Literary Agent
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Serena Louise @Serena_L_Thomas
Query question, if you request "the first 3 chapters" would you expect the writer to include the prologue if they have one along with the three consecutive chapters, or would you class the prologue as a chapter and want chapter 1 + 2 only? #askagent #BookEndsChatSince I tend to think most prologues should be scrapped bookendsliterary.com/2018/02/22/dea… I'd recommend prologue + chapters 1-3 #askagent
Literary Agent
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Aila Doyle @ailadoyle2
You guys get a lot of queries. What percentage do you feel are excellent? Of those, what percentage get a request for more pages? #askagentI probably request more from 5-10% of the queries I receive, though it fluctuates. #askagent
Literary Agent
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Melody Haaf @MelodyHaaf
#askagent if I previously queried months ago, and basically rewrote my query, is it okay to requery someone, saying oops I queried too soon last time.Why not? I always say go for it. There's nothing to lose and everything to gain. #askagent
Literary Agent
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Melody Haaf @MelodyHaaf
#askagent if I previously queried months ago, and basically rewrote my query, is it okay to requery someone, saying oops I queried too soon last time.Since I look at the first five pages with a query, I would say that a revamped query wouldn't make as much of a difference to me and it'd be better to query someone else. Another agent might feel differently though. #AskAgent
Literary Agent
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Aila Doyle @ailadoyle2
You guys get a lot of queries. What percentage do you feel are excellent? Of those, what percentage get a request for more pages? #askagent#AskAgent Here are my query stats for 2017, where you can see how many I requested (green) and passed (red).
Literary Agent
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Aila Doyle @ailadoyle2
You guys get a lot of queries. What percentage do you feel are excellent? Of those, what percentage get a request for more pages? #askagentI get about 300 queries a month. I request from about 300 a year. Some of those I pass on are excellent queries, but the book doesn't appeal to me. #askagent
Literary Agent
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Z Geoffroy @superpowersultd
@NaomisLitPix @BookEndsJessica @TracyMarchini @inthesestones @SoCalledYALife @BookEndsKim @Campbele_E Grammarly can estimate reading levels. Would this be helpful metadata to include in a query for YA? #askagentI think it would be better if you did the research yourself and understood the market reading levels. #askagent I have a feeling gram marly doesn't understand publishing specific reading levels, which come down to a lot of things like voice & tone
Literary Agent
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Rachel Tomlinson @RachLTomlinson
@SecretAgentBri What trends are you seeing in #PB publishing? And in such an overcrowded market what makes a pb manuscript sing to you?Something that hits literally every note--humor, heart, gentle message that strikes a chord, originality, sales hook. It's a tall order, but in a crowded market, I kinda need all of it #askagent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
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Bridget Baker @BGBakerWrites
@SecretAgentBri Also, do you read your own fulls? Or have an assistant pre screen them?Sometimes I ask for a second opinion from my assistant or our intern, but I ALWAYS read a full--in full--myself, before offering rep, no matter how glowing my reads are. #askagent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
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A.K. Stone🌱 @heyitsAKS
@SecretAgentBri I know a lot of publishers don’t accept poetry, but what about the sort of novels that are written in prose-style poetry? i.e. Ellen Hopkins, etc. Is a story of poetry more accepted whereas a collection is not?Yes, a novel in verse is a little more probably-salable than a collection in the current market, IMO #askagent
Literary Agent
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GatNy @eowyn_nygaard
@SecretAgentBri Hope I'm not too late for this. But if you write a comp as "My book would appeal to readers of______ and _____," Can you get away with using big name titles? I want to use Perks of Being a Wallflower and Eleanor and Park but does that come across as too boastful?Maybe include one more that's genre- and thematically specific/similar but not as widely known #askagent
Literary Agent
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Tobias Salem @TobiasZSalem
@UweStenderPhD @Maria_Tureaud Dr. Stender, within a YA with multiple character perspectives, how many POVs are ideal? What about a few chapters from adults perspectives?I think adult perspectives are problematic. When I was a teenager, I could not care less about anyone even in their 20s. I would keep it to two POVs at the most, unless you miraculously have the gift of creating different enough sounding POVs.
Literary Agent
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Allie Therin @allie_therin
@SecretAgentBri Thank you for doing this!! (1) Is it okay to assume agents are open to LGBT/diversity in submissions even if not explicitly stated? (2) If my new book is a different genre than my current query, should I look for agents who rep both? #askagentI would always tailor your submissions to agents who seem like the best fit for the most important themes in both of your books, if you can. Extra research might be required if you feel passionately about two books that address different ideas/genres/themes #askagent
Literary Agent
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Koji @KojiADae
@SecretAgentBri Thanks for doing this!1) Do you look at a potential client's website, and if you do, what do you like to see?
If you're unpublished, a good social media following does help, as well as perhaps a blog--maybe a good landing page with a link to a blog/social accounts, and a brief bio to start #askagent
Literary Agent
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Rosalyn Ransaw @RosalynRansaw
@SecretAgentBri what’s one thing that used to be on your mswl but isn’t anymore and pi *coughs* I mean why? #askagentI used to be open to illustrators-only, but recently took it off my PM page--illustrators, you're MUCH better off going to @RebeccAgent @stevenmalk or @yikeslouise, they are wayyyy smarter than me about illustration #askagent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
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Maria Stout @MariaStout
@UweStenderPhD Beyond a fantastic manuscript what do you look for in potential clients?Nothing...unless it is nonfiction.