Carole Blake has worked in publishing for 47 years. She started in a secretarial position with a small team working on a multi-volume art encyclopaedia for Rainbirds, the packagers. After eight years of progression through the company, she then became the first-ever Rights Manager for Michael Joseph, selling an enviable list of authors through the early ‘70s into paperback, bookclub, foreign markets and film.
She was headhunted to start W H Allen’s first rights department (selling Andre Brink’s first novels around the world among others), then approached to become Marketing Director of Sphere. In 1977, after 14 years in publishing, she started her own literary agency which merged with Julian Friedmann’s agency to become Blake Friedmann in 1983. It is an editorially-based agency with strong emphasis on selling a wide range of rights for their clients. The company was chosen as one of only twelve British agencies commended by the Society of Authors in their first survey of literary agents some years ago.
The Agency has always emphasised the importance of creative editorial work. It now has a staff of twelve and represents 200 writers. The Agency is represented by associate agents in more than two dozen language markets throughout the world. Julian Friedmann heads the agency’s film and television division; Carole Blake heads the book division.
She is a past President of the Association of Authors’ Agents. During her term as President she instigated and produced a survey of royalty statements that led to many British publishers radically changing the content and style of their royalty statements.
She is the past Chairman of the Society of Bookmen, only the second female Chair since the Society was founded in 1921. She is a member of the advisory board for City University’s post-graduate publishing course, and UCLA’s post-graduate publishing course. She was a board member for the book trade charity, The Book Trade Charity (BTBS) for many years, and served as Chairman from 2004 until 2007. She is now a lifelong Patron for the charity, and became President in Spring 2010. She has been in Who’s Who since the 1998 edition. She was Chairman of the judges for BBC TV’s 8-hour short story competition series ‘End of Story’ broadcast in 2004. She writes a regular ‘Agent’s Diary’ for Mslexia magazine for several years.
Her book, FROM PITCH TO PUBLICATION: Everything You Need To Know To Get Your Novel Published, was published in August 1999 by Macmillan. They reprinted three weeks after publication, and twice again in the first year of publication, a UK book club made it their main choice and bought 30,000 copies. It is now in its 11th UK printing and is used by publishing companies and literary agencies to train new staff.
The Times said: ‘… a shocking, and at times disheartening, read for aspiring authors.’ ‘Carole Blake writes lucidly and with a light touch … an invaluable guide.’ Daily Mail. ‘… an ideal set-text for anyone studying publishing.’ The Independent. ‘… hugely informative … an exceptional chapter on contracts and a brilliantly funny hit list.’ The Bookseller. ‘Stunningly comprehensive…it serves as an essay on the current state of the publishing industry, offering not just information but structured arguments and opinions, thus making it of interest to members of the trade as well as to authors. It can be read not only from the point of view of getting a novel published but by people wanting to get ahead in the industry or be an agent themselves.’ InPrint (journal of The Society of Young Publishers).
It has been reviewed widely in British national papers and magazines, and in Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Holland and Israel. Maeve Binchy, in a review in The Daily Mail said: ‘ It’s honest and practical, and I know if it had been around when I was young, I’d have published my first novel long before I was 42.’
‘Wish I could have seen it years ago! Almost on every page I experienced the Nabokovian thrill of recognition or approval. And I shall make sure that it is highly recommended for each one of my Creative Writing students.’ Andre Brink
Carole’s clients include Jane Asher, Elizabeth Chadwick, Barbara Erskine, Ann Granger, David Hewson, Peter James, Lawrence Norfolk, Joseph O’Connor, Sheila O’Flanagan,Craig Russell, Tess Stimson, Julian Stockwin and Michael White.
£310 bid. Potential Father’s Day Present for Him Indoors who is too busy caring for our 3 small ones to contact anyone himself.
I may have started the bidding, but sadly I cannot end it. £300+ is too rich for me, and so I shall have to rely on your agency’s readers being able to spot the potential in my manuscript when I send it instead. Best of luck to the rest of the bidding writers.
Here’s my bid.
I’ll round it up to £300.00.
Kind regards,
Alison
Synopsis: Dark Mermaids
1990. The Berlin wall has fallen. On this international stage the secrets of ‘State Plan 14.25’ emerge into the light. The horror of body engineering – doping young athletes in order to win at any cost is explored through a young woman’s search for truth.
My novel ‘Dark Mermaids’ uncovers new ground in narrative fiction to promote a wider understanding about lives overshadowed by dictatorship rule and plan to dominate the world stage of sport.
I bid the £100 I earned (!) writing for Seren Press for their new anthology Sing Sorrow Sorrow – out October 2010.
Really valued the advice in “From Pitch to Publication” and am a long time admirer of two of your authors – Barbara Erskine and David Hewson. The way they weave fascinating mysteries into everyday reality is inspiring and I have aimed to achieve the same in my novel MERIDIAN. I would love the chance to receive an appraisal and will bid at £280. Good luck with auction,
Ellie
A raffle is a brilliant idea Alex.
I’ll wade in with a bid…£275…..
I’ll start the bidding at £251.51. Would have loved to bid more, but struggling authors don’t have much dosh! I think the chap on Twitter who suggested raffle tickets was right, loads of people would buy those if they were a fiver each, but big amounts are hard to come by. Thanks for the opportunity though, fingers crossed.