[Agency] Trident Media Group

I know Lee Child is from the UK, and all his books are set in the U.S. and feature U.S. spelling, but every once in a while an English phrase will slip through, which is kind of funny.

As for what agents will accept, I think that if you're from the UK, then UK spellings should be fine for a submission. After all, the UK invented English. If they want to change it, they can do so later.

And . . . I closed this out. With no response in six months (to a full request), after two nudges I'm moving on. Good luck out there.

karen lee Hallam said:

And . . . I closed this out. With no response in six months (to a full request), after two nudges I'm moving on. Good luck out there.

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That's really frustrating, Karen. Personally, I don't think there's any excuse for not responding to requested material. I hope you have more luck with your other requests!

Well, now I have a Publishing contract in hand, and I'm contacting the agents reading my ms. One agent I queried, quickly asked to read the full after she read the pages. So now I, um WAIT! and wait, but not for too long. *bites nails*

karen lee Hallam said:

Well, now I have a Publishing contract in hand, and I'm contacting the agents reading my ms. One agent I queried, quickly asked to read the full after she read the pages. So now I, um WAIT! and wait, but not for too long. *bites nails*

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So exciting, Karen! Fingers crossed!

karen lee Hallam said:

Well, now I have a Publishing contract in hand, and I'm contacting the agents reading my ms. One agent I queried, quickly asked to read the full after she read the pages. So now I, um WAIT! and wait, but not for too long. *bites nails*

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Good luck, Karen! That's the same way I got my agent

Hello all, new guy here. I've read through many of the replies here and learned quite a bit. I have only sent out six query's and trident was the last one I sent to and only one I heard from. I had a few questions I hope could be answered. When I sent my query to Trident the agent responded the same day requesting the full manuscript so I sent it, there was nothing to sign. A day later I received an email from the agent linking to a self published book by an author with the same name as me asking if it was me, it wasn't I replied and haven't heard back since. This is all very new to me but is that normal? Is it safe to assume the agent is reading my manuscript? I ask because if I were to send more queries am I suppose to let them know Trident is reading my manuscript as well( full disclosure )?

Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

Bmann said:

Hello all, new guy here. I've read through many of the replies here and learned quite a bit. I have only sent out six query's and trident was the last one I sent to and only one I heard from. I had a few questions I hope could be answered. When I sent my query to Trident the agent responded the same day requesting the full manuscript so I sent it, there was nothing to sign. A day later I received an email from the agent linking to a self published book by an author with the same name as me asking if it was me, it wasn't I replied and haven't heard back since. This is all very new to me but is that normal? Is it safe to assume the agent is reading my manuscript? I ask because if I were to send more queries am I suppose to let them know Trident is reading my manuscript as well( full disclosure )?

Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

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Welcome to Absolute Write, Bmann, and to the wonderful world of querying. And congrats on the request! Agents absolutely Google writers they might be interested in working with, so I bet this self-published book popped up in those results. The agent wanted to know if you were the author of that book, so he or she asked. Probably not a big deal. And it could mean he or she is reading your book right now, or it could mean he or she had a few extra minutes and Googled your name but won't get to your manuscript for another few weeks (or even months).

I don't think you need to let other agents know that an agent is already reading your manuscript unless they specifically ask (and in my experience, they usually only ask if they're upgrading from a partial to a full or requesting an exclusive). Agents are going to assume you're querying widely, so it stands to reason that if they're requesting more material, at least one other agent has requested more material, too.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Thank you very much Krista.

Bmann said:

Hello all, new guy here. I've read through many of the replies here and learned quite a bit. I have only sent out six query's and trident was the last one I sent to and only one I heard from. I had a few questions I hope could be answered. When I sent my query to Trident the agent responded the same day requesting the full manuscript so I sent it, there was nothing to sign. A day later I received an email from the agent linking to a self published book by an author with the same name as me asking if it was me, it wasn't I replied and haven't heard back since. This is all very new to me but is that normal? Is it safe to assume the agent is reading my manuscript? I ask because if I were to send more queries am I suppose to let them know Trident is reading my manuscript as well( full disclosure )?

Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

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Agents usually do an Internet search of prospective clients to see whether they have generated any buzz or what may be out there. Pretty much the same thing writers do when looking for agents. As for full manuscript requests, it's not only a common courtesy to let agents know you have a full out with someone else, it also tells them you have interest, which, in turn, makes them more interested in you. I always let agents know when I had a full out. Congrats and good luck!

Thank you popgun.

I notice they offer a lot of "services". Should this concern me? The last thing I want is another so-called agent trying to con me out of money.

No.
Trident are a highly reputable agenccy. Thank your lucky stars if they respond positively to your submission.

PeteDutcher said:

I notice they offer a lot of "services". Should this concern me? The last thing I want is another so-called agent trying to con me out of money.

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Trident is my agency. The only service they offer is self publishing for their authors. All expenses are paid by TMG. I have never been offered a service by anyone at TMG. I am extremely happy with them.

They seem very, very high-end. Never responded to any of my queries, even though they started following me on twitter, so that's interesting!

So its been over 30 days since the agent at Trident requested my full MS, judging from their site they say that is the expiration before you can query another agent. So I assume since its past the 30 day mark that is a form of rejection. I was curious if I should query another agent or nudge the one that requested the MS?

Bmann said:

So its been over 30 days since the agent at Trident requested my full MS, judging from their site they say that is the expiration before you can query another agent. So I assume since its past the 30 day mark that is a form of rejection. I was curious if I should query another agent or nudge the one that requested the MS?

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The 30-day window appears to be at the query stage. If an agent has requested your full manuscript, do not query another agent within that same agency until you have heard back from the agent reading your full. Standard practice is to nudge an agent reading your full at the three month mark.

Ok, thank you.

I sent them a query on July 6 and have not heard a response.....so I'll take that as a rejection.

Their submissions page states, "Your query should only include a paragraph about yourself, a brief plot synopsis and your contact information."

To my understanding, the synopsis is basically a summary of the entire novel (including the ending). Most of the advice I've seen on querying says to simply entice the agent without giving away too much of the plot. However, some comments I read online when I went to research this difference declared that the paragraph within the query is often called a short synopsis, though not in the traditional sense, but rather still looking for the sales pitch.

So my question is to any who have queried to Trident (successfully as far as enough to receive a reply), which is the answer they are looking for? The entire plot laid out or just enough to entice?

XSnapdragonx said:

Their submissions page states, "Your query should only include a paragraph about yourself, a brief plot synopsis and your contact information."

To my understanding, the synopsis is basically a summary of the entire novel (including the ending). Most of the advice I've seen on querying says to simply entice the agent without giving away too much of the plot. However, some comments I read online when I went to research this difference declared that the paragraph within the query is often called a short synopsis, though not in the traditional sense, but rather still looking for the sales pitch.

So my question is to any who have queried to Trident (successfully as far as enough to receive a reply), which is the answer they are looking for? The entire plot laid out or just enough to entice?

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Just enough to entice, basically what you would read on the inside of a hardcover dust jacket. If the agent requests more, they will usually ask for a complete synopsis to go along with the sample pages. Hope this helps.

Sage said:

In that context they mean they only want the pitch.

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Thanks for the clarification!

popgun62 said:

Just enough to entice, basically what you would read on the inside of a hardcover dust jacket. If the agent requests more, they will usually ask for a complete synopsis to go along with the sample pages. Hope this helps.

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I had thought that's what they wanted but the word synopsis threw me a little. It did help. Thank you!

Has anyone submitted through their ebook submissions? I've read over it a few times and I'm not afraid to admit I'm confused Is it basically the same as querying one of their agents and having them( if offered ) essentially represent your ebook rather than trying to sell it to a publisher?

Bmann said:

Has anyone submitted through their ebook submissions? I've read over it a few times and I'm not afraid to admit I'm confused Is it basically the same as querying one of their agents and having them( if offered ) essentially represent your ebook rather than trying to sell it to a publisher?

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The way my agent explained it was that any TMG author who wants to self-publish can do so through TMG, who basically takes care of everything from cover art to copy editing, layout, distribution, etc. The only thing authors pay is the agent's 15%. Does it work the same for authors without representation? Good question. I would say just submit and see what happens. If they make an offer, then ask your questions. Good luck!