Amber Caraveo
Literary Agent
Skylark Literary
Literary agent & co-founder: @SkylarkLit . Loves sunny days, myths & mysteries, children's books, YA books, all books! (She/her)
Literary Agent
Rachael Ward @rachaelkward
@AmberCaraveo @anonymoss Oh dear, I write predominantly other world fantasy. Is it that hard to sell? #AskAgent#AskAgent @rachaelkward @anonymoss It all depends on the writing! You could be writing dystopian vampire-filled YA so long as it's FAB! :-)
Literary Agent
Sharon Marie Jones @sharonmariej
@SkylarkLit Does a standard rejection from agents with no feedback mean there's no point working on ms and submitting again? #AskAgent#AskAgent @sharonmariej Hmmm. You're probably better off submitting something else if you're wanting to go back to the same agent.
Literary Agent
#AskAgent @BeckyBright @SkylarkLit Alcoholic or dying parents. Dystopia - unless handled in a very fresh/different way!
Literary Agent
L.J. Moss @eponymoss
@AmberCaraveo @rachaelkward @JoannaMoult Is it cyclical? Wondering when fantasy will be 'hot' again, and what's taken its place? #askagent#AskAgent @anonymoss @rachaelkward Yes, very cyclical. Fantasy especially popular when combined with real world.
Literary Agent
Sharon Marie Jones @sharonmariej
@SkylarkLit Does being a published author help get you noticed by agents, rather than being unpubllished? #AskAgent#AskAgent @sharonmariej @SkylarkLit Not necessarily. Many agents love a good debut - like us, for example! :-)
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Skylark Literary @SkylarkLit
Stop watching #GBBO everyone, and come and ask us questions on Children's and YA publishing on #AskAgent (or do both!)#AskAgent @SkylarkLit Unless of course you're watching so as to make us cake! :-)
Literary Agent
Rachael Ward @rachaelkward
@JoannaMoult Thanks! Another question, is it a bad idea to pitch the first book in a MG fantasy series? @AmberCaraveo #AskAgent#AskAgent @rachaelkward @JoannaMoult No but fantasy is a difficult sell so make sure it's fresh & stand-alone with series POTENTIAL
Literary Agent
DecEMMAber Festive-Prancer @FinlaysonPalmer
Is there a place for fiction with real world things such as tap class/dance with fantasy characters like fairies? #AskAgent @SkylarkLit#AskAgent @FinlaysonPalmer @SkylarkLit Absolutely. Could be hilarious! Choose something that many kids are familiar with tho'
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
DecEMMAber Festive-Prancer @FinlaysonPalmer
Do you do much editing with an author before submitting their book to a publisher? #AskAgent @SkylarkLit#AskAgent @FinlaysonPalmer @SkylarkLit Yes! Since we're editors by background we do lots of work to ensure ms tip-top before sending to pubs
Literary Agent
Jennifer Moore @JennyWriteMoore
@anonymoss @SkylarkLit ooh yes, that made very interesting/scary reading... #AskAgent *changes name to Geoffrey*#AskAgent @JennyWriteMoore @anonymoss I'm dubious about this! In my experience, agents & pubs go by writing & ideas - gender not at all!
Literary Agent
Olivia Kiernan @LivKiernan
@JoannaMoult @Viking_Ma I've no agent to disagree with 😞 so not sure why I'm mentioned in tweet. Almost wish I had this issue #AskAgent#AskAgent @LivKiernan @JoannaMoult @Viking_Ma One day you will & someone will remind you of this! :-)
Literary Agent
Janelle McCurdy @JanelleLMccurdy
@SkylarkLit What made you want to be an agent for YA and children's books? Just curious #AskAgent#AskAgent @SeekerJBeliever Always had a passion for Children's/YA & all my expertise is in this area as I spent so many years publishing it
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
DecEMMAber Festive-Prancer @FinlaysonPalmer
How many months approx is it from publisher accepting book to release date? #AskAgent @SkylarkLit#AskAgent @FinlaysonPalmer @SkylarkLit It varies hugely - anything from c. 10 months to 2 years. Usually somewhere in the middle!
Literary Agent
#AskAgent Lots of qs on word count for diff age groups tonight. For more info on this - & other tips - see our blog skylark-literary.com/blog/?offset=1…
Literary Agent
Sharon Marie Jones @sharonmariej
Are you interested in young MG (7-9 years)? What would be the average word count you'd expect for this age range? #AskAgent#AskAgent @sharonmariej Yes! We are struggling to find anything really stand-out for this age group. 12-15k words roughly.
Literary Agent
#AskAgent @BeckyBright @SkylarkLit Yes on the whole but it's not compulsory! :-)
Literary Agent
Jennifer Moore @JennyWriteMoore
#AskAgent @SkylarkLit Hello! Just wondering about editors' views on substituting actions for 'said' in MG books, eg. "thanks," she smiled.#AskAgent @JennyWriteMoore Personally I don't like it. It's a bit lazy, but as with all rules GREAT writers can get away with breaking them!