Stephanie Roston is noted as repping fantasy on AQ and the AW fantasy agents thread though her bio on the LGR site doesn't mention it.
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Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency (formerly Levine Greenberg Literary Agency)
- Thread starter scarletfox
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Email query 6/17/15
Full request! 7/28/15
Instead of using the online form, I sent an email query addressing Stephanie Rostan herself. (Site says that's okay.) Her bio mentioned liking work that straddles genres, so with my oddball genre-bender I knew I had to leap on that. After 3 weeks I had pegged this as a rejection, since their site states that no reply after 3 weeks is a no, but 6 weeks after querying I got a full request. Woo!! Now crossing my fingers...
Full request! 7/28/15
Instead of using the online form, I sent an email query addressing Stephanie Rostan herself. (Site says that's okay.) Her bio mentioned liking work that straddles genres, so with my oddball genre-bender I knew I had to leap on that. After 3 weeks I had pegged this as a rejection, since their site states that no reply after 3 weeks is a no, but 6 weeks after querying I got a full request. Woo!! Now crossing my fingers...
Bummer. I can't get to it. I see your old blog for a moment that says something about I'll be redirected--
And I am. To a blank page. Kerry is the one I'm checking out.
Direct link to blog post (from Apr '12): http://michelle-krys.blogspot.ca/2012/04/yamg-agent-series-kerry-sparks-of.html?m=1
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Any recent experience with this agency? Specifically a Matthew Huff? QT has pretty much nothing on him. He seems like a brand-new agent.
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Danielle Svetcov at Levine Greenberg Rostan:
2 day response, personalized and helpful rejection
2 day response, personalized and helpful rejection
I submitted to Victoria Skurnick today at 2:00 (which would be 5:00 back East) on the LGR website form. I got a polite 'thanks but it's not for me' reply at 4:00 (7:00 back East and today is Friday!). I knew she wasn't a perfect fit, but wasn't expecting that. Of course, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition....
I just checked her QT and holy cow at the rejections she sends? Saying fiction isn't marketable right now because of the pandemic?? You mean the same pandemic that resulted in increased sales for escapist fiction and record profits for publishers??? THAT pandemic????
I swear, being ghosted and mistreated by agents time and time again has made writers too willing to accept unprofessional/rude behavior. So many people praise agents simply for replying regardless of what the reply was. "Yeah this agent told me to pound sand and never write again, but at least they replied within a week! 10/10 would query again!!!"
I swear, being ghosted and mistreated by agents time and time again has made writers too willing to accept unprofessional/rude behavior. So many people praise agents simply for replying regardless of what the reply was. "Yeah this agent told me to pound sand and never write again, but at least they replied within a week! 10/10 would query again!!!"
Mod Hat on:
At AbsoluteWrite, we strictly adhere to RYFW--and if you don't know what that is, get thee to the FAQs posthaste--and that includes agents, editors, and publishers huddled under the same umbrella.
You are, of course, free--nay encouraged--to report facts about any agent, especially any recent interaction, but calling any agent unprofessional or rude because they don't think they can sell a particular ms. at this time isn't okay. It's entirely possible the market for this particular ms. is indeed horrible just now.
We good? Of course we are.
Just pointing out for anyone who may think otherwise, that “thanks but it’s not for me” is the most neutral rejection you can get. It does not suggest anything’s good or bad about the query or pages, only that the agent thinks the book’s not right for them for whatever reason. It gives you a prompt reply that allows you to move on with your query process. If the book is that clearly not that agent’s cup of tea, they can provide no better service than telling you so, quickly & politely.
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No COVID yet. Still masking.
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I think sales of 'escapist' fiction did increase during the pandemic, but this particular agent reps literary fiction, which likely didn't enjoy the same upswing and indeed may have lost readers who switched to escapist fiction instead.
I think she sends that "Thanks, but it's not for me" reply to a lot of people. I got the exact same message from her when she rejected my query (in a matter of about 2ish hours). Yeah, it's blunt, but I appreciate that she at least takes the time to send a quick response and give a definitive 'yes' or 'no.' So many people are submitting to agents these days, so agents may reject a perfectly good manuscript because it's not to their taste.
My comment about being rude/unprofessional wasn't intended to describe Victoria in particular but rather a trend I've noticed with querying writers accepting poor behavior from agents in general. In hindsight I see how my statement was poorly worded.Mod Hat on:
At AbsoluteWrite, we strictly adhere to RYFW--and if you don't know what that is, get thee to the FAQs posthaste--and that includes agents, editors, and publishers huddled under the same umbrella.
You are, of course, free--nay encouraged--to report facts about any agent, especially any recent interaction, but calling any agent unprofessional or rude because they don't think they can sell a particular ms. at this time isn't okay. It's entirely possible the market for this particular ms. is indeed horrible just now.
We good? Of course we are.
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When I was querying publishers for my non-fiction book, only 3 of the 20 I submitted to even bothered to get back to me. Luckily 2 of those were interested and things worked out. So yes, a timely and to the point 'no' is far better then being ghosted.