Laura Bradford has fourteen years of professional experience as a literary agent, editor, writer and bookseller. She understands the importance of having a friendly but critical eye on your side, a career strategist in your corner and a guide who can lead you through the travails of publication. As an editorial-focused agent, Laura works closely with her clients developing proposals and manuscripts for the most appropriate markets. Laura formed Bradford Literary Agency in 2001.

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Tell me about your agency and yourself.

The Bradford Literary Agency is a boutique agency and we offer a full range of representation services to authors who are both published and pre-published. We specialize in all types of romance (including category), romantica/erotica, women's fiction, mystery, thrillers and young adult. Some select non-fiction as well. Our goal is to form long term partnerships with our clients in order to build strong, sustainable careers.

What kind of book grabs your attention and makes you consider wanting to submit it?

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For many years now, I’ve been quoting a passage from Chapter One of Mark Twain’s immortal Huckleberry Finn. No, it’s not one of the passages that makes the book, to a certain segment of the population, controversial. Or is it?

The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways . . .

When you got to the table you couldn't go right to eating, but you had to wait for the widow to tuck down her head and grumble a little over the victuals, though there warn't really anything the matter with them—that is, nothing only everything was cooked by itself. In a barrel of odds and ends it is different; things get mixed up, and the juice kind of swaps around, and the things go better.

I’ve been accused of being anal-retentive, but even I don’t demand that each of my food items be piled separately on the plate, with space between, like miniature fortresses of solitude. No, like Huck, I like my things mixed up, and the juice swapped around. I like the different flavors and textures teasing each other. I like combining sharp and sweet, pungent and mild, crunchy and chewy and soft.

But you can’t make a good minestrone, for example, by just throwing everything into a pot, cooking, and stirring. You need to trim your vegetables, saute your onions, measure your spices. Are you using pasta? Watch out, it might get flabby if overcooked. Are you tempted to add maraschino cherries? Then you’re on your own—I’m taking my metaphor and going home. [Read more...]

M.J. Rose is the International bestselling author of nine novels and the creator of the first marketing service for authors - AuthorBuzz. com. She's also on the founding board of ITW and runs the blog, Buzz, Balls & Hype.

M.J. had this to say:

Staying Alive

I think the single most difficult and yet liberating moment I had in publishing was when I found out that ultimately my success depended not on me or the reader, not on my talent or the responsiveness of the audience but by the vagaries of the publishing industry.

That truth was provided to me by a friend, who happens to be a very good agent, one day over lunch, when he simply said, no matter what you do for your book, you can't make yourself a bestseller.

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Welcome industry guest Tamela Hancock Murray, an agent with Hartline Literary Agency and the author of numerous published books.

Tell us about your agency and yourself.

I live in Northern Virginia with my awesome husband of 24 years. We have been blessed with two beautiful daughters. I like to say I have the best clients in the world! Find out more at: www.tamelahancockmurray.com

Hartline Literary Agency has several agents. Joyce Hart, our CEO, has been with CBA since 1978. Terry Burns, Diana Flegal, and Erik Schmidgal are my other colleagues. I have been with Hartline since 2001. I love Hartline because we are the agency with a heart. We give our clients personal attention and the agents enjoy working together. Find out more at: www.hartlineliterary.com

What kind of book grabs your attention and makes you consider wanting to submit it? [Read more...]