Literary Agent
Kaitlyn Johnson - Closed to Queries @RedPenKaitlyn
@EJMcKennaWrites Lots of telling language, where we aren't in the character's head/feeling like we're experiencing the story rather than being told a story.I'm a person who likes intimacy with characters and loves the internal emotion/physical reaction added to make it 3D #askagent
Starting a story right off the bat with sex or abuse is also a big no for me. Just not my cup of tea #askagent
also, falling into memories. I want to be in the NOW and learn about the backstory delicately throughout
Literary Agent
E J McKenna is querying @EJMcKennaWrites
@RedPenKaitlyn What about the opening pages would make you stop reading?Lots of telling language, where we aren't in the character's head/feeling like we're experiencing the story rather than being told a story.
I'm a person who likes intimacy with characters and loves the internal emotion/physical reaction added to make it 3D #askagent
Literary Agent
Chris Johns @creativeChrisJ
@RedPenKaitlyn Hi Kaitlyn, in a query letter, do put more stock in the brief synopsis of the book or the author's background and experience?So, a synopsis is very different than a query, so be sure to research that. But I definitely put more consideration into your pitch than your bio. You do NOT need a super impressive bio! #askagent
Literary Agent
M.Rose is writing @mayroundstone
@RedPenKaitlyn If you have a query letter that isn’t necessarily the greatest, how likely are you to read their work? I get that agents have a bazillion subs in their inbox and have to make quick decisions, I just wonder what might play a bigger role in your decision, pages or query letter?I read pages unless it's 100% not a genre or elements of plot I don't represent (on screen rape, nonfiction, etc.). Many agents I know understand it's hard to write a query and we still consider at least your first page to gauge voice/style. #askagent it's usually a merge of both
Literary Agent
Daniel James is pitching in PitMad!!👽 @uncannydanni
@RedPenKaitlyn So I have a book I publish online (not the book I'm querying) that has a decent audience, how big of an audience do I have to have for it to be beneficial to me to include it in my queries under publications?hmmm that really depends. You can deff add it to the bio as a self published title that has had "success". It's not the one you're querying so I see no reason not to include it! Especially if it's being loved #askagent
Literary Agent
Arty⁉️🌹 @CuriousArtemis
@RedPenKaitlyn Should you even bother querying if your book is about 20k over the "generally accepted" word count for that genre (in this case YA fantasy - I've been leaning towards adult because of the word count issue!)your best bet is to try to get it as close to 110k as possible. That's around where YA fantasy is right now (I often suggest shooting for 100k). If you're not too far off, an agent will be able to keep editing in mind and still be willing to work with you #askagent
Literary Agent
Dragonness Wyverna @DragonnessRawr
@RedPenKaitlyn How do you write a query for a boo with 2 authors? (Also, do you fill out a queryshark form for two authors?)often, you can dual paragraph.
ex: introduce 1st character - opening situation in book
Introduce 2nd character - opening situation in book
Introduce conflict that brings the two together
Introduce the stakes and how they merge their stories to provide on outcome #askagent
Literary Agent
Kaitlyn Blackman @KaitlynBlackman
@CortneyRadocaj I’ve got another one! If you are a named finalist in a literary comp, do you let the agents you’ve queried know? Or only notify of an award/winning designation?you can, sure! it's not something i put a ton of stock in (i.e. i'm not going to jump on a project SOLELY bc an author was a finalized/even winner of anything) but it's nice to know, and something you should be proud of and can absolutely include in your bio :)
Literary Agent
jem (ze/zir) | #StopTheShock @jem_zero
@CortneyRadocaj (open-ended Q) how does your neurodivergence affect your agenting experience? i see so few agents open about being ND & how they engage with ND authors, both querying and as clientsohhh HMMM that's a good question. i have to be very aware of where my mental health is; when i'm in a depressive episode, i work very hard to make sure i'm giving every query as much of my energy as i can, to ensure i'm not passing on things bc Depression™️. same with the anxiety
Literary Agent
🛸🍿Fenley Cooper #SF # mystery #thriller🎧✍🏻 @FenleyCooper
@CortneyRadocaj I see a tendency in thrillers to start with a cold open/teaser. That sets up the victim's story, and then there's much back and forth. Do you like that organization, or prefer the straight start-to-finish plotting?i'm not a huge thriller person, so i might not be the right person to ask. depends on how well it's executed, honestly! i only accept YA thrillers, and YA is just structured differently than adult is overall, and i do tend to prefer no prologue-esque materials
Literary Agent
Mister Hand @MisterHand1
@CortneyRadocaj 30% of my requests for more material (9 fulls, 1 partial) were ghosted after I sent the novel without even a form rejection. Is this the new normal, or just bad luck?depends on agency policy. some agencies have a "no answer means no" policy; others state they'll answer everything; others only answer requested materials. look at each agency site and see what their policies are, and on how soon they're okay with being nudged!
Literary Agent
🛸🍿Fenley Cooper #SF # mystery #thriller🎧✍🏻 @FenleyCooper
@CortneyRadocaj Do you follow the pitch days, like pitmad, et al?absolutely! sometimes i sit out if i've got too much going on in my personal life, or too many submissions on my docket that i need to get through, but i do participate in most of them
Literary Agent
Dove🕊 @dovehanaswan
@CortneyRadocaj Hi Cortney!💫Do you consider 105K words too high for a debut upper YA high fantasy with romance elements?nope! i'd probably want to get it under 100k before subbing to publishers, but not to high at all for me to consider :)
Literary Agent
Kaitlyn Blackman @KaitlynBlackman
@CortneyRadocaj My dream agent has been closed for queries for a year. Her #mswl checks every box and my book even has a very specific ask she’s looking for. I LOVE her client list and I just feel we’d be a great fit. Do I just move on? Would I reach out to her if I got a rep offer?no, don't reach out if you get a rep offer - it sucks when your dream agent is closed for a long period of time, but it is what it is, and encroaching on that boundary wouldn't be a fair thing to put on that agent. and while feeling like you're missing out on someone who feels
Literary Agent
whetstone @tc_whetstone
@CortneyRadocaj In the case of querying to early, what changes would you, or agents in general, want to see before querying again (and also over what course of time)? In my case, I queried last year and both the letter and MS were AWFUL.it's hard to say without seeing the individual query/pages, but mostly it's wanting to see substantial, pervasive changes throughout the work (i.e. not just doing a line edit or tweaking a chapter or two).
Literary Agent
Nicholas Perez @ZephonSacriel
@CortneyRadocaj Is it appropriate that instead of using another book as a comp, that you can say the book is similar to another author's general work? Like I saw Ann Lecke's query letter for Ancillary Justice saying it was a very C.J. Cherryh novel.absolutely! i'd maybe specify what about their work is similar (i.e. is there something about their prose or storytelling style you're comping to?), but it does work
Literary Agent
Shelby Riddick is Inside again💗💜💙🏳️🌈 @ShelbyRiddick
@CortneyRadocaj When reading subs, do you normally prefer a certain level of design to the manuscript (ie scene breaks,book title in the headers, footers, chapter headers etc.) already established, or a clean slate Times New Roman 12 pt double space document?
either is fine! it's nice to have it formatted nicely with the headers and title page, but it's not an issue if that's not there. i will say there should always be a page break with a clear sign that there's a new chapter though, just for ease of reading!
Literary Agent
Philosapphica (them/her/any)🌈 ∞ @Philosapphica
@CortneyRadocaj You liked a pitch of mine in the last year which made my whole day that day (I think March 2021 pitmad?) but at the time my health was really poor & a few edits to my manuscript were marinating. My health has gotten better & so has my MS. Any chance invite to query still open?absolutely!! though it's always nice to get requested material soon after the initial "like" or request, i don't ever have a time limit on them. life happens, and you're definitely welcome to submit whenever you're ready :)
Literary Agent
Jacquelyn Dohoney @tattooedjackie
@CortneyRadocaj I have two questions! What are your thoughts on prologues? Also do you ever accept r&r’s after a rejection of substantial revisions have been made with a professional editor? I submitted BEFORE I used my brain 🙄i don't tend to love prologues and usually think they can be cut; i absolutely prefer not seeing them in the initial 5 pages i ask for when authors query, since it's not *actually* the start of the story. i'm perfectly happy with them on requested materials, though!
Literary Agent
Eliza Petrin @elizapetrin
@CortneyRadocaj How quickly do you typically decide whether you're interested or not? How often do you pass work onto a colleague? Thank you!super dependent on the query - some i know right away aren't going to be up my alley (genre isn't right, huge red flags re: racism/homophobia/fatphobia, etc.) that are pretty quick rejections. most queries fall into a middle ground space where the query is decent, opening