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Bradford Literary Agency (Laura Bradford)

aliajohnson

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Does anyone have any experience with this agency?
I sent my first three chapters and got a really nice request for a full, but I only recently discovered that most of this agency's sales are of erotica to Ellora's Cave and Samhain. I write romance. Will an agent sometimes take on a work that's not in his/her usual genre of interest? Should I be hesitant to agree to that?

Any advice on this would be appreciated--other than pointing out that I should have researched all of this before submitting. I'm still relatively new to the submission process and still learning. :eek: oops

Thanks!:)
 

J.S Greer

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aliajohnson said:
Any advice on this would be appreciated--other than pointing out that I should have researched all of this before submitting. I'm still relatively new to the submission process and still learning. :eek: oops
Thanks!:)

Thats really the advice that you need to heed most.
 

aliajohnson

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James D. Macdonald said:
The agent may be branching out into areas besides romantica. Why not ask?

Thanks! Would it be presumptuous to ask when (if?) I send her the full? Is that a question better left to a phone conversation in the event she offers representation? I don't mean to count chickens before they're hatched, but I'd like to be better prepared for that stage than I was for this one.

Slowly but surely, I'm learning the rules. :D
 

James D. Macdonald

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I'm certain that, when she reads your book, that she'll notice that it's romance rather than romantica. I'm certain that you said "romance" in your original query letter and your first three chapters read like romance.

Just be professional and all will work out. If the agent calls you, ask then. If the agent writes you, write then. This isn't too big a problem, I don't think.
 

aliajohnson

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James D. Macdonald said:
I'm certain that, when she reads your book, that she'll notice that it's romance rather than romantica. I'm certain that you said "romance" in your original query letter and your first three chapters read like romance.

Just be professional and all will work out. If the agent calls you, ask then. If the agent writes you, write then. This isn't too big a problem, I don't think.

I really appreciate the advice. I did say "romance" in the query, and it would be hard to mistake my first three chapters for erotica. I'll hope for the best then, and get the full out.

Thanks again!
 

LitFa

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i think its romance + erotica
 

victoriastrauss

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aliajohnson said:
Does anyone have any experience with this agency?
I sent my first three chapters and got a really nice request for a full, but I only recently discovered that most of this agency's sales are of erotica to Ellora's Cave and Samhain.
Another concern: you don't need an agent to place books with these publishers, and I think that Samhain at least doesn't pay advances. It's a good possibility that an agent whose track record is mostly concentrated on publishers like this lacks the contacts and/or knowledge needed to sell books to larger houses. Something to consider, if a publisher like Harlequin is your goal.

- Victoria
 

victoriastrauss

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Ah, that rings a bell. Back in February I heard from a couple of epublished writers who said they'd been contacted by Ms. Bradford to ask if they had representation. Both said they knew of many other writers who'd also been contacted. I actually did a blog post in response to one of these questions.

According to the bio on Ms. Bradford's website, she "began her career" as an agent with Manus & Associates, a very reputable and successful agency. Using the Internet Archive, I was able to research past iterations of the Manus website to search for her. She first appears on the website as an agent in October 2000, and is gone from it as of November 2001. Here's her bio page: http://web.archive.org/web/20011029214021/manuslit.com/laura.htm . So she was with Manus for just over a year. I couldn't find any information on what she did between then and the time she began looking for clients.

A lot of books are listed on her website, but some of them weren't sold by her (based on the fact that they have pub dates of 2005 and earlier, and it looks as if her agency didn't get up and running until late 2005-early 2006).

- Victoria
 

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I'm also wondering if anyone has any new information or personal experience. I just received a request for a full and she sounded very enthusiastic.

Thanks,

Amy
 

jkorzenko

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Enthusiasm is great. But make sure she has what it takes to sell your book. Going with a brand, spanking new agency with little to no sales is a tough call. Believe me, I know. Wasted two years. And all the enthusiasm in the world won't sell your book if that agent has no contacts.

I did a quick check on PM and she has sold into Harlequin, Kensington and Berkley -- all erotica lines, though.
 
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Pamster

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I just got a rejection from her yesterday. I have to admit I was impressed she was working yesterday. ;)
 

jkorzenko

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I think a good agent works 7 days a week, Pamster. ;)
 

AmyC

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Thanks for looking into it, Jkorzenko. So she has sold to some major publishers, but it was all with Erotica. I'm just crossing my fingers that she has some contacts for more mainstream fiction. If she likes my manuscript enough to make an offer, I will ask her about her experience with other genres.

It's a desperate and scary world out there for us newbies!

Amy
 

jkorzenko

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You're more than welcome! Best of luck. And don't forget to query widely and not fall prey to rejection-ejection. Keep plugging away no matter what. :)
 

jodiodi

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I also just got a request for a partial from Ms. Bradford and my book isn't romantica/erotica at all. It has some juicy scenes, but they're fairly subtle (except for one). If, however, it takes adding some spice to sell it, I can do it. I actually took out a lot of the erotic scenes in this one.
 

Legionsynch

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I got a request for a partial from Laura the other day, and mine's YA urban fantasy.

The fact that she said it sounded 'intriguing' was enough to spur on a happy dance that last till about...oh, five minutes ago? :)