Tipsy Tuesday

According to my latest The Writer magazine, there are some highly touted literary agents/agencies looking for new talent. I've listed just a few, those that I recognize and believe to be reputable:

Donald Maass Literary Agency - represents mostly fiction; no prescriptive nonfiction, picture books, poetry or screenplays. Query with a one-page letter, first five pages of manuscript and SASE. Responds in two weeks. Submission guidelines are online.

The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency - all types of commercial fiction (thrillers, mysteries, children's, romance, women's fiction, ethnic, science fiction, fantasy, general fiction); literary fiction with strong narrative; and nonfiction (current affairs, health, science, psychology, cookbooks, biography and memoir). No poetry, screenplays or short stories. Accepts unsolicited queries and manuscripts. Submission guidelines are online.

Harvey Klinger, Inc. - Mainstream adult fiction and nonfiction, literary and commercial. Unpublished writers considered. Submission guidelines online.

Natasha Kern Literary Agency - Fiction (historical, contemporary, multicultural, and inspirational); nonfiction (narrative, memoir, body/mind/spirit, health and medicine, inspirational and religious, psychology, relationship and self-help, parenting, animals and nature). Submission guidelines online.

Writers House - Fiction and nonfiction for adult and juvenile books; literary and commercial fiction, women's fiction, science fiction/fantasy, narrative nonfiction, history, memoir, biographies, books on psychology, science, parenting, cookbooks, how-to, self-help, business, finance, young adult and juvenile fiction/nonfiction and picture books. Send query letter of no more than two pages, including credentials, synopsis with SASE. Submission guidelines online. (My agent is with Writers House and I have only great things to say about this agency.)

My own 2 cents: Follow the guidelines. I know many writers who will say, "Hey, even if they don't ask for the first chapter in the initial query, go ahead and send it." My advice--don't. Follow the submission guidelines to the letter. Give them what they ask for and no more. These folks get a lot of queries every day (one part of the article indicated one of these agencies receives 5,000 queries a year.) And if you're submitting to multiple houses (which is perfectly fine in the query process), make sure you mention that in your query letter.

Good hunting!