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| The Hopes and Dreams of Lucy Baker by Jenni Keer, represented by Zeno Agency |
Zeno Agency Ltd
Primrose Hill Business Centre
110 Gloucester Avenue
London NW1 8HX
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Louise Buckley is an associate agent with Zeno Agency, a literary agency based in London, England. The
company represents an esteemed list of authors, comprising major brand-names,
high profile award winners, talented debut authors and prestigious literary
estates. Primarily, it specializes in representing Science Fiction, Fantasy,
and Horror, but is expanding into other genres.
Louise joined Zeno Agency in 2016, following six years working as an editor at
two major trade publishing companies. She’s actively building her list of
authors and is especially looking for Women’s Fiction, Crime Fiction, Thrillers
and Psychological Suspense, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, and Literary Fiction.
She’s also looking to represent selected nonfiction.
Louise is particularly interested in representing
some North American authors and has graciously agreed to be interviewed on
Quick Brown Fox.
QBF: First, a big welcome to Quick Brown
Fox.
Louise: Thank you!
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| Louise |
QBF: Do you have suggestions for how authors can get their
manuscript in shape before starting the submission process?
Louise:
Many! But my top tip would be to find some beta
readers who can offer objective, honest feedback on your query letter and your
novel or nonfiction proposal.
Close friends and family are usually not the best
sources of feedback. They won’t want to hurt your feelings and may not be the
best judge of the quality of something.
Writers groups, and trusted
acquaintances are probably better bets – or, if these aren’t options, a
professional opinion from an industry expert can help pinpoint what needs
improving before you submit.
QBF: What sort of books
are you especially looking for?
Louise:
At the moment, I am particularly on the hunt for a
strong crime novel or mystery; I love a good whodunnit or even a why-dunnit
that keeps me guessing until the end! I would love to see an epic love story – something that spans time periods, continents or
generations. I also tend to be captured by a strong or unique voice and
well-formed, fallible characters who you can’t help but root for.
QBF: Is there anything
you see too much of or that seems overdone these days?
Louise: As one of
the biggest and most esteemed agencies in the UK representing SF and Fantasy, I
tend to primarily receive submissions in these areas. Whilst I do represent authors
in these areas, I am particularly keen to see submissions in other genres.
QBF: Are you accepting
any Young Adult fiction?
Louise:
Yes! I am interested in older/upper YA (age 14+).
Although in my experience, YA is a tough sell right now and so I am being very
selective about what I take on.
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| When All Is Said, by Anne Griffen represented by Zeno Agency |
QBF: Can you tell us
about your process when you’re considering a project.
Louise:
I read the query letter first and then look at the
sample. If I am enjoying the sample and sufficiently intrigued from the query
letter, I will read the synopsis.
If I enjoy the sample and think the pitch and
concept has potential, then I will request the full manuscript.
If I love the
book but I feel it needs a lot of editorial work before I would consider
representing the author, I may go back saying how much I love the book but that
I have reservations and want the author to undertake some editorial work.
Sometimes they send something back and I decide it isn’t for me after all. On
other occasions they may send it back and I think it’s brilliant and then I
call to offer representation and discuss any further editorial thoughts.
Sometimes something needs editorial work but I am certain I could sell it, and
in this instance I would offer representation before the author undertook the
editorial work.
In nonfiction, if the author hasn’t provided any
sample chapters, I may ask them to provide a couple of sample chapters.
QBF: Besides a great
book, what else you look for in a client?
Louise:
I would say the qualities that you need in all good
working partnerships (because the author-agent relationship is definitely a
partnership); kindness, respect, an openness to constructive feedback, honesty,
good ideas. The relationship between agent and author will ideally last the
duration of the author’s writing career and so it benefits both parties to
display these qualities. Of course, you can’t always know at the start whether
you will connect with each other, but ideally an agent will be looking for
these qualities in a writer and a writer will do their research and try to find
an agent who understands their book and is easy to get on with.
Many agents may say a social media presence is
something they look for, which can be helpful with nonfiction, but in my
experience is not important at the early stages of an author’s fiction writing
career – the quality of the novel is much more important to me!
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| Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch, represented by Zeno Agency |
QBF: Can you tell us
something about how you work with authors?
Louise:
I am a hands-on agent. I don’t represent a huge
list of authors at the moment so I can dedicate lots of time to working with my
authors editorially and explaining who, what, where and why, when questions and
situations arise. I try to communicate regularly and make sure that I am
available when needed.
QBF: Can you tell us something about working
internationally?
Louise:
We are a small,
boutique agency in the UK. This means that I handle and sell all my client’s
rights, including publication, film, audio and translation rights – across the world. We are fortunate
that we have established close relationships with a large network of sub-agents
internationally, who sell our books in each of their respective
territories/languages, and our film sub-agent is based in L.A.
I also sell directly to editors in North America. We don’t work with a
sub-agent in the US and Canada, so I make sure to keep track of marketplace
news and meet with US editors at book fairs. The agency also makes a point of
attending international writing conferences and conventions, where many North
American editors are present.
QBF: What would you like
writers to know about the publishing industry?
Louise: That it’s a tough
old business. Many writers think that if you write a good book and a strong
query letter then you are sure to secure representation. But the arrival of the
internet has made the route to publication available to everyone and more
people than ever are writing books. Therefore, your book really needs to stand
out from the crowd.
Additionally, it can sometimes be a case of being in the right place at
the right time. Sometimes an author will write something that happens to fit
into a trend six months down the line. Or meet an agent or editor and really
make an impression. Luck can be a big factor in whether you are successful.
It’s a hard pill to swallow. But with hard work, research and perseverance, you
will hopefully still get there! Don’t give up!
In the subject line,
please be sure to put: SUBMISSION {Title of novel} by {name}. Full submission
guidelines here.
 |
| Literary agent Stephanie Sinclair |
If
you’re interested in getting published, soon or somewhere down the road, don’t
miss the upcoming How to Get Published workshop
Saturday, Nov 17, in Mississauga with literary agent Stephanie Sinclair
(see here).
If you’re interested in writing for children or for young
adults, Brian will lead a Writing Kid
Lit weekly course on Thursday
evenings, Jan 24 – March 28, at the Oakville Central Library (see here).
For updated listings of Writing for Children & for Young
adult workshops and for weekly Kid lit classes, see here (and
scroll down).
Also coming
soon: How to Build Your Story: Plotting novels & Writing short stories, Saturday,
Nov 24 in Alliston (see here) and
Saturday, Jan 19 in Oakville (see here) and
Secrets of Writing a Page-Turner, Saturday, Dec 1 in London (see here), and
Saturday, Dec 8, in Guelph (see here).
A weekend
writing retreat:
Algonquin Writing Retreat, Friday, May 31 –
Monday, June 3, 2019: four days in the luxurious isolation of Arowhon Pines
Resort to get down to some real creative growth. Details here.
Exploring Creative Writing, Thursday afternoons,
Jan 24 – April 5 (no class March 14), in Burlington. Details here.
Writing Kid Lit, Thursday evenings, Jan 24 –
March 28 (no class March 14), in Oakville. Details here.
Intensive Creative Writing, Tuesday
afternoons, Jan 22 – April 2 (no class March 12); first readings emailed
Jan 15, in Burlington. Details here.
Intensive Creative Writing, Wednesday
evenings Jan 23 – April 3 (no class March 13); first readings emailed Jan
16, in Burlington. Details here.
Intensive Creative Writing, Friday
mornings Jan 25 – April 5 / 12 (10 or 11 weeks, no class March 13); first
readings emailed Jan 16, in Toronto. Details here.
Details
of all 5 classes here.
Read reviews of Brian’s courses, retreats, and workshops here.
See
Brian’s complete current schedule here, including Saturday
writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend
retreats in Algonquin Park, Alliston, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton,
Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph, Hamilton,
Jackson’s Point, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, New
Tecumseth, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Sudbury, Toronto,
Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA,
Ontario and beyond.
Navigation tips: Always check out the Labels underneath a post; they’ll lead you to
various distinct collections of postings. If you're searching for more
interviews with literary agents or a literary agent who represents a particular
type of book, check out this post.
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