andrew lownie literary agency

Articles

Andrew Lownie uses his expert knowledge in the publishing field to maximise the potential of his clients and build up their careers. Here Andrew Lownie, and some of his clients and guest columnists, share advice on a variety of topics to writers. Elsewhere on the site you can find a Frequently Asked Questions list on literary agents, as well as advice for submitting work to agents.

  • The current Japanese book market

    09 Apr 2012

    Ahead of the London Book Fair, Hamish Macaskill of The English Agency, a literary agency who place books from US and UK publishers and agents with Japanese publishers , gives a market update on the state of the Japanese publishing market. The biggest-selling translated title post-Frankfurt has been Kodansha’s edition of Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs bio: 700k hardcover in just a few months. The slow burn success of Stieg Larsson’s MILLENNIUM TRILOGY (Hayakawa) is now ablaze after the release of the remake of TGWTDT. The Japanese animated adaptation of THE MAGIC TREEHOUSE has made ...Read more

  • How writers can double their money by joining Amazon Associates

    17 Mar 2012

    David Craig explains how writers can double their money by joining Amazon Associates. Amazon run a scheme called “Amazon Associates” which can be very useful for any writer with their own website. When you join Amazon Associates, every time someone buys a product (books or whatever) from Amazon after going through your website, you get paid a commission – usually about 5%. So, if you are a writer getting say 7% to 10% of your publisher’s net receipts on each book you sell, the 5% of the Amazon sales price you also receive as a member of Amazon Associates can often double your earni...Read more

  • MATADOR’S BULL RUN

    14 Mar 2012

    Novelist Ian Simpson explains how he went about self-publishing his crime novel through Matador. In my light-hearted whodunit, Murder on Page One, literary agents are the victims and unpublished crime writers the suspects. I failed to find a company willing, at their expense, to transform my manuscript into a beautiful book and turned to self-publishing, which I prefer to call ‘collaborative publishing’. I wanted a company which would professionally produce and market a sellable book and approached Matador, which has been recommended in the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook for some time....Read more

  • Salutations

    15 Jan 2012

    Andrew Lownie continues his series of how recent submissions have addressed him. Hello dear Andrew, Dear Andrew Lownie and/or Associates, Hi Lonnie, Agent-In-Chief; Dear Mr Townie Dear Mrs Lownie, Dear Mr. Andrew; Greetings, The distinguished representative of The Andrew Lownie Literary Agency Ltd! Hello! Hi <<&firstname>>, Dear Ms Agent; Good afternoon, Hey Andrew! To an 'agent' of the literary sort: Dear Reviewing Agent, Dear Agent, Dear Andrew Lownie and Team, Hi there Dear Andrew Lownie & Andrew Lownie Literary Agency, ...Read more

  • What Editors Want 2012

    10 Jan 2012

    Twenty five editors have kindly explained what they are looking for this year giving a fascinating insight into the commissioning mind. Hugh Andrew, Managing DIrector, Birlinn What you want is usually to be surprised ie it's what you didn’t think you wanted that ends up being the success. However what interests me, as always, are books which are focussed on alternative views of how we should live our lives and are also focussed on community and local identity. I am also always enthusiastic about top class non fiction – whether illustrated or not. Of course we tend to have a Sc...Read more

  • What the Dickens...

    25 Dec 2011

    Ah, coincidence... from Dickens to Didion it's the meat and drink of the writer's art. Even readers know that. But what they don't know - and we do - is just how big a role it plays before we begin to write the story. It matters not at all whether our specialty is fiction, memoir, non-fiction or even fantasy, the moment we start researching a new book the coincidences arrive thick and fast. A newspaper article on your subject opens an unexpected door the very day you begin; a randomly selected television program supplies a vital link; friends have relatives at the heart of the matter; ev...Read more