historical fiction agents

angeliz2k

never mind the shorty
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 24, 2008
Messages
3,727
Reaction score
488
Location
Commonwealth of Virginia--it's for lovers
Website
www.elizabethhuhn.com
This thread is great!

Maybe we could sticky it and make it the go-to thread for HF agent information.

I'm chomping at the bits to get my story out, but it still needs a bit of work before it goes out. Just a week or two, I hope! For now, I'm compiling lists, gathering mailing materials, and writing up all the stuff I need to send to the agents. I'm excited. Here's to hoping.
 

euclid

Where did I put me specs?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
1,964
Reaction score
229
Location
Paradise
Website
www.jjtoner.com
Got 2 books from amazon in the post today: The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. I started with Lukeman's book (which is fantastic) and have already changed the first five pages in my submission. Too late for Writers' House and Inkwell Management (these two submissions are gone) unfortunately. I also have another book by Lukeman: The Plot Thickens, which is brilliant!

Angeliz: I admire your careful, patient, methodical way of preparing your submission. Good luck with it, or should I say: "break a leg"? What is the book about?
 

euclid

Where did I put me specs?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
1,964
Reaction score
229
Location
Paradise
Website
www.jjtoner.com
Angeliz, Please ignore question in previous post; I found your blog.

Two tablespoons of religious fanaticism, one tablespoon of avarice, mixed together by a misguided pope gives you a Holy Crusade. Add a tincture of penniless monk-knights, some pikes and mattocks and lots of peasants, and your Crusade is transformed into a rabble bound for rapid annihilation!

James
 

euclid

Where did I put me specs?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
1,964
Reaction score
229
Location
Paradise
Website
www.jjtoner.com
Angeliz: your subplot about the plot to assassination Nero might make a separate book.
 

Minister

Unpredictable preacher
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 4, 2005
Messages
175
Reaction score
22
Location
In the South-East, once again - of Michigan this t
Website
www.tominister.blogspot.com
Speaking of blogs... I've been going through the agents listed in this thread, and although I'm not quite done, I've noticed quite the paucity in blogs among them. Okay, I don't think I've found one yet, at least not one prominently linked to by their agency or high in the google rankings for a search on their name. Am I missing something here? Do many of them blog anonymously, or do agents representing historical fiction just not usually do that? Or is this a sampling primarily of older, established agents who don't see any benefit to it? I've read blogs from agents -- it just seems conspicuous that I'm not finding any from this list.
 

euclid

Where did I put me specs?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
1,964
Reaction score
229
Location
Paradise
Website
www.jjtoner.com
Blogs by agents

Speaking of blogs... I've been going through the agents listed in this thread, and although I'm not quite done, I've noticed quite the paucity in blogs among them. Okay, I don't think I've found one yet, at least not one prominently linked to by their agency or high in the google rankings for a search on their name. Am I missing something here? Do many of them blog anonymously, or do agents representing historical fiction just not usually do that? Or is this a sampling primarily of older, established agents who don't see any benefit to it? I've read blogs from agents -- it just seems conspicuous that I'm not finding any from this list.

Don't know the answer to your question. Why would you want to read an agent's blog?

Love the hat!
 

pdr

Banned
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
4,259
Reaction score
832
Location
Home - but for how long?
Somewhere on this board...

people can give you the website of Ms Snark. She is an agent. Her website is a real learning process about how to write query letters and not upset agents and publishers. It is all archives now as she stopped after a couple of years although there is a whisper that there's a new website up under a new name with all the Snark hallmarks.

Agent websites, Euclid, can tell you a lot. Actually if you can get a copy of August's Writing Magazine - it is sold in Ireland - there are a couple of good articles by agents worth reading.
 
Last edited:

euclid

Where did I put me specs?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
1,964
Reaction score
229
Location
Paradise
Website
www.jjtoner.com
Ms Snark

people can give you the website of Ms Snark. She is an agent. Her website is a real learning process about how to write query letters an dnot upset agents and publishers. It is all archives now as she stopped after a couple of years although there is a whisper that there's a new website up under a new name with all the Snark hallmarks.

Agent websites, Euclid, can tell you a lot. Actually if you can get a copy of August's Writing Magazine - it is sold in Ireland - there are a couple of good articles by agents worth reading.

Thanks for that, pdr. I found Ms Snark. Boy, was he/she NASTY !! Plenty to catch up on in there when I find the time! The comments/posts in there were all really WITTY. I couldn't compete with that. Not sure where to get Writing mag, but I have a friend who may know.
 

Viking

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
50
Reaction score
9
Location
Okemos, MI
Website
www.levraphael.com
Yes, HR = Hist Romance.

I feel for you, Viking, my 'great literary' :) historical novel, told from multiple view points, is now being edited yet again. My editor/assessors are firm that editing it to the MC's 1st POV makes it much more marketable.

I'm not giving up, though, because the voice of the book is what drives it as well as the characters and story, and some editors loved the writing.
 

Viking

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
50
Reaction score
9
Location
Okemos, MI
Website
www.levraphael.com
GREAT HISTORICAL FICTION:

The Historian--Kostova
The March--Doctorow
Almost any of Alan Furst's first 5-6 books
The Crimson Petal and the White-Faber
The Coffee Trader--Liss
The Game--King
Atonement--McEwan

All of these are amazing, beautifully written, vivid. And all of them are very different from each other.
 

Viking

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
50
Reaction score
9
Location
Okemos, MI
Website
www.levraphael.com
You're sitting pretty because in my survey on Litmatch, agentquery, and elsewhere, there's a strong correlation between romance and historical for categories agents are looking for.


since I write romance, and recently had a bit of an angsty moment that I'm more romantic historical than historical romance, things seem to be looking up.

Thanks, donroc![/quote]
 

pdr

Banned
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
4,259
Reaction score
832
Location
Home - but for how long?
It's

...published by Warner Group. Should be in any big bookshop. euclid.

I'm putting this market into markets stickied at the top but I suggest you have a look and think about it. It came via the HNS
BUT
check it out as I do not know it.


Quaestor2000 Ltd <http://www.quaestor2000.com/faq.php> is seeking
submissions (in electronic form only) from historical novelists. We are
an experienced UK-based publishing services firm (see the following
links for recent projects: history, current affairs
<http://www.quaestor2000.com/pubservices.php?cat_id=3> , etc.; legal
<http://www.quaestor2000.com/pubservices.php?cat_id=2> ) now moving into
publishing on our own account. Alongside the more "stodgy" but
financially reliable business of scholarly legal publishing, we are
taking this opportunity to indulge our lifelong interest in historical
novels. We retain our solid financial base in service provision and
this, together with our experience and contacts, will hopefully give us
an advantage in establishing ourselves and our authors.

Submissions should be sent by email to [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]> but we would ask that you read
our historical novel author guidelines
<http://www.quaestor2000.com/faq.php?cat_id=4> first. Please note that
this is in no way, shape or form a subsidy publishing or self-publishing
initiative, so normal royalties will be paid and production and
marketing costs will be borne by Quaestor2000. In return, we will be
selective in our choice of manuscripts and will expect to exercise a
degree of editorial control. That said, we hope that our business model
and background as avid historical novel readers will allow us to be
somewhat more adventurous in support of new authors than most
publishers. Authors based outside the UK are welcome to submit, but
should be aware of several points mentioned in our author guidelines
<http://www.quaestor2000.com/faq.php?cat_id=4> .

We look forward to hearing from you.

Roger Bennett, Director, Quaestor2000 Ltd
 

euclid

Where did I put me specs?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
1,964
Reaction score
229
Location
Paradise
Website
www.jjtoner.com
Quaestor

pdr;2590150 I'm putting this market into markets stickied at the top but I suggest you have a look and think about it. It came via the HNS BUT check it out as I do not know it.[/quote said:
Wow!

I shall certainly send them a copy of *The Sign of the Cross*

I've had a look around their web site; how else can I check them out?

They do not give advances. "These are loans from publishing houses to authors." I read somewhere that the idea of the advance was to encourage the publisher to market the book so as to ensure it recoups the advance. The bigger the advance the more effort they will put into it. But, in the same breath, the bigger the advance, the less cash there is available for marketing.

I wasn't in the web site for long (it's 5.15 am) but I saw no sign of an address in there. Do we know where they are located?

Thanks for the heads-up. :e2fairy:
 

pdr

Banned
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
4,259
Reaction score
832
Location
Home - but for how long?
Quaestor

This is the 'about us' blurb.

We are a small company incorporated in the United Kingdom in 2004. In addition to our own publications programme, we provide specialised prepress services (primarily indexing and tabling) to major legal publishers. Our principal's independent income and the solid foundation of our service business allows us to be more speculative in our publications programme than many small publishers. We are actively seeking quality submissions in two distinct areas corresponding to our skills, interests and contacts:

Scholarly legal works and Historical novels
We are looking for complete or near complete manuscripts that may have just missed acceptance by other specialist publishers. Works accepted will be published on a normal royalties basis, with full prepress and marketing support tailored to their specific needs. Of course, this means that works will need to meet our suitability and quality criteria. Prospective authors should refer to our detailed submission guidance.


They have links with the HNS are members of publishers' associations and have published non-fiction for thirty years. This is a new venture for them. I don't like the 'no advances' but alas, it does make business sense.
 
Last edited:

euclid

Where did I put me specs?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
1,964
Reaction score
229
Location
Paradise
Website
www.jjtoner.com
Quaestor

They have links with the HNS are members of publishers' associations and have published non-fiction for thirty years. This is a new venture for them. I don't like the 'no advances' but alas, it does make business sense.

Question: If I submit my ms to this publisher, and if (fingers crossed) they decide to accept it and publish, presumably, I will still need to find an agent to look after my interests. I'm assuming, also, that this should then be a piece of appelstrudel. Maybe if I had a publishing deal, I wouldn't need an agent? I think I would prefer to have an agent to protect my interests.
 

Viking

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
50
Reaction score
9
Location
Okemos, MI
Website
www.levraphael.com
Needing an agent

Question: If I submit my ms to this publisher, and if (fingers crossed) they decide to accept it and publish, presumably, I will still need to find an agent to look after my interests. I'm assuming, also, that this should then be a piece of appelstrudel. Maybe if I had a publishing deal, I wouldn't need an agent? I think I would prefer to have an agent to protect my interests.

I've published most of my 18 books (in many genres, from boutique press to Doubleday) without an agent. Yes, I could have gotten better deals in some cases, but you can find plenty of info on-line about how to negotiate a contract and what to ask for. I think I saw something good on media bistro. The flip side is that if there's an agent you would really like to work with, in your genre, specializing in your genre--presenting her or him with a deal might work and then you wouldn't have to keep track of the business aspects.
 

Memnon624

A Boy and his Orc . . .
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 23, 2005
Messages
330
Reaction score
90
Location
Southern USA
Website
www.scottoden.com
I shall certainly send them a copy of *The Sign of the Cross*

To paraphrase something Uncle Jim is fond of saying: don't start at the bottom and hope for the best; start at the top and work your way down. If you feel you need an agent, then focus on that exclusively. If you try and find a publisher while you're agent-hunting, then every rejection from a publisher is a closed door for your prospective agent. Do one or do the other. Don't do both.

If you do choose to go the publisher first route, start with the very best: Random House, Simon and Schuster, St. Martin's, etc. Small presses and e-pubs should be approached only after the larger houses have passed. But, if by some chance a larger house is interested (and most don't accept unagented submissions), then that interest will allow you to bypass all the query business and get an agent quickly -- you need only ask the interested editor if s/he knows the name of a good agent you can talk to. Generally, such an "in" won't be possible with a small house.

Like a small business, you should have a plan in mind for how you're going to grow (something a bit more concrete than "sell my book"). Do you want to start small and work your way up? Then you're going to need to approach the more influential small houses; you're going to need your book to be physically available on book shelves where the consumer can see it. You're going to need a small house with enough cachet to get you a review in places like Publishers Weekly or Library Journal. Write well, sell well, and the larger houses will take note.

On the flip side, do you want to shoot for the pinnacle? Start out with the big boys? For that, you're going to need an agent with clout -- preferably one that apprenticed with a larger agency or who "jumped the desk" from the editorial department of a large press. They must have the contacts to get your work read by top editors, and the skills to negotiate the highest possible advance. Remember, this is a business whose central theme is the acquisition of properties that generate sales. A bit of a mercenary mindset is required at that level.

That's my advice ;) Good luck to you!

Scott
 

pdr

Banned
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
4,259
Reaction score
832
Location
Home - but for how long?
That really is...

excellent advice from Scott.

Make a five year plan and work to it. For euclid I think he needs to get his reading of the Yearbook done so that he understands what publishing is about and can make a sensible plan.

The Society of Authors in the UK, and I'm sure Ireland, has a service for members where they help you vet and negotiate contracts.

Being business-like is necessary. Thinking you can let an agent do all the business things and you ignore them is not a good idea. You need to keep an eye on things. Your agent needs to know you understand publishing and that way you keep each other honest and catch the errors which do accidentally happen. It's like always checking your credit card account and balancing your cheque book with bank statements, boring but I bet many people here have caught an error or two!

Plan ahead, then, when your dream publisher's editor or your top agent asks you what your writing goals are, what you intend to write in five years time (which writer friends tell me they have been asked) you have an answer.

And what about you personally? Some people like big and being anon. Others prefer the personal touch. I spoke to one writer at the HNS conference who likes being with Small Press Creme de la Crime because of the personal input, the working as part of a team with the publisher. All these things matter more in the long run. It's not just getting published that counts for a writer.
 
Last edited:

euclid

Where did I put me specs?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
1,964
Reaction score
229
Location
Paradise
Website
www.jjtoner.com
Above Ground

excellent advice from Scott...

And what about you personally? Some people like big and being anon. Others prefer the personal touch. I spoke to one writer at the HNS conference who likes being with Small Press Creme de la Crime because of the personal input, the working as part of a team with the publisher. All these things matter more in the long run. It's not just getting published that counts for a writer.

Hi pdr, thanks for that reinforcement of Scott's suggestion. This last para had me puzzled, though. Maybe it's because I'm reading it at 3.40 am, but what does "big and being anon" mean? Is this somebody who sells a lot of books, but stays right out of the limelight (no blogs, not even an email address in the public domain)? Or have I got that all wrong? And what is "Small Press Creme de la Crime"? That sounds like a club.

With regard to having a five year plan, I have 42% of draft 1 of book 2 written, and a good idea for book 3. If the publishing ball starts rolling, that should get me through about 3 years from now.

I used to work with unemployed people (like me), helping them retrain etc. Some were in their sixties (like me). We had standard interview techniques and questions to ask. I asked one guy: "And where do you see yourself in five years time?" He answered: "Above ground."
 

pdr

Banned
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
4,259
Reaction score
832
Location
Home - but for how long?
Oops! Sorry about that.

I meant being a small cog in the big wheels of a publishing giant.

Some people like a quality small publisher and work very hard with them to promote their books.

There are small presses in the UK now using You Tube for author promo clips and My space and even (Though I think this is an imprint of Harper Collins doing this) bought a car, painted all over with author and books as a PR car for the author's local police 'cos said author writes Crime thrillers set in the area!
 

Viking

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
50
Reaction score
9
Location
Okemos, MI
Website
www.levraphael.com
I had one book published by Doubleday and the experience was horrendous. I had a book published by Marge Piercy's boutique press and the experience was amazing: superb editing and promotion: it was a BookSense 76 Pick; there were English and German editions and I got English and German book tours. Did I earn more money? Eventually, since the smaller press book generated many more speaking engagements. But every book has its own path, and what happens is unpredictable no matter how well you plan. After 30 years as a published writer and almost twenty as an author of books, I've learned that publishing does not make sense. It's a business where 2 + 2 can add up to just about anything.
 

euclid

Where did I put me specs?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
1,964
Reaction score
229
Location
Paradise
Website
www.jjtoner.com
Ever onward

I had one book published by Doubleday and the experience was horrendous. I had a book published by Marge Piercy's boutique press and the experience was amazing: superb editing and promotion: it was a BookSense 76 Pick; there were English and German editions and I got English and German book tours. Did I earn more money? Eventually, since the smaller press book generated many more speaking engagements. But every book has its own path, and what happens is unpredictable no matter how well you plan. After 30 years as a published writer and almost twenty as an author of books, I've learned that publishing does not make sense. It's a business where 2 + 2 can add up to just about anything.

You mentioned 18 books in an earlier post. Were these fiction or non-fiction or a mixture?

After a short period of self-doubt (!) I am pressing ahead. Posted off a query/submission to another agent this morning. I am also trying to get back to my WIP, but it's not easy: the grass needs cutting and the sun is shining, and there are films to see and books to read and blogs to update... :Sun:
 

Viking

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
50
Reaction score
9
Location
Okemos, MI
Website
www.levraphael.com
18

You mentioned 18 books in an earlier post. Were these fiction or non-fiction or a mixture?

Fiction (mystery, literary, short story collections) and non-fiction (memoir, psychology, litcrit/biography, children's).
 

euclid

Where did I put me specs?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
1,964
Reaction score
229
Location
Paradise
Website
www.jjtoner.com
Library

You mentioned 18 books in an earlier post. Were these fiction or non-fiction or a mixture?

Fiction (mystery, literary, short story collections) and non-fiction (memoir, psychology, litcrit/biography, children's).

Have you put any of your books in the AW library?