the Guide to Literary Agents that I studied like a textbook and that ultimately helped me land my agent. I’ll be forever grateful for your guidance!”

3. Gretchen Kelly, author of SUPERHEROES DON’T EAT VEGGIE BURGERS.

“When I was looking for an agent, I spent hours reading Guide to Literary Agents.”

4. Martha Kelly, author of the NYT bestseller LILAC GIRLS

“I actually met you briefly at a writers conference in Las Vegas a few years ago, bought your Guide to Literary Agents there, went home, queried agents listed in it and that led to representation by Alexandra Machinist and then to Lilac Girls being acquired by Ballantine. So thank you!”

5. William Belcher, author of LAY DOWN YOUR WEARY TUNE

“I found my agent with Guide to Literary Agents. Truly, I think your advice to look for new agents who are actively building their client list is right on, especially for those writers who fly a little under the radar like myself.”

6. E. Katherine Kottaras, author of THE BEST POSSIBLE ANSWER

“I relied on Guide to Literary Agents while I was in the drafting and querying stage. I recommend you to my creative writing students all the time!”

7. Deborah Wolf, author of THE DRAGON’S LEGACY

“I have been an avid reader of Writer’s Digest for as long as I can remember, and an aspiring author even longer than that. I found my agent (Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media) through a Guide to Literary Agents new agent spotlight.”

8. Renee Adhieh, author of the THE WRATH AND THE DAWN (Penguin/Putnam 2015) and 2 more books:

“The first book I ever bought when I began my publishing journey was the Guide to Literary Agents. And it’s one of the first things I recommend to any aspiring writer.”

9. Andria Williams, author of the debut novel THE LONGEST NIGHT (Random House):

“I actually owe you a debt of gratitude.I was writing a novel on my own, no real literary-world connections. But when I had a polished draft of the novel, I went to the bookstore and got your Guide to Literary Agents. Wrote a bunch of ‘cold’ query letters, found my agent, and she got my book published for me. It felt like a fairy tale! I owe it in large part to your book!”

10. Robert Glinski, author of the debut novel THE FRIENDSHIP OF CRIMINALS

“I know the Guide to Literary Agents quite well! I pored it over [when I was trying to get published].”

11. Camille Griep, author of the debut novel LETTERS TO ZELL

“Thanks so much for reaching out. Your timing is a wonderful coincidence — just yesterday I recommended the GLA to a couple of friends who are starting the process of agent hunting. It’s the best resource out there for authors wanting to keep a pulse on the who, where, and how of agenting.”

12. Lee Kelly, author of the debut novel CITY OF SAVAGES (Saga Press), which she sold in a two-book deal:

“The Guide to Literary Agents has been on my nightstand for years and I swear by it. GLA is an invaluable guide to navigating the publishing world. I used it on my road to finding my agent, and would recommend it to any writer at the beginning of her own journey.”

13. Lindsay Cummings, author of the YA thriller THE MURDER COMPLEX (Greenwillow) and several other novels:

“I got my agent, Louise Fury of The Bent Agency by using Guide to Literary Agents.”

14. Caroline Carlson, author of THE VERY NEARLY HONORABLE LEAGUE OF PIRATES: MAGIC MARKS THE SPOT (HarperCollins) and its sequels:

“I used the Guide to Literary Agents in my agent search!”

15. Annie England Noblin, represented by Lotus Lane Literary:

“Anytime anyone asks me where to find a list of agents, I always direct them to the Guide to Literary Agents. It has been an invaluable resource. Thank you so much.”

16. Kim Baker, author of the middle grade debut, PICKLE: THE (FORMERLY) ANONYMOUS PRANK CLUB OF FOUNTAIN POINT MIDDLE SCHOOL (Roaring Brook)

“I read the Guide to Literary Agents religiously when I was planning submissions”

17. Kate Maddison, author of debut THE INCREDIBLE CHARLOTTE SYCAMORE (Holiday House)

“The Guide to Literary Agents was the very first book I bought on the business of writing, several years ago. I remember the bookstore, the time of day, and what the young cashier looked like who sold it to me because she struck up a conversation, as she too hoped to get published one day. I read that thing from cover to cover!”

18. Jeri Westerson, author of the fantasy BLOOD LANCE: A MEDIEVAL NOIR and several other novels

“The whole writing industry is so confusing. Where to start? I started with the Writer’s Digest Guide to Literary Agents, where I not only created my list of agents and game plan, I received all sorts of excellent information in crafting my winning query letter. I recommend it to anyone starting out. And yes, I did get an agent through the Guide.”

19. Gennifer Albin, author of young adult novels CREWEL and ALTERED (FSG)

“I’m a big fan of the Guide to Literary Agents. I got a lot of mileage out of mine, when I was looking for an agent, and I frequently recommend it.”

20. Sharon Gilchrest O’Neill, author of A Short Guide to a Happy Marriage: The Essentials For Long-lasting Togetherness (Cider Mill Press)

“For some time I had been working on queries to publishers that would accept manuscripts directly from authors, with moments of hope, but no contract. I read the Guide to Literary Agents and thought, maybe it’s time to consider an agent! I immediately sent out several queries and later that same day my manuscript was requested by Jackie Meyer of Whimsy Literary Agency in New York. The following day Jackie asked for my okay to send the manuscript on to a publisher she had in mind, and within 24 hours she had sold my book!”

21. Lynne Raimondo, author of the mystery debut, DANTE’S WOOD (Seventh Street Books)

“The Guide to Literary Agents is how I found my agent [Brooks Sherman of FinePrint Literary].”

22. Marisha Chamberlain, author of the literary fiction novel The Rose Variations (Soho):

“Guide to Literary Agents oriented me, the lowly first-time novelist, embarking on an agent search. The articles and the listings gave insight into the world of literary agents that allowed me to comport myself professionally and to persist. And I did find a terrific agent [Stephany Evans of FinePrint Literary].”

23. Eugenia Kim, author of the literary novel The Calligrapher’s Daughter (Holt)

“After so many years working on the novel, the relative speed of creating the query package prodded the impetus to send it out. As a fail-safe measure, I bought the Guide to Literary Agents and checked who might be a good fit for my novel…”

24. Eve Brown-Waite, author of the humorous memoir First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria (Broadway)

“I bought the Guide To Literary Agents… and came across Laney Katz Becker. So I sent off a very funny query. On March 15, 2007, Laney called. ‘I love your book,’ she said. ‘I’d like to represent you.’ Three and a half months (and several proposal revisions) later, Laney sold my book—at auction—in a six-figure deal.

25. Mara Purnhagen, author of the young adult novel Tagged (Harlequin Teen)

“I trusted the Guide to Literary Agents to provide solid, up-to-date information to help me with the process. I now have a wonderful agent [Tina Wexler of ICM] and a four-book deal.”

26. Richard Harvell, author of the mainstream fiction novel The Bells (Crown)

“Guide to Literary Agents contains a wealth of information and good advice, and was crucial in my successful search for an agent. I found a great agent [Daniel Lazar of Writers House] and my book has now sold in 11 territories and counting.”

27. Patrick Lee, The Breach (Harper)

“The Guide to Literary Agents has all the info you need for narrowing down a list of agencies to query.”

28. Karen Dionne, author of the thrillers Freezing Point and Boiling Point (Jove)

“I’m smiling as I type this, because I actually got my agent via the Guide to Literary Agents. I certainly never dreamed that I’d tell my [success] story in the same publication!”

29. Heather Newton, author of the literary fiction novel Under the Mercy Trees (Harper Paperbacks)

“I’d definitely be interested in guest posting—especially since I found my literary agent through the Guide to Literary Agents!”

30. Michael Wiley, author of the crime/noir novels The Last Striptease and The Bad Kitty Lounge (Minotaur)

“The Guide to Literary Agents was very useful to me when I was getting started. I always recommend GLA to writers.”

31. Les Edgerton, Hooked and 9 more books

“Just signed with literary agent Chip MacGregor and I came upon him through the Guide to Literary Agents. If not for GLA, I’d probably still be looking.”

32. Jennifer Cervantes, author of the book for kids, Tortilla Sun (Chronicle)

“Within 10 days of initial submission, I found an energetic and amazing agent—and it’s all thanks to GLA.”

33. Carson Morton, author of the literary novel Stealing Mona Lisa (St. Martin’s / Minotaur)

“I wanted to thank you for the Guide to Literary Agents. After contacting 16 literary agencies, number 17 requested the full manuscript of my historical novel. Within a few weeks, they offered to represent me. Hard work, perseverance, and good, solid, accurate information makes all the difference. Thanks again.”

34. Darien Gee, author of Friendship Bread: A Novel (April 2011; Ballantine Books)

“The Guide to Literary Agents was an indispensable tool for me when I was querying agents. I highly recommend it for any aspiring author—in addition to a comprehensive listing of literary agents, it contains valuable information about the query and submission process.”

35. Stephanie Barden, author of the middle grade novel Cinderella Smith (April 2011; HarperCollins)

“When I felt my middle grade chapter book was finally ready for eyes other than mine to see it, I got some terrific advice: Go buy the Guide to Literary Agents. By the time I was through with it, it looked like it had gone to battle – it was battered and dog eared and highlighted and Post-It Noted. But it was victorious; I had an agent. Huge thanks, GLA – I couldn’t have done it without you!”

36. Lexi George, author of the paranormal romance Demon Hunting in Dixie (April 2011; Brava)

“I positively haunted GLA on the road to publication. The Guide to Literary Agents is an invaluable resource for writers, whether you’re published or unpublished.”

37. Bill Peschel, author of the nonfiction book Writers Gone Wild: The Feuds, Frolics, and Follies of Literature’s Great Adventurers, Drunkards, Lovers, Iconoclasts, and Misanthropes (Perigee)

“The Guide to Literary Agents gave me everything I needed to sell Writers Gone Wild. It was the personal assistant who found me the right agents to pitch, the publicist who suggested conferences to attend, and the trusted adviser who helped me negotiate the path to publication.”

38. Laura Griffin, author of Unforgivable and eight other romantic suspense novels.

“Writing the book is only the first step. Then it’s time to find a home for it. The Guide to Literary Agents is filled with practical advice about how to contact literary agents who can help you market your work.”

39. Derek Taylor Kent (a.k.a. Derek the Ghost), author of the novel for kids, Scary School

“The Guide to Literary Agents was absolutely instrumental to my getting an agent and subsequent three-book deal with HarperCollins.”

40. Tamora Pierce, best-selling author of dozens of novels for teens

“The best guide to literary agents is the Guide to Literary Agents, published by Writer’s Market Books … These listings will tell you the names and addresses of the agencies; if an agency is made up of more than one agent, they will list the different agents and what kinds of book they represent; they will include whether or not the agent will accept simultaneous submissions (submitting a manuscript to more agent than one).”

41. Wade Rouse, author of many books, including It’s All Relative: Two Families, Three Dogs, 34 Holidays, and 50 Boxes of Wine (A Memoir)

“And when you think you’re done writing your book? Write some more. And when you think you’re finished? Set it aside for a while, go back, redraft, edit, rewrite and redraft … Then pick up the Writer’s Digest Guide to Literary Agents.”

42. Brent Hartinger, author of several novels, including Geography Club

“Get an agent. Having a reputable agent means you will be taken much more seriously by busy editors who are eager to find any reason to reject your book (and if you’re agented, editors will offer you more money, more than canceling out the cost of the agent’s commission!). There are hundreds of good agents out there, with all kinds of different tastes (check The Guide to Literary Agents for a complete list).”

”       

43. Jessica Brody, author of several novels (women’s fiction, YA), including The Karma Club

“To put it in perspective: It took me two years to finally find an agent to represent The Fidelity Files [my first novel] and once I did, she sold the manuscript in 10 days. That’s the difference an agent makes. I would recommend purchasing a membership for an online agent directory like WritersMarket.com. You can also use an agent directory in book form like the Guide to Literary Agents.”

44. Dianna Dorisi Winget, author of the middle grade novel A Smidgen of Sky (Harcourt, 2012)

“Guide to Literary Agents is simply the best writing reference book out there. I don’t think I would have landed an agent without it.”

45. Adam Brownlee, author of Building a Small Business That Warren Buffett Would Love (John Wiley and Sons, 2012)

“The Guide to Literary Agents was invaluable for me in many ways. Specifically, the sections on ‘Write a Killer Query Letter’ and ‘Nonfiction Book Proposals’ enabled me to put together a package that led to the publication of my book.”

46. Carole Brody Fleet, author of the self-help book Happily Even After: A Guide to Getting Through (and Beyond!) the Grief of Widowhood (Viva Editions)

“I am not overstating it when I say that Guide to Literary Agents was absolutely instrumental in my landing an agent. Moreover, I wound up with numerous agents from which to choose—how often does THAT happen to an unknown and unpublished author? Thank you again for this book. It not only changed my life forever, but it led to our being able to serve the widowed community around the world.”

47. Guinevere Durham, author of Teaching Test-Taking Skills: Proven Techniques to Boost Your Student’s Scores (R&L Education).

“I was looking for an agent for my book. I had been trying for 7 years to find a publisher. I have enough rejection letters to wallpaper my office. Finally, I researched the Guide to Literary Agents. Three months later I had a contract with Rowman & Littlefield Educational Publishers. My agency is Educational Design Services, Inc.”

48. Kelly Fiore, author of the young adult debut Taste Test (2013, Walker Books for Young Readers)

“There are many web resources for writers – resources about agents, about editors, about craft, and so on. What I love most about the Guide to Literary Agents is that it’s a comprehensive resource – a place to go for information that spans more than just one topic and that covers everything that today’s writers need to know.”

49. Terri Lynn Merritts, writer

“I love the Guide to Literary Agents. I am admin of the Vegetarian page (over 239,000 members) at facebook.com/vegetarianpage and I used the GLA to find a literary agent to represent the vegan cookbook I am working on. The very first agent I approached loved it and now we are working together. The articles in the Guide to Literary Agents showed me how to research the perfect agent and approach her. The listings gave me all the information I needed to find that perfect agent on my very first try. I owe all of this to the help I got from the Guide To Literary Agents and the priceless information it contains. This book really works for writers who need and want to find an agent.”

50. Chana Stiefel, writer

“I am a huge fan of the Guide to Literary Agents. I queried agents for a new humor book and just signed with Laurie Fox at Linda Chester and Associates.”

51. Nicole Steinhaus, writer

“Let’s just say this: when I first jumped into the query process, I was clueless. I bought the Guide to Literary Agents, and scoured for hours through the pages. Two weeks after sending [agent Bree Ogden of D4EO Literary] my full manuscript, I received an email saying she wanted to offer representation.”

52. John A. (Buddy) Howard, writer

“As a first time author, I found the Guide to Literary Agents invaluable, particularly with the ability to screen for agents and publishers by area of specialty. I signed with Whimsy Literary Agency. Getting an agent would not have been possible without your invaluable website, book and support. Keep up your great work and thanks for your past and ongoing help to me and so many other authors out there.”

53. Frank Giampaolo, author of multiple nonfiction sports guides, including CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS

“I followed the formatting and submitting advice given by Chuck and the Guide to Literary Agents. Within a month I was signed to the Quicksilver Books Literary Agency. My agent, Bob Silverstein, negotiated a wonderful publishing deal for me. My second book, Championship Tennis, is scheduled for release worldwide with hard copies, e-books and phone apps in April 2013. The Guide to Literary Agents is a must have resource!”

54. Emily Saso, writer

“Chuck’s is the reason I landed my thoughtful, supportive agent, Linda Epstein of The Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency. I didn’t just discover Linda through the Guide to Literary Agents, his blog also taught me how to write a quality query that would catch her eye. Thanks, Chuck! Keep up the great work!”

55. Tim Bullard, author of the nonfiction book Haunted Watauga County (History Press of Charleston, 2011)

“Buying the Guide to Literary Agents paid off last year with publication of my book. Fighting the urge to quit and admit total failure, I pressed on until all the advice I had received through your books stuck. Now I am about to publish my second book. God bless you!”

56. Noelle Sterne, author of TRUST YOUR LIFE: FORGIVE YOURSELF AND GO AFTER YOUR DREAMS

“Your Guide to Literary Agents and the features from authors on the often-hard lessons learned from the dream of publishing have helped me immensely to keep my feet on the ground, butt in the chair, and fingers on the keyboard. Thank you, Chuck, for taking all the time and effort and for caring!”

57. Jessica Lidh, author of the YA debut THE NUMBER 7 (Merit Press, 2014):

“I found Dee Mura Literary in the Writer’s Digest Guide to Literary Agents. Kimiko Nakamura is my agent. She’s honestly an endless supply of support, encouragement, and hard work. I was so lucky to find her. The GLA was the best $25 investment I ever made.”

THE GIVEAWAY!!! Comment on this post and just say anything nice about any element of Writer’s Digest you enjoy — from a blog post to a class or a book or anything else. In three weeks (deadline October 20, 2016), I will pick 3 winners randomly to win a copy of the book! It’s that easy. And if you optionally tweet news of this giveaway, you will get 2 entries into the contest instead of just 1. Just post the following tweet, and leave your Twitter handle in your comment when you comment below: Giveaway: Writer’s Digest is giving away 3 copies of the new 2017 GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS http://tinyurl.com/jjboo8z via @chucksambuchino.

Buy the 2017 Guide to Literary Agents here!

The post The 2017 Guide to Literary Agents is Out! Here are 57 Reasons to Buy It (and a Giveaway Contest!) appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Vanessa Robins of Corvisiero Literary) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.

About Vanessa: Vanessa is a writer, reader, and lover of food. From Lancaster, Pennsylvania—no, she’s not Amish— she graduated from York College of Pennsylvania in May of 2015 with a degree in English literary studies and a minor in professional writing. Vanessa was Managing Editor of her college’s undergraduate literary magazine for two years, where her love of literature thrived, and her passion for the publishing world was created. When she isn’t reading or working, Vanessa can be found playing rec league softball (her team is called “Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Batman *and Women*,” in case you were wondering), experimenting in the kitchen, knitting, or screaming at her favorite sports teams (go Eagles and Phillies!).

(How many literary agents should a writer send their work to?)

The biggest literary agent database anywhere
is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the
most recent updated edition online at a discount.

She is Seeking: NA—all, especially humor; YA—gritty plots with diverse characters; Fiction—thought out thrillers, romance with strong female leads, heavily based science sci-fi, and sports-centric plots; Nonfiction—memoirs including coming of age, cultural/ethnic/sexuality, survivor, and humor themed. Bonus points for Medical Narratives (characters with medical illnesses and chronic diseases, or MS told through a medical professional’s view point). See our monthly MSWL blog post for more detailed requests.

Will not represent: PB, MG, Screenplays, and Erotica.

How to Submit: Please query Vanessa Robins by emailing query@corvisieroagency.com and putting “ATTN: Vanessa Robins-Query [Book Title]” in the subject line. Vanessa prefers if you write a brief query letter in the body of your email and attach a 1-2 page synopsis and the first five pages of your manuscript to the email in separate Word .doc files. Your query letter should include links to any social media or author websites.

(Why you should only query 6-8 agents at a time.)

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• July 23, 2016: “Get Published” Conference of Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
• July 30, 2016: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Your new complete and updated instructional guide
to finding an agent is finally here: The 2015 book
GET A LITERARY AGENT shares advice from more 
than 110 literary agents who share advice on querying, 
craft, the submission process, researching agents, and
much more. Filled with all the advice you’ll ever need to
find an agent, this resource makes a great partner book to
the agent database, Guide to Literary Agents.

Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:

• How to Write Your First Novel: 6 Pieces of Advice.
• A writing routine is healthy — but is it totally necessary?
• How to Sell Pieces to Magazines and Newspapers.
• Need an agent? This new agent is seeking fiction, memoir, and more.
• Writing YA, mid grade or picture books? New agent Clelia Gore wants your query.
• How I Learned to Kill My Darlings (and Improve My Writing).
• Follow Chuck Sambuchino on Twitter or find him on Facebook. Learn all about his writing guides on how to get published, how to find a literary agent, and writing a query letter.

The post New Literary Agent Alert: Vanessa Robins of Corvisiero Literary appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

This is a recurring column I’m calling “7 Things I’ve Learned So Far,” where writers (this installment written by Steve Toutonghi , author of JOIN) at any stage of their career can talk about writing advice and instruction as well as how they possibly got their book agent — by sharing seven things they’ve learned along their writing journey that they wish they knew at the beginning.

A native of Seattle, WA and Soldotna, AK, Steve Toutonghi studied fiction and poetry while completing a BA in Anthropology at Stanford. After pursuing a variety of interests including an acting internship at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, work as an IT systems manager, and teaching English in a public school in Japan, he began a career in technology that led him from Silicon Valley back to Seattle. JOIN (April 2016, Soho Press) is his first novel. You’ll find him on Twitter and at his website.

1. The story is its own best guide.

During revisions, I sometimes wasn’t sure whether specific changes were helping or hurting. It’s easy to believe that a revision is an improvement, but it often isn’t. My book, JOIN, has unusual characters—individuals created by the union of multiple people, who experience life through multiple bodies. A part of the work was imagining what it might be like to live as such a person. I worked best when I paid attention to the story as it was taking shape, rather than following a plan.

(Literary terms defined — the uncommon and common.)

For example, feeling one’s own heart beat is intensely personal and intimate, but someone with multiple bodies has multiple heart beats. I was deep in the story when I first thought to ask how one of my characters would experience their heart beats. The question felt arrestingly urgent, and seemed particularly relevant to the part of the story I was working on. The scene I ultimately wrote, in which an character creates a meditative moment by working to synchronize its heart beats, created an interesting story point. There were many moments like that. The novel became the best guide to its own structure and my plans became secondary.

2. Trust the process.

There are too many things going on to try to consciously direct them all. Character, structure, tone, environment, rhythm, diction—breaking it all down can be paralyzing. I prioritized momentum during early drafts and trusted the process. I made progress by focusing on a specific sensation or emotional response and developing narrative out of that. As questions arose, I trusted that the character was clearly enough imagined to allow me to fill in details as they were needed.

3. Get used to being an author on social media.

I feel a lilt of concern when publishing on social media. In fiction, ideas are rooted in context and story. They can be experienced slowly, considered as long as necessary, and imagined from different perspectives. On social media, I tend to type something and hit publish, so I can continue to think about other things. On any given day, my sense of what’s interesting oscillates. What might seem publishable at 8 AM may annoy me by the afternoon. Follow-on thoughts about my posts can pile up in a distracting way for hours afterward, like the scattered dishes and slumping stacks of paper that accumulate in a home office.

4. Insecurity has many faces.

And writing a novel is a sure way to discover a few more. I don’t mean the kind of cartoon insecurity that bounces off walls and is always at least a little entertaining, though that kind may drop in for visits as well. I mean the kind that ties knots in your intestines and tests close relationships.

Hook agents, editors and readers immediately.
Check out Les Edgerton’s guide, HOOKED, to
learn about how your fiction can pull readers in.

5. Curiosity is essential.

Taking the work seriously enough to listen for odd thoughts or shy perceptions, to examine them closely, and interrupt other activities (like sleep) in order to record and respect upwellings of language led to several of my favorite moments in the book. It also led to days of zombie-like fatigue and a few tense interactions with family members who accused me of seeming distracted. While working on the story, I didn’t know whether or not it would become a book, or what it would mean for me if it did. It sometimes felt nutty to be entertaining an unfolding phantom narrative rather than focusing on the real events that were really happening in my real life.

What kept me going was a desire to see it through and a deep curiosity about where the story might lead. That curiosity led me to explore rather than dismiss ideas that first appeared in surprising and unlikely shapes. Those explorations often turned out to be valuable.

6. Reviews help the book find its audience.

Positive reviews and glowing, quotable comments are great, and negative reviews can be difficult to read. But any respectful review that helps readers decide whether they might like the book is a good thing. That’s a difficult idea to accept. Reading negative reviews is painful and some writers ignore them, but I haven’t unlocked that achievement yet. However, reminding myself of that truth helps me focus attention where it should be—on the work.

(What does that one word mean? Read definitions of unique & unusual literary words.)

7. There are two names on the book’s spine.

My name and my publisher’s logo are both on the book’s spine. In fact, lots of people—my family, early readers, agent, publisher, editor, publicist and many others—have bet on the book. Those are meaningful markers. No matter how I feel things are going—and there are days that are easy and days that aren’t—gratitude survives.

——————

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• Aug. 12-14, 2016: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• August 20, 2016: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 9, 2016: Sacramento Writers Conference (Sacramento, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• Sept. 10, 2016: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, DC)
• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

Your new complete and updated instructional guide
to finding an agent is finally here: The 2015 book
GET A LITERARY AGENT shares advice from more 
than 110 literary agents who share advice on querying, 
craft, the submission process, researching agents, and
much more. Filled with all the advice you’ll ever need to
find an agent, this resource makes a great partner book to
the agent database, Guide to Literary Agents.

Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:

• How To Write Middle Grade Horror: 7 Tips.
• Agent Spotlight: Taylor Haggerty (Waxman Leavell Literary Agency) seeks YA, Historical Fiction and Historical Romance.
• How To Critique A Friend’s Writing.
• Agent Spotlight: Allison Hunter (Inkwell Management) seeks Literary and Commercial Fiction and Nonfiction.
• Follow Chuck Sambuchino on Twitter or find him on Facebook. Learn all about his writing guides on how to get published, how to find a literary agent, and writing a query letter.

The post 7 Things I’ve Learned so Far, by Steve Toutonghi appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

Welcome to the 25th (free!) “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest on the GLA blog. This is a FREE recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here’s the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. If you’re writing any kind of thriller or horror novel (for adults), then this 25th contest is for you! The contest is live through end of day, Tuesday, Oct 25, 2016. The contest is judged by agent Alec Shane of Writers House.

WHY YOU SHOULD GET EXCITED

After a previous “Dear Lucky Agent” contest, the agent judge, Tamar Rydzinski (The Laura Dail Literary Agency), signed one of the three contest winners. After Tamar signed the writer, she went on to sell two of that writer’s books! How cool! These contests can’t be missed if you have an eligible submission.

HOW TO SUBMIT

E-mail entries to dearluckyagent25@gmail.com. Please paste everything. No attachments.

MEET YOUR (AWESOME) AGENT JUDGE!

Agent Alec Shane began his career at Writers House in September of 2008. He is now actively building his list and currently represents a fairly eclectic mix of children’s and adult fiction and nonfiction. On the fiction side, he loves mysteries, thrillers, bad-ass protagonists with a chip on their shoulders, beautifully told historical fiction (The Vietnam War, the Maccabees, and The American Revolution fascinate him), well-researched adventure stories, and great horror. In terms of children’s books, getting boys to read again is especially important to him, and thus he’s particularly on the lookout for a fun middle-grade adventure series, ghost story, or anything else geared toward younger male readers. On the nonfiction side, he is attracted to odd, quirky histories, military history, biographies of people he didn’t even know existed (but definitely should have), “guy” reads, humor, narrative nonfiction that sheds light on under-the-radar events and lifestyles, and all things sports. Find him on Twitter: @Alecdshane.

WHAT TO SUBMIT (AND OUR SOCIAL MEDIA REQUIREMENTS)

The first 150-250 words (i.e., your first double-spaced page) of your unpublished, completed thriller or horror novel. You must include a contact e-mail address with your entry and use your real name. Also note your city of residence (i.e. — the city you live in, not your full address). Submit the title of the work and a logline (one-sentence description of the work) with each entry. Self-published novels are not eligible.

Please note: To be eligible to submit, you must mention this contest twice through any any social-media. Please provide a social-media link or Twitter handle or screenshot or blog post URL, etc., with your official e-mailed entry so the judge and I can verify eligibility. Some previous entrants could not be considered because they skipped this step! Simply spread the word twice through any means and give us a way to verify you did; a TinyURL for this link/contest for you to easily use is http://tinyurl.com/zagnp4r.

An easy way to notify me of your sharing is to include my Twitter handle @chucksambuchino at the end of your mention(s) if using Twitter. If we’re friends on FB, tag me in the mention. If you are going to just use Twitter as your 2 entries, please wait one day between mentions to spread out the notices, instead of simply tweeting twice back to back. Thanks. (Please note that simply tweeting me does not count. You have to include the contest URL with your mention; that’s the point. And if you use Twitter, put my handle @chucksambuchino at the middle or the end, not at the very beginning of the tweet, or else the tweet will be invisible to others.)

Here is a sample TWEET you can use (feel free to tweak): New FREE contest for writers of thrillers and horror http://tinyurl.com/zagnp4r Judged by agent @Alecdshane, via @chucksambuchino

Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:

• Oct. 28-30, 2016: Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 5-6, 2016: ShowMe Writers Masterclass (Columbia, MO)
• Nov. 19, 2016: Las Vegas Writing Workshop (Las Vegas, NV)
• Feb. 26 – March 3, 2017: Writers Winter Escape Cruise (conference/cruise departing Miami)

WHAT IS ELIGIBLE?

Any completed thriller or horror novel. Note that this contest is for adult novels, not YA or middle grade.

CONTEST DETAILS

1. This contest will be live through the end of October 25, 2016, PST. Winners notified by e-mail within three weeks of end of contest. Winners announced at the top of this blog post thereafter.
2. To enter, submit the first 150-250 words of your book (i.e., your first double-spaced page). Shorter or longer entries will not be considered. Keep it within word count range please.
3. You can submit as many times as you wish. You can submit even if you submitted to other contests in the past, but please note that past winners cannot win again. All that said, you are urged to submit only your best work.
4. The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA’s publisher, F+W: A Content and E-Commerce Company, Inc.
5. By e-mailing your entry, you are submitting an entry for consideration in this contest and thereby agreeing to the terms written here as well as any terms possibly added by me in the “Comments” section of this blog post. If you have questions or concerns, write me personally at chuck.sambuchino (at) fwmedia.com. The Gmail account above is for submissions, not questions. This contest buys no rights, so even if you win, you can still do whatever you like with the work. We do not acquire or own or publish anything.

PRIZES!!!

Top 3 winners each get: 1) A critique of the first 10 double-spaced pages of your work by your agent judge. 2) A free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com ($50 value)! 3) Their choice of any of Chuck’s two new books coming out in September 2017 (the Guide to Literary Agents 2017 or the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market 2017).

——————————————–

The post 25th Free “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest: Thrillers and Horror appeared first on WritersDigest.com.