We have heard tell of a miracle of sorts. While Ballantine Books has long had a policy of agented-only submissions, two editors have said they will consider queries from unagented authors. Charlotte Herscher (editor) and Arielle Zibrak (editorial assitant) will accept query letters (standard stuff: paragraph about your book, info about the author, contact information). Both editors are seeking well-plotted big romances (no clue, we’re sorry to say). Word count is approximately 100,000.
2 thoughts on “Wherein Rules Are Loosened”
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Actually it isn’t that odd for big name publishers to have a couple of less exaulted but ambitious editorial staffers who will look at unagented material. I recall not that not that long ago an acquaintance in the business asked to spread the word that unagented unpublished writers could submit to her. I’d write her name but the picture has changed in the year since she said it would be fine to hear from unagented unpubbed. She’s now up to her eyeballs and totally uninterested.
The drawback to these new young blood editorial types is that they don’t have a lot of say over the publishing calendar and the projects they do push through don’t usually receive the same enthusiasm as a sr. editor’s writers.
dang, I wish I could edit my posts!!!! I just looked at the names you have there and Herscher doesn’t fit the picture I made!