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Sinead Heneghan Literary Agency

Lynda

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I hope this is in the right place.
Does anyone know anything about the Manchester Literacy agency set up by http://sineadheneghan.com/about/
Because I am from NW England, and my novels are set in that part of the world albeit Merseyside and Cumbria, I thought she might be a good fit.
 

Old Hack

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I've not heard of her, nor have I looked at her background or skills. But I'm not sure that geography is a good reason to choose an agent. Reputation and ability are much more important.
 

Gillhoughly

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A "good fit" has NOTHING to do with the location of an agent. I never met my first agent in person until 2-3 years after teaming up. He was in New York I was in the southwest, a few thousand miles away. He sold the kind of books I wrote, thought he could sell mine, and that worked for us both for awhile.

You want an agent who sells books similar to yours and who has a track record of sales. Anyone can hang out a sign and call themselves an "agent" but a good one will have contacts in the industry, know how to negotiate a contract, and protect your interests.

You need not have an agent in the UK, either. There is no reason why you shouldn't submit works to US based agents, especially in this instant digital age. In that case, you still look for agents who sell similar books. Your location is less important than the genre and quality of writing. If there are US writers whose works are like yours, look up their websites and see who reps for them.

I will interpret "literary scout" to mean she read the slush pile.
 
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Gillhoughly

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Old Hack

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A "good fit" has NOTHING to do with the location of an agent.

True.

I will interpret "literary scout" to mean she read the slush pile.

A literary scout is a real thing: but I see little to prove that she was one. Still, I'm not very up on scouts, so I might be wrong.
 

CameronJohnston

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You take your chances going for an agent with no proven track record (that's not part of an established agency). The details on her actual experience in publishing are also vague.

I do find it concerning that the blog on her website belabours the geography angle.
 

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Some conference appearances, but no sign of clients or sales.