Presenting

article mentioned the author's agent. I knew athletes have agents, so I figured they did something similar. I had been a transactional lawyer, so I thought maybe I could do that. I reworked my resume and sent it to every literary agency in the city. I eventually got a job as an assistant with a mid-sized agency that had been around for many years. at's how I got my start. How did you end up representing Nicholas Sparks? Nick had written a novel and sent a query letter to 25 agents. He had done his research and picked them for different reasons. He sent one to an agent at my agency, but he didn't know that she had died very suddenly a few months before. We were still getting tons of mail for her, and her assistant was redistributing the projects that came in. She brought Nick's query letter to me. My boss said the novel wasn't for him, but maybe I should take a look at it. I thought, it's about love between old people, it's so schmaltzy! But he said I should just take a look and if it wasn't good, I could just send it back. I contacted Nick and he wanted to know who I was and how I had gotten his letter. I explained the whole story. At the time, I was still an assistant but had negotiated a deal with the agency that allowed me to take on projects right away. But I had never sold a novel before. Nick asked my age. I was 27, but he was only 28 at the time, so he gave me a chance. I soon discovered that a lot of people had asked to see the manuscript, but everyone else had turned it down. I was the only person who wanted to represent what later became e Notebook. at was 21 years ago. What pushed you to eventually go out on your own? at was a terrifying leap for me. I had never envisioned myself running my own business. But the agency I was with had been around so long, it was very difficult to change things there. When I decided to leave and interviewed around, I couldn't find the right fit. Finally, my lawyer suggested I start my own business. I said I felt like I needed mentors, somebody to guide me. I was 35 at the time. He told me that maturity is a process of moving from a dependency on others to dependency on yourself. It was time for me to grow up. When I left, I was able to take all of my clients with me, including Nick. I had negotiated that deal. When I first got to the agency, nobody had written agreements. It was all negotiated on the fly. I couldn't imagine living like that. When you're juggling roles, it encourages you to think in a longer- term way. You are much more concerned about security and the kind of environment in which you're going to raise your kids. Recently, you've also begun to produce feature films and TV projects. Tell us about that. I never really envisioned I would be doing this. I sort of backed into this producing role in film and television. My entry point to that world was really Nick. With the first movies that were made—there are now 11 films based on his books—we weren't that involved. But as his stature and success grew, he started playing a bigger role and eventually became a producer. Because we collaborated on everything in his business life, I just kind of naturally became his producing partner. What has been exciting is to take some of that knowledge and experience and apply it to other books and projects that aren't even necessarily written by my clients. It might not even be my typical genre, so it gives me an opportunity to take on different kinds of projects and even makes me read differently. I really love that. As a producer, I can work and develop any kind of film. I continue to learn and stretch my wings. eresa's path has been shaped by unexpected detours and fortuitous surprises. As she tackles new projects, conquers more media realms and further evolves, we are excited to see what lies around the bend. To learn more about Theresa's take on the literary world, how she manages to strike that work-life balance, and her views on the role of women in her field, visit GravitasMag.com for her full interview. FROM TOP: Theresa and her team at Park Literary & Media. Theresa with her family. Visit GravitasMag.com for more! Subscribe at GravitasMag.com | 25

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