Kaitlyn Johnson

I always say wait until at least 3 months have passed. Any earlier than that, and it's not likely the agent had time to get to your submission yet #askagent

You may bring up how it would be more realistic doing author events in your own town or in states where you know people and could travel or be housed in more comfort. Or, online events (like online conferences or, as you said, Skype events) #askagent

For agents, we don't expect you to travel a lot. It will be something to discuss, though, when considering marketing for your novel. If you get a pub deal, the house needs to amp up other avenues since in-person events will be limited #askagent

It all depends on what you want for your career. You can go ahead and sign that contract and find an agent afterward to rep your next works. You can ask the editor to wait because you want an agent to look over the contract (though they may give you a hard deadline) #askagent

haha gotcha! You don't HAVE to have an agent. You can choose to accept or decline the offer (I'd try to get an agent or lawyer to look over the contract with you) or you can ask the editor how long they might be open to waiting for your answer as you notify agents. #askagent

I've seen calls for dragons! Depends how it's used in the story, though. #askagent One of my clients has dragons, though it's YA

ah, I'm definitely not the right agent to ask. Sorry! I'm really not drawn to anthropomorphic MG, so I'm biased #askagent

I personally don't acquire much slapstick, so I may not be the best to ask. I haven't seen a ton of call for it? But I know MG humor does hook readers, so it could be in demand for that reason #askagent

And you only need to inform other agents who have your MS if an agent offers. They may ask for two weeks to read the MS and maybe throw their own hats in the ring #askagent

Correct. If an agent requests the full/partial, they're still thinking on it, not offering. If they offer rep, they should do so through email or phone call, and then a contract should be signed #askagent

I always advise three or more months. If I get a nudge before 3 months, know there's a hard eye roll happening on this side of the computer lol I perpetually have (at the very least!) 150 queries at a time, and it's hard to go through them that quickly #askagent

Usually, you wait until all queries are closed for the previous work. But this takes a while, so it's ok to query a new ms but make sure you don't send the new one to an agency that currently holds your old one #askagent Personal requests are also a different matter

That should be up to the writer. If they want to share up front, that's fine. Unless something is actively harming the business relationship, an agent shouldn't force a writer to divulge that until they're ready. #askagent

If they are your actual beta reader/critique partner, you can include a quote from them. But, unless the agent personally knows that writer, the referral may not be the strongest. Doesn't hurt to include, though! #askagent

There is sometimes call for this, but it depends how well the original book sells. I don't represent compilations, so I'm not the best to ask #askagent

When I call them, I ask what other ideas they have. Usually, they do brief, query-length pitches or give me cliffnotes. So far, I haven't encountered that chat turning me off a writer. I'm just making sure they have something else, not that they've completed another ms #askagent

It's tough. I encourage people to still query with NA as the category, though. This is a time period that makes sense and I think still needs to be recognized =] #askagent

If it was that long ago, you are totally fine re-querying #askagent

You can add in the query that said editor expressed interest during the contest, or you can just keep a note to yourself to mention if the agent wants to call and discuss the story. Either works #askagent

Never hurts to ask. In the query, mention the story went through an intense revision. If they're still not interested, they'll just send a polite decline and you can move on to the next =] Doesn't have to be the same agent, either #askagent