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Halyard Literary Agency (Alaina Grayson)

CaoPaux

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Based out of Chicago, Halyard Literary Agency is a new agency on the lookout for authors who have the same passion for innovation that we do. Halyard is small, but provides assistance through every stage of book production. We're dedicated to building relationships with our authors, not just for one book or one year, but throughout their publishing life. Come grow with us!
Well, I'm willing to bet she's the same "editorial coordinator" mentioned on MediaBistro. But that doesn't translate to any ability to sell books. And the "provides assistance through every stage of book production" makes me wonder about possible editing services. I'd hold off until there's more concrete information available (either on her website or in response to someone asking her for credentials).
 

ByGrace

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I went ahead and sent her an email query.
 
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CaoPaux

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Heh. Successful use of autoresponse depends upon at least attempting to disguise the fact it's an autoresponse.

This post was previously recorded before a live studio audience.
 

CaoPaux

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That would be the ideal thing, yes. :D

"Hello, this is an auto-response. We appreciate your query/question/submission/suggestion, and will give it our personal attention as soon as possible. Thank you, and have a nice day."

'Taint difficult, and leaves a better impression, IMHO.
 
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waylander

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So what happened ByGrace? Did you get any further response?
 

ByGrace

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I have not heard back yet, but it's not unusal to give an agent a few months to respond to a partial. I liked her very much. She seems personable and enthusiastic.


I asked a relative of mine who is one of the nations top romance writers about submitting to new agents. Her response was simple, if she adheres to the cannon of AAR ethics, if she doesn't charge a reading fee, and is pursuing membership into the AAR, try her.

I'm pretty confident Alaina Grayson will do well as an agent.
 

Sassenach

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ByGrace said:



I asked a relative of mine who is one of the nations top romance writers about submitting to new agents. Her response was simple, if she adheres to the cannon of AAR ethics, if she doesn't charge a reading fee, and is pursuing membership into the AAR, try her.
.

If I was related to "one of the nations top romance writers" I'd request a personal referral to her agent.

Just sayin'.
 

victoriastrauss

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ByGrace said:
I asked a relative of mine who is one of the nations top romance writers about submitting to new agents. Her response was simple, if she adheres to the cannon of AAR ethics, if she doesn't charge a reading fee, and is pursuing membership into the AAR, try her.
One crucial addition to this list: "and if she has a relevant professional background." Does Ms. Grayson have any background in commercial publishing? Did she work for another (reputable) agency before setting up her own? If the answer to these questions is no, the odds are she won't have the skills and contacts an agent needs--which means the odds of success are slim.

- Victoria
 

bubblegirl

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I like the cute little auto-responders when people are on extended leave. It saves authors wondering if their query was ever received.

Such as:

Thank you for your message. Currently, I am away from my office until ..... If you have an emergency, please contact [email protected].


I've gotten those several times and I do appreciate them. Saves me wondering if they got the submission because my email definitely went to their box, but they may not reply for a while. I normally bank on a month after their return date; one can only imagine how many messages are waiting for their return!
 

K-Mark

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I sent her a query in early June and got a personal response, not an auto-response. She mentioned things in her email that could only be known by reading my query. I'll let you know when I hear back from her.
 

jdumais

Heh. Lani's actually representing me. *grin* We knew each other via blog culture for about a year before she approached me; I'd been yammering about editing a novel and she said it sounded like just the thing she'd like to work with (YA historical). I've nothing but good to say of her; she actually helped me edit it first, then after we did a revision together she signed me. Admittedly, I'm a friend, which means I'm probably going to get slightly different treatment, but nonetheless.

Not only did she help me hugely -- she laughed when I thanked her for all her help, saying I was the one wrote the 75k novel, not her, but it wouldn't be nearly as good as it is if it weren't for her help -- she's been wonderfully supportive when I've had a few crises (my little brother was hospitalized, my hard drive died and I lost EVERYTHING, etc). As for industry contacts, she's only now getting off the ground as an agent, but she does work in publishing (and in fact first offered to pass it on to someone else if I weren't comfortable having her represent me), and had a woman from Puffin (Penguin's YA/children's chapter) call her looking for submissions. Which is where my sample and synopsis have been for about six weeks now. *crosses fingers*

At any rate. She *is* legit, though as she told me, there's no harm in someone else's wanting someone with a bit more experience on the representation side of things, rather than publishing/editing. Your mileage may vary and all that. For me, she's a perfect fit, though; I've nothing but good to say of her.
 

ByGrace

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I'm sure Alaina is very busy since she put up her page at Publishers Marketplace. I sent her, at her request, my partial in June, but have not heard back from her. How long should I wait until I contact her asking about it?
 

waylander

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If three months have passed then there is no harm in asking her if she received your partial - unless she acknowledged receipt at the time
 

LindsayP

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I got THE nicest rejection letter from Alaina. She actually liked my pitch and my writing, it just wasn't her genre. At the time her website was under construction.
 

ByGrace

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Anyone heard more on this agent? I've had no response for five months. Another agent has my partial at the moment, so I have not emailed Alaina to ask if she's had the chance to look at my partial. Her webpage has been up for many months, since April or May I believe with no change, just a page with the Halyard name.
 

K-Mark

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This same thing happened to me. I emailed her and asked if she had read my partial. She explained that she had some PC problems over the summer. She apologized and read my manuscript over the following weekend. She kept her promise.

It wasn't for her, but the moral of the story is send a polite follow-up email since the same thing may have happened to your partial.

She was really cool and gave me some nice feedback. Good Luck.
 

ByGrace

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Does anyone know if she has made any legitimate sales?
 

CaoPaux

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Sales are indeed conspicuous by their absence. It's been two years, so there should be something out there if she has what it takes.