Irene Goodman Literary Agency

Monet · 08-31-2006, 10:32 PM

What's up with two agencies

1. Irene Goodman Literary Agency
2. Wieser & Elwell, Inc.

having the exact same address?

80 Fifth Avenue Suite 1101 NY NY 10011

also have found Wieser & Elwell, Inc. with same street/suite address but different zip --- 10010

puzzled - do they share an office?

James D. Macdonald · 08-31-2006, 11:31 PM

Or perhaps share a mail-forwarding service. Or share a secretary.

These things aren't unusual.

Crinklish · 09-01-2006, 01:59 AM

There are several different agencies at that particular address...it's a suite of offices, and they share rent and conference room space.

Monet · 09-01-2006, 06:48 AM

Thanks, all. The information is good to know. I thought for sure one of the addresses was incorrect.

Scrawler · 09-01-2006, 09:44 AM

BTW- I got a nice rejection from the Irene Goodman agency. A standard, but very pleasantly worded "Dear Author" that icluded the line, "We also appreciate the hard work and diligence needed to get in the door, and we applaud your efforts."

Below was a handwritten and complimentary note stating she would "be happy to look at future projects."
Such a nice way to say thanks but no thanks!

CaoPaux · 09-01-2006, 11:36 PM

Agents can also be sub-agents for other agencies. Given the real estate situation in NYC, I've this mental image of desks stacked like bunk beds.

Just FYI:

Ms. Goodman: http://www.irenegoodman.com/

Wieser & Elwell: http://www.publishersmarketplace.com...eserandWieser/

CaoPaux · 11-17-2007, 03:58 AM

(Re: Weiser & Elwell. Jake Elwell is now with Harold Ober & Assocs. There's no sign Ms. Weiser is still agenting.)

Edita A Petrick · 03-28-2007, 12:28 AM

I thought I'd share this with the rest of you here. I queried this agency nearly 2 years ago - yep, 2 years ago since I keep records. The query concerned my police mystery novel, "Cold Scheme" - and I just received (March 19, 2007) reply from someone at the agency named Miriam Kriss, declining interest in the novel. It's a generic rejection but it's NOT an auto-reply which makes me wonder who's doing "cleaning-up" at the agency and more important, why...?

Dear Author,
I dislike having to send you a standard form letter as much as I'm sure you
dislike receiving one. Unfortunately, the volume of unsolicited mail
prevents us from giving more individual responses.
We did review your proposal, and for some reason we don't feel we can represent it. Some of them come close, and yours may well be one of those, but we do have our reasons for declining.
We also appreciate the hard work and diligence needed to get in the door, and we applaud your efforts. Since this is a highly subjective business, you may well find success elsewhere, and we wish you all the best with your writing.
Sincerely,
Miriam Kriss

Now, this particular novel's gone to publish as an e-book about 1 year ago. So, as for agents not being courteous and replying - positive or negative - this agency takes courtesy very seriously...honestly, I'm still chuckling about it. I mean 2 years...? Why bother?

zizban · 03-28-2007, 12:56 AM

It's just a rejection...dont read too much into it.

waylander · 03-28-2007, 03:38 AM

Miriam Kriss is one of the partners there.

Edita A Petrick · 03-28-2007, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zizban

It's just a rejection...dont read too much into it.

I know that - and that's not what made me laugh. But taking 2 years...to send e-mail...honestly, were I cleaning my files I wouldn't remember who sent me what after 2 years. In which case caution and sanity would prevail and I'd not bother replying at all. It's kind of silly. But plucky, I suppose....

HapiSofi · 03-28-2007, 07:22 AM

Could be she was cleaning out her unanswered backlog. You may not care at this point, but another writer might be offended at the idea that they wouldn't want to hear a reply.

Stacia Kane · 03-28-2007, 10:12 AM

Lori Perkins just discussed this on her blog a couple of weeks ago, and got an overwhelming "We want a reply no matter how much time has passed" response.

jkorzenko · 03-28-2007, 04:30 PM

Miriam Kriss is top notch. I guess what they say about the height of a slush pile is true. LOL. I'd be chuckling, too, Edita. After three months, I normally mark that sub as a non-response R and move on.

J.

Scrawler · 03-28-2007, 10:27 PM

I queried Irene Goodman and received a timely reply from Miriam Kriss. Her form letter included a hand written request to submit something else.
I've received 2 rejections over a year later- one a very poor quality copy of a form letter, the other a personal letter full of apologies, saying my query had been put in the wrong office.

tammieofmi · 04-06-2007, 05:16 PM

Sssheesshh 2 years that is funny. Does make you wonder where they are at with the slush pile though. I sent her a query in January, so 3 months is nothing

)

janetbellinger · 04-06-2007, 05:21 PM

It ook two years because they had a hard time deciding whether or not to represent your book. They came close to accepting it and maybe would have had they not found out it's already an ebook. Or maybe they don't know that but genuinely had trouble making a decision about it.

jthome1223 · 04-06-2007, 05:33 PM

I'll bet a pile of queries just got misplaced in a filing cabinet somewhere and they just now came across them. Before I signed with my agent, Irene Goodman requested a full from me -- and it only took about two weeks for that.

Two years! That must have been quite a shock! I got two rejections in the mail a year after I quit querying agents -- so I can relate a little bit. Funny how those rejections don't sting after you have representation!

Robin Bayne · 04-06-2007, 10:30 PM

She ran a group-session at a conference I attended, and we went around the table and pitched our projects. One woman pitched poetry, which had been clearly marked *do no represent* in the guidelines, but Irene listened politely and then invited ALL of us to submit our manuscripts.

No big surprise when a form rejection came later. I felt like we were all just treated politely with no real consideration.

JeanneTGC · 06-25-2007, 03:55 AM

I'm about to query this agency, and wondered if anyone had any info on this aspect of querying there only (I know they're legit).

On both Agent Query and Publisher's Marketplace, they indicate that snail mail queries are both accepted and preferred. On the agency's own website, it states that they only want emailed queries.

My initial reaction is to do what the agent's website says, but I just wanted to know if anyone's done snail mail query subs to them and had a good, bad or indifferent response.

clara bow · 06-25-2007, 04:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeanneTGC

My initial reaction is to do what the agent's website says, but I just wanted to know if anyone's done snail mail query subs to them and had a good, bad or indifferent response.

over the summer, i snail queried them and received the usual form rejection. my impression is that they recently switched to email preference.

RTH · 06-25-2007, 07:40 PM

Interesting to note that this seems not uncommon with this agency; I sent a query to Ms. Kriss a good while back (4 or 5 months, I think?) and never had a response.

Maybe their office could use some improvement in its slush-pile organization strategies.

Linda Adams · 07-08-2007, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeanneTGC

My initial reaction is to do what the agent's website says, but I just wanted to know if anyone's done snail mail query subs to them and had a good, bad or indifferent response.

I did snail mail in January to them. Still haven't heard anything back. They must have updated the site because we would have sent it email at the time if the site said they preferred it.

j.s.cutler · 09-11-2008, 04:09 AM

I got a form rejection from the Irene Goodman Agency after a partial. It didn't even have my name on it.

I'm not usually very sensitive about rejections, but that's pretty weak if you ask me. I've gotten better rejections from a straight query letter.

I won't bother with this agency again.

ohjammer · 02-28-2009, 02:09 AM

I queried Irene Goodman with a letter, synopsis and a middle chapter, largely because of her good press here in AW. Got a form rejection that had been modified to give the writer some direction:
"Thank you for your query. We appreciate you sharing your work with our agency.

We did review your proposal, and unfortunately we are going to pass on representing it. The premise just didn't resonate with us as much as we would have liked. Your writing does show promise and we wish you the best in your search for representation. Your book deserves an agent who can put the requisite enthusiasm behind it.

We appreciate the hard work and diligence needed to get in the door, and since this is a highly subjective business, you may well find success elsewhere. We wish you all the best with your writing.
Regards, "

Scott

08-31-2006, 10:32 PM	#1
Monet practical experience, FTW Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: USA Posts: 115	Irene Goodman Literary Agency What's up with two agencies 1. Irene Goodman Literary Agency 2. Wieser & Elwell, Inc. having the exact same address? 80 Fifth Avenue Suite 1101 NY NY 10011 also have found Wieser & Elwell, Inc. with same street/suite address but different zip --- 10010 puzzled - do they share an office? __________________ -- Monet Everything becomes clearer with distance Last edited by Monet; 08-31-2006 at 10:38 PM.

08-31-2006, 11:31 PM	#2
James D. Macdonald Your Genial Uncle Absolute Sage Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 21,586	Or perhaps share a mail-forwarding service. Or share a secretary. These things aren't unusual. __________________ Viable Paradise: The Workshop You've Been Looking For

09-01-2006, 06:48 AM	#4
Monet practical experience, FTW Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: USA Posts: 115	Thanks, all. The information is good to know. I thought for sure one of the addresses was incorrect. __________________ -- Monet Everything becomes clearer with distance

09-01-2006, 11:36 PM	#6
CaoPaux Mostly Harmless SuperModerator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Coastal Desert Posts: 10,588	Agents can also be sub-agents for other agencies. Given the real estate situation in NYC, I've this mental image of desks stacked like bunk beds. Just FYI: Ms. Goodman: http://www.irenegoodman.com/ Wieser & Elwell: http://www.publishersmarketplace.com...eserandWieser/ __________________ ICAO --------- Achievers strive for excellence. Perfectionists drive themselves to extinction. -- A Grapple A Day I've never known any trouble that an hour's reading didn't assuage. -- Charles DeSecondat 2012: II2013:

11-17-2007, 03:58 AM	#7
CaoPaux Mostly Harmless SuperModerator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Coastal Desert Posts: 10,588	(Re: Weiser & Elwell. Jake Elwell is now with Harold Ober & Assocs. There's no sign Ms. Weiser is still agenting.) __________________ ICAO --------- Achievers strive for excellence. Perfectionists drive themselves to extinction. -- A Grapple A Day I've never known any trouble that an hour's reading didn't assuage. -- Charles DeSecondat 2012: II2013:

09-01-2006, 01:59 AM	#3
Crinklish practical experience, FTW Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: New York, NY Posts: 164	There are several different agencies at that particular address...it's a suite of offices, and they share rent and conference room space.

09-01-2006, 09:44 AM	#5
Scrawler Bored fanatic Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 658	BTW- I got a nice rejection from the Irene Goodman agency. A standard, but very pleasantly worded "Dear Author" that icluded the line, "We also appreciate the hard work and diligence needed to get in the door, and we applaud your efforts." Below was a handwritten and complimentary note stating she would "be happy to look at future projects." Such a nice way to say thanks but no thanks!

03-28-2007, 12:28 AM	#8
Edita A Petrick Not new, just quiet Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Richmond Hill Posts: 70	Irene Goodman Literary Agency I thought I'd share this with the rest of you here. I queried this agency nearly 2 years ago - yep, 2 years ago since I keep records. The query concerned my police mystery novel, "Cold Scheme" - and I just received (March 19, 2007) reply from someone at the agency named Miriam Kriss, declining interest in the novel. It's a generic rejection but it's NOT an auto-reply which makes me wonder who's doing "cleaning-up" at the agency and more important, why...? Dear Author, I dislike having to send you a standard form letter as much as I'm sure you dislike receiving one. Unfortunately, the volume of unsolicited mail prevents us from giving more individual responses. We did review your proposal, and for some reason we don't feel we can represent it. Some of them come close, and yours may well be one of those, but we do have our reasons for declining. We also appreciate the hard work and diligence needed to get in the door, and we applaud your efforts. Since this is a highly subjective business, you may well find success elsewhere, and we wish you all the best with your writing. Sincerely, Miriam Kriss Now, this particular novel's gone to publish as an e-book about 1 year ago. So, as for agents not being courteous and replying - positive or negative - this agency takes courtesy very seriously...honestly, I'm still chuckling about it. I mean 2 years...? Why bother?

03-28-2007, 12:56 AM	#9
zizban Banned Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New England Posts: 526	It's just a rejection...dont read too much into it.

03-28-2007, 03:38 AM	#10
waylander Who's going for a beer? Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 5,184	Miriam Kriss is one of the partners there.

03-28-2007, 07:22 AM	#12
HapiSofi Hagiographically Advantaged AW Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 1,855	Could be she was cleaning out her unanswered backlog. You may not care at this point, but another writer might be offended at the idea that they wouldn't want to hear a reply. __________________ Winner of the Best Drycleaner on the Block Award.

03-28-2007, 10:12 AM	#13
Stacia Kane Girl Detective AW Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: In cahoots with the other boo-birds Posts: 7,267	Lori Perkins just discussed this on her blog a couple of weeks ago, and got an overwhelming "We want a reply no matter how much time has passed" response. __________________ http://www.staciakane.com CHASING MAGIC is available now in the US/Canada and the UK/Ire/AUS!! "I can’t recommend these books highly enough. If you love urban fantasy with an edge, Stacia Kane delivers every time."-- All Things Urban Fantasy on CHASING MAGIC/the Downside series

03-28-2007, 04:30 PM	#14
jkorzenko practical experience, FTW Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 158	Miriam Kriss is top notch. I guess what they say about the height of a slush pile is true. LOL. I'd be chuckling, too, Edita. After three months, I normally mark that sub as a non-response R and move on. J.

03-28-2007, 10:27 PM	#15
Scrawler Bored fanatic Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 658	I queried Irene Goodman and received a timely reply from Miriam Kriss. Her form letter included a hand written request to submit something else. I've received 2 rejections over a year later- one a very poor quality copy of a form letter, the other a personal letter full of apologies, saying my query had been put in the wrong office.

04-06-2007, 05:16 PM	#16
tammieofmi practical experience, FTW Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Michigan Posts: 129	Sssheesshh 2 years that is funny. Does make you wonder where they are at with the slush pile though. I sent her a query in January, so 3 months is nothing )

04-06-2007, 05:21 PM	#17
janetbellinger practical experience, FTW Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Orangeville, Ontario Posts: 2,770	It ook two years because they had a hard time deciding whether or not to represent your book. They came close to accepting it and maybe would have had they not found out it's already an ebook. Or maybe they don't know that but genuinely had trouble making a decision about it. __________________ Janet Originality is nothing by judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another. Author: Voltaire

04-06-2007, 05:33 PM	#18
jthome1223 figuring it all out Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Cleveland Posts: 63	I'll bet a pile of queries just got misplaced in a filing cabinet somewhere and they just now came across them. Before I signed with my agent, Irene Goodman requested a full from me -- and it only took about two weeks for that. Two years! That must have been quite a shock! I got two rejections in the mail a year after I quit querying agents -- so I can relate a little bit. Funny how those rejections don't sting after you have representation! __________________ For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these -- 'It might have been.' -- John Greenleaf Whittier

04-06-2007, 10:30 PM	#19
Robin Bayne ~writes for Him~ Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: ~the old line state~ Posts: 1,814	She ran a group-session at a conference I attended, and we went around the table and pitched our projects. One woman pitched poetry, which had been clearly marked do no represent in the guidelines, but Irene listened politely and then invited ALL of us to submit our manuscripts. No big surprise when a form rejection came later. I felt like we were all just treated politely with no real consideration. __________________ Robin Bayne

06-25-2007, 03:55 AM	#20
JeanneTGC I am Catwoman...and Gini Koch WPR Dominatrix Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: A Little South of Sanity Posts: 7,527	I'm about to query this agency, and wondered if anyone had any info on this aspect of querying there only (I know they're legit). On both Agent Query and Publisher's Marketplace, they indicate that snail mail queries are both accepted and preferred. On the agency's own website, it states that they only want emailed queries. My initial reaction is to do what the agent's website says, but I just wanted to know if anyone's done snail mail query subs to them and had a good, bad or indifferent response. __________________ Jeanne Action, Adventure, Romance & Humor Coming Dec. 3, 2013, Alien Research -- Preorder NOW! --Click the covers to go to my website for details & more! Submit your poetry, humor & shorts to Raphael's Village!

06-25-2007, 07:40 PM	#22
RTH Call me Ishmael Join Date: May 2006 Location: somewhere I shouldn't be Posts: 178	Interesting to note that this seems not uncommon with this agency; I sent a query to Ms. Kriss a good while back (4 or 5 months, I think?) and never had a response. Maybe their office could use some improvement in its slush-pile organization strategies.

09-11-2008, 04:09 AM	#24
j.s.cutler figuring it all out Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 96	Goodnight Irene I got a form rejection from the Irene Goodman Agency after a partial. It didn't even have my name on it. I'm not usually very sensitive about rejections, but that's pretty weak if you ask me. I've gotten better rejections from a straight query letter. I won't bother with this agency again.

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