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Deidra @DeidraLoo
@Sarah_Nicolas Thanks! I'd like to know what you recommend for first-time novelists - should we wait to hear back from queried agents once we've gotten an offer from a small publisher or should we jump on the opportunity to publish?I would definitely try to get an agent if you can. They can help you protect your rights! Let them know you have an offer from a publisher.
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Aide is in the Otherworld @aiden_png
@Sarah_Nicolas Any advice on when form rejections necessitate a manuscript rewrite vs. a submission package edit? And at what point a book should be shelved?That is nearly impossible to answer in general terms! I would say if you're getting form rejections, get some beta readers on it and see what they say
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CJ Dotson @cj_dots
@Sarah_Nicolas If an agent has had my full MS for 10 or 11 months and I'm now querying a new project, and I want to query a different agent at that same agency with my new book, I plan to let the new agent know the situation, but should I notify the agent who still has my old full, too? Or not?Send a follow up to the agent who has your full and just let them know the situation. Everyone's going to handle this a bit differently. But a year with a full definitely warrants a nudge
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Kristi McManus 📚 @kristimcmanus
@Sarah_Nicolas What have been your query stats since you opened?I'm only in mobile so I can't do stats but I've received about 400 queries since I opened
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Kristi McManus 📚 @kristimcmanus
@Sarah_Nicolas What are you most excited about with becoming an agent?Working with authors to launch and manage their careers!
Literary Agent
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Shahnaz Ahmed @DrShahnazAhmed
@Sarah_Nicolas Do agents edit also? And if so, do they charge?Agents edit to a variety of degrees. An agent who is representing you should never ever charge you for edits. An agent makes 15% commission on your book sales
Literary Agent
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Aaron J. Cole @aaron_j_cole
@Sarah_Nicolas Do agents read synopses (when asked for) even if the query doesn’t necessarily hook? Or is it query -> synopsis -> first pages?Everyone is different. I think most agents will read at least the first paragraph of pages if the query doesn't hook. (Unless it's like a totally not interested in the idea situation) A lot don't read synopsis unless they're hooked by query and pages.
Literary Agent
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Zach Humphrey @Blueslushie92
@Sarah_Nicolas Hi! Any advice on how to decide which agents to query per batch? Also, how much industry knowledge should we have before we start querying?Everyone's a little bit different so it's hard to answer that question for someone. For me, I'd do a mix of the ones I think would be a perfect match and the ones that are more of a maybe if that makes sense?
Literary Agent
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Christiana Doucette @doucette515
@Sarah_Nicolas How do you feel about Novel-in-verse?BLOOD WATER PAINT is one of my top books of the past ten years!
Literary Agent
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Gail Guerrero @_gail_guerrero
@annmrose When an author gets an agent, do the agent expects the author to write a certain amount of books at year, or at any given time? Can a represented author write only one book each two or three years, if that's how their writing speed is?This would be a great question for when you have a call with agents as everyone will answer differently. I personally don’t require any set amount of work.
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Writer's Block @Mind_Trace
@annmrose Hi. My stories are very long. Should I query the word count accepted part for the genre and say there’s more? Or query the full story with the understanding that it’ll have to be split into several books to get the full story, if picked up?You should probably try to fit within word count standards as best you can. Not having a full/complete book isn’t a better idea than saying it needs multiple books to make it a whole story. 😬 shoot for stand alone with series potential
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Jill Safran @WittyMystic
@annmrose @tjhrudman Thanks for doing this! I want to know if I should mention my book has potential for a sequel in the query or if I should just pitch it as a stand-alone book?To put it frankly every book has series potential if there is a market for it so IMO it’s not necessary to say. But stand alone with series potential is fine to put in a query.
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Jean-Maré Gagliardi🇿🇦 @jeanmare_gag
@annmrose When would it be appropriate to check in about full requests? Is between 3-6 months ok? I get that agents have clients & that takes priority so as eager as I am, I also want to be respectful. And for agents who use email over QM, what do you suggest I make the subject line?I think 3 month increments is reasonable. So once at 3 months again at 6 etc. Sometimes it takes us a while and not because we aren’t excited to read. Bandwidths just aren’t like they used to be and things are just taking longer all around
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Chiarra Arpaia @ChiarraArpaia
@annmrose I coauthored a novel I would call fantasy (fairies, magic, second world) but beta readers are telling me it reads more like literary fiction. How do I describe that/pick genre/know who to query? Also, why do so many agents only rep fantasy for YA?Well there is literary fantasy — the literary part is more about the voice when there is magic and fairies and other worlds.
I couldn’t tell you why for the second question. I know a bunch of agents who take adult fantasy. We are out there.
Literary Agent
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Margo Sloan is Querying & Writing @MargoSloan215
@annmrose Do you frequently toss book samples if the letter doesn't speak to you, or have you ever found the first five pages so good, it trumps a lackluster query? Thank you <3Queries are hard so I always look at pages. And I have signed and sold a book I got because of a not great query and an amazing sample.
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Megan LaCroix🦉 @meganwritenow
@annmrose Is YA fantasy a particularly hard sell these days?The short answer is yes. 😔
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Megan Lind Persinger @meganthebookwrm
@annmrose When you're reading a full, how far do you normally read before you know it's not for you and reject it? Also, what's the number 1 reason you reject fulls?I just keep reading until I find myself not wanting to anymore 🤷🏼♀️ there is no set number of pages. There are a number of reasons I could reject. I usually try to give some kind of explanation when I do so.
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mona @monatheraven
@annmrose Can you tell when an author is nervous & has a tiny typo in the e-mail response to a partial or full request? Do you take off points for this? 😂🥺
👉🏼👈🏼
Never! We all make typos now and then. The other day I used the completely wrong word but at the time I was so sure it was correct. Infinity instead of affinity. It happens. We’re all human.
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Logan K. Glendenning @LKGlendenning
@annmrose If my manuscript is intended as a duology, should that be clearly listed in the query/synopsis? And is an intended duology a dealbreaker (generally) for most agents?Well you are now asking them to commit to selling two books (at the same time) not just one so that does make things harder. It’s why we always say stand alone with series potential is preferred. For some it could be a dealbreaker.
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AshleyQuinn @AshleyCQuinn
@annmrose My novel: superhero story with addiction, mental health, & MeToo issues. It crosses a couple genres & I'm uncertain which genre to go with. Few agents say they like spec fiction, but this seems like the best fit. How to handle multiple genres when querying? Thanks!You ask yourself, If I walked into a bookstore and went to look for my book, what shelf would it be on? That is how you classify it's genre.
Does that help?