Welcome Scott Eagan , and thank you for participating in “romance month”. We’ve been talking to and about male romance authors, but you have a little different perspective in that you are a male agent who specializes in romance. How did you come to the decision to be a romance agent? When I first opened Greyhaus Literary Agency , I looked at representing a lot of different genres. After looking at the market, I realized there were a lot of benefits of focusing in on just this genre. At that time, there were few agents who were this focused. With this market always shifting, I felt that trying to keep track of trends, editors and lines of just the romance and women’s fiction market was going to be tough enough. I also believed that focusing my attention this much allowed me a chance to better work with my authors. I was able to really study the genre and know all the angles of it. On a personal level, I just love this genre. I like the fact that we get the chance to explore human...

“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.” F. Scott Fitzgerald April can be a troublesome month. April showers (continual in my part of the world), taxes, spring cleaning, April, as T.S. Elliot observed “...can be the cruelest month.” But, raise your heads, my fellow readers and writers! In the spirit of I Will Wade Through the Puddles and Get New Boots if Necessary - here is a list of 10 authors initially rejected by publishers. 38 rejections - Gone with the Wind ( Margaret Mitchell )  After 5 rejections, this author put her manuscript away in a hat box. Two years later she resubmits - Anne of Green Gables ( Lucy Maud Montgomery ) “Stick to teaching” advice given by publisher rejecting her manuscript titled Little Women . Louisa May Allcott   140 rejection letters saying ‘Anthologies don’t sell’ - Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen authors of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series   “An irresponsible holiday story that will never sell” ...

One year ago I sat writing at my computer when Publisher’s Lunch Deluxe popped into my inbox. Under the heading “People, etc.” I saw that a new agent, Katie Shea, had moved from the Johnson Literary Agency to Donald Maass Literary Agency. Her interests included my main areas: women’s fiction, commercial-scale literary fiction, memoir, and young adult. She had listed several of her favorite titles and, of the ones I had read, I liked them all. Because I had pitched to an editor from Penguin at the 2010 Philadelphia Writers’ Conference (where I was also a board member), and because she had requested my first three chapters, and liked them enough to then request the full manuscript, I was able to add a tantalizing line to my query that my full manuscript was currently under consideration at a Big Six publisher. Further, I was at the time revising the manuscript yet again per ideas gleaned from Donald Maass’s workshop at the 2011 Write Stuff conference. Within five minutes of this anno...

This month marks my fourth year participating as a contributing blogger for the BRP, and it's a ride that I've enjoyed immensely. I have connected with some wonderful editors, writers, and advocates of the writing craft here on BRP, and as I reflected on that and these last four years, I found myself pointed toward one topic for this post: the importance of community in a writer's life. Sure, we all know the saying, writing is a solitary act , but the success of that writing, the success of the writer is connected to the community the writer belongs to. And what community is this? Well, there are many communities, to include (My category titles are fairly loose; I apologize in advance for that.): The "familial" community, those in our family (and I would add close friends) who support our zany idea of becoming an author, who listen to our doubts and help to push them away, who put the pot of coffee on in the late-night hours, who clean the house and make d...

Today we continue busting false notions about trends in traditional publishing, with information gleaned from agents at the 2012 Write Stuff conference in Allentown, PA. Our panelists were Rachel Stout of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management , Carrie Pestritto of Prospect Agency , Marie Lamba of Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency , Lauren Ruth of BookEnds LLC , and Katie Shea of Donald Maass Literary Agency . Agents are no longer taking on new clients. I can speak from my own experience on this one, as I signed with one of these agents in December—Katie Shea, pictured with me at right—and since then she’s taken on three additional clients. If you seek traditional publication, try submitting to newer agents at established agencies. Since they are still building their client lists they have the time to work with you, they are hungry for a sale, and are backed by the collective wisdom and power of their agencies. Chuck Sambuchino regularly posts “New Agent Alerts” at his Guide to L...

I recently had the pleasure of moderating the agent panel at the 2012 Write Stuff conference in Allentown, PA. Our guests were ( l to r ) Rachel Stout of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management , Carrie Pestritto of Prospect Agency , Marie Lamba of Jennifer DeChiara Litearary Agency , Lauren Ruth of BookEnds LLC , and Katie Shea of Donald Maass Literary Agency (thank you to Mary Ann Domanska for providing the photo). Each one of these industry professionals are enthusiastic lovers of the written word—so much so that they are willing to stake their incomes on it. I thought I’d use some info gleaned from our discussion to address some false notions about trends in today’s publishing world. With the advent of e-publishing, agenting is a dying career. This is clearly not the case. Every member of the panel is a newer agent at an established agency. One of them shared with me that when she applied for a position just last fall she received three offers. The agencies are hiring. B...