Ann Rose
Literary Agent
Tobias Literary Agency
agent: @TheTobiasAgency & #rosebudauthor wrangler | author: ROAD TO EUGENICA & BREAKOUT | opinions are my own | she/her rep:@evascalzo layout:@ana_scribe
Literary Agent
Emily Holi-Turkey-Day đŚ @EmilyHoli13
@annmrose If youâve queried an agent and they have a NO QUERYING TWO AGENTS AT THE SAME AGENCY policy, BUT you get a special above-the-pile opp from a course/newsletter or something, can you break that policy???Like you queried agent A and then attended a class or met agent B at a conference? I think just mentioning it in the query that it is with A is the best thing to do in this scenario if you donât want to wait for their response
Literary Agent
Caitlin Foley @caitlinrfoley1
@annmrose Does QM have an auto-reject feature (maybe based on keywords?) or is that just a scary bedtime storyIf it does, I havenât heard of it đ¤ˇđźââď¸
Literary Agent
Alex_Didworthy @alex_didworthy
@annmrose How do agents feel about authors who have already published with an Indie Trad Publisher? Do they like to see a certain number of sales and if so what sort of numbers?I think we are most concerned with the current book and how to position it.
Literary Agent
Ęoo-ɢɪá´á´á´'ęą á´ĄĘÉŞá´ÉŞÉ´É˘ ᴠɢɴ đť @BrigittaBlair
@annmrose Curious what books or genres you've been seeing sell more often than others? What about more challenging books/genres to sell?I feel like this question is like âhow many red cars are on the roadâ because once you go looking they are everywhere.
Iâd say everything is âchallengingâ in its own ways these days â¤ď¸
Literary Agent
BRCloth @brclothwrites
@annmrose When an agent says âthe voice is too distantâ what specifically would they be referring to?That the narration feels more omniscient & not close enough to the main character.
To addâomniscient is a voice choice, but then it should feel âcloseâ to that narrator even if they arenât on the page.
For me it also means I feel like Iâm being forced to watch from the outside
Literary Agent
Cristina Raymer @craymer328
@annmrose If I queried an agent (who may or not be you!) a few months ago and have since made some edits, should I withdraw my query and resubmit or leave it as is? The edits are line level, but I did make changes that affect the pace structurally as a whole.If hypothetically it is me, you are free to pull and resubmit no worries.
Literary Agent
Brandy @MidlifeCreative
@annmrose Good morning! Congrats on your move!Once you sign with an author do you encourage them to stay "on brand" for the first few books? For example, if you signed for YA fantasy, should the next book also be YA fantasy?
Each author is a unique individual and their careers should be treated as such. How to build a career and what my authors want to do is a conversation we are having and strategizing together â¤ď¸
Literary Agent
Lars Hoel @LarsHoel_writer
@annmrose How do you work your way through queries? Do you take them chronologically or do you look for the âeasyâ rejections first (not a genre you represent, etc.)? When I look at Query Tracker I sometimes see these big gaps between responses and wonder what the process is.What is my process? I do attempt to go chronologically, but I do have A LOT so my first read through Iâm making sure they are a âfitâ for me right now and if they are I generally will go back to them for a deeper read later. I like to take my time with each so itâs a process
Literary Agent
H.W. Johnston is writing a first draft @hwjohnston7
@annmrose What's does it mean in a rejection when you're told your "good but not amazing"?Without context perhaps it means that there are good ideas in there but they just need more fleshing out to make them stronger
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Jack Keaton @graveyardfeeder
@annmrose I was surprised to be told that most horror/thriller manuscripts are between 65-85k words. How legit is this? Some of the best stories are the ones that a short and sweet to the point rather than drawn out epics. Whatâre your thoughts?I wouldnât call 80k words epic
I would say for traditional publishing this range checks
Literary Agent
Dorina @Dori_thedragon
@annmrose Is it okay to use 'High fantasy with science elements' as my book's genre in a query letter? Its too fantasy to be sci fi (duels and warlocks) but too sciency for just fantasy (space travel and evil AI) - leaning more fantasy side.Thank you!
Itâs fine just know that it does have to sit somewhere firmly on one shelf
I have a book on my list that mixes fantasy and sci-fi so itâs possible to do
Literary Agent
JessAGuest is Querying! @JessA_Writer
@annmrose Thanks for doing these! I always find the information informative! Do you have a process for queries in your maybe pile?Read
Close
Read again
Stress about it
Close
Read again
Stare at screen for indiscernible amount of time
Think about how I would pitch and position itâwho can I think of to send it to
Make decision
Or something like this
Literary Agent
Kathryn Faye @KathrynFaye007
@annmrose What are things in queries/manuscripts that make you sit up and miss your bus stop?Strong MCs (this doesnât mean physical and they donât have to start this way)
Hooking concepts
Revenge plots
Feminist themes
Female friendships
Nuanced characters
âŚ
*Doesnât have to all be in one story
Literary Agent
rob @robinspncr
@annmrose you must be tired of me asking for wordcounts đŤ but is 64k too short for YA contemporary fantasy? or thereâs still hope?Itâs a little low but it wouldnât be a quick no for me.
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Nora Barnacle #amquerying @NoraBarnacle3
@annmrose About how many words into the sample pages before you know it's going to be a yea or nay?As many as it takes đ¤ˇđźââď¸
Iâm sorry that isnât a solid answer đ
Literary Agent
Ellie L @RedPencilScript
@annmrose Do most agents read the sample portions of the writing or do they base most of their decision on the pitch, query letter, and synopsis?Every agent is different so I canât respond for everyone, but I will say if you send me a project that is something I rep I do look at pages. If itâs an age group/genre I donât rep than generally I wonât look.
Literary Agent
Helen Coe (she/her/elle) @Helen_Coe
@annmrose I've previously submitted a rhyming PB to agents & sensed/got feedback that the rhyme was the issue. Should I resubmit now that I've reworked to non-rhyme? Or only if they specifically identified rhyme as the issue? Happy Ellipticalling :)Thank you!
I think if the book has been significantly reworked it can be resubmitted but do check agentsâ websites about their feelings on this. It might also be helpful to include that info in the query too (how it has changed)
Literary Agent
L.M. DeFrates @Lmdefrates
@annmrose Can you give me some insight into the relationship between agents and Publishers Marketplace? I check on there to see recent sales, etc., but often run into profiles while are old/outdated. Do you have to update your own profile on there? Or do some people just opt out? Ty.Agents have the ability to create their own pages on there. That said, I personally have not figured out how to do this (itâs not very intuitive). đŹ