Of Playthings and Puppets

This title is available for purchase here.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (6.0/10.0)

Did any of you ever hear of this novel when it was originally released? I didn’t, though it was 2004 and I was a bit busy with getting into college and whatnot, but considering I found a first edition hardcover of this book in Marshall’s for only $2.99, I suspect it wasn’t the huge bestseller critics likely expected it to be amid the Harry Potter phenomenon. Yes, this book concerns magicians. No, it is nothing like Harry Potter.

Yet while that may be cause for concern for readers desperately craving more of the same (I wasn’t), its not the book’s only problem. If you pick this book up and quickly flip through, you’ll notice it comes in at a hefty 782 pages. Now, I’m not one to scoff at a long book (The Brothers Karamazov is one of my absolute favorites, coming in at 824 pages… as is Battlefield Earth [1,004 pages], though I’m sure many wouldn’t agree with me on that one) but there were long sections of this novel that seemed… pointless, for a word. The first few hundred pages, namely, as very little happens and I nearly fell asleep reading (quite rare for me) several times. Plot threads are introduced and never resolved, footnotes pad the story (but offered some of the best highlights), and boring page after boring page nearly made me throw the book back on my shelf or in our Free Book Box at work.

However, once past that, to a specific point where one of the main characters goes off on his own for some time, the story improves dramatically and actually features (*gasp*) magic! Yes, there are only a few instances of magic in the first two-three hundred pages. Of course, it’s not all about magic, as the writing will immediately tell you: written in Victorian prose a la Pride and Prejudice, this isn’t like most novels written today. It feels like a hefty non-fiction title your grandfather would be more interested in… and honestly reads like it, too.

If you liked this book, you may also be interested in:
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (7.6-9.4)
The Stand by Stephen King (9.6)
1453 by Roger Crowley (8.5)

So a few weeks before my recent vacation (last week, Florida, got engaged [yay!], saw Disney, NASA, Clearwater–good times!), I made a trip to the library–not the local one, but the big one that is the best place ever–and picked up the most recent edition of the Literary Market Place. For those of you who don’t know what this is, please read through their Web site. I don’t find it, personally, nearly as easy to use as the books, but it is what it is. Anyways, I did this right before lunch with my then-girlfriend’s (now fiance, woot! [sorry, still very excited about that]) laptop and looked through for some good agents.

I had a few requirements for choosing an agent (you have to, otherwise there are hundreds to choose from at random): 1) they have a Web site, 2) they don’t have any reading fees and 3) they actually have some kind of interest in my particular type of story. Simple enough, right? Well, after sitting in there for some time, writing a list of names and Web sites, I got quite tired and just stopped. Nevertheless, I’ve gathered a hefty listing of agents that fit those particular criteria, as follows:

A Abacus Group. 760-375-5243. Gtd007@ridgenet.net.www.theabacusgroup.net

AAA Books Unlimited.847-444-1220. www.aaabooksunlimited.com

The Aaland Agency. 760-384-3910. www.the-aaland-agency.com

AEI. 323-932-0407. www.aeionline.com

Miriam Altshuler Literary Agency. 845-758-9408. www.miriamaltshulerliteraryagency.com

Anderson Literary Management. 212-645-6045. www.andersonliterary.com

Artists & Artisans. 212-924-9619. www.artistsandartisans.com

Authentic Creations Literary Agency. 770-339-3774. www.authenticcreations.com

Loretta Barrett Books. 212-242-3420. www.lorettabarrettbooks.com

BigScore Productions. www.bigscoreproductions.com

Vicky Bijur Literary Agency. 212-580-4108. www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/vbijur

BooksEnds LLC. www.bookends-inc.com

Books & Such. 707-538-4184. Booksandsuch.biz

Browne & Miller Literary Associates. 312-922-3063. www.browneandmiller.com

Sheree Bykofsky Associates Inc. www.shereebee.com

Cambridge Literary Associates. 978-499-0374. www.cambridgeliterary.com

Jane Chelius Literary Agency. 718-499-0236. www.janechelius.com

Linda Chester Literary Agency. 212-218-3350. www.lindachester.com

Wm Clark Associates. 212-675-2784. www.wmclark.com

Crichton & Associates. 301-495-9663.  www.crichton-associates.com

Richard Curtis Associates Inc. www.curtisagency.com

De Fiore & Co, Author Services. www.Defioreandco.com

Joelle Delbourgo Associates Inc. Literary Management. 973-783-6800. www.delbourgo.com

D4E0 Literary Agency. 203-544-7180. www.d4eo.com

Dunham Literary Inc. www.dunhamlit.com

Dystel & Goderich Literary Managment. 212-627-9100. www.dystel.com

The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency. 212-431-4554. www.ethanellenberg.com

Sheldon Fogelman Agency. 212-532-7250. sheldonfogelmanagency.com

The Gislason Agency. www.thegislasonagency.com

Inkwell Management. 212-922-3500. www.inkwellmanagement.com

What you can’t see is just HOW tired I got. About a third of the way through, I stopped writing down phone numbers and about 2/3 through their names seemed to no longer matter. For your benefit, I’ve gone ahead and filled them in entirely.

I got home later and began searching through their Web sites to get a better feel for who I would be submitting to, and almost immediately began to cross agents off the list for a number of reasons. I won’t say which now, or which I eventually decided on, but I will say that my Word listing of these agents has many, many X’s, strikeouts, “meh”s and other such nonsense. It’s quite lovely, actually.

After selecting one, its time to submit. Each agency has its own guidelines, so be sure to check them, but the basic premise is to submit a query letter with a brief synopsis and short biography and/or a proposal, with the latter generally asked for following a successful query. This brief FAQ, from BookEnds, LLC (one of the agencies above) details what is needed much better than I could and was the most detailed of any site:

What is a proposal?

A proposal can mean many things to many people. Fiction writers asked to submit a proposal to BookEnds should include the first three chapters of the book (no more than 50 pages), a synopsis (whatever you already have on hand is fine), an author bio highlighting significant writing experience, organization membership, or anything else that might be pertinent to your work, a detailed query/cover letter reminding us of what you’re submitting, and of course a SASE.

Nonfiction writers have a great deal more work to do when submitting a proposal. Since nonfiction can be sold primarily on proposal, nonfiction writers need to include the following:

·         Overview—this should include a one-paragraph or half-page summary of your book and what makes it different from everything else out there. Your overview should also include a detailed chapter summary if you aren’t planning on submitting the entire book.

·         Author bio—since nonfiction is almost entirely about who the author is, it’s imperative that you give detailed information on what makes you an expert in the field you’re writing in as well as any media exposure you’ve had relating to the subject.

·         Competition/Marketing—how do you intend to market this book for the publisher? Only give information that is actually attainable to you. If you’ve already written articles for Entrepreneur magazine then mention this; don’t mention Oprah unless you can guarantee it! Also include information on how your book differs from other similar books already on the market.

·         Writing Sample (the first 1–3 chapters of your book)

·         And of course don’t forget the detailed query/cover letter and a SASE.

Please note that narrative nonfiction should be submitted as if it were fiction.

What length synopsis do you need/prefer?

BookEnds has no specific synopsis guidelines. Instead we always say, whatever you have on hand is fine. However, if that’s not enough of an explanation, we think a synopsis should usually run about one to three single-spaced pages and include all pertinent information about the book, including the ending.

What do you look for in a query letter?

Any materials sent to BookEnds, even if it’s been requested, should include a query or cover letter. Whether you are submitting a proposal or simply e-mailing a letter, be sure to include the following information:

·         Your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and any other pertinent contact information.

·         The book’s title, the genre it best fits into, and the length or word count.

·         A very brief synopsis of your book. This is the most important piece of the letter since this is the one thing that’s going to hook the agent. We don’t need to know every detail of your secondary characters, but we do need to know what those key things are about your book that makes it different or special. To use one of our own books as an example:

“Featuring amateur sleuth and wine expert Nikki Sands, Murder Uncorked is the first in a proposed series set in California’s wine country. When Nikki stumbles upon a body in Napa Valley, it isn’t long before her nosiness gets the best of her. Now she’s knee-deep in trouble and must find the killer before he finds her. In addition to a terrific cozy mystery, I’ve incorporated wine-pairing suggestions with delicious wine country recipes.”

·         A bio that highlights any significant writing experience you have had.

Please note, even if material has been requested you should always include a cover letter reminding us that we’ve requested it, the title of your book, and what it’s about.
 

Using this as a general guide, as well as the submission guidelines from the agency you’ve picked, will greatly help in the submission. I sent mine on July 31st, just before my vacation, with some form of reply generally received within 3-4 weeks. Here’s hoping, yeah?