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[Agency] Writers House

VictoriaLambert

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It might not be an option in all cases, but maybe when you submit e-queries you can go to your tool bar and click on Tools and select Read Receipt.

That's really helpful, Braydie--I'll try that in the near future! :)

I still haven't heard a peep as of yet, but I will post if I receive anything which hopefully will not look like a form letter. *shudders* LoL
 

polleekin

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I don't know much about Maya other than she responded pretty quickly with a very brief form reject, but managed to both spell my name incorrectly and get my title wrong. :Shrug: It just seemed a bit sloppy as a response to an e-query where it ought to have been a simple cut and paste.
 

Halifax

Does anyone know anything about Robin Rue or her assistant Beth Miller?
Hi, SnowyWhite.

Robin Rue is my agent at WH - she has been in the biz for decades; started off as an editor. She represents authors like Linda Howard and Holly Lisle. She's prompt, straightforward, and knows what works and what doesn't, which I love. Her assistant, Beth Miller, is fabulous to deal with.

Holly Lisle has an article here http://hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/agent3.html if you'd like to know a bit more about Robin and agents in general.

All the best!
 

Dude in Hammock

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While we're on the subject of Writers House, anyone have anything to say about Kenneth Wright? Dan Lazar took a look at my proposal and sent it over to him, as it falls more into Kenneth's area of interest. I see him listed on their site, but no bio information about him.
Thanks.
 

BrookieCookie777

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While we are talking about Writer's House. Do any of the agents over there look at Christian books?
 

rwam

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While we are talking about Writer's House. Do any of the agents over there look at Christian books?

Brookie: Maya Rock's Publisher's Marketplace page says she takes "Inspirational". Granted, 'inspirational' and 'Christian' aren't necessarily interchangeable, but you could pitch yours as 'inspirational' and let Maya make that call.
 

mikeland

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dan lazar

I queried Dan Lazar about two weeks ago and haven't gotten a response yet. Just wondering if others have heard back from him since Labor Day.
 

jkorzenko

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I queried Dan in July and received a prompt response from his assistant, Josh Getzler -- if that helps.
 

aruna

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As I've been getting a few mails regarding this, just wanted to say that Emily Saladino has left Writers House, and is no longer an agent--she got a great job in another area.
That left me and a couple others without an agent, since my ms had received too many rejections from her submissions for another of them to take me over. :(
However, I have a clean slate in the UK and my full is being read by two top agents there; and anyway, I've lost interest in that ms having started a new novel which I feel has far more potential, as better suited to the market. I had the wayward tendency of writing books that I felt I had to write; and though they got several reads and much interest the last word from publishers is that they "wouldn't know where to place them", they just didn't fit the lists.
So now I am behaving myself!
 
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benedetti

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Does anyone know if Beth Miller is still Robin Rue's assistant?
 

Prawn

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As I've been getting a few mails regarding this, just wanted to say that Emily Saladino has left Writers House, and is no longer an agent--she got a great job in another area.
That left me and a couple others without an agent

That's a bummer, Aruna. Good luck on your current project.
 

Will Lavender

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As I've been getting a few mails regarding this, just wanted to say that Emily Saladino has left Writers House, and is no longer an agent--she got a great job in another area.
That left me and a couple others without an agent, since my ms had received too many rejections from her submissions for another of them to take me over. :(
However, I have a clean slate in the UK and my full is being read by two top agents there; and anyway, I've lost interest in that ms having started a new novel which I feel has far more potential, as better suited to the market. I had the wayward tendency of writing books that I felt I had to write; and though they got several reads and much interest the last word from publishers is that they "wouldn't know where to place them", they just didn't fit the lists. So now I am behaving myself!

Much good luck to you with this new book, aruna.
 

Roger J Carlson

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That left me and a couple others without an agent, since my ms had received too many rejections from her submissions for another of them to take me over. :(
This is rather sobering. Those of us who have not been able to aquire agent represenation, often assume that once we have an agent, all our troubles are over. But there's no guarantee the agent will sell your book. There's no guarantee he/she will represent your next book. There's no guarantee the agent will stay your agent. And there's no guarantee if your agent quits that the agency will assign you to another.

Of course, once you're published, then all your troubles are over...right? Right? ;)
 

Old Hack

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Ah, Aruna, what trials you have had. Fingers crossed that you get a good UK agent, and he or she places your novels. We need more of them on our book shop shelves.

(And don't behave yourself too well, OK? That would be strange.)
 

litgirl

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Has anyone here had any personal contact with Robin Rue? All I know is that she's at Writers House and reps some YA. (I tried to do a search here on AW, but since "Rue" is less than four letters long, it wouldn't accept it. Go figure.) What's she like to work with, what YA books she's actually represented (Agent Query lists only adult books), etc. I get the impression she's been in the business for a while, even though she's relatively new at WH. Anyone have more info than this, especially on the YA front?
 

PenTeller

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Has anyone here had any personal contact with Robin Rue? All I know is that she's at Writers House and reps some YA. (I tried to do a search here on AW, but since "Rue" is less than four letters long, it wouldn't accept it. Go figure.) What's she like to work with, what YA books she's actually represented (Agent Query lists only adult books), etc. I get the impression she's been in the business for a while, even though she's relatively new at WH. Anyone have more info than this, especially on the YA front?

I don't know much about Robin Rue, but Maya Rock at WH also reps YA (and she requested my MS after I queried her for my YA).
 

Peter U

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God!! Have you people read your posts? You sound like a bunch of school girls after the high school jock. These are just people--people. They are not Gods, only literary agents for gosh sakes. This is sickening.
 

bethany

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Sickening? Look at the WH website and as a writer, it has to give you a little thrill. What's wrong with being a little giddy when you send out your queries, as long as you did your homework and you don't let it stand in the way of good business sense?

Most of the posts here are just sharing info on what the agents like. I don't see anything disgusting or sickening about it.
 

Claudia Gray

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This looks like a very professional thread to me. This is really what most threads regarding legitimate, established agencies look like -- people asking intelligent questions, getting good answers, etc.

To answer your question, litgirl, I've worked with Robin Rue who, although not my agent, is repping me for the Evernight series. (Long story.) She's fantastic: Responds quickly, knows her stuff, offers good advice and is generally a pleasure to work with. The amount of time and attention she's given me even though I'm not her client is outstanding. I don't think that YA is a particular focus of hers, but she does handle some YA, including my books and those of Elizabeth Scott, and has a great feel for that market.
 

litgirl

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Thanks, Claudia! I'd rather spend the time researching in detail beforehand than in waiting on a mistargeted submission (what these boards are all about, huh?) You're the first person I've found who's had personal contact with her. Hope your series does great!
 

brittanimae

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I sent Amy Berkower at WH a query letter and synopsis on 9-28-07 because she represents romance (supposedly). I received a mailed response dated October 8, 2007 which was a form letter from her reader, Lily Kim. The section that caught my eye follows: "Due to the enormous number of submissions we receive here at Writers House, and an already crowded client list, we are forced to be extremely selective when considering new clients." Then there's the typical "we're just one house, try others" stuff at the end trying to encourage you to continue writing. The turnaround was so quick, I don't think they actually read the synopsis, which was detailed and had a paragraph for each chapter of the book (72,000 words, 8 page synopsis). I followed their submission guidelines, so I think they passed because they're too busy. Plus maybe because mine is romantic suspense, although I know they represent other romantic suspense authors like J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts). Maybe after you get published, you can try them. I was underwhelmed with what I read so far on this board about them. Everyone likes them, but I'm not sure why. They seem to have mail problems, hold onto ms for a long time, and send a lot of form letters. Then, there's the exclusive read thing.


I've heard that Ms. Berkower is completely full, but try some other agents there--I don't know who else does romance--maybe Maya Rock, who's still a junior agent and is probably actively seeking clients. What I do know (I've researched a couple of the agents pretty extensively) is that they know their stuff, have awesome connections and pull, are in Publishers Weekly frequently with outstanding contracts, and have some of the best writers in the business among their clientele. If you think you have something good, don't give up on them yet!
 

herdon

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I received an unsigned form letter addressed to "Dear Author" from Maya Rock five days after I mailed them my query letter with 8-page synopsis. They couldn't possibly have read anything...

It would only take the average person 16 minutes to read your synopsis. If they had time to receive your query letter, take the SASE out of it, and put the SASE in the mail, they had plenty of time to read the contents.

I agree with the whole advertisement thing. They shouldn't be soliciting you to buy something in a rejection letter.

But the whole "they didn't have time to read my stuff" stuff is a bunch of garbage.