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
Literary Agent
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Andrew Crowther @AndrewJCrowther
#askagent I've seen it suggested that most agents are not interested in representing novellas. Is that true?Yes, largely because it’s a hard market to crack even if you’re a successful novelist - much like short story collections in the U.K. #askagent
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Dr Beatrice Anobah MBBS @anobah_beatrice
Hullo! Thnx again for taking time out to answer our Qs. Do you have any advice for writers who are going to have "the call" with a prospective agent? (I'm way off from being in that position, but v. grateful for the opportunity to ask agents this Q!) #askagentI would enjoy it! Ask their editorial vision, who they would submit to, and how they handle foreign and US rights #askagent
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Samya Mitra @MrSamyaMitra
Do agents normally prefer writers belonging nearby to one living far, say, in India (especially debutants approaching them with submissions) because at least initially, long distance wouldn't work what with lunch meetings and contract negotiations and/or other thing? #askagentSome of my authors live on the other side of the world - the joy of the internet and Skype/zoom and email! #askagent
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D. V. Bishop @davidbishop
Been seeing a lot of stories with animal, bird or inanimate object narrators.How hard a sell is a novel with such a narrator? #askagent
This is a very annoying answer but it depends on the book! #askagent
Literary Agent
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Austin Donnelly Writes 🐾 @austin_writes
@julietpickering Hi can I ask - when it comes to querying, for a previously self published author, I understand that book sales will be considered. For one book -what sort of sales constitute ‘fairly solid’ and what statistics would be required - is it the Amazon sales charts etc #askagentI wouldn’t need a chart or anything just broad brushstroke eg ‘it sold 10k copies’ #askagent
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Feargus Woods Dunlop @thisactorslife
@mushenska @julietpickering #AskAgent How do you weigh current mood/outside factors when reading submissions? Are you able to disappear completely inside the created world in just three chapters?Sometimes I’m just not in the right mood for reading so I tend to stop and give up for the day and try again the next #askagent
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🌺🌸Alex Clarke🌸🌺 @AlexClarkes
Without open submissions, can agencies really be seen to be doing enough to attract writers from marginalised backgrounds who don’t have (and can’t always make) the connections needed to recommend them? If so, what does this say about the industry and writing today? #askagentI have open submissions and always have. I know the other agents on the hashtag do too. You can view my guidelines here: mushens-entertainment.com/submissions #askagent
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Jacqueline Johnson @thevetwrites
@mushenska @julietpickering #askagent If I’m planning a novel told entirely in “screenshots” of social media posts, is it likely to be passed on because it would have to be printed in color?Should be possible to do in black and white I would think? I have done some social media epistolary novels in B&W. #askagent
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Vlshort @Vlshort
I've written one book an historical romance with a twist of time trav, which I'm looking representation for and have started writing the sequel. Does working on a second book make it more appealing to agents and publishers? #askagentThe work should stand on its own merit but I’m always interested in what the author writes next! #askagent
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Lis J @todayiseena
#askagent Hypothetically, if there was an editor who was interested in your MS but wanted you to approach via an agent, and you'd had FMRs but no agent offers, would you revise the MS before sending out to more agents in hope of finding one who loves it? Or keep the faith?If you still believe in it then I would keep trying, but revising once more never hurts #askagent
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Sara Naidine Cox @saranaidinecox
@mushenska @julietpickering #askagent There’s been lots of discussion around mentioning covid-19 in novels for the future . My MC of my debut -which I am half way through writing-is cabin crew. What are your thoughts please? I really don’t want to go there but worry about plausibilityI wouldn’t write it in unless integral to the plot #askagent
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Polly Atkin is still in lockdown @pollyrowena
@mushenska @julietpickering If you've queried an agent and they haven't replied in several months, even when you've checked they've received your sub, should you just give up on them and assume the work is not for them? (I'm talking 6+ months) #askagentYes I would #askagent
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Annabel Tellis @AnnabelTellis
Some agencies have a database of all the books that have ever been submitted built into their submissions portal and send an immediate response saying they saw this eg. 2 years ago. Isn’t there room for development though? Or should I just keep adjusting the title? ! #askagentThe reason I don’t consider works I previously turned down is because in my experience even when the author thinks they have revised it extensively, it is still too close to the version I rejected. But that is just me! #askagent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
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Hilary Taylor @hilarytaylor00
Age of debut author. Lots on twitter saying it doesn't matter. But does it matter to publicists? How important is author age, image, etc? #askagentI think average age of my clients is 50s - oldest debut novelist I have sold so far was 70. #askagent
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Devon Kramer @devwritesbooks
@julietpickering Do agents factor in a writer's social media presence when deciding to accept a manuscript? I've heard that agents will pass on a manuscript if the writer doesn't have a strong social media presence. Is that true? #askagentfor fiction it literally does not matter at all. I have major bestselling authors without a twitter account, it's not something I care about! #askagent
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Madhurima_Sappatti @MSappatti
In our first introductions when we send a query letter, would you always prefer the first few chapters of the book or any sample chapters from the book (like the moment when you are reaching the conflict point in the book?) #askagentdefinitely first 3 chapters - I'd never read a published novel from the middle! #askagent
Literary Agent
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Hilary Taylor @hilarytaylor00
Percentage questions: If you've read the full, and you ask for a meeting, how likely are you to be thinking that you'll offer representation? What % of your submissions result in full requests? And what % of those are then declined? Thanks. #askagentI'd only ask for a meeting if I wanted to offer rep. I don't have exact percentages but of the 4000-5000 subs a year I probably call in a few hundred MSS and offer rep 5-15 times but some years more some years less! #askagent