The day an agent offers you representation is one of the most incredible moments in your publishing journey. I’ll never forget when my agent, Catherine Drayton, called me to offer representation for Jacob Wonderbar. I had doubted myself nearly every step of the way before that point and hadn’t even told my friends and family […]
Literary Agents
How to write a synopsis for a novel
Of all the things you will write throughout the publishing process… a synopsis may be what you dread the most. It’s not fun to have to shoehorn an entire novel into a relatively brief summary. But if you follow just a few relatively simple steps and keep a few key things in mind, it may […]
Do you have beef with literary agents?
Having once been a literary agent myself, I’m still pretty instinctually defensive of the whole enterprise. It’s not easy to be a filter, especially when every single one of the thousands of people who query you think they have a bestseller on their hands. Most agents I know are in it for the love of […]
How to personalize a query letter
Nathan here! My friend Rachel Stout used to be a literary agent at Dystel & Goderich, and now she teaches a course on querying called Query Mastery, which provides live sessions, modules, resources, and community to help you hone your pitch. I asked Rachel to write a guest post on the best approach to personalizing a […]
How to research a literary agent
So. You have a finished and polished manuscript for fiction or a finished and polished nonfiction book proposal for nonfiction. You want a book deal. You need an agent. Now what? It’s tough out there for an author. There are literally hundreds of agents. Some are incredibly powerful and can transform your destiny with a […]
Interview: Agent Sarah LaPolla on how authors can stand out, negotiating offers, and the state of publishing
Sarah LaPolla is an agent at Bradford Literary Agency, where she represents a mix of middle grade, young adult, and adult books, with a focus on literary fiction, science fiction, magical realism, dark/psychological mystery, literary horror, and upmarket contemporary fiction. Prior to Bradford Lit, Sarah and I were colleagues at Curtis Brown Ltd. Follow her on […]