Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Evan Dave @EvanDave8
@RedPenKaitlyn, how would you feel about reinterpretations of popular Western fantasy novels given a non-Western twist? For example, something analogous to Lord of the Rings from the perspective of the Haradrim (or what J. Carey did with The Sundering books)?I'm not huge into stories akin to sprawling epics like LOTR so not sure this would be a good fit for me unfortunately #askagent
Literary Agent
Michelle Young @michelle13136
@RedPenKaitlyn My WIP does have a character who has experienced sexual trauma, e.g. she refuses to go into a certain part of town because it's where she was attacked. Would something like that be okay? It doesn't happen on page.That is fine. When it's something in the past, I'm usually ok with it more so than in the main plot or on the page #askagent
Literary Agent
Jasper Worms @jasperworms
@RedPenKaitlyn Awesome, thanks for doing this! That structural format in particular is handy. One last Q: If pitching a problematizable source (Lovecraft/Dracula), is it better to get ahead of assumptions or better to reveal purposeful subversion of "immigrant invasion" story if inorganic?Not sure on the answer to that one cause it's hard w/o knowing the story angle. I think you're still ok if you really state what YOUR story is about despite deriving inspiration from those sources #askagent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Cheryl Wanner @WannerCheryl
@RedPenKaitlyn What is the word count guideline for YA contemporary?I'd say best is 60-80k. Stay between that and you should be good #askagent
Literary Agent
Michelle Young @michelle13136
@RedPenKaitlyn Have you ever auto-rejected a query, and if so, why?If it's a genre I don't represent or it's something like incest/rape. Or if it's offensive/racist. Deff an auto reject #askagent
Literary Agent
L. Dean @designerldean
@RedPenKaitlyn How long does it usually take for an agent to decide on a full request?Depends on how many subs/queries we are reading, how many client ms we get in the meantime. I tell writers to check in with me after 3 months of sending me the materials #askagent
Literary Agent
Sarah Underwood @s_e_c_underwood
@RedPenKaitlyn how serious is your aversion to stories based (loosely) on greek mythology? let's pretend I'm asking for a friendI'm not huge on greek mythology right now. If it's VERY subtle and I have to dig to realize what myth it is, I'm more open to it #askagent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Tom @DelusionalWrit
@RedPenKaitlyn My 1st chapter (which every agent asks for) seems unrelated to my story for the first 3/4 of the book. I fear this disconnect between my query and my first chapter may cause confusion or a feeling of dissonance. But then I really like the story layout. Should I doubt my strategy?Hard to say w/o seeing the story, but usually this brings up the question WHY is it your first chapter if it doesn't relate to the first 3/4 of the book? This doesn't seem to be the strongest opening if that's the case #askagent
Literary Agent
M.A.Greene PHYSICAL DISTANCING 2 FLATTEN THE CURVE @MAGreene996
@RedPenKaitlyn I heard for a YA SFF the the word count shouldn't be over 100k. Is that true? If it is how many words over that is acceptable without more than likely going in the slush pile?I would try not over 110k. Sweet spot seems 100-110. If I see a YA SFF around 120k, my eyebrows go up and it probably needs more editing #askagent
Literary Agent
Michelle Young @michelle13136
@RedPenKaitlyn What's the best advice you could give to an author sending out their very first query?Deep breaths and be sure to get a few readers to look over your query. Also, email it to yourself first to ensure the formatting looks ok #askagent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
E A Hill @BansheeHill
@RedPenKaitlyn Does a mediocre query letter ever keep you from reading the sample pages?No. If you still have something interesting, despite not being amazingly written, I will go to your pages and see how the writing is there #askagent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Nervous Pilgrimage @nervouspilgrim
@RedPenKaitlyn Thanks for having an #askagentThis might be an odd question
Do you think, in the current literary market, that there's a place for Literary Fantasy. (Even if the genre doesn't technically exist).
There's a place, but it's a hard sell. Assuming this is Adult? The main thing is to ensure the worldbuilding is there and we can still feel connected to your character #askagent
Literary Agent
Theogar Monkagon @FourWholeMoons
@RedPenKaitlyn one of the big pieces of query advice I hear is to explain why you're applying to this agent, what about them appeals to you professionally. what should that usually look like, and how long should that section of the query be? put another way, what are the do's and don't's?Try no more than 1-2 sentences and only if you have a specific thing (like an exact MSWL post or you met them in person/attended a webinar). Otherwise, it's fine to just state you're submitting this work #askagent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Emily horrified, but still is at 32K words! @writeonwagner
@RedPenKaitlyn If an agent is closed and they have had your query for more than 3 months can you nudge? And if they don't reply is that a no?You can definitely nudge politely. If they don't reply, try again in another 2 or 3 months but after that, they may be employing "no answer means no". #askagent