Renee Zuckerbrot Literary Agency

http://agentquery.com/agent.aspx?agentid=490

Looks legit. Kelly Link's agent

She's legitimate. Here is her website. She reps some well known writers in the fields of Chick Lit and Mystery.

Media Bistro has a profile, and note especially what she wants in a query letter:

http://www.mediabistro.com/articles/cache/a9100.asp

She's fast (1 day to R.) It was an obvious form, although my name was pasted in. It said my book wasn't right for her list and suggested I consult agentquery to find a better editorial match. There's barely anymore info there than on her website, but it lists the following areas of interest in fiction: Literary Fiction | Chick Lit | Mystery | Commercial Fiction | Women's Fiction | Short Stories | Offbeat/Quirky. My book's literary fiction with a mystery element, so I thought I was on the right track.

I know I'm doing exactly what I shouldn't - wasting time & energy by ranting about a form R, but it just irked. I do put a lot of time into my research before I query, so when I get an R like that it stings. Thanks for indulging me this once. Here's an interesting interview with her & several other terrific agents: http://www.pw.org/content/agents_and_editors_qampa_four_young_literary_agents.

Good luck, all!

Queried this agent last Friday, received a polite form rejection Monday. The form did include a link to agentquery, as the above poster mentions, but I interpreted this as merely a suggestion and not a criticism of my choosing to query her.

Queried this agent last week, got a request for a full a day later. If I get a response to full, I'll post about it!

I got the form rejection w/the 'agentquery' suggestion. I know she sends that to all rejections, but I have to admit it's still insulting. Most of us do do the research already. I wouldn't have sent it to her if I didn't think she might be interested.

She turned me down after reading my full, but she sent a nice personalized letter that both pointed out positives and explained what she saw as flaws. I would definitely query her with my next book based on the professional way she handled herself.

Sorry to hear that, Dahlia. But it's nice to know she comments on the rejections. And the fact she requested a full shows you're on the right track--that's encouraging! Good luck!

ladylou, if I got a rejection like that I wouldn't be insulted in the least. It's just a nice way of saying, "I don't like this enough to take it on," and instead of leaving it at that, like most agents do, she tries to point writers in the right direction by giving them a resource they may or may not be aware of (how would she know about agentquery? For every writer that does I guarantee you there's three that don't. Obviously I pulled that number out of my bum, but you see my point.)

You're right, Mr. Anonymous. I think my reaction to rejections depends on how many I've gotten, and the mood I'm in. Another day this might have rolled off my back, but it came on a day when I was doing extensive research on agents to query, and my feeling at the time was: "Give me a little credit for something!" But I feel better now, and don't feel insulted. Thanks for reminding me that agents are dealing with quite a few writers who don't do their research--she's only trying to point us in the right direction if any of us are lost.

She's in a great interview here, along with Daniel Lazar, Julie Barer, and Jeff Kleinman.

Mr. Anonymous said:

ladylou, if I got a rejection like that I wouldn't be insulted in the least. It's just a nice way of saying, "I don't like this enough to take it on," and instead of leaving it at that, like most agents do, she tries to point writers in the right direction by giving them a resource they may or may not be aware of (how would she know about agentquery? For every writer that does I guarantee you there's three that don't. Obviously I pulled that number out of my bum, but you see my point.)

Click to expand...

Agreed. I got the same form reject on upmarket women's fiction that's quirky with a mystery element, so clearly her AQ list is a potential match. It's just a form reject.

An FYI about this agent- she caught a problem in my account of my publication history (she requests them in queries), which would make things really sticky for my new book... unshoppable, actually, and therefore, unrepresentable. It's a detail I was totally unaware was even a problem. Rather than sending me a form rejection, she took the time to explain the tricky bits to me, over the course of a couple of emails, and offered to reconsider my query if it could be resolved.

It is now. And so, after a momentary interruption, I've raised my query shield and sword again.

This agent kind of saved my ass. In this process of form rejections and non-response, I thought it might be nice to share that.

Got the big R from Renee Zuckedrbrot Literary Agency in a polited form email with the standard motive, "Unfortunately, your project isn't right for my list, so I'm going to pass." I shall press on with a great vigor. Grand Poohbah.