Assistance would be greatly appreciated!

[Blue Meister]

Hi there

I am on the prowl for another agent (I was one of the gang duped by Mr C Hill but the less said about him the better), and I am after some help if anyone has any information.

My women's contemporary manuscript (chick lit) is just under 30,000 words. I appreciate that there are not many publishers out there that I know of that would accept a MS this size. I feel that it works in its current format. I have thought about trying to make it into a full length model but to be honest I fear it would rip the heart out of the story.

Does anyone know of any (reputable) agents, preferably UK based, who accept unsolicited MS of novella length?

I have also thought about taking the self publishing route. I'm just in a bit of a quandry really.

Any help/advice would be very much appreciated!

Thanks for your time

Kate

[Stacia Kane]

I don't know of any agents anywhere that accept novellas, sorry.

[JanDarby]

Some of the epubs take novella length, although usually it is in the erotica genre. You might check Cerridwen (the non-erotic branch of Ellora's Cave) to see if they accept shorter works.

Print (on paper, rather than electronic) anthologies (which would contain novella-length material) in the women's fiction arena are usually by invitation from the publisher, or proposed by a group of authors already under contract (for other books) with a publisher, so it's virtually impossible to submit an anthology contribution anywhere.

The thing is, if there's no publishing market, then there's no way an agent can make money, so they're not likely to accept them. You might be better served to write your next book, aiming for greater length, and saving this for after you've published your first novel, when you might be in a better position to find a home for a novella. A third possibilty, although remote, is to write two more novellas that are somehow linked to the first one, and pursue publication of the three together, which would then be a collection that could be published in a standard 300-400 page book.

JD

[Cathy C]

I can't think of any better advice, so I'll just say... I agree with them! :)

[Gillhoughly]

Shelve the 30K effort for now and finish another book--full length.

If your book gets bought, sure as anything the publisher will want ANOTHER full length book.

Write it. Write a third, a fourth...rinse, repeat.

While e-pubs (when you can find a good one) have their place, putting your book with them does not count as a professional credit with most reputable agents. Perhaps this will change, but not in the time it will take you to write that next full length book.

The following sites will give you insight in to what agents are looking for, what to look out for, and places to look for a reputable agency.

http://misssnark.blogspot.com/

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/

http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubagent.htm

But finish that 2nd book first!

Good luck. http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Kasey Mackenzie]

I agree with Gillhoughly completely. Shelve the 30k ms for now, write a full-length ms (or two or three!) and get to submitting those. Once you start selling the longer works, you'll have a much better chance at interesting someone in the shorter work, whether that be through an anthology or whatever. Good luck!

[Blue Meister]

Thanks! I'm already 3,500 words into the full length second MS.