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#153: Find A Literary Agent & Get Published, Advice From Four Lit Agents Ed Wilson, Lucinda Halpern, Madeleine Milburn & Sam Copeland

Jul 13, 2025

Guest

Join literary agents Ed Wilson, Lucinda Halpern, Madeleine Milburn, and Sam Copeland as they share vital insights for aspiring authors. They discuss the evolving role of agents in today's digital landscape and the importance of understanding market trends. Learn how to write compelling query letters and determine if your idea fits best in a book or another format. The agents emphasize the significance of creativity and personal voice while navigating the literary scene, offering practical tips to increase your chances of getting published.

57:56

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ANECDOTE

Patient Agent-Author Relationship

Ed Wilson signed a compelling literary fiction author despite not being the perfect fit initially.
Their relationship and manuscript evolved patiently until they found common ground to move forward.

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ADVICE

Simplify Your Query Letter

Focus on making your query letter eye-catching to get agents to read your book chapters.
Spend more time improving your book than agonizing over the query letter or synopsis.

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ANECDOTE

From Self-Publish to Big Deal

Jane Allen self-published a trilogy filling a market void for lighthearted Black women’s rom-coms.
Lucinda Halpern signed her quickly and helped secure a major deal including a TV series.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Navigating the Literary Agent Landscape

02:31 • 17min

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Navigating Big and Small Ideas in Writing

19:11 • 11min

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Navigating Timeliness and Timelessness in Writing

29:49 • 2min

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Determining the Right Format for Your Writing Idea

31:59 • 2min

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Crafting Your Query: Navigating Submissions with Creativity

34:01 • 9min

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Navigating the Publishing Landscape

42:43 • 13min

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Crafting Compelling Book Pitches: Key Insights for Writers

Nita Prose's 'The Maid' introduces Molly Gray, a young woman with unique social skills who works as a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. Molly's life takes a dramatic turn when she discovers the wealthy and detested guest, Mr. Black, dead in his suite. As Molly becomes entangled in the ensuing investigation, she is initially viewed as a suspect due to her unusual demeanor and straightforward nature. With the help of newfound friends and allies, Molly embarks on a quest to clear her name and uncover the truth behind Mr. Black's mysterious death. The novel combines elements of mystery, character-driven storytelling, and social commentary.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Gail Honeyman

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine tells the story of Eleanor, a socially awkward woman with a traumatic past, who embarks on a transformative journey of self-discovery and friendship. The novel explores themes of loneliness, trauma recovery, and the power of human kindness. Through Eleanor's experiences, Gail Honeyman crafts a narrative that is both humorous and poignant, highlighting the complexities of human relationships and the resilience of the human spirit.

Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is a tragic play that tells the story of two young lovers, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, who fall in love despite the long-standing feud between their families. The play explores themes of love, hate, fate, and the destructive nature of the families' vendetta. After secretly marrying, the lovers face numerous challenges, including the death of Romeo's friend Mercutio and his subsequent banishment. A failed plan to reunite the lovers leads to their tragic deaths, ultimately bringing peace between their families. The play is renowned for its poetic language, passionate romance, and violent conflict, making it one of the world's most beloved and enduring stories.

Jack Reacher

Lee Child

In 'Killing Floor,' Jack Reacher, a former military policeman, gets off a bus in Margrave, Georgia, and is immediately arrested for a murder he did not commit. As he works to clear his name, he uncovers a web of secrets and lies in the small town, leading him on a dangerous journey to uncover the truth. This novel sets the stage for the adventures and character of Jack Reacher, showcasing his unique blend of military training, investigative skills, and sense of justice.

Get Signed

Find an Agent, Land a Book Deal, and Become a Published Author

Lucinda Halpern

The Daily Stoic

366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Ryan Holiday

Stephen Hanselman

This book provides 366 meditations on Stoic wisdom, featuring new translations of passages from Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and other Stoic philosophers. Each day, readers are presented with a Stoic lesson explained in modern language, along with advice on how to apply these lessons in everyday life. The book is organized temporally and thematically across the twelve months of the year, making it a daily resource for practicing Stoicism.

Hyperfocus

How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction

Chris Bailey

In 'Hyperfocus', Chris Bailey explores the science of attention and provides practical strategies for managing distractions. The book introduces two key mental modes: hyperfocus, which is intense and deliberate attention for high productivity, and scatterfocus, a creative mode that allows for novel connections and insights. Bailey offers advice on setting intentions, modifying environments to reduce distractions, controlling motivation, and strategically using both hyperfocus and scatterfocus to enhance productivity and creativity.

Getting Things Done

David Allen

Getting Things Done (GTD) is a personal productivity system developed by David Allen. The book provides a detailed methodology for managing tasks, projects, and information, emphasizing the importance of capturing all tasks and ideas, clarifying their meaning, organizing them into actionable lists, reviewing the system regularly, and engaging in the tasks. The GTD method is designed to reduce stress and increase productivity by externalizing tasks and using a trusted system to manage them. The book is divided into three parts, covering the overview of the system, its implementation, and the deeper benefits of integrating GTD into one's work and life.

How do you write a great query letter, find the right agent, and stand out in today’s crowded submissions inbox? In this special compilation episode, four top literary agents: Ed Wilson, Lucinda Halpern, Madeleine Milburn & Sam Copeland, share their honest advice on getting signed, writing marketable books, and navigating today's publishing industry.

Timestamps:

Ed Wilson - 1:01
Lucinda Literary - 19:11
Madeleine Milburn - 37:20
Sam Copeland - 48:47

ABOUT THE LITERARY AGENTS

Ed Wilson is a literary agent and director at Johnson & Alcock, a London-based literary agency with a diverse and developing list of authors of fiction and nonfiction. He represents everything from award-winning literary fiction to bestselling crime, science-fiction, and fantasy.

Ed's profile at Johnson & Alcock
Ed's Twitter account
Johnson & Alcock's submission guidelines
Full LWS episode: #071: Ed Wilson — Submitting to Agents & Navigating Publishing, Junior vs Experienced Agents, How to Follow up with Agents, Smaller vs Larger Literary Agencies

Lucinda Literary is a New York literary agent and the author of Get Signed: Find an Agent, Land a Book Deal, and Become a Published Author. She represents a range of New York Times and internationally bestselling authors in the categories of business, health, lifestyle, popular science, narrative nonfiction, memoir, and upmarket fiction.

Get Signed: Find an Agent, Land a Book Deal, and Become a Published Author
Lucinda Literary
Follow up question? Get in touch with Lucinda here.
Full LWS episode: #96: Lucinda Halpern — How to Get Signed With a Literary Agent, Unlock Your Book’s Big Idea, Query Letter Essentials, Unconventional Ways to Engage With Beta-Readers

Madeleine Milburn has been responsible for discovering some of the highest-selling and award-winning contemporary authors who consistently hit the bestseller lists in the New York Times, including Nita Prose (The Maid), Costa Book Award winner and bestseller Gail Honeyman (Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine). She represents bestselling crime and thriller brands including C.L. Taylor, C.J Tudor, Mark Edwards and Teresa Driscoll.

Website
Submitting your work to the Madeleine Milburn Agency
Full LWS episode: #064: Madeleine Milburn — Catching an Agent's Eye & Building an Author-First Agency

Sam Copeland was shortlisted for Literary Agent of the Year at the 2020 and 2021 British Book Awards and selected for the Bookseller's Most Influential People in Publishing in 2020. He welcomes e-mail submissions and can be contacted on sam@rcwlitagency.com. He is also a children’s author. His Charlie Changes series was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book of the Year shortlisted

Sam Copeland
RCW Literary Agency
Full LWS episode: #118: Sam Copeland — How to Catch The Eye Of A Literary Agent, Compelling Pitch Letters & Writing Funny Children’s Fiction

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