[Agency] ICM Partners (formerly International Creative Management)

International Creative Management, Inc.

I'm wondering if anyone has had experience with International Creative Management, Inc. I searched and can't see that anyone has posted about them before here. Thanks.

I_Shrugged said:

Do you mean International Creative Management, Inc.?

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Yes. I'm sorry.

ICM is one of the big five agencies in Hollywood. They are the majors.

How would a person Submit to ICM? They have no information for submissions.

Re: ICM, I looked up their agents individually on AgentQuery.com: some of them accept queries, and some of them don't.

AgentQuery is a fabulous resource - among many other things, it tells whether or not agents will accept email queries.

CaoPaux said:

It's on their contact page.

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Be sure to read their Unsolicited Submission Policy, which clearly states that they won't consider anything you send them. So how do they get clients?

Here's one way: The Write Stuff.

Julie Worth said:

So how do they get clients?

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Here's another: They're one of the biggest fish, so they just eat all the smaller fish. (I.E. they woo clients from smaller agencies).

Julie Worth said:

Be sure to read their Unsolicited Submission Policy, which clearly states that they won't consider anything you send them. So how do they get clients?

Here's one way: The Write Stuff.

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Some ICM agents are open to queries. You have to find listings for their individual agents. They are not on the web site. Agentquery has them.

ICM *International Creative Management*

I believe I've heard good things on some thread somewhere, but couldn't find a thread here on Bewares and Background. What does everyone know about ICM, specifically Tina Dubois Wexler? Their website is http://www.icmtalent.com and this is one of their agent's AgentQuery profiles, http://www.agentquery.com/agent.aspx?agentid=627.

Isn't ICM one of the top agencies in the country? It is at least in the UK. I don't know anything about Ms. Wexler in particular. Sorry!

From the Index

ICM (International Creative Management, Inc.) (Tina Wexler, Margot Meyers)
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22882
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28596

One of the big boys in the UK. I think they also have offices in NY and LA.

I apologize for starting this thread. I did the good ole' Ctrl +F and it didn't come up. I must've done something idiotic. Can someone delete this thread?

BTW: Sent a query today, got a rejection in half an hour. I think I'm going to submit to one of their other agents though...

The wait game

Do you have an idea of what's a "reasonable amount" of time to wait for a reply from an ICM agent? One of them requested my entire manuscript almost three months ago--and I'm wondering when it would be appropriate for me to ask him whether he's had a chance to read it. Thanks...

I ask for an update at the four-month mark (mine are all non-exclusive). If it's exclusive, two or three weeks after your exclusive deadline is up doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

Thanks. Is that a standard timeframe for agents, or is it just what you consider reasonable? I really appreciate your feedback. Other agents have my full manuscript, but they've only had it for a few weeks, and I haven't found any information on what's "standard" (if there's such a thing) in terms of waiting times, so I feel like I'm flying blind. Thanks again.

CaoPaux said:

"No unsolicited submissions" = "query first". If you are not secure in what comprises a query, ask them what they want to see.

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Actually, no unsolicited manuscripts means query first. No unsolicited submissions means they don't take anything from people they don't know. The only way to land an agent like that is through a mutual friend or acquaintance--someone who knows your work and can ask the agent to look at it.

Several agents at ICM, although not all of them (check agentquery.com) are in that category, as well as other people who prefer to get new clients through recommendations, instead of spending time looking at unsolicited materials. Molly Friedrich (who recently opened her own agency) and Joanna Pulcini are two known agents who no longer accept unsolicited submissions.

I understand why they do it, but it's a shame--if you are not well connected in the publishing industry, you simply have no access to those agents, and they miss out on the chance of discovering fresh talent.

UWS said:

Thanks. Is that a standard timeframe for agents, or is it just what you consider reasonable? I really appreciate your feedback. Other agents have my full manuscript, but they've only had it for a few weeks, and I haven't found any information on what's "standard" (if there's such a thing) in terms of waiting times, so I feel like I'm flying blind. Thanks again.

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It's what I consider reasonable based on the estimated time that agents have mentioned on their website (usually three months). So I give them one more month after that and then ask politely for an update.

UWS said:

No unsolicited submissions means they don't take anything from people they don't know. The only way to land an agent like that is through a mutual friend or acquaintance--someone who knows your work and can ask the agent to look at it.

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Actually, that's not always true. Jenny Bent, for example, states on her website that she's not accepting unsolicited submissions. However, when asked to clarify that on a women's fiction email loop I'm on, she said that she always accepts queries; the guidelines on her website mean not to send partials, fulls, or anything else because she just doesn't have time to look at them. (That's paraphrased, of course.)

ETA: For a more concrete example (so you're not just taking my word on it), see Heacock Literary Agency's website. It states: No unsolicited submissions. Kindly send a query letter first.
http://www.heacockliteraryagency.com/main.htm

Re: Tina Dubois Wexler.

She recently read my full and got back to me within a very timely fashion. It was obvious from her rejection that she had indeed read the whole manuscript and had some considerable internal debate about whether to say yes or no. She even went so far as to recommend a couple of imprints where she thought my manuscript would be a very good fit.

Anyway, bottom line, I walked away from her rejection feeling really positive and upbeat, and thinking very highly of Tina Wexler. It's a rare agent who can make you feel really good about a "no thanks."