Booker Albert Literary is Here!

It’s my great pleasure to welcome the lovely ladies of Booker Albert Literary Agency to The Hook today. Agents Brittany Booker and Jordy Albert, formerly of Marisa Corvisiero Literary, combined forces to bring this awesome agency to life back in December 2012, and since that time have signed a terrific gathering of authors and an impressive sales list. http://www.thebookeralbertagency.com/ . They are currently open to submissions and would love to hear from you. I’m super-excited to be interning with these girls and their other fabulous interns, Sam Farkas and Caitlin Hemphill, and look forward to many great things ahead for this team.

That said, let’s begin by telling us if there is any agency news you both are particularly thrilled about? (Upcoming releases, new clients, etc.)

Brittany  - This is a very hard question for me, because I feel all thirteen of my clients are amazing and have had accomplishments this year. Cassie Mae’s Friday Night Alibi recently released from Random House on July 29^th, and she also has Pulling The Switch, and How To Date A Nerd coming out this year from Random House and Swoon Romance. Theresa Paolo’s (Never) Again is releasing from Berkley in October. I can’t leave out Melissa Giorgio whose novel The Sight Seer is climbing the chart on Amazon. We’ll be announcing another big deal soon, just waiting on the go-ahead e-mail. I’d also like to say that I’m just thrilled to have the amazing clients that I do have with me. 
 
Jordy - We are excited about Jayne Denker’s book Down on Love coming out on November 21, 2013!
That sounds fantastic! As the literary landscape is constantly changing, are there any noteworthy market trends you notice that could prove to be relevant?

Brittany - Well, I would definitely say that New Adult books have become very trendy as of lately. My last few deals have been NA books, so I think any genre NA has a great chance of selling, or landing an agent.

Jordy  - NA is definitely strong right now; contemporary especially.

To each of you: Fill in the blank: “If I see one more manuscript starring a seventeen-year-old paranormal badass witch/ghost/vampire hunter_, I’ll run screaming from the room.”

Jordy - Totally agree! I would also say characters that have had a terrible home life.

And while we’re on the topic, what would you say is the most common Query glitch you come across?

Brittany - I would say just not reading the guidelines. It’s a very simple process to follow them and it helps us out in the reading. Also, when authors pitch to more than one agent at a time, it’s not a great way to start your pitching process.
 

Jordy - Agree with Brittany! However, one of the oddest glitches I’ve come across is a query with no name. It’s happened more than once.

On the other hand, what does your dream list look like?

Jordy: YA/NA (sci-fi/fantasy, contemporary)...especially with a strong romantic element. But mainly I’d love to see great chemistry between characters.

Brittany: My dream list consists of any genre NA, YA Contemporary with a male perspective, and YA multicultural. 

What element makes a submission stand out most in your mind? Plot, voice, pacing, prose? Or some combination of each?

Brittany - I would say for me, I like to see a little bit of the voice in a query. Having the plot written nicely into the query, without bombarding the query, is always refreshing. However, I like for the author’s voice to be portrayed in the query, so I see a little bit before I request a partial.

Jordy - Voice. Definitely voice. Something in the sample pages just has to click.
Is there any advice you can offer to writers facing the unfortunate, yet unavoidable sting of rejection?

Brittany - My advice is pretty generic. Never give up and be patient. There are so many agents and editors to look at your work. Most likely, you’ll get plenty of rejections, but it only takes one yes for you to move forward.

Jordy - Keep writing!

 

Finally, what do you consider to be your favorite book of all time?

Brittany - This is the hardest question out of all of them. I would probably say The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I recommend everyone to read this.

Jordy: Hmmm this is reeeeally difficult! I loved To Kill A Mockingbird. One of my most favorite recent reads is Poison Princess by Kresley Cole.

Wow! What a terrific interview! To thank all the readers for coming by Jordy and Brittany have provided the chance for you to win two awesome prizes! Be sure to take a moment to check the Rafflecopter below (READ MORE) for your chance to win! Also "like"the BA Team on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Booker-Albert-Literary-Agency/366791766746553
It’s been awesome having the ladies here. Stay tuned for more wonderful things to come from Booker Albert Literary Agency.

 

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