Literary Agents

Contrary to popular belief among some fearful authors, literary agents will not disappear into an angry puff of smoke the moment you send them a follow-up email. And, in fact, some literary agents depend on authors to nudge them. An agent’s inbox looks like the electronic equivalent of Niagara Falls, and at any given time […]

Researching literary agents is an absolutely crucial step in the traditional publishing process, and I personally believe there are no good shortcuts. You’re essentially searching for a (hopefully) long term business partner who will have enormous influence over your burgeoning literary career. A good agent can help you immensely. A bad agent is worse than […]

I’m back in California after a productive, if apocalypty, trip to NYC. Never thought I’d need to return to California to avoid the wildfires. As more and more authors post about their submissions experiences on social media and there’s much discussion of “dream” agents, I wanted to riff on something editor Kristen Weber shared on […]

When I’m working with authors pursuing traditional publishing, a very common question often comes up: “When will I know it’s time to give up?” As in: when will the author know when it’s a “no” from the traditional publishing world and it’s time to move on to other options? This is a trickier question than […]

Researching literary agents, compiling tidbits that help you personalize query letters, and staying abreast of submission guidelines are among the most tedious tasks you will face in the traditional publishing process. You still need to do it. And it’s a risky strategy to outsource the research. Writers who have been successful in other walks of […]