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Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency

BridgetEBaker

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Laura Biagi--HELP!

Has anyone had any experience with Laura Biagi? I know she's relatively new. She's asked for an exclusive read on two of my manuscripts. A YA post apocalyptic and a MG. I was wondering if she's a good agent to land or what people think about JVNLA in general.
 

BridgetEBaker

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Also I think Jessica Regel went to Foundry Lit. So anyone who queried her or submitted to her at JVNLA should requery her at Foundry.
 

JoyMC

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Has anyone had any experience with Laura Biagi? I know she's relatively new. She's asked for an exclusive read on two of my manuscripts. A YA post apocalyptic and a MG. I was wondering if she's a good agent to land or what people think about JVNLA in general.

JVNLA is a great agency and I've got a query out to Biagi myself. But exclusive reads are almost never in your best interests. Why limit yourself? The only way I'd do it would be if she gave you a specific time frame, and it was quite short (ie, a two-week exclusive). But an open-ended exclusive is torture and I don't see how it benefits you. If she really wants to read them, she'll read them, exclusive or not.
 

BridgetEBaker

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Thank you Joy. She asked for three weeks. I said okay, since she wanted to see both my manuscripts. I have only sent out about 8 query letters so far. I guess I'll see what she has to say.
 

Kalybri

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I was actually going to ask about this very thing. About two and a half weeks ago, I received a partial request from Laura Biagi, which was awesome since in the last few years, I have queried two books - not at the same time - without a single request. So this is a big step forward for me. The problem was that Laura was my second agent queried, and I did grant her the exclusive. I'm not sure what to if she doesn't email me on Monday (the three week mark). Is it too impatient to nudge her then? Can I send queries out after Monday? In addition, if she asks for a full and an exclusive, I would hesitate to grant her one since I have not queried many agents. Would it be okay to tell her no on the exclusive? I trust Laura because of the agency she's attached to and her experience. In fact, she just sold a book, too. So, it's not that I wouldn't want her as an agent, I would. I'm just not sure how to handle this particular situation. Advice?
 
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J.B.Kantt

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Has anyone had any experience with Laura Biagi? I know she's relatively new. She's asked for an exclusive read on two of my manuscripts. A YA post apocalyptic and a MG. I was wondering if she's a good agent to land or what people think about JVNLA in general.

Congrats Bridget! That's wonderful news--good luck! :)
 

VonAngel

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I was actually going to ask about this very thing. About two and a half weeks ago, I received a partial request from Laura Biagi, which was awesome since in the last few years, I have queried two books - not at the same time - without a single request. So this is a big step forward for me. The problem was that Laura was my second agent queried, and I did grant her the exclusive. I'm not sure what to if she doesn't email me on Monday (the three week mark). Is it too impatient to nudge her then? Can I send queries out after Monday? In addition, if she asks for a full and an exclusive, I would hesitate to grant her one since I have not queried many agents. Would it be okay to tell her no on the exclusive? I trust Laura because of the agency she's attached to and her experience. In fact, she just sold a book, too. So, it's not that I wouldn't want her as an agent, I would. I'm just not sure how to handle this particular situation. Advice?

If she doesn't respond by the end of the exclusive period, then yes, do nudge her [politely] and even start sending out more queries, if you wish. You've honored your end of the agreement. She can still continue to review the partial (to ask for an exclusive on a partial seems quite odd to me, but whatever) beyond the 3 weeks, but now, she'll have the understanding that she may not be the only agent who could be doing so.

If she asks for an exclusive on the full, you can most certainly tell her "no". She would've liked your MS enough to request a full after reviewing a partial. So, if she likes it that much, then she'll respect your decision and agree to read it anyway. If she rejects you based on not being granted an exclusive (a selfish act, IMO), then she may be not be the best agent for you.
 

Kalybri

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Thank you, VonAngel, that was incredibly helpful! I appreciate your response :) I think everyone at the agency asks for exclusives on all requested materials, which I agree is odd, not to mention against standard practice. It ended up being a good thing for me, though, since I was chomping at the bit to query, and now the exclusive forced me to slow down. But, I think I'll say no to an exclusive on a full *if* I'm lucky enough to make that decision. I am so hoping I get that option.
 

Kalybri

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So, Laura requested my full!! This makes me so excited, you have no idea. I did send out a few queries after the exclusive for the partial ran out, and one agent requested a partial from me during that time. Laura requested an exclusive on my full, which I'd be happy to give, but I do have that partial out? Should I grant her the exclusive and tell the other agent with a partial to wait *if* she requests a full too, or should I just say no to Laura's exclusive on the full? Sorry to ask so many questions. I'm just not sure of the protocol here.
 

JoyMC

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Congrats on the full request. No, just explain that you sent out a few more queries when the exclusive on the partial expired. Tell her you had a request for material from another agent, so you cannot grant the exclusive on the full. She will understand. If anything, it will help you, because she will know there is more interest in your manuscript.
 

Cel_Fleur

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Any recent interaction with these ladies? I'm thinking of querying Ms. Biagi with a Fantasy Romance soon.
 

Iforgotthis

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Is it improper to ask a question on this thread after so long?
I queried to Laura Biagi today and I wondered whether anyone knew how long the average response time was for this literary agency? They don't say on their website (as far as I've found), and I find comfort in even the roughest of time frames :)
Thanks for your time.
 

tyrell

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EQ Jennifer Weltz: May 9
PR: Jul 16
FR: Jul 28

Now the waiting. She said she tries to respond within 8 weeks on fulls.

Any other recent stats on this agency/Jennifer Weltz specifically?
 

AwriterB

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Anyone know this agency's policy on rejections -- do they not send them? I queried Laura Biagi fall of last year, never heard back.
 

Thedrellum

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According to QueryTracker, she's a No Response Means No agent. If you subscribe to QT, you could see what her average response time is for requesting partials/fulls, and that would give you an idea of how long to wait. In general, I gave three months when I was querying.

According to a quick scan of the QT comments, she can respond within a day to three months.
 

XSnapdragonx

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I sent a query out to Laura Biagi months ago and never heard anything out. My question is, is it all right to query another agent there with the same project?

Also has anyone had any recent experience with Jennifer Weltz?