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
Robyn is querying š°š° @Robyn_R
@annmrose I know this may just be a preference thing, and probably varies between agents, but do you prefer if an author states in their query letter that the book is part of a duology/trilogy? Prefer āwith series potentialā or just pitching the one manuscript soloItās IMO that every book has āseries potentialā in some form/way, so I donāt think it needs to be specified ā¤ļø
Literary Agent
Madeline @MadelineAnneNYC
@annmrose Do agents look at queries with an eye to a book that has potential for film/tv adaptation or is that too far down the road to be worth considering?I think it could be brought into the equations but the first thought will always be on publishing viability first
Literary Agent
Melanie is querying YA fantasy @MelisWriting
@annmrose Is there a deadline on querying after a pitch event? For example when you get likes from multiple agents from one agency, you pick one and they pass, can you still use the pitch like to query the next one or would that look weird?Yes I think you can still query and no I donāt think it would look weird
Literary Agent
ECD is querying @ecoyledivers
@annmrose Hi Ann, thanks for your time. At what time should we give up on a query? Asking in cases where there are not clear guidelines on the agent's or agency site. For example, no response in 3 months = no.These days 3 months feels like a finger snap when considering queries (which I know it doesnāt on the author side) so I would amp that up to at least 6 months and even then it might not be dead to an agent so following up if you get an offer isnāt a bad idea
Literary Agent
āļø C.W. Rose - #amquerying Fantasy Romance āļø @cwrose813
@annmrose Hi Ann, thanks for doing this!In the query, is it ok include an old comp title (in this case from 2012), if paired with a recent ones (I.e. from 2022)? Or is that frowned upon?
It can work yes especially if itās something that can really set the tone. But also yes, have at least one if not two recent comps to offset
Literary Agent
Cas Fick @CM_Fick
@annmrose How long is an R&R good for? Is there a statute of limitations on them, or does this vary depending on agent?Thank you for your time!
Thatās tricky. I think itās as long as it needs to be but not too long that the agent forgets completely about the project. If I were to put a number on it 3-6 months I think is the sweet spot
Literary Agent
L.C. Perry ššššŖš¾ @LPanimefreak5
@annmrose From your perspective, do you think tradpub is finally moving toward another attempt at making NA a thing? Or is there still a long ways to go?So w/ NA it comes down to the publishersā customerāthe bookstoreāso when the bookstore creates a space for NA I think thatās when itāll become a thing, but until then itās difficult to sell them a book they donāt have a space carved out for. This is like a chicken/egg scenario
Literary Agent
Chris Corvus, a bird of words. @inkmaderaven
@annmrose If a story is good but has technical issues how likely is it to get picked up since technical issues can be fixed in edits?The answer to this will vary. Is it possible for a story with technical issues to get picked up? Yes. But it depends on the agent and how much bandwidth they have to work on the MS and how strongly they feel about the concept of the story
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Andrew Hiller @AndrewHiller
@annmrose How valuable are writer conferences and agent/writer 1:1's?I've been debating on hitting one up, but haven't yet.
I think they can be very helpful. It allows both author and agent some face time and get to know you outside of an email
Literary Agent
Jenna Beacom @jfbeacom
@annmrose Thank you! If you have had your manuscript professionally edited before querying, is that worth noting?It wonāt affect the agents opinion of it but it doesnāt hurt including that information
Literary Agent
Nagashree is querying @WritersDragons
@annmrose Are books set in college or post-college vacation considered adult, NA or YA? šPost college I donāt think can be considered YA (and Iām sure someone will disagree with this) in college can be depending on when (what year in college) and the circumstances of the plot and character arc
Literary Agent
Erin Davis @EMDavis008
@annmrose How do you feel about YA thatās close 3rd rather than 1st person?It doesnāt matter to me as long as itās done well ā¤ļø
Literary Agent
MJ Bowman is writing Sapphic YA Fantasy! @MJ_Bowman
@annmrose Since we're on the subject of QT/QM, what would be something that would be most useful to you on that end of the platform?Better genre labeling (something we got and I hope you guys can see it too!), how many times said author has submitted to you, etc?
I have no qualms with QM on my side. Iāve only been using it for about a year and am still learning all its capabilities but Iām happy with its functionality
Literary Agent
Greg Dahlager @GregDahlager
@annmrose Thanks for doing this!How successful should your comp titles be? I understand you shouldn't use blockbuster bestsellers since it can indicate you didn't put much thought into it. But are traditionally published books with 700-1800 Goodreads ratings adequate?
I think you have the right idea. You want to show you know the market and donāt set the bar too high for yourself to have to cross over
Literary Agent
Meg āØ @TheMegJHastings
@annmrose Thoughts on women behaving badly in manuscripts? It seems to be either, sheās too bad! Or, sheās not bad enough! Is there a happy medium for angry women in books (wow this mirrors life Iām realizing as I type this out š¤£)?I love angry women, morally gray women, women doing bad things for the right reasons. I think there is room for all kinds of women in books ā¤ļø
Literary Agent
Jenn Nixon @jennnixon
@annmrose Happy Friday! I'm curious, is now a good time to query? So many authors are selfpubbing now, I'm wondering if Agents are actively looking for authors.There is no right or wrong way to publication itās all about personal preference.
If an agent is open to queries I think that shows they are open to taking on more writers.
Literary Agent
cam! š (11.8k/75k) @camiscribbles
@annmrose do you often read all the pass pages before requesting (assuming you like the query) or have you read just the first couple pages and decided immediately to request? also, do you always finish full manuscripts before deciding on your response? thank you for opening to questions!There is no set number of pages I will read before deciding if I want to ask for more.
No, I do not always finish a MS if I know Iām not going to offer on it.
Literary Agent
Kirk R šŗš¦ is #amquerying and revising š @kirkraff
@annmrose When submitting a revise and resubmit request, should I submit a breakdown of what I did to accommodate the request so the agent can go straight to the requested changes? Or just submit a query as normal, mentioning that it's a R&R?I think mentioning the changes youāve made it really helpful
Literary Agent
Kellyn is *querying* @kellyncarni
@annmrose If you passed on a project a couple months ago, would you be open to taking another look after a revision/ totally rewritten first pages?Thanks for doing this!
Yep
Just mention in the query about this and what youāve done please