Overview

The traditional publishing marketplace has never been an easy one to navigate. It's an incredibly subjective, overcrowded, and competitive environment, even for authors who have already published successfully. First-time fiction writers face an especially daunting challenge in the effort to turn even the most promising manuscript into a published novel.

While there is no guaranteed shortcut to the process of landing a good agent, TED is often able to accelerate the process and insulate our authors from the frustrations of being an unknown writer. Our success in this effort comes from three decades of unrivaled success in helping new authors traditionally publish, the strength of our reputation among agents who represent our clients and who are receptive to our referrals, our proactive effort to forge relationships with new agents, and finally the professionalism and market-savvy spirit with which we advocate on our authors' behalf.

TED's agent matchmaking program is run with two kinds of books in mind, in both fiction and nonfiction. The first is for those rare manuscripts that we feel have exceptional literary merit or commercial potential or that break some kind of important ground in their message, story, or potential impact. The second is for terrific manuscripts that we feel to be very solid candidates for traditional publication and as good or better than other successful titles in their respective genres, but that don't have such a unique level of distinction.

Our success in getting our clients' work into the hands of receptive agents has affirmed time and again that there's a good market for both categories of books, despite the recent upheaval of the publishing economy and the seemingly unrelenting challenge of breaking into traditional print publication in fiction for the first time. While the number of books traditionally publsihed by debut authors may be diminishing, it is far from a lost cause. Publishing editors have to acquire some first fiction if they're to find tomorrow's stars. New authors do still find literary agents and publishers for their manuscripts; it's just become a much more difficult and involved process. This is why TED stepped up its effort accordingly both with our own direct referrals and submissions and the level of support we can offer our clients in their own submission efforts.

History

Ross Browne, president and managing editor at TED, first introduced our formal agent matchmaking program in 1994. Using insights gleaned from the experience of reviewing manuscripts for The Literary Group International he developed a comprehensive database to keep track of agent likes, dislikes, client rosters, past sales, personal interests, and just about anything else that could assist in making intelligent decisions as to which agents might be good bets for TED's clients. More importantly, he also began cultivating relationships with both well-established and up-and-coming literary agents, encouraging them to accept referrals from The Editorial Department when we were excited about a book's chances. The success of these efforts resulted in our being able to help more and more of our clients find quality literary representation and became the basis of the much more comprehensive help we offer our clients on this front today.

That assistance is more sorely needed than ever, for today's constantly changing publishing scene stacks the deck against the debut author. Major publishing companies are obsessed with the bottom line. Bestseller status for celebrity-penned books and name authors, sluggish bookstore sales otherwise, decreased promotional budgets, and a reluctance to take chances on new writers have all led to fewer opportunities for debut authors. Consolidation among New York publishing houses has left fewer outlets for writers who want traditional publication. Instead of looking for the best book, acquisitions editors have more incentive to to look for the book with the best profit potential. Due to these factors and the economic downturn starting in late 2008, literary agents must be even more discriminating about what they take on, especially with first fiction.

What hasn't changed is that there are still hundreds of thousands of authors vying for the  attention of these agents in a given year and a staggering number of competing submissions to stand out from, no matter what the genre. While a smartly conceived and brilliantly written manuscript helps your odds enormously, a big part of the battle early on is getting agents to actually read it, and that's where TED's agent matchmaking program can often really help.

Karinya Funsett joined TED in 2006 and with her help the program has evolved and improved dramatically.  It's been a long path to cultivating the knowledge, relationships, contacts and best practices that all contribute to the regular stream of requests we now enjoy for our clients' work, but we've never been in better form with this important aspect of what we do and we're deeply committed to keeping this upward trajectory on track.

How It Works

The first thing required for consideration for the agent matchmaking program is the recommendation of the lead editor. This affirms the notion that the manuscript or book proposal is sound enough in concept, content, and style to be ready for agents' eyes and that the project is believed to be a good fit for the program.  Once the recommendation is confirmed, we will make arrangements for program director Karinya Funsett to review the manuscript or proposal along with the results from two detailed questionnaires, one from the author and one from the lead editor, both documenting their respective takes on the manuscript's best attributes and key points of saleability.

Karinya's review is not intended as an editorial one but naturally if she catches anything she feels would improve the manuscript's changes she'll let the author know. It has often proved very helpful to have fresh eyes on a manuscript at the end of the editorial process. The suggestions that come out of this, if any, tend to be for minor tweaks that are easily executed but sometimes nonetheless quite impactful.

The main reason for the review, however, is for Karinya to decide which path she feels would be the most appropriate: TED's going to bat for the manuscript directly, our supporting the author in his or her own submission effort, or some hybrid of the two. It's also so she can get to know the book in order to be able to help the author develop or improve any marketing materials that might aid in the pitching process (synopsis, precis, bio if appropriate, etc.) and come up with the the best strategy as far as which agents to approach and who in the program will be most effective in supporting her efforts in the outreach.

However salable we believe a project to be, this is an unpredictable industry dependent on timing, individual tastes, and market conditions, and as much as we'd love to be able to we can never guarantee that participation in our agent matchmaking program will result in an author's finding a literary agent or signing a publishing contract. What we can guarantee is that we will do everything in our power to increase your chances of securing representation of real quality. We're proud of the successes our program has had in the past and as our process evolves and improves the results are only getting better.

Our support in this effort helps writers stay focused on their writing and keeps them from having to deal with many of the frustrations of trying to land an agent on their own. We lament that today's publishing environment makes the process of finding representation so much more difficult and time-consuming than it once was, but TED is more committed than ever to providing a stellar level of support to our clients in getting their manuscripts the attention they deserve.

The AMP Team

Karinya Funsett: Karinya is the director of our agent matchmaking program and in charge of coordinating all research, development of pitch materials, and much of the direct agent outreach. She reviews all manuscripts recommended for the program and oversees its day-to-day operation. She handles much of the referral and submissions process for many projects, with support from others on the AMP team as appropriate, and makes sure our clients are always up to date on the status of their submissions with the various agents who may be reviewing it.

Karinya studies industry reports and publications, new book deals, publishing trends, and the bestseller lists while watching and tracking the activities of literary agents and developing her own network of agents who share TED's desire to help deserving new talent break into print. We're very careful that every project our agent matchmaking program takes on is sound enough in concept and execution to be welcomed by the agents we submit to.

Renni Browne: As founder of The Editorial Department and one of most experienced editors working in publishing, Renni is a unique and immensely valuable resource for the program. She has long standing relationships with some of the best agents and agencies out there and is a tireless advocate for the manuscripts she loves most.

Ross Browne: While TED has always offered some level of support for authors needing agents at the conclusion of the editorial process, it was Ross who formalized the program that has since gone on to help dozens of good agents and our best writers find each other. He works closely with Karinya in outreach efforts for our clients and and also in the overall strategic development of the program.

Jesse Steele: With new agents coming onto the scene all the time, switching agencies or even hanging out their own shingle after working with established agencies, relationship cultivation has become increasingly vital to the program's operation. Jesse is the program's lead ambassador and her responsibilities range from forging new relationships with agents we think could be good resources for our clients to personally recommending the projects she feels will be the best fit for them.

Costs

Authors participating in our agent matchmaking program will have the support of a talented team of people working hard on their behalf and in many cases a significantly better chance of a conscientious review, thanks to our established relationship with agents and agencies who know the quality of our work and reputation and who welcome referrals from us with manuscripts that we're really excited about.

The program has never been intended as a moneymaker for TED, and the fees we charge are simply to help us cover some of the costs of its operation and expenses. So we charge $1.00 per page for review of a completed manuscript to determine program eligibility (for short works and proposals under 12,500 words, there is instead a flat fee of $75) and $35 per hour for research, outreach, and clerical services.  Shipping, printing, postage, and courier charges are reimbursed at cost.

For more information, please contact Ross Browne at the Tucson office.

Agents and Agencies

Please note that these are just some of the literary agents who are representing or have represented our clients. An asterisk next to the agent's name means the offer for representation came about directly through the channel of our Agent Matchmaking Program.

Richard Abate, then with International Creative Management (ICM) *

Carole Abel, Carole Abel Literary Agency

Kathleen Anderson, Anderson Grinberg Literary Management

Loretta Barrett, Loretta Barrett Books

Mel Berger, William Morris Agency/ Endeavor *

Jamie Brenner, Artists & Artisans

Phillipa Brophey, Sterling Lord Literistic

William Clark, WM Clark Literary Agency *

Claudia Cross, Sterling Lord Literistic *

Joni Evans, William Morris Agency *

Jane Gelfman, Gelfman Scheider Literary Agency, Inc.

Mollie Glick, then with the Jean V. Naggar Agency *

Anna Ghosh, then with Scovil Chichak Galen Literary Agency

Owen Laster, then with the William Morris Agency *

Donald Maass, Donald Maass Literary Agency *

John Hawkins, John Hawkins & Associates *

Jonathan Lazear, Lazear Agency Inc.

Denise Marcil, Denise Marcil Literary Agency *

Alice Martell, The Martell Agency

Jillian Manus, Manus & Associates

Jean Naggar, Jean V. Naggar Agency

Roberta Prior, Roberta Pryor Inc.

Theron Raines, Raines & Raines Literary Agency

Stephanie Kip Rotsan, Levine-Greenberg Literary Agency

Bob Silverstein, Quicksilver Books

Amy Tipton, The Peter Rubie Literary Agency

Steve Troha, Folio Literary Management

Frank Weimann, The Literary Group International *

Gene Winick, McIntosh & Otis *

Andrew Zack, Andrew Zack Literary Agency *

Eligibility

Our Agent Matchmaking Program is reserved for current Editorial Department clients whose work we consider to be exceptionally strong in both concept and execution. Eligibility for the program requires the recommendation of at least one of our editors and approval of our program director.

While there are no absolute generalizations that can be made about what we will and won't accept into the program, here are some things we look for.

Genre: Any adult, young adult, or middle grade fiction. Narrative or prescriptive nonfiction. No picture books unless the author has a significant platform.

Subject Matter: Just about anything that isn't gratuitously hateful, racist, sexist, slanderous, or libelous. And, while we will consider them, be aware that politically divisive books severely limit our submission options.

Concept: We're looking for books with a good deal of conceptual curb appeal and that have something going for them that makes them stand out from others in their category or genre. In category fiction, this usually means a fresh, timely or highly original plot element that has a "wow" factor. (Colleen Hitchcock, for instance, in her romantic suspense novel Rabbit Heart, published by Simon & Schuster, has a protagonist who quite literally loves men to death.) In literary or mainstream fiction, this usually means a book that's built around a character or an experience that seems especially meaningful or interesting and would appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. We get most excited about those novels that speak to something larger than just the characters on the page.  (Navel-gazing memoirs, and/or those mainly of interest to the author's immediate family will not be good candidates, even if the writing is absolutely stunning.)

Plot/Topic: We're open to just about any kind of story and subject matter but are looking for plots that are intelligently conceived and deliciously imaginative on some level, with really well-executed pacing and suspense that's unfailingly engaging to the reader. We love clever twists and well-integrated subplots. And in mainstream and literary fiction especially, we respond best to books where the plot results in some kind of significant change in one or more of the characters.

Originality is less of a factor in category fiction than in mainstream and literary fiction but is nonetheless important. We like stories that are sufficiently believable (relative to the expectation of the genre), that don't make unreasonable demands of readers' patience or intelligence, and are most of all entertaining. Plausibility is key. Scenes or actions created mainly to amp up drama or humor often backfire if they don't come about organically.

We do believe that every novel should be, on some level, a suspense novel where the author has succeeded in cultivating interest in how things turn out. We're not at all averse to small, highly character-driven stories that lack blood, guts, murder, mayhem or other sensationalism, but the quieter or less sensational the plot the stronger the characters need to be.

Characterization: In fiction and narrative nonfiction, we're looking for books with memorable and interesting characters who are suitably convincing in their actions, thinking, and behavior and who are strong enough that readers will have a stake in their objectives. We're very appreciative of well-developed characters whose voices are distinct from one another, but the depth of characterization required is really dependent on the type of book.

Dialogue: We're looking for books where the dialogue is as much an asset to the experience of the novel as the prose style. The best dialogue will be nuanced, smart, and always entertaining. It will be used effectively to advance plot and convey and illuminate characterization as appropriate.

Writing Style: The main thing we're looking for when it comes to prose in fiction and narrative nonfiction is a captivating narrative voice that engenders confidence in the author's ability to make the book a pleasant journey, whatever the destination.

Mechanics: We don't expect perfection, but the manuscript should be mostly free from typos, misspellings, punctuation issues, usage mistakes, format problems and that sort of thing. We do expect conscientious attention to the self-editing points and the effort to avoid amateurish constructions.

Overall Impression: The bottom line? In order to take a manuscript into the program, everyone involved (lead editor included) needs to feel confident that it's something agents with an interest in the genre or subject matter will be glad to have had the chance to review, regardless of whether or not they decide to take it on. Something that speaks well about the author, the editor, and the source of the referral. "Good" is usually not good enough. For the program as a whole to work in everyone's best interests we need the projects we take on to be truly outstanding on some level. We're at our best with works that are strong in concept, brilliant in execution, and really special on some level or another. Timeliness in terms of market trend or current events helps, but that's certainly not a requirement.