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Axel Haase

(c) privat

Please introduce yourself in two or three sentences.
After completing my Abitur and studying German language and literature (modern literature), history and philosophy at the FU Berlin, and doing an internship at Piper Verlag in Munich, I worked as a translator from English and an editor specialized in architecture, history and politics.
From 1996 to 1997 I worked in the Rights and Licensing Department at Rotbuch Verlag/Europäische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg. In 1997, together with a partner, KP Herback (who died in 2004), I launched Herback & Haase Literary Agency. Ever since I’ve been the acting manager for fiction and non-fiction, and done license representation for a number of publishers.
Since 2004 I’ve been a board member of the Berlin literary event space Buchhändlerkeller.

What professional experience do you have in your field of consultation?
See my answer to the previous question.

What are typical questions that prospective clients might ask you in a consultation?
When submitting a manuscript to a publisher, which approach is more likely to lead to success: sending it yourself, or going through an agent?
What are the advantages of working with an agent?
How important are publications outside the book industry, for example in literary journals?
Should I send the entire text to a publisher, or at first only excerpts?
Is a proposal helpful/necessary for publisher’s readers?
In case it’s needed, how do I lay it out?
What should I take into consideration for the cover letter, and what should I avoid at all costs?

What are some of your professional achievements?
For the authors our literary agency represents:
− Participation and prizes in literary contests (e.g. open mic)
− Grants (e.g. the Deutscher Literaturfonds)
− Nomination for literature prizes (e.g. German Book Prize, Leipzig Book Fair Prize).
− Positive book reviews.
− Good sales.

For titles by publishers that our literary agency represents in the licensing department: foreign rights sales, negotiation of paperback editions and book club editions, as well as numerous additional deals involving ancillary rights.

In which languages can you offer consultations?
German and English.

Where can ou be found on the internet/on social media?
www.herbach-haase.de

What were your biggest challenges during the first years in your profession?
To secure publication offers for authors after having received a few rejections off the bat, despite them having what I considered to be (very) good projects/manuscripts.