Meet Noah Ballard

Tags

Curtis Brown Literary Agency, Literary Agent, Pitching Agents, Writing, Writing Conferences

Noah Ballard is a good guy. A nice guy. Raised in NJ, Noah traveled to the Midwest to attend the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Upon earning his degree, he returned east to work for the Emma Sweeny Agency. Now, he’s settled close to home and family at the literary agency, Curtis Brown, Ltd. in NYC.

But this good guy will go loco with a few simple words.   Playful – Pleasant – Predictable.

Don’t say these words. Don’t do it. Because he’s a nice guy. We don’t want him to go loco—not yet.

Let him go “good” loco over your amazing manuscript. Noah is looking for thrillers, upmarket fiction, and noir contemporary. He wants provocative authors. He’s in the “now” – so nothing from last season, smarmy, or outdated. Hook him in the opener by a cute little Corgi with bloody paws. Give him characters with bright green hair and tattoos of ancient Sumerian gods. Thrill him with a chase scene, taking him backwards, the wrong way, through the Chunnel – oh wait, that’s been done before. But he’s cool if you do it again; with panache and no – ‘ly’ words. Challenge his intellect with a Kobayashi Maru scenario, then add a few RKO twists and turns.

Look, this isn’t his first rodeo. He’s been all over the country and the world, presenting at conferences, workshops, and generally enthused about writing and publishing. His agency represents bestselling authors and Pulitzer prize winners, so he’s not easily manipulate by trends. He longs for the underserved voice. He particularly dislikes when authors try to school readers. His advice: don’t start any piece of writing with the definition of a word. Give him a good story that’s honest and relatable. Give him vigorous dialogue. Speech, he reminds us, is what characters do to each other. It’s just as interactive as punching a villain in the face. Above all, Noah wants to be different after he reads your powerful book. He’s picky, street-wise, tough.

He’s even quit smoking.

Noah will be taking pitches at the 2020 GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ on Saturday, March 14 (advance registration required).   When you query or pitch to Noah:

• Do … be polite and respectful.
• Don’t … try to shock or disgust him.
• Do … be confident.
• Don’t … stalk him (you won’t get published and it’s illegal).
• Do … provide a query with just enough info about your finished manuscript (and you) that will make him ask for sample pages. Think of queries as a window display and agents as window shoppers. You want the agents to come in and buy from your shop.

And oh yeah, he lives in Brooklyn. You don’t mess with people from Brooklyn. They go bad loco over tepid literature.

 

To read more about Noah Ballard, click on the following links:

https://www.curtisbrown.com/agents/noah-ballard

http://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/noah-ballard

http://pennwriters.org/noah-ballard-interview

 

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Bernadette Sukley, Write Stuff Writers Conference™ Flash Literature Contest Organizer and Chairman of the 2016 GLVWG Anthology, ‘The Write Connections’, has been researching, writing and editing for over 25 years. Her work has been featured in national and international publications. Her focus is human interest, health and lifestyle. She’s also written and edited guides, pamphlets, columns, stories, and novels. She’s published two novels (A Saving Hurricane, Find Me a Woman) and a nonfiction book (Made in Pennsylvania) within the last eight years.

You can find Bernadette on her website: https://www.bernadettewsukley.com/, as well as her Facebook Page, and Twitter.

An Interview with Tia Mele, Agent with Talcott Notch Literary

Tags

Literary Agent, MG & YA, Non-Fiction Sports, Pitching Agents, Romance, Talcott Notch Literary Agency, Women's Fiction

Article by Albert Tucher

 

Tia Mele, agent for Talcott Notch Literary Services, will be at the GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ on March 23, 2019, to take pitches from conferees for women’s fiction, romance, YA and MG on a first come, first serve basis.

To sign up for a pitch session, follow the instructions on the registration form. Your actual appointment time will be assigned after registration is closed, and will be attached to conference materials upon signing in.  

GLVWG member, Albert Tucher, had a chance to ask Mele a few questions.

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If I were to meet you at a conference, what is something you would tell me about yourself that would be intriguing?

I love math! I do algebra problems in my free time because I find it really relaxing, and I went up to calculus in high school and took pre-calculus in college. People think it’s strange because I was an English major who took a bunch of math classes throughout my college career, but I just love numbers and solving problems mathematically. It’s probably not surprising that on those “which side of your brain is dominant” tests, the result is always that I use both sides equally. 

What drew you to becoming an agent?

I learned what an agent was when I started writing seriously right after high school, and I was looking into how to get published. I saw agents as being a little like fairy godmothers, and I wanted to be a part of making author dreams come true!

When you get a submission, how far into it do you get before you know this one is not for you?

 Sometimes I only get as far as the query, because the submission will be in a genre I don’t represent. If it is in my wheelhouse, I read the whole query and first ten pages before making a decision.

What are the current trends in publishing that you think we should know about?

I don’t want to call diversity a trend because I think it’s here to stay, but diversity is huge in publishing right now. Diversity is one of those ‘trends’ that you can follow because it isn’t going to disappear by the time you finish your book. I’ve noticed a lot of YA fantasy over the last few years. With the successes of Simon Vs. The Homosapien Agenda (Love, Simon) and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before in film, I’ve heard a lot of editors say they’re looking for swoony, sweet YA romances across genders and sexualities, which I have always loved, so I’m especially excited for this trend.

What do aspiring authors do in seeking an agent that drives you crazy? In other words, what should we avoid doing?

 Please don’t send mass queries (putting a hundred different agents in the subject line, or cc/bcc’ing us on the email). Do follow the guidelines on our website for submitting your query. Also, your query should tell me about your book. I get a lot of queries that are mostly about the author or the writing process, and don’t tell me about the characters or plot. I try to emphasize relevant biographical information in queries. Your bio should tell an agent your writing background (if you have one, it’s not a requirement to be published!) and what makes you the best person to write the book. For example, if your book is about a ballerina, you should tell me that you did ballet for ten years, but not that you have twenty-seven dogs.

What is your favorite place in the world to visit? (Mine is the Big Island of Hawaii.)

 Oh, man, this is a hard question. I’ve been so lucky to visit some amazing places. I think I have to go with two: Paris, France and Nashville, Tennessee. 

And finally, tell us what you’re specifically looking for as an agent.

I’m looking to build my list with middle grade and young adult projects in any genre. I’m especially interested in dark middle grade and contemporary YA. Please send me your LGBT+ stories, as well as stories featuring visible and invisible illnesses, especially relating to mental health. I like everything from deep, terrifying thrillers to sweet, heartwarming romances. Sports plots are always interesting to me, especially if they involve baseball or softball. Dogs are a huge part of my life, so I’m all for dog-related stories as well.

I’m seeking limited adult projects in women’s fiction and romance.

In non-fiction, I’m looking for anything sports related, especially baseball, football, or basketball. I’m also open to cookbooks from chefs who have a following from a blog or channel.

 

You can contact Tia at tmele@talcottnotch.net , and follow her Twitter Feed @tiathetiger.

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Article by Albert Tucher

Albert Tucher  came to writing late, after twenty years spent pursuing an operatic singing career. Always busy, Albert could never get to the point where he could give up his day job as a librarian.  So, he started writing novels and sending them out to agents. 

See what Albert is up to on his blog at WritersResidence.com.

How to Prepare for that Editor or Agent Appointment

Tags

Editor Interviews, Elevator Pitch, Pitching Agents, Writing, Writing Conferences

A week away from the 2018 Write Stuff Conference™, GLVWG’s Donna Brennan offers some advice for attendees with scheduled agent interviews.

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When you go to a conference, you often have the opportunity to meet with an agent or editor and pitch your work. Depending on the conference, you may get one appointment or you may get several. The duration of the appointment varies too, typically ranging from five to fifteen minutes.

• How do you select which agent or editor to meet and pitch your work?
• How do you prepare for that meeting?
• What should you actually say at the meeting?

Here’s some advice addressing those questions.

 

 How to Select Which Agent or Editor to Meet With

The longer the list of available agents and editors, the more daunting the task may appear. But look at it as an opportunity to find the best fit for you and your work.

First, read the bios listed on the conference website, paying special attention to what their current needs are. Don’t pitch a fantasy to someone who is only interested in contemporary romance. Then, go to their websites (usually listed in the bio) for more information about them and their agency or publishing house, including titles of books they represent or publish. Read reviews and summaries of those books online. If you can, read the first few pages online, too.

Do they have a blog? Read that, too. That often helps you to get a feel for what kind of person they are. You want to make sure they are someone you would enjoy working with.

Pick your top choices, but also have some back-up choices. Appointments usually fill up quickly with folks who register for the conference early, getting first dibs on available time slots. So register as soon as you’re sure you’ll be attending.

An Interview with Noah Ballard

Tags

Curtis Brown Literary Agency, Literary Agent, Pitching Agents, Writing, Writing Conferences

Noah Ballard is an agent at Curtis Brown, Ltd. He received his BA in English from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and began his career in publishing at Emma Sweeney Agency where he sold foreign rights for the agency in addition to building his own client list.

Noah specializes in literary debuts, upmarket thrillers, and narrative nonfiction, and he is always on the look-out for honest and provocative new writers.

David A. Miller, III had a few questions for Noah on how he works with new writers and speaks about trends in the publishing market.

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David:  As an agent, you work with writers, hopefully, long-term, but who are strangers to you at first. Do you look at more than the work submitted to determine that relationship?

Noah:       When I’m meeting writers in person, I look for a positive rapport and a willingness to collaborate. Once a manuscript is sent off to an agent, it is no longer the writer’s alone, and an interest in working with me (and inevitably a publisher) on making the book as strong as possible is often equally as important as the talent on the page. It is that meeting of the minds that leads to a productive relationship together beyond the debut work.

David:  Writers often say they became writers because they have to write. What drew you to becoming an agent?

Noah:       I became an agent almost accidentally. I was working on a novel at the end of college and had signed with Emma Sweeney Agency. Ultimately nothing came of that novel, but it was my introduction to Emma. When I graduated and returned to the NYC-area, she knew me and my taste, and when a job opened up, she offered it to me. While I still do write from time to time, my passion now is using the experiences I’ve accrued to help other writers accomplish their goals—while keeping in mind what it was like to be on the other end of that relationship.