New Agent Alert: Zeynep Sen of WordLink Literary Agency
New literary agent alerts (with this spotlight featuring Zeynep Sen of WordLink Literary Agency) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.
Zeynep Sen graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a B.A. in Literature and Creative Writing. Following her graduation, she started working at the Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency, where she honed her skills as an agent. A few years after, Zeynep moved to WordLink Literary Agency, as their new senior and foreign rights agent.
At WordLink, Zeynep represents her own lists of authors and is in charge of the foreign rights of all the authors of the agency. As such, she frequently travels to various international book fairs. Fluent in Spanish and Turkish, Zeynep is drawn to literary and historical works of fiction and narrative nonfiction of international appeal.
Currently Seeking
When it comes to nonfiction, I represent works that try to start a social discussion, that prompt the reader to think on social change or books that unveil inspiring life stories or hidden histories few people know about. A book by one of my authors, Un-American, by Erik Edstrom, recently published by Bloomsbury, is an excellent example of this.
When it comes to fiction, I'm drawn to family sagas, historical novels and coming-of-age stories that embrace themes such as LGBTQ+ issues, mental health, interculturality, immigration, identity, belonging and race.
I do not represent thrillers or mystery/crime. Regardless of genre, though, what's most important to me in a work is character development and relationships, as well as unique narrative voices.
How to Submit
I'm currently open to submission and actively looking for new works and authors. The best way to share your work with me is to send a query letter to z.sen@wordlink.us.
I usually respond to queries within 6 weeks of receipt.
*****
Writing strong first pages requires a great hook, a strong voice, and a clear premise. The first sentence should immediately catch the reader's attention, while the subsequent text should leave the reader wanting to dive further into the pages of the manuscript. But making the first pages of your story absolutely un-putdownable takes practice, patience, revision, and an eye for detail. Which is why we're here: to discuss what to do (and not to do) to make your opening pages stand out.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
