Agent Confidential: Tom Witcomb

Name: Tom Witcomb

AKA: The Man in Black 

Agency: Blake Friedmann Literary, TV & Film Agency

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Genres represented: As an agency we represent right across the board, fiction & non-fiction. My list has a lot of middle-grade and Young Adult fiction, with a few Adult Fiction titles thrown in for good measure. I love crime and thrillers, I like romance, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, contemporary and a real good old-fashioned adventure story – you name it. That said, I’m not too keen on anything about football (or sport in general) the ‘exciting’ world of finance or anything SUPER literary. 

Authors represented: MC Rogerson: THE GIRL AT THE END OF THE WORLD; Tim Baker: FEVER CITY; AV Mather: REFUGE; Verity Glass: THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING; Wendy Bevan-Mogg: SPRING FORWARDS; Zosia Crosse: A SEVERAL WORLD

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Recent deals: Andrew Cartmel’s noir detective trilogy to Titan is the most recent I’ve done.

Wish list: Can I say what I don’t want more of? ANGELS. Please never send me anything with angels in it.

What I’d like to see more of is great characters, perfect plotting, good writing, no clichés – as I’m quite open to anything and everything, the concept doesn’t really make the book, in my opinion (though it admittedly gets people’s attention). There are some great ideas books out there which are terribly written. Funnily enough I never finished reading them. 

Favourite books: When I was a kid I used to love Goosebumps, X-Files spin offs and Point Horror (I think I still do!) But of all time: Vernon GOD Little, Where the Wild Things Are, The Cat in the Hat, Watchmen, Giovanni’s Room, Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, The Hobbit & LOTR, Charlotte’s Web, Maurice, A Song of Ice & Fire…see, the list just goes on and on and I’m definitely missing some really important ones. At the moment, I’m getting a crash-course in contemporary fantasy and sci-fi from our new digital assistant so am reading ANCILLIARY JUSTICE. And I’ve just started Mrs. Dalloway for what seems like the 150^th time.

Agent style: I like to think I’m a ‘full-service’ agent! A sounding board for new ideas, a good listener. I love giving a manuscript a spit and polish alongside the author. Like any good agent, I’m available all hours of the day (though I do occasionally sleep) for anything that might crop up and that’s the part of the job that’s the most rewarding – the relationship you build with a client is wonderful.

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How to submit: See our website for full instructions. Please follow them. Please. I know it might seem nit-picky but I receive loads each week and if someone’s not even performed a basic courtesy of following a set of simple instructions – I don’t think that relationship is going to work. It’s like asking someone to knock quietly because the baby’s asleep, but instead they Sellotape down the doorbell and yell through the letterbox.

Submission tips: See above! I really can’t emphasise the elevator pitch enough, though. In the body text of your email I want to know your name, the title of your book, and a blurb intro to your manuscript which gives me an introduction to the idea and the main players. Add a bit about your history of published work, but only if it’s relevant – journalism, published books, short stories, prizes won – I want to know about the book first and foremost, and hopefully, if I love it, I’ll love you, too.

Website: www.blakefriedmann.co.uk

Twitter: @twitcomb / @bflagency

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Do you have questions for Tom? Leave them here in the comments. You have more than 140 characters!

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Read Nicola Morgan: How to find a good agent

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If you are an agent and would like to be featured in Agent Confidential, please contact us at writers@britishscbwi.org

Another UV success story - our very own Mel signs with an agent!

This week we’re extra-special thrilled to celebrate the good news from our lovely joint features editor, Mel Rogerson. Mel won a UV 2012 Honorary Mention with the opening of her novel Breakwater and she just signed with... drumroll please... Tom Witcomb of the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency!

@mcrogerson

Mel's been writing ever since her short story, 'The Sandals and the Unsuspected Witch' was published in the Puffin Post when she was twelve years old. For many years, she wrote for fun - starting countless novels that were never finished, but after she moved from London back to the Peak District in 2008, she decided to take her writing more seriously. Mel joined online forums, read books on the art of story and finally completed her very first novel, The Moonlocket, which was longlisted in the 2011 Times/Chicken House Competition. Keen to improve The Moonlocket, Mel commissioned an editorial report from Cornerstones and became a member of SCBWI. The advice she received was invaluable and encouraged her to start a new YA manuscript, Breakwater. Working with several critique partners, she learned lots more, and was thrilled when the opening of Breakwater received an honorary mention in the 2012 Undiscovered Voices Anthology. Motivated by Breakwater's success, Mel continued to work on the manuscript on and off during 2012. She then began to submit it to agents in mid 2013 and was delighted to sign with Tom Witcomb at the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency a few months later. 


Mel says "My number one aim is to write books that people will enjoy reading and that's not as easy as it looks! Being a SCBWI member has been an essential part of the learning process - everyone has been so helpful and willing to share constructive advice. I'd recommend joining to anyone who wants to take their writing to the next level."

"She's a font of marvellous ideas - and a great person to boot!"

@TWitcomb

Tom Witcomb says: "I loved Breakwater from the get-go. Mel wrote a great pitch letter, which gave me all the information I needed, holding enough back to keep me intrigued. Her synopsis was a one-page, succinct account which covered everything that was important, and the sample chapters really showcased Mel’s talent. There’s a strong thriller element to Breakwater, a far-cry from the usual clichéd romance plots so often associated with paranormal teen fiction and that really drew me in. Hannah was the perfect lead as well: shy at first, fallible, certainly, but lionhearted! And then, of course, when I started talking to Mel about the trilogy, and her future writing plans, I fell in love all over again – she’s a font of marvellous ideas – and a great person to boot." 

 Hear hear! And now let’s raise our glasses and wish Mel congratulations and every success for the future!

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Tania Tay is an ex-advertising copywriter and has been published in Sable LitMag. She is currently writing a YA romantic thriller, and is on the editorial team at Words & Pictures.