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by Chasya
Q:Agents have insisted on their blogs that the best way for an
unpublished author to build a platform is by beginning a blog. Yet, no
one seems to discuss what to do with a blog of say three hundred plus
followers after you've accomplished this. Can you mention or link to
it in a query letter to agents? Is it foolish or wise? Why?
A:Thanks for your question. First let me clarify that there are many misconceptions out there about how to build a platform and authors are often instructed to blindly get cracking on a blog, as well as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter accounts. Keep in mind that not all online platforms will suit all writers. If you’re not frequently updating your content and dedicated to the task of blogging and networking, you’re not going to garner the following you need to attract attention from publishing folk. You wouldn’t necessarily want to link to your blog unless you have a substantial number of followers. This number would be in the thousands, though it’s hard to be too specific here, as what is considered significant depends on the book you’re writing, the topic, etc…
-Chasya
Send your questions to [email protected]!
by Chasya
Question:I had a manuscript on submission and got double-digit requests for fulls. All were rejections. I had material out to a dozen or so agents when I realized, after a year plus of rejections, that the novel wasn't publishable. I withdrew my manuscript from submission from all the agents and told them I was doing a massive overhaul. All agreed to look at the new work when I was finished. Fast forward two years: I saved about 25% of the old MS, added some subplots, tweaked some characters, and heavily revised the plot. I'll be ready to query soon. I would first like to approach the agents from whom I withdrew the original MS. I still have all the emails, but is it too late to approach them and say, "hey, remember me? I'm back! You wanna take a peek?”
Answer:It would be one thing to resubmit the manuscript with the attitude that these agents have been waiting with bated breath for two years to read your material, but that’s clearly not what you’re doing. There’s no harm in dropping them a line to ask if they’d like to see it in it’s different/improved state. Remind them of who you are and the circumstances that led you to withdraw your material. If they’re still interested in having a look they’ll let you know.
We need your questions! Send them along to
[email protected].
by Jessica
Chasya used
this week’s Questions Corner to respond to a good question; namely, the mistakes that authors make while pitching. My afternoon was a busy one, and somehow I missed my moment to chime in, but I’m adding my two cents now. I’d argue that pitching—the ability to use your three or seven minute “speed date” to sell an agent on an idea— is less important than the material you send or hand over. In other words, it’s possible to flub a pitch session entirely, but if you’ve managed to communicate the core idea, and that idea strikes me as an interesting/viable one, then I’m almost always willing to look at a sample. For me, and likely for most agents, it’s what is on the page that counts. So, if you stuttered or shook or needed to start over, don’t sweat it. Polish your pitch so that you feel comfortable delivering it, but know that the real assessment comes not at a tiny table in the midst of a busy conference, but when I read your work.
That said, my best advice to writers, whether they are preparing for a conference or mailing out queries is to try and think like an agent/editor. Do come up with some contemporary writers whose work is thematically or stylistically related to your own. That your work is unique is a given, but for agents and thereafter publishers to “position” your book, they’ll need to target a particular audience; does your work appeal to readers of Sue Miller and Jane Hamilton, readers of Jonathan Lethem and Dave Eggers, etc. I’m always surprised by the number of pitchers who seem flummoxed by this question. Note: It’s probably best to exclude all canonical writers from the discussion. Not because it may raise an eyebrow or two (being presumptuous is fine if you can back it up) but because it is not especially helpful as a marketing description. Leave comparisons to Joyce or James or Fitzgerald to the dazzled critics.
Nonfiction writers should address one of book publishing’s existential questions: namely, is this material really a book or is it better suited to a magazine/blog piece? Obviously, this is a subjective judgment, and sometimes it’s a question answered in hindsight, when a book fails to sell. It is, however, among the most frequently cited reasons that editors pass on interesting, well-written and even timely material. For most writers, it’s worth the effort to view your work through this lens: what does a book offer than an article length treatment can or does not? Is this a subject that people will pay to read about? Why?
Sometimes it’s tough to look at our own work so dispassionately—after all, this is a project you care mightily about. But doing so can help you reframe, fine-tune, or broaden your approach into something more viable. Something people might not only want to read, but pay to do so.
By: DGLM,
on 12/8/2009
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by Chasya
Another excellent question from one of our readers:What are the biggest mistakes writers make when pitching their work at a writers' conference?
Answer:I asked around to several other agents here to find out what sorts of things make writers stand out to them during pitch sessions--and not in a good way. These were some of their replies:
I think the biggest issue I have is when people over-rehearse. It sounds so phony and it's not engaging. I want people to talk naturally about their work, and while they should be able to do so easily, I don't want it to sound like they're reading from cue cards (or even worse, ACTUALLY reading from note cards).
-Michael
I don't know that I'd classify it as a big mistake, but I don't like it when pitches go on too long, they need to be concise, and it's hard to be objective when the pitcher gets really emotional, so I'd say keep it professional.
-Stacey
I’d say the biggest mistake is pitching a book that isn’t done: not complete, not revised, not read by a critique group or trusted friends and then revised again. It’s a waste of everyone’s time. An author that has a pitch session lined up before figuring out that they should have been further along in the process is better off taking the time to ask more general questions than pitching a book the agent can’t consider that the author might never complete—or that might be a very different book by the time they do finish.
-Lauren
I’d say being completely and utterly terrified. Or too reliant on a script. People trip themselves up and forget that all they really have to do is talk about their book. It’s better to be enthusiastic and calm than it is to be super-precise. Oh, and don’t bring props.
-Jim
We need more of your questions! Please send inquiries to
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by Chasya
Question:I just found out that two of the agents who are reading the full ms not only share office space, but they also share interns (based on articles and blog postings from various sources).
I know that agents usually don't talk about their potential projects with each other, but how awkward could this get?
Answer:Great question. This entirely depends on the agents’ policy. If two agents merely share office space and do not work within the same company, it is usually ok to submit to both so long as neither specifies that you shouldn’t do so. Even if these agents talk to each other about potential projects, unless they specify that they won’t accept submissions if you’ve queried Agent B in the same office suite, then you haven’t done anything wrong.
It’s a bit different if these agents share office space and they work within the same company, however. Agencies have different policies about submissions of this kind, so we can’t speak for everyone. Within the publishing world, this can be considered a submission faux pas. We here at DGLM do not accept submissions to multiple agents at this agency precisely because we will not compete with each other in-house for projects and we do regularly share things that we feel are more appropriate for a colleague than for us. There may be some agencies that don’t mind.
The bottom line is to do your research and make sure that you follow the submission guidelines for the agency you query. If you do that, you should be ok!
We need more of your questions! Please send inquiries to
[email protected].
by Chasya
Question:Does your agency set a limit on how long a work of fiction should be? Does it make a difference whether it's science fiction or historical fiction?
Answer:The short answer to this is no, there’s no limit. The number of pages it takes to tell your story is the number of pages the manuscript should be. In fact, a while back I did
a blog post on this very question, and to paraphrase myself, which is kind of a weird thing to do but I’m going to do it anyway, what we’re looking for is material that we fall in love with, and that’s a pretty intangible thing that wouldn’t be limited by the length of a manuscript. That said, it’s also important to know your genre as well. Most commercial fiction runs between 80-100K, whereas epic fantasy, for instance, is 250K. I’m not going to lie, if you send in a query for your hard-boiled mystery and tell us your manuscript is 250,000 words, we will be taken aback since it’s unusual for us to see a word length that high for that type of manuscript. But at the end of the day, if the word count is higher than average and we like the query, we won’t balk at the length.
Please continue to send us questions at
[email protected]!
By: DGLM,
on 11/17/2009
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by Chasya
One of our readers asks: “How important are previous publication credits to an agent? Do you prefer [to] receive queries from writers who were already published in a literary magazine/journal?”
Answer:Having really good literary credentials may get you noticed, but it’s not the only thing we’re looking for. As Michael pointed out in
his post about queries, we’re looking for a great many other things. Among them a strong voice, an original idea, etc....
It certainly can’t hurt you to get your work placed in literary journals, but being published in one is by no means the deciding factor in who we choose to represent. We’re on the lookout for all sorts of fiction, and limiting queries to authors who have any specific type of credentials really restricts our ability to search for great projects in a broad range of categories.
We hope you’ll continue to send questions! Please send us an email at
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By: DGLM,
on 11/10/2009
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Thanks to everyone who sent in their questions! As I mentioned in my post last week, I’ll be choosing one or two of your questions a week and answering them here. There were a lot of really good ones and I hope to answer as many of these as I can, so if you don’t see yours here today it doesn’t mean that we won’t be responding to it later. What I mean to say is, stay tuned!
If you have a question, please send it to [email protected]. All questions will remain anonymous:
One of our readers asks:
“I have a novel (debut) that was read by 6 editors 5 years ago (2004).
They praised it but were also consistent in why they didn't want it.
I have (after have children, etc. etc.) fully revised it, and in
effect it is a completely different narrative, but with the same
characters, setting, tone. The agent who shopped it left the agency
and we parted ways--we had no formal agreement (the deal was, if they
weren't successful placing my novel we'd have no contract). My
question is, when querying agents now, do I mention the novel's past
in the query, or wait until the agent has had a chance to read it and
connect to it? I am afraid of turning them off....concerned that they
won't read the novel with the same eye if they are aware someone else
rejected it, even if it was five years ago and quite different.”
Answer:
A quandary, indeed. How much does one disclose when it’s tough enough getting any attention as a first-time author?
The answer is actually pretty simple: It’s very important that you are completely up front about the history of your project when approaching an agent. The surest way of “turning them off” is by not being honest about the manuscript. And you don’t want an agent to think that you are being dishonest.
If you’re waiting until an agent calls with interest in the project to inform them of the history behind it, they will want to know why this didn’t come up in your initial query. Even if you mean no harm and your intention is to let the work speak for itself, it comes off as underhanded. We’re not just assessing if we’re interested in or in love with a book--we’re reading it to figure out if we feel we can sell it. If it’s been seen before, that’s an important factor. In some cases, it may help to know that a project was strong enough to get an agent once before.
If you are, in fact, letting the work speak for itself, then disclosing this information shouldn’t really matter. We understand that fiction is very subjective, and we know that a manuscript that doesn’t necessarily speak to another person’s taste is not any reason to not give it due consideration. We also understand the business, and can tell you that if your manuscript has been to every fiction editor out there and hasn’t undergone any changes, they most definitely do not want to see it again. Editors are swamped--buried in reading and juggling more hats than ever before. If they’ve turned something down it’s usually for good reason, and they don’t have the luxury of giving something a second read. A prospective agent will have to make a judgment call about whether they think that the number of editors who have seen something (and the kinds of changes) make a difference in whether or not they think they can sell. However, if an agent truly does see your talent, even if they don’t think they can sell that book, they might recommend moving on to another project first, and if that succeeds, going back and trying to shop the original manuscript.
We must rely on our authors to be forthcoming about their work in order to serve them best. Being evasive or holding back really only leads to feelings of mistrust and can put an agent in an awkward position. It’s not a good way to start, so be sure to provide these details from the get-go.
Another reader asks:
“This is probably a no, but does anyone in your organization represent children's book authors?”
Answer:
In fact, the answer is a yes. Michael Bourret represents young adult and middle grade, along with a very select group of author/illustrators. Jim McCarthy, Lauren Abramo and Stacey Glick all represent YA and middle grade, as well.
-Chasya
Your last paragraph is indeed, by far, the hardest to accomplish. Yet the most essential. Thank you for the post.
As someone who's been struggling with her pitch -- and who flubbed it a couple times -- I really appreciate this post! My next conference is the SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC, and I'm determined to be prepared -- especially since I'll have a query-able novel by that time!
Well, I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly with the above (at least re: fiction - I've never written nonfiction, so caan't comment on that).
Yes, know your marke, know where the publishers can fit you in their product line up.
Publishing is a business after all... Beautiful writing a literary merits are fine and dandy, but the book has to sell. Publishers don't pay staff, cover overhead and make a profit off warm fuzzy praise and group hugs.
I pitched my book (in query letters) but saying it was a beach book and would appeal to women 20-40 who liked Janet Evanovich's writing.
I got a contract within 4 months of looking (and about 6 months later another contract offer came in too).
My book came out about a month ago, and in a review in The Globe & Mail (Toronto) the columnists actually said "Blood and Groom has the fast and funny style that will appeal to fans of Janet Evanovich."
So: know your market, know your writing and the rest will fall into place sooner or later!
Cheers, Jill
www.jilledmondson.com