Publishers are still looking for darker novels, so don't hold off too long #AskAgent

uplit with a little romance sounds nice to me! #AskAgent

Writing to me starting "Dear Sir" or indeed with no greeting at all on the cover letter. I may just assume it is spam. #AskAgent

yes! I sold one last year and love the period #askagent

A niche amount ;)

But to be serious, the smaller the market the smaller the returns will likely be, which makes it less attractive. Having said that, publishers like @SarabandBooks have been having great success with such titles recently. #AskAgent

Run a mile. For my sakes if not yours. It's a close relationship based a good deal on trust. As my old boss used to say, "try to only work with people you could go to the pub with." #AskAgent

The tougher the times the more likeable the characters - so in my view I feel right now we are heading into a phase where we really do want to like our characters. #AskAgent

Just keep writing title ideas down until you really feel like you're scraping the barrel, and then generally something amazing will present itself. Even then, the publisher might want to change it. #AskAgent

I tend to think if you didn't like them it's not going to be a good relationship! I wouldn't want to work with someone I didn't like #askagent

Worked for a publisher and realised agenting was the better job since you can work with the same authors across publishers and potentially for the whole of their careers (if they will have me obv.) #AskAgent

I don't need to like them, but I need to understand them and invest in their decisions #askagent

Could be. One of my authors uses a pen name for fiction only because she writes very specialist academic books under her real name and it might get confusing. #AskAgent

Not a hard rule. My "hard rule" is that the opening page has to have characterisation. #AskAgent

Not as many as you might think. I imagine they'll start coming thick and fast over the next couple of months though. Not a bad thing! #AskAgent

I am definitely seeing more than usual but it's tailed off a little! #askagent

I have seen a few but not too many. #AskAgent

My route was quite circuitous, having been an editor before hand, but what drew me to it is being able to champion an author over their whole career, not just for each book. And getting to read constantly. And enthuse about stories I love. It really is the best of jobs. #AskAgent

If your agency is a member of the AAA then there should be no restrictions on an author moving on along with their agent. #AskAgent

I think, regardless of genre, plot is pretty important to readers! As a reader I need to be intrigued by the characters and writing - but also have a sense of suspense and where the story is going. I think Save the Cat is a useful resource #askagent

I'd really only want to know if the work you were sending me had already been submitted to other publishers #askagent