4 Questions about short-story collection queries

Have any of the stories been independently published?

You might want to read through this thread which covers very similar ground
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183148

Mainly because very few agents are interested in a collection of previously unpublished stories

Welcome, DD!

I think Waylander's point is that agents rarely accept short story collections unless they have been published in other magazines already, or you are someone so well known that the agent/published can't wait to publish the short story collection.

However, you might want to do a search at querytracker.com for agents who accept short story collections, and then follow their guidelines to a tee.

I don't know if direct submission to some publishing houses might be successful, though. That said:

1. Should I write a hook (2 sentences or less) for each of the 12 stories in the query? The stories are connected in theme and narrative, but each can stand alone.

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I'm not sure how I would query it. Since they all have similar theme and narrative, have you thought of using that as your query hook? Maybe tell a little about a few of the stories? You just want the agent to look at them.

2. I have a PhD in philosophy and have published in the top journals in the field. Should I mention this in the bio?

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Only if your stories have philosophical themes, or if the agent guidelines specifically ask for your personal publishing history.

3. Should you ever query an agent twice for the same work (for instance, again after you've established more cred, as an agent may be more likely to want to read the manuscript then)?

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Not for the same work. A no is a no (just like a yes is a yes. ).

4. Is it ok to include a link to the manuscript in the query--that is, if I'm storing the manuscript in, say, a pdf on a secure server?

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I wouldn't. If they are interested, they will ask for more material. Agents are pretty busy.

Good luck!

1. Pick your most impactful stories (three, maybe four) and write a very brief hook for those, in a way that ties them thematically together. One hook for each story will be too long for a simple query letter.

2. If any of those publication credits are fiction, go for it. But writing scholarly articles usually have little to do with being able to write good fiction.

3. Only re-query if you've significantly rewritten the query (and/or book) itself. Queries are rarely rejected based on lack of credits--although this might be different in the short story world, I'm not sure. And wait several months, if you plan to re-query.

4. No. You can copy/paste the first five pages into the body of the e-query (or include them in the paper query), so the agent can get an idea of your writing. But don't think them to sites. The majority of agents won't click on it and it screams amateur.

Here's what a literary agent says about short story collections
http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2006/06/word-on-short-story-collections.html

damnation's delights said:

Thank you.

Regarding ChaosTitan's answer to #4, is it ok to paste or send the few sample pages with the query, even if the agent does not ask for sample pages? (Obviously, if the agent explicitly asks you not to send sample pages, you shouldn't.)

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Unless they tell you not to send sample pages, there's no harm in sending them along pasted into the email. If an agent is intrigued by the query, then you have a brief writing sample for them to read and get a feel for your voice. I've also seen agents blog that they've had bland queries but good writing samples, and that's made the difference between a rejection and a request.

DD, try querytracker out too. When I did my own search, I did see a few agents who like short story collections, but not many. Good luck!

The Nathan Bransford link is a good one. This one is harsher, but it's also true: http://www.therejectionist.com/2010/04/cold-and-ugly-light-of-truth-special.html

Ask yourself the following questions: 1. Have I published a short story in The Paris Review? 2. Have I published a story in the New Yorker? 3. Am I Wells Tower? 4. Am I a talentless but famous white dude with lank, greasy hair? If you cannot answer "yes" to at least one of these questions, your odds of publishing a short story collection are somewhere around .001%.

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Unless you have published stories in some top tier journals, trying to find an agent for your story collection (assuming you aren't also shopping a novel) is practically setting yourself up for disappointment. I hate that this is the reality, but it is.

Plus, if you've published in those big magazines, the agents will probably come to you...and promptly ask whether you've got a novel. Because that's what they want.

I actually have a short story collection coming out next year. I got there by winning a collection contest. Take that as you will, but for collections, contests run through university presses, small presses, etc. are probably your best bet if you aren't currently publishing in major journals. (And even then.)

Finally, your PhD and publications in your field are mostly meaningless. I mean, you can mention it in one line to show you are educated and can write well in a different form, but this will not sway agents.

Sorry to be so negative. Trust me, I wish things could be different and agents wanted story collections.

For the record, I never even considered looking for an agent for my short stories. Even if I had a second collection ready to go (which I don't -- I have a novel) I wouldn't be querying agents for it, never mind that I already have a first collection slated for publication.

Best wishes. I think you should spend your time and energy submitting these stories to lit mags.