Naomi Davis
Literary Agent
BookEnds Literary Agency
Eternally optimistic Literary Agent at @Bookendslit Genderqueer 🏳️🌈 ND; I laugh & love relentlessly. Repped by the phenomenal @4triciaskinner
Literary Agent
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Elizabeth MacKinney @Elizabe62668090
Is there a bad day/ days, or a good day/ days in a week to submit your MS to a literary agency? What do you all think? I'm just about ready to send off my new MS.#amwriting #amediting #amwritingfantasy #askagent pic.twitter.com/K6gB6U4nDX
Many of us use submissions portals like Querymanager now, which eliminates the need to worry about this since we don't receive interruptions to our workdays or days off when a query comes in. #askagent
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Allie Therin @allie_therin
#askagent If any agents are still willing to look at questions: when I finish polishing my new book to query-stage, should I offer it to the agents considering the full of my first, if they rep both genres? It's not a sequel, it's a new standalone.I prefer to consider one project per author at a time. If I reject the first one, I'm always happy to see the query for the second one. #askagent
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Ken Poirier @theking4mayor
@NaomisLitPix But I'm glad to hear there are more resources out there. I think for the 'new professional' they are rather hidden. Maybe there is a way to make the resources known without so much 'digging'. That could ease some of the tension out there.In my experience, the Twitter writing community is wildly connected thanks to hashtags such as #amwriting #amediting #amquerying #amrevising #querytip #askagent #tenqueries etc. Perhaps follow those if you're unsure of where to find resources.
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Julie Patterson @julie_patter
How should an author go about deciding whether or not a market is already too saturated with a particular topic/theme when deciding which project to work next? We often believe our angle is different, but is there a point at which “different” isn’t enough? #askagentLiterary Agent
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Daniel M Scanlan @DanielMScanlan
@NaomisLitPix @TracyMarchini Clearly detailed feedback is impossible, but what about one liners? "Not right for the current market", "Writing quality not there", or "List too full with similar projects." Anything like that would be enormously helpful to budding authors.As much as I hear you on this, please refer to the other #askagent answers about how we must prioritize our time toward our signed clients first and their submissions, revisions, editor communications, covers, blurbs, promo strategy, next projects, subrights, contracts, etc etc.
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Jessica Alvarez @AgentJessicaA
@NaomisLitPix @theREELBrian I agree with @NaomisLitPix that everyone has different approaches. Maybe what that agent was trying to get at was your sales numbers with a small press might not be impressive, thus making you a harder sell. Just a guess."You gotta start somewhere" still applies. Query, write, query, write, and always work to improve! #askagent
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E.C. Farrell @celiselott
@NaomisLitPix Almost six months. I've heard that's the appropriate time to follow up, but I've also heard sometimes agents don't want you to follow up? I know agents are busy.Six months is plenty appropriate for a followup. I personally say three months, but you're correct that many agents have specific guidelines on their websites. If there are no followup guidelines, do send a polite inquiry. Worst that can happen is a no. #askagent
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Frostrunes @FrostruneDragon
#askagent I've been thinking of writing a Portal/High Fantasy but I'm seeing several agents actively stating they don't want portal stories. Is Portal Fantasy anathema now?Like any fantasy right now, if you're going to write something that has been done successfully in the past, make sure you break the mold and approach it from a wildly new angle, or twist the rules. Every agent has diff preferences. #askagent
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Kritika Rao @kritika_rao
They say if you aren't getting requests for partials/fulls, problem is your query not book. But what if *some* agents said, send us another ms you have or specifically said in their rejection that they liked the pitch but you still don't get asked for partials or fulls? #askagentCase by case answer to this one. I ask for pages in addition to a query, so when I reject, it's often based on both the query+writing, or query wasn't for a story I want to rep, or the query was wonderful but writing didn't hold up. That rule isn't black&white for me #askagent
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Brian C. Johnson @theREELBrian
@AgentJessicaA #askagent #bookendchat I had an agent reject me because my debut novel was published by small press. She said it would be harder to sell me. I don't understand.Everyone has different standards for the authors and projects they are looking to rep. Sounds like it was a personal decision, not a flaw in your approach, but @AgentJessicaA may have more insight than I do! #askagent
Literary Agent
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Inspired by an #askagent question, a #querytip for #amwriting #amediting #amquerying writers:
Bored characters make bored readers. You NEED a stronger catalyst for action in a story than "His life was unbearably dull so an exciting story started happening to him."
Literary Agent
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Serena Louise @Serena_L_Thomas
In the query, would you want a sentence outlining if we are working on any other projects alongside the one we've submitted to show we are working on something else? #askagentYou definitely want to mention any published works, but I like to focus on one project at a time in a query. I will ask if I want to see something else by you. #askagent
Literary Agent
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Naomi Davis @NaomisLitPix
@BookEndsJessica @jenwoodrum As a followup: sci fi is so broad it can include worlds that have dystopian feels and worlds that are far removed from it. Consider WHY the dystopian elements are there, and whether it would make a stronger, more rooted sci fi if framed without them.Literary Agent
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Naomi Davis @NaomisLitPix
@BookEndsJessica @jenwoodrum Indeed I am floating!As my colleague Natascha said, we are experienced readers. When a dystopian is rebranded as SF, we see thru that, as dystopian has core elements we associate with that genre. But if the SF&plot is strong, a "dystopian feel" won't necessarily be a barrier.