Juliet Mushens

It can mean a lot of things - I would say it’s normally meant to be a polite and standard way of saying ‘no’ so within that can mean ‘you show promise but it needs too much work’ or ‘great idea but not executed well enough’ #askagent

It’s based on that work but I absolutely love to know future ideas #askagent

One of my biggest clients (now a NYT bestseller!) started on Wattpad - the key question always though is why will people buy this when they can read it for free? #askagent

I would say look at their submission guidelines and see if they are still within the window of getting back to you. Snowed, yes, but still signing! #askagent

Sometimes I reject based on the cover letter - I would say an average cover letter is fine (it doesn’t need to be WOW!), but some highlight crucial issues with the plot/genre/writing level #askagent

Occasionally but not often - this is largely down to the size of my list and I did a lot more when I was building a list #askagent

Nope - I work over Zoom/email/phone. #askagent

I’d be intrigued to know why you’d like that? Small and indie presses are great and sometimes the best place for a book but equally some big 5 publishers are great too! #askagent

Probably waking up from a dream #askagent

So ‘slush pile’ literally just means ‘unsolicited submissions’, it isn’t mean to sound derogatory! I would say that the pitches which attract my attention most quickly have a clear hook (like... We Need to Talk About Kevin or Room!) but the writing is obv key too #askagent

It totally depends: what is the advance/royalties/sales strategy/track record - and which publisher feels the best ‘fit’ for the author. All those things add up! #askagent

I definitely work with authors to develop next ideas - often we bat around several concepts before settling on one #askagent

I’d finish yours - lots of novels have similar conceits but executed v differently #askagent

No - writing short stories can improve your craft though! #askagent

unless you have a really specific link to the story or very unusual hook into it, it will definitely be challenging with non-fiction. The good news is you don’t need a platform at all if you write a novel! #askagent

Hahaha loads of books change titles! Don’t sweat it #askagent

Google! #askagent

It won’t harm your chances! But I’m generally mostly interested in the novel you’re submitting #askagent

I’d only include if they specifically ask #askagent

I would sub to everyone else on your list and check back in a month or so #askagent