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The Harding Agency / The Cooke Agency

Carmy

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Has anyone here been published via that agency, or had dealings with them?
 

Carmy

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Thanks DA.

I bookmarked The Harding Agency a short while back then, when I went back to look at it a few days ago they had added an item: Manuscripts can be emailed to them.

I'm concerned because I wonder if this is an agency that blankets publishers with emails. I've had an agent like that and got nowhere.

I emailed one of their authors to ask about her experience but I've had no reply. That worries me, too.

I guess there's only one way to find out.

If there's anything untoward, I'll post it on AW.
 

CaoPaux

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The Top Five Questions To Ask When Evaluating An Agent

1) Have they made any sales?

2) Are the sales to advance/royalty-paying publishers?

3) Did the sales require an agent?

4) Can you find the books on the shelf locally?

5) Do they handle your subject/genre?


I feel a flowchart coming on.... :Lecture:
 

Carmy

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Thanks CaoPaux. I could say 'Yes' to all except #4, but I have no proof. I need to explore the bookshops for that, and a couple of publishers to see if they list the books on their websites.
 

Aconite

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Carmy said:
Thanks CaoPaux. I could say 'Yes' to all except #4, but I have no proof. I need to explore the bookshops for that, and a couple of publishers to see if they list the books on their websites.
Website listings are worth nothing. It's getting books on bookstore shelves that matters.
 

Carmy

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Thanks Aconite, you echo my feelings and that's why I'm so leery of this agent. One sale they made was to St. Martin's Press so it should show up somewhere.

I'm going to try reaching a couple of their other authors and hope for a response.

Carmy
 

rubydolldoll

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Hi,

Does anyone have any further/more recent information on this agency?

Carmy - any luck getting in contact with clients?
 

waylander

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I read a book by a Harding Agency client, Kenneth J Harvey. It is published by Vintage over here and is widely available in bookshops.
 

Carmy

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Thanks waylander. Apparently, Vintage is a paperback imprint of Random House. http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/vintage/
Impressive sale. The Agency is in BC, Canada, so there may be close links with the UK and they have a sub-agent there. Fine with me as the stories I'm touting are all set in the UK.

All in all, I'd rather my fiction be published in paperback than hard cover with its hefty price tag. In other words, I'd like more people to read what I write, and I think more people buy paperbacks.

I queried Harding two nights ago by email and got an answer first thing the next morning. They want the first 30 - 50 pages, snail-mail preferred.

Before I get tangled with a non-agent again, does anyone have added information?

rubydolldoll ~ I'll keep you posted. I plan to submit unelss I hear anything detrimental in the next few hours.
 

JeanneTGC

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"October 24, 2006
North American rights to A. Lee Martinez's next two novels have been bought by TOR Books. They are The Automatic Detective about a bad robot trying to make good who finds himself in the middle of a kidnapping plot and up to his opticals in mutant lowlifes and little green wiseguys; and Nessy's Castle, in which after a dark sorcerer dies, his short, furry housekeeper finds herself in charge of the castle full of cursed residents, an evil wizardess, and a troublesome door that should never be opened."

Just pulled this off their website...sounds good, and legitimate, to me. But, I am NOT the expert here.
 

Carmy

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Many thanks JeanneTGC.

Your information together with what I read on another thread about TOR romances give me some hope. The sample I sent Harding earlier today involves time-travel/suspense/romance. Who knows - good things happen sometimes.
 

Provrb1810meggy

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Carmy said:
Thanks DA.

I bookmarked The Harding Agency a short while back then, when I went back to look at it a few days ago they had added an item: Manuscripts can be emailed to them.

I'm concerned because I wonder if this is an agency that blankets publishers with emails. I've had an agent like that and got nowhere.

I wouldn't be suspicious because of that. Many reputable agents request manuscripts via email. It's easier. Many agents send clients' manuscripts via email. Also easier.
 

Carmy

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Thanks Proverb.

I am wary because my first agent mass mailed synopses to publishers. We discussed it on another thread and decided most publishers probably ignored the mail, and it's possible some blacklisted the agent. All I know is that there was only one response for the three novels my agent held and the agent couldn't give me a list of where my novels were submitted.

Since my earlier post, Harding has changed their policy yet again. They accept short queries by email but samples and manuscripts must be sent by snail mail.

I'm amazed that some agents and publishers still use snail mail.
 

JeanneTGC

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Carmy, where on the site did you find the change to their email vs. snail mail acceptances? I've looked, and I'm not seeing anything different from when I checked it out at the beginning of this thread.

I'm interested as well because I, like you, am looking for an agent taking sci-fi/fantasy. I am planning to send a query to them, but want to be sure I send it how they want it.
 

Carmy

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Jeanne, they'll notify you of the change when they request a sample, as I found out. It doesn't tell you that on their site but they do mention "short query" by email.

This is their very brief reply asking for a sample:

Please send a sample according to the guidelines at www.thehardingagency.com. Hardcopy is preferred. Please include a copy of this complete email.

Although they don't discount emailing the sample, I played it safe and sent a hard copy. The original email was a query letter with bio, etc., and a synopsis.
 

DeadlyAccurate

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Does anyone know the name of any of the agents at The Harding Agency to query by name?

For the record, A. Lee Martinez sold his first two books (Gil's All-Fright Diner and In The Company of Ogres) straight to the publisher himself and then contacted the agency before he signed the contract. (Ogres is a great book, btw.)
 

waylander

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Sally Harding is the principal agent.
I met her at World Fantasy Con in Austin last month. Nice lady
 

Chumplet

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She sent me a rejection about a year ago by email, stating that she was not 'compelling' to read further. The bad grammar put me off a little, but I'm willing to forgive and I'll probably send her a query for my current project.
 

Carmy

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My partial mailed on November 12, 2006. No reply yet, so fingers still crossed.
 

KAP

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No experience, but their website says they bought into The Cooke Agency and now go under the name The Cooke Agency.
 

Carmy

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Thanks KAP. The Cooke Agency: http://www.cookeagency.ca/submissions.htm

"Cooke will be joined by Vancouver-based agent, Sally Harding, founder of The Harding Agency, and his long-time colleague, Director of Subsidiary Rights for The Cooke Agency, Suzanne Brandreth, in an equal ownership of The Cooke Agency."