What Agents Hate

Ctairo · Aug 21, 2009

I'm sure this has been posted, but since the same questions keep coming up:

http://writersdigest.com/article/what-agents-hate/

An assortment of agents vent about their Chapter 1 turn-offs. Happy reading!

Red.Ink.Rain · Aug 21, 2009

That's a GREAT article!

chocowrites · Aug 21, 2009

Wow, that was very helpful. Thanks!

ldhoyt · Aug 21, 2009

Ctairo said:
I'm sure this has been posted, but since the same questions keep coming up:

http://writersdigest.com/article/what-agents-hate/

An assortment of agents vent about their Chapter 1 turn-offs. Happy reading!

That was a great article. I have a lot of work to do.

Ctairo · Aug 21, 2009

Red.Ink.Rain said:
That's a GREAT article!

I love that article and want to have its babies. I still refer to it because bad habits die hard and only after bludgeoning.

chocobok said:
Wow, that was very helpful. Thanks!

My pleasure, Choco!

ldhoyt said:
That was a great article. I have a lot of work to do.

Good luck! You can do it! *waves pom-poms*

Kathleen42 · Aug 21, 2009

Great article. Very reassuring.

BlackBriar · Aug 21, 2009

Great article, and reassuring as Kathleen42 said.

“I hate it when a book begins with an adventure that turns out to be a dream at the end of the chapter.”
—Mollie Glick, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency

lol. I had that for my LoF traditional fantasy, but I changed it.

“I don’t want to read about anyone sleeping, dreaming, waking up or staring at anything.”
—Ellen Pepus, Ellen Pepus Literary Agency

I cut that out of my MT YA fantasy yesterday with the recognition that it added absolutely nothing to the plot. I didn't even like it when I wrote it.

“I don’t really like ‘first day of school’ beginnings, ‘from the beginning of time,’ or ‘once upon a time.’ Specifically, I dislike a Chapter 1 in which nothing happens.”
—Jessica Regel, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency

Hmm. I have my character going to school after about a month of being there, but the chapter is action packed with deadly consequences (and I'm not joking about the deadly). I think it works though, and doesn't come across as 'first day of school'.

Tiz_Mee · Aug 21, 2009

Wow! Thanks for the article!! Very Informative.

BlackBriar · Aug 21, 2009

http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2008/03/you-know-you-have-tired-ya-fantasy.html

Another cliche list I came across a while back. I think this thread should be made into the official YA cliche or what agents hate thread. Especially since I couldn't find one here at AW. I'm sure there are other people out there hoarding good links too.

Samantha's_Song · Aug 21, 2009

But isn't the woman reaching for a weapon what the strange man's hoping for in the first place?

I’m sorry, but if I awoke to a strange man in my bedroom, I’d be reaching for a weapon—not admiring the view.”

History_Chick · Aug 22, 2009

I loved that article. Thanks for posting.

Ctairo · Aug 22, 2009

Samantha's_Song said:
But isn't the woman reaching for a weapon what the strange man's hoping for in the first place?

Ha! I take it you don't mean his .45...

Ctairo · Aug 22, 2009

Kathleen42 said:
Great article. Very reassuring.

It's a keeper, that's for sure.

wsknable said:
Wow! Thanks for the article!! Very Informative.

Glad you enjoyed it, wsknable!

CupofDice said:
http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2008/03/you-know-you-have-tired-ya-fantasy.html

Another cliche list I came across a while back. I think this thread should be made into the official YA cliche or what agents hate thread. Especially since I couldn't find one here at AW. I'm sure there are other people out there hoarding good links too.

Oooh, good one. A master link list would be aces. Great idea, Cup of Dice.

History_Chick said:
I loved that article. Thanks for posting.

My pleasure. Glad you found it useful, History Chick!

bettielee · Aug 22, 2009

Awesome. Thank you. this answers questions a friend was asking about....

lm728 · Aug 22, 2009

Oh no.
I am hit with an urge to revise now.

This isn't good. I should be writing.
Very informative, though!

Samantha's_Song · Aug 22, 2009

Yep, you're right, I was thinking more like porksword.

Ctairo said:
Ha! I take it you don't mean his .45...

Ken · Aug 22, 2009

... interesting viewpoints, but there are many popular books on the shelves that break each and every one of these agents' 'taboos.' So, as always, writers should listen to the advice given here but not necessarily follow it.

Ctairo · Aug 22, 2009

Ken said:
... interesting viewpoints, but there are many popular books on the shelves that break each and every one of these agents' 'taboos.' So, as always, writers should listen to the advice given here but not necessarily follow it.

Or, looking at the blog post several other ways:

These agents have expressed their preferences. If you're interested in being represented by one of them, heed their advice

The thoughts represent "best practices" and are therefore useful for those seeking to write something beyond serviceable prose

Should you as a writer choose to ignore shared wisdom, your work won't stand out in the ways you might intend

Of course, an author always has a choice. I say be sure the decision is informed.

Ctairo · Aug 22, 2009

tilt190 said:
Oh no.
I am hit with an urge to revise now.

This isn't good. I should be writing.
Very informative, though!

Tilt, write now, revise later.

bettielee said:
Awesome. Thank you. this answers questions a friend was asking about....

Bettielee, you're welcome. Glad I could help.

bettielee · Aug 22, 2009

Ken said:
... interesting viewpoints, but there are many popular books on the shelves that break each and every one of these agents' 'taboos.' So, as always, writers should listen to the advice given here but not necessarily follow it.

yeah. This is so true. I am reading a book that I am 58 pages into (it's a sequel) and not a gosh-darn, flamin'-flumin' thing has happened, except the two MC's are humping each other every other page. And it's makin' me wanna puke. But it's a dragon book... I wrote a dragon book... I feel the need to educate myself on what's out there, even when it sucks flaming tail pipe.

So disappointing... when the first book was good.

Ken · Aug 23, 2009

bettielee said:
yeah. This is so true. I am reading a book that I am 58 pages into (it's a sequel) and not a gosh-darn, flamin'-flumin' thing has happened, except the two MC's are humping each other every other page. And it's makin' me wanna puke. But it's a dragon book... I wrote a dragon book... I feel the need to educate myself on what's out there, even when it sucks flaming tail pipe.

So disappointing... when the first book was good.

... familiarizing oneself with what's currently on the shelves in ones genre is an excellent way to get a firsthand feel of what readers and publishers are looking for. There are always those 2 books in 20 that leave one wondering. Guess the best thing to do is just dismiss them, lol.

Kathleen42 · Aug 23, 2009

Ken said:
... interesting viewpoints, but there are many popular books on the shelves that break each and every one of these agents' 'taboos.' So, as always, writers should listen to the advice given here but not necessarily follow it.

I think there's a question of times and fads involved as well. There are tons of books on the shelves which include prologues but prologues just aren't as fashionable now as they once were.

TrixieLox · Aug 23, 2009

I queried an agent once. The day after I sent the email off, she posted a blog item listing her likes and dislikes (similar to those posted in Pub Rants blog)... and my WIP had a lot of things she disliked (hot male character, green eyes, red-haired best friends, ha ha!). I presumed I'd get a rejection but I got a request for a full!

So it goes to show.... I think all these kinda things help but like Ken said, sometimes take with a pinch of salt. If you've written a good book, agents will like you, regardless.

Ctairo · Aug 23, 2009

TrixieLox said:
I queried an agent once. The day after I sent the email off, she posted a blog item listing her likes and dislikes (similar to those posted in Pub Rants blog)... and my WIP had a lot of things she disliked (hot male character, green eyes, red-haired best friends, ha ha!). I presumed I'd get a rejection but I got a request for a full!

So it goes to show.... I think all these kinda things help but like Ken said, sometimes take with a pinch of salt. If you've written a good book, agents will like you, regardless.

Are you repped now? If so, congratulations!

Like I posted elsewhere, I think it's good to know what tropes keep appearing so we don't replicate them. I mean, do we want shelves filled with characters who are more of the same, or do we as writers strive to be more unique? Food for thought and all.

Ctairo · Aug 23, 2009

Ken said:
... familiarizing oneself with what's currently on the shelves in ones genre is an excellent way to get a firsthand feel of what readers and publishers are looking for.

Or what they looked for two years ago. Lag with publishing and all...

What Agents Hate

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