Agenting: The New Editing

November 24th, 2004 · No Comments
by Booksquare

Paul Bresnick struck out on his own not too long ago after various stops at the editorial desk, dot-com world, music writing, and agenting with others. The agenting was especially alluring because it allowed him to fulfill his first desire: editing.

“By the end of my career as a trade editor, I felt that I was spending most of my time working for the marketing department as opposed to being an editor.”

Being the pragmatic sort of agency, Bresnick is looking for a wide range of works, except genre fiction. We imagine this level of pragmatism is forthcoming. We loved the detail behind Bresnick’s decision not to limit himself — apparently, the margins for first fiction by literary authors aren’t necessarily lucrative, and, in addition to non-fiction,

he’s made a conscious decision to go after quality, sophisticated commercial fiction. He’ll take on any novel you can label with a specific category—a historical thriller, say, or women’s fiction—anything but genre fiction.

We do appreciate a publishing professional with a streak of practicality. Contact information: The Paul Bresnick Literary Agency, LLC, 115 West 29th Street, 10th floor, New York, New York 10001, (212j) 239-3166, (212) 239-3165 (fax). For more juicy details, check out the article at MediaBistro.

  • Pitching an Agent: The Paul Bresnick Literary Agency (Note: AvantGuild members only)

File Under: Agents