Middle Grade Ninja Episode 211: Literary Agent Tamar Rydzinski

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Tamar Rydzinski and I discuss her career in publishing, specifically her time at Sanford Greenburger Associates and the Laura Dail Literary Agency, where she became vice president and director of subrights, and now as the president and founder of Context Literary. We talk about the specifics of how she evaluates royalties from publishers, how she pitches those publishers, avoiding industry burnout, the types of projects she’s interested in, how she connects with protagonists, why books should model healthy relationships, how to make the mundane epic, and so much more.

Click here to see Tamar Rydzinski face The 7 Questions.

 

Tamar has always had a strong love for the written word. Her goal for her authors is to reach their audience wherever they are, and she is proud of helping them stay ahead of the curve. Tamar began her career at Sanford Greenburger Associates. She then joined Laura Dail Literary Agency, where she became vice president and director of subrights.

ContextLit.com

Middle Grade Ninja Episode 43: Literary Agent Carrie Pestritto

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Middle Grade Ninja is available on Soundcloud, Stitcher, itunes, Podbean, Podblaster, RadioPublic, blubrry, Listen Notes, Google Play, and many other fine locations.

Carrie Pestritto and I chat about all kinds of fun stuff like Ancient Aliens and simulation theory. At times this episode basically becomes "The Middle Grade Ninja Experience." Not to worry, Esteemed Audience, we also talk about books and publishing and how to get a literary agent's attention; all the things you tune in regularly to hear about. Carrie Pestritto walks us through everything from evaluating a query and a manuscript to finding a book deal to building your author platform, planning your writing career, and beyond.

Carrie Pestritto worked at Writers House and Prospect Agency before becoming part of the LDLA team. She earned her BA in English, cum laude, from Amherst College in 2009, also spending a year studying abroad at St. Catherine's College, Oxford University.

As an agent, she loves the thrill of finding new authors with strong, unique voices and working closely with her clients.  Carrie always strives to help create books that will introduce readers to new worlds and is drawn in by relatable characters, meticulous world-building, and unusual, compelling premises.

Find her on Twitter at @literarycarrie and read her blog here.

LiteraryCarrie.wixsite.com

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ManuscriptWishList.com

Middle Grade Ninja Episode 20: Literary Agent Elana Roth Parker

To watch new episodes as they air, go to YouTube and subscribe.

Middle Grade Ninja is available on Soundcloud, Stitcher, itunes, Podbean, Podblaster, RadioPublic, blubrry, Listen Notes, Google Play, and many other fine locations.

Literary Agent Elana Roth Parker and I discuss her career as an editor and a literary agent (and a few other jobs). We talk about how authors should evaluate agents as well as how she evaluates potential clients, including what one author did to rule themselves out during a potential offer call. Bonus: you'll get to hear about a possible close encounter. This is a wonderfully informative conversation with a seasoned expert you don't want to miss.

Click here to see Elana Roth Parker face the 7 Questions.

Elana Roth Parker is a Detroit-based creative type of the word variety.

Elana has a few college degrees that explain where she came from and where she is now: one in English literature from Barnard College and one in Bible from the Jewish Theological Seminary.

The magic happened when she lucked into her dream internship at Nickelodeon Magazine—a career in children's content was born. Book publishing followed, and over the next 15 years Elana went from editor to agent, with some stops in marketing and content strategy along the way. A literary agent for 10+ years, she currently represents children's book authors and illustrators at Laura Dail Literary Agency.

After 17 years in New York City, Elana and her creative director husband relocated to her native Michigan, where she now drives around their two sons in a minivan.

Elana.me

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7 Questions For: Literary Agent Tamar Rydzinski

Tamar Rydzinski worked at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates prior to joining the Laura Dail Literary Agency, where she is now vice president. She graduated from Yeshiva University in 2003 with a major in literature and a minor in business. 

Tamar is not interested in prescriptive or practical non-fiction, humor, coffee table books or children’s books (meaning anything younger than middle grade). She is interested in everything else that is well-written and has great characters, including graphic novels. A fantastic query letter is essential – “you need to make me want to read your book, and be excited to read it,” she says, “with those first couple of paragraphs.”

Follow her on twitter @trydzinski

For more information, check out my friends Natalie Aguirre and Casey McCormick's wonderful blog, Literary Rambles.

 

And now Tamar Rydzinski faces the 7 Questions:


Question Seven: What are your top three favorite books?

Hardest question ever! And it probably/definitely changes based on my mood. 

Limiting it to kids, and not counting LDLA authors, of course:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (or anything by Sherman Alexie, really)

Chime by Franny Billingsley

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

                                   

Question Six: What are your top three favorite movies and television shows?

TV shows: 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Firefly

Chopped (or pretty much anything on the Food Network)

Movies:

Dirty Dancing

The Princess Bride

Bridget Jones's Diary

Question Five: What are the qualities of your ideal client?

Someone who works hard! And someone who communicates, who tells me what they need. Someone who is respectful. And I will do the same for my clients!

Question Four: What sort of project(s) would you most like to receive a query for?

Right now -- science fiction, mystery, thriller. But I also want anything and everything that makes me say, "wow." I'm in this business because I love books, and I want my submissions to remind me of that.

  

Question Three: What is your favorite thing about being an agent? What is your least favorite thing?

My favorite thing is discovering that manuscript that I absolutely fall in love with (see above answer :) Then working with that author to help get his or her book into the hands of readers.

My least favorite is when those books don't get into the hands of readers for whatever reason. 

Question Two: What one bit of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring writer? (feel free to include as many other bits of wisdom as you like)

Write what you love. Do whatever you can to make your books successful. And don't compare yourself or your career to anyone else! That can only bring you heartache. 

Question One: If you could have lunch with any writer, living or dead, who would it be? Why?
 

Marlowe. To see if he's really Shakespeare or not! Seriously. I have been thinking about this since high school.

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