Who Owns the Ideas Found in #MSWL #askagent bookendsliterary.com/2018/08/23/who…

If you've got them use them. Otherwise don't worry about it. #askagent

And, honstly, you can also, just query another BookEnds agent, but you didn't hear that from me ;) #askagent

There are a couple of ways you can handle this. You can follow-up through QM to ask if it is still under consideration. You can withdraw and query another agent at BookEnds or you can wait it out knowing an answer will come. #askagent

As always, just my opinions & other agents may feel differently. But if you're struggling to fit your epic fantasy into a book that appeals to traditional publishing, I hope this helps. #amwriting #amediting #amrevising #amquerying #querytip #writetip #askagent #writerslife #SFF

...readers DO expect book 2 to be Bigger & Better, so you really need to hold back some of the bigger/more intricate world elements anyway. But pretend readers will ONLY get book 1 when you write. Make it so satisfying they beg for more.
(All this applies to expansive SF, too)

If the first book is so satisfying that readers (or agents/pubs) can't WAIT to see what happens next, you'll do better than if you just use book one to foreshadow that "Bigger Things Happen." Make your first plot conclude in a satisfying way. After all...

& I'll tell you why in really practical terms: you may not get a multi-book deal.
You may get a one-book deal,&pub may need to see how that performs before investing in the series. So conclude that book, no matter how desperately you want to tell the bigger story NOW. Be patient.

But your first book NEEDS TO END, and it needs to end in a totally-satisfying way, even if the story carries on afterward. It needs to appear "All could be well!" even if all will not be well. It can hint that there is a greater danger on horizon, but 1st plot must conclude.

If something feels like you paused story to tell a side quest, cut it or connect it into main plot somehow. Make your MC learn something critical here. Make them meet a character who helps them see conflict in a new light. Make it so there was no other way for MC to move forward.

- Foreshadowing greater conflict
- Other characters who hint at deep backstories
- World building elements the MC does not yet understand but will in future books
NO PART OF YOUR BOOK SHOULD FEEL LIKE A SIDE QUEST. It should all tie into THIS 1ST PLOT, & hint at over-arch plot.

...you actually take away from the reader's experience by never allowing them to fully sink into a character&digest the world&story. Cut your outline down to a skeleton of the first conflict, and THEN go back in, & through character interactions add all the toppings:

Ultimately, you need to worldbuild in each book of your series anyway. So sketch out how you could tell the first major plot in the simplest possible way, ignoring the rest of the world. Sketch it out from ONE POV. Then, add another if you need to. But if you add too many...

Which part of the world really needs to be built NOW,&which can wait until next book? Consider your overarching conflict, but also which specific conflict is going to feature in this 1st book&how it will conclude in a satisfying way. Consider which locations matter now&can wait.

So your job is to figure out WHICH PART of the story needs to be told in the first book of your series. How do you do that? Well, consider the experience of the characters. Through whose lens will this story be experienced in a way that lets your reader learn it all seamlessly?

..for the conflict to spring off the page, description of races/creatures/castes/magical systems,&character relationships that interact powerfully with all these elements. Often, multi POV. It's a lot! But is a publisher going to take on a 400k first book of this epic debut? No.

Your goal, as the author, is not only to tell the whole story. It is also to tell the story in THE MOST DYNAMIC ORDER for the reader to absorb&experience. You absolutely need all these big elements: thorough worldbuilding, unique&intricate characters, enough political backstory..

I was asked about long, expansive epic fantasy &want to expand in detail. Epic F often have a LOT going on - huge casts&worlds, complex magic&politics. This often=high wordcount. How can you fit this into cohesive novel that appeals to pubs? Thread. #amwriting #askagent #querytip

I always assume if I request a full someone else is too. I only need to be contacted if there’s an offer. #askagent

With brand new literary agent @LinaLanglee in Edinburgh at @RoyalScotsClub #EdBookFest #askagent #fiction #ff #literaryagents