Hi,

New to the site and writing from the States. I've recently queried two literary agencies in London (Christopher Little and PFD) and both asked to read a synopsis and the first three chapters of my novel. It's a middle grade/young adult work. My 9-year-old daughter's teacher read it aloud to her class and they voted it the best of the lot for the year. Flattering, but I'm not buying a bottle of Dom just yet.

Any thoughts on these two agencies?

I'm thoroughly frustrated with my fellow colonists here as I think they've sold their creative souls to satan. The novel was one of 8 finalists (selected from 350 submissions) for a national Work-In-Progress, Emerging Author award sponsored by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). This got me hand written rejections instead of the pre-printed ones. I'm hoping the Brits might be a little more open to something new. Wishful thinking?

Just wondering if any of you have any insights you might want to pass along.

Thanks in advance.

Hi, don't know Christopher Little personally but one of our interviewees is Simon Trewin from PFD, and they are one of the hottest lit agencies here, so that can't be bad. Keep us updated- I'm sure others will have more to say. You've seen the other Christopher Little thread and our on-site expert agent's comments already, but I'm sure there will be more to come...

Too true. I was just a little stunned at how quickly both agencies got back in touch with me. Most here in the US can't be bothered with the likes of me. I actually managed to land a fairly reputable agent here in the US but that lead to nothing. I thought I'd landed in Nirvana when she told me the authors she represents - Micheal Cunningham - "The Hours," a children's writer who goes by the singular name of Avi (won the Newberry in '03), Scott Turow - "Presumed Innocent," etc. But even with a high profile agent, and Harry Potter redefining the face of children's publishing, US publishers wouldn't touch the book. But now I have an unstable stack of wonderful rejection letters.

Sorry to dither on like that. It gets a little frustrating after a while.

I will keep you posted. And while we all wait, starting in August, you can read my humorous columns for the Denver Post at www.denverpost.com. I'm writing for something they call Colorado Voices, found in their Editorial/Opinions section.

Thanks so much for your reply.

Del,

You'll probably find the UK children's publishing world to be a smaller one than the US, at least in terms of people knowing each other. Because Britain is a smaller country than the US, there are probably tighter networks between writers, editors, agents, publishers, societies, etc. I think it's fair to say that the vast majority of people working in children's publishing here are women. For instance, I'm attending a four day gathering of the Scattered Authors' Society (children's authors) next month and of the 30 attending, only 3 are men. It's a similar story with agents and editors. Also, the vast majority in the business are white and middle-class. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean there are certain tastes prevalent. Just about everyone I've come into contact with in children's publishing is passionate about it. Yes, there are tremendous industry pressures these days, greatly affecting what gets published and what a writer is allowed to write by her publisher but even editors at the really big companies usually long to see good writing win the day.

If you surf around, you'll soon pick up the flavour of UK children's publishing. www.wordpool.co.uk is a very good place to start. It has details of loads of UK children's authors (many of whom use wordpool to design their websites), links to publishers etc (and details of the Scattered Authors).

The very best of luck with your book. Are you going to post some of it here? You'll find people on this site are fantastically generous with their time towards new members, as well as being very supportive.

Terry

Hi Terry,

How can I refuse such a generous offer? Only because of your suggestion (and to have someone to blame later) I will post it - then sit back, put my feet up, and wait for the rotten tomatoes. I will need to post a disclaimer that it is currently being read at PFD and Christopher Little.

Your description of UK publishing sounds painfully similar to the situation over here - except for the size (it's very big here). And good and bad abound in each. As a man, I have found that I haven't quite connected yet with the largely femail editors here who share my quirky view of things. In a strange twist, this is EXACTLY what it was like when I was dating.

What if I posted a personal?

Married, white, slightly short, male writer seeks female editor for long arguements about minor characters and plot devices. Must be willing to storm off in big huffs when I refuse to take "suggestions" and call you an insufferable dolt. Sounds hopeless...

When I started down this path, I actually thought I might be at an advantage being surrounded by women at a 10:1 ratio. Only in my dreams... But I do have the middle class bit down. That's one thing my day job (civil engineer) has afforded me.

Thanks for the web suggestions. I'll keep wasting time at work and do just that. Works better than when my boss catches me playing Freecell.

I can't believe I just wrote "femail" in my last message. That's the right way to impress the women. Yes sir. Nothing oozes charm like comparing a woman to a letter.

Groan...