Back in early January, I mentioned that agent extraordinaire Jeff Kleinman had banded together with Scott Hoffman and Paige Wheeler to form Folio Literary Management. At the time, the company had only registered the domain name but no website was ready.
Tonight, I was surfing around and noticed that the company’s website is now up and running. It looks like the agents got to keep some of their big-name clients and they’ve also built an informative submission guidelines page. Be sure to check it out and see if Folio is a good fit for your work.
But here’s the thing… and I say this is my best serious-dad-tone, don’t go wasting their time with queries about 1,500 page epics on the magical kingdom of cockroaches under your bathroom sink. Don’t pitch a novel about a demonic yoga instructor who leaves his victims in contorted knots. Especially don’t pitch that novel if it’s not finished. And don’t suggest a novel that is going to prove how The Da Vinci Code “got it all wrong.”
In short, follow the rules, people. Kleinman is one of the good guys. Let’s show our thanks by respecting the company’s submission guidelines.
Thought I might mention an up-and-coming novelist Les Lester. Les began working in advertising back in the 1980s before landing a joint position as a newsreporter/account executive with WLTH radio, in Northwest, Indiana.
Later, he transferred his writing skills, gleaned from writing advertising copy and commercials, to the Chicago Defender Newspaper where he found himself working as a General Assignment reporter, for that publication, one of the nation’s most noted African-American dailies.
His new book, about an ancient Black Egyptain Pharaoh, is currently being touted as the next best-seller. And how does he feel being labeled as a best-selling author before the book has even been contracted?
“Well, I’ll leave that up to the pundits,” he says in his scholarly fashion. Black Egypt is inherently interesting, here’s to Les and his novel.