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Ebeling & Associates / The Ebeling Agency (Michael Ebeling)

escritora

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Does anyone have information on Michael Ebeling. I notice that he has a $ next to his name in P&E but under the agency Ebeling and Hayes, not Ebeling Associates.

Here's the link to the website: http://www.ebelingagency.com/index.htm
 

ksnyder211

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Ebeling & Associates

Anybody know anybody about them or had dealings with them.?

Thanks.

Ken
 

PBNME

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Has anyone worked with Kristina Holmes?

I may be posting this in the wrong spot, (sorry if that's the case.) :Shrug: I've spent hours searching for what I found the first time to AW - and can't find it again. (A bulletin board with discussion about agents/agencies. (Not just beware info, but responses, experiences. . .)

Has anyone worked with Kristina Holmes - formally at Ebeling & Associates Literary Agency? She's not on the agent list on this website.

Thank you
 

Mr Flibble

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Hi. AW is a bit big when you first start.

You're looking for Bewares and Background checks

Ebeling thread is here. Not much there though, and no separate listing for Kristina. Maybe you could start a thread about her in that forum?

ETA: Ebeling seems to still list her as an agent. However, Preditors and Editors haves her at the Holmes agency as from earlier this month.
 
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Old Hack

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I'm moving this one to BR&BC and merging it with the existing Ebeling thread, where it will get a better response.
 

PBNME

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Thanks for your guidance to Preditors and Editors having Kristina Holmes listed. I do know she is no longer with Ebeling & Associates. It's just Michael Ebeling now. I've had some contact with Ms Holmes via email, but wondered if anyone had worked with her. In addition to being an agent, she says she's a platform coach. Seems no one reading this thread has worked with her.
 

Old Hack

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Thanks for your guidance to Preditors and Editors having Kristina Holmes listed. I do know she is no longer with Ebeling & Associates. It's just Michael Ebeling now. I've had some contact with Ms Holmes via email, but wondered if anyone had worked with her. In addition to being an agent, she says she's a platform coach. Seems no one reading this thread has worked with her.

My bold.

I wonder what a platform coach is. And I wonder how much a platform coach might charge, and how that might prove to be a conflict of interests if one was also an agent.
 

victoriastrauss

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[FONT=&quot]I saw an Ebeling author-agent agreement last year that required "a guarantee of no less than a $2500 commission fee against any advance, in the event of a lower sale."

The author told me that Mr. Ebeling was willing to negotiate this provision out of the agreement. Still, something to be aware of.

- Victoria
[/FONT]
 

Old Hack

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Blimey.

And for those of you who might be wondering, that's not standard at all. Not one of the good agents I know demand a minimum amount of commission--they're all happy with their usual 15% of whatever they negotiate for their clients.
 

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Something I thought I'd share...

First off, I'm not saying that Ebeling isn't legit, but I thought I share my experience with him. After querying him three months ago with a work sample and letter, I got a response yesterday. He was declining to represent me, but, in a very nicely worded email, offered to introduce me to two different companies...

As another possibility, I think a hybrid publisher might be an option for you – one of several new models that is evolving given the challenges of publishing today. One publisher in particular could be a fit - Morgan James Publishing (www.morganjamespublishing.com). They are not a self-publisher – they publish about 150 books a year. They take care of many of the responsibilities of a traditional publisher, but allow the author to maintain more control and higher royalties. In exchange, the publisher does not pay an advance and requires each author to purchase 2500 copies of the book over the life of the publishing contract (at print cost plus $2/book). I don’t know that your book would be a fit for them, but it might be. I would be happy to introduce you to the founder at Morgan James, David Hancock.

Another option to look into might be Balboa Press (www.balboapress.com). They are the newly created self-publishing arm of Hay House. Balboa does a good job with their titles and every book is reviewed by the president of Hay House. The strongest titles from Balboa are brought over and republished through the traditional arm of Hay House, which is a big bonus. Balboa also offers the same marketing opportunities that Hay House has created – another good bonus for authors. I would be happy to make an introduction here as well, if you wish.
While this help is greatly appreciated, I find it hard to believe that anyone would stick their neck out in this seemingly bona fide manner based on a ten page writing sample and query letter. You see, he never even saw my manuscript. Clearly, it's safe to assume that there is something in it for him if I were to pursue one of these avenues.

Lastly, he closed his email with...

Whether or not Morgan James or Balboa Press or the like is a fit for you, I think that going that sort of route is your best shot without a more developed platform. I hope this helps....
It just so happens that if you go to his website, one of the "services" he offers is platform development. Read into that what you will.

Again, he may be on the up and up, but there's enough here to raise eyebrows...

J
 

LaylahHunter

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Something in it for him like a finder's fee taken out of the piles of cash that either of those companies would want from you, perhaps? Balboa Press's site appears to market entirely to authors and their "core packages" for publishing a book start at $999. Which is a great deal if you're looking at it in contrast to the purchase cost of 2,500 copies of your own novel....
 

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Jezru, you're the second author I've heard of within the past few months who has gotten this exact same referral response. It does suggest that there's something in it for Ebeling--a finder's fee of some kind, perhaps, as LaylahHunter suggests. If so, it's really unethical.

- Victoria
 

juliesondra

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For the record, I got the identical response that Jezru did in April 2013, and at first I thought it was kind of nice that he was offering to refer me personally, but then I looked into it and realized he was basically suggesting I don't have a chance to get my book published traditionally--that I'd have to either buy a whole bunch of copies of my own book or self-publish it. It struck me as . . . well, disturbing . . . that an agent would give this kind of advice and point out specific companies. It concerns me mostly because there are many writers out there who will automatically believe anything a publishing industry professional says--especially if it's worded like this, with definitive assessments of the author's "platform"--and this sort of thing will inevitably influence some authors to believe they are barking up the wrong tree if they think they have a chance with traditional publishing.

For the record, the agent I signed with for the same book I pitched to him did not think my platform was lacking, and she says my proposal only needed minor changes (and considering she gives workshops on that subject at conferences, I think she knows her stuff). It's super peculiar for an agent to repeatedly offer to introduce authors to self-publishing services as if he's doing them a favor they couldn't access on their own, right?
 

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Michael Ebeling & Associates

Michael was my first agent. I am grateful to him "getting me started" in the publishing world.

On my first advance at $5,000, he took $2,500 for his "fees" that were listed in my original contract. This isn't what other agents do. I don't consider this reputable nor do many others. I didn't know at the time.

Michael also has a "short fuse" and angers easily. Not exactly a trait that bodes well for this business.

I cannot recommend him to anyone.
 

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Kristina Holmes

Kristina Holmes (previously of Ebeling & Associates) is a good agent. Honest, ethical and diligent.

Only downside is she's very informed and sees things "as they are" versus as they can be. Maybe a bit more of a realist than me.

But as an agent she's great.
 

mhsiii

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Michael Ebeling

I know this is an old thread, but I got the same response (word for word) that Jezru did. Felt pretty nice to get such personal interest... now I'm just disheartened.
 

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mhsiii, I felt the same way when I got that reply, because it seemed like he was saying I was a good fit for some specific houses, only to find that he was a) saying the same thing to many and b) the options he thought most appropriate for me were options I'd have to pay for.

If it's any consolation, I got signed with an agent right after that, and the project got multiple offers from publishers, one of which I accepted late last year. The book is coming out in September. Nobody involved tried to convince me my platform was too insignificant for anything but self publishing. This agent was wrong in my case. He may be wrong in yours. Good luck.