Lush Literary Management (Pamela Johnson)

They seem decent enough. Seems familiar with publishing contracts which is a good thing in my book. The news section is outdated though, I wonder if she is listed on PM or the other site (I forget the name of it) where sales would be listed. Relatively new, opened in 2007 so no huge amount of sales should be expected but I'm curious to know her trackrecord thus far.

FYI - No reported sales on Publisher's Marketplace.

I love the agency name--Lush--but I'd be very reluctant to go with an agent in Saint Paul. I don't care how many trips she makes to NY and LA. As for being an intellectual property attorney, that's good, but peripheral to agenting. If she begins to make sales down the road, then I'd consider her, but right now I see more negatives than positives.

She does have one writer who has an excerpt online. Take a look at it and see if this is the agent for you.

Julie Worth said:

I love the agency name--Lush--but I'd be very reluctant to go with an agent in Saint Paul. I don't care how many trips she makes to NY and LA. As for being an intellectual property attorney, that's good, but peripheral to agenting. If she begins to make sales down the road, then I'd consider her, but right now I see more negatives than positives.

She does have one writer who has an excerpt online. Take a look at it and see if this is the agent for you.

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Eeeww! I skimmed down to page 5 and had to stop.

FYI to others: that's a PDF download, not a link to a website.

Julie Worth said:

She does have one writer who has an excerpt online. Take a look at it and see if this is the agent for you.

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M.R.J. Le Blanc:
Seems familiar with publishing contracts which is a good thing in my book.

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I'd agree but knowing how to draft and negotiate publishing contracts is only one aspect of being a good agent. If you can't identify authors and writing that you think you can sell and you can't help an author to improve their writing to get it to a stage where you can sell it, then it doesn't matter what your legal skills are because you won't get to the stage of putting them in use.

I agree with Julie Worth. At the moment there does not appear to be any record on Publisher's Marketplace of her having made any sales and I'd want to know her track record before making the query. I'm also a bit concerned that she appears to represent all kinds of fiction. I'd always understood that it was better for agents to focus on a few particular areas rather than try to cover the whole range, not least because it helps you to build up contacts and market information.

So basically, I'd be cautious about making a query and I'd ask a number of questions before doing so.

MM

Oh I agree MM. That's why I said after that that I'd like to see her trackrecord thus far That's the ultimate test of someone's ability to sell your book, because it's obvious they know what they're doing.

Nandi said:

Eeeww! I skimmed down to page 5 and had to stop.

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Uhmmm...yeah. By page twenty we've had three graphic depictions of the cleansing of the genitalia of three elderly people; a man twice and a woman once. Not my thing at all.

And not that it matters. What matters is that the agency has been in business for at least a year--it doesn't say when in 2007 they opened--without a sale. So chances are they either don't have the connections or the ability to select publishable work, or both.

Don't be a guinea pig. Find an agent with sales.

Dang. And I could've just taken the bus to drop off a query...

DecemberQuinn said:

Don't be a guinea pig. Find an agent with sales.

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That should be a mantra or something.

- Victoria

I'm so glad you said that about December's final paragraph and not her first, Victoria.

Ew.

ummmm....

Pamela requested a full today. I never read this page. Now I don't know what to think.

DecemberQuinn said:

Don't be a guinea pig. Find an agent with sales.

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Quoted again because I think it's good advice.

karo.ambrose said:

ummmm....

Pamela requested a full today. I never read this page. Now I don't know what to think.

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I don't want to go into all the identifying details here. But I am familiar with a few people who are represented by an agent with no sales or real publishing experience. Some of them have been repped by that agent (who is NOT the subject of this thread, just to clarify, but an amateur agent is an amateur agent) for over a year.

None of them have made a sale. One of them has described two different situations to me involving submissions; both of them made my jaw literally drop in amazement, so egregious was the incompetence described. (Unfortunately, because of the place I am familiar with them from, it was not a situation where I could speak up [keep in mind, not all message boards and forums are as open and professional as this one]; I have tried, when this agent's name has come up, to gently mention their lack of sales but I have no idea if that's made an impact.)

I also heard somewhere else of another submission strategy used by this agent, which was an expensive waste of time for the author(s) involved.

So while I cannot speak with experience about THIS agent, and you are certainly welcome to speak to her and see what if anything she has to say...

The other agent told her clients she had spent over a year just studying the publishing industry. That she knew editors, had been making connections, knew what she was doing. All evidence is to the contrary. I can say with complete confidence that her clients would be better served with no agent at all; at least then their submissions would not be so badly mishandled.

Something to think about.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Thanks Quinn for the insight. There's a lot for me to consider, and if she does happen to offer representation from the full, I will ask for her sales record. What else do you think I should ask her, if we end up having a phone call?

karo.ambrose:
What else do you think I should ask her, if we end up having a phone call?

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Assuming she's got no or very limited sales for the sake of argument, I'd want to know what markets she'd be thinking of approaching for my manuscript and what connections she has to get it to the right editors. (Although in truth, if she doesn't have any or v. few sales, I wouldn't go any further than the phone call).

MM

karo.ambrose said:

Thanks Quinn for the insight. There's a lot for me to consider, and if she does happen to offer representation from the full, I will ask for her sales record. What else do you think I should ask her, if we end up having a phone call?

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Ask her what her publishing experience is. Being a lawyer (even an intellectual property one) does not equate to the same experience as working under a real and legit agent or agency. Two different worlds. If she has no first-hand experience, I'd consider passing on her.

Thanks! I'll be sure to let you all know what happens.

karo.ambrose said:

ummmm....

Pamela requested a full today. I never read this page. Now I don't know what to think.

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Well, I don't know much about Ms. Johnson's track record, but she requested a full of my YA manuscript back in January (the same day she requested yours, in fact). It's been over five months, and despite inquiring twice about its status, I've heard nothing. Either she's backlogged or she doesn't respond when she decides to pass, even if it's a requested manuscript.

It's been a year - anyone hear anything new about this agency?

I can't find any sales. Might as well pass and move on.