Dominick Abel Literary Agency

I understand he's Bently Little's agent. Little has done well, considering he writes horror, a genre that gets little respect (pardon the completely unintentional pun).

Dominick Abel

Completely legit, a power in the mystery world. Agents a friend of mine, Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters. She's been with him for decades and he's signed her to many heavy hitter deals.

-Ann C. Crispin

http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/peald.htm
Dominick Abel Literary Agency: $ AAR A literary agency. (Dominick Abel: Literary, Adult)

Like Ann says, an absolute powerhouse in the industry. You couldn't get any better.

Tri

Anybody have any experiences querying Dominick? Or the agency? Are there other agents? Is there a website hidden somewhere that I'm missing. Submission guidlines? Accepting unoslicited queries? Takes on new writers?

Sheesh. I can't find nottin'.

He's been around for decades, writing impressive deals, and there's little to be found.

Really, I didn't mean that play on words...it just happened.

Is it just me, or is this guy a 'powerhouse' mystery? ? ? ?

Oh, what the hell, I'll send a query anyway... But I'd love some info if anyone has any...anything...

I second the question -- esp. re e-mail vs. snail mail. There seems to be contradictory info out there whether or not you can query him by e-mail. Anyone have the answer?

Unless someone has an email address other than the one listed in AQ, I'd say snail mail is the only option we have.

I tried emailing [email protected] and got a mailer demon response.

Hi guys, according to Query Tracker, he ONLY accepts snail mail. Query and first chapter according to the comments below. About a 1 month turn around. I'm still researching, but I'll edit this if I find out more.

found this:

http://www.wordhustler.com/agents/3804/Dominick-Abel-Literary-Agency-Inc.html

and this:

http://www.litmatch.net/Literary-Agent-Info.asp?agent_id=68

EDIT: Okay everything I found states what these places say. Snail mail queries only. One person sent the first chapter, but they were ultimately rejected, so I'd just send the query.

In response to Leukman's post on "Powerhouse Mystery"... well I did some research. Here's what I came out with..
4 pages on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1255327...dominick abel&rh=i:aps,k:dominick abel&page=1
A hit on barns & noble (their search engine is terrible):
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Color-of-Death/Elizabeth-Lowell/e/9780060504144
I had better luck on google:
http://www.google.com.sg/search?q=d...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
list on W.R. Hammons which yield nothing:
http://www.wrhammons.com/dominick-abel-agency.htm
Some stuff on PM:
www.publishersmarketplace.com/cgi-bin/dealmaker.pl?id=10473

Sent query, synopsis and 20 page sample snail mail - got a personalized email rejection 6 days later...

Oh dear, sorry to hear the Leukman. I just fired off mine. Email to boot. I am a 'ballsy' woman. Let's see what happens.

Form rejection in three days. Snail mail query.

Well, at least he's consistently responding to SM queries...

Did anyone get an answer re e-mail queries?

Newest Writer's Market has only an e-mail for "how to contact" and it's the same one posted here w/note it didn't get through! Q Tracker still says snail mail and the agency still seems to have no web site. Most of all, any evidence they do thriller or are they strictly crime/mystery? (All their best known authors appear to be the latter.) Any info appreciated.

Check the AAR web site, as Dominick Abel's a listed agent there (www.aar-online.org). Rather than listing what he represents, he has a long list of what he doesn't. And he accepts email queries.

I queried Mr. Abel via email and recieved a very...clever response two days later. It read "I do not accept new writers except under extraordinary circumstances, and your work is not, unfortunately, for me." Hmmm, he manages to diss without technically dissing. At least he buffers the blow with the little 'unfortunately' trailer. Imagine if he had left it off. While it grinds a bit, I have to admit I like his style. Oh well, battle on, Vic. Battle on.

Victoria said:

I queried Mr. Abel via email and recieved a very...clever response two days later. It read "I do not accept new writers except under extraordinary circumstances, and your work is not, unfortunately, for me." Hmmm, he manages to diss without technically dissing. At least he buffers the blow with the little 'unfortunately' trailer. Imagine if he had left it off. While it grinds a bit, I have to admit I like his style. Oh well, battle on, Vic. Battle on.

Click to expand...

Sorry about the "r." Was the email you used the same one posted here? Good luck on your other queries.

Victoria said:

I queried Mr. Abel via email and recieved a very...clever response two days later. It read "I do not accept new writers except under extraordinary circumstances, and your work is not, unfortunately, for me." Hmmm, he manages to diss without technically dissing. At least he buffers the blow with the little 'unfortunately' trailer. Imagine if he had left it off. While it grinds a bit, I have to admit I like his style. Oh well, battle on, Vic. Battle on.

Click to expand...

I got that exact same rejection, so at least he didn't diss you.

Victoria said:

I queried Mr. Abel via email and recieved a very...clever response two days later. It read "I do not accept new writers except under extraordinary circumstances, and your work is not, unfortunately, for me." Hmmm, he manages to diss without technically dissing. At least he buffers the blow with the little 'unfortunately' trailer. Imagine if he had left it off. While it grinds a bit, I have to admit I like his style. Oh well, battle on, Vic. Battle on.

Click to expand...

Don't take it personal. It's a form response. I got the same exact rejection in October.

Dominick Abel's website is no longer functioning (at least not the one on agentquery.com. Anyone "Abel" (able) to provide a more recent website?

Hi there - Just received a rejection sent to [email protected]. Rejection came in literally minutes! Same form as those stated above: "Thanks for querying me about your work. With a very full plate, I take on new writers only in exceptional circumstances, and your work is not, I am sorry to say, for me"

Hope that helps.