Juliet Mushens
Literary Agent
Mushens Entertainment
Literary agent at @MushensEnt , sartorialist and cat wrangler. Wartime consigliere. Pollyanna-ish. Generally heard before I'm seen. Bend and SNAP.
Literary Agent
Ashley Espinoza @ashley1espinoza
Okay so agents say to use comparative titles in queries but what if there aren’t enough books about a particular culture to compare it too?Omg this is exactly why books aren’t diverse. Holy shit how will my Mexican and Puerto Rican book get published?
#askagent
Comps are helpful but I'd never reject based on lack of them! I also don't expect them to be 'My book is exactly like X and Y', but it could be 'with the setting of X, and the writing style of Y author', or comps to TV/movies are acceptable to me too! #AskAgent
Literary Agent
Mire Marke @FatmireMarke
#askagent #1 piece of advice you give the authors you represent?always have a new idea or new project to work on - that way if project 1 doesn't sell or doesn't perform as well as hoped, you have something new to try #AskAgent
Literary Agent
Jean Davison @jeandavisonTDT
@julietpickering @mushenska #askagent My latest attempt at writing a novel is turning out (more by chance than intention) to fit into the 'psychological suspense' genre. If successful (I can hope) would an agent want and expect me to continue writing in that same genre?Yes, publishers tend to want to establish you in one area before diversifying - largely because readers are often genre-loyal rather than author-loyal. However, there are of course exceptions #AskAgent
Literary Agent
Hazel Meekings @HazeyMeeks
@julietpickering @mushenska #askagent Hi, I hope you're well?I'm writing my first novel (approx. 10th the way through) & feel this is written best in first person and from the view of 3 characters. Are you more or less likely to continue to be interested written this way, does it make any difference? 😊
I'm fine with multiple POVs as long as it doesn't feel confusing, and that each strand is as strong as the others #AskAgent
Literary Agent
Phil Cone @PhilCone
@julietpickering @mushenska #AskAgent has there been an increase in submissions since the lockdown and is there a genuine interest in dystopian crime thrillers set in Ireland?yes an increase in mine for sure - I'm always interested in a good book, well told! #AskAgent
Literary Agent
Jayne @jaynelrobinson
@julietpickering @mushenska Hello! I have an #askagent question about memoir submission. If the book is already written, is it better to submit like a novel with synopsis/sample, or with a non-fiction proposal? Thank you 🙏🏻it depends on the agent requirements for non-fic - if they ask for a proposal send the proposal but say you have written the full thing #AskAgent
Literary Agent
Elizabeth MacKinney @Elizabe62668090
@julietpickering @mushenska Thank you both for doing this. Does a YA Fantasy novel have to be over 80,000 words, would between 60 - 70 be alright? I've seen so many opinions on this, I thought I'd ask for yours. Also, should a YA novel's chapters be roughly the same length thoughout?#askagent
It doesn't HAVE to be - I'm not a stickler for a padded word count if it feels unnecessary, but 60k would be considered on the short side and might mean some strands could be developed more #AskAgent
Literary Agent
Kathryn Sharman @SharmanKathryn
@julietpickering @mushenska Hi! If a novel is partly inspired by a real person / historical figure but is a totally fictionalised version of events, how much of this background would you wish to know about in the submission? #AskAgentI would mention it, just a brief line or two. #AskAgent
Literary Agent
Andy Roe @AndyRoe_
@mushenska #askagent when an agent asks for comparitive novels, how much explanation of the similarities would you expect to see?Not much - could just be 'it would sit alongside novels like X and Y' #askagent
Literary Agent
Juliet Mushens @mushenska
@TheGolfWidows Definitely finish and polish the whole thing before sending off. I typically respond within 2 weeks, and it's not great to email asking to see a full book and it not be ready! also, I tend to believe that the ending of the book will inform the beginning too #AskAgente.g. you might finish the book and realise that the main character actually hasn't ended up being the main character, or that it should be third person not first person, or you've written yourself into a corner and need to get out. All things which would impact opening #AskAgent
Literary Agent
Ian C Jones @TheGolfWidows
#askagentAt what point should someone send their first 3 chapters to an agent. As it normally takes 6 to 12 weeks for a response then is it right the book does not need to be finished as long as finished within the agents timeframe?
Definitely finish and polish the whole thing before sending off. I typically respond within 2 weeks, and it's not great to email asking to see a full book and it not be ready! also, I tend to believe that the ending of the book will inform the beginning too #AskAgent
Literary Agent
L M Coker @Lola81701535
#AskAgent Importance of genre: do you have to adhere to the rules of particuar genres or can they be bent (ever so slightly)? For example, an element of Fantasy in an otherwise absolutely normal world. Thank you.I would say it's easier to pitch and sell a book which is mainly X, but elements of Y, than a true mash-up of X and Y #AskAgent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Alex Thornber @nucosi
A few years ago I received positive feedback from a few agents about my short story collection but they ultimately passed due to publishers not really buying collections, has that changed much recently? As a bookseller I see more and more collections being published. #askagentI love short stories but their sales in the UK are always modest - even collections by established authors tend to see lower sales than their novels. In the US there's a much bigger market #AskAgent
Literary Agent
Tony Frame @ThatTonyFrame
Afternoon Agents!Q: If you liked a writer's initial manuscript (first 3 chapters etc.) and you asked to read the rest - if you loved that as well, but did not like the ending of their novel, would you still take on their work & ask them to review the ending?
Thx 😊#AskAgent
It really depends on how much I love the book and how big the change is - and if I think the author would be willing to make that change #AskAgent
Literary Agent
Emma Williams @Williamstweet
How long after a manuscript request should we assume it’s a no and begin a new round of approaching other agents? #askagentI'd send a polite chaser after a couple of months and then move on #AskAgent
Literary Agent
Wei Ting @intewig
@mushenska If dream agent requested your (early draft) manuscript and passed gently, and you do a major rewrite the next round, is it okay to ask if dream agent would like to take another look? #AskAgentI tend to say no unless they specifically asked to see a revise - but no harm in asking I guess #AskAgent
Literary Agent
Beatrice Anobah @anobah_beatrice
#askagent hullo there! When would you ask a writer to revise and resubmit rather than offering them representation or giving a straight out rejection?If I think there is promise there but the editorial work is BIG - sometimes the author might not want to do it/be able to do it #askagent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Jessica Masterson @jlmasterson
@julietpickering @MichelleMMcGr @mushenska If you're not in love with the opening, does that pretty much rule someone out, even if you like the writing?There's so much pressure to get the first page right.
#askagent
No I don’t think you need a ‘perfect’ first page - just an interesting one which keeps me reading #askagent