
Literary Agent
Lisa Hartley Roman @life_with_riley
When is the best and worst time to query an agent (which months or time of year)?is now a bad time due to the holidays? #askagentI see people put these grandiose "don't query now" statements out and I don't get it really. I am never 100% up to date. So if you query me on thanksgiving I'm not reading it on thanksgiving, I'll always read it after the fact. In bunches of 20-100 or so at a time.

Literary Agent
Miles Everett Travis @MTravisimo
@carlywatters You're writing a novel that draws directly from personal experience/actual events. Should you bring this up in the query? Would an agent want to know? #askagentI would at the end in the author bio section. Most important thing is that it's a great book. Lead with the hook. At the end some agents might like to know extra facts. It depends on what it is. i.e. Did you grow up in a religious cult? Write a novel/fictionalize it? Then yes.

Literary Agent
Paul Gleed @PaulGleedWrites
@carlywatters #askagent If an agent has requested full from a writer before, but declined it, is it okay to query that agent with a future project even if they are closed to queries at that future time? Does that assume too much or is there a 'relationship' established?It depends. I would reach out and ask. Many agents are closed for a good reason (health issues, time management etc). When I was closed to queries I would have looked at something from someone if I sent them a lengthy R&R but that's it.

Literary Agent
Marcella Haddad @marcie_via
@carlywatters #askagent at what point when reading a manuscript do you make the decision to represent the author? Is there a type of moment that just makes you go, "I have to have this book"?Sometimes it's very early. Yes the last one I offered on I knew after 50 pages but I had to read the whole thing to know exactly what I wanted to say on the phone. I don't call after 50 pages. I need a vision for it.
Sometimes I think for a day. But overall it's fast.

Literary Agent
TheScribblingDragon @ScribblingDrake
@carlywatters Thank you! Follow up question, what genre(s) are those ranges for? #askagentAlso, non fiction can be 70k. And cookbooks often shorter because there are images too.

Literary Agent
TheScribblingDragon @ScribblingDrake
@carlywatters Thank you! Follow up question, what genre(s) are those ranges for? #askagentI only rep adult fiction and non fiction (mostly) so I like books 80-100k.

Literary Agent
ηαтαℓιє ℓσ¢кєтт 25074/50000 @natlckettwrites
@carlywatters #askagent this is more specific to you. Your #MSWL lists YA as a genre you rep, but your website bio doesn't include that. (Creeping over here) Which is correct? Thanks!Here is my most recent Wishlist: carlywatters.com/wishlist/

Literary Agent
ηαтαℓιє ℓσ¢кєтт 25074/50000 @natlckettwrites
@carlywatters #askagent this is more specific to you. Your #MSWL lists YA as a genre you rep, but your website bio doesn't include that. (Creeping over here) Which is correct? Thanks!If it's the MSWL website I have not updated that in awhile. Also people take old Wishlist blog posts & repost them & I have no control over that. I recently sold YA but that was for an existing adult fic client. Overall I don't seek them unless they're coming-of-age more than YA.

Literary Agent
TheScribblingDragon @ScribblingDrake
@carlywatters What are (in your opinion) the most important qualities of a good query letter? #askagentConcise! I like them short.
Professional. I don't like them too friendly.
Good comp titles. Are they recent? Did I like them?
Proper length of a book. Not too long (120k) not too short (60k)
Book that knows what it is. Get to that hook immediately.

Literary Agent
Susan Allison-Dean,MS,RN @TheNatureNurse
@carlywatters What metrics do you recommend using to see how much of a need there is for a non-fiction book? #askagentIt's really about engagement on the topic. If it's niche does it have a massive following in a niche. If you have a big platform are people highly engaged (commenting/RT/repost) w topic. Is there a demand for more of your voice? You have to know it's a book & not a blog post.

Literary Agent
Jen’s a 2-tail...Are you a 1-tail or 2? @Jen_D_Davenport
@carlywatters If an author queries international agents what kind of questions might they ask that are different from querying agents in their home country? #askagentYou want to make sure they have a track record of success in the book's main market. So even if you don't live there--where's the book going to be sold (US vs UK).
Whether the $ gets converted or stays in same currency.

Literary Agent
Brittney Woodson @brittney_canna
@laurenspieller Thank you for responding! From an older ms that got some attention last year, I had received some personal rejections stating they loved the premise but had issues with other things (voice, making some scenes stronger) so I wondered if I revised it differently would it be okYes, but make sure it is TRULY revised

Literary Agent
Brittney Woodson @brittney_canna
@laurenspieller I’m not sure if you’re still answering questions, but if a writer receives a personalized rejection from a manuscript, do you think it’s okay to revise that same ms and query it again to the agent even if they didn’t ask for an R&R? Or is it best to submit an entirely new ms?You can try, but it’s possible the agent will pass without reading

Literary Agent
Gina Pagán @ReignaFTW
@laurenspieller When querying, is it bad to use a title that the agent represents as a comp, since it might come off as being too similar to something on their list?I’d clarify what it is about your book that’s different

Literary Agent

Literary Agent
Destinee S. @winkchii
@laurenspieller Sorry, I have another question. Is not hearing back on an R&R on a partial for a month a bad sign? Also, does the amount of clients signed at one time affect the acquiring of a new client? Will there be a period of time that an agent won't look for new clients?A month isn’t that long, but you should nudge at 6 weeks (but not until after the holiday). Agents will take on as many clients as they are excited about and can personally handle

Literary Agent
Jen e.e. Edwards @Jene_e_edwards
@laurenspieller best advise to make sure you're writing an enticing summary in your query instead of falling into doing a synopsis accidentally?Two paragraphs. Don’t give away the ending

Literary Agent
Melanie Locke @MelisWriting
@laurenspieller How long do you think it typically takes to edit something into acceptable quality? Alternatively, how do I know when something is good enough for querying. I don't want to risk ruining my chances because I send out something unedited.It depends on the book, but you should def be getting feedback from critique partners and revising at LEAST once

Literary Agent
Rachel Greenlaw @rachelgreenlaw_
@laurenspieller And I have another one (sorry to bombard you!) but would you say 25% is a good amount for act 1 of a manuscript, or do you think that's a little too much of 'the setup'?It really depends, but if you have a ton of set up and backstory readers will get bored

Literary Agent
Asking for Agent Referrals #askagent bookendsliterary.com/2018/01/09/age…