|
The New York
Literary Agency
The
written word has the power to make us laugh, cry, expose our
failings,
and give us the tools to fix them. As literary agents,
it is our job and pleasure to bring our clients’ vision and
world to fruition through publication.
We are very proud of our relationship
with our clients. Click
here for a compendium of positive emails that we receive on a
regular basis.
At
the New York Literary Agency, we take pride in finding and developing
fresh, new literary
talent. We believe that just because you are
a new writer doesn’t mean that your work should be excluded
from the marketplace, and we work hard to give you a chance at
publication.
We
do not charge reading fees or any other type of fee. We get paid
when you get paid.
Types
of Manuscripts Accepted
At
the New York Literary Agency, we represent new, previously published
and self-published writers.
We
accept a wide variety of works, including romance, literary,
suspense, mainstream poetry collections,
chick lit, etc. and non-fiction
(how to, self help, health/nutrition/fitness, spirituality and
religion, science, and business).
We
do not accept short stories (we will take short story
compilations), articles, text books, television
pilots or ideas, individual poems,
or film shorts. Although we
welcome international clients, we only accept work written in
English.
Please
click on our Submission Instructions
to query us.
We
believe we are very different than other agencies. We
believe that we are unique in that we are willing to develop an
author and their talent. We like the metaphor of a business
incubator as a description of how we will take time to bring an
author's work to the proper quality level, even if it takes months
to do so. We take pride in the fact that we answer every email
personally within 2-3 days. We do use form letters for certain
communications though as you would expect.
Also,
you may understand how a Literary Agency works, but many authors
don't, so please excuse me while I take a minute and let you know
how the process works. As your Literary Agent, our mission is
to assist you in finding a publisher and to coach you along the way
in various options available to you.
Our mission is to sell for you. As for
compensation, we get paid on success only. We only get paid if
you get paid. We DO NOT charge reading fees. Typically we will receive
10% of what you receive if we sell your work. We don't edit. It
is YOUR responsibility to make sure we have great work to sell.
We will
work with you to improve and polish your work. Once your
work is deemed 'presentable', then we'll start shopping it to
publishers. We never promise a sale, but we can tell you that
we have a model that works and we promise a professional
relationship.
Best
regards,
Sherry
Fine - V.P. Acquisitions
FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS:
Q)
How does the process work?
A)
First, please read our submission guidelines and fill out our query
form. After that is received and reviewed positively we will
request that you email us some portion of your work.
Q)
Would you prefer me to email or mail my manuscript?
A) If
we request your manuscript after you fill out our query form
WE MUCH PREFER EMAILED MANUSCRIPTS.
Q)
Is my manuscript safe with you?
A)
Your materials are safe within our company. If you are
uncomfortable sending your entire manuscript, please only send 3-5
chapters. If we do not end up working together we will destroy
and delete any copies of your work that we have. Furthermore
the idea of people stealing someone's work is a bit of 'urban
legend'. It really doesn't happen.
Q) How
long does this review take?
A)
About 7-10 days. We're faster than most other agencies. Our
mission in the Acquisitions Department is clear and very "cut
and dried". We answer 3 questions, 1). Will the subject matter
sell? Is it commercially viable?
2) Is the writing good enough, or would
it be good enough with some degree of assistance?
3) Did you as the evaluator like the work and would you believe in
it if you were selling it? If we get a "3 Yes" designation
then you pass. The next item we look for in our filtering
process is your willingness to listen. We will very quickly
wash out a great writer with a bad attitude. After
that, we leave it up to the experts to really dig in and get
detailed with the structure and format of your work.
Q) Why
is there no phone number? I want to talk to someone...
A)
Quite frankly, we are deluged with submissions. It is our
policy to provide a contact number later in the process, assuming we
would like to proceed with you.
Q)
Where are you located?
A) We
maintain executive suites in New York, NY where we meet with buyers. An
executive suite is a shared office space that allows us to keep our
overhead expenses down. Other than that, we travel and have the good fortune to live in
Florida and California depending on the time of year. Sometimes we think that we live in airport lounges.
Q) Tell
me about your company.
A) We
are bigger than a small agency and smaller than a large agency.
We just sold our 4th work and we are confident of more success later
this year. A 5th deal is being readied as we speak. We market
to the larger and medium sized publishers and producers. Note:
most smaller agencies only sell one or two deals before they give
up. We're in this for the long term. We attend the major
book trade shows in the US, England, and Germany, and of course we
market through pitch trips as often as we can. We don't
publicize our deals because of the number of authors that have
'bothered' our clients in the past.
Q)
You're not a vanity publisher or a self-publisher are you?
A) No
we're NOT A VANITY OR SELF-publisher in any way, shape or form. Our
mission is to sell your work to publishers. And, that's how we
get paid. If we sell your work to a publisher then and only then do
we get paid. WE DO NOT SELL OR MARKET TO VANITY OR
SELF-PUBLISHERS..
Q) What
are you looking for during your evaluation?
A) We
mainly look for COMMERCIAL VIABILITY in the work coupled with good
solid writing skills. "Is it something that will
sell?" is of paramount importance to us. We believe that great writers are made, not
born at least 99% of the time. But if a work doesn't have commercial
potential, then we want to let you know as quickly as possible.
Being willing to grow talent, we believe in the old adage,
"luck is when opportunity meets preparation and hard
work".
Q) What
if you find errors or problems with my manuscript? Should I
spend time revising now, or later?
A) We
receive very few 'ready-to-go' manuscripts. We believe we are unique
in that we are willing to work with our authors along the way.
Most manuscripts that we receive need some level of polishing before
we can submit them to buyers. Some need very little polishing.
Some need a lot. Over the years, we've learned that it
is worth our time and effort to do what it takes to develop new
talent. We've learned that incubating new talent makes good
business sense.
Q) My
manuscript isn't finished....
A) As
long as there is enough finished to determine your skills as a
writer we are willing to look at your work. As mentioned
previously, we take a long term view and we are willing to develop
talent.
Q: Do you use form letters?
A: For
certain communications, of course, doesn't every company? We
pride ourselves on using technology to be as efficient as possible.
This allows us to work with authors from anywhere in the world.
By automating certain elements of our communications we can spend
more thoughtful time on your questions that are specific to you and
your situation.
Q: How do I know you are for real?
A: We
ask that you judge us based on the professionalism of our
interactions together. However, it may help for you to see a
smattering of the unsolicited positive feedback we receive on a
regular basis. (If you are really cynical you may think we
made these up. However I can assure you that we can legally
stand behind anything you read in our communications. These
are unedited for authenticity, bad grammar and typos left in.)
I'm sure you get tons of mail, and
that you don't have time to read this, but I just wanted to thank
you for your professionalism. Wow, I can't believe how efficient you
guys are! I've only sent my manuscript to one other agent, and he
replied with a very short and grammatically incorrect e-mail that I
thought was extremely unprofessional. I also really respect your
attitude. In any industry, it's difficult to find people who
actually don't put up with the prima-donna attitudes and egos. I
like that. Thanks again for looking at my manuscript.
Just a note to say thank you for
your amazingly detailed, efficient and rapid service. When I
resolved to get an agent this year or bust, I was prepared for the
long haul. What I have encountered has been a whirlwind. I am sure
that other agents worldwide will soon have to copy your
submissions system as the model for a new industry standard, or
become extinct.
Thanks a lot for your generous
time and consideration. I am impressed by your efficiency and
ability to reply in time, unlike most agents who take around four or
even more weeks to get back. I am looking forward to a long
term professional relationship from you.
Thank you for keeping me posted
every step of the way thus far. I am glad your received the
two manuscripts you were kind enough to ask from me. It is
such an exciting time. To have finished the two books and
working on the third as well as constantly thinking of marketing
plans for the works. Being a former radio personality, it
would be wonderful to use those skills and have interviews
conducted and see the book take roots in several areas. You are a
true professional and it is appreciated greatly.
I too wish to send in a personal
comment on your delightfully refreshing acquisitions
process. How different it is to be greeted with wit,
intelligence and such a well thought out plan of action!
Even if we go no further, I will send others to your company
because I have such respect for businesses on the Internet that
strive to give their customers the most efficient use of their
time. I truly cannot see how one would not appreciate immensely,
what you have put together and your commitment to those you do
business with.
Please allow me to say thank you
for accepting my work for review. I also want to thank you for
your timely e-mails and information regarding publishing
protocols. It is because of conscientious professionals in the
industry like yourself, that allows perspective writers to have
their voices and ideas heard. Once
again, thanks in advance for your timely information and
professionalism.
I received my analysis a
couple of days ago, looked it over, and found it very
insightful. I agree with every aspect of the analysis, and
I have already begun making the suggested improvements. As
a matter of fact, it suggests that I expand on the vampire mythology
aspect. Coincidentally, during those weeks it was
being prepared, I had formed some dramatic ideas to include
more mythological creatures to support the story's premise,
which is that unlike mythological vampires,
Jeeminy, I passed cloud nine so
fast I hardly noticed it.I am so pleased and grateful to you
folks and Louise of the critique administration. I
thank the good Lord for the talent he has given me, but this
is far more than I expected.
I do plan to make the changes. Why not? I have
already started and the difference is remarkable.
Rewriting many scenes, booting out the cliches and tidying up
the punctuation as well as adding many more words.
The advice and recommendations
are well received. I will go at it like I'm killing
snakes so should be finished in no more than a week.
In conclusion, our business model is not for everyone.
However, we do make the following 4 promises and you can see
from the letters above that we deliver on our promises.
Our
Pledge To You:
- We respect what you
have accomplished thus far as a writer.
- We believe that
great authors are made, not born. We are willing to
develop talent.
- We pledge straight
talk in a confusing and old-school industry.
- We can't
promise a sale. We can promise a professional
relationship.
p.s.
Missed Emails, Spam, Whitelists, and other reasons for lapses
in communications. We are very, very diligent about
returning every email that we receive within a couple of days.
The same is true for our vendors and suppliers. IF YOU
DO NOT RECEIVE A COMMUNICATION AND YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU SHOULD
HAVE, PLEASE, CHECK WITH US AND WE WILL SEE WHAT HAPPENED.
Please don't jump to negative conclusions. The Internet
is not 100% foolproof and we are very sensitive to our
clients' expectations and our promises about timely
communications.
| 
