New UK Literary Agency

[Paul Whybrow]

Yesterday, I stumbled across a new literary agency, which is accepting submissions directly from authors. Jonathan Ruppin has an impressive track record in British publishing and is seeking new clients to represent. He's "keen to find underrepresented voices."

Refreshingly, he's based outside London, in Cambridge. I intend to fire off a query about my Cornish Detective series as he professes to like crime stories. He's also fond of short stories:

"I like short stories a great deal, but they’re an extraordinarily tough sell. George Orwell noted in an essay published in the 1930s that the British had little taste for the form and things haven’t improved since. So, if you have a book-length short story collection, you’re welcome to send your best one or two, but they’ll need to change my life."

About

As with any query to agents, it's wise to check their Twitter and Facebook postings to get a sense of what they're currently after.

Jonathan Ruppin (@tintiddle) | Twitter

 

[Luciferette]

I saw this, too, Paul. I really appreciate his bid to attract non-Londoncentric writers, and guess he'll be inundated! His twitter feed is interesting; I shall be keeping an eye on the agency's progress...

 

[Paul Whybrow]

I think that an unknown author, trying to place their debut novel, stands a better chance with a new agency or an independent publisher—especially, if they're based outside London. Several small outfits, such as Bluemoose and Salt, have done very well for themselves by taking a risk on a new writer, who went on to win literary prizes and rack up decent sales.

Having said that, I remain as perplexed by the book game as ever. I queried Jonathan Ruppin, expecting, as is common, that it would be at least four months before he replied. But no, he rejected me within 72 hours!

The literary agent sent what is probably his form letter of rejection, which says my 'story isn't distinctive enough'. Even though I reckon that's a catch-all reason for saying 'No', I still felt slightly miffed. My first novel Who Kills A Nudist? features naturists, drug-runners, gay sadomasochistic sex, a torture dungeon, gun smugglers, luxury yachts, incestuous gay twins, human trafficking, supercars worth millions and a villain who blows himself up in an Edwardian steamboat, to avoid being arrested. How is this not distinctive!

Perhaps lots of other authors have written crime novels featuring these things....

I know, I'll make my detective a tuba-playing elephant—that's more distinctive!

 

[Luciferette]

Paul, that sounds like one hell of a ride...I'm totally with you on the inexplicableness (?) of this industry. My first MS is now back with Curtis Brown, after all sorts of headf*cks. Honestly feel this is just a slow march towards death or publication, and at least death's a definite...

 

[Paul Whybrow]

It is puzzling when I see what does get published, and I can't for the life of me see what attracted the literary agent and publisher to a story. I recently gave up on reading a crime novel, as it was so poorly written. It was the third by a florist from Kent—nothing against florists, but it read in a chatty style like she was talking to someone ordering a bouquet! To my utter astonishment, I found that her first novel won the Richard & Judy Prize for a debut, which caused a bidding war by several publishers that reached a six-figure offer.

The plot, such as it was, galloped from one unlikely coincidence to another, narrated by a female artist who I started to suspect was going to be an unreliable narrator in the style of Gone Girl and Girl on a Train. I gave up at the point where the police couldn't tie an abandoned car to an attacked woman with amnesia, even though they knew her name and the vehicle was carrying number plates. Apparently, the author hadn't heard of the DVLA at Swansea or even that fingerprints and forensic analysis exist. Whoever edited the manuscript was similarly ignorant. How does rubbish like this get published?

To make matters worse, she'd set the story in Cornwall! Grrhhh....