2 New Agents Seeking Submissions NOW
Click on any name below to see the full mini-profile on the GLA Blog (with submission instructions). Good luck querying!
1. Tara Carberry of Trident Media Group
She is seeking: Tara is building a client list of authors at all stages of their careers. She is primarily seeking women's commercial fiction, romance, new adult, young adult, and select nonfiction.
2. Jaida Temperly of New Leaf Literary & Media
She is seeking: Jaida is open to all middle grade and young adult titles, although she has a particular love for quirky, dark stories (The Mysterious Benedict Society, Coraline, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library). For Adult Fiction, she loves those with strong mystery, high fantasy, or religious undertones (The Westing Game, A Discovery of Witches, A Game of Thrones, The Da Vinci Code). She's also open to picture books by author-illustrators with completed dummies.
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"How to Find and Keep a Literary Agent" -- Dec. 7 Agent One-on-One Boot Camp (w/critique) with Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency
How do you hook an agent right away, keep them hooked, and make the most of your new publishing relationship? In this Boot Camp that starts Dec. 7, "How to Find and Keep a Literary Agent," you'll learn how to get a literary agent's attention through a great submission, and also how to navigate the process of working successfully with an agent. You'll also work with an agent online to review and refine your all-important query letter and the first five pages of your novel.
This Boot Camp will cover a range of important questions:
-- What keeps an agent reading? What makes writing jump off the page?
-- What are the most common Chapter 1 mistakes that make them stop reviewing your submission?
-- What are the steps you need to give your query and manuscript the best possible shot?
-- What are the turn-ons and turn-offs when it comes to queries?
-- How do agents make judgment calls?
-- And much more.
The best part is that you'll be working directly with a knowledgeable and experienced agent, who will provide feedback specific to your work. ( Sign up for the Dec. 7 boot camp here.)
Here's how it works:
On December 7th, you will gain access to a special 60-minute online tutorial presented by agents at the Dijkstra Literary Agency. It will explain the submission process of submitting to an agent, what they find appealing in a query letter and what an author-agent relationship looks like from the inside. You will also be notified by email which agent you'll be working with by Monday evening. From 11:00 am to 1:00 pm (PT) on December 8th and 9th, instructors will be available to answer questions and provide additional feedback via the Writer's Digest University message boards. Only registered students can access these boards. After listening to the presentation and participating in the discussion sessions, you'll be able to revise your query & first 5 double-spaced pages as necessary. Instructing literary agents will spend the next three weeks reviewing their assigned critiques and providing feedback as to what works and what doesn't.
AGENT INSTRUCTORS
5 agents from Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency: Elise Capron, Jill Marr, Thao Le, Roz Foster, and Jessica Watterson. (Sign up for the Dec. 7 boot camp here.)
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The GLA Blog's Current Book Giveaways
Comment on either (or both) of these awesome & helpful guest columns for your chance to win free books from the authors.
1. "7 Ways to Fix a Messy Manuscript" -- guest column penned by Trina St. Jean. Trina is giving away a copy of her debut novel BLANK (April 2015, Orca Book Publishers).
2. "How I Got My Literary Agent: Camille Griep" -- guest column by sic-fi/fantasy author Camille, who isgiving away a copy of her debut novel LETTERS TO ZELL.
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"How to Blog Meaningfully and Grow Your Audience" -- Dec. 3 Webinar with eMedia Guru Jane Friedman
Many writers hear that they should start blogging to build their platform, help them get published, or sell more books. But is blogging right for you and your career? If so, what should you blog about? And perhaps most importantly, how can you do it effectively and without wasting important time you could spend on paying work?
This live webinar -- "How to Blog Meaningfully and Grow Your Audience" -- covers the best practices of worthwhile blogging and how it can make a difference to the growth of your author career. You'll learn the secrets of shareable & spreadable content, the best ways to get new readers, and how to attract more opportunities (and improve your writing skills!) by posting great content. It's also critical to understand how online writing is different from print-based writing, so you'll get a crash course in how to write blog posts that are online-reader and SEO-friendly (optimized for search engines), to increase your blog's discoverability and traffic over time.
It all happens at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015, and lasts 2 hours.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
-- 4 key benefits to blogging
-- How to begin developing a content strategy for your blog
-- 7 principles every blogger should follow
-- The best practices of professional bloggers (those who do it for a living)
-- Do's and don'ts of writing for an online audience
-- How to write post headlines that get clicks and shares
-- The basics of SEO (search engine optimization) that anyone can understand
-- How to use categories and tags
-- How and why to use images-and where to find them for free
-- Using site analytics to improve your blog over time
-- Adding email/RSS functionality to your blog
-- How to begin monetizing your blog
INSTRUCTOR
Jane Friedman is the former publisher of Writer's Digest and has been a professional blogger since 2008. Her blog at JaneFriedman.com receives more than 100,000 visits per month and has won multiple awards. Jane currently teaches digital media and publishing at the University of Virginia. (Sign up for the Dec. 3 webinar here.)
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Agent-Conference Opportunities
There are plenty of opportunities for writers to meet agents face to face at writers' conferences and pitch their work in 2016. Remember: Meeting agents in person is a great way to get past the slush pile. If an agent is interested in your work and requests a sample or book proposal, you can write "Requested Material" on your submission, making sure it gets a fair read and consideration.
Know that there are two types of conferences. There are general writers' conferences, that address a variety of subjects, and then there are specialized conferences, which usually tend to focus on a single genre-such as western, romance, or mystery. You will find both kinds in this list below.
Writing Conference of Houston, Feb. 6, 2016, Houston, TX
Attending agents: Paul S. Levine (Paul S. Levine Literary); Patricia Nelson (Marsal Lyon Literary); Rachel Brooks (L. Perkins Associates); Tricia Skinner (Fuse Literary); and Eve Porinchak (Jill Corcoran Literary).
San Francisco Writers Conference, Feb. 11-14, 2016, San Francisco, CA
Attending agents: This large conference usually has 20-30 agents in attendance. Check the website for the large, growing list.
Alabama Writers Conference, February 19, 2016, Birmingham, AL
Attending agents: Julie Gwinn (The Seymour Agency); Kurestin Armada (P.S. Literary); Veronica Park (Corvisiero Literary); and Lauren MacLeod (Strothman Agency).
Atlanta Writing Workshop, February 20, 2016, Atlanta, GA
Attending agents: Cherry Weiner (Cherry Weiner Literary); Kurestin Armada (P.S. Literary); Pamela Harty (The Knight Agency); Veronica Park (Corvisiero Literary); and Sally Apokedak (Leslie H. Stobbe Literary Agency).
Tampa Writers Conference, March 25, 2016, Tampa, FL
Attending agents: Lucienne Diver (The Knight Agency); Marlene Stringer (Stringer Literary Agency); Nicole Resciniti (The Seymour Agency); Saritza Hernandez (Corvisiero Literary); and Amanda Leuck (Spencerhill Associates).
Fort Lauderdale "Get Published" Conference, March 26, 2016, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Attending agents: Nicole Resciniti (The Seymour Agency); Kaylee Davis (Dee Mura Literary); Greg Aunapu (Salkind Literary); Kurestin Armada (P.S. Literary); Kimiko Nakamura (Dee Mura Literary); and Cricket Freeman (The August Agency).
Philadelphia Writing Workshop, April 9, 2016, Philadelphia, PA
Attending agents: Alyssa Eisner Henkin (Trident Media Group); Adriana Dominguez (Full Circle Literary); Marie Lamba (Jennifer De Chiara Literary); Eric Smith (P.S. Literary); Mackenzie Brady (New Leaf Literary); and Jordy Albert (Booker Albert Literary Agency).
Writing Conference of Cleveland, June 4, 2016, Cleveland, OH
Attending agents: Kimiko Nakamura (Dee Mura Literary); Moe Ferrera (BookEnds); Mallory Brown (TriadaUS); Vicki Selvaggion (Jennifer De Chiara Literary); Kaylee Davis (Dee Mura Literary); and Fred Tribuzzo (The Rudy Agency).
NYC Writer's Digest Conference, August 12-14, 2016, New York, NY
Attending agents: Our pitch slam is the centerpiece of the day, and will always have at least 50 attending literary agents.
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