This week's Agent Spotlight features Roseanne Wells of the Marianne Strong Literary Agency.
Status: Open to submissions.
About: “Roseanne Wells is an agent at Marianne Strong Literary Agency. An avid reader, she discovered her passion for book publishing during her internship at W.W. Norton and hasn’t looked back. She is also an arts reviewer for PlayShakespeare.com and a volunteer for Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in Soho, NYC. Wells is interested in narrative nonfiction, science (popular or trade, not academic), history, true crime, religion, travel, humor, food/cooking, and similar subjects. She is also actively expanding the agency’s fiction list and looks for strong literary fiction, YA, sci-fi, fantasy, and smart detective novels (more Sherlock Holmes than cozy mysteries).” (Link)
About the Agency:
“At the Strong Agency, we pride ourselves in giving new authors a first chance, and giving published authors a chance to try something new. Browse our website for more information about the books we have represented or for instructions regarding query submission.
“Though the agency has historically focused on non-fiction work--successfully publishing works in politics, business, memoir, real estate, self-help, sports, true crime, and medicine--our current staff is busy building our contacts in the world of fiction, and is actively seeking quality historical fiction, young adult novels, contemporary thrillers, mystery and crime novels, and the ever-elusive piece of quality literary fiction.” (Link)
Web Presence:
What She's Looking For:
Genres/Specialties:
“My nonfiction interests include narrative nonfiction, science (popular or trade, not academic), humor, history, true crime, religion, travel, food/cooking, and similar subjects. I am also actively expanding the agency's fiction list and looking out for strong literary fiction, YA, sci-fi (most subgenres included), fantasy, and mysteries (more Sherlock Holmes than cozy mysteries).” (Link)
From an Interview (12/2010):
“The first thing I look for is a good story, and then if it’s nonfiction, platform. It is essential because nonfiction is about authority (why should I listen to this person about their advice or their story?) and audience (who is going to buy the book?). Platform is easier to build these days with social media and digital networking, but it doesn’t mean that you have enough to write a book.”
“I only represent young adult, as I am drawn to the personal journey and transformation of the protagonist that helps define YA as its own genre. Middle grade is a different kind of book with distinct elements and market, and I am drawn more to the YA market. It can be tricky, as there are points where the two can overlap—just look at how the Harry Potter series morphs from a middle grade to a crossover young adult book that is really for all ages. I do mistakenly get middle grade queries, or queries for YA projects that are actually MG, but most curiously, I also get a lot of submissions for other children’s books (picture books, early reader, chapter books, etc).”
“I’m hungry for singular YA clients, contemporary or fantasy, that will grab me by the lapels and never let go. I’m also scouring market stalls and fine dining establishments for new food and cookbook ideas.”
(Link with more on mystery, sci-fi, & religion interests)
What She Isn't Looking For:
Children’s, picture books through middle grade.
Editorial Agent?
Unknown.
Clients:
Jane Lebak, Phil Edwards and Matt Kraft, David Wallace, among others.
Sales:
As of this posting, Ms. Wells is listed on Publisher’s Marketplace as having made 0 deals in the last 12 months and 2 overall.
There is a sample of agency deals on Marianne Strong’s PM page.
NOTE: PM is usually not a complete representation of sales.
Query Methods:
E-mail: Yes (only).
Snail-Mail: No.
Online-Form: No.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
Send a one page query letter addressed to Ms. Wells to the group agency address. Writers may include some pages or part of a proposal in the body of the e-mail. No attachments.
See the Marianne Strong Agency PM page for complete, up-to-date submission guidelines. Ms. Wells mentions the sample pages in this interview.
Query Tips:
“Don't use quotes or rhetorical questions in queries--all questions end with no.” (Link)
For more query tips and preferences read through the two live events (linked below) Ms. Wells did with WriteOnCon.
Response Times:
Stats on the web show query and submission response times ranging from days to several months with occasional instances of no-response.
What's the Buzz?
Roseanne Wells became an agent in July of 2009 and is actively building her client list. I haven’t seen mention of other clients or sales than those listed above, but she frequently attends conferences and is looking for new YA clients in particular.
There’s been some ongoing concern regarding the agency and its dealings and, while some of it has been addressed, it’s not clear if all has been resolved to industry standards.
I’ve seen no complaints associated with Ms. Wells (or the agency for the last year) and my experience with her through WriteOnCon has been great.
Worth Your Time:
Interviews:
Agent Advice Interview with Roseanne Wells at Guide to Literary Agents (12/2010).
Around the Web:
Marianne Strong Literary Agency on P&E ($).
Marianne Strong Literary Agency thread on AbsoluteWrite (2006-present).
Live Query Event with Roseanne Wells at WriteOnCon in the forums. The submission thread can be found here, Ms. Wells comments here (08/2011).
Live Query Event (transcript) with Literary Agent Roseanne Wells at WriteOnCon (04/2011).
Successful Queries: Agent Roseanne Wells and DUMBEMPLOYED at Guide to Literary Agents (06/2011).
Writing Tips from 2011 AWW Faculty -- Roseanne Wells at Antioch Writers’ Workshop (05/2011).
Guest blogger: Agent Roseanne Wells talks kitchen sink plots, or "Adding a dragon won't help" at The Swivet (05/2010).
Contact:
Please see the Marianne Strong Literary Agency website or PM page for contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last updated: 10/20/11.
Agent Contacted For Review? Yes.
Last Reviewed By Agent? N/A.
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Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at agentspotlight(at)gmail(dot)com
Note: These agent profiles presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. They are not interviews. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found herein is subject to change.
Roseanne sounds like an awesome agent. It's too bad she doesn't represent middle grade writers. At least upper middle grade.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Natalie on this one.
ReplyDeleteYes. I've only written YA, but I have some MG ideas that I'd like to try out next. Thanks for the interview, though!
ReplyDeleteI queried Roseanne for a YA project in 2010 and my experience with her, from start to finish, was overwhelmingly positive. She is a prompt communicator and gave me extremely helpful, detailed feedback after reading my full ms. Based on my experience I would say that she is an editorial agent, and a good one at that. She also gave me the impression that she is very well-read in YA and market savvy.
ReplyDeleteThank you Natalie, Thermocline, and Myrna. At least she knows her interests well enough to say no MG!
ReplyDeleteLydia, thank you for the fantastic feedback. I've heard nothing but good about Roseanne.