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Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents

maryterry05

Does anyone have any information about Brandt & Hochman Literary Agency? Specifically, Joanne Brownstein, who I believe is a relatively new agent there.

Thanks.
 

James D. Macdonald

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http://www.writersservices.com/agent/us/Brandt.htm

Ms. Brownstein has represented the following works:

Fall Guy by Carol Lea Benjamin
Buried Stuff by Sharon Fiffer
The Usual Rules by Joyce Maynard

Carl Brandt and Gail Hochman are both members of AAR. Ms. Brownstein doesn't seem to be at the moment.
 

Novel Idea

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Brandt & Hochman Literary Agency

He quickly requested a partial from me this afternoon. Has anyone worked with him? Thanks for your thoughts! You're all so helpful in this godawful process. :)
 

gerrydodge

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No, but that is a powerhouse agency. Gail Hochman asked for a partial many moons ago. Very decent people. The are deeply ensconced in film also. Good for you.
 

Aramis

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I tried querying this agency a while back. I got a form rejection, but it was timely and polite. Both of these are good indications, I think, that they'd be pleasant folks to work with. Good luck with that partial!
 

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Pretty standard reject so far so good!

"Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, this is not something that seems right for me and so I will step aside. I wish you the best."

Sincerely,
Bill Contardi
 

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Bill Contardi is a good guy. I met him at Thrillerfest and have also interviewed him for AW Premium.
 

Appalachian Writer

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Does anyone know if the AQ posting that Bill Contardi works with debut novelists is still accurate? Thanks. :)

A few months ago, I queried the gentlemen and he responded in short order. If I remember correctly, I think he was among the first few agents to request a partial and it was clear from my query that I was a first-time novelist. If things haven't changed within the year, I'm confident he still looks at debut authors.
 

xiaotien

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Does anyone know if the AQ posting that Bill Contardi works with debut novelists is still accurate? Thanks. :)

lois, he has my full and knows i am
a debut author. so yes!

he's also famous for being quick to respond.
expect to hear from him within 24 hours via
email. =)
 

LoisLane

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A few months ago, I queried the gentlemen and he responded in short order. If I remember correctly, I think he was among the first few agents to request a partial and it was clear from my query that I was a first-time novelist. If things haven't changed within the year, I'm confident he still looks at debut authors.

Ahhh, I see now I misread your comment. Still, the lag time is killing me. Thanks for your insight. I have queried him and am hoping to get a nibble. There's something comforting about an agent who advertises his willingness to work with newbies.

Hope I didn't offend through my misunderstanding. :( I think it may have something to do with the fact that it's nearly 3 am.
 

LoisLane

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lois, he has my full and knows i am
a debut author. so yes!

he's also famous for being quick to respond.
expect to hear from him within 24 hours via
email. =)

Um, does he respond to all? It's been two days and I haven't heard anything. :eek: However, I guess I will wait a full week (j/k) before I panic and put a rejection next to his name. LOL.:D

Thanks. Good luck on your full!
 
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xiaotien

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lois, he does respond. it may
be he's not around and it's the weekend.
but i'm sure you'll hear from him soon!

good luck!
 

Appalachian Writer

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Um, does he respond to all? It's been two days and I haven't heard anything. :eek: However, I guess I will wait a full week (j/k) before I panic and put a rejection next to his name. LOL.:D

Thanks. Good luck on your full!

If he's going to reject you, he'll probably e-mail and tell you so. From my experience with him, he's pretty up front!
 

LoisLane

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9 minute rejection to my query - on a Sunday!

But at least he is fast!

And this is real-time today? Sheesh. I've got my 'Inbox' set to alert. He's had mine for three days now. I know, I know, in the scheme of things it's nothing but his rep is lightning fast, so maybe he didn't get mine? I used billATbillcontardi.com but I didn't get a bounce back, so hmmm...

Maybe he's working his way backwards from the most recent. Thanks for the update, sorry about the news, though.:(
 

jgold

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And this is real-time today? Sheesh. I've got my 'Inbox' set to alert. He's had mine for three days now. I know, I know, in the scheme of things it's nothing but his rep is lightning fast, so maybe he didn't get mine? I used billATbillcontardi.com but I didn't get a bounce back, so hmmm...

Maybe he's working his way backwards from the most recent. Thanks for the update, sorry about the news, though.:(

How weird. He responded to my query today within a half-hour for a request for a partial. Maybe he really didn't get yours after all.

This is probably a dumb question--but is your original email in your "sent" folder?
 

LoisLane

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How weird. He responded to my query today within a half-hour for a request for a partial. Maybe he really didn't get yours after all.

This is probably a dumb question--but is your original email in your "sent" folder?

Kudos on your request! *claps*

Uh, yeah it's in my sent. I use gmail for all my query stuff and it seems to be pretty good about alerting me re: bounce backs or dead accounts. Did you use the same email addy? I wonder how many of my non-responders never got queried in the first place? :e2thud:Sheesh... can't worry about that now, I guess.

What should I do, wait or resend? Help. :e2hammer:
 

Giant Baby

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Wait (A dirty word in my house, so I try to use it sparingly).

Perhaps he likes what he's read and wants to take another look. You don't want to come across too impatient, regardless. Your query or his response could very well be lost, but this is far too early for a status check.

Hang tight!
 

LoisLane

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Wait (A dirty word in my house, so I try to use it sparingly).

Perhaps he likes what he's read and wants to take another look. You don't want to come across too impatient, regardless. Your query or his response could very well be lost, but this is far too early for a status check.

Hang tight!

Now, there's a positive spin! At any rate, I certainly have no proof it's lost, so therefore, I have no basis to resend. The uncertainty of it all completely sucks, though. LOL. Thanks.
 

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Ms. Hochman asked me for my full mss and within a reasonable amount of time send me a form letter response rejection. They are legit and busy.
 

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Six Minutes to request a FULL!

Hi, guys --

Just thought I'd update this thread with my own experience -- I e-mailed Bill Contardi with my query at 10:53 am, and there was a response from him in my inbox by 10:59 am requesting my manuscript!

It's almost like he's telepathic, eh what?

The only down side is he has asked for an exclusive (promising to get back to me within 10 days), and my mss is already in the hands of one other agent. I've e-mailed him this info, promising not to send the mss out to anybody else until I've heard from him -- if that will suffice.

I also offered (actually, kind of a suggestion) that I e-mail him the mss in batches rather than posting it to him (as he had originally asked) ...

Oh, and by the way -- this is my first novel we're talking about.
 

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I've been waiting for him to respond to my query for a few weeks. It seems like everyone else is getting really quick responses. Hmmmm. Not sure what to make of that, but good luck to all of you.