Literary Agent
Dianne Ochiltree @WriterDi
@annmrose What is the most satisfying part of your work as a literary agent...and what is the most challenging?Watching a book come together and finding it’s publishing home is the best
Rejections are of course the worst
Literary Agent
Savannah Benton-Smith @SavvyHyphenBS
@annmrose Any tips for the “target audience” section? How specific should we be? What are agents hoping to learn from this section?We would like to know who you envision your reader to be
Literary Agent
Maya kaddah | مايا @Maya4SK
@annmrose When agents reject an author but tell them to query them again in the future, does that mean the agent likes the writing? Or is this just a form rejection. Thank you.I think it’s an offer to query them again in the future — this book might not have been a fit but the next one might be
Literary Agent
Rachna Chhabria @RachnaChhabria1
@annmrose One more question Ann. Will a 13,000 word book work as a chapter book?That could be a chapter book yes
Literary Agent
Susan Burdorf @sburdorf
@annmrose #AskAgent what is something you would love to have in your inbox that has so far eluded you? Conversely, what is something you get a lot of that you don't want to see for a while?This one is tough. I’d love to see some more joyful stories (but this doesn’t mean I don’t love a good revenge plot) I’d love some more f/f romances in both YA and adult.
I’d like to see less misogynistic stories 😬
Literary Agent
K J Copple is querying @kjcopple
@annmrose Any tips on mitigating imposter syndrome as the rejections roll in? Also, is condensing the story into a pitch or query a normal/common struggle, or does it point to problems with the manuscript itself if that part of journey to pub feels so flipping awkward?Imposter syndrome is part of the territory unfortunately — but know you aren’t alone in this feeling
Query letters/pitches are hard so it’s not an immediate red flag if you find them difficult but the basic questions should come easily - what are the goals/obstacles/stakes
Literary Agent
QT @transcryptidone
@annmrose Is there a reason why on QM forms it has separate sections requiring things that are normally in a query letter (e.g. bio, comp titles, etc.). I feel like I’m making a mistake by having my bio in the bio spot AND in the query letter where I think it’s supposed to go?It’s just how it’s set up on our side. Don’t worry if you are copy and pasting the same information in multiple places.
You also might be surprised by how many people don’t include those things in query letters 😉
Literary Agent
Stephanie is querying, (and not at all afraid) @stephikins1
@annmrose Thank you for doing this! I’ve heard to never do a prolog because agents hate them. I know prolongs can be the wrong choice for some books, but is this really a strict rule? And why?I think you hear that because a lot of times at query stage 9x out of 10 a prologue isn’t needed. But when they do work they work, so if your book needs one and it makes sense than keep it
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Sarah Clifford Page is querying & drafting ☕🌿 @sarahmclifford
@annmrose The agent I did an R&R with has been considering the revised manuscript for nearly double her average response time (for both offers and rejections) but did Tweet at me like a month ago that she hadn't forgotten about me. In your opinion, is this a good sign or a bad sign? 🫣🫠I’d say it’s a good sign. There are a lot of variables so as long as there is still communication I think it’s good ❤️
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Robyn is querying 🏰🏰 @Robyn_R
@annmrose I know this may just be a preference thing, and probably varies between agents, but do you prefer if an author states in their query letter that the book is part of a duology/trilogy? Prefer “with series potential” or just pitching the one manuscript soloIt’s IMO that every book has “series potential” in some form/way, so I don’t think it needs to be specified ❤️
Literary Agent
Madeline @MadelineAnneNYC
@annmrose Do agents look at queries with an eye to a book that has potential for film/tv adaptation or is that too far down the road to be worth considering?I think it could be brought into the equations but the first thought will always be on publishing viability first
Literary Agent
Melanie is querying YA fantasy @MelisWriting
@annmrose Is there a deadline on querying after a pitch event? For example when you get likes from multiple agents from one agency, you pick one and they pass, can you still use the pitch like to query the next one or would that look weird?Yes I think you can still query and no I don’t think it would look weird
Literary Agent
ECD is querying @ecoyledivers
@annmrose Hi Ann, thanks for your time. At what time should we give up on a query? Asking in cases where there are not clear guidelines on the agent's or agency site. For example, no response in 3 months = no.These days 3 months feels like a finger snap when considering queries (which I know it doesn’t on the author side) so I would amp that up to at least 6 months and even then it might not be dead to an agent so following up if you get an offer isn’t a bad idea
Literary Agent
❄️ C.W. Rose - #amquerying Fantasy Romance ⛄️ @cwrose813
@annmrose Hi Ann, thanks for doing this!In the query, is it ok include an old comp title (in this case from 2012), if paired with a recent ones (I.e. from 2022)? Or is that frowned upon?
It can work yes especially if it’s something that can really set the tone. But also yes, have at least one if not two recent comps to offset
Literary Agent
Cas Fick @CM_Fick
@annmrose How long is an R&R good for? Is there a statute of limitations on them, or does this vary depending on agent?Thank you for your time!
That’s tricky. I think it’s as long as it needs to be but not too long that the agent forgets completely about the project. If I were to put a number on it 3-6 months I think is the sweet spot
Literary Agent
L.C. Perry 💚💜💖💪🏾 @LPanimefreak5
@annmrose From your perspective, do you think tradpub is finally moving toward another attempt at making NA a thing? Or is there still a long ways to go?So w/ NA it comes down to the publishers’ customer—the bookstore—so when the bookstore creates a space for NA I think that’s when it’ll become a thing, but until then it’s difficult to sell them a book they don’t have a space carved out for. This is like a chicken/egg scenario
Literary Agent
Chris Corvus, a bird of words. @inkmaderaven
@annmrose If a story is good but has technical issues how likely is it to get picked up since technical issues can be fixed in edits?The answer to this will vary. Is it possible for a story with technical issues to get picked up? Yes. But it depends on the agent and how much bandwidth they have to work on the MS and how strongly they feel about the concept of the story