An Inside Look at Working with a Literary Agent: A Conversation with Seth Fishman

Program Type:

Adult Literacy, Book/Author Talk, Virtual/Online

Age Group:

Adults, Older Adults

Event Details

You’re writing a book (or thinking about it), but what happens next? Join us for an inside look into working with an agent and the beginning stages of the publishing process with Seth Fishman, Vice President and Literary Agent at The Gernert Company.

The Gernert Company represents more than 500 authors and is a full-service literary agency with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Their client list is as broad as the market and they represent fiction, both literary and commercial (such as Liz Moore, John Grisham, Louise Penny, Cixin Liu), as well as general nonfiction and practical nonfiction genres. 

In this presentation, Fishman will deep dive into what happens after you’ve signed with a literary agent. He will cover many topics, including but not limited to: 

  • What agents are and are not looking for, 
  • How to submit your work to an agent and when, 
  • What to expect after you've both said "yes!" to working together, 
  • What you can look forward to as you ready your work with an eye towards submitting to publishers, including the revision process and so much more. 

This extended, 90-minute presentation, includes 30 minutes of Q&A. This is the year to make all of your publishing dreams come true. To learn about this beginning stage of the process, register now! 

About the Author: Head of the Los Angeles office, Seth is a Vice President and agent at The Gernert Company, which he joined in 2010 after beginning his career as an agent at Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. Born in Midland, Texas, he graduated from Princeton University and earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. His interests are wide-ranging, but in particular he's looking for the new voice, the original idea, the entirely breathtaking creative angle in both fiction and nonfiction. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children, and is the author of the award-winning picture book, A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars, along with Power Up and The Ocean In Your Bathtub, as well as two YA books.

HOW IT WORKS! 

  • Register via libraryc.org/albanypubliclibrary  
  • You’ll be asked for your name and email address. 
  • You’ll get an email confirming your registration. This email will contain the link to watch the livestream of the author talk. You can save the talk to your calendar. 
  • When you register, you can also submit a question for the author. 
  • You’ll get a reminder email the day before the talk.  
  • You do NOT have to log in to watch a talk. Just click on the link emailed to you. 
  • You can select closed captioning in many languages for the talk.  
  • And you’ll get an email the day after the talk with a link to the recording. 
  • The talks are recorded, so if you miss it live you can watch it later. The recordings are posted 24 hours after the talk. You can find all recorded talks and watch them at your leisure. Just select “Past Speakers” from the website.