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Topic: How to find a reputable literary agent in NYC?
| Author | Message |
| spny744 | Posted – 5/9/2008 11:10:53 PM | show profile | email poster I have a real life story with lesson learned....and advice to women who have gone through it, may go through it in the future or definitely know someone who has. I need to find a smart literary agent with integrity and reasonable in New York City Any lead would be greatly appreciated. Julie |
| stinking prague | Posted – 5/10/2008 6:04:20 AM | show profile try writing it first |
| spny744 | Posted – 5/10/2008 8:02:33 AM | show profile Well "stinking" prague it is. No need to answer if you have no added value. |
| foodlit | Posted – 5/10/2008 9:38:34 AM | show profile Julie, I used to be a literary agent. Stinking Prague has it right. First of all NYC is full of excellent literary agents. In order to get one though, you need to prove yourself worthy. You do this by writing the book. Have you already done that? It's not clear by your post. If you have, then go over to publishersmarketplace and compile a list of agents to query. If you have not written the book yet, then you need to do that first. What you have described is a memoir, and memoirs need to be fully written before they are sold...unless you are famous like a Paris Hilton, Pamela Andersen, etc,. Write a fantastic book, and then you have something to show to a literary agent...and as an FYI, stinking prague has done exactly that...top agent, and a solid six figure sale if I remember correctly. Good luck, Pam |
| stinking prague | Posted – 5/10/2008 10:08:44 AM | show profile Okay, lets take this one piece at a time. You have a story, with a lesson in it of value to women who have gone through it, right? Not a bad thing. It means its non-fiction and self-help. There is a market for that. In fact a nearly unquenchable market. But the problem is, that no matter how good it is, they really like to have a product with a name behind it who is "someone." Given a choice between a profound lesson learned by a nobody and an inane lesson learned by a somebody, they'll always go for a somebody. That's because selling a somebody is infinitely easier than a nobody. That said, figure out what is so great about your story and make an outline of it. From that outline construct a sequence of chapters, explaining where each begins and ends and what kinds of things get covered. Then write an unbelievably good first chapter. and then one or two other really key chapters. They have to be REALLY good. Okay, then you have to find an agent. There are millions of them but only about 400 are any good. The rest are crooks or schmucks or worse. Its easy to find the good ones. If you're serious, you'll spend some serious time doing on line research. There are a couple of big ass sources, but I'm too unhelpful to find them for you. You can get yourself a free subscription to Publishers Lunch and that'll give you some names once a week. Maybe you should go to a bookstore and go through a bunchof self help similar books and see if they thank a particular agent for getting them the deal. Most agents do self help, its what puts food on their table week after week, but I suspect they regard it as the literary equivalent of Tuna Helper. I'm only saying that because it's not going to be easy to get them to take you that seriously, since it isn't written and if it is, its probably not going to be in the form they want to sell. But yes, there is an endless market for it. Okay, so I'm being cruel and crass to you. Sorry. But if you do have something marketable and profitable, then you will probably go through a succession of people who'll make me look like mother theresa. If on the other hand you meet a succession of nice people who say they believe in your project, its mainly because they figure they can jiggle you for a couple thousand bucks On this last point, I am serious. Also good luck. and prague is still a stinking place |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 5/10/2008 10:43:24 AM | show profile Such cynicism. Try reading "Think Like Your Editor" instead. Yes, big-name inane often beats unknown smart. This is news? Educate yourself about the process, talk to many published authors and little will surprise you. If you walk around in an idealistic daze, good luck to you. |
