Talcott Notch Literary Services

Bulldog said:

This agent requested a "Full" from me in June 2013, was very enthusiastic, and, to date, I've not heard one word from her! Not a rejection, nothing. Obviously, she rejected it, but she could have at least sent a form letter. Meanwhile, she continues to teach classes, and gives critiques for WD.

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My experience with this agency was unfortunately similar. It was not with Paula, though, it was with Rachael Dugas.

Here are my stats from last year:

e-query sent to Rachael in April 2013
received a request for a partial + synopsis the very next day, which I sent to her that same day
the very next day after that, she requested the full manuscript

so, only 2 days from sending the initial query, we'd gone back and forth a few times and she had my full ms in hand. I was optimistic.

then the silence came...

I had fulls out with other agents, and by July I had an offer on the table. I still hadn't heard back from Rachael yet so I told her about the offer.

She responded promptly and asked for a week to get back to me with a decision one way or the other.

A week came and went without a word from her. I had to nudge again, meanwhile with multiple offers from other agents waiting on me.

After that nudge, she said she'd been too busy to finish the book in time to make a decision, so she wished me luck with it elsewhere.

I was a bit shocked, if not totally confused. She'd had my book for *months*, after responding enthusiastically within a couple days, and she "didn't have time"? I've never heard of an agent declining something because they didn't have time, especially a newer agent who is actively building their client list.

Checking their website again now, for the first time since all of that happened last year, she doesn't appear to have any new sales updated since then. Take from that what you will.

Sleazy was inappropriate. I guess what gets me is that Ms. Munier, who had an excellent reputation, may have, at least, send me a no, and, after being so enthusiastic at first, may have added a few comments. But, she does find time to hold multiple critique sessions for WD. IMHO

She no doubt gets paid to do the WD critique sessions. She doesn't get paid, strictly speaking, to correspond with writers who query her. Apples and oranges.

Quick update: I submitted to Sara D'Emic February 15th, and I received an email today from the agency stating that she has left the agency, as well as ended her career as a literary agent.

Thought it might be worth noting here.

Samsonet said:

From what I've read, it seems uncommon for agents to not respond to fulls. Queries yes, but if they requested a full it seems odd that they didn't respond. I'd double check to make sure they got it.

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It's not uncommon at all any more, unfortunately.

I've even been blown off by an agent who requested mine at a conference. Even after a nudge. Pissed me off to no end, because she seemed pretty enthusiastic.

Quick update: I submitted to Sara D'Emic February 15th, and I received an email today from the agency stating that she has left the agency, as well as ended her career as a literary agent.

Ditto, same here.

Rachael Dugas has had my full since January. I've nudged twice (in April and then again recently) and so far, NADA. Not even "will get to it eventually/someday" or even "Go away!"

Would not recommend this agency

I was with Talcott Notch a few years. Gina immediately impressed me as a kind, smart, and savvy agent. She was also passionate about my work, and I felt lucky to sign with her.

However, she was unable to sell my manuscript or get me into major publishing houses. As others have said in this and other forums, it doesn't appear she has strong relationships with major publishing houses. Instead she just seems to post manuscripts as offerings on Publisher Marketplace and wait for the offers to come in, but that is such a crap shoot.

Agents with access can get you right before editors, even put you in touch with them to discuss your manuscript. If agents can entice the right contact, they can get that editor excited, passionate, invested in your work to the point of reviewing it and working with you to get it to the point where they will promote you and move the manuscript up the chain so that it has the best chance of being published.

In my case, Gina always reassured me that there was great interest and that she was in negotiations with major publishing houses. (I guess some major imprints contacted her from her posting...)

No feedback was ever given. She never shared pitches. She never even let me know whom she was pitching (possibly because she wasn't pitching anyone), despite my numerous requests for this information. She never provided any feedback from editors -- as would be expected from an agent with weak relationships with imprints.

Instead she said no one had anything negative to say (which is suprising as editors always nitpick) and that my manuscripts had moved before major publishing committees, where it was summarily rejected.

When I asked Gina whether the manuscript needed refinement, she just said once they acquire it, they will let you know what changes they need. This is not my understanding of how the process works. Usually you need to refine it, as per editor requirements, to get to this stage.

Nevertheless, no one ever bit. Gina blamed me for not having a strong enough platform. But the truth is, if publishers are passionate about your work, they can get you on TV and elsewhere in the media through their own contacts. I've had editors even tell me this. You don't need to be a household name or have a million Twitter followers to be a top seller. Agents who can't sell usually blame it on platform...as writers with strong platforms are more likely and easily able to get attention, but good writing always sells, particularly if presented to the right editor.

Gina was never able to get me before the right people. After years of reassuring me how close she was to a deal, she just went silent for six months, refusing to respond to emails or phone calls. She even blamed AOL for not accepting her email -- something she has told others when she has neglected to communicate. Yet, when I sent her notice of termination, she responded immediately. AOL didn't seem to be an issue then.

She had no deals in the works, no prospects...Granted, publishing is a tough industry, with only five percent of agented authors ever getting deals, I read somewhere. But I am not even sure I had a fighting chance -- given that I never received any editorial feedback, lists of editors contacted, leading me to believe she had a passive involvement in the process.

The last I heard she had submitted my work to smaller imprints, but these don't require agents, I believe, so I am not sure what value she could provide here.

I am also not sure I see the wisdom in Talcott Notch's practice of providing long editorial critiques of the works of authors they don't intend to sign. While this is a very nice practice, Gina has commented on how overwhelmed and disorganized she is, to the point where she neglects to respond to her own clients. Existing clients should always come first and she should be using that time to cultivate relationships with editors and sell our books. I am under the impression she provides this service to encourage more writers to submit to her.

I am not even sure Gina read my manuscripts. It just seems like she posted them on Publishers Marketplace and waited on responses.

I'm deeply disappointed in this process as I waited for a very long time, faithfully, believing she was actively promoting and championing my work only to discover this was not happening. I have no proof she did anything, beyond her word. She always mantained she was close to a deal, and yet each time something went wrong?

Having said all of this, she is an amazingly sweet, professional, and sharp lady. How someone with her gifts and talents hasn't managed to make the necessary inroads into the big houses is a mystery to me.

She might be a great agent for someone else, but I have terminated representation and chosen to move on.

Proceed with caution

Editing my post in response to Gina's post, which had me vacillating between bemused and put off before settling on indifference. I hope everyone checking out Talcott Notch does their research, as they would for any agency, and closely examines the prospective agent's recent sales list. Remember that a few recognizable publishing houses does not cancel out a slim sales history. Good luck.

I'm really sorry that happened to the two of you. It's very helpful that you shared your experience. Thank you.

That's good to know. Thanks for sharing your stories. It makes me even more convinced that at this point, I'm going to self-publish.

Sounds like my agent. I emailed her a month ago, and she hasn't responded yet. She's a reputable agent at a reputable agency, too.

If you're agented and they're not responding to emails, pick up the phone and call. As well, it's always a good idea to talk to your agent if you're thinking he/she has lost that loving feeling.

Miles and Sarah - sorry to hear about your bad experiences. If one agent liked your work, another will, too, so don't give up! There's someone out there for you!

Saskatoonistan said:

If you're agented and they're not responding to emails, pick up the phone and call. As well, it's always a good idea to talk to your agent if you're thinking he/she has lost that loving feeling.

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Well, I have cerebral palsy and my speech is poor, so calling her is not an option for me.

What a story and thank you for sharing your experience. Sorry you had to go through that. I don't think I'd sound half as collected. Good luck on the rest of the journey. No experience is wasted that's for sure.

Hmm, I'm rather confused. I've seen some good records of sales for Talcott Notch, but the stories make me pause.

Setting the record straight

In response to MilesFurever, this poster has never been a contracted client of this agency. None of these statements have any validity. I received a 'termination letter' from this person admitting in the letter she NEVER HAD A CONTRACT with this agency, which should give some insight into the situation with the poster. I never posted anything for, by or about this person anywhere on the internet, nor did I ever tell her I was in negotiations regarding her work with anyone. She did fabricate a story about having a 'verbal' contract for a huge advance with a major publisher, offered by someone who isn't even in an editorial position (again, hoping this is somewhat illuminating to the situation here), which surprised them greatly when I inquired what went down with the project (supposedly terminated for 'political reasons').

Prior to that enlightening encounter, I did spend several hours on the phone giving the poster revision suggestions and additional hours counseling her about how to improve her platform to make her a viable author. In a later statement which shocked me, she explained she thought she had platform because she had sued one media mammoth about another supposed 'verbal contract' for a large amount of money she said they promised her for a single article, a claim they said was completely groundless and a suit which went nowhere and was dropped. This baseless lawsuit, she felt, was good platform to approach publishers concerning a new book, coupled with her earlier nonexistent book agreement.

To address her statement she felt I never read her book, she simultaneously states I give lengthy critiques of works, so she's basically admitting to the length of time I spent talking to her about her work and contradicting her own complaint. She then suggests I give long critiques as a ploy to attract more writers to submit, but don't work on selling the books, so she's suggesting we're in business giving away free critiques. Most of our sales are posted on Publishersmarketplace if you use the search term Talcott Notch Literary Services, though a number of our recent film sales deal listings have to wait until the producers make their own announcements first. Nothing being given away here. We're in it to sell books and the subrights to the books. The poster never received any pitch letters or submission history because she was not a contracted client of this agency, as she admitted in her own letter to me, so there would not be any. She began to pepper me with phone calls and emails, and, bizarrely, to cc me on emails harassing people over her own personal business, who in turn began to contact me thinking I was her legal representative demanding I get her to stop.

I hope I have sufficiently clarified this situation for AW members. I have reported the post to AW.

And in response to 'Sarahwrites' regarding Rachael Dugas, I don't know who this might be as Rachael never had a client named Sarah but assuming from any point of reference used it could be someone from Rachael's very first year of agenting, Rachael would not have had any sales or long-standing clients to use as references, thus she would have used a relatively new client as a reference. That's not a red flag. She didn't have a time machine. The glowing clients chatting her up on Twitter now are her published clients and could certainly provide references speaking to all of the topics the poster suggests are important. But that's now, not when she was six months into her career, so suggesting she would have to use references she couldn't possibly have had at that stage of her career is rather a strange complaint and I'm not sure where this poster is coming from in making it.

Rachael did post projects on Publishersmarketplace to alert subrights scouts to the projects, and projects are left on after initial US print rights sale and simply modified to indicate what remaining subrights are still available. Many agents and publishers use this marketplace, which is specifically for that purpose. It's not a 'display' site, it's a membership site for those working in the publishing community to list properties with rights available. However, there could not have been that many and they could not have been there long, since Rachael takes on projects very selectively. She's growing her client list carefully and actually has a relatively high percentage of sold clients to unsold projects for an agent of her 'vintage', and as a new agent, has placed her clients with publishers like Berkley, Running Press and Delacorte and is now negotiating the option books to those projects.

To tell a writer that an editor will have revisions on a project is commonsense. Every project gets revisions, and those will differ depending on who the editor is. That doesn't mean the agent sent the book out unprepared. The agent who tells the author to expect revisions is preparing the author for what's coming.

On the flip side, giving revision suggestions on a different book isn't an attack or an indication the agent is 'disillusioned' with the client or trying to 'scare' the client. I just spent a half-hour yesterday getting revision suggestions on a middle-grade novel from the head of a major imprint. She was giving them because she said she thought the author was fabulously talented but she had a totally different vision for the book. She certainly wasn't doing it to scare him away from doing it.

Long story short, three years in, Rachael is well on track to developing a great career. She's honed her interests and her eye, keeps her list short and trim so she can focus on projects with the most potential, and has her aim on the bigger prizes. If you want to know what she's like now, you need to talk to the clients she works with now.

Oh, Ms. Panettieri, may I ask you about your junior agents? I don't know much, so I'd like to know a little more about them.

I'll certainly answer what I can, since I do oversee them pretty closely.

Thank you.
How have their sales been so far? And (this is out of curiosity, not suspicion) how do you hire your junior agents?

The newer agents' sales have been normal for new agents managing smaller lists who are not bulking up their lists with a lot of digital sales. I've seen them turn down requests for representation from writers who have come in with offers on books from digital imprints that don't negotiate much on their contracts (where the author is intent on taking the offer for that publisher and it's a given there's little chance to work with the terms) and instead offer some advice on the contract and ask to see the next book where they can work with it from the ground up, where many agents would gladly sign on for the credit and the commission though they couldn't bring much to the picture. I'd rather see the young agents build quality lists than bulky lists. Just yesterday, a very significant editor called about a book a young agent had been working with for two years, one the agent had worked on with the author to expand and revise. That was very gratifying.

We hire from 'inside', choosing junior agents who have solid college degrees, publishing house internship experience and who have usually done internships and then assistant positions at our agency. That way we've seen how they develop for more than a year, how they choose projects to bring forward, champion the book, choose comps, write pitches, and consider revisions. They've also then worked with the other agents for that year to 18 months before starting as an agent, so there are strong relationships and a sense of team effort, which becomes part of how they work, sharing editor wish lists, helping each other with pitches, sharing market news, and bouncing ideas around. No new agent is out there 'on her own', she's always part of a team committed to her success and they will all tell you they are Team Talcott Notch and privately refer to themselves as a family.

Thank you for all the information, and thank you for the reassurance.

No problem. Good luck with all of your work!