Agent Spotlight: Lauren Ruth

This week's Agent Spotlight features Lauren Ruth of BookEnds, LLC.

Status: Open to submissions, actively building her list.

About: “Lauren Ruth started her publishing career as an intern at Simon & Schuster's Touchstone/Fireside imprint while earning her B.A. in English language and literature from Pace University. Shortly thereafter, she completed her second internship at BookEnds, where she fell in love with the literary agency side of the publishing industry. In February 2011, she joined BookEnds as a full-time literary assistant, and very soon after began to build her own client list. She will soon have her master's degree in book publishing. In fiction, Lauren is looking for: romance—all genres; literary fiction; commercial fiction, especially up-market urban fantasy with romantic elements; middle-grade—all subgenres; young adult—all subgenres; mystery, with a strong focus on cozies; women's fiction on the literary side; and smart chick lit, a la The Devil Wears Prada. On the nonfiction side, she's looking for memoir, parenting and family, relationships, food and lifestyle, business, popular science, popular culture, and popular psychology.” (Link)

About the Agency:

“BookEnds Literary Agency first opened its doors in 1999 as a book packaging company. At the time, we were looking to take our own fresh and fun ideas and find just the right people to create the books publishers were looking for. Over time, we missed working on fiction and seeing what could come from an author's imagination as well as an author's platform. So not two years after opening its doors, BookEnds changed its literary status to Agency.

“Despite a change in name, BookEnds continues to operate with the same attitude as when we started: We're about achieving dreams and doing what we love. Representing fiction and nonfiction for a primarily adult market, BookEnds agents continue to live their dreams while helping authors achieve theirs.” (Link)

Web Presence:

BookEnds website.

BookEnds blog.

SlushPile Tales.

Twitter.

Facebook.

LinkedIn.

QueryTracker.

What She's Looking For:

Genres/Specialties:

Fiction: “Romance—all genres, literary fiction, commercial fiction—especially up-market, urban fantasy with romantic elements, middle-grade—all subgenres, young adult—all subgenres, mystery with a strong focus on cozies, women's fiction on the literary side, smart chick lit a la The Devil Wears Prada.”

Non-Fiction: “Parenting, relationships, business, popular science, popular culture, popular psychology, memoirs of highly extraordinary people and experiences.” (Link)

From an Interview (08/2011):

“In my slush pile, I would really like to see more romance heroes with whom I’m head-over-heels in love. I’m getting really sick of the romance hero who is drop-dead gorgeous and super-strong, but otherwise boring as dirt. Also, since I’m listing things I’m really, really tired of seeing, the top of that list for me would be memoirs of authors’ childhoods. Unless your childhood was over-the-top extraordinary (like Jeanette Walls’) then this isn’t very marketable.” (Link)

From an Interview (07/2011):

“Since I'm just starting to build my client list, I'm looking very broadly for submissions. Literary fiction is the love of my life, but I rarely find something that I can sell to an editor and that I enjoy reading myself. I represent and love romance (all subgenres), women's fiction, chick lit, steampunk, historical fiction, mystery, middle-grade, YA, science fiction and fantasy. I have a special affinity for YA, which has been some of the best reading I've enjoyed since breaking into the industry. I also represent nonfiction.

“My favorite kind of book is the kind that is a commercial success but is also literary and beautiful.” (Link)

What She Isn't Looking For:

Epic fantasy (urban fantasy is acceptable), science-fiction, poetry, short stories, essay collections, biography, thrillers, Westerns, or true-crime. (Link)

Editorial Agent?

“…I send manuscripts back to my clients with suggested revisions all the time. I want their work to be as polished and perfect as we can get it before we send it off to editors. I brainstorm, offer advice, nit-pick (sometimes), chat and champion for my authors. I'm very passionate about my work, and I'm just as passionate about theirs.” (Link)

Clients:

There are agency titles on the website.

Ms. Ruth’s clients include: Stacey Kennedy, among others.

Sales:

As of this posting, Ms. Ruth is listed on Publisher’s Marketplace as having made 1 deal in the last 12 months and 1 overall. Recent deals include 1 paranormal.

NOTE: PM is usually not a complete representation of sales.

Query Methods:

E-mail: Yes (only).

Snail-Mail: No.

Online-Form: No.

Submission Guidelines (always verify):

Send a query in the body of an e-mail with the word “query” in the subject line. Query only one agent at the agency.

See the BookEnds website for complete, up-to-date submission guidelines.

Query Tips:

“Many, many agents do not like pasted pages at the end of queries, but I really don't mind them. Sometimes I read them, sometimes I don't. My policy is, I'm not required to read your pages until I've specifically requested them, but I might if you tack them on.” (Link)

“I think the biggest mistakes an author can make in a query have to do with confidence. It’s a turn-off for me when the author is overconfident to the point of cocky (‘If you pass on this, you’ll be passing on the next box-office hit’). But when authors have no confidence at all in their work (‘I’m hoping that there might be potential here for you to maybe like this, but I do admit it needs work and…’) I have trouble mustering confidence in it too.” (Link)

See the FAQ on the BookEnds website for additional agency info and submission tips.

Response Times:

The agency has a stated response time of 4-6 weeks for queries and 12 weeks for requested material. They strive to respond to all submissions. If you haven’t received a response to your query after 8 weeks, they ask that you simply resend the query. If you haven’t received a response to a partial or full after 12 weeks, e-mail the agent requesting a status update. (Link)

Stats on the web show Ms. Ruth responding to queries and requested materials within days to 8 or 9 weeks, usually between 6-8 weeks.

What's the Buzz?

Lauren Ruth joined BookEnds, LLC as a literary assistant in February 2011 and began taking on her own clients mid-year. BookEnds is a well-respected agency with one of the best agency blogs. I recommend following Lauren’s blog SlushPileTales and Twitter @LiteraryLauren.

For information on BookEnds’ self-publishing /e-publishing ventures, see this post, and the agency’s AbsoluteWrite thread.

Worth Your Time:

Interviews:

Agent Interview with Lauren Ruth at Blackbird in my Window (08/2011).

Interview with an Agent: Lauren Ruth at Mother. Write. (Repeat.) (08/2011).

Interview with Agent Lauren Ruth of BookEnds, LLC at Love Ya (07/2011).

Blog Stuff:

Ms. Ruth critiques one writer’s query each week on her blog, SlushPileTales. The feature is called Query Dice and provides insight into her query preferences.

Outside these critiques she posts anecdotes and advice related to writing and querying. Definitely read through the archives, perhaps back to June 2011 when she officially opened to queries.

Around the Web:

For conferences Ms. Ruth will be attending, see the News/Deals page on the BookEnds website or the Conferences page on her blog.

BookEnds, LLC thread on AbsoluteWrite.

BookEnds, LLC on P&E ($, Recommended).

Contact:

Please see the BookEnds website for contact and query information.

Profile Details:

Last updated: 1/12/12.

Agent Contacted For Review? Yes.

Last Reviewed By Agent? 1/12/12.

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Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at agentspotlight(at)gmail(dot)com

Note: These agent profiles presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. They are not interviews. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found herein is subject to change.