Your Questions Answered

We are most responsive to book ideas that we believe we can sell, and that fit our interests.  We are looking for non-fiction books of all types, preferably from authors who have an established platform. To best way to win us over is to send us a compelling pitch by e-mail. Describe your book, why it’s timely, captivating, and different, and tell us about your credentials and platform. The best pitches are succinct but persuasive. We look forward to hearing from you!

I’m an entrepreneur at heart and I love the business side of publishing – finding great authors and book ideas, pitching book projects, negotiating deals, working on marketing and merchandising plans, and being part of the launch of a product. I became a bestselling author early in my career and eight years later, after several successive bestsellers, I decided to put my business savvy and passion for publishing to work for other authors. I love what I do, and I love getting excited about a new book project that I can pitch to the editors I work with.

Writers may think they are better off by working directly with a publisher, without the guidance of a literary agent. Doing so, however, can undermine your financial success and your career.

We can help you create and sharpen your book proposal, to help you focus your idea and increase the likelihood of stronger offers from publishers.

Within each publishing house, there are different editors, each with their own interests and “wish lists” for books. We have established relationships with top editors and publishers across North America and around the world, and we can help you identify the most appropriate editors and publishers for your book.

If you already have an offer, we highly recommend you don’t try and negotiate it on your own. We can help you assess the offer and evaluate your options. It takes years of specialized experience and insider knowledge to know how to interpret, negotiate, and improve a publishing deal. With almost twenty years of experience negotiating with publishers, we can help you negotiate a better contract by improving a deal in ways you weren’t even aware of.

Finally, a literary agent is your advocate and advisor. The publisher has a team of people looking out for its interests. Who is looking out for yours? We can help troubleshoot, advocate on your behalf with the publisher, and advise you when problems and challenges arise, as they inevitably do.

Most literary agencies are receiving thousands of proposals a year, far more than they can accept for representation.

Trying to get a book proposal accepted by a major publishing house is not that different from applying to a highly competitive college or university. Publishers, like many academic institutions, have a limited number of openings available, and they are seeking the best possible candidates.

Like all literary agencies, we can only offer to represent books that we believe we can sell to the publishers we work with, and because the standards set by publishers are so high, we, in turn, have to be highly selective when reviewing book proposals.

Because of the considerable amount of time required to shape an idea, pitch it to editors, and negotiate a contract, it’s simply impossible for an agent to represent everything, even projects that are likely to result in an offer from a publisher.

Many authors are disappointed with the marketing and publicity support they receive from their publishers. In some cases, these complaints are warranted, but often they are not.  When a publisher is unsuccessful in generating a lot of media coverage for an author, the publisher is usually not at fault.  It may surprise you to learn that a publisher has limited control over which books succeed and which ones fail. A lot depends on the author. 

By and large, the media decides what books they are going to review or feature. A well-connected publisher can get your book to the right people, but after that, the decision to interview or feature an author or review a book is out of the publisher’s hands.

The media often favors books by well-known authors or those with a platform. But with fewer people consuming traditional media, media coverage alone doesn’t guarantee strong and sustained book sales.

It is therefore out of necessity that publishers place so much value on an author’s platform – social media followers, television and radio appearances, bylines in major publications, industry connections – when evaluating a book proposal.