Parkeast Literary Agency

Beware!!

Donna Eastman sounds vaguely familiar, perhaps from one of Writer Beware's many warnings. No evidence of any sales, no web site, nada. Victoria, are you watching?

Parkeast Literary Agency, anyone?

Hi, guys. Donna Eastman and Donna Pudick are the same person. Mr. Pudick is still around, it's just that I established myself as a professional writer and editor under my maiden name. My major p-co houses were Little, Brown (Managing Editor) and McGraw-Hill (Editor). I'm an established writer with an international byline.

Parkeast Literary Agency is a partnership of two women who worked for other agencies (which shall remain unnamed). We met at a DAR meeting and decided to go into business with each other. We were a long time getting started, even though we were looking for authors right away, last January. We signed only one author and waited many weeks before we took on anyone else. We now represent 27 authors, with all but two of the 05 MSS presently with publishers. They are all still there, so we do not know if we have any sales. We have had rejections in the past, but currently all our viable manuscripts are hanging in there, many well past the response date.

We take on new authors, and established ones. We've actually had some excellent manuscripts come in from new authors. It's always exciting to discover new talent. We read every single query, and notify the authors that their queries have been received.

Gloria Koehler calls the editors directly, since she knows them all and is on a first-name basis with them. She places them immediately upon arrival in her office. We charge no fees and have no editorial services at our disposal, so we take on only the best. With permission from our authors, you may talk to them directly. If you wish to have a list of our authors and where their manuscripts have been placed, you can email me at [email protected]

As for a web site--neither of us has the time or the inclination to man a web site.

Hope that's a help.


de/dp

Hi, Donna,


Thanks for taking the time to drop by and respond. Naturally, we're always happy to know about new agencies that are accepting clients. You mentioned that you have 27 authors with manuscripts placed. I presume that this means they're in the field awaiting response. May I presume then that this means you haven't sold any of those manuscripts since you opened in January of last year? Since I couldn't find any mention of sales for either you or Ms. Koehler on Publisher's Marketplace or AgentQuery, perhaps it's easiest to ask you directly.

While enthusiasm for your authors' manuscripts is wonderful, the goal is to sell the books, so a track record is something that new authors watch for when seeking an agent. If you have indeed had sales during this year, it would probably be a really good idea to list them over on Publisher's Marketplace, especially if you choose not to have a website that lists your credentials as an agent. Reporting a deal is a free service, and an advertisement for your agency for those seeking subsidiary rights in new releases. Also, prospective authors can then Google your name or your agency and feel more confident about sending manuscripts.

Parkeast Literary Agency, anyone?

We have 27 clients, all but two have manuscripts at publishers awaiting answers. The majority of these manuscripts were submitted late in 05, and we've had no response from the publishers.

The reason for the late start, despite our establishment early in January 05, is because we were forced into a prolonged hiatus for personal reasons known to, and understood by, our clients. Every one of them were offered release from their contracts, due to this problem, and none withdrew. This slowdown will continue for at least the next few weeks, and our authors are bearing with us. We are continuing to read and evaluate manuscripts.

We agree writers should look for sales, but with publishers taking from one month to six months to respond, it's difficult for a new agent to post sales right away. Our authors are taking a chance on us, and we are taking a chance on them. They have stuck with us and offered prayers and support through a very difficult time. As I offered earlier, anyone is welcome to speak to our clients. A list of manuscripts and where they are currently placed is available on request.

Hi Donna

Do you have some guidelines around anywhere? What kind of stuff are you looking for?

Submission guidelines

Hi Donna,

I am also wondering what you are looking to represent. Can you direct me to your guidelines?

Thanks.

Selena

How do you do, Ms. Pudick.

"We specialize in first-time authors" is normally a cause for consternation, even if it's later amended to "first-time and established." Have any of your clients made significant sales? Have you made any significant sales for your clients?

I'm not sure I understand what do your personal problems have to do with slow-to-respond publishers. Do you mean your hiatus kept you from sending out manuscripts?

I would be interested in seeing your list of manuscripts and where they are currently placed. Could you please send it to me in care of [email protected]?

Thank you.

For clarification sake: Mail to [email protected] comes to me. I can forward to Hapi. I know his/her true identity. Hapi uses a pseudonym here in order to speak freely.

Hapi is an acquiring editor at a major house.

James D. Macdonald said:

Hapi is an acquiring editor at a major house.

Click to expand...

Oh good god! <hoping I haven't offended Hapi somewhere along the line>

To me it sounds like she had problems and wasn't able to send them out and that was the reason for the long wait. I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt. She came here, answered our questions and didn't get snippy about it, and seems to be willing to show us where she is sending out her clientels work. Until I hear something negative about this agency I'm going to wish them well. I might have to email them and see what kind of work they are looking for.

Julie Worth said:

Oh good god! <hoping I haven't offended Hapi somewhere along the line>

Click to expand...

Gosh. You just never know who you might be telling they don't know what they're talking about, do you? I'm tellin' ya, it's a minefield.

Donna Pudick said:

Parkeast Literary Agency is a partnership of two women who worked for other agencies (which shall remain unnamed).

Click to expand...

Pardon me, Ms. Pudick, but why? I see listings on Publisher's Marketplace where new agencies list previous employment. Seems to me this would be a great way to establish your credentials. Any time I see secrecy about an agent's background, client list, or submission record, I get nervous.

Parkeast Literary Agency, anyone?

The delay was for two reasons: 1. Slow start up, getting office equipment, furniture delivery, a written agreement between partners, letterhead, business cards, and getting our name out. Agencies can't get manuscripts without queries; 2. because, just as we got rolling, we had to take a hiatus.

We weren't taking any clients, nor reading, nor sending out manuscripts, because, in the middle of everything, came a lethal disease which had to be addressed and conquered (not there yet). We managed to get one MS out in August, First Do No Harm, by Laurence Gold, M.D., with Wylie O'Sullivan at Simon & Schuster. September was better, October much better, etc.

I won't address the old jobs. I walked off my last one and Gloria was a contract writer and negotiator for a U.S. Government agency. She is on a first-name basis with the editors at the big houses. It was the first thing she did when we started up.

I'll send the list of MS and where they are to the persons above who have requested it.

D

Parkeast Literary Agency, anyone?

P.S. We have only listed ourselves on WritersNet and Preditors and Editors. If our name appears anywhere else, we didn't put it there. We're swamped enough and two listings are all we can handle at this time. Despite the fact that someone has listed our mailing address on this forum, please don't send mail queries. E-mail queries at this point, please.

D

Sorry Donna, I deleted it, thought I was doing a favor...
I apologize.

I submitted a query with Parkeast Literary Agency, and got a quick reply asking for a partial that is still under review, and I can say that Parkeast has been completely forthcoming with answers to all my questions and have nothing but professional.

I, too, sent a query to Parkeast back in 2005 and was asked to send a partial. Recently, Donna asked me to send the full manuscript, and she's been nothing but professional and very nice. From what I understand (I know Dennis Lehane and his agent from being in five of his workshops at Stonecoast and Solstice Confs) new authors shouldn't necessarily be looking to be represented by "Stephen King's agent" or big name agencies, b/c they are generally too busy working with the clients who are already bringing in the "big bucks." It's apparently better to start with an agent who doesn't have big names under their belts yet, as they will have much more time to focus on the new authors. Good luck to Parkeast!

HypnoCin67, there's a difference of opinion about that. The other way of looking at it is that if you're good enough to be taken on by a Big Name Agent, it's senseless to aim lower.

Parkeast

Of course Writer Beware doesn't endorse any agencies, but I will say that I had a pleasant and very upfront conversation with Donna Pudick a few months ago, where we discussed her startup agency, the backgrounds of the two agents, etc. She was very responsive and helpful during the conversation, which is NOT the hallmark of a scammer, trust me.

Writer Beware has not received any complaints about this agency, and they do not charge upfront fees of any kind as far as we can determine -- always a positive sign. They don't have a track record, either, however, though they are submitting manuscripts, and they are upfront about where they're submitting.

I hope Parkeast can get some sales going, so they can achieve a track record.

Best,

-Ann C. Crispin
Writer Beware

I will also add that new start-up agents have a stressful, daunting task of establishing their presence in the industry. I know, I belong to one, and am privvy to the heartfelt concerns. They have to spend at least a year (beforehand or during), attending every available conference, workshop, or event in an attempt to meet all of the editors (face to face) that they will be working with in the future. The PR is massive, unending, and sometimes restrictive when you consider that many new agents have to hold down regular jobs and families, before they even begin to establish their presence and make sales. They have it as tough as writers, contantly concerned about rejection, not for their own products, but the products of their clients. The pressure is enourmous--the queries, the gripes, the concerns, the mass mailings (that they have to provide first upfront), the long distance calls (which many of them eat), and all other sundry.

On the other hand an agency that has no sales after a year or two runs up some red flags, and you begin to wonder how they are supporting their business. The gorms and fee-chargers come under this index, and certainly should be avoided at all costs.

Tri

Parkeast is for real

I recently got word that this agency has placed two works with large publishers. I heard this second-hand from a very reliable source so I don't know all the details. From everything I'm told Donna is extremely professional and very nice to work with. Sadly, I don't think they're looking for clients right now.

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