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TriadaUS Literary Agency

FrankWriter

Hello,

After reading the many posts on this board and using Google to look up other's agents, I wonder if anyone knows anything about this agency?

They seem to be new. Is a new agency more approachable by a new author? Do they have the same chance as any other big agency. I mean, aren't the big guys harder to get representation with than a new guy on the block?
:shrug

And for those of you already published, do you know anything about these guys?

Frank
 

FrankWriter

the link

almost forgot the link to them:

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/cjstender/" target="_new">www.geocities.com/cjstender/</a>
 

aka eraser

Re: the link

I have a hunch even Dave and Victoria haven't heard much, if anything, about these guys. They've only been in business for three months and it doesn't look like they've placed a book yet.

The founder doesn't appear to have a lot of experience in the field. There's a brief mention of having been an acquisitions editor but it doesn't say with what firm.

They appear to abide by the AAR code but haven't qualified as members yet. My impression is that they aspire to be a legit agency but their inexperience would make me wary.

I think there's something to be said for a young, hungry agency being a good fit with a first-time author but if they don't have the contacts....

I'd keep looking.

By the way Frank, nice name. :)
 

James D Macdonald

Re: TriadaUS Literary Agency???

If you haven't read <a href="http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/004772.html" target="_new">this article</a> you should.

In general, a useful agent is one who has sold books you've heard of.
 

RejectME

TriadaUS

Does anyone have any information about this new agency and it's founder, Dr. Uwe Stender?
 

victoriastrauss

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This agency has been in business for about a year now, and has yet to make a sale. This isn't a good sign--an agency that's going to be successful will usually start making regular sales within six months to a year of starting up.

Mr. Stender seems to have abundant enthusiasm and good will. What he doesn't appear to have is recent US/UK industry experience (he was an acquisitions editor for German publisher Bastei in the early 1980's). This is a handicap--people who lack experience tend to have a very tough time breaking in. It can happen, but it can take quite a while, and it's the clients who pay the price of the wait.

- Victoria
 
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Uwe

TriadaUS

I understand your concerns. Nobody wishes more for a sale than I do.

I can assure you, though, that all of my client's projects have been and are being considered by the right editors and that I have been close to a sale several times, but ultimately, the editors/editorial boards/ (in one case) the publisher decided that the respective project was not right for him/her/them. Ultimately, especially in case of first time authors (who are the majority of my clients), an editor has to either totally fall in love with the project or has to be willing to take a leap of faith to see if this new writer can be "broken into" this tough marketplace.

I am very hopeful that my first sale will occur within the "one year mark," (still have 2 months for that, as I incorporated in late April 2004)) but I have the determination to see this through even if it takes longer.

I believe that (initially) the most important thing is for my clients' projects to be in front of the proper editors and that their projects are actually being read and considered. And that is, in fact, happening.

I hope (and am confident) that soon my first sales will occur.
Best,
Uwe, Founder of TriadaUS.
 

zizban

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Here's the latest news from the website:
TriadaUS agreed with Danae DiNicola of Danae DiNicola agency to exclusively subagent FILM and TELEVISION RIGHTS for Barry McArdle's I SOLD THE MOON. We hope that this will be the beginning of a long and successful relationship between our two agencies.

I have no idea what this means but I didn't find any book sales, but then again the website was light brown, making it hard for me to read.
 

dragonjax

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My own experience

In my own dealings with Uwe, I found him to be a very, very nice person. I wish him and his agency nothing but the best. That being said, I am offering my own experience with him, below, for you to mull over. Take away from it what you will.

Uwe requested the full of my fantasy, after a reader read the partial and loved the prologue but hated the first three chapters because they were too slow. Uwe sent the full to the same reader. I received a response in roughly a month. Excellent RT.

I was a bit dismayed that the reader professed "great experience" in the SF/F genre and that he was "well read," yet he'd never before seen the word "anathema." In addition, the reader felt that I overused "anathema" (a total of three times in a 104,000 word manuscript--once at the beginning, once about 1/3 of the way in , and once toward the end, and in two of the three times the usage was in the context of religion) and wanted me to use a synonym. (If he would have opened a dictionary, he would have seen that my usage was, in fact, correct.)

Another sticking point for me was that this reader also wanted me to "inflate" my manuscript -- I'm a first-time author -- because clocking in at 384 pages -- yes, pages -- was pretty slim for a fantasy novel. I was greatly disturbed that the reader (A) went by page count instead of word count -- like I said above, my WC was 104,000; if I had printed the story in 12-point Courier with 1.25" margins, I could have had 550 pages; and (B) wanted me to "inflate" the story. My own research shows that fat books and first-time authors don't mix, period, and that having a manuscript at 104,000 words for a fantasy is just right.

Last, Uwe forwared the reader's feedback to me, but he didn't offer his own opinion on it, let alone offer direction other than a somewhat cryptic "promising"-- was this an acceptance? A rejection? A note to revise? I don't know.

I thanked Uwe for forwarding me the feedback. I did appreciate it; there were a few nuggets in there. But ultimately, I did not ask Uwe what the next steps were, and I moved on. In addition, I chose not to raise the points I'm making here with Uwe himself; I figured he trusted his reader, and that was good enough for me. Perhaps I made a huge mistake. Perhaps not. Simply put, I did not agree with what the reader said, and I let it go at that.

Again, I want to reiterate that I highly respect Uwe, and I hope he makes the first of many sales to come. I know some of his clients, and I wish them the best, as well as Uwe.
 

Vomaxx

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I suppose this greatly-experienced SF/F reader was the same one who finished off my submission: having sent a partial (as requested), I received an e-mail from Dr. Stender saying simply, "My associate, who is the one specializing in sci-fi and fantasy, has told me that while your query is interesting, he is not the right agent for the manuscript as it did not hold his attention as it should in order for him to go to bat for it."


Oh, well, at least he didn't say the book was too short (at 120,000 words).
 

dragonjax

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Vomaxx, if it is the same person, then I got the feeling he's not very into character development; more of a rough-and-tough action, heavy magic sorta fantasy reader.
 

dragonjax

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Given that I only have a first name for the person who read my MS (Paul), I have no idea. What's clear is that Uwe, who referred to him as his "associate," seems to trust his view implicitly. (I have my own opinion, of course, which is why I wound up not pursing this any further.)
 

HapiSofi

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Diagnosis: gormless wanna-be agent. No malign intent, but not likely to do you or your book any good.

In the current market, a first-time fantasy author whose book is already clocking in at 104,000 words should definitely not be encouraged to make it longer; and no one should ever be told to "inflate" a manuscript.

Large-scale fantasy novels always have plenty of opportunities for editorial nitpicking, even if they were written by well-regarded professionals. If this reader can't think of anything better to say than "it should be longer" and "you use 'anathema' too often," he or she doesn't have an editorial turn of mind, and can be ignored.
 

dragonjax

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Perks said:
His website indicates a recent deal for a nonfiction book about the cultural relevance of the TV series Lost. But perhaps the site isn't all the way up to date. One of his clients died last fall and it still says that he lives in Del Mar California...[/url]
Oh boy. Someone should let him know that the site needs to be updated...
 

victoriastrauss

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Perks said:
His website indicates a recent deal for a nonfiction book about the cultural relevance of the TV series Lost.
That sale, to Sourcebooks, is solid (Sourcebooks does accept unagented proposals, but it also regularly works with agents).

- Victoria
 

Sakamonda

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Uwe is great

I am one of Uwe Stender's clients. He is a new agent, but a good one with excellent contacts. He just made his first sale to Sourcebooks recently. I am still waiting for my novel to sell, but he has been able to get my novel manuscript in front of editors at numerous big imprints----Broadway, St. Martins, Pocket, Llewyllen, Atria, Red Dress Ink, and Kensington, to name a few. He queries editors first and only submits manuscripts to those editors who specifically request them. He is enthusiastic, aggressive, and highly organized. He also has never charged me a dime. I recommend him highly.
 

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Thank you for sharing your experience with Uwe and the Triada staff(?). I submitted a query and have been asked to submit a synopsis and the first 50 pages of my novel. I will do this, but one thing strikes me as being a bit odd - my email query included a synopsis of the novel. Five of the seven paragraphs tell the story. If I include a separate synopsis with the 50 pages, it will essentially say the same thing. According to the typed signature, Uwe signed the email. This may be a small thing, but I'm a stickler for detail. Requesting a synopsis after I already inquired with one just doesn't feel right.
 

Kasey Mackenzie

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This is not unusual at all. The synopsis you include with a query is not the same as a regular synopsis. What you include with a query is much shorter and less detailed. Synopses themselves are longer and much more detailed and also include the ending--which queries may or may not do. Synopses can vary in length from one page to 10 or even more, but the general length I've noticed is usually 3 to 5 double-spaced pages. Synopses can be a pain to write but they are a useful tool for the agent. Congrats on the request, btw!
 

PurpleLady

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RP,
Thank you for the clarification. I've seen requests for relatively short synopsis, but was not aware of the longer versions.

Appreciate the congratulations, too. Since I just began looking for an agent earlier this month, I consider myself lucky that this is the first bite I've had. I have submitted four queries to other agents, in hopes that I will catch a brass ring, so to speak. Haven't heard from any of them yet, but a couple have 8 - 12 week response times. In the meantime, I'll keep keeping on.