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[Agency] Aitken Alexander Associates, Ltd.

aruna

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Top notch. Just look at their author list!
I have no experience with them myself, but I do "know" a client of Clare Alexander and she is very happy with her.
 

seun

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Thanks. I had a look at their list and felt like I'd been invited to a black tie party and turned up in my jeans. :D

Worth a go, though.
 

Julie Worth

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Thanks. I had a look at their list and felt like I'd been invited to a black tie party and turned up in my jeans. :D

Worth a go, though.


"Before submitting to us we advise you to look at our existing client list to establish whether your work will be of interest." Which is to say, if you're even reading this, forget it.
 

CaoPaux

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"Before submitting to us we advise you to look at our existing client list to establish whether your work will be of interest." Which is to say, if you're even reading this, forget it.

Very subtle - or not so subtle - snobbism.
Huh? They're not asking for more than any other agent: Research what we sell, and consider whether your book is what we like.
 

aruna

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The trouble is that putting it into so many words can backfire. It calls for self-selection, and often it's the the starry-eyed rank beginners who see themselves among the eternal literary greats and Nobel prizewinners. We all know how bad writers are at judging their own writing!
Truly selective agents looking for the creme de la creme don't even accept submissions from the general public; they figure that if you're THAT good, you already know people who know people in the business. They only take referrals, or they head-hunt authors. There are a couple of such agents. Andrew Wylie, for instance, of the Wylie Agency.. They never have any other submissions page but that.
it's a very small business, there's not that tremendous interest available at any given time, so people are interested competitively in what you have, especially if you're only looking at quality. If you're playing a higher-risk game, being in the business of quality is a fairly low-risk game if you do it right. The high-risk game is the commercial end. It's high-risk for everybody, because if it doesn't work, there's a tremendous loss to be made—a loss of face, a loss of money. With work of quality, if you don't make your money back right away, you will over time anyway. So I think we're the soft and gentle side of the business. We're the affordable shop in the industry. What we're selling is going to earn out sooner or later, anyway.
(my bold)
 
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alias octavia

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Anna Stein

AgentQuery has a note that she joined this agency to start a New York office and that she is actively seeking clients. Their website doesn't list her, but it doesn't look very up to date either.

Does anyone have any experience or information on Ms. Stein?
 

CaoPaux

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Site is "down for maintenance". Anne has recent deals on PM, so one can hope it's in fact just that.
 

Martina

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Debut authors?

Back when I was finishing an MA in Creative Writing, I met Clare Alexander and to tell the truth I was quite impressed. Seemed like a person eager to promote a book and help the writer. Now that I have finished my novel I am contemplating sending her a query but will she be interested? This is my debut novel after all. Has anyone had any dealings with them?
 

Transatlantic

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QueryTracker indicates that Anna Stein changed her name to Anna Stein O'Sullivan and went on maternity leave this summer.

Does anyone know if she's back and accepting queries? The website doesn't even mention her name change.

Thanks in advance.
 

hankandsigrid79

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Aitken Alexander Associates

Hi everyone.

I'm new, and this is my first time posting anything. I want to know if anyone has any experience submitting to the Aitken Alexander Associates agency, be it through a submission to the UK or the US office. It would also be nice to know which agents were submitted to, and in particular if anyone has had the audacity to submit to Gillon Aitken, the chairman of the company, who has been an agent to writers such as VS Naipaul and Salman Rushdie, and currently represents writers such as Germaine Greer, Edward St Aubyn, and Sebastian Faulks. I plan to submit to this agency.
 

Cel_Fleur

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I haven't had any experience working with the agency, but would be interested in submitting to them, too. Obviously, they're a great agency, but would be nice to know some specifics.