Literary Agent
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Josephine Rose @jrosephine
@julietpickering @mushenska @katenashagent @RobbieGuillory Do other writing 'credits' (ie publication in magazines, newspapers, etc...) positively influence agents reading a submission letter? Are agents interested in a book's deeper 'themes'/process in a query letter (in addition to the usual info required (hook/blurb etc...)? #askagentI would say include them but you don't have to. Some agents will give the submissions letter a lot of attention whereas I don't, I skip straight off to the writing sample happily not knowing anything about the writer. #AskAgent
Literary Agent
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William C Powell @WillCamPowell
@mushenska #askagent when researching agents I look at their requirements and think, yes, great match for newest finished MS, but not for WIP (or other un-trunked MSs). Should I just move on in search of the perfect agent, or query and hope we can reach an accommodation on other works?I’d query the current MS to the best fit for it and worry about the rest later #askagent
Literary Agent
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Clar Ni Chonghaile @clarnic
#AskAgent If you're a published author without an agent, how important are your previous sales when pitching a new project to an agent? If you've never sold very well, can that be a dealbreaker or can the new project stand on its own merits?The new project can stand on its own merits, but sales do help! #AskAgent
Literary Agent
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Lilith Antoinette (not related to Mary) @justlilytbh
#askagent could an author use the sales and statistics of a previous self published work to display their ability to attract sales and an audience? Are self published authors given a fair chance compared to traditionally published author?Yes for sure - some of my clients started out self pub or still self pub #askagent
Literary Agent
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Tanja Goossens @TanjaGoossens
@julietpickering @mushenska @katenashagent @RobbieGuillory I hope you don't mind me asking, as it's not regarding a manuscript, but how many authors (number or percentage) in your list have you all met through a creative writing course? I would love to include this in my dissertation research for my MA Publishing ☺️ #AskAgentI don't think I've met any of mine through CW courses, but a fair few have done them! #AskAgent
Literary Agent
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Valerie Griffin @griffin399
#AskAgent is it too pushy to follow up on a query letter to an agent? I understand they might not be interested but could there be a chance they never received it? Thank you.I’d wait until their submission response time has passed and then send a follow up #askagent
Literary Agent
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Asjad Nazir @asjadnazir
@julietpickering @mushenska @katenashagent @RobbieGuillory I mentor a lot of talented writers and many are completing their novels, short story collections & screenplays. What is the best way for them to find the right agent for their work? (also feel brave enough to put their work out there) #askagentResearch so they are approaching the right potential agents for what they write. This sounds daunting but actually all the info is online these days. Agency websites, Twitter and the Writers & Artists are good sources. #AskAgent
Literary Agent
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Asjad Nazir @asjadnazir
@julietpickering @mushenska @katenashagent @RobbieGuillory @Writers_Artists Thank you. Motivating some to be brave enough to send submissions has been an unexpected challenge. Keep up the amazing work you all are doing. Too many times people don't realise there are helping hands out there. #askagentOur hopes in doing this is to try and make the process feel more open to unpublished writers and to demystify a little - thank you for the excellent work you are doing too! #askagent
Literary Agent
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Lilith Antoinette (not related to Mary) @justlilytbh
#askagent How important is exact description? I've read ms's that felt suffocated by the level of description in character body language, items and settings. Other ms's that set a scene and the odd character movement/action in a convo feel more natural to read. Which is better?I think that a lot of books can be improved with more show, less tell, and more dialogue! #AskAgent
Literary Agent
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Marcelle Perks @Marcelleperks
#askagent When agents set up mentor programme, is this for writers who have finished their novels and want representation, or for writers who haven't finished their MS's yet? I feel stupid even asking this...Ours is for writers who have an unfinished manuscript. #AskAgent
Literary Agent
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E.S. Alexander @ESAlexander4
#askagent Maybe others have had different experiences, but I don't think I'm alone in wondering why mainstream publishers are so poor at promoting authors' books, unless they're already BIG names! This is something many of us can't fathom -- why pub a book & not get behind it?Ha ha some publishers are not great at breaking out debuts for sure but I don’t think that is unique to big publishers - and some do brilliant jobs of developing new voices eg Picador with the Miniaturist or Bonnier with The Familiars #askagent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
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Tanja Goossens @TanjaGoossens
@julietpickering @mushenska @katenashagent @RobbieGuillory I hope you don't mind me asking, as it's not regarding a manuscript, but how many authors (number or percentage) in your list have you all met through a creative writing course? I would love to include this in my dissertation research for my MA Publishing ☺️ #AskAgentFor me none. That’s not to say some didn’t do creative writing courses but that’s not how I met them #askagent
Literary Agent
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Ben Edge @bnedge
#AskAgent When you’ve already got an agent, but you’ve written a second (non-sequel) book, do you submit it to your agent in the same format, or would it be a more casual conversion between yourself and the agent about wether they’d take it on?Casual for sure and I would likely ask to be involved from the ideas stage onwards. #AskAgent
Literary Agent
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†hε ωεψmαη @WeymanWrites
#askagentWhat do you think is the easiest genre to get an agent in?
(Just interested - not going to change my genre for this reason 😊)
There are so many agents covering all the genres... I just don't know if there is any one genre doing better than others! #AskAgent
Literary Agent
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Linda @lindcai
Are famous comps useful or just arrogant? #AskAgentI think largely useful but obv depends eg Harry Potter not that useful as it is an outlier #askagent
Literary Agent
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Pamela G. Hobbs @pamelaghobbs
#askagent I have a contract for 5 books with a publisher - just finishing 1st draft of bk 4 - 3 already published. I don't have an agent but would like to in future -wait till bk 5 is done & start looking with new project or start now? Can I get an agent based on body of work?You absolutely can start looking for an agent now! We'd be interested in knowing what you were planning to write next, though, so I'd suggest having some sort of outline pencilled in. #AskAgent
Literary Agent
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Intoxicatink @intoxicatink
@julietpickering @mushenska @katenashagent @RobbieGuillory Thank you all for taking the time to do this!1) Spikey, flawed heroines: yay or nay?
2) Which do you each read first: a pitch, a sample, or a synopsis?
#AskAgent
All characters should be flawed! I read the sample first and try and ignore the synopsis for as long as possible. (I won't read until after I have read the whole novel if it's a crime / suspense I am enjoying.) #AskAgent
Literary Agent
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Daria Lucrezia Peruffo @darialucrezia
@mushenska What is the difference (if there is any) market wise between contemporary fantasy and urban fantasy? #askagentThey tend to have a reasonably separate readership - or at least the research we did into it about 12 years ago when I worked at a publisher said so! #askagent
Literary Agent
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E.S. Alexander @ESAlexander4
#askagent Are the days of Max Perkins working with Tom Wolfe (and F. Scott Fitzgerald etc.) long gone? Just how involved are today's agents (YOU :-)) in helping shape books that show potential, if not immediately publishable?I like to work quite closely with my authors, especially hashing out new book ideas. If a book shows serious potential, I'd work with the author to make it happen. #AskAgent