Alice Saunders worked in the rights department at Quadrille Publishing before joining Lucas Alexander Whitley (LAW) as an assistant to Mark Lucas in 2001. She became an agent in 2011, and in 2019 LAW joined forces with Factual Management to create The Soho Agency. Her clients include Esther Walker, Sophie Ranald, Simon Toyne and Solitaire Townsend.
What do you enjoy most about being a literary agent?
Ah, everything! Genuinely, it’s hard to choose one area. I’ve been doing this for over twenty years now, and I still absolutely love my job. There’s nothing like receiving a manuscript, and knowing from the first paragraph that everything else on the to-do list will be for tomorrow as I get to be transported into another world. As an agent, you get to flex every creative muscle in the development of an author’s career, and it is such a privilege to support authors and team them up with great publishing partners.
What specific qualities should an epic saga have?
First off, great world-building. With Pillars of the Earth, there’s the medieval canvas of 12th Century England (who would have guessed church architecture could be so compelling?), and Wild Swans is an extraordinary exploration of 20th-century China through three generations of the author’s family. I am always looking for stories set in worlds that I’d like to learn about, be that a specific period in history or a certain industry. Then, you need a multi-generational cast who bring several different narratives and perspectives to the heart of the story. Finally, sagas are a great format for a writer to tackle important, challenging issues with high stakes that occur in everyday life and really deliver emotional impact. Ideally, there would be a love story, and for me, a happy ending.
What common weaknesses do you see in the saga submissions you receive?
I think there’s still a bit of misconception about what a saga is. They don’t have to be traditional ‘clogs and shawls’ (although they absolutely can be), and I think that can be off-putting to writers. But the biggest issue for me is that I’m not seeing enough saga submissions in the first place!
Are publishers interested in sagas that crossover into other genres?
Yes, absolutely. Look at Game of Thrones and, arguably, Harry Potter! I’d say there are no limitations on genre, and writers should feel free to go where their imagination takes them.
How important is setting in sagas?
Very. Publishers, like me, would like to see more sagas in any setting. That said, World War 1 and World War 2, whilst perennially popular, have been very well covered, so any narrative in that period would need to come at it with a fresh angle.
Can standalone sagas work well, or are publishers interested in saga series?
Standalones can absolutely work well. Claire Lombardo is brilliant at them and had huge success with The Most Fun We Ever Had. Inevitably, if publishers do well with the standalone, they will absolutely be looking to build on that with more books in the same world, so with a bit of luck you then find yourself with a long-running successful series. The danger with setting up a new project as a series is that there is the temptation to keep some of the best ideas for Book 2.
How well do sagas translate into foreign markets?
They can do really well. Lucinda Riley’s Seven Sisters series has been translated into 37 languages and published in over 38 countries, with sales at over 60 million copies, so that’s what we’d be aiming for! I would say that the translation market has definitely become trickier in recent years for all sorts of reasons, and word count (generally on the higher side with sagas) with the resulting translation costs is an issue.
What opportunities are there for film/TV rights for sagas?
They are perfect for today’s film/TV market, which is all about providing stories that will work as returnables, i.e., long-running series.
How important is diversity in the saga market today?
As important as it is in every corner of the market, so very. Readers want to see their own lives and cultures reflected in the stories they love, and we are committed to playing our part in that. We work with Sidd Khajuria to support Grand Plan, a charity dedicated to championing artists of colour, and that relationship is something we are proud of.
Alice Saunders’ Top Tip
Make sure you love the world you choose to write in because you’ll need to know it inside out: the sights, sounds, and smells of the settings and every peccadillo of your characters. It’s these details that lend that essential air of authenticity to the storytelling.
Further Information
The latest guidelines for submissions to The Soho Agency can be found here: https://thesohoagency.co.uk/literary-submissions/
© Simon Whaley