Updated September 4, 2011
The Robert E. Shepard AgencyThe best books must be sought out and crafted. Now celebrating its 15th year, The Robert E. Shepard Agency seeks authors who are expert in their fields and in the use of prose, as well as works that will set new standards in their fields, benefitting, informing, and entertaining their readers. The Agency furthers this mission by working exceptionally closely with a relatively small base of client-authors, and by maintaining thoroughly professional relationships with editors and publishers. Welcome!I look for authors who can break new ground in their approaches to contemporary issues. I want to hear from experts who have been notable in their own fields, even if they are not well-known to the general public: authors whose fresh ideas can change the way readers think about their own lives and the world around them. The Agency’s philosophy rejects an "assembly-line" approach, emphasizing that close interaction between author and agent can result in better-crafted books and a more enjoyable, fulfilling publishing experience for everyone involved. An agent can also help initiate and moderate an ongoing "dialogue" between author and editor, cultivating relationships that remain productive and collegial over the lives of many works. That is, in a sense, an old-fashioned approach and, unfortunately, it must be tempered by the new realities of American publishing. As publishing houses have merged into ever larger (and fewer) entities, many book editors have found themselves with less time to edit more books. Every book proposal must not only describe a compelling work, but convince editors and their colleagues that the proposed work will fill a need and reach a large market. The role of the editor as advocate for her authors and books is thus more important than ever; and continuity in the author-editor relationship is also important, since it so often results in better-crafted books. One of the Agency’s goals is to help authors feel as comfortable as possible with the complexities of writing, so they’ll want to write more.
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Submission Guidelines |
| Please be aware that, effective September 1, 2010, we are not currently taking on new clients. For the sake of convenience (and because we assume some authors will query anyway), we will continue to show our customary query and proposal guidelines on this website. Please click below under "Contacting the Agency" for more details.
Submitting Queries and ProposalsPlease send a query by email or letter before sending a proposal. All queries should be in writing; queries will not be accepted by phone or fax. In your query, please describe, in a page or two, your subject and approach, your intended audience, your background, and why your work should be of interest to agents, editors, and the reading public. Focus on what’s new and different, and describe your own "platform"–your qualifications, publishing background, media experience, and public persona. If you send a query or proposal by mail, be sure to enclose a postage-paid return envelope capable of holding your material; otherwise, it will not be returned. If you query by email, please do not attach any documents to your message (unsolicited attachments will be deleted unread).
If the Agency requests a proposal, you may find it helpful to read our essay on How to Write a Non-Fiction Book Proposal for suggested submission guidelines. Contacting the AgencyIMPORTANT NEWS: On October 12, the Agency relocated from Berkeley to Los Angeles, California. Our new mailing address appears at the bottom of this page. Regular post office mail has been forwarded from Berkeley in most cases; mail sent by other means during the transition (e.g. FedEx or UPS) has not. Email has been arriving normally during the transition. Please bear with us as we settle into our new home; replies may take a bit longer than usual, but we look forward to reading your submission. Thank you for your understanding during the move!QUERIES BY EMAILWe look forward to hearing from you! We’re happy to receive queries by email, but please do not attach any documents unless we ask that you do so. Unsolicited attachments will be deleted unread. Ideally, your query will be the equivalent of one to two pages in length. Our email address will not be changing, and there will be no interruption in email service during the move. Email address: mail@shepardagency.com.QUERIES BY REGULAR MAILYou may also send queries by regular mail. (please see the note above). One- to two-page query letters will always be read and answered more quickly than full proposals that we have not already requested. Please do not send a complete manuscript. We do not handle queries by phone or fax.If you send a query or proposal by regular mail, please make sure to enclose a return envelope capable of holding anything you want returned, without which it will not be sent back. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for a reply. Be sure to affix proper return postage to your return envelope, and note that U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail generally requires more postage when you use your own packaging than when you use a USPS Flat-Rate Envelope. Your post office can help you determine the correct postage for your return envelope.Please note, also, that the Agency really, truly does not represent fiction, poetry, children’s books, or screenplays.We’ve posted more information on writing book proposals and queries; please take a look!The Agency’s NEW mailing address is:The Robert E. Shepard Agency4804 Laurel Canyon BoulevardBox 592Valley Village, California 91607-3717USAQueries and proposals are not accepted by phone or fax. For your reference, however, our new phone number is:(818) 508-0056
Please click here for mail and email addresses and other guidelines. The Agency does not accept queries by telephone or fax. PLEASE NOTE that the mailing address in Valley Village, California is now current. Some published directories may show our former Berkeley address, which is no longer active. |
