Elaine serves as General Counsel to several writers’ organizations, including Washington Romance Writers, advising them on non-profit and other associational matters. For more information about specific areas of practice, see Areas of Practice.
She has more than twenty-two years’ experience as an attorney in these fields, and is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Virginia. She holds a B.A. from Randolph Macon Woman’s College (Phi Beta Kappa), a M.Ed. from the University of Maryland, and her J.D. from the National Law Center at George Washington University.
She writes and lectures frequently on publishing and freedom of information topics and for several years taught a media law course at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In 1991 she drafted legislation to amend the District of Columbia Freedom of Information Act on behalf of the Mayor’s Office. She is a member of the American Bar Association (Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section, and Communications Law Forum) and District of Columbia Bar (Estates, Trusts & Probate and the Arts, Entertainment and Sports Law Sections)
Her love of books drove her in 2001 to begin offering services as a literary agent. In that capacity, she represents authors of commercial fiction, including women’s fiction, romances, mysteries and thrillers. She defines women’s fiction and romance broadly to include “chick lit,” erotica, and a full range of works from light contemporaries to dark historicals. She is drawn to good stories with strong, believable characters. She is a member of the Association of Authors’ Representatives, Inc. and is an RWA-recognized agent. She also is an associate member of both Romance Writers of America and Novelists, Inc. She regularly attends a number of writers’ conferences and has judged several chapter contests.

We represent:

We represent only commercial fiction, including women’s fiction, mysteries and thrillers, and YA fiction, and negotiate with all the major publishers in North America. We market subsidiary rights for our clients and have affiliations with sub-agents for film rights and translation rights internationally.
We define women’s fiction broadly to include all varieties of romance, chick lit, romantic suspense, and other stories about and of interest to women. Among romances, we handle everything from historical to contemporary, from traditional sweet romances to erotica, from light and funny to dark and gothic. We also include multi-cultural, paranormal, and fantasy romances, although not time-travel or inspirational stories. While we are primarily interested in single-title works, we will consider talented category writers who also want to break into single title. We will consider mysteries of all types (cozies, hard-boiled, etc.) and thrillers (legal, medical, although not political), provided the characters are believable and the plots well-constructed.

We do not represent:

We do NOT handle Children’s Books, Screenplays, or any Non-fiction.

Submission Guidelines

If you email us your query letter, do not include any attachments. All material you want us to consider must be in the text of your email. Also, do not expect us to review a website to gather information about your project.

You can expect to hear a response from us within one to two weeks of submission of an email query. Those sent by regular mail may take a little longer.

Please note that everyone must begin the submission process with a query letter. If you send us any part of your completed manuscript without first querying us, we will return it unread.

Step 2: If based on your query letter, we ask you to send a partial submission

If we like your story concept, we will send you a letter requesting a synopsis and the first three chapters of your manuscript. Please send only the requested materials. If your chapters are particularly long or short, please send no more than 50 pages.

We recognize that it takes a very different set of skills to write a synopsis as opposed to a novel, so here are some tips. Again, there are no hard and fast rules for a synopsis, but here is, generally, what we hope to see:

• Approximately 3-5 pages, double spaced
• If you synopsis is a little longer or a little shorter, this is fine. But if it’s as long as your first chapter, there’s a problem.
• A synopsis is NOT a chapter-by-chapter outline of your project
• Make sure you include an overview of the main plot from beginning to end. Don’t try to hide the ending.
• It’s often a good idea to have someone read and critique your synopsis before you send it. Often what seems clear to the author can be very confusing to one not so close to the story. Your synopsis should make sense.

Other tips for sending in your partial submission:

• Please do not assume that we remember your project from your query letter. Remember to include a cover letter with your contact information (name, address, phone number, e-mail address). Please DATE your cover letter.
• Do not substitute e-mail correspondence between you and someone at our agency in place of your cover letter.
• Please include an SASE with sufficient postage for a response.
• The SASE should have both a “To” and a return address. The U.S. Post Office will not mail an envelope without a return address.
• If you want your materials back, you must include a large enough envelope with sufficient postage. The materials will otherwise be recycled.
• At this stage, there is no point in sending pre-printed brochures, business cards, stickers, marketing materials, newspaper clippings, etc. about you or your book; they will just be tossed.
• The submission must be DOUBLE SPACED and typed in a clear, readable font, such as Courier or New Times Roman. We prefer nothing smaller than size 12 font

Generally it takes us 10-12 weeks to read and evaluate your partial submission. If our back-log is large, it may take longer. Once we have read your submission, we will send you a letter. We do our best to respond to every submission that comes in, provided you have given us correct contact information. Our letter will either pass on the project or ask you to submit the full manuscript.

Step 3: If we like your partial and ask to see the full manuscript

Once we ask for it, please send us your completed manuscript. If you are in the process of revising it when you see our letter, just let us know that and wait to send in the full manuscript until you have completed polishing it. Generally it takes us 4-6 months to read and properly evaluate completed manuscripts.

Here are some tips for submitting your completed project:

• Again, please remember to include a cover letter with your contact information. We don’t have the time or staff to coordinate this submission with any earlier materials you may have sent.
• Please include an SASE with sufficient postage for a response. If you want your manuscript returned, you must include a large enough envelope with sufficient postage. Otherwise, the materials will be recycled.
• If we decide to pass on your project at this stage, we will explain our decision and offer a few suggestions. We, however, are not able to provide a full critique.

{back to top}

The Top Twenty DON’TS for Submission
20. Seal your package so completely with tape that it is impossible to open.
19. Include knick-knacks (other than chocolate !) that fall out as soon as the package is opened.
18. Include talcum, cigarette ash or other unidentifiable white powder in your envelope.
17. Include photographs of yourself and/or your children.
16. Perfume your submission materials with anything (cigarette smoke counts here, too).
15. Have your friend, secretary, or mother write the cover letter, telling how wonderful you are.
14. Describe all your family, including pets, in your cover letter.
13. Address your letter to another agent.
12. Open your letter with an ethnic (or other) joke.
11. Demand a response within say, ten days.
10. Type your manuscript in some Afancy@ font.
(anything other than Courier, New Times Roman or Bookman Old Style is considered Afancy@)
9. Single space your manscript so it will appear shorter.
8. Query the agent with all 26 of your manuscripts at the same time.
7. Ask the agent to read your query or manuscript by checking out a website.
6. Put down other authors in your genre or other agents who have rejected your work.
5. Misrepresent your prior publishing experience.
4. Query an agent with your project when that agent has publicly stated she doesn’t represent such projects.
3. Send a full manuscript when only a partial was requested.
2. Provide a detailed, multi-page outline of each scene when a synopsis was requested.
1. Neglect to include your name and address with your submission.
*While this list may be somewhat “tongue-in-cheek,” it will hopefully give you a chuckle, but there are some important lessons to be learned here.

If you have written and polished a complete manuscript and you wish us to consider it, first send a brief query letter providing an overview of the novel. Your description should be something like what you would expect to see on a published novel as back cover copy. If you are previously published, please provide information about those works as well, including the dates of publication and the publishers. You may include other information about yourself or about contest results if relevant to the work you are pitching. Queries may be sent via email (with no attachments) to queries@elaineenglish.com or by regular mail with an SASE.
If we are interested in seeing more, we will request it. Often we ask for the initial chapters before requesting a full manuscript. Please don’t send materials beyond a query letter unless they are requested.
Please allow at least 3 weeks for response to a query, 8-12 weeks for response to a partial submission, and longer for a full manuscript. We accept multiple submissions; however, if you are sending your manuscript on an exclusive basis, please state that in your cover letter.

This is meant to be a brief overview. If you would like more detailed information as well as tips on how to present your materials, click here.