- Joined
- Nov 4, 2008
- Messages
- 186
- Reaction score
- 17
- Location
- Enroute to Jalalabad
- Website
- www.amazon.com
I just signed on with my third agent. All of my agents have been wonderful. This last agent-hunt go-around, however, took much longer in face of the bad economy and lousy publishing market. I share the following with all still in the querying game:
--disregard conventional wisdom that says you should query only a handful of agents at a time. If you follow this advice, you may be collecting social security by the time you do land an agent.
--but DO write the best query letter you can, and constantly tweak it to make it even better.
--those agents who cling to quaint 19th-century customs such as snail-mail are dwindling in number fast. I found the expense, time and effort in dealing with these agents simply wasn't worth it. The techno-savvy competition vastly outnumbers the tea-and-doily set, who only miss out as writers skip them as they email their queries out.
--don't get hung up on non-responses. Agents are inundated daily with queries. They simply cannot reply to all. Just keep querying and move on.
--the process is glacial. Be patient and be prepared to work in slow-speed. Many agents take weeks or months to respond to your query. Factor in 3 months for their reading your full ms., somewhat less on partials.
--in my experience, most agents today won't provide feedback on a full or partial lest they get sucked into a time-wasting exchange with rejected authors. This is callous and unjustified, but it's a fact of life. The few who do are angels, even when they pull no punches.
--agents' plates are so full that many keep putting off reading your ms as they juggle a dozen balls at once. It gets to a point where you need to force your hand -- especially should you receive an offer of representation from another agency. When this happens, give the others' deadlines to finish reading and to get back to you.
--in this light, be professional at all times (read Agentyquery's excellent resources on this). If you receive an offer of representation, be sure to let other agents who have your ms know and invite them to make a counteroffer (with deadlines). Let the offering agent know this; s/he'll respect your professionalism.
--once you commit to an agent, do not change your mind in the event your top choice belatedly comes in with an offer. Fickle authors quickly gain a negative rep in this incestuous industry.
--be honest with yourself -- constantly question whether your writing is the best it can be and is highly competitive in an overly competitive marketplace.
--disregard conventional wisdom that says you should query only a handful of agents at a time. If you follow this advice, you may be collecting social security by the time you do land an agent.
--but DO write the best query letter you can, and constantly tweak it to make it even better.
--those agents who cling to quaint 19th-century customs such as snail-mail are dwindling in number fast. I found the expense, time and effort in dealing with these agents simply wasn't worth it. The techno-savvy competition vastly outnumbers the tea-and-doily set, who only miss out as writers skip them as they email their queries out.
--don't get hung up on non-responses. Agents are inundated daily with queries. They simply cannot reply to all. Just keep querying and move on.
--the process is glacial. Be patient and be prepared to work in slow-speed. Many agents take weeks or months to respond to your query. Factor in 3 months for their reading your full ms., somewhat less on partials.
--in my experience, most agents today won't provide feedback on a full or partial lest they get sucked into a time-wasting exchange with rejected authors. This is callous and unjustified, but it's a fact of life. The few who do are angels, even when they pull no punches.
--agents' plates are so full that many keep putting off reading your ms as they juggle a dozen balls at once. It gets to a point where you need to force your hand -- especially should you receive an offer of representation from another agency. When this happens, give the others' deadlines to finish reading and to get back to you.
--in this light, be professional at all times (read Agentyquery's excellent resources on this). If you receive an offer of representation, be sure to let other agents who have your ms know and invite them to make a counteroffer (with deadlines). Let the offering agent know this; s/he'll respect your professionalism.
--once you commit to an agent, do not change your mind in the event your top choice belatedly comes in with an offer. Fickle authors quickly gain a negative rep in this incestuous industry.
--be honest with yourself -- constantly question whether your writing is the best it can be and is highly competitive in an overly competitive marketplace.