Friday, January 26, 2007

Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own

Besides finding sellable manuscripts, literary agents have businesses to run. A solo shop means that the agent is handling the contracts, the paperwork, the accounts payable and receivable, and all while contacting agents and negotiating deals. It's a heavy load, and if a one-person shop becomes successful, the business end could become downright unmanageable.

Sounds like a good reason for Janet Reid to align herself with the Imprint Agency. The other option is that her solo operation is going downhill and she's looking to latch on to someone trying to grow their company, but it's much more pleasant to walk on the sunny side of the street.

By every indication, JetReid Literary Agency is no more, folded into the Imprint imprimatur. Its name lives on as a blogspot URL, as Ms. Reid will continue to post, one presumes, since she invites us to drop by and find answers to questions about publishing or what she's looking for in manuscripts.

If you're a mystery writer, you might give her a try, since that seems to be her specialty. How to contact her? Now there's a real mystery to be unravelled.

The website lists an e-mail address for queries, but her Publishers Marketplace page states quite clearly that she doesn't take e-mail queries. Is there already a power struggle brewing at Imprint? Will Janet Reid be forced by Stephany Evans, President of the agency, to join the paperless revolution? Or will Ms. Reid stand her ground, refusing to be bullied?

Time will tell; the agent will clarify. But if you can't wait to send a query in the hopes that Ms. Reid will now have more time to be an agent, with Imprint handling the busy work, you can never go wrong with the United States Postal Service and a SASE.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...
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O hAnnrachainn said...

There are some definite similarities in writing style between Janet Reid and Miss Snark. Could it be that the Crap-o-Meter did her in?

Have to wonder if the people who were asked to submit pages during the last go-round have gotten any offers to read full manuscripts from someone at Imprint Agency.