Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Sheila Campbell (---.cmdnnj.fios.verizon.net)
Date: 07-26-08 22:03
Hi,
I've written a 400 word poem entitled The Gospels which sums up the four gospels in poetry form. Most publishers and distributors seem to be actually looking for a book vs a single work. The poem has been printed and is currently being sold in poster form much like the religious poem entitled "Foot Prints".
I need suggestions regarding how to get it widely distributed since I am new to this arena. All ideas are welcomed.
Thanks,
Sheila
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Jay Elwood Seymour (---.neo.res.rr.com)
Date: 07-26-08 22:49
I would suggest looking at this sight under the keyword, "Christian"
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Ann Crispin (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: 07-27-08 08:58
Legitimate literary agents do NOT handle poetry.
This is the honest truth.
You can submit your poem to markets without a literary agent.
-Ann C. Crispin
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Dana Dafoddil (---.try.wideopenwest.com)
Date: 07-27-08 12:03
'Twas the Night Before Christmas is a poem and sold in book form.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (the original, not the abbreviated lyric) is a poem sold in book form.
Picture book text can be rhymed (i.e., "poetry").
Also, Haiku Baby by Betsy Snyder (May 2008), and now that I browse through amazon.com, there are gay, Jewish and baseball haiku books...translations of Japanese haiku, etc.
Haiku Mom: (because 17 syllables is all you have time for) came out in 2006 - by Kari Anne Roy. She has a lit agent, I know, because I queried him and he turned me down!
Also Jewel and Joy Scott (singer-musicians celebrities) both have published books of poetry (not self-published).
Martin Gardner's Favorite Poetic Parodies (available in hardback).
Vikram Seth's "The Golden Gate" (2002) - blurb amazon.com says "Can 690 sonnets, rhyming a-b-a-b-c-c-d-d-e-f-f-e-g-g, be a novel? Definitely! First published in 1986 and still fresh"
***
Writer should do a search of Christian market to see what other poems/verse of a Christian nature have been published recently between the covers of a book. If those authors have agents...who are the agents? Do a little homework - don't assume there won't be any agents at all, forever and ever, for what you've written. Write a great pitch, mention how many posters you've sold, etc. What's the case for making it into a book? Etc
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Sheila Campbell (---.cmdnnj.east.verizon.net)
Date: 07-27-08 14:51
Thanks for all the feedback. But how do you turn a 490 word poem into a book?
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Gravity Fades (---.cinci.res.rr.com)
Date: 07-27-08 15:04
You don't. What Ann is saying is you send it to poetry magazines yourself.
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Ann Crispin (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: 07-27-08 19:17
I think Dana was thinking your poem was 490 PAGES long, instead of 490 WORDS long.
Get a copy of a book titled "Poet's Market." It lists real markets where you can submit your poem.
-Ann C. Crispin
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Dana Dafoddil (---.try.wideopenwest.com)
Date: 07-27-08 19:37
No, I was not thinking the poem was 490 PAGES long. I understood that it was 490 WORDS long - not an atypical length for a picture book.
I listed in my previous post a number of books with poetry in them. I stand by my advice - Kari Anne Roy has a regular literary agent for her Haiku Mama book, Dan Lazar, sold to Quirk Books. I see also agents describing themselves as looking for "quirky humor" etc - which can be in verse (although not necessarily).
There may be Christian publishers who put out Christian verse AS BOOKS - I suggest the person with Christian verse go to a Christian bookstore and see if there are any similar books published - see if the author has an agent, or submitted directly to publisher. It may be a Christian novelist has written verse - not familiar specifically with the Christian market.
But Dan Lazar represents Kari Anne Roy - and she writes HAIKU.
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Ann Crispin (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: 07-28-08 05:33
I stand by my earlier admonition. While some literary agents do represent poetry written by their established, professional clients (whose main output is novels or nonfiction books), there is not a single legitimate literary agent in the USA or England who specializes in handling poetry.
There simply is not enough money in it.
WL Poets Agency is owned and operated by Robert Fletcher. This "agency" is on Writer Beware's "Thumbs Down" list of agents. Any agent that advertises that they are looking for poets to represent is a scam. Period, end of story.
I'm trying to keep Ms. Campbell safe. I don't want her to lose her money and waste her time chasing after scammy literary agents who claim they are looking for poets, or want to specialize in poetry.
-Ann C. Crispin
Chair, Writer Beware
www.writerbeware.com
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Lance Ng (220.255.7.---)
Date: 07-28-08 08:25
There are a lot of Christian publishers around. You should just approach them and leverage on their distribution network. But most book publishers wouldn't have the right channels to sell something like that.
A better bet would be to find suppliers of Christian gift/product speciality shops and get them to manufacture it large scale. Just ask any Christian product shop who supplies them their goods.
Cheers,
Lance
Renaissance Publishing
www.renaissance.sg
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Dana Dafoddil (---.try.wideopenwest.com)
Date: 07-28-08 12:28
Re: "there is not a single legitimate literary agent in the USA or England who specializes in handling poetry."
Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater - gosh, Haiku Mama WAS published, WAS (last I checked) stocked in Barnes & Noble, etc...right, no legitimate agent "specializes" in poetry. But there still might be an agent under certain unique circumstances, timing, etc, who might be interested. Depends on the total situation of the writer's background, the market, etc.
Rare, but not patently impossible.
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Ann Crispin (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: 07-28-08 16:32
There are several "literary agents" who will tell you they "specialize" in selling poetry and poetry collections for their clients.
I'm not saying these people don't exist.
But the agents who claim this:
1. Charge upfront fees to writers
2. Have no track record of sales to publishers that pay advances and royalties.
3. Often require the author to pay for "critiques" or "editing" before they will agree to represent the work.
So why would a writer want to sign on with one of these "agencies?"
-Ann C. Crispin
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Sapphire Savvy (76.251.178.---)
Date: 07-28-08 17:02
Ann Crispin is absolutely right. No agents handle a single poem. Very few even handle poetry books.
Sheila, I am a published poet; I went through the Poets Market (available at your local bookseller) and through my own knowledge of literary magazines (get familiar with them through your local bookstores, or go to their websites and ask for back issues, which are cheaper than those on the shelves). Almost every state has a "Review;" Ploughshares, Poetry, The Iowa Review, and the like are the standard-setters. They will be on the shelves with the periodicals. Read, read, read, and try to find someone who publishes similar works--not necessarily "Christian," but of similar tone and style. Also look at Poets & Writers magazine and other writers's journals, also among the periodicals. That will get your work out there and seen, and if you write more and publish more you can build up enough cfedits to your name to start looking into having a book of poems published.
Good luck!
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Sapphire Savvy (76.251.178.---)
Date: 07-28-08 17:02
PS Your idea sounds great to me!
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Dana Dafoddil (---.try.wideopenwest.com)
Date: 07-28-08 17:41
Dan Lazar is a legitimate agent. He does NOT specialize in poetry - but he IS the agent for the woman who wrote Haiku Mama, which is a book of poems.
Relax, I'm not advising anyone to hook up with a scam literary agent. I'm just saying - see what books are out there similar to yours (if any) - try contacting the agents for those BOOKS. Relax.
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
Author: Sheila Campbell (---.cmdnnj.east.verizon.net)
Date: 07-28-08 20:21
Hello Everyone,
I really appreciate all of your input. This is all so very new to me because I don't consider myself to be a writer. I was blessed enough to have two different poems that sum up some books of the bible truly just "flow out of me" and I put pen to the paper. As I stated, I've only released the one entitled The Gospels and it has received great reviews and is selling.
I'm going to print this thread and begin executing my marketing plan bases on your many ideas.
Thanks again,
Sheila
|
|
Re: Literary Agent for single piece of work |
|
|
Sorry. You need to Join WritersNet and activate your account to post a message.
It's quick, easy and free. All we need is a valid email address and the name you wish to use here .
|
|
