Archive for the ‘Agents’ Category
January 30th, 2012 | 
Author: Becky Vinter began her career in publishing at the Feminist Press in 2006, before moving to NAL/Penguin, where she edited commercial women’s fiction. She joined FinePrint Literary Management in 2011 and is currently looking for a range of both fiction and nonfiction projects. Becky grew up in London and earned her BA in English Literature from the University of Leeds. She now lives in Brooklyn.
She is seeking: Becky likes the whole spectrum of women’s fiction, from literary to “bookclub” to romance of all sub-genres. She is also in the market for YA fiction with strong female protagonists. In nonfiction, she likes well-crafted narrative nonfiction, including memoir, current events, travel, pop culture, wellness, yoga and food.
Find her at:
Twitter: @bvinter
How many of you came to the conference last year?
<waits for show of hands>
Wow! That’s a lot! How many of you went to the Gong Show(s)?
<waits again>
Whoa! Even more! That’s terrific.
The Gong Show, in case you didn’t attend, was where we had The Voice of The Gong Show read (anonymous!) query letters to a group of agents. When the agents were at a point in the query letter where they would stop reading, they bang the gong in front of them.
Once three agents bang out, The Voice stops reading and the host of the show asks the agents why they would stop at that point. Agents get to have fun listening to the letters, and we the viewing audience gets to have fun and we get to learn. Who knew learning could be so much fun?!
Never let it be said we are one to rest on our laurels. (One? No, there’s a whole group of us!)
This year, we’re going to trick it up a little. On the first day, we’re going to have The Voice read query letters, just like last year. However, on the second day, we’re going to have him read the first page of your submission. Yep. That first word, that first sentence, that first paragraph, (still anonymously, so the innocent can stay that way) all the way to the end (if the agents don’t start banging that gong).
We are doing this simply because, it’s the writing that matters most. You can have a great query that may elicit some reading of your first page, but if that first page doesn’t hook the agent (or editor) pretty darn quick, you’re wasting your time.
This should make for some pretty interesting feedback and we all will learn something about the thought processes that go into why a work grabs someone and why it fails.
You want to have your query or first page read at the conference (anonymously!) you can either let me know, or you can just bring it with you. We’ll have a collection spot for them. Will all of them get read? Probably not. We’ll be picking them in random order, so you may not hear yours—but who knows, maybe you will.
Don’t start freaking out just yet!
Posted in 2012, Agents, Agents/Editors, Attendees, Craft of Writing, Director's Update | 
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Meredith Barnes is an associate agent at Lowenstein Associates. She is particularly interested in building her nonfiction list, especially blog-to-book projects and projects dealing with alternative lifestyles (such as micro-farming) and social issues. She is also extremely interested in health, fitness, and spirituality nonfiction with a strong author platform, including an online presence.
Meredith is interested in a wide range of engaging fiction for all ages. For adults, she’s looking for literary fiction, women’s fiction and romance, thrillers, and crime fiction. She is open to science fiction and fantasy that has something new to offer the genres. For Middle Grade readers, she is looking for adventure stories that appeal to a male audience. She is not actively taking on Young Adult fiction, although something highly unusual (read: nontrendy) or literary will always catch her eye no matter the target audience. She does not represent early readers or children’s picture books.
For both nonfiction and fiction, Meredith considers more than just the print possibilities. Projects that lend themselves to apps, enhanced ebooks, and other fresh ways to tell stories are especially appealing.
Find her at:
Twitter: @mer_barnes
Jill Marsal is a partner at the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. She has been in the publishing industry almost 15 years, previously working as a Literary Agent with the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and at Dorchester Publishing, editing women’s fiction, romance, and suspense/thrillers.
On the fiction front, Jill looks for all types of romance (contemporary, paranormal, romantic suspense, historical, and category), women’s fiction and family stories, cozy mysteries, and thrillers. She is also looking for general commercial fiction and welcomes a dramatic storyline and compelling characters in interesting situations or relationships. On the non-fiction side, Jill’s areas of interest include business, current events, health, self-help/advice, relationships, psychology, parenting, and narrative non-fiction.
Find her at:
Twitter: @jillmarsal
We’re proud to announce that the following publishing industry professionals have accepted our invitation to attend the 2012 DFW Writers’ Conference. More will be announced as soon as we have confirmation.
Literary Agents
- Elizabeth Evans, Jean V. Naggar Literary
- Eddie Schneider, JaBerwocky Lit
- Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger, Inc.
- Paul Levine, Paul S. Levine Literary Agency
- Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency
- Sarah Lapolla, Curtis Brown Ltd
- Sally Harding, Cooke Agency
- Meredith Barnes, Lowenstein Associates
- Laurie McLean, Larsen Pomada Literary Agents
- Becky Vinter, Fine Print Literary
- Jennie Goloboy, Red Sofa Literary
- Lauren Ruth, BookEnds, LLC
- Alec Shane, Writers’ House
- Marcy Posner, Folio Literary Agency
- Bob Mecoy, Bob Mecoy Literary Agency
- Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
- Ann Collette, Rees Literary Agency
- Marlene Stringer, Stringer Literary Agency
Editors
- Krista Marino, Random House
- Devi Pillai, Orbit Books
More details, including the genres they’re interested in and the classes they will be teaching, will be posted as it becomes available. Stay tuned!
Pitching your novel, or nonfiction book proposal to a literary agent can be the most exciting — and nerve-wracking — time in any author’s life. The key to a successful pitch session is preparation. Here are a few tips that will help you make the best of your experience:
- Pitch sessions are up to 10 minutes long. No more time is allowed. Make certain you can present your idea within that timeframe.
- Suggestion: It’s a good strategy to keep your pitch to no more than 5 minutes. Use the remaining time for questions and wrap-up.
- Suggestion: It’s a good strategy to keep your pitch to no more than 5 minutes. Use the remaining time for questions and wrap-up.
- You will be in the same room at the same time with other writers who are presenting their book ideas to other agents. Don’t be nervous. Speak in a normal, conversational tone.
- Do not bring a copy of your completed manuscript. Agents do not accept paper. If the agent is interested in your book idea, he or she will provide instructions on their agency’s preferred submission process.
- Do bring a notepad and something with which to write. The agents are a wealth of information on the publishing industry.
- Here are a few websites that discuss how to pitch; however, this is not an all-inclusive list. Surf the Internet for more.
- Here are some articles that discuss how to pitch your work to a literary agent, but please search for more. The Internet is a wealth of helpful information.
· The Perfect Pitch: Pitching to Agents at a Writing Conference A good article to help you prepare. http://www.writing-world.com/publish/pitch.shtml
· “How to Pitch Your Book at a Writing Conference”. Another great article from the same source can be found at http://www.writing-world.com/publish/pitch2.shtml
- Rehearse your pitch, but pick a listener who will offer you honest feedback, not someone who loves you enough to overlook your flaws.
- Suggestion: Try not to memorize your pitch word-for-word. Instead, strive for a conversational approach. If you memorize your pitch and stumble on a word, or the agent interrupts you to ask a question, it might throw you off. Be prepared, but just talk to the agent as you would any other new acquaintance.
- Suggestion: Try not to memorize your pitch word-for-word. Instead, strive for a conversational approach. If you memorize your pitch and stumble on a word, or the agent interrupts you to ask a question, it might throw you off. Be prepared, but just talk to the agent as you would any other new acquaintance.
- FREE ON-LINE CLASS: Unlike other conferences, which charge extra for such classes, the DFW Writers’ Conference brings you “Agent Pitches 101″ from author Candace Havens’ Writers Workshop free of charge. The class will focus on the basics of perfecting your agent pitch. After you register for the conference, you will be given the full details.Good luck! We look forward to seeing you at the 2010 DFW Writers’ Conference.
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