Carly Watters

I'm answering #askagent questions over on my @instagram account! Click on my Stories, go to the last one which looks like this (below) & ask away!

instagram.com/carlywatters/

Unless you are established already, novellas are also tough.

category is called "upmarket"
high quality of writing, accessible characters, plotty.

only if they ask to see it again.

I haven't repped YA in awhile but I think it's still 60-80k. Another agent might chime in here.

It's perfectly OK to call yourself a debut writer and have a short bio. If you're querying in the slush then I assume you are starting your career. I'm happy to see: "This is my first novel. I graduated from XX. I live in XYZ City/State with my dog/partner/cat/gerbil."

SS are SO incredibly hard to sell. I don't rep them. It might be best to pitch those stories individually to get your name out to different magazines, get some bylines etc and then pitch an agent a novel. Remember I am a more commercial agent though. I don't do much lit fic.

1) In your comps you can express that it's THIS meets THAT with the range of genres in those titles. If THIS did THAT, or FOR FANS OF XYZ (use TV shows and movies too as long as they're recent and relevant too).
2) I think so. IMO, yes.

If you're writing non fiction: YES. YES. YES.

If you're writing fiction it helps but is not required. We do expect them to grow with your career. So you don't get a free pass.

SEND IT TO ME CARYS!

At @PSLiterary yes correct. No from one is a no from all. The queries go to an open account where we can all see them so you can assume one or more eyes are on them.

We close for queries at @PSLiterary from Mid Dec to early Jan every year. (We'll put those dates out soon.) But other than that we're fair game. Some times of year are busier than others. January and Sept are busy times. Basically, pitch it when you are ready. & pitch it good :)

I see people put these grandiose "don't query now" statements out and I don't get it really. I am never 100% up to date. So if you query me on thanksgiving I'm not reading it on thanksgiving, I'll always read it after the fact. In bunches of 20-100 or so at a time.

I would at the end in the author bio section. Most important thing is that it's a great book. Lead with the hook. At the end some agents might like to know extra facts. It depends on what it is. i.e. Did you grow up in a religious cult? Write a novel/fictionalize it? Then yes.

It depends. I would reach out and ask. Many agents are closed for a good reason (health issues, time management etc). When I was closed to queries I would have looked at something from someone if I sent them a lengthy R&R but that's it.

Sometimes it's very early. Yes the last one I offered on I knew after 50 pages but I had to read the whole thing to know exactly what I wanted to say on the phone. I don't call after 50 pages. I need a vision for it.

Sometimes I think for a day. But overall it's fast.

Also, non fiction can be 70k. And cookbooks often shorter because there are images too.

I only rep adult fiction and non fiction (mostly) so I like books 80-100k.

Here is my most recent Wishlist: carlywatters.com/wishlist/

If it's the MSWL website I have not updated that in awhile. Also people take old Wishlist blog posts & repost them & I have no control over that. I recently sold YA but that was for an existing adult fic client. Overall I don't seek them unless they're coming-of-age more than YA.