Dreaming of getting published?
Let me help you get a literary agent and make it happen!
If you’re exploring the business end of publishing – the mysterious realm of literary agents and book publishers – it can feel impenetrable and daunting. You might be wondering:
Is my book ready to submit to a literary agent? How do I write an agent query letter? How do I even find a literary agent?
If these are your questions, then you’ve come to the right place for straight answers.
I’ve turned a lifelong obsession with books and writing into a business helping other writers get literary agents and publishing deals in the USA and Australia.
Authors such as:
- Dog behaviourist Guy Hull, who came to me with an idea for a book that I helped him turn into the bestselling The Dogs That Made Australia (HarperCollins)
- Novelist Fiona Higgins, whose breakout book The Mothers’ Group (Allen & Unwin) was a bestseller and whose fourth novel, An Unusual Boy was published in 2020 with London-based Boldwood Books
- Psychologists Professor Gillian Straker and Dr Jacqui Winship, who with my help transformed their academic-sounding manuscript into a commercially appealing book — resulting in The Talking Cure (Macmillan)
- Journalist Tim Elliott, who I helped turn an explosive feature article in The Sydney Morning Herald into a manuscript that was hotly contested by several publishers at auction and published as Farewell to the Father (Macmillan).
What sets me apart from most book editors you’ll find online is that I’ve been a commercially published author (twice), and a literary agent, as well as an in-house editor of fiction and nonfiction.
Literary agents refer writers to me to help develop their manuscripts when they need a bit more work to attract a publishing contract.
I know how hard it is to write a book — and how hard it is to sell one to a publishing house.
I know the level you need to reach, and the questions and concerns that publishing professionals will have about your project.
My portfolio and testimonials speak to the ways I help aspiring authors and subject experts achieve their publishing dreams. I can help you too.
My questions for you:
- Are you looking for some quick tips on your agent query letter before submitting your work?
- Do you need help with your synopsis or comparison titles?
- Or would you just like to save time in researching the shortlist of literary agents most likely to be curious about your work?
What you need to know is this:
You don’t need superficial copyediting to spot a few typos and word repetition.
You need constructive and honest advice that will get you closer to your dream: to be an author with a book published by a traditional publishing house.
And that’s where I can help.
VIRGINIA LLOYD (*waves*)
I'm on a mission to help writers and experts maximize the appeal of their manuscript submissions to literary agents and book publishers.
Too many writers send off their agent submissions without getting feedback on their materials. Then when they don't hear back from agents, they get frustrated and disappointed.
As the traditionally published author of two books, as a structural editor, former in-house editor and literary agent, I'll give you the kind of commercial and constructive feedback you'll never get from a workshop or writers' group.
Whatever you need, my team and I are here to help.
Why do my clients get literary agents and publishing contracts?
As a published author I know how hard it is to write a book and get it published, and I understand the joys and agonies of rewriting.
As a former literary agent I know exactly how selective agents can afford to be and the reservations they’ll have about an author query email
As an experienced structural editor I can see ways to improve most manuscripts that the author, who is typically too close to their material, cannot.
My clients value my strong editorial background because I know what constitutes a manuscript of publishable quality.
As a published author I know how hard it is to write a book and get it published, and I understand the joys and agonies of rewriting.
As a former literary agent I know exactly how selective agents can afford to be and the reservations they’ll have about an author query email
As an experienced structural editor I can see ways to improve most manuscripts that the author, who is typically too close to their material, cannot.
My clients value my strong editorial background because I know what constitutes a manuscript of publishable quality.
In my clients’ words:
Structural report and developmental editing on my client’s memoir-in-progress
Reviewing and advising on aspects of the author’s offer from her publisher, Norton
I helped Steven clarify his pitch & chapter outline, edit sample chapters, finalize a book proposal and attract a US agent — resulting in a book deal with Hay House.
I provided encouragement and some editorial notes, and found Jamie an Australian publisher for this spectacular book about transgender surfer Westerly Windina.
Structural edit for the publisher, Simon & Schuster
Structural edit on the bestselling debut author’s second novel for the publisher, Simon & Schuster
Structural edit for the publisher, Simon & Schuster
I helped esteemed historian Cassandra Pybus find a publisher for this important book, which required knowledge of which publishers would be most receptive to the work.
A young professional woman finally meets the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with, only to discover that he is terminally ill. After her beloved John’s death from cancer, Virginia was faced with addressing the chronic rising damp problem in the house they had shared and, over her first year as a young widow, her house had to dry from the inside out – and so did Virginia. The Young Widow’s Book of Home Improvement is a wry and touching love story that plays with the parallels between our homes and ourselves.
Structural edit for the publisher, Allen & Unwin
Kellie and I worked on the structure and a few sample chapters before I pitched and sold her memoir to Hachette Australia.
Guy and I developed a chapter outline and a partial manuscript, which was enough to convince HarperCollins.
Fiona was a nonfiction client when she sent me the draft of a novel she’d written. When I read The Mothers’ Group manuscript, I knew this was an important – not to mention page-turning – book. My job was to help Fiona maximise its appeal to prospective publishers through editorial feedback. The Mothers’ Group went to auction and was a bestseller in Australia and Europe. Virginia’s mentoring was vital to the ultimate publication of my work. Her insights were helpful at every stage of the process – from big-picture thinking on narrative structure and focus, through to line-by-line editorial feedback at final draft. She is an expert editorial ‘curator’ and a godsend for a first-time author. Fiona Higgins
Reviewing and advising on aspects of the author’s offer from her publisher, Norton
I was delighted to discover Jenny, and then find her a publisher for this warm, haunting novel set in Melbourne and a small mountain village in Turkey.
A story about how learning to play the piano shaped the lives of the author and her grandmother, worlds and generations apart. Girls at the Piano is a musical mystery, a personal exploration of the purpose of years of intensive music study, and a tour through the changing relationship between women and the piano over the course of the instrument’s history. About the book Girls at the Piano is a literary tour through my love-hate relationship to the instrument, as a serious piano student during my childhood and adolescence, and investigates the mystery of my musical grandmother Alice, who gave up a blossoming professional life in music in Scotland to migrate to Australia in 1921. It regards the piano from the perspective of some historical and fictional women who sat
Structural edit for the publisher, HarperCollins
Anna and I worked closely for several months during the drafting and editing of her story of female resilience and leadership.
Tim came to me for help turning a feature article about his brilliant but troubled father into a book-length memoir.
Award-winning work of alternate history, the first book I sold as an agent. Published in the US & Australia.