The Plains Agency
Literary Agency | Intellectual Property Specialists
Dedicated to Writers and the Appropriate Exploitation of Ingenuity
If you’re writing what you think will sell, stop it. Stop it right now. Write what you love. Characters you love. The writing will be better. Always.
– Christi Cardenas
About Us
aka Who We Are
Literary Representation. Christi Cardenas founded The Plains Agency in 2008 after having spent the previous twelve years working with another literary agency. The focus for The Plains Agency today is on both commercial and literary fiction as well as books reflecting what’s current in popular culture. We take on projects we love and respect every inquiry that comes across our desk. It’s why we respond to each and every query. We know what it takes to take the step of asking someone to read what has been so painstakingly put on the page.
We’re fortunate to have several great partners in Los Angeles to assist with film and television interests as well as having aligned with the leading foreign agencies when translation rights are reserved on behalf of our authors.
If you’re perusing this site considering The Plains Agency for representation, we have three recommendations for you. First, read Amanda Palmer’s, The Art of Asking. We’re a bit obsessed with Amanda, not to mention that creative spouse of hers. Second, read Stephen King’s, On Writing. Just do it. And finally? Woo us with your query. Don’t tell us what you wrote, show us. Give us a sense of who you are while putting yourself out there. The query letter should take as much thought, angst, care as the first and last paragraph of your work.
And what’s with the intellectual property thing? Writing is intellectual property. Ideas are intellectual property. Over the years, The Plains Agency has taken on select non-literary projects as we have a knack for turning people’s ideas (big or small) into something that can be monetized. Christi Cardenas is often brought in to pull the right people into the room while negotiating transactions whether she has a client at the table or not because of her concise communication skills and her willingness to call it as she sees it.
Credits: We have worked with and/or represented such well known individuals and companies as Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Robert Krammes, Jeff Corwin, Michael Keith, The Scripps Networks (Food, HGTV, DIY), Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Electric Entertainment, Marvel, DC Comics, Hasbro, National Public Radio, Pillsbury/General Mills, Ameriprise, and Margaret Weis Productions.
Let’s Chat
612.868.4066
If you’re pitching a book, please personalize your query and include the first ten pages of your project in the message below. Please don’t call to tell us about the book as we can’t appropriately discuss until we’ve reviewed your writing.