Literary Agent
Sasa Hawk @SasaHawk
@UweStenderPhD Do agents get creeped out by late night queries? I have a day job, and I always wonder if I'm being a nuisance by hitting send at like 10 pm or later 😬#askagent
No. I get them when I look at them. I used to look at queries over the weekend, until I decided not to anymore. I now look at them on Monday. So, query away in the middle of the night.
Literary Agent
Kari Veenstra | #BlackLivesMatter @KariVeenstra_
@UweStenderPhD I'm planning to query the sequel to my unagented debut. Any advice on how to mention debut sales? They've been drastically impacted COVID. Should I simply mention the debut as a pub credit and leave off sales entirely? #askagentIf the sequel can stand on its own, I would NOT mention the first one. If it cannot, then I would self publish #2 considering the described dilemma. But, others may disagree.
Literary Agent
Maria Stout @MariaStout
@UweStenderPhD (Yes! I *finally* made it for one of these 😄) If an agent had your full, but passed and said to feel free to query again w/ a different ms should the writer mention the previously requested full in the new query?Not necessarily, YOUR choice.
Literary Agent
Dalton Valette @daltonvalette
@UweStenderPhD Thanks for this! Have a full story, western with horror elements, which I thought could make a great graphic novel. But not so skilled in the art department myself!I am fairly certain that there are many agents who would be fine with "just" a script.
Literary Agent
Dalton Valette @daltonvalette
@UweStenderPhD Thank you! Follow up (if that’s alright), what’s the process with potential graphic novels?Ask whatever you want. Personally, I prefer a writer/illustrator combo (solo or two). I would like to see sample art pages and the full script.
Literary Agent
Dalton Valette @daltonvalette
@UweStenderPhD Thoughts on short story collections and getting them published? They seem to be few and far between.I think they are tough to sell, but there ARE exceptions. I wouldn't be the best agent for it, though, because, lol, I think they are tough to sell.
Literary Agent
Konstantinos Kalofonos🇬🇷🇺🇸 @kskalofonos
@UweStenderPhD When initially querying... and an agent notes they require a Synopsis but do not state 1pg-2pg-5pg-etc... what would you recommend as the proper length to send? Thank you :)I don't ask for those. IF I did, I would certainly specify the length. Hmm, so my answer is not going to be helpful. My guess, anywhere between 1-3 pages.
Literary Agent
#askagent is up for questions in my IG stories. I’ll answer them tomorrow after work instagram.com/stories/sztown…
Literary Agent
I spent the bulk of my morning going through the #AskAgent tumblr and answering old questions and new - and there were still like 100 questions. Some VERY old, many repeats. So... I took the nuclear option and deleted all of them. Starting a clean slate! literaticat.tumblr.com
Literary Agent
Murder2 @MurderSquared
@UweStenderPhD On average how long does it typically take you to decide on a MS you want to represent??Once I start reading it: less than 2 days. Because unless I love it so much to drop everything else in my life, and read until I am done and absolutely loving it, I am not the right agent for the writer.
Literary Agent
Susan Burdorf @sburdorf
@UweStenderPhD Answer what you can.Know that you will be endlessly rejected, and if you can't deal with that, don't become an agent. Know that you won't be able to make a living just by agenting for at least 5 years. So be independently wealthy, or work other jobs simultaneously. Don't need sleep.
Literary Agent
Susan Burdorf @sburdorf
@UweStenderPhD What is the one piece of advice you give new agents to Triada that you wish someone had given you when you started in the business?I could answer the first part of the question, but not the second, because I may not have done what I did.
Literary Agent
Pamela Smith Jansury @PJansury
@UweStenderPhD @RedPenKaitlyn If an agent says they respond to all queries in eight weeks, and eight weeks has past, is it okay to gently “nudge” them? If so, what is the polite and professional way to do so? #askagent Thanks for doing this. 😊Absolutely, kindly judge.
Literary Agent
Randi Lynn Mrvos @RandiLynnMrvos
@UweStenderPhD Is it acceptable or in bad form when a writer submits a query using a rhetorical question in the book description?It depends on the agent, I guess. I *personally* always reject queries with any sort of immediate questions, rhetorical or otherwise. "Have you ever wondered...?" NO, I HAVEN'T. "If you had lived in 1933..." NO, BECAUSE I DIDN'T. " Would you...?" NO, I WOULDN'T. etc.
Literary Agent
Shanice is UNAPOLOGETICALLY BLACK @twixsftbl
@UweStenderPhD While book 1 is out for query, do you suggest writing book 2 or working on something new all together?Also, how do we get rid of the query nerves? Cuz the bubble guts are real! Lol
If it is a series, I would plot book 2, but not write it until book 1 sells. So, ideally, you ought to work on an unrelated project.
Don't think about it. The worst outcome: rejections. But maybe some of them can be helpful for round 2 if that is necessary.
Literary Agent
CT Liotta @CTLiotta
@UweStenderPhD Beefeater has long been my favorite gin, but I feel bourgeois drinking it. Any advice?Also, after 2 years of major revisions, I'll soon be ready to resubmit a manuscript. Will I need to start over with an entirely new query? A discussion of how I addressed prev. issues?
Advice: life is too short to waste on cheap gin. Buy the best gin you can afford. Life can change in a second, you may die surprisingly, so enjoy your Beefeater before you do.
Just query it, especially since the revisions were major.
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Jessica Payne @authorjesspayne
@UweStenderPhD If you previously requested material from an author, do you want to know that the next time they query you? Should they mention it in the query?I don't think it matters either way. I certainly won't remember. I don't judge you just because I may have rejected prior work from you. My "dream" editor rejected 22 previous submissions from me, before she offered and published an Uwe-repped novel. It's not personal for me.
Literary Agent
Stacie Murphy @StacieMWrites
@UweStenderPhD My debut is coming in January 2021. What are you telling your authors to do during this period when in-person events and other forms of promotion aren’t possible? Any tips you can share about what’s working well? What isn’t?It's tough, but there are many opportunities like zoom/blog/insta/ etc events. You and your agent ought to work ever more closely with marketing and PR at your publisher to coordinate and brainstorm.
Literary Agent
Leslie's #Dreamwalking in 2020 🦄 @LeslieDRush
@UweStenderPhD Dr Uwe! So nice to see you here. I'm curious--have you seen a shift in genre or plot in your queries since the quarantine began?Not really, only that *I* am not interested in any books about pandemics.