What 4 top agents desire in a memoir
August 10, 2015 by Alan Rinzler
Sometimes it seems like everyone's writing a memoir. You too? So how can you break out of the pack and and persuade an agent to take a look?
Here are four accomplished literary agents, and they're all selling memoirs. Scroll down to see some of the books they represent.
These agents are the real deal and they tell it here like they see it.
Jim Levine founded the Levine Greenberg Agency in 1989 and now has 13 associates in his New York City offices who represent hundreds of titles, including memoirs. He's also an author in his own right, and has written seven books and more than 100 articles for popular and professional magazines.
Anthony Mattero is an agent at Foundry Literary and Media, a top agency in New York City, and currently ranks #3 top dealmaker for memoir at Publishers Marketplace.
Joelle Delbourgo launched her own agency, Joelle Delbourgo Associates, 15 years ago after more than two decades as an editorial executive at Bantam, HarperCollins and Random House.
Ted Weinstein opened Ted Weinstein Literary Management in 2001 and handles a variety of authors writing memoir and investigative journalism.
What do you need to see in a new memoir submission?
Jim Levine: A story and voice that makes you care and want to keep reading.
Anthony Mattero: A large platform from which to sell the book. This doesn't just mean a large number of followers on social media (though that never hurts) but that the author is an expert or specialist in a certain field or can otherwise prove that there is a large and engaged fan base or audience that is primed to buy something written by the author.
Joelle Delbourgo: A distinctive voice, fine writing and a story that can be sustained. It's challenging to create the same key elements of fiction in a nonfiction narrative: plot matters, and so does creating and maintaining tension throughout. Sometimes, it's best not to tell the whole story of your life. Drawing on a powerful theme, or using a slice-of-life experience, provides a more interesting prism through which to craft a memoir.
Ted Weinstein: Self-awareness; a sense that the author is thinking about their reader, not only about him or herself; a book that is about some larger situation or issue or theme.
What's your advice for debut authors writing memoirs?
Jim Levine: It can be very difficult to be original and find an agent. We get lots of recovery-from-illness memoirs, and while they're often moving, they're also hard to distinguish from each other, so we respectfully decline.
Anthony Mattero: It depends on the level of the author's platform. If the platform is big enough it doesn't matter if the memoir is the author's first or 500th.
Joelle Delbourgo: Ask yourself why you are writing this memoir. Is it to leave a legacy to your family? That's fine. But if you want to be widely published and read, do your homework. If you can afford to hire a writing coach or private editor to work with you, make the investment. Agents and publishers are open to memoir from debut authors, but your memoir needs to shine.
Ted Weinstein: Very challenging. The question I always ask: "Why should a stranger half way across the country care about your story?"
How do you market a memoir to a publisher?
Jim Levine: Ultra selectively. This is a very tough market.
Anthony Mattero: Most of the memoirs I've sold are platform driven, so I don't typically send out completed manuscripts. The author and I work closely on developing a proposal, and once we're in agreement that it's A-plus, I'll send it to a select number of editors whom I believe will connect with the material and are in a position to buy the book in a way that it's seen as a big deal in-house.
Once there's interest from an editor, I'll zero in on the best way to close the deal and at the end of the day, the only people disappointed with the process, hopefully, are the underbidders who put up great offers but didn't end up winning the book.
Joelle Delbourgo: Memoir is a notoriously tough category. On the one hand, we see so many memoirs getting published. There appears to be an insatiable appetite. But on the other hand, there's a glut – or a perceived glut. Like the best of fiction, memoir takes us into someone else's life and experience and tells a compelling story.
When presenting memoir to a publisher, I try to find the "hook" that distinguishes the memoir and underscore the quality of the writing and the storytelling, much in the way that I would market a novel. I also look for an author platform. Who are you? Have you been previously published, perhaps in literary journals or local publications? Do you have a social media presence? Have you spoken in public on the subject of your memoir?
If you haven't at least begun to do any of these things, start now, and build your platform brick by brick. Don't wait, as these are considerations that both agents and publishers will want to see.
Ted Weinstein: Memoirs have to be about something larger than the author. Very rarely is "MY story" enough to interest strangers. There's often a point where the story just isn't working, and when I say that to the author their reply is invariably "But that's how it happened!" My reply is "I don't care what happened; I care that you tell me a really good story."
One technique I often suggest is that an author rewrite their memoir as a novel. That gives them the freedom to combine or omit characters and incidents, shape the narrative, develop different themes, and generally exercise their imagination more fully. Then, when they return to writing the book as a memoir, they usually have a new, more compelling vision for how to present the story to readers.
Do you represent memoirs that are already self-published?
Jim Levine: All depends on the writing and platform of the author.
Anthony Mattero: I'm not opposed to representing anything publishers could get excited about it. That said, I've found that a self-published author would have to show a massive number of sales before I'd be able to get a deal with a trade publisher.
Joelle Delbourgo: I would market a self-published memoir to a publisher, only if it has sold 5,000 copies or more. But I have helped quite a few authors to self-publish memoir and advised them on how to promote them aggressively. This can be a good alternate route for certain authors, as long as they understand how hard they need to work to market a self-published book.
Ted Weinstein: Only if it has sold at least 5-10K copies already.
Do you get many memoir submissions? Are you looking for more?
Jim Levine: Yes, we receive many and take on very few.
Anthony Mattero: I do and I'm always looking to partner with new authors who have a built in engaged fan base, have something fresh to say, or can add something new to a conversation already in process.
Joelle Delbourgo: I do receive plenty of memoir submissions. I'm always looking for something that takes my breath away, or fills a need. For example, I've just taken on a young writer in her twenties who was twelve when the twin towers fell. She writes about the impact of 9/11 from the point of view of a child on the brink of adolescence who is completely traumatized. I'm committed to finding a great publisher for this memoir because no one—absolutely no one—has told this particular story and done it so well, and because in the end, it offers great hope.
Ted Weinstein: I receive many memoir submissions. I'm always happy to look at more. But only if they're fantastic.
Memoirs these four agents have represented
Jim Levine: Shouting Won't Help: Why I – and 50 Million Other Americans Can't Hear You (Thorndike Press) by former New Yorker and NYT editor Katherine Bouton; Mother Daughter Me (Random House) by former NYT reporter Katie Hafner; Being a Rockefeller, Becoming Myself (BlueRider/Penguin Random House) by Eileen Rockefeller; Critical Decisions (forthcoming from Avery/Penguin Random House) by Jessica Nutik Zitter, M.D.
Anthony Mattero: Stronger by Jeff Bauman (Grand Central Publishing), Elgin by Elgin Baylor (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), Making It Big by Ralphie May (forthcoming from St. Martin's Press) and many more.
Joelle Delbourgo: Amen, Amen, Amen: Memoir of a Girl Who Could Not Stop Praying (Among Other Things), (Scribner) by Abby Sher on growing up with OCD. Life in the Balance: A Physician's Memoir of Life, Love and Loss with Parkinson's Disease and Dementia, by Dr. Thomas Graboy with Peter Zheutlin (Sterling). The Lost Years, by Kristina Wandzilak and her mother Connie Truitt (Jeffers Press) on addiction and recovery.
Ted Weinstein: Something Other Than God: How I Passionately Sought Happiness and Accidentally Found It (Ignatius Press), by Jennifer Fulwiler, on her slow conversion from agnostic young professional to committed Catholic. It developed from the blog she wrote during her self-inquiry, http://www.conversiondiary.com, which led to building an audience, then to a great book, a reality TV show and now her own show on Sirius XM satellite radio. Also, The Autobiographer's Handbook; The 826 National Guide to Writing Your Memoir, with an introduction by Dave Eggers.
Do these agents give you hope for your memoir? Or are you considering your indie options instead? Please weigh in here in comments with your own experience, ideas and aspirations for getting published. I'll watch for any questions.
Filed Under: How To Get Published, Literary Agent Profiles, Memoir Tagged With: advice, agent, Alan Rinzler, book, developmental editor, editor, getting published, how to find an agent, literary, memoir, traditional publishing
Terri klein says
I have what I think would be a best seller Memoir. I have gotten in touch with a few publishing companies to see what they thought. They said I should write the book or manuscript than get back in touch with them. . I have a story but, I need help to get a ghost writer to help me put this into words. I have a titled picked out. With a brief synopsis. If anyone is interested that is a literary publisher. Please get in touch with me. Thank you so much. Terri Klein
George Avans says
My memoir relates to my activities, observations and impressions as I, at the age of twenty-one, and a student at the University of Oklahoma, went to Los Angeles to work for a year. I ended up joining the LAPD and spending the first year (1965) in south L.A.'s Newton Division leading up to and through the Watts riot.
Young people considering becoming big city cops would likely be interested in the story, as would students of the present day racial conflicts infecting our society.
Alan Blaustein says
My memoir is of the six months I spent in the homeless shelter system on Wards Island. My expertise regarding this is the fact that I was homeless and was there.
Don Lubov says
Dear Mr. Rinzler, Thanks for a great article. It added to my understanding of the difficulties & benefits in obtaining an agent.
My memoir covers 4 1/2 years (1971-1975) when I hiked and hitched across the U.S., by myself. It is an Action/Adventure/Travel/Memoir — Think "Into the Wilderness", "Wild" and "A Walk in the Woods" on steroids. This is "Indiana Jones Meets the Dalai Lama".
"Near Death in the Gila National Forest"
I'm writing to you because of your interest in memoir.
My memoir is 50 chapters and 56,000 words. It gives a unique personal perspective on our culture in the early 70's. It's a journey dreamt of, but not taken, by many "Baby-Boomers". I would like you to represent me.
Near Death in the Gila National Forest is a one-of-kind, action-packed trek of some 4,500 miles by a teacher turned loner with a backpack. It's a true story in praise of and discovery of the U.S., from New York to California. It features a seven-day, outdoor rock festival in the woods, an invitation to a lynching, Mexican drug dealers, near death in the wilderness, a spiritual awakening and a ride with a Hell's Angel. It also explores an assortment of group-living lifestyles…from a boardinghouse in Haight-Ashbury to a mega-warehouse project in the mission District. Highlighted are homelessness, a bizarre New Year's Eve and a stabbing in a cheap hotel.
Nostalgia is big and getting bigger. 78-million Boomers are now reviewing their lives and traveling the U.S. as they prepare to retire. For them and their children; my main audience, Near Death in the Gila National Forest is a step back in time to what was or what might have been. It's a timely reflection of a tumultuous period. This book is my search and my generations' search for meaning and purpose.
I spent 4 ½ years living this book. I've written for Yahoo Voices, Beliefnet.com, Kinja.com, (incl. in) Florida Writers Magazine and several books. May I send you some chapters or the entire manuscript? I have written a 'Treatment' for film.
Don Lubov
Jade Baudelaire says
I know this is a late comment and I wouldn't be surprised if no one reads it, but I thought I would give it a try…
I'm trying to write my own memoirs, but…I need help. Writing is not the problem, it's getting attention. I've lived in forced isolation all my life, I have no one I can reach out to and I don't know how to begin. I guess no one will be interested in publishing me unless I already have a following? But I don't know how to build one. I don't know anyone and the cult I was raised in did not allow me to build any valuable skills of any kind. I couldn't, and can't, even be my own person.
Um… Well, here's a summary of what the memoir contains. It's actually designed to be a three part series with the first book covering childhood up to age 13. The next book would cover years 14-19, roughly and the last book would cover years 19-22.
Summary: I was raised in a high control cult. Most people in the United States, and in any other countries, have heard of this cult, but few know the true ugliness that lies beneath the surface. Few have written of their experience being raised within this cult and even those have only written about their lives AFTER escaping. They do not say much about their lives on the inside. I have only found one book written by an ex-member, but he speaks so little of life in the cult that I wonder… To this day, the cult manages to maintain a fairly positive public image because they are masters of deception and manipulation.
I want to change this. I want people to know. I want to reach out to all those who feel as trapped and isolated as I do and give them hope. This cult is called the Jehovah's Witnesses and they are far more than they seem to the outside world. There are things they show only to their fellow members, things which they hide until you're trapped within their web, or born into it. I was born into it. I was never given a choice. Even now I'm trapped, unable to get out.
Along with growing up as an unwilling member of this cult, I am a child of mixed birth, living in a town that is dominantly white. The last census had the black population as .55%. I was the only minority child to attend the town's one school, which goes from grades K-8. Living in a town where I was, and am, called a nigger on a regular basis, spit at and denigrated, I had no one to reach out to.
This little country town was the perfect place for a controlling man to raise his family and rule them with an iron fist. A man who is convinced his dreams are prophetic messages from God, telling him that he is destined to reign in Heaven alongside Jesus Christ as a king. A man who beats and terrorizes his family on a regular basis, who brings a convicted rapist into the home with his three daughters for the sole purpose of playing a twisted father/son game. And all because he cannot be content with daughters and instead laments the son he never had, the son he himself killed while the child was still within his wife's womb.
That man is my father. And this is my life. I'm Jade Baudelaire. Or at least, that is the name I have chosen for myself in order to tell my story. My real name I cannot give, not to the public for to do so would be to put not only my life in danger, but also the lives of those I wish to protect.
I began a blog…though I've no idea how to attract readers/followers to it. And I suppose I need followers before anyone will even consider my memoir? Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated…
Frederick R. Howard says
This was a very imformative article and one I truly needed to read. I have just completed a manuscript and was searching to find what I needed to do next.
Ayna says
In my case, the memoirs have everything to do with my parents, who were tried for child abuse. Their case went to our state's supreme court. I suppose it would make much sense to contact every news outlet that covered it and ask them to also cover the release of my work. Can I count this population as "platform"?
Cyrus Erel says
I want to tell someone about my book but am having trouble deciding how to proceed.
I know you probably hate people who rave on about their work via e-mail, but I need direction.
I'll give you a SHORT synopsis…
I was 14 when I came out to my family, 2 days later they had me committed to a mental hospital in Toronto and disowned me. By 15 I was on the streets of New York. Eventually i met a married Professor of International Law and we became lovers for 17 years. In 92 he decided to get into politics. He was elected and had 2 of the most high profile portfolios in government. I was sent down to Costa Rica where I hid out for 2 years.
That's just a tiny glimpse of what I'm writing about. I have a pretty good idea of what makes my story unique. It's not about what's happened to me, it's about how I handled it, how I survived, how I'm able to convey my experiences in a way that reaches people.
I remember reading A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, a highly successful book. I couldn't help thinking my story is so much more compelling than his because his book was about addiction and recovery, as is mine, but if you add the elements of politics and life on the streets of New York as a 15 year old runaway from Canada not to mention the wonderful part about being committed to a nuthouse, you have a much broader story covering so much more than just addiction and recovery. I know his book became what it did because his writing is masterful, the way he writes makes the reader feel like they are right there with him.
One other thing my story has is humor, I've never failed to extract some nugget of humor even in the darkest of places and it can be found throughout my book.
Anyone can write a memoir, but if it's written well it can be a powerful force. It's in the telling that we distinguish ourselves.
I know what my story is capable of but I just don't know what to do with it and it's really working my nerves something fierce!.
I wonder if anyone out there can give me a bit of direction?
The title is, fittingly, Pretend It's Not Me.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Dear Cyrus,
Your story certainly has the elements of a readable memoir with a broad potential market. Therefore, you need something in writing to get direction and advice about finishing your book and getting it published. If you have a rough draft or notes for an outline or even just a list of everything you want to include, then send those written materials to a first-rate developmental editor. Search for "developmental editor" on this blog and you'll see several posts which help you decide how to find and choose the right one for you.
Good luck and best wishes.
Thank you Alan for taking the time to respond, I really appreciate it.
Finding a "developmental editor" is one thing, but I can't pay for one, that's the problem.
A long time ago I gave up on the fantasy of "being discovered" by an agent and soaring to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List, however, that's kind of what I need, someone to think my story is worth taking a chance on.
I am not suffering under the illusion being discovered, that's delusional, but surely there must be a way of getting someone's attention, someone who can help propel my story onto the market.
I just don't know…I get nervous when I think about sending pieces of my work to this editor or that agent, the more people read parts of it the more diluted it becomes somehow, I can't explain it. It's like giving people parts of a baby, an arm or a leg, until finally it's so small there's nothing left. :o)
Oh fuck, I have to figure something out before senility sets in, the longer it takes me to find an agent/editor/publisher the possibility of dementia creeps in until one day I won't remember anything! Of course I'm joking, but I am 54 and the older I get the more I start to feel anxious, time is a thief and the older I get the more it steals.
I suppose I could submit excerpts to various e-zines etc…that might get some attention. Do you think that sounds like a good idea?
Yes, you can submit parts of your book to e-zines. You could even go further and put your entire book on Amazon as an ebook in their Kindle Direct format, which is quite inexpensive. Kindle Direct also gives you the possibility of selling copies and earning money. So continued good luck and best wishes.
Roberta says
Im very excited about starting my memoir on my life as the daughter of a heroin addict…a single teenage mom…and now the wife of a criminal trying to leave that life in the past….any suggestions if this is even a topic that would get picked up?
Thanks for all the good info
Hi Roberta,
We're both in the same boat, writing memoirs on subjects that many consider unappealing or unacceptable ya know?
It's a winding bumpy road isn't it?
I'm writing about drugs and prostitution and nuthouses so the market is hard to navigate. We have so many ways to go, so many different landscapes where our stories are both positive and/or negative.
I would love to read some of your work.
Cyrus in Canada
Angelique Jackson says
I decided this year I need to get out some of the pain trapped in my body and mind. I started mapping out an idea for my memoir based on my experience with chronic pain from a traumatic birth and post partum bipolar with psychosis during which time I tried to suffocate my infant daughter and then kill myself. My book also delves into how this experience transformed my preconceived ideas about motherhood.
I have a platform-reporter/columnist/journalist 25 years. Memoir in profress. Audience will be large and driven. Raw emotion, gritty and honest. Thinking of submitting to you.
Jules Brenner says
Would you like to know how, as a camera operator, I became acquainted and
worked with Paul Newman? (You talk about cute [and unforgettable] meets).
Then, as a Director of Photography (DP), experiencing the 2nd half of an extraordinary (for me) two-man location scout with Kirk Douglas touring railroad country around Tuscan, AZ (corn is
in the story); Or… how it was to collaborate with the likes of Dalton
Trumbo and Dan O'Bannon on two films that today are considered cult classics? And, MUCH
more. If you're a book agent who might be interested in an illustrated insider memoir, let
me hear from you. And, I'm looking to put it in print before e-booking.
Carol Lee Adams says
Well, let's just say this article did little to encourage me (self-published memoirist of Deaf Daughter, on Amazon). This is a huge industry with a LOT of arteries, and I have decided to travel straight to my destination and attempt to score a book-to-movie option from industry staples such as Steven Spielberg.
This is a great help, thank you for the reality check that I needed. What if you have a unique and compelling memoir that is well written but no online presence? Is that a deal breaker?
Also, any advice for a manuscript (heading to a rewrite) that is extremely over the work budget (200k)? I think I took that, "Get it ALL out" advice a little too literally.
Diana Loveric says
Really liked the comments. Had a writing coach. Reviewed by 12 readers. Revised my 2 year Thematic
Spiritual Memoir. Sent out to several publishers and agents with encouraging comments but no
interest at the time. Have read parts at writing venues. Looking for someone to work with me to get my book published, working title: "Into the Image: A healing journey into the beauty and mystery of God"
Starting 2nd book.
Robert Earl Reynolds says
Absolutely helpful AND hopeful. In many ways it confirmed hunches I had about my ideas, life, and potential memoir, but also offered plenty I hadn't thought of. I'm burning with excitement while navigating reality. Finally, I have written and published songs, made Grammy winning albums, watched my parents die in addiction while I medicated into oblivion. I'm coming out of the fog and ready for my "purpose" now. Self publishing with an eye toward getting "picked up" as it were was my thought as I stumbled on you, and I'm still considering the options. Thank you so very much, Robert Reynolds
Adam St. James says
I am a long-time music journalist and author of multiple books and would love to speak with you about your memoir. Please, if my contact info is blocked here, Google me and get in touch. Adam St. James, adamstjames2014 @ gmail
beckylp53 says
Wonderful article. So informative. Loved it. (Hey, a six word story!)
Craved college. Couldn't attend. Eloped instead. (Six word memoir!)
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