Literary agent Lisa Grubka will move to Fletcher & Company after four years at Foundry Literary + Media.

Grubka works with both fiction and nonfiction authors. She specializes in literary fiction, young adult novels, women’s fiction, pop culture, food, narrative, sports and humor.

Prior to joining Foundry, Grubka worked at William Morris Endeavor talent agency and Macmillan’s Farrar, Straus and Giroux imprint.

After working for both large and small agencies, William Clark started his own one-man shop, Wm. Clark Associates. And it is that unique, one-on-one relationship with clients that sets his agency apart.

“A lot of authors will go to a large agency thinking, ‘Oh, they also do television and stage and public appearances, and I’m just going to get everything under one roof,’” Clark said. “Unfortunately, more often than not, that is representation based more on obligation than enthusiasm. I look to assemble a team of colleagues representing the different aspects of a client’s career, rather than having it all under one roof, where one division of an agency has to represent something even though they may not have a vision for pitching that to buyers.”

If you’re interested in working with Clark, read Pitching an Agent: Wm Clark Associates. [Mediabistro AvantGuild subscription required]

– Andrea Hackett

When is your book ready to send to an agent? It is a tough question that all writers must answer.

Eddie Schneider, a literary agent at JABberwocky Literary Agency, answered Ask Me Anything questions from readers on Reddit. His enormous digital interview fielded questions about queries, common mistakes and he had some great advice about deciding when your book is ready. Check it out:

If you’ve edited to the point where you feel like you’re just pushing words around and your eyes are going to melt out of your skull and pool between the lines, you’re getting close. I would not do this in isolation, though. Get. Writing. Friends. Believe it or not, I’m a firm believer in the utility of writing groups, and running your book past the eyes of people who also read a lot and are serious about getting into novel writing is a great way to edit for things you’re not going to see yourself. There are also the books Writing to Sell by Scott Meredith and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. They’re helpful and worth tracking down. I wouldn’t fall into the trap of reading too many books about writing and being a writer and so on, but they’re useful.

Caroline Mickler Limited has been appointed as the master licensing agent for the erotica novel Fifty Shades of Grey –which means that the book is about to get merchandised.

What kinds of products will come from the bondage novel? Check it out: “Among the diverse categories being discussed by Caroline Mickler Ltd for licensing are lingerie/sleepwear, apparel, fragrances, beauty products, bedding, home furnishings, stationery, jewelry and adult products.”

Caroline Mickler had this comment in the release: “The market’s interest in Fifty Shades of Grey as a brand is enormous. With continuing book sales and a film version keeping awareness high, we expect this property to make a very strong showing in a number of licensed categories over the coming months.”

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With 600 clients and ten agents, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management is a bustling place to look for an agent. Mediabistro’s Pitching an Agent series interviewed founder Jane Dystel for more advice.

Dystel & Goderich Literary Management has represented many authors, including On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves, Murder As a Fine Art by David Morrell, and a new YA series by James Dashner, Lisa McMann and Richelle Mead.

With 10 agents, including Dystel herself, DGLM is a medium-sized operation, which may be appealing to new writers. Dystel says that, while she has a reputation for being very tough with publishers, “I think my clients would say that I’m very nurturing. They all have my home phone number. I take very good care of them.”

Read more in Pitching An Agent: Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

To help you put together a winning pitch for an agent, Brown Literacy Agency founder Roberta Brown shared a few tips at mediabistro.com. Brown’s literary agency represents New York Times bestsellers Sarah McCarty and Lorie O’Clare.

First and foremost, make sure that you are pitching the genre that the agency represents. For example, Brown only wants to see pitches for romance (single title and category), women’s fiction, erotica, young adult and mystery cozies. She also says that her agency only works with authors who are already published. Here is more from, Pitching An Agent: Brown Literacy Agency:

“We are only reviewing material by New York published authors seeking new representation,” said Brown. If that’s you, email a synopsis and two chapters of a proposal in an email attachment. The agency no longer accepts printed material by snail mail. Response time can be anywhere from one month to six weeks, all depending on the influx of material.

In the “Pitching An Agent” feature at mediabistro.com, literary agent Laura Langlie gave aspiring YA writers some hints on how to pitch her agency.

Langlie represents author Meg Cabot, Meg Tilly and others. She founded her own literary agency after years of working in publishing, including six years as an agent at Kidde, Hoyt & Picard. Check it out:

Langlie sees a lot of young adult (YA) and middle-grade fiction writers who talk down to their readers. “People have this misconception that writing for children is easy. A middle-grade or YA novel is simply a novel for that age level. It still has to have great characters and a great story arc. You have to try and remember what you were like when you were that age,” said Langlie, who represents Delia Ray (Here Lies Linc) and others.

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Literary agent Al Zuckerman will no longer serve as chairman of Writers House, the major agency he founded in 1974.

Current Writers House president Amy Berkower will serve as the new chairman and Simon Lipskar will be the agency’s president. Zuckerman will maintain his list of authors, including: Ken Follett, Stephen Hawking, Michael Lewis and the estates of Hermann Hesse.

Here’s more about his career, from the release: “Under his guidance, Writers House has grown from a closet-like space on West 42nd Street in New York City to two Victorian buildings on West 26th Street erected for the Astor family in 1872, with offices also in London and San Diego. Its staff has grown from one to 43, eight of whom have been with the company for more than 25 years.”

Brooklyn-based literary agent Elana Roth has established her own agency, Red Tree Literary. Roth made the official announcement yesterday via Twitter.

Roth (pictured, via) will focus on authors of children’s books and young-adult novels. She represents Doug-Dennis and the Flyaway Fib author Darren Farrell, Juniper Berry author M.P. Kozlowsky and The Selection author Kiera Cass.

Here’s more about the agency: “We all have different philosophies on what to do next, where to take risks, and what’s the best approach for each book. For me it comes down to being more select, more picky, more specialized. Instead of increasing volume of projects to account for decreasing advances (and therefore commissions), I want to work with the right people on the right projects. Each person will get the attention they need. Each project will be meticulously chosen, and given its due, even when that means defying conventions.”

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Kristina Holmes will start her own literary agency, The Holmes Agency.

Holmes plans to take on nonfiction clients exclusively. Her list will be open to several different genres, including health and wellness, business, psychology, spirituality, sex, relationships, environmental issues, science, nature, literary nonfiction and memoir.

Previously, Holmes was a partner literary agent and consultant at Ebeling & Associates Literary Agency for six years. Some of the authors she has worked with include Garret Kramer, David Steinman and Gregory Lang.