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Belcastro Agency (Sharon Belcastro)

bestseller1980

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Hi guys,

Just checking in with everyon (as promised). I'm now officially at the submission stage!!! Partials were sent to five editors this week and two have requested to read the full. Of course--as we all know--this is a waiting game, so only time will tell if they like my story as a whole...
 

thephoenix

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OK,

you get an agent not just to have an agent, but to have one that can solicit your work to the right people. If you feel uncomfortable with a particular agent or agency, because of their lack of skills, then you have every right to do so, but using rhetoric to make it seem like they're trying to steal people's money, or something of the sort, is not cool. I will not be querying the belcastro agency, because i worked hard on my novel, and I believe in its potential. I want to aim high, and if in 10 years I still don't have an agent, oh well, that doesn't stop me from writing.
 

Jill Karg

So many WIPs which one to work on
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Don't know if this will be helpful

Just wanted to let others know. Research is key to do anything well. I am currently doing the research on finding the right agent for me and my books. Again, we all make mistakes, but I feel if you can narrow your search to 10-15 top agents that fit your book and personality then that is a start. I will not be querying them until my book is ready for publication. Since my current project is a five part (seperate books or one book) children book (7 - 12 age group). I will not be looking for a young adult, romance, science fiction agent. I won't waste their time or mine. Again a lot of this is common sense, but some new writers that only look at agent and not what they represent can find it helpful maybe. I wish all the best of luck in their searches for an agent and their books.
 

Haunted_October

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Sharon just recently offered to rep me, and sent me a copy of the contract to look over. I wrote her and asked about her experience with big publishing houses and her and her partner, Ella's, background.

She has contact with all the editors at the big publishing houses. She also said that most of the novels from her authors have been more appropriate for smaller publishers, which is why there haven't been any sales to big houses.

She told me more but I thought I'd share that little tidbit for AWers. Whether or not I say yes to her repping me, I don't know yet. I'm waiting to hear from three other agents at the top of my list. But Sharon has been very nice and professional, and answered all my questions.
 
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bestseller1980

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FYI--Sharon Belcastro sold a debut novel (and two book deal) to Peter Senftleben at Kensington on 10/28/10. Publishers Marketplace lists the deal as "a nice deal". Sharon says this novel was on submission for 9 months, which just goes to show you that publishing is a waiting game. Some novels sell in one week, others in one year. It's an unpredictable game, but she obviously works hard and has secured a deal at a major publishing house.
 

bestseller1980

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According to Publisher's Marketplace, the author's name is J.A. Kazimer and the working title is "A F****ED FAIRYTALE", pitched as "Who Framed Roger Rabit meets Shrek".
 

favored1

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Hi y’all! Just wanted to share my experience with the Belcastro Agency. I decided to sign with this agency based on the fact that she was willing to take a chance on me when no one else would. She seemed enthusiastic about my novel and I was excited about her ideas. And then it got weird. While we were doing the edits, she informed me that she had shared my novel with her other clients to get their feedback. I thought…is she allowed to do that? Submission time came next. For months, I received zero feedback from her regarding editor feedback. In fact, I rarely received any emails from Sharon. I’ve never spoken with her on the telephone. I have no idea what her voice sounds like. Not to mention the fact that the majority of the editors she submitted my novel to were more or less vanity presses who paid no advances. In the end, she simply disappeared and I moved on. I would suggest going with an agent with some credibility. If you read the blog of the author with the Kensington book deal (her only deal at a major publishing company), the author explains that he sold his own book. The author basically sold the book himself after speaking with the editor at a conference. The editor asked the author to send him the manuscript and he ended up offering a deal. I’m unsure how Sharon can take credit for a sale that she had nothing to do with other than perhaps signing the documents as the author’s agent and taking her 15%. As the saying goes, sometimes it’s better to have no agent than an inexperienced one. Take it from me.
 

J.B.Kantt

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Update

I don't know if anyone's waiting to hear from this agency (this thread hasn't been posted in for a while), but just in case you want to know my wait time:
I sent my query to them on November 27, 2011.
I got a rejection on November 27, 2012.
So it took exactly a year for them to respond to my initial query (for my first book), saying that they can't represent it at this time even though it sounds interesting.
 

TexasTraveler

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Sharon and Ella Marie have offered me representation. I queried on 1/15, received an offer to send a full 1/25, and then the offer of representation came on 2/5.

I've talked with Sharon on the phone and she mentioned several editors she wanted to sub my ms too, that I recognized. I have a few published author friends that have dropped some editor names over the months of my querying, and Sharon also dropped the same editor names seeking ms like mine. My manuscript is very commercial, and I don't know if that makes a difference, only time will tell. But first impressions mean a lot to me, and Sharon was very pleasant and straight forward with me.

I still have a few more days before decisions are made.
 
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TexasTraveler

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Hi!

I'm sorry it has been awhile since I posted an update. I signed with Belcastro in February, and in May I signed a 2 book deal with Entangled Publishing!
 

NoblinGoblin

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Texas, that's great. Congrats. I hope your books are wildly successful!!!!

Just for my clarification--you don't need an agent to submit or get a deal with Entangled, right? I have nothing but nice things to say about Ms. Belcastro. She was extremely pleasant and I enjoyed my dialogue with her. I think she's a super nice lady. But one of my biggest issues with her agency is that she's not sold to any (or many, I can't remember exactly) major houses.
 

writer1709

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Why do people query agents without researching them first? One agent I really want to work with at Dystel has made many commercial sales and one to Entangled, I think that track record speaks for itself
 

Cel_Fleur

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Anybody recently had any interactions with this agency? Whilst there have been sales made (as shown on the website), Sharon still hasn't brokered any with a major publisher, and, whilst I like Curiosity Quills and Entangled, as has been discussed, I could just as well submit to them on my own.
Still undecided on whether to query here or not.
 

popgun62

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If an agency has NO sales listed to ANY major publishers, or at least some big indies like Kensington (not made by the author, obviously), then you should look elsewhere. That's just my opinion.
 
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NoblinGoblin

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Popgun, I totally agree. Research is so important. I made a few mistakes when I queried agents, querying a couple I hadn't properly researched. It never leads anywhere good!
 

JayliaDarkness

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I am represented by Sharon and have been for a few years. I queried her with a story that was rejected. I queried her with another story and she offered me representation. She then asked to see my other works. She took on another, but passed on two others, so she is selective.

Before Sharon, I was repped by a NYC agent. I met that agent, she was excited about my story, and sent it to an editor I already had a connection with. She also told me she queried other publishers, but wouldn't give me a list. When the editor I knew passed, this agent dumped me.

Sharon and that other agent had both offered me representation, and I had gone with the NYC agent. After that fell through, I reached out to Sharon, and that's when I signed with her.

She and Ella were extremely helpful in the editing process. It took a few months, but we were happy with how the piece turned out. (The NYC agent also had me editing, but editing for a year, and giving me odd things to edit. Overall the editing process there had made me feel uncomfortable, like I wasn't understanding what she wanted of me) Sharon and Ella were both upfront and eager to discuss their comments with me.

Sharon keeps me up-to-date on which publisher has the story and what their comments are. Book #1 received multiple requests from the big publishers, but in the end was given a rejection because of various things. I had written it with a local illustrator, so we were kind of a package deal. We ended up going with Curiosity Quills Press because they agreed to take his illustrations (but then after the editing process passed on him and assigned their own illustrator).

Sharon is still sending out Book #2, but it has also gotten quite a few full requests. The most common reason for rejection is because it is too dark (I heard the same complaint from other agents when I queried the book).

(On a side note, CQP then asked to see what other books I had available. My 4th book from them came out in January. Sharon has helped me to negotiate each contract and she has offered marketing advice. I did sell those myself, but I was thankful for an agent's perspective)
 

Pisco Sour

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I have signed with Sharon at Belcastro. I read through this thread before I submitted, spoke to authors represented by Belcastro, and turned down another offer of representation from my top-tier list of agents to sign on the e-sig line. (For the curious, this was because the agent rubbed me the wrong way, didn't 'get' my book (from our phone convo) and I felt we really wouldn't work well together. I want to flog this thing with series potential/trilogy deals in mind and she wasn't interested in doing that.). So, I am extremely pleased to be working with Sharon, who has so far been very professional and on-target with her vision for my book. If it turns out that a stand-alone is better, then so be it, but at least she is willing to try submitting this book as a trilogy, or series.

The plan is to hit the publishers that my previously un-agented status precluded, then re-think if there are no takers, depending on my aspirations for this book (as discussed with Sharon before signing). Absolutely fine with that. I am really happy I can now concentrate on writing my current wips and leave submissions to Sharon. Of course, I will report if there is a sale, but we don't intend to go on submission until after the edits are done. As I am currently wrapped-up in a deadline for my ER publisher this could be 2017. Thanks to those who contributed to this thread I shall do the same once I have anything of import to share.

As it stands today, I am very pleased about signing with Belcastro and I am optimistic about the future of this book.
 
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