Jenny founded The Bent Agency nearly 10 years ago and it has now grown into having nine agents with a strong focus on international rights and has offices in New York City and London. Her agency works with each author to map the publishing career of their dreams and make it a reality. They pay careful attention to details, from the terms of a first contract, editorial work and cover design, to the publisher’s marketing and publicity plan, royalties and sales figures. The Bent Agency prides themselves on nurturing and discovering authors who they can help propel to the top of their category. They’ve even earned a reputation where they’re known for their work ethic, their responsiveness, the quality of their client list and the results they achieve.
In this episode, we discuss the early days of Jenny’s career and the path that unfolded to become a founder of her own company. She walks us through her role as a literary agent and touch briefly on film/tv and foreign rights deals and how understanding your co-agent’s tastes in what they’re seeking plays an important role.
Further into the conversation, we have a very inspiring discussion about how Jenny faced moments of paralysis during the lowest points in her life and how she moved past it by gritting her way through. We get into a lot of really insightful and helpful listener questions and you’ll discover what tends to spark Jenny’s interest and what she’d love to see more of from submissions, the voices that are most under-represented in the YA community and the key changes that need to be made. Towards the end of the episode, we flesh out Jenny’s thoughts about authors’ social media presence, and she shares when she will be re-opening to queries and what she is hoping to see more of.
Books & Resources Mentioned in Jenny’s Episode:
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
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Say ‘Hi!’ to Jenny
“Sometimes it’s just as important to say no to an opportunity as it is to say yes.”
-Jenny Bent
What You’ll Learn From This Episode:
- We discuss the early days of her career and dive into the path that led her to create her own literary agency
- We go into detail about her role as an agent
- How understanding your co-agent’s tastes in what they’re seeking plays an important role in film/tv deals and foreign rights deals
- The pros and cons of working from home as your own boss VS. working for someone else in an office setting
- Facing moments of paralysis at our lowest points and gritting our way through
- Discover what tends to spark Jenny’s interest and what she’d like to see more of from submissions
- We discuss voices that are most under-represented in the YA community and the key changes that need to be made
- Jenny’s thoughts on an author’s social media presence
- Jenny shares when she will be re-opening to queries and what she is hoping to see more of
Learn More About The Bent Agency
At the Bent Agency, we work with each author to map the publishing career of their dreams and make it a reality. We pay careful attention to every detail, from the terms of a first contract, editorial work and cover design, to the publisher’s marketing and publicity plan, royalties and sales figures. We offer the kind of representation that can only be born of years of agent experience in the atmosphere of a smaller boutique firm where every client gets our combined and total focus.
We pride ourselves on nurturing and discovering authors whom we can help propel to the top of their category. We have represented over 30 New York Times-bestselling titles, with many more on USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and other regional lists. Learn more by clicking here.
Learn More About Jenny Bent
Jenny Bent founded The Bent Agency in 2009; the agency now has nine agents, offices in New York City and London, and a strong focus on international rights. She represents upmarket bookclub fiction, suspense, select literary fiction, and young adult fiction of all genres. Her authors include New York Times bestselling authors AG Howard, Lynsay Sands, Lori Nelson Spielman, Yangsze Choo, Governor John Kasich, Lynn Weingarten, Stephanie Garber, Goldy Moldavsky, and Edgar-Award winner Lori Roy.
