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Movable Type Management (formerly Movable Type Literary Group)

Foinah

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I re-queried Jason at his email address rather than the sub address on 5/10/11. I'll post an update when I hear something.

ETA : Still haven't heard anything. Other folks have reported automated responses that their submission was received.

Perhaps this is the universe's way of telling me to move on. Meh.
 
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buxfan

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I signed with Mr. Ashlock in May, where he would represent our graphic novel, The Chronic Argonauts. However, circumstances have led me to terminate that contract only a few short months later.

After the contract was signed, I sent him a bunch of materials (preview copies, etc.) to help him in pitching the novel to publishers. He seemed very enthusiastic, so I was very happy. After a couple of months, I emailed him a few times asking if there was any update that I could pass along to my team, never receiving any update on his progress.

I did receive a couple of responses, however; once when I let him know that I was being interviewed for an issue of WIRED magazine (which was just released on newsstands!), and a very negative note when I sent him a Twitter message asking if he was getting my emails. I am very respectful of a person's time, especially if that person is out there trying to make me money. So I don't expect immediate responses to my emails. But Mr. Ashlock spends a decent amount of time on Twitter, so I find it very hard to believe that he is too busy to just send a quick note about news (positive, negative, or lack thereof) that he may have.

After seeking out the advice of others in the industry, I decided to terminate the contract. As others have stated, "It's better to have no agent than to have a poor agent." The 30-day termination notification period just ended, so I have not signed with another agent yet. Keeping my fingers crossed though.

Others have been successful with Mr. Ashlock, so I do not want to discourage you from querying him. I just thought I should let everyone know about the experience that I had so that you could keep it in mind should you be thinking about signing a contract with him.
 

Mclesh

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Hmm, buxfan, sorry to hear this. He's had my full for about six weeks now. He responded to my query quickly. I sent it on a Friday, and I heard back from him Monday morning. He sent a very nice note requesting it.

He's probably extra swamped with the merger. But still, you need to have an agent who's responsive. Thanks for the info, and sorry about your experience. :(
 

Old Hack

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I signed with Mr. Ashlock in May, where he would represent our graphic novel, The Chronic Argonauts. However, circumstances have led me to terminate that contract only a few short months later.

That's a shame. I'm sorry you've had a bad experience.

After the contract was signed, I sent him a bunch of materials (preview copies, etc.) to help him in pitching the novel to publishers. He seemed very enthusiastic, so I was very happy. After a couple of months, I emailed him a few times asking if there was any update that I could pass along to my team, never receiving any update on his progress.

I'm just a little confused. According to the blog you link to in your signature, The Chronic Argonauts was only completed a month ago: so how could Mr Ashlock have tried to sell it in May of this year, four months before it was finished? And how could you supply him with preview copies in May if it wasn't complete?

It could be that Mr Ashlock was waiting for you to finish the novel before he began submitting it to trade publishers and so couldn't give you the updates you asked for. I don't know. But that is a possible scenario.

I also note that have been using CreateSpace to sell a self-published edition of The Chronic Argonauts. How did Mr Ashlock feel about you self-publishing a book he was trying to sell to a trade publisher? Was this done with his full approval and knowledge? Did this contribute in any way to the end of your relationship with him?
 

buxfan

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Thanks for playing devil's advocate.
I'm just a little confused. According to the blog you link to in your signature, The Chronic Argonauts was only completed a month ago: so how could Mr Ashlock have tried to sell it in May of this year, four months before it was finished? And how could you supply him with preview copies in May if it wasn't complete?

It could be that Mr Ashlock was waiting for you to finish the novel before he began submitting it to trade publishers and so couldn't give you the updates you asked for. I don't know. But that is a possible scenario.
Yes, we did complete the graphic novel a little over a month ago. Art was finished several months before that, only requiring some coloring and lettering. The script was finished over a year ago. The preview copies were completed copies of our first chapter. Mr. Ashlock indicated that those would be for his use with publishers. I am sure it's not the first time that a book was to be pitched before being completed.
I also note that have been using CreateSpace to sell a self-published edition of The Chronic Argonauts. How did Mr Ashlock feel about you self-publishing a book he was trying to sell to a trade publisher? Was this done with his full approval and knowledge? Did this contribute in any way to the end of your relationship with him?
The CreateSpace book was initially created as a cheap way to have some pre-publication copies to share with family and friends who were interested in the project we had been working on for over a year. It was going to be set to private so that no one could access it online without a special code, but I decided to make it available publicly for a short time AFTER notifying Mr. Ashlock of the termination of our contract. So this did not contribute in any way to the end of our relationship.

It was his lack of communication that caused me to terminate the contract. I was very disappointed, especially considering that the contract specifically stated that we would be in contact at least every two weeks.
 

Old Hack

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Thank you, Buxfan--that makes things much clearer.
 

DW26

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Jason quickly responded to my query and agreed to read it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
 

J.B.Kantt

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Hey everyone! I'm new to AW, and I just wanted to try and get in on the conversation if that's okay (even though it's kind of dead) :)

I queried Ms. Mulligan on February 25th, 2012, and I'm still waiting for a response.
Fingers crossed that I hear (hopefully good news) from her soon. :)
 

Krista G.

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Hey everyone! I'm new to AW, and I just wanted to try and get in on the conversation if that's okay (even though it's kind of dead) :)

I queried Ms. Mulligan on February 25th, 2012, and I'm still waiting for a response.
Fingers crossed that I hear (hopefully good news) from her soon. :)

Welcome to Absolute Write, J.B.Kantt! I just wanted to let you know that Ms. Mulligan left agenting a few months ago to be a stay-at-home mom. I don't know why they haven't taken her off the website yet, but I had some correspondence with her via e-mail that confirmed it.

Good luck with your other queries!
 

J.B.Kantt

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Welcome to Absolute Write, J.B.Kantt! I just wanted to let you know that Ms. Mulligan left agenting a few months ago to be a stay-at-home mom. I don't know why they haven't taken her off the website yet, but I had some correspondence with her via e-mail that confirmed it.

Good luck with your other queries!

Thanks Krista!
Wow, I had no idea! Thank goodness you told me, otherwise I would have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting (unless she emailed me to tell me; but then she'd probably have to do that to everyone). Thank you so much for letting me know! :)
 

Mclesh

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No word from Jason on the full he requested the beginning of September. I did send him a nudge when I received an offer. No response. (I'd already written him off as not interested though.)
 

ACROALL

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Queried Mr. Ashlock Friday, got a request for a full a few hours later. Woot! Second full request since I've started querying!
 

Krista G.

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Rejected this evening by Mr. Ashlock. Back to square one with no fulls or partials out.

Sorry to hear that, ACROALL :( But if you got two requests, you'll almost certainly get more. Good luck with your other queries!
 

ACROALL

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Got a full request from Sarah Jane Freymann agency yesterday. Not holding my breath because they request A LOT of fulls, but that makes my count 4 out of 33. Not bad!
 

nancy sv

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I should probably update this with my experience about Jason Ashlock as well. He contacted me about my book and was very interested. He told me he had worked as agent for a friend's book, so I contacted said friend and he had nothing but wonderful things to say about Jason. Apparently, Jason went above and beyond and did a great job.

I met with Jason in NYC and all went well. A few days later he sent me an email saying he would like to represent me and would be sending a contract shortly. The email never came.

A week or two later I wrote to him and asked what was going on. No response.

Another week or two I wrote again. No response.

Eventually (I forget the timing - this was a couple years ago) he sent me this: "So I'd like to move forward. I'm officially offering your representation for your literary and transmedia endeavors, meaning I am offering to serve as your consultant and legal representative in the sale of any intellectual properties you create. If you're interested, I'll send you a formal letter of agreement."

We ended up with a lot of back and forth emails about my proposal and such, but the formal letter never did show up. After a few months it became apparent that he wasn't very interested in my story so I moved on.

I will say that he was very helpful in what he did, but I think he just didn't see where my story could go.
 

Becca C.

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I queried Mary Kole on 6/18 -- I had an R&R with Mary about a year and a half ago, so hopefully she likes this new MS. I'd love to have her represent me.