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Doug Grad Literary Agency, Inc.

Juneluv12

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I thought he looked solid with the sales and upcoming projects.

My question is does he mainly represent crime fiction and thrillers? He doesn't have clear submission guidelines on what he represents, so I didn't know if I should fire off my Southern Literary Fiction to him or not.
 

Anonymissy

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He asked for a partial last month -- it's literary/commercial fiction, with mystery elements. We'll see if he wants to take it on.

But here's something that made me realize this guy was really destined to become an agent. He was selling even when he was an editor at Penguin/Putnam. I found it on Publisher's Marketplace. The deal type was described as "automotive"

February 7, 2002

Automotive

And now a little something different. "In what may be the first instance of an editor ever selling something to an agent, NAL Senior Editor Doug Grad this week sold his car to Jane Chelius, of the Jane Chelius Literary Agency in what both parties would classify as
'a nice deal.' The property was a 1995 Dodge Neon, with 70,000 miles. Jane bought the car for her son Chris. It remains to see if Jane will keep 15% (the spare tire?) for herself."
[email protected]
 

hawk

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I enjoyed Doug's website, and he does address his interests in the FAQ section - it seems he's pretty open to a range of subjects, fiction and non-fiction. I just sent a query for a work of commercial fiction with a strong female protagonist - this isn't Chick Lit, which he does like, but I'll soon find out!
I'll keep you all posted ~ hawk
 

hawk

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I thought he looked solid with the sales and upcoming projects.

My question is does he mainly represent crime fiction and thrillers? He doesn't have clear submission guidelines on what he represents, so I didn't know if I should fire off my Southern Literary Fiction to him or not.
Hey, Junluv12 ~ I would go for it anyway - it's only an email, right? He did say he was looking at a broad list for himself, which says to me he's open to anything that intrigues him. And while you are waiting on him, check this out for Southern Fiction, from Wendy Sherman's blog/wishlist for 2009:
Wendy Sherman

-Emotionally charged, family-oriented women's fiction. If it has a strong voice and makes me cry, I'm hooked.
- I've got a soft spot for Southern fiction, and I'd love to add another Southern novel to my list.
You actually have to use snail mail for her, tho! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!
~ hawk
 

Juneluv12

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Hey, Junluv12 ~ I would go for it anyway - it's only an email, right? He did say he was looking at a broad list for himself, which says to me he's open to anything that intrigues him. And while you are waiting on him, check this out for Southern Fiction, from Wendy Sherman's blog/wishlist for 2009:
Wendy Sherman
-Emotionally charged, family-oriented women's fiction. If it has a strong voice and makes me cry, I'm hooked.
- I've got a soft spot for Southern fiction, and I'd love to add another Southern novel to my list.
You actually have to use snail mail for her, tho! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!
~ hawk


Thanks Hawk.:D I'll fire one off to her, and I'll go ahead and email him.
 

alias octavia

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I just tried to query with the Mailer Demon notification, too. I double checked the email address in a few places -

doug.grad[AT]dgliterary.com

Does anyone know if this is the right email address? There is a note on the website about problems with links on the site, but nothing about the email.

ETA: okay, I used the query[AT]dgliterary.com too and got the same failed response.
 
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Phaeal

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His website notes that he's transferring the site over the course of this month to another host. Let's hope that will clear up his problems. Right now it seems all the sublinks are broken.
 

Twizzle

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Just a heads-up. In some recent correspondence with this agency, in an aside it was mentioned that Mr. Grad is not accepting queries. It was an aside and a bit unclear, and I'm not sure if he truly is or isn't. They are, however, definitely switching webhosts. I'm not sure if these email addresses are even active any longer. So people might want to seek some clarification if this agency is accepting queries before submitting.

eta-to clarify, my discussions were with George Bick, not Doug Grad.
 
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steampunk

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just got some really great feedback from Doug on my middle grade - talked about condenscing the beginning and what he liked and what he thinks should change. Really great feedback. Hopefully he'll like the rest.
 

steampunk

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So.......Doug sent me 12 pages (singlespaced) of incredibly detailed notes from my novel. I have never in my entire life gotten feedback like this. He picked apart everything, characters, plot problems. He told me what was working and what wasn't working (mostly things that weren't). I can't even describe how great this memo was.

And then in an email he told me that if I agree to changes that he will represent me. My head is swirling. It's a total re-write, but I can't wait to do it. It's going to be so much better.

I feel incredibly lucky.
 

Juneluv12

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So.......Doug sent me 12 pages (singlespaced) of incredibly detailed notes from my novel. I have never in my entire life gotten feedback like this. He picked apart everything, characters, plot problems. He told me what was working and what wasn't working (mostly things that weren't). I can't even describe how great this memo was.

And then in an email he told me that if I agree to changes that he will represent me. My head is swirling. It's a total re-write, but I can't wait to do it. It's going to be so much better.

I feel incredibly lucky.

GO STEAMPUNK!!! That's AWESOME!! Congrats!!!
 

EgyptianGoddess

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So.......Doug sent me 12 pages (singlespaced) of incredibly detailed notes from my novel. I have never in my entire life gotten feedback like this. He picked apart everything, characters, plot problems. He told me what was working and what wasn't working (mostly things that weren't). I can't even describe how great this memo was.

And then in an email he told me that if I agree to changes that he will represent me. My head is swirling. It's a total re-write, but I can't wait to do it. It's going to be so much better.

I feel incredibly lucky.


Good luck and congratulations! I had a similar experience with my agent. He liked my book, but wanted it to be "better". He sent me very detailed changes (which, in my view, did nothing to alter the characters or the core story, which I would have resisted), so I did them, and he signed me. Now he's just gotta sell it!

It's great that you and I both weren't just sent the "not for me" or "it doesn't move me" or other crap we usually hear. See? It means we CAN write, and write well...maybe we just needed a little help getting that first one off the ground.

WELL DONE! Let us know how it turns out for you!!
 

alias octavia

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Sent a query to Mr. Grad today, and it didn't bounce back! Just wanted to update everyone that it seems the email address has switched over and is up and running.
 

steampunk

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Good luck and congratulations! I had a similar experience with my agent. He liked my book, but wanted it to be "better". He sent me very detailed changes (which, in my view, did nothing to alter the characters or the core story, which I would have resisted), so I did them, and he signed me. Now he's just gotta sell it!

It's great that you and I both weren't just sent the "not for me" or "it doesn't move me" or other crap we usually hear. See? It means we CAN write, and write well...maybe we just needed a little help getting that first one off the ground.

WELL DONE! Let us know how it turns out for you!!

thanks! I do have to say, egyptiangoddess, that what you mentioned, the face that we can actually write was one of the best parts of this experience. Of all the things he had issue with, not once was it my "style" - it was plot problems or character flaws (not the good kind). So..yeah...like I said, I just feel really lucky. He's so easy to talk to and upfront and honest, but kind.

Good luck to everyone else!
 

MarkEsq

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Just wanted to update with my experiences with this agency. I originally queried Doug Grad but got a request for a partial from George Bick. Like an idiot I sent the wrong version. I let him know the next day, and he joked about it in a way that made it obvious he'd read some of it already. He was very gracious.

I was eventually offered representation by another agent and let George know. He asked for a little more time to finish reading the full, but before he got to it I had to accept. He sent the nicest email wishing me luck. My interaction with him, every time (16 emails in all) was extremely pleasant and highly professional, I would have been honored to work with him.
 

Ruth2

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Has anyone had any contact with Doug Grad since MarkEsq's post? Any red flags?

Thanks for any info y'all may cough up.
 

Twizzle

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Has anyone had any contact with Doug Grad since MarkEsq's post? Any red flags?

Sure. In April or May? I don't know exactly. Late spring. Sorry I don't have much more to add other than there's no red flags I'm aware of, and he has a lovely sense of humor. :)
 
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Sweet Tea

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I queried on July 9th - no response yet, so I assume that means an R for me? Or is this a bit too early to give up on this agency?

Thanks for any insight on this.
 
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