Received this tonight
and it may be long, but it is the email I received from Children's Literary Ageny. If I had not found this board I would have been excited, so now I am leary..
Thank you for your query to the Children's Literary Agency. Based on your
query form information we would like to see more.
1) Would you please send us an electronic copy
of your work for further evaluation?
Please email your manuscript to
[email protected] .
2) Would you please answer these 2 questions
in the body of the SAME email? (Just copy and paste
the questions).
A. How long have you been writing, and
what are your goals as a writer?
B. Do you consider your writing 'ready-to-go',
or do you think it needs some polishing.
You may send either 3-5 chapters or the entire manuscript, whichever you are
more comfortable sending. Your manuscript is completely safe within our
company. We take care to properly manage all access and if we don't end up
working together, we delete all files.
Please DO NOT include any questions with your manuscript submission. If you
have a question, please send it to
[email protected]
where the proper people may address your question. Most of the questions you
may have are answered on the website and at the bottom of this email.
Please see the FAQs below.
Our preference for receiving your manuscript is via email.
============================================
If the file size is greater than 5 megabytes you can mail it to us on CD,
but please only send it once, either by email or snail mail (we prefer
email). Our mailing address is: The Children's Literary Agency, 275
Madison Ave., 4th Floor, New York, New York 10016. If you decide to mail
your manuscript please be sure to INCLUDE your email address (very clearly)
so we may reply and process your manuscript. Mailed manuscripts may take up
to 30 days to reply/process. Emailed manuscripts are processed much more
quickly. (If your filesize is over 5 megs we also just recently found a
free service that will move large files. Take a look at
www.yousendit.com.
We've used it successfully in the past. Just use my email address as the
"send to" address.)
We believe we are very different than other agencies.
==========================================================
We believe that we are unique in that we are willing to develop an author
and their talent. We like the metaphor of a business incubator as a
description of how we will take time to bring an author's work to the proper
quality level, even if it takes months to do so. We take pride in the fact
that we answer every email personally within 2-3 days.
Also, you may understand how a Literary Agency works, but many authors
don't, so please excuse me while I take a minute and let you know how the
process works. As your Literary Agent, our mission is to assist you in
finding a publisher and to coach you along the way in various options
available to you. We don't edit, we don't illustrate, our mission is to
sell for you. As for compensation, get paid on success only, meaning we
only get paid if you get paid. Typically we will receive 10% of what you
receive.
We do not charge fees, so our compensation is based on success only. Along
the way, we may suggest that you continuously improve the quality of your
work and or how it is presented. Once your work is deemed 'presentable',
then we'll start shopping it to publishers. We never promise a sale, but we
can tell you that we have a model that works.
We look forward to receiving your materials.
Best regards,
Sherry Fine - V.P. Acquisitions
p.s. You might as well get used to these long emails. Part of our filtering
process is to see if you actually read them <grin>. Why the long emails? I
spend my time doing two basic tasks, 1) managing submissions and
evaluations, and 2) answering questions. If I can answer your question
BEFORE you ask it, then the entire process will proceed much more
efficiently. As a corollary to that, if you want long-winded, personalized
emails where we dicuss politics, the weather, and how your day went, you
will probably not enjoy our process. If you are as busy as we are, and you
pride yourself on operating efficiently (it is a business after all), then
you will enjoy how efficiently we focus on the point, and that is, whether
we can work together based on your writing and attitude.
Typical Frequently Asked Questions
=============================
Q) Do you return manuscripts?
A) Sorry for the inconvenience however, WE DO NOT RETURN MANUSCRIPTS or
MATERIALS due to the volume of submissions we receive. Please do not send
us anything that you can't replace easily.
Q) Would you prefer me to email or mail my manuscript?
A) WE MUCH PREFER EMAILED MANUSCRIPTS.
Q) How should I attach my manuscript?
A) PLEASE DO NOT PASTE YOUR MANUSCRIPT INTO THE BODY OF THE EMAIL. Please
send it to us as an attachment, otherwise it hangs up the mail system. If
you can't create an attachment, please get a friend to help you do so. I
think we have every software program known to man (except Mac). However
everything works easier if you have a .pdf, .rtf, or .doc filetype. We also
support Word Perfect and MS Works.
Q) Is my manuscript safe with you?
A) Your materials are safe within our company. If you are uncomfortable
sending your entire manuscript, please only send 3-5 chapters. If we do not
end up working together we will destroy and delete any copies of your work
that we have. Furthermore the idea of people stealing someone's work is a
bit of 'urban legend'. It really doesn't happen.
Q) How long does this review take?
A) About 7-10 days. We're faster than most other agencies.
Q) Why is there no phone number? I want to talk to someone...
A) Quite frankly, we are deluged with submissions. It is our policy to
provide a contact number later in the process, assuming we would like to
proceed with you. If you would like to talk with someone for the
reassurance of hearing a voice, just email me and I'll connect you to the
proper party.
Q) Where are you located?
A) We maintain executive suites on Madison Aveneue in New York, NY where we
meet with buyers. Other than that, we travel extensively and we have the
good fortune to live in Florida, North Carolina, and California depending on
the time of year. Sometimes we think that we live in airports. In today's
connected world, our physical location is meaningless.
Q) Why aren't you in the Yellow Pages? I can't find you listed?
A) Yellow Pages are 'old technology', and they cost money. We use toll free
phone numbers and cell phones. Those simply aren't in directories. We
haven't been in Yellow pages for 10 years. Buyers certainly don't go to the
Yellow Pages to find authors <grin>, just nervous authors.
Q) Are you a member of AAR, BBB, Alphabet Soup...?
A) We have chosen to belong to industry associations where the buyers are,
such as the Publishers Marketing Association (PMA) through our parent
company, The Literary Agency Group. We spend our money going to the big book
tradeshows in the US, England, and Germany. BBB, AAR, and other
organizations of that type mainly exist for nervous writers, and frankly, we
have too many applicants as it is, so we choose not to spend time and money
on those organizations. I hope that helps you understand why we belong to
associations that help us sell your work, not organizations that help us
recruit more writers. We prefer that you judge us on the professionalism of
our communications and not whether we belong to an organization. In other
words, we ask that you judge us based on our interactions together, and that
you can make up your own mind based on our professionalism and courtesy not
whether we belong to some organization.
Q) Tell me more about your company.
A) We are bigger than a small agency and smaller than a large agency. We
have about 15 people total and as of 2nd quarter, 2005 we have over 60
active conversations ongoing with buyers and 3 option agreements in
negotiations in our screenplay division. We just sold our 4th book deal (to
a publisher in England) and we are confident of more success later this
year. (A 5th deal is being signed as we speak). We market to the larger and
medium sized publishers and producers. We have had 5 successes now in the
last 2 years (fyi: most agencies only have 1 or 2 deals every couple of
years, if that.). We've been around the block enough to have people that
love us, and people that hate us. We will never ask you for money, so
that's one way to judge for yourself. Our commitment to you is that we
believe that we should get paid only if we sell your work. Your commitment
to us is that you will do what it takes to make sure your manuscript is the
best it can be and that it meets or exceeds industry quality standards.
Q) You're not a vanity publisher or a self-publisher are you?
A) No we're NOT A VANITY OR SELF-publisher in any way, shape or form. We DO
NOT sell to vanity or self-publishers. Our mission is to sell your work to
TRADITIONAL publishers who will pay you (and us). And, that's how we get
paid. If we sell your work to a publisher, then and only then do we get
paid (usually 10% which is the industry standard for Literary Agencies).
Q) What are you looking for during your evaluation?
A) We mainly look for COMMERCIAL VIABILITY in the work coupled with good
solid writing skills. "Is it something that will sell?" is of paramount
importance to us. (We ARE NOT scrutinizing every word, spelling, and grammar
usage. There's plenty of time later for that.) We believe that great writers
are made, not born at least 99% of the time. But if a work doesn't have
commercial potential, then we want to let you know as quickly as possible.
Being willing to grow talent, we believe in the old adage, "luck is when
opportunity meets preparation and hard work".
Q) How can you evaluate work so quickly?
A) Our mission in the Acquisitions Department is clear. We answer 3
questions:
1. Will the subject matter sell? Is it commercially viable?
2. Is the writing good enough, or would it be good enough with some degree
of assistance?
3. Did you as the evaluator like the work and would you believe in it if you
were selling it?
If we get the "3 yes" designation then you pass. The next item we look for
in our filtering process is your willingness to listen or whether you are a
prima donna who wants it 'their way'. We will very quickly wash out a great
writer with a bad attitude. Life's too short for drama or problems.
Q) What if you find errors or problems with my manuscript? Should I spend
time revising now, or later?
A) We receive very few 'ready-to-go' manuscripts. We believe we are unique
in that we are willing to work with our authors along the way. Most
manuscripts that we receive need some level of polishing before we can
submit them to buyers. Some need very little polishing. Some need a lot.
Over the years, we've learned that it is worth our time and effort to do
what it takes to develop new talent. We've learned that incubating new
talent makes good business sense.
Q) My manuscript isn't finished....
A) As long as there is enough finished to determine your skills as a writer
we are willing to look at your work. As mentioned previously, we take a
long term view and we are willing to develop talent.
Q) Who are some of the authors you represent? Why aren't they on your
website?
A) We are proud to represent a very diverse group of authors. Our roster of
authors includes authors with the following occupations:
* Doctors
* Lawyers
* Entrepreneurs
* Journalists
* Professors and teachers from universities, high-schools, and elementary
schools
* Coaches
* Accountants and bankers
* Advertising Executives
* Stay at home moms... students, etc.
Here are just a few bios:
1. The author was born in Baltimore, Maryland and is a Professor at a major
university. She is an author and editor of 16 books and 12 proceedings and
monographs. She has written 50 chapters and 100 papers, and given more than
150 presentations nationwide. She has graduate degrees in Music, Science,
and Education. She and her husband are now living in the British Virgin
Islands, where her time is spent sailing and writing. She has published
scientific articles and written more than a hundred concert reviews as a
freelance music critic.
2. The author is a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of Edinburgh,
and of Canada, and a Member of the American Societies of Hematology,
Clinical Oncology, Blood and Marrow Transplantation and the International
Society for Cellular Therapy. For the year 2004-5 he was a scientific
advisor to the Cancer Vaccine Consortium. He was a past recipient of the
Elmore Research Scholarship of the University of Cambridge.
3. The author has also won numerous awards honoring him as one of the top
sportscasters in the country. He has been richly honored as a professional
speaker as well, thrilling audiences with his career highlights and
inspiring messages. He has a rich history of being on the air in radio and
TV for a quarter of a century, working in major markets such as Los Angeles,
Chicago, London, Cincinnati and now Dallas. Before settling in Dallas, he
lived in London doing on-air work for both the BBC and ESPN.
4. This author started singing professionally with the singing group The
Montells in her early teens. They later signed with Golden Crest Records &
then went to Atlantic Recording Studio were they recorded, Under The Broad
Walk with The Drifters & Gee Baby. In 1997 she was elected into The
International Poetry Hall Of Fame with her Award winning Poem. She appeared
at The Crossroads Theater in 1998.
5. The author is a retired veterinarian living in Bethlehem, South Africa.
He was in rural private practice in various towns before settling down in
Bethlehem where he practiced for 35 years. For ten years or more he had a
monthly column in Veterinary News. He also was the script-writer for the
SuperSport TV series The ABC of Golf.
We DO NOT give out names or contact information except to qualified buyers.
(If you'll think about it, if you were one of our authors, you'd feel the
same way. There are a lot of wierdos on the Internet. Sometimes we think
that there is a higher incidence of psychosis among writers than any other
occupation.)
Q) Is this an automated email? Is there a real person out there?
A) Yes, and yes, and yes... We personally review each query form that we
receive for sentence structure, basic spelling and grammar, and whether the
story idea/synopsis sounds interesting. This tells us which manuscripts we
would like to receive.
Then, yes, we do use a form to provide these FAQs. Can you imagine typing
this time and time again? We pride ourselves on using technology to be as
efficient as possible. This allows us to work with authors from anywhere in
the world. By automating certain elements of our communications we can
spend more thoughtful time on your questions that are specific to you and
your situation.
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Thank you again for your time in reading to the end of this email. I hope
that you have a better feeling for our company and our acquisitions process.
I look forward to receiving your materials. And please pardon one more
request.
IF YOU EMAIL YOUR MATERIALS TO US WE WILL ALWAYS NOTIFY YOU WITHIN 2-3 DAYS
OF RECEIPT. Please refrain from asking "did you get it?" for at least 3
business days. If you haven't been notified of receipt within 3 days, then
by all means resend it (don't ask, just resend it to the email address
above. If it won't go through, just 'reply' to this email and attach it.)
IF YOU SNAIL MAIL (POST) YOUR MATERIALS TO US, PLEASE ALLOW UP TO 2 WEEKS
FOR NOTIFICATION OF RECEIPT. Why? It has to be forwarded to a special
evaluator that handles 'paper'. And remember, we cannot return materials,
so no need for a SASE.
Whew! Thanks again and we look forward to hearing from you and looking at
your work.
Best regards,
Sherry Fine - VP of Acquisitions
We Grow Talent
