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Vanguard Literary Agency

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Ruarri

After 50+ rejections, I was just offered representation by Vanguard Literary Agency, contract and all. Before I uncork the bubbly, though, I'd love some other perspectives, especially since I couldn't come up with much information about the agency (through Google, etc.). The agent is Sandy Lu, formerly of the Peter Rubie agency. Can anyone comment on their encounters with her, either with the old agency or the new one? Thanks!
 

zarch

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I send her a requested partial about a month ago, but I haven't heard back yet. I don't have a whole lot to add to the discussion, but I'll post an update when I hear something from her. Congratulations on the offer!
 

Irysangel

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I just searched for them on Writersmarket.com and saw no entries. Dunno if that helps.
 

Duncan J Macdonald

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Ruarri said:
After 50+ rejections, I was just offered representation by Vanguard Literary Agency, contract and all. Before I uncork the bubbly, though, I'd love some other perspectives, especially since I couldn't come up with much information about the agency (through Google, etc.). The agent is Sandy Lu, formerly of the Peter Rubie agency. Can anyone comment on their encounters with her, either with the old agency or the new one? Thanks!
Peter Rubie Literary Agency lists as Highly recommended over at Preditors and Editors . If Sandy Lu has branched off, chances are she's legit as well. Couldn't hurt to call The Peter Rubie Literary Agency and ask them if she worked there, and what the character of her termination was. It is up to you to perform due dilligence.

Please Note: I am not a Lawyer, a Published Author, an Editor, or a Saint.
 

sportscribe

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Sandy Lu

No deal listings in Publishersmarketplace.com, though, she is listed as an agent on the site. Google doesn't display much on her, though. That doesn't mean she's not legit.
 

Aconite

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More on the Peter Rubie Agency here: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=675.

Don't be surprised if the agency won't tell you the circumstances of Ms. Lu's leaving. Many places won't. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with whether or not the former employee is reputable.
 
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funidream

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When I read somewhere she had branched off on her own from Peter Rubie, I e-queried her. She responded with a request for a 50-page partial. Three weeks later I received a professional and polite from rejection in my SASE.

At Publishers Marketplace she has one sale listed from 2004 for film rights on an unpublished novel. My feeling is she is legit, but probably a novice.

I would say now that you have an offer, you can question her on her experience, contacts etc. before you sign.

Good Luck!
 

emma

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vanguard

may I know what kind of material Ms. Lu is interested in?
 

CaoPaux

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Her website is either down or not up yet, but I found this:

http://www.aboutcapa.com/agents.pdf

Sandy Lu is with the Vanguard Literary Agency and specializes in both quality fiction and non-fiction. In fiction, she is seeking submissions in commercial and literary fiction and nonfiction, women's fiction, Asian-American fiction, historical fiction, mystery & thriller; narrative nonfiction, biography and memoir, psychology, history, food writing, and pop culture.
 

CaoPaux

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06-17-2006, 08:15 AM
SylviaDiamandez
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E-queried, sent the partial, was told to wait six to eight weeks. Stopped querying to avoid the mess that can come from having more than one agent pursuing the same project at the same time.

Nine weeks later, still nothing. Not even an auto-response rejection.

I finally e-mailed her and asked that, if she hadn't already passed on the ms, to no longer consider it. Still nothing.

IMHO -- if you have to prompt an agent on something as simple as this, you'll have trouble getting answers down the road, when it counts.

IMHO -- if it takes 30 seconds, or five pages, or one sentence as I've read in some sources, to determine if a project is doable, there's no reason for an established literary agency to make someone wait six to eight weeks for a response to a query.

If the agent is a one-person operation working out of a spare room, then maybe. But this agent works for an agency with the resources to deal with queries in a timely, professional manner. (I'm assuming it has readers and other underlings who keep the inboxes clear and the outboxes full.)

If every agent who asked for an exclusive on a partial did so, you'd never get a ms published. The human life expectancy isn't that long.

One sale two years ago? Probably just as well. I'd be in the old folks home showing my new roomies my never-published novel.
06-19-2006, 12:37 PM
CaoPaux
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I'm confused. Giving you a time frame for a response is not asking for an exclusive, nor does it make sense for an agent to ask for an exclusive on a partial. Did she actually tell you "this is on exclusive"?
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06-20-2006, 11:27 AM
SylviaDiamandez
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She didn't ask for an exclusive, but common sense told me at the time to stop sending it out until I heard from her. Two or more agents could end up having the same ms under consideration. This was before I read the forums and learned that she has only one documented sale since 2004. This decison was also made in the spirit of fair play and doing what's right; two things I've learned are more or less invalid currency in the publishing industry.

Now, I'd keep sending it out.

Some agents actually do expect everything sent them to be offered exclusively. They must think the aging process doesn't affect writers.
06-20-2006, 12:14 PM
James D. Macdonald
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Unless "exclusive" is specifically asked and granted, submissions to agents are assumed to be non-exclusive.

(If an exclusive is asked, it should have a definite time limit.)
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06-20-2006, 12:35 PM
CaoPaux
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Silvia, legit agents don't make offers for representation based on only a partial*, so it doesn't make sense to limit yourself to one partial at a time. The dilemma of "Two or more agents could end up having the same ms under consideration." only applies to full mss, not partials. And if you do grant an exclusive on a full, negotiating the time limit is part of the process.

For sanity's sake, resist creating obstacles for yourself. :e2bike2:

*The exceptions support the rule.
 

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I queried her via email a few days ago and heard back right away. She said she wants the first 15-20 pages, which I think is totally weird. Most agents ask for the first 50 or the first 3 chapters. She also said she needs 6-8 weeks, which I think is a very long time to read 15 pages. Anyone else have any experiences with her??
 

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I e-queried her a couple of weeks ago and received the same response. Then I noticed on Agent Query that 15-20 pages, a synopsis, and an author bio are the guidelines for snail mail submissions. The partial request is thus consistent with what Agent Query shows (including the response time). So, you've garnered interest after the initial query--that's always a good sign.
 

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I've dealt with a lot of agents and most of them ask for the first 50 pages. Plus, I don't think it's a good idea to be too excited about someone who doesn't have much experience or a proven sales record.
 

Pisarz

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Then don't send your stuff in.

I know what the protocol is, too. I'm just passing along info from Agent Query.

And by "a good sign" I was giving you a pat on the back, as in: You got a request to submit material based on a stand-alone query, congratulations.
 

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Sandy Lu-Vanguard

Ruarri said:
After 50+ rejections, I was just offered representation by Vanguard Literary Agency, contract and all. Before I uncork the bubbly, though, I'd love some other perspectives, especially since I couldn't come up with much information about the agency (through Google, etc.). The agent is Sandy Lu, formerly of the Peter Rubie agency. Can anyone comment on their encounters with her, either with the old agency or the new one? Thanks!

Did you sign with Sandy Lu at Vanguard?? If so, are you happy with her representation? Let us know if you read this. Thanks.
 

herdon

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Yes, by all means, give us the status.

On sending out multiple manuscripts (full/partial) -- hey, having two agents that want to represent you is a problem you want to have as far as I am concerned. So long as they didn't ask for an exclusive you aren't doing anything wrong. Just make sure if one comes back wanting to represent you (and you accept) while you haven't heard from the other that you contact the other and let them know you are off the market.

Agents know the business and know that writers are sending queries/partials/etc. to other agents at the same time. That's why some of them ask for exclusives.
 

Liz Wolfe

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Experience with Sandy Lu

My experience with her hasn't been positive. I queried her last year and she requested 20 pages and shortly after that she requested the full and told me to give her 8 weeks to read it. I waited 3 months and sent her an email asking for a status on the project and never received an answer. I waited another month and sent another request for a status and still haven't heard anything. In the meantime, that manuscript has been sold and I started querying another manuscript. She requested a partial of that one but I'm not exactly holding my breath.
It's possible that my emails never got through (although the query was emailed and had no problem) and that my SASE got lost in the mail. Although I have a hard time believing BOTH of those things happened.
Liz
 

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Even editors hesitate to ask what happened when a younger agent leaves an established firm to do business on his or her own. On the other hand, it would be good to know how long Sandy Lu was with Peter Rubie. I believe that's an askable question.
 

Aprylwriter

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Just a girl,

Curtis Brown only asked me for the first fifteen pages, and they are a legit agency. I think it just depends on the agency and what they prefer. I haven't heard of Vanguard Literary Agency before, so I can't offer much help in that regards.

Good luck!

Apryl
 

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No report of sales yet. Here's the aforementioned AQ page.
 

honeycomb

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Sandy Lu Update

Has anyone received word of representation yet? She asked for 35-40 pages from me. From reading this thread and checking google, aq, etc. I'm nervous that she's not professional enough to work with.

If anyone out there has received rep, please update.

BTW, As far as Exclusives are concerned, I was asked for a three week exclusive from Victoria Sanders. As far as the Honeycomb Writer is concerned, until I sign on the dotted line there are no exclusives.
 
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