I probably would. More eyes see more things.

Any general thing you'd like to share, i.e. "I'm a middle school teacher and live in Buffalo with my two kids and three dogs..."

I pitched a book to a big 5 publisher that I thought only a small niche publisher might buy. It was more a pitch out of desperation and no further opportunities. But none of the smaller houses wanted it. It sold to the big one.

Not as important as just simply sending an email query.

No. And I never liked it to begin with whatever era.

I guess generally yes. Though with graphic novels an author/illustrator combo works always. And if you co-write a book with Rihanna, I will sign you, too.
And yes, I would be.

Well, if it is not marketable, then it won't sell. I like great writing, but not pretentious writing.

I usually like to know a little bit about the world and the protagonist, otherwise I feel lost and won't care about what happens to the person. Instant action without context generally disorients me.

I personally get overwhelmed by too much initial material. So, for me, pitch me your strongest novel, and then, if I offer, we can discuss the other ones which will be very important to me at that very time.

no! not unless you’re querying a book that you’ve already self-published — that will make it a tougher sell to publishers, because they don’t want the material already available to readers for less money

beyond the obvious (captivating hook, good writing, etc.) I believe that the plot should start by the end of Ch1 — the reader should know what it is and “the quest” (such as it is) should have gotten underway. if it hasn’t, your book should start later. (this is why prologues=🙅🏼‍♂️)

I do — agents can get dozens of queries a week! if it’s a “quick response” — say, a minute, which is a lowball — to respond to each query, that can still take hours every week. if we’re also editing, answering emails, negotiating contracts... sometimes there really isn’t time

the dirty truth of publishing is: it’s ALL subjective. you know your pain threshold better than anyone in terms of how long to be on sub. some people keep an eye on new agents and are constantly “on sub”

one q: have you gotten guidance on your query letter? that can be crucial

A reminder that if you have an #askagent question I've probably already answered it over on my IG live Q&As: instagram.com/carlywatters/

Check them out in the highlights! I've been doing them for about 2 years.

Great question! Always send pages from the first chapter. In your query, it should reflect that your book is dual POV. #TheWritersZen

Hi! Please feel free to call me Jess :) This response usually means that it’s not a book concept that the agent is interested in and that can be for a number of reasons. And, just because it’s not right for one agent doesn’t mean it won’t be right for another. #TheWritersZen

Great question and I think it can be any one of those things or a combination. I can only speak for myself but I always read the query first, then sample pages then synopsis. #TheWritersZen

Great question! I have been closed to queries trying to catch up but my QM has been full of amazing stories filled with hope #TheWritersZen

Name recognition, and/or 100k+ followers on Social Media, and/or super expertise, or etc etc

Over the years, admittedly, I've become jaded about nonfiction, as it seems that platform is most important. Due to that weariness, I'm not the best advisor, as for me it's platform, platform, platform. But, CERTAINLY, other agents disagree, b/c nonfiction I turned down, sold.