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[Agency] Adams Literary

MsJudy

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Does anyone have any experience with the agents at Adams Literary?

Their website:
http://www.adamsliterary.com/

They rep exclusively children's. Fairly new, about 4 years old, I think, but they have an impressive client list already.

But their submission policy is interesting. No queries of any form. They prefer 6-week-exclusive complete manuscript submissions! I haven't come across anyone else who does that. And because of the no-query policy, they come up on both agentquery and querytracker as being closed to unsolicited queries, but their website is quite clear that they aren't closed at all.

Just curious if anyone knows any more about them.
 

Appalachian Writer

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I don't know anything about Adams Literary, but I do shy away from the word "exclusive." I had one agent ask for an exclusive look at a manuscript, but I explained that other agents already had it in hand. She asked for what I'd call first option, and I agreed. She was prompt in her rejection. Good luck, whatever you decide to do. But again, think long and hard about six weeks without queries, etc.
 

MsJudy

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Yeah, I know what you mean. My plan right now is to keep them on the list, but wait to submit until I've run out of other agencies to query. They don't actually require exclusives, but they do prefer them. And they take twice as long to reply if you don't submit exclusively.

One thing I wonder--if other agencies have partials of up to the first 3 chapters, but no one else has the full, is that an exclusive as long as I don't send anyone else a full until their 6 weeks are up? Or does "exclusive" mean any part of it?
 

scarlettgirl

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Does anyone have experience with this agency's response time on an exclusive? Their website says six weeks and it has been four since I submitted my manuscript. I would just like a general time frame from anyone who has dealt with this agency before. Thanks.
 

ThatMovieAnnouncerGuy

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I submitted a non-exclusive on 9/27 and got rejected 10/02. FWIW, I met Tracey at a conference years ago and loved her. Very nice and very impressive. Luck.
 

Julie Worth

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They don't actually require exclusives, but they do prefer them. And they take twice as long to reply if you don't submit exclusively.

I wouldn't take that seriously. If an agent has an exclusive on something, they can read it at their leisure, so the tendency is for exclusive material to take longer.

One thing I wonder--if other agencies have partials of up to the first 3 chapters, but no one else has the full, is that an exclusive as long as I don't send anyone else a full until their 6 weeks are up? Or does "exclusive" mean any part of it?

If an agency requests an exclusive on a partial, don't grant it. If an agency requests it on a full, then that doesn't include partials. But still, my advice is not to grant anyone an exclusive.
 

andracill

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I thought their website said 6 weeks for an exclusive and 12 for a non-exclusive...I sent them a non-exclusive about 6 weeks ago. Halfway there! (Still waiting, iow)
 

trickywoo

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I found the same thing - you can submit a non-exclusive; it just has a 12 week response time.
 

soulcascade

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I sent mine in a while ago and should be recieving an answer soon, their 'deadline' is on x-mas eve *gulp* I seriously hope they don't contact me over the holidays if it's a rejection :s
 

scarlettgirl

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Has anyone heard from Adams Literary regarding their submission yet? I haven't and it's been almost seven weeks for my exclusive with them. Just curious.
 

soulcascade

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Hi scarlettgirl I sent an exclusive too. It's expired and I haven't heard from them. I wonder if it's because they're swamped with submissions or because of the holidays? (I assume this time of year everything is slowed Waaaay down)
 

emandem

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I'm curious to know if any of you have been submitting the full manuscript (as they appear to request on their website), or just queries/partials?? A full manuscript seems a lot for the initial submission
 

Vandal

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I submitted a non-exclusive full on 10/10 and received a rejection on 12/02. Seven weeks is not a bad turnaround.
 

scarlettgirl

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emandem,
I sent them the entire manuscript as requested in their submission guidelines, not sure if they only want partials or not. It doesn't hurt to ask though. :)

I think that the holidays have slowed down their response times because I passed the eight week mark on my exclusive with them. Oh well, maybe that's good news. :)

Happy New Year Everyone!!!
 

Marva

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They say to send the full, so doing otherwise is not following directions. Whether that's an off-putter for them or not is an open question. I'm just saying, that's what they said to do. I can see the point. On an electronic entry, why bother with a few chapters only to have to ask again for more? Equeries, IMHO, should always ask for a full on a positive reply, whether from a query only, query+3, or query+synopsis. Why ask for a partial, then have to ask for a full later? Makes no sense.

Oh, yeah. I sent a full non-exclusive on 12/01. Now it could be exclusive.
 

Red.Ink.Rain

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Do they rep YA books as well as children's?

Never mind, I just checked out the website and answered my own question, lol. I think I'm going to send a non-exclusive. I figure I don't have anything to lose, and they seem like a great agency. Plus I love the idea of not sending a query, lol.

Edit: Looks like they represent Blood and Chocolate, which is a seriously popular YA book. There's also a movie version based on it. Pretty impressive.
 
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soulcascade

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Got a form (grr) rejection in which my name was not spelled correctly last week. I wish everyone better luck than I had.
 

youngwriter369

Are they a good agency? I have been debating querying them...it seems like they judge your work by the first few pages...i am not sure how i feel about giving an exclusive. has anyone gotten positive feedback from this agency?
 

waylander

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Are they a good agency? I have been debating querying them...it seems like they judge your work by the first few pages.

Pretty much every agency will judge your work by the first few pages, if not the first page alone. Many will judge you by your first paragraph.
 

PVish

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Via e-mail this morning, I received (6 weeks and 5 days after I submitted) my rejection from Adams after giving them a 6-week exclusive:

Thank you for your submission to Adams Literary. We can assure you that your work was given every consideration, however, we are unable to offer representation at this time.

As a small agency dedicated to providing our clients with the highest standards of representation while still seeking new authors and artists in a targeted way, it is all too often the case that we must turn away many talented individuals. The decision to accept a new client is one we take seriously, as we must be wholeheartedly committed to and enthusiastic about each and every project we represent.

Please keep in mind that ours is just one opinion, and we encourage you to continue pursuing your passion for children's literature.

We appreciate your interest in Adams Literary, and we wish you every success in your writing career.

Very polite. Very professional.