Sara Camilli Agency

Sent Ms. Camilli a query on the 8th of Jan and got a request for a partial on the 14th. The request came from Stephen Camilli... husband perhaps?

I've done my research but would like to hear any recent experiences others have had with either Sara or Stephen.

thanks!

Hey all

Which address is the correct address to send Sara a query? I didn't see which one she prefers and on Agent Query it says that she's not taking unsolicited subs. Can anyone shed some light for me?

[email protected] That was her reply address to me, and I suppose the one I used to get to her. It's funny, but I must have glossed over the statement that she wasn't open to queries (back when I submitted) and slipped in the backdoor somehow.

I get the impression that Sara is a great phone communicator, because she's been dealing with me that way. She's a bit slow in responding via email, but nothing earth-shattering. I know that she has four top-gun writers that appear on the best-seller lists frequently, plus, I would guess, another 8-10 others. She's made dozens of sales to the majors--I should say countless sales, and that her authors are really happy with her and include her in their dedication pages. She's a very calm, methodical person, and puts you immediately at ease when discussing business matters. I would guess that she's put more African-American writers on the A-list than just about any agent out there.

As for Stephen? I don't know who he is but I can ask next time I link up with her. Could be husband--could be son.

Hope that helps.

Tri

If you do a Google search you'll find a Boy's Life article about Stephen, Sara's son. I guess he's about 33 now. The link is too long to paste here.

I'm now officially a client of the Sara Camilli Agency! The last 35 days have been hectic, waiting for confirmation. I can't beotch too much, since I've only been agentless for less that three months. She's taking three of my books.

Stats: Over 400 agent subs--15 fulls--13 partials--six near misses--and three agent offers, with 280 non-responders. I also received pages and pages of compliments and revision suggestions from the competing and rejecting agents. I'll try to make Diane Nine and the Fusion Machine my breakout. Look for a disguised female Iron Man in your future. Happy day!

Tri--red-shifting with a smile.

Many congratulations, Tri. After all your experiences, you more than deserve this.

Congratulations! I'm appalled by the numbers... Where did you find 400 agents to query??? Is it because your genre is widely accepted? Also, if you are already published I suppose you can query all the agencies that won't accept from unpublished authors... Still...
I've now started querying for my sci-fi mystery and am daunted by how few agencies take science fiction these days...

Congrats Tri!!!!

Well finally! I've been waiting for you to post this! I was going crazy wondering and worrying! Let me tell ya how painful my waiting was . . .


Kiddin'. Big big congrats, and tonight I will follow my "AWer signs with agent" tradition and toast the event with a glass of wine.

I would insert all kinds of smilies here but for whatever reason that option is mocking me today.

sciri said:

Congratulations! I'm appalled by the numbers... Where did you find 400 agents to query??? Is it because your genre is widely accepted? Also, if you are already published I suppose you can query all the agencies that won't accept from unpublished authors... Still...
I've now started querying for my sci-fi mystery and am daunted by how few agencies take science fiction these days...

Click to expand...

Yes, the thriller genre is a heaping monster alone by itself. When I added action/adventure and military espionage, it climbed to 450 agents, in those brackets. And yes, I do have quite a bio/credit list, which helps make you a known quantity, although it's not absolutely essential. All of these were email only. I missed about 80--90 in those genres that were snail mail only.

Thanks, honeysock. I know you've been on the sidelines nail-biting right along with me. Many times did your comments give me a needed boost. I was totally stunned to see how many of my queries were shot down, or in fact, my email got the boot the minute they saw "thriller--female-centric" in the email title line, indicating they never got to the query. I was also aghast at the number of non-responders. Only a few have trickled in in the past month.

I went at this like I was going to war. I would not recommend anyone follow my example. I was facing the loss of my interenet and some computer hardware, so I blasted in a last ditch effort before I moved. thankfully I got hooked back up three weeks later. I hope I never have to go through it again. At least I know which agents out there are digging for clients--I mean for real. Some of them were very enthusiastic and supplied me with tons of notes and suggestions. I also got lots of referals, which kind of surprized me.

I was with Richard Curtis back in '88 to '91. Sf was a hell of a tough sell then. My last agent (for three years) had an even tougher time trying to sell my SF. I think there are about 40 agents that take it. Might be a few more. Woefully thin for such a wonderful genre.

Tri

You are a warrior sir, and I salute you.

hey all

Got a request for a full today off the 6-chapter partial requested on Jan 14th! Request came from Stephen Camilli.

First off, djaffe, huge congrats on that full request. She isn't easily impressed and takes her time.

Can I ask you what email address you used? I'm sitting tight from an answer from Sara, and I might have used the wrong email address. Stephen might be working independently from Sara, handling non-client subs. In which case I might have to wait a bit longer.

Tri

hey Tri

The full request came from Stephen who sent from [email protected]. I sent my original query back on Jan 8th to [email protected].

I thought you already signed with them? What's your situation? Seems strange that a signed client is having problems contacting them. Doesn't sound good.

Yeah, I'm signed up there. Sara went on an extended vacation and said that she would get back to me in the begining of March. She hasn't connected with me yet, which might mean that she is still out of the country. I wanted to be prepared with an alternate in case I break down and some point and try to reach her. It's not a real panic situation. I'm just itching to get going.

Tri

Ah... ok. Just starting to give thought to how one chooses an agent and what type of experience I should expect as a client. I've got a small group of agents with my full and I know I'd be lucky to just get one to offer representation... but I'd like that to be someone attentive and engaged.

any information on Stephen Camilli? Sara's son?

posting again...thanks guys

hey Milly

He is currently reading my full and I've had a couple email exchanges but I don't know much about him. I sent my original query to Sara but it must have been taken up by him. Don't have any info on his sales or background.

If anyone does... please update.

Don't know anything about her son other than he anwered my email and assured me that Sara had just got back from Brazil. Her vacation was extended because her other son got married there. She did read and edit my book, and I'll have it ready by Monday. She wants to go on sub with Diane Nine immediately. So, all is well in agent land for Tri.

I think Stephan helped mom out, or filled in for her. He's probably pretty well trained and has the experience to know what he's doing. If he okays the book, mom will probably read it and green light it. I don't think Stephan is an active agent, but I believe his desicion certainly carries weight. My old aget had a reader that was trusted to recommend contract signings. So, I think everything if fine and back on track here.

Good luck with that full. Would love to see you aboard.

Tri

Thanks Tri and I'm glad to hear things are moving full steam ahead with your book! Keep us updated on how things progress with publishers.

I'll certainly keep you abreast of any developments. Heh, heh, provided she is the type that keeps me in the loop with every little contact and comment. Some agent don't connect up with their clients unless it's only good news. I have no idea about how the Camilli agency works in that regard. My time is actually better spent working with my present publishers and knocking out more books, anyway.

Tri

All

I've been offered representation!! Got the email from Stephen today. Over the moon!! I started the querying process back in Nov 2009 and it took many months from query to partial to full.... with MANY rejections along the way. All I can say is... wow!

DJAFFE!!!!!!!


WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!

(We boarded the same train last fall. I'm hoping to get off very soon, as I'm getting a call today . . . )


Here's to a quick sale!!! Did you post over in Goals and Accomplishments? They throw parties over there, free booze and such . . .

Thank you Honeysock!!

I'll throw a party if the book gets sold! Getting an agent seems like such an improbable thing but the real challenge is getting the book published and read!!

Best of luck with your train journey!