Australian Literary Talent:
We are a literary talent evaluation service for writers of fiction. This is a new concept in Australian publishing.
And what, precisely, is its qualifications for evaluating literary talent? None of the three founders are commercially publisher authors, none have worked for a commercial publisher in an acquisitions or editorial capacity (or, indeed, any capacity from the look of it) and none have worked for a literary agency. How then do they know what they're looking for? Answer: they don't.
Australian Literary Talent:
What we do is we find literary agents or publishers for writers we feel have high commercial or literary potential.
Australian based authors are perfectly capable of finding their own agents and publishers. They've been doing it for years without the assistance of a business such as this.
Australian Literary Talent:
You will notice that many literary agents do not accept unsolicited material from unpublished writers.
I'd suggest that literary agents in Australia (like agents anywhere) want you to go down the query letter route first in accordance with their submissions guidelines. If they're interested in what you've got, they'll ask for a partial/full (as the case may be).
Of course, this isn't nearly as scaremongering and inaccurate as to suggest that agents don't want new authors.
Australian Literary Talent:
This is because they tend not to have the resources to assess large numbers of manuscripts from new authors.
That's why they usually want a query letter first.
Australian Literary Talent:
Their specialty is representing the interests of established authors.
This completely overlooks the fact that every established author was once a new author and agents usually want new clients to keep their business growing.
Australian Literary Talent:
the publisher’s primary role is not to assess new material, but to produce, distribute and promote a book once it has been accepted for publication.
Erm ... publishers assess new material submitted to them by agents all the time. That's how they get new books.
Australian Literary Talent:
This is why in many cases they do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
No. That's not why. Many publishers don't accept unsolicited manuscripts because they already rely on agents to sort through the slush.
Australian Literary Talent:
At Australian Literary Talent we do nothing but assess the commercial and literary potential of your manuscript. If we think your writing has potential we approach a literary agent or publisher directly.
And? Why would any agent or publisher take a manuscript from Australian Literary Talent? Does the business have contacts or established relationships? I'd suggest not. Therefore, you're no better off using these people than you are going through the normal query and submission process.
Australian Literary Talent:
Michael Dalvean
Most of my working life has been spent in two very different fields: financial research and music teaching. These days I try to spend as much time as possible playing music and reading. Over the years I have accumulated degrees in economics, philosophy and political science. I am currently writing a PhD thesis on the selection of ministers in the Australian Federal Parliament.
All very nice, but no publishing or agency experience there to back up what he's offering to people.
Australian Literary Talent:
John-Henry Te Hira
I was raised in the Far North of New Zealand. At school I excelled in history and music, later taking these up at The Christchurch Jazz School and Canterbury University respectively, while working part time at The Christchurch Press. At the age of 23 I left New Zealand for England, working and travelling. These travels took me through Borneo, Japan, The Middle East, Macedonia and Western Europe. During one of these excursions I met my fiancée in Italy and we now live together in Canberra, ACT Australia. I am currently working for The Canberra Times..
All very nice, but no publishing or agency experience there to back up what he's offering to people.
Australian Literary Talent:
Anne Clarke
Originally from Sydney, I decided after a career in marketing and sales that a degree in liberal arts at the ANU would be help me discover the passion that was missing from my working life. Now, 16 years later, my involvement with Australian Literary Talent speaks to a lifelong love of literature.
All very nice, but no publishing or agency experience there to back up what she's offering to people.
ghost:
They claim the fee will be paid by the agent.
Is that what they're saying in their promotional literature (because I couldn't see it on their website)?
I don't see why an agent would want to pay that fee, unless they've established a contract to specifically read their slush.
MM