UPDATE: Regretfully, we are not accepting any new queries at this time. We wish you the best of success in your writing endeavors!
Please review our Home and Books pages to confirm that we represent your category of work. (We specifically do not represent genre fiction, young adult, screenplays or poetry). If you believe our agency is a good fit, please send us a one-page query letter: e-mail is preferred during initial contact, but we also accept snail mail. Please do not send e-mail attachments unless specifically requested. We do not accept queries by telephone. If you are sending a fiction query via U.S. mail you can include a one-page synopsis and the first four pages. Your query letter should identify the category of your work, the title, the length (word count), a brief overview of your project, credentials and previous publishing history, if any. If you want your hard-copy material returned, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE).
NONFICTION:
We’d particularly like to hear from you if you are a journalist or writer published in well-known magazines, newspapers or websites, and have expertise on the subject you’re writing about, together with national media exposure and/or speaking schedule. A formal book proposal with two sample chapters is preferred.
FICTION:
We like to hear from anyone who has had success with a previous novel. With a debut novel it helps if you’ve been published in literary anthologies or journals, if you have studied under well-known authors, or have an MFA. It shows a dedication to the craft. A strong social media presence (website, blog, Facebook, Twitter) is also useful in persuading publishers you have a large potential audience. Of course, the bottom line will always be great writing.
SELF-PUBLISHED:
If they fit within the categories our agency represents, we happily consider books that have recently been self-published, and give special consideration to authors who have established a popular social media presence and can verify book sales of more than 10,000 copies. However, we are specifically not interested in legacy memoirs, i.e. books intended to record your family’s history for posterity.
FOLLOW-UP:
If we are interested in your work, we will contact you and give you specific instructions about how to send your material. You are free to submit to other literary agencies at the same time, but as a professional courtesy please let us know it’s a multiple submission and keep us apprised of any offers of representation. Please be sure to include your phone number and email address. If we decide to pass on your particular project you should receive a “Nice No” response within two weeks of receipt of your initial query, or 4-6 weeks of receiving requested materials.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
E-mail: Sally@vanHaitsmaLiterary.com
U.S. Mail:
van Haitsma Literary 1345 Encinitas Boulevard, Suite 431 Encinitas, CA 92024One Final Note: Please DO NOT QUERY US BY PHONE!!! No matter how compelling you describe your project, we will always ask you to first e-mail or snail mail us a formal query letter and a sample of your writing. We just don’t have enough hours in the day to handle unsolicited phone queries. Therefore, we do not return query messages left on our agency phone.
