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[Agency] BookEnds, LLC / Beyond the Page Publishing

sandolita

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Congratulations! I got a full request from her on April 4th. It's turned me into an email junkie. lol

Congrats and good luck quacktacular! Yes the email junkie. I even check in the middle of the day, which given the time difference between OZ and US is a bit ridiculous. Agents probably aren't up at 3 am sleepless because they can't wait to email a potential client šŸ˜š
 

seaaircarol

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I, too, had a full request from Jessica Faust. I received a rejection a couple of weeks later (I think it was a couple of weeks), but it was probably the nicest/best rejection I have ever had. I think she would be a terrific agent to have, so best of luck to you guys.
 

JJPie

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In answer to my own question, Beth does take queries. And she responded in just under a month.
 

Sheluvspink

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EQ- Jessica Faust 4-23
Full Request 4-24
 

Vandal

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From The Lunch:

Bill Harris has joined BookEnds Literary Agency as director of digital content. Formerly a senior managing editor at Penguin, he has most recently been a freelance editorial and web development consultant. In addition, Beth Campbell has been promoted to literary assistant and rights coordinator.
 

NoblinGoblin

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Jessica Alvarez was the first agent to request a partial from me. She ultimately rejected me, but I'll always remember her because she was the first (in what has turned out to be a long list, lol).
 

sandolita

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Jessica Faust rejected my full about 2 weeks ago (14 weeks? since request). Pretty standard rejection.
 

NicolaD

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Ok, my timeline:

12 June: queried Jessica Faust.
15 June: full request.
21 Nov: nudged with offer of rep
23 Nov: email from Jessica Alvarez saying it had been referred to her, she was very much enjoying and could I give her a couple of days. Replied sure.
23 Nov + 3 hours: my mobile rings, it was Jessica saying she'd finished, loved it and wanted to offer rep. We ended up talking for 90 mins and it was the best conversation of my life.
28 Nov: offer accepted.

Let's just say I am one very, very happy camper. :D
 

seaaircarol

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Oh, my gosh, Nicola!!!

Way to go!!!

:partyguy:

Congratulations!!!

Is your book a mystery?
 

NicolaD

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Thanks seaaircarol!

It's a Regency romance with suspense.
 

ARoyce

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Ok, my timeline:

12 June: queried Jessica Faust.
15 June: full request.
21 Nov: nudged with offer of rep
23 Nov: email from Jessica Alvarez saying it had been referred to her, she was very much enjoying and could I give her a couple of days. Replied sure.
23 Nov + 3 hours: my mobile rings, it was Jessica saying she'd finished, loved it and wanted to offer rep. We ended up talking for 90 mins and it was the best conversation of my life.
28 Nov: offer accepted.

Let's just say I am one very, very happy camper. :D

CONGRATULATIONS!! Jessica Is my agent too, and I love her! I'm so happy for you! And since you write romance too, maybe we'll get to meet at a con sometime!
 

NicolaD

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CONGRATULATIONS!! Jessica Is my agent too, and I love her! I'm so happy for you! And since you write romance too, maybe we'll get to meet at a con sometime!

Thanks so much, Amara! I'm very much hoping to be able to make it to the States one day. The conferences sound so cool. :)
 

Liz_V

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For the stats collectors:

E-queried Beth Campbell 1/12/2014
Form R 2/4/2014


(Now let's see, who's next on the list...?)
 

JohannaC

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I queried Jessica Alvarez on 1/25/14 and received a request for a full manuscript on 1/27/14, then a rejection on 4/18/14. I made the mistake of a newbie and sent her a manuscript that I thought was final, but actually needed a lot more work. I sent her a revised manuscript with an apology for doing so on 4/11/14, but I assume she did not read the second and simply rejected the first.

I know that BookEnds represents a lot of writers in my genre, cozy mystery. Could I query another agent there in a few more months with my revised manuscript or should I not bother?

Jessica is the only agent who has requested a full and I feel like I blew my chance!
 

GinJones

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I believe BookEnds has a "query one agent only" policy for the agency, but I could be wrong. It's been a while since I checked their policies, but I know they'll pass a manuscript along to a colleague if they think it's a better fit.
 

Roxxsmom

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Anyone know anything about Beth Campbell at Bookends? No clients listed for her on Querytracker, though it says she reps SF and F. Preditors and Editors lists the agency as highly recommended, innovative book packager (no idea what that means) and agency, but Publisher's Marketplace has only two sales listed by them, one in 2004, and one in 2008 (both non fiction). Are they still an active agency, and do they actually rep fiction?
 

Krista G.

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I don't have firsthand experience, Roxxsmom, but I'm pretty sure they're still active. Quite a few agencies don't report their sales to PM--I've noticed that more and more agents are submitting to PW, at least on the children's side--but BookEnds does list recent sales on their website: http://www.bookends-inc.com/news_deals.html And according to their submissions page, they represent multiple fiction genres: http://www.bookends-inc.com/submit.html

As for what a book packager is, it's a company that develops concepts, then auditions writers to lend their pens to these books. Once it's selected a writer and the writer's finished the manuscript (or at least a proposal), the book packager turns around and sells the manuscript to a traditional publisher or publishes it under their own digital imprint. You'd be surprised how many traditionally published books were actually developed by packagers. It can be a great way for an unpublished writer to get a foot in the door, but established writers use them, too, when they have more time to write than they have ideas.
 

NicolaD

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Roxxsmom, I'm repped by Jessica Alvarez at Bookends and absolutely they rep fiction! I'd say the agency strengths would be all subgenres of romance and mysteries. If you check out the news/deals page on the Bookends website you can see the most recent sales, but the agency is very successful at placing books with Top-5 publishers and their imprints. All the agents are active on Twitter also.
 

GinJones

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Beth Campbell is fairly new to agenting. I believe she was an intern or assistant to Jessica Faust until ... maybe a year ago? So she's only been building her list for that long. I vaguely recall seeing a Tweet or two about having acquired a client. Can't recall if she subsequently Tweeted selling a book.
 

Channy

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Beth sounds great, and sounds like Jessica is really encouraging her to get into the big leagues with them.

I queried Jessica on June 14th - she rejected on June 17th but suggested I query either Beth or Moe with Bookends. After reviewing their descriptions, I chose Beth and queried on June 26th (per guidelines, with query only).

I'd all but forgotten but then today, Aug 19th, she requested a full and a synopsis from me! It's my first full request so I'm pretty excited. :D I hadn't finished a synopsis yet, so I'm furiously getting one down and will hopefully have a couple people check it out on AW, but I don't want to keep her waiting.
 

Thedrellum

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That's really exciting! Good luck!

As for the synopsis, remember that it doesn't have to be interesting or exciting on its own. The purpose of it is to lay out the plot and the arcs and the major characters. It's more like a map of Italy rather than traveling through the Italian countryside.
 

Sungoddess

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Beth sounds great, and sounds like Jessica is really encouraging her to get into the big leagues with them.

I queried Jessica on June 14th - she rejected on June 17th but suggested I query either Beth or Moe with Bookends. After reviewing their descriptions, I chose Beth and queried on June 26th (per guidelines, with query only).

I'd all but forgotten but then today, Aug 19th, she requested a full and a synopsis from me! It's my first full request so I'm pretty excited. :D I hadn't finished a synopsis yet, so I'm furiously getting one down and will hopefully have a couple people check it out on AW, but I don't want to keep her waiting.

Congrats!! Very exciting news!:snoopy: