Cecilia Lyra
Literary Agent
P.S. Literary Agency
Storyteller & Storyseller / Associate Literary Agent @PSLiterary ✍🏽 Co-host of @TSNOTYAW podcast 🎧 Feminist. Latinx. Immigrant. Reader.
Literary Agent
🔥(SL)Ashley McAnelly is revising🔥 @ashewriter
I know it varies from agent to agent but do either/both of you try to give feedback on fulls that you reject? #askPSLAI have before, yes! It's rare, and it usually happens when I love the writing but the project needs SO MUCH WORK that I'm not sure my vision will match with the writer's. #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Andrea Green Burton @ALGauthor
#askPSLA I'm hearing that agents are particularly swamped right now. True? And if so, is that typical for this time of year, or is it pandemic-related?When are we not swamped? 🙃
Seriously, though: it's the best job in the world. It's all good. #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Jodi @jodilasky
I'm slightly over word count, even after working with an editor to get it down. Do I acknowledge it in my query (show knowledge) or just state the word count? (Women's Fiction, 103k words) #askPSLAHum... for me, I'd prefer you to acknowledge. But, sorry to ask, can't you get it down to 99k? Pretty please? There HAS to be things you can cut. Your editor will likely expect you to. #askPSLA
Literary Agent
jrmitchell @jrmitch53998160
#askPSLA Do you have a slush pile? And have you ever had any success with finding an author/book from the slush pile?I think all agents do. Sush pile = queries from people without a referral — so the majority of cases. And yes, absolutely! I've signed several authors from the slush pile. #askPSLA
Literary Agent
💫 K.E. Stanton 🦋 @kestanton1
Do you like it when an author has more than one (polished) book to offer at the time of signing or does it not make a difference in the ultimate decision?#askPSLA pic.twitter.com/XMpm1qWohR
I like it when a writer has more than one book in them, whether polished now (great!) or to be written in the future. As an agent, it's my intention to sign an author for the duration of their career—and I hope it'll be a long one! 🥰 #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Kit Mareska @KitMareska
Thx so much for doing this Q&A. Do you like personal info in a query’s bio section or do you prefer strictly professional? #AskPSLAI like a little bit of personal. Especially love it if you tell me about your fur babies, just saying ❤️
#askPSLA
Literary Agent
🔥(SL)Ashley McAnelly is revising🔥 @ashewriter
What are some books you've read recently you would love to see comped? #askPSLAWHITE IVY by Susie Yang and CONFIDENT WOMEN by Tori Telfer — please see my pinned tweet for more! #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Hannah Sharpe @hannahdsharpe2
Do you ever stop reading at the query? I could understand this, since you get many queries. I’m curious to know how far you get before you say no. #askPSLAYes, but only if the query is for a genre I don't represent OR if there's a serious red flag (e.g. offensive or rude etc.). #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Bethany Samaddar is on hiatus @blsamaddar
If your manuscript has gone through a developmental edit, is that worth mentioning in your query letter? #askPSLAI assume all manuscripts have gone through developmental editing — it's an important step to get a work ready for submission. (Sadly, the ones who have not stand out in a bad way.) If you used an editor, then it might be worth mentioning that editor's name. #askPSLA
Literary Agent
🔥(SL)Ashley McAnelly is revising🔥 @ashewriter
What usually makes you fall in love with an MS no matter what genre? #askPSLAThe writing. The writing. The writing. 😍 #askPSLA
Literary Agent
N Shannacappo @NShannacappo
@PSLiterary @ceciliaclyra @readbystephanie I'm a graphic novelist and have started being approached by publishers and I'm wondering if having an agent at this point would be beneficial. I've been working towards doing graphic novels full-time. So how could having an agent help? #askaPSLAA few ways an agent could help include negotiating the contract, offering a big-picture vision of your career vis-à-vis the industry, and selling your rights to work in other territories and formats. #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Kimberly Crow @KibbyTweets
Hi ladies. If you love a MS but don’t think it’s ready for the market, how likely are you to offer rep anyway? I’m thinking similar to Abby Jimenez (got agent wPlaylist but asked to write Friend Zone first). Would you offer based on author over MS? Thx #askPSLAIf I love the writing style, I'd have an honest conversation with the writer and, if they agreed, I'd suggest working on something new together and then saving that other work for later. Full disclosure: the quality of the writing would have to be EXCEPTIONAL. #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Christine Hitt @ChristineHitt
#askPSLA if a writer started off by self-publishing, would an agent still be willing or want to sell that book if they like it?No (with very few exceptions). Agents do welcome NEW work from self-published authors. #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Lisa Lark @lisa_lark
When querying a memoir in essarys, should I convey an average length? Some of mine are longer, some are quite short (listicle style, Top Ten lists). #askPSLAYes, if there's an average. And if there's not (perhaps because it does vary SO much), then explain that. ☺️ The important part is to address the length. #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Hannah Sharpe @hannahdsharpe2
#askPSLA How many times in average do you do revisions with your debut authors before going out on submission to publishers? Or, how much time do you typically spend in this process?For me, usually 2 – 5 rounds of edits. It does depend on the category, genre, whether this is the writer's first work or not, etc.
In terms of time, it depends on the writer's availability more than anything. #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Heather Dixon @hdixonwriter
If one agent has a partial of yours, but hasn't responded to it yet, and then another agent from the same agency tweets an MSWL that sounds like a great fit for ANOTHER MS you have, is it okay to query that other agent with a different MS? Or is that a no-no? #askPSLAIt's a no-no! I recommend waiting till you hear back from that first agent. If, for example, they pass, then you are free to query this new work to any agent you'd prefer. #askPSLA