Literary Agent
Sana β¨ @sanalikesbooks
Any advice on how to capture a quieter book in a tweet? Ex. a story with speculative elements rather than a full fantasy #askDVpityou can pitch from all sorts of angles, depending on the strengths of your novel. if it's not a plot-driven book or have a lot of worldbuilding, just focus on the character! #askDVpit
Editor
C. L. Doupagneπ (they/them) @DoupagneC
Is 200 - 250k an acceptable wordcount for an debut author, if it's adult fantasy and fits the story?β¨#askDVpit
definitely too long, even in adult! would highly recommend re-evaluating the pacing and trimming to 120k MAX. #askDVpit
Literary Agent
Deeba Zargarpur @deebazargarpur
@romancebookbing i'd keep them concise & clear, but i think variety in your pitches will be super important as well. it's good to have 3/4 different tweets that showcase different aspects to the story. #askDVpitThis is fantastic advice! Different aspects will excited different people. And I always go to the writer's page and look at all the pitches they have when I'm decided to like or not. #askDVpit
Literary Agent
Sana β¨ @sanalikesbooks
Any advice on how to capture a quieter book in a tweet? Ex. a story with speculative elements rather than a full fantasy #askDVpitdepends! But you might focus on vibe or character as opposed to world building - what most gets to the heart or crux of the narrative? #askdvpit
Literary Agent
Kim Vazquez @KimVwriter
This might be a silly ? BUT do authors sign contracts with their agents as well as with their publishers? #askDVpitGREAT question! Yes there are contracts/agreements between clients and their agent that lay out the terms of your business relationship and what happens if that relationship ends. Super important. #askDVpit
Editor
Adrianna - am querying πͺππ·πΈπ¦π»π @romancebookbing
Is there a preferred format for tweets? I've seen a few suggested templates floating around, but I'm curious as to what might better catch the eye?#askDVpit
i'd keep them concise & clear, but i think variety in your pitches will be super important as well. it's good to have 3/4 different tweets that showcase different aspects to the story. #askDVpit
Literary Agent
S.I. Ryder @SIRyder2
#askDVpit is there good time to query agents? I assume November and December are the worst time to do so.I don't think so in particular. There are times that are supposedly busier, but we get queries year round. A query will get read when it gets read, regardless of when you send. #askdvpit
Literary Agent
C. L. Doupagneπ (they/them) @DoupagneC
@leonicka Would something around 150k be better? π€150K is still quite long imo. To be honest, I flag anything over 100K but for adult fantasy I'll go to 120K. Anything over that is the EXCEPTION and thus has to be EXCEPTIONAL #askDVpit
Editor
Rayah Jaymes @RayahJaymes
@deebazargarpur With GN requests, I'm seeing a lot of agents request that when querying, I attach character reference pages, script, thumbnails, at least 5 illustrated pages, and the outline. So I was curious if this would be easier to access and view on a website/page.oh, i understand! i believe if the website functions as a portfolio of your work, as a central, easy to access location for your work, it could be helpful. though if agents are looking for something to download and evaluate more closely, it could be slightly difficult. #askDVpit
Literary Agent
beth phelan @beth_phelan
@nolandean27 i feel like this misinformation goes around a lot! i see it all the time. i agree it's too fast. i think what we wanna see is the character, the status quo, and TENSION--which is different from an inciting incident. #askDVpitYes! I like to establish character so that I care about them. If someone's just "running" from "something," I often think, "okay, so why do I care?" #askdvpit
Literary Agent
Kim Vazquez @KimVwriter
This might be a silly ? BUT do authors sign contracts with their agents as well as with their publishers? #askDVpit#askdvpit - Most agencies have agency agreements, which outline commission rates & other basic terms, but I know some do not. Some agencies have per book agreements, & some sign for career, etc. Just depends on the situation.
Literary Agent
S.I. Ryder @SIRyder2
#askDVpit is there good time to query agents? I assume November and December are the worst time to do so.I don't think there is really a good or bad time. The only bad time is if they are closed to queries. This whole year is a shitshow, so just know it may be longer than usual to get a response. #askDVpit
Literary Agent
Trang Tran @trangwrites
#askDVpit what often gets writers in your revise and resubmit pile rather than an offer?I do R&Rs when my edit notes are really big - cutting major subplots, cutting 50K words, completely changing plots and characters etc. If the changes are that large, I want to make sure that the author can revise and that we share the same vision. #askDVpit
Editor
N. Hemrajani @hemrajaniwrites
In a pitch, what stands out the most to you?(Comps, character description, stakes, etc.)
#askdvpit
when looking for projects, premise is very important to me, followed by a clear explanation of the stakes. #askDVpit
Literary Agent
Rayah Jaymes @RayahJaymes
@Grahamophones Got it! There's just so much stuff that goes with the submission for a graphic novel so I didn't know if a website would be an ideal place to upload it all.Some people do like, dropbox links or downloadable pitch packets from a website, if you mean that, but in that case I'd advise reading an agency's submission guidelines #askdvpit - for ex we just ask for a pdf of the pitch, & you can link to your portfolio.
Literary Agent
Nolan Dean π΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώπ @nolandean27
Something Iβm worried about is some agents expect an inciting incident and character set up in as little as 5/10 pages. I find that tricky as someone who likes to really establish a character before that so the readerβs invested. Do you have any tips for that? #askDVpiti feel like this misinformation goes around a lot! i see it all the time. i agree it's too fast. i think what we wanna see is the character, the status quo, and TENSION--which is different from an inciting incident. #askDVpit
Literary Agent
C. L. Doupagneπ (they/them) @DoupagneC
Is 200 - 250k an acceptable wordcount for an debut author, if it's adult fantasy and fits the story?β¨#askDVpit
I would reject this the second I saw the word count. It is too high even for a genre with higher word counts #askDVpit
Editor
Angelica Monai @AngelicaMonai
#askDVpitI would love to hear about your journey from tweet to agent as far as timeline. Did you query soon after?
though i participated in a different pitch contest, from tweet to agent, i sent my fulls out the next day (after doing research on agents who liked my tweet) and then received my first offer of rep after a week, and made a decision about two weeks later! #askDVpit
Literary Agent
Susan, A Graham @Grahamophones
Hey pals, I want to talk a bit about pitching graphic novels online - #dvpit is coming up soon & the wonderful @beth_phelan has decided to try adding a specific day for graphic novels - Remember, #dvpit is specifically for marginalized authors & illustrators. So if that doesn't-lots of info in the embedded thread, but also i don't think the whole script needs to be done. Have a good chunk of sample script ready, and a good outline for the rest. i think scrivener has a guide for format? #askDVpit twitter.com/Grahamophones/β¦
Literary Agent
Soup. πΉ @dumbesttimeline
@agentsaba @SIRyder2 If you're struggling for comps, do agents ever take it as arrogance ("this is unique") or ignorance (doesn't read enough)?great question -- i wouldn't mention it either way b/c yes, saying something like "my project is too unique for a comp" will come across poorly. but having good comps > not having them, so you'd be at a disadvantage, but i wouldn't make the jump that you're ignorant. #askDVpit