I just received the following email:
Oh, there's a website: www.writersinthesky.net
Comments?Literary Agency
P.O. Box 308
Clinton, IN 47842-0308
Phone: (812) 878-4019
Email: [email protected]
New Writer
123 Published Lane
Make Money, IN 00000-0000
Dear New Writer,
Allow me to introduce you to Writers in the Sky Literary Agency and share the exciting news. My name is Mark Straley, Literary Agent and founder. We are a new agency, established on March 1, 2006, and are actively seeking new and established writers to represent. It is my hope and dream to bring twenty to forty talented writers into our fold in 2006 alone and to greatly exceed those numbers in 2007. I sincerely hope that you are the next writer we represent.
Like an artist’s painting, writing is an art form and the blank page of our medium is just as void as the artist’s canvas. The artist applies his paint to stimulate the eye with color, depth, and texture, and the writer spills words on his page to the same end. It is my belief that only writers can help other writers perfect their art, and this belief has led me to the personnel in this agency. The editors of this agency, our first readers, and yes, the founder too, are all writers.
At this agency, we know, recognize, and appreciate the conventions of active writing, interesting plot devices, descriptive scenes, and the use of language in today’s writing that brings alive the stories for readers. We are sensitive to the passion the writer feels toward his/her literary works. We have had to cut and edit our own stories, and in the end, when we have taken the stubborn scene that we know needs to be there to add the depth the story needs and finally decide to discard it, we appreciate the tough decisions necessary to raise our work from good, to better, to great, to a published final text.
We are seeking well-written, novel-length, interesting, compelling, descriptive, and character-driven works of literature. We will consider any genre, but will only consider short stories and poetry in collections of sufficient length to be published in book form.
To have your work considered by Writers in the Sky, mail us a single page biography on you, the author, and the first three chapters of your novel, or email the same to [email protected]. Allow 2 to 4 weeks response time for mailed submissions. Conformation of receipt of e-mail submissions may take up to 5 business days, but final approval or denial will also be 2 to 4 weeks.
Writers in the Sky Literary Agency comply with The Association of Writers’ Representatives, Cannon of Ethics. Our policies do not guarantee acceptance – we are looking for talented writers with either a unique style or a proven track record of publication – however, we do guarantee every manuscript received will be read and if we decide NOT to represent the work, thoughtful, well meaning suggestions for manuscript improvement will be sent back with the manuscript. If we decide to offer representation to any literary property, a request for the entire manuscript will be made, and an editor will be assigned to work with the author until a complete manuscript is approved by our senior editor.
To be completely clear and honest, I feel compelled to mention that we, the agency, will never ask for front money. If your manuscript is accepted in our system, copies to publishers, mailings, and other promotional expenses are, and will remain (without reimbursement), the responsibility of the agency, however, if long editing sessions are required to polish the manuscript, we reserve the right to ask for reimbursement of editing fees after the manuscript has been published. Let me be understood, if you, the author, don’t get paid, neither do we.
If you have any questions, please feel free mail us or send an email to:
[email protected]
Sincerely,
Mark Straley
Literary Agent
Writers in the Sky Literary Agency.
Oh, there's a website: www.writersinthesky.net
