Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency (formerly Levine Greenberg Literary Agency)

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Danielle Svetcov emailed me back two days later and said my project doesn't work for her but I should continue sending it out. I asked in my reponse whether she was Russian-American but got no answer. I did, however, piggyback a second query relating to Russia, which she rejected. (I had not queried her originally but rather filled in the form on the Levine-Greenberg Web site, which she responded to. I wonder if that is her job?) Sorry if this thread is misplaced. I guess it needs to go with Leving-Greenberg.

Oops--I think underthecity meant to wait until you got a response before you consider querying about another project (not to wait until you got a response and then ask if she's Russian American). Sorry for the misunderstanding.

If you get a rejection, it's probably best to wait a while before querying that agent about another project. (Just a guess, as I haven't done this myself). Also, I'm not sure if an agent would answer the Russian American question at all, particularly as part of a response to a rejection.

If you are new to querying, you might want to poke around these boards or even Miss Snark's archives (the Snarkives) to read up some more on agent-author etiquette. Good luck.

Response from Rob

Thanks. I am not new to querying. I have been doing it for 20 years. I used to wait for each agent to answer. Now I send out bunches of queries since my subject is timely. Have not been able to get out to any conferences and meet any agents in the past, having lived abroad, then done nine years of elderly care. Now that I will be more able to do that kind of thing, I look forward to leads on worthwhile conferences from other writers on this fantastic resource that Absolute Write Water Cooler is.

Alexandra said:

Now that I will be more able to do that kind of thing, I look forward to leads on worthwhile conferences from other writers on this fantastic resource that Absolute Write Water Cooler is.

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Welcome, and I hope you find good things here.

Alexandra said:

Danielle Svetcov emailed me back two days later and said my project doesn't work for her but I should continue sending it out. I asked in my reponse whether she was Russian-American but got no answer.

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She looks Russian, but of course this is an improper question. And anyway, no agent will engage an author after rejecting them.

Julie Worth said:

She looks Russian, but of course this is an improper question. And anyway, no agent will engage an author after rejecting them.

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I agree that this was an improper question to ask. A much better way to phrase it would be is the person interested in Russian-related topics, or something similar. But Julie's right, rarely do agents engage in conversation with authors after rejecting them.

Six degrees of separation and all...Danielle is a former co-worker of mine [Sidewalk.com] from about seven years ago. I didn't know she'd become an agent. She is, as I recall, of Russian ancestry, but American born and educated. And very sharp.

Anyone know if she accepts YA?

More thanks!

Wow! Sassenach, thanks. You satisfied my curiosity. I may have behaved in a manner that was incorrect, but I was right about her being Russian-American! Thanks for adding your two cents.

Jenoyne Adams a WONDERFUL AGENT

It's a shame to hear some people say things like that about Jenoyne. She is an AMAZING agent who will fight for you tooth and nail, is always there with a hearing ear. She's the only agent I know that will spend over an hour with you on the phone just talking about your dreams and goals and is one of the most down to earth people I know.

I had many agents/managers and finally found the perfect person I want to stay with throughout my career and that's Jenoyne Adams.

It's a shame to hear some people say such things cause Jenoyne is the type of person who never says anything bad about anyone and has nothing but positive things to say about people.

One of the people who posted their comments on Jenoyne I know and I think that person is a total sweet heart and Jenoyne has had AMAZING wonderful things to say about that person, so it's a shame to hear that person say such comments about her.

Everyone has their own experiences and it's best to rely on your own experiences before you make a decision about someone's character.

Blessings to everyone.

Jeff

UWS said:

You only sign up with an agent for a specific project. Since she's obviously not sending my proposal to editors, and I'm no longer interested in working on that project, terminating the contract is pretty much unnecessary.

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I think you might regret that later on. For the sake of tying up loose ends (unless you still harbor a faint hope she might sell the project), and also to avoid potential complications later on (for instance, if it's a one-book contract, what does it say about letting her rep other manuscripts?), I think it makes sense to terminate.

- Victoria

My own two cents...

I just came across this thread...never knew it existed.
This certainly does not effect the "agency" but Greenberg just suffered a horrible loss of one of his children in an accident. On The Loss Of A Child

As to their rep - all I can say is that a lit. agent I do know, highly respects them, though I know nothing about their individual agents.

jeffrivera said:

It's a shame to hear some people say things like that about Jenoyne.

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Hi Jeff. Glad you're having a good experience. That doesn't negate anyone else's experience, however, and shouldn't mean that we need to tell only one side of a story. I'm very glad that people are willing to talk about both the good and bad here.

I also had an agent who became utterly uncommunicative-- we literally went more than a year without any kind of contact (I had e-mailed her a few times; she never wrote back). I would not ever be interested in getting into that situation again, so I'll listen to the three people here who've detailed the way this agent fell off the face of the earth after initial interest.

Everyone has their own experiences and it's best to rely on your own experiences...

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Then what's the point of being here? Learning from others' experiences is a good idea. That way we don't all have to make the same mistakes over and over.

Relating a true experience is not the same as "badmouthing" someone. It's really not a client's fault if an agent stops responding.

victoriastrauss said:

I think you might regret that later on. For the sake of tying up loose ends (unless you still harbor a faint hope she might sell the project), and also to avoid potential complications later on (for instance, if it's a one-book contract, what does it say about letting her rep other manuscripts?), I think it makes sense to terminate.

- Victoria

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I don't have my contract here in England, but I'm pretty sure it said my ex-agency would rep all my future works unless terminated.

JennaGlatzer said:

Relating a true experience is not the same as "badmouthing" someone. It's really not a client's fault if an agent stops responding.

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I agree Jenna, I just think it's best to hear as you said all sides of the story and people's experiences and based on what I read it was tilting mostly in one direction. I wanted to let people know I like many of her clients have had a very positive experience with her.

I'm sorry to hear some people haven't. Thanks Jenna!

aruna said:

I don't have my cnotract here in England, but I'm pretty sure it said the agency would rep all my future works unless terminated.

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Yeah if you don't feel comfortable all you have to do is send them a letter terminating the contract. But I think a lot of their contracts are just one book contracts. Not sure what your contract says though.

Better to terminate it formally now than have it bite you on the ass later on down the road. Be professional; terminate.

By the way I put a link on another posting of an interview with Jenoyne. Here it is: http://www.JeffRivera.com/JENOYNEADAMS.wav

if you want to hear her take on agenting.

TeddyG said:

My own two cents...

I just came across this thread...never knew it existed.
This certainly does not effect the "agency" but Greenberg just suffered a horrible loss of one of his children in an accident. On The Loss Of A Child

As to their rep - all I can say is that a lit. agent I do know, highly respects them, though I know nothing about their individual agents.

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This is a heartbreaking loss for the Greenberg family, TeddyG, as is your own horrible, tragic loss.

I am so very sorry.

-hopeful

On Jenoyne Adams

jeffrivera said:

It's a shame to hear some people say things like that about Jenoyne.

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Well, Jeff, what I wrote was the truth and nothing but the truth. I'm glad you've had a good experience with her, but I did not and I think it's useful for authors to read both about the good and the bad, so they can make their own (informed) decisions regarding representation.

I've been checking agents on this board and would never again make the mistake I made with Jenoyne, which was signing with an agent without finding out what authors who've worked with her have to say.

In my experience, Jenoyne Adams is a lousy agent. That you've had a good working relationship with her does not negate that her behavior toward me was totally unprofessional. I wasted months waiting for her to send my project around, believing her promises, accepting her excuses, and waiting again for her to reappear... I wouldn't want someone else to go through the same frustrating experience, which is the reason I posted my message. That's what a "bewares and background check" board is for in the first place.

My experience with J. Adams

I have been trying to leave a comment for over a week now...finally today my account was activated.

When I first stumbled onto this forum and read the negative remarks about Jenoyne, I was terribly disheartened. I immediately emailed Jeff Rivera to see what he thought we should do about it. There wasn't much we could do but leave our own comments.

Jenoyne Adams called me February 2006 to introduce herself to me. At the same time, I was approached by several publishing companies asking to see if I was writing a book. I was not. I had an agent in 2003 and the experience was so bad, I swore that I'd never attempt to get into publishing again. That agent, by the way, has several best selling authors that she represents, but I hated her and she hated me. So I can understand how two people can have two completely different experiences with the same person.

That's why I thought it was only fair that I share my experiences with Jenoyne Adams. As I mentioned Jenoyne Adams called me. At the time I had nothing to submit. She said, "No problem, when you do, let me know." I was beginning to feel that the universe was pushing me to write a book and I attempted to write one. I immediately wrote 50 pages of a first draft and a proposal for a 75,000 word novel called Freestyle Chicas. I sent it to Jenoyne, she read it and immediately got back to me. She suggested some edits and I made those changes. I asked her if she thought it was possible to sell a partial. She explained to me she wasn't crazy about the idea but because I had a few hit plays, and a decent resume, she would try. I have to tell you that during that time Jenoyne Adams spent many days and many hours with me on the phone. I'm in NY and she's in LA. She worked on this immediately and had an idea of what editors would be interested. In a few weeks, she sent out the partial and we received interest from a few editors. In fact, I received an offer from one. We didn't want to jump on the first offer and there were a few editors who wanted to see a synopsis. I wrote a 15 page synopsis written in the first person. Jenoyne and I emailed each other back and forth and within a few days we had a synopsis we were both happy with. In a few days, we heard from Atria/Simon and Schuster, they made a pre-emptive bid.

I just want to say that Jenoyne Adams is a lovely person. Not once did I ever feel uncomfortable with her. She is honest and frank and will tell you what you need to make something saleable. I had a wonderful experience and look forward to working with her again. Even after the sale, Jenoyne continues to call me. So to hear that she never gets back to anyone is such a surprise because she answer all of my emails and phone calls in a timely fashion.

This business, as in any business, is about relationships. Either it clicks or a doesn't. I've had my share of disappointments as well. So I'm not saying anyone is wrong here...I just wanted to share my experience because I thought it was the fair thing to do here.

Thank you,
Linda Nieves-Powell
President
Latino Flavored Productions Inc.
www.latinoflavored.com

I used to be neighbors with Jenoyne and got to know her quite well and this was before she became an agent. She was a down-to-earth person and still is. She agreed to a sit down with me recently to discuss a book proposal I had and she was very attentive and gave me a good idea of some of the ins and outs of the process of bringing a book to fruition. My experience with her has been positive and what you see is what you get with her. She is a straight shooter which I appreciate.

She might be down to earth (although I'm not sure that's particularly relevant) but three people on this thread have said Jenoyne Adams had requested their manuscript and never bothered to reply to them. A fourth person, who was her client, said Adams took a ridiculously long time to send her manuscript to editors... and then stopped replying to her client's emails and disappeared. I don't know about you, but to me this is:
Red flag
Red flag!
Red flag!!
HUGE FREAKING RED FLAG!!!

The Four Agreements

Wow...is everyone on this forum so angry and hyper...here's something to calm you down.

Since I was the last poster, I assume you mean me. I'm actually neither angry nor hyper. In fact, I'm happy as a lark. But a red flag is a red flag. And in this case, you have to be blind not to see all four of them.