The Lazear Agency - info
From 2004:
The Lazear Agency was formed in the mid-'80s when Jonathan Lazear and his wife, Wendy, left their positions at New York publishing houses to move to Minneapolis and work with famed rehab center Hazelden to launch a series of successful recovery books. "That ran its course," recalls agent Christi Cardenas, "but in the time that they spent here, [the Lazears] realized that there were indeed literary possibilities west of the Potomac." The husband-and-wife team began working with local clients, like comedian Louie Anderson and business writer Harvey McKay, and they found almost immediate success. The agency soon grew to nearly 15 people, and they began making deals that went beyond the literary realm—deals with computer game tie-ins or with more corporate clients, such as Pillsbury, Merrill Lynch, and the Scripps network. In fact, Cardenas, who came to agenting from a banking background at Norwest Equity, was originally hired to help Lazear parse the unfamiliar corporate culture of his new clients.
At the agency's core, however, was a strong literary bent, and the agents eventually decided that smaller might be better. "We enjoyed the luxury of really working with clients that we like," says Cardenas. "Although it might sound great to say you have 50 people on active submission, most people want to have a more personal approach." So at the end of the 1990s, the agency scaled back and moved to the quiet Minneapolis-St. Paul bedroom community of Hudson, Wisconsin. Cardenas explains: "We said, 'Let's look at where are core strengths are, let's not try to do too much, and let's continue to work with those we like and keep the agents here that have the strong client relationships.'"
These days, the three primary agents are Lazear, Cardenas—who still handles many of the agency's financial responsibilities but maintains a large client list of her own—and Julie Mayo. "Julie Mayo is a dynamo," Cardenas says. "She walked in our door and we knew we had to hire her. She has a keen knack for spotting trends, and she's just a natural for this business. Plus, she has the sales mentality, because at the end of the day, that's really what we are. We're relationship-builders and we're salespeople."
Part of the agency's new mission included reinstating the New York office, so Lazear now works out of Manhattan and his wife, whose involvement with the agency is now much diminished, is an editor at Houghton Mifflin. "There's a lot of great new editors out there who are acquiring," Cardenas says—and though the Lazears grew up with people who are now at the top of the publishing biz, the agency is interested in making new connections as well. To prospective clients looking to submit to The Lazear Agency, Cardenas says: "We are an eclectic agency that has done well in the Midwest. We've been under the radar for a long time and it's worked well for us. Now that we've reinstated our New York office, it's more important than ever to let people know what we're doing, who we are, where we are, and where you actually send things—New York or this quirky town of Hudson, Wisconsin?"
Who to pitch: The answer to that last questions is: send your queries to the home office in Wisconsin. The agents operate in what they call a "pluralistic" way, and they will make sure appropriate queries find their way to Lazear in New York. Queries that come in are seen first by the agency's reader, Anne Blackstone, and anything that gets past that first filter is discussed by the agents as a group and then divided among them. Cardenas explains that it's hard to qualify the agent's preferences and peccadilloes (one exception: the agents, whose lists currently skew male, are trying to cultivate more women writers). But generally, Cardenas says, "If you're a great writer and you weave a great tale, or you put together a theory or philosophy or a commentary well, we're going to be engaged with that because we all love good writing." In fact, she says, part of the reason the agency keeps itself small is so they can afford to have great writers: "There's a difference between trying to find something that will sell and being attracted to things that are really great writing." She cites client Michael Keith, author of The Next Better Place, as a great example of this. Keith's childhood memoir, which Cardenas loved, was sent to 45 houses before it found a home at Algonquin. "Was it really going to be a huge commercial success?" she asks. "You hope so, but that's not why we took it on."
But don't be fooled into thinking the agents favor style over substance. The Lazear Agency, which represents a number of NPR hosts and commentators as well as the ubiquitous Al Franken, is known for its history of social commentary, and it's looking to continue that tradition. "We're definitely looking for people who have something to say," says Cardenas. The firm also has a strong presence in the business market.
In terms of fiction, the agents represent some literary YA and they're looking to increase their commercial and literary adult fiction lists. The agents take on some children's books, but "we have to be so bowled over by it to take it on," says Cardenas. "It's only 5 percent of what we do. There are agencies that really specialize in children's lit. The likelihood that we'll take on a children's book is slim, although when we do, they end up being highly successful because we take on so few."
What not to pitch: No romance, no horror.
Etiquette: Queries have recently begun coming in by email, but the agencies prefer the old-fashioned mail route—a "two to three page query with a self-addressed stamped envelope," Cardenas clarifies. She explains that mail queries have the advantage of not being grouped with the rest of the day's email and therefore may merit a closer read. The ideal query, addressed to the Lazear editorial board or to Anne Blackstone, explains your idea and includes any writing credits and biographical information. But most important, says Cardenas, the query must sell your project: "The query letter is the most important, hardest thing to write. If you can't write a query letter, you probably can't write a full-blown manuscript." Don't include the work itself—if the agents are interested, they'll request a longer proposal or the first few chapters of your manuscript. If the agents really love the idea, response might be immediate—and often by email—but typically you can expect a response within three weeks. If you haven't heard by then, feel free to follow up.
Contract: Standard 15 percent on domestic sales. 20 percent on foreign.
Contact info:
The Lazear Agency
431 2nd Street, Suite 300
Hudson, Wisconsin 54016
[email protected]