Short Story Agents

Never!

Are you serious? Are they serious genuine, bona fide agents? Those I know of have clauses like: We DON'T represent Short stories. (Not enough money in doing it for them.)

Midland Exposure, in the UK, whose sole purpose was to help you get into the Women's Mag Market, are the only agency I know who did take on shorts.

I do know of young literary writers whose stories were spotted and an agent got them an anthology with a publisher and then a book deal, but as far as I remember these youngsters were working on novels the agents cast an eye over and decided they'd be worth a chance.

I hate to burst your bubble, and I honestly don't want to sound needlessly contrary, but I have never, ever EVER heard of anyone in the graphic novel business ever having an agent. It simply is not done. The business is its own little bubble with its own rules.

If you can't draw, then you're best bet is to submit your scripts to Dark Horse (the only one of the "Big Four" [Marvel, DC, Image, and Darkh Horse] to accept unsolicited writing submissions). Otherwise, just shotgun out full drawing/script proposals to every damn company that'll take them.

Incidentally, is that Alan Moore in your avatar? I applaud your taste.

I don't know if I am remembering rightly here, but I seem to recall that Arrowqueen had an agent of some kind that subbed her short stories worldwide.

I'm sure she mentioned something about it in an old thread, it was usually re-prints and stuff like that?

Yes. I've got a foreign agent who sells my short stories abroad - mostly to the Scandinavian countries, though she has sold two or three to Singapore and South Africa.

I don't think that's the same thing though. I've never heard of an ordinary agent dealing with short stories.

arrowqueen said:

Yes. I've got a foreign agent who sells my short stories abroad - mostly to the Scandinavian countries, though she has sold two or three to Singapore and South Africa.

I don't think that's the same thing though. I've never heard of an ordinary agent dealing with short stories.

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Did you publish in the U.S. first and she's selling foreign rights, or is she taking a "new" story of yours and selling it to various countries?

I'm in the UK - and she does both. She'll sell ones I've had published here and/or in Australia (where I sell myself) but I'll also send her ones that haven't already sold, if I think they might be suitable.

Agents

I've never heard of an agent who handles only short stories. It makes zero sense. The best short story markets out there couldn't begin to support an agent.

Now, many agents do handle short stories, but every last one I've ever known who does so will handle them only for clients they have who are also published novelists. It's a courtesy, and they won't handle short stories from writers who aren't selling novelists. They'd go broke.

I can't see any way at all for any agent to actually make money from short story sales. 15% of the biggest short story sale possible is barely worth getting out of bed for, and 15% of the average short story sale wouldn't cover postage.

Handling short stories for selling novelists is common, but handling only short stories for a writer means you'd better have an independent income.

PeeDee, I went to AgentQuery and performed the same search. After browsing the names of the agents, I'll toss out the possibility that they represent short story collections, not single stories. You'd have to visit each agent's website to be certain, but that's my best guess.

PeeDee said:

Hmm. That's a good point. I've been doing some poking into matters on my own, and I've found a couple of agencies that specifically say short story collections. Some are still maddeningly vague, with only short fiction, but I expect that you're right nonetheless. That is what I expect.

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Even agents who represent short story collections will generally do so only for authors with a good publication record.

Agents

I have known a few agents who handle short story collections, but only for writers who have had enough short stories already published in decent magazines to make up a collection.

Even short story collections do not usually sell well at all, especially if the writer isn't famous, but sometimes an agent will handle a collection for a writer who hasn't written novels, if the stories have been previously published.

I really can't make much sense of the listings on AgentQuery, and I think you're going to have to really dig deep to find some of these answers.

I do seem to remember, or maybe misremember, that Bobbie Ann Mason's agent took her on based on a bunch of unpublished short stories she had lying around, but this is incredibly rare, and as far as I know, pretty much never happens. In Mason's case, I believe the agent expected her to write a novel, and for that novel to be a good one.

I'd never say never to almost anything, but there's just no money in short stories, and few agents have any time to spare on them, even if they did earn enough money to matter.

My own agents have always been willing to handle my short stories, but the only time I ever let one do so is if that story is aimed at one of the very few magazines where having an agent really matters.

By and large, with extremely rare cases, I haven't seen many cases where having an agent handling my short stories was any advantage at all. Of all the magazines I've wanted to write for, only two cared in the least whether a story came from the writer, or from an agent, and even with an agent, I never have sold to either. Editors usually just don't care, and are no more likely to buy a story coming in from an agent.

Now, if I ever sell enough mystery shorts to make a full collection, I only need three or four more, my agent will handle the collection, but that will count as a book.

At any rate, I think you're just going to have to dig deeper. If I come across an agent who handles short stories in teh way you want, I'll let you know.

arrowqueen said:

Yes. I've got a foreign agent who sells my short stories abroad - mostly to the Scandinavian countries, though she has sold two or three to Singapore and South Africa.

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What type of stories do you write, if you don't mind me asking? Are they mostly romance/women's?

Oh, Lord. I've got a guideline sheet she sent of the kind of thing the Scandinavian market takes, but I'd need to find it and scan it in before I could post it - and since I think it's in the paper-rack, which is currently buried beneath the Christmas tree and a pile of presents, you've had it for now!

Offhand, I can remember that it included nice middle class characters and innocent love stories - but the ones of mine she usually takes are the crimes of passion stories.

Hope that helps a little.

(Oh, and I write anything from come-uppance to ghost stories.)

Dear Irene
It just occurred to me that you might also be interested in the following 'guidelines' to give you some idea what sort of thing sells abroad. There are, broadly speaking, three types of stories:
1) Fairly sophisticated romance between two youngish adults, up to about 35 years, single or widowed (no divorcees or marriage break ups) warmly written with a nice, upbeat ending. They don't want second-time-round romances or anything with a main character who is middle-aged or elderly. The editors tell me that the magazines are being read by the whole family, teenagers and grandmothers, but even the grandmothers don't want stories about middle aged or elderly characters, apparently. They want to read about 'young romance' only, although the way it happened in their days i.e. 'nice' young people, no problem too much like real life, no characters with unhappy marriages, plenty of emotion, characters with a positive, uplifting attitude, 'aspirational' i.e. none of the modern 'realism1, nothing ghastly or vulgar and from the woman's angle only. Nothing about death, funerals and the bereaved either. I also have a big market for sophisticated, lively 'racy, funny, cruel, spicy, feisty, raunchy "war between the sexes' type stories, all from the woman's angle with protagonists up to 35 years of age. 2000 words is fine for both these. For some magazines I need 2700 words, but authors will always lengthen accordingly, if I think there may be a chance to sell it there.
2) Crime stories. Here the main protagonist can be either male or female and age is not that important, but they still prefer young to middle aged characters. They are mainly interested in 'crimes of passion' i.e. husbands murdering wives/lovers, wives murdering husbands/mistresses. They are not interested in 'property crime' i.e. stealing etc. and they don't want any characters from the criminal fraternity i.e. no contract killing. The main character ideally is not the criminal, because readers tend to identify with the main character and they don't want to identify with the criminal. Ideally, the culprit would get his/her comeuppance, i.e. during the last second in a terrific twist. Just as we think he/she may get away with it, something happens turning everything on its head. That's the ideal, of course and it needn't be exactly like that, but certainly somewhere on those lines. Length 1500 words is fine and if I need it longer, the authors will always lengthen it. Above all the characters need to non-criminal and of a middle-class background. 3) Twist short shorts. This can be anything fairly sophisticated featuring young adult to middle aged-protagonists and a terrific twist ending. Here the wow factor twist is the most important thing. Length about 1500 words.

Found it. It wasn't under the Christmas tree at all. It was stuck inside a pile of quizzes under the computer.

I take it that 'warmly written romances with an upbeat ending' are out, then?

They don't raise my hackles so much as show me how unlikely I am to become a "for hire" writer. I don't mean a freelancer, I mean someone who is told "write this in this way, with these elements" kind of writer. Literally, the mule in me takes over and says, "Uh, no WAY am I gonna do that, no matter how nicely you ask. I already have a job. I want to write what *I* see in my head, not what someone else sees." I have tried, and failed, to write to spec and have written it off as something not worth the pain.

My hat is truly off to you, Arrow, if you're able to do that. To me, it's an impressive skill, because you have to not only follow strict limitations on what your stories can contain, but you have to do it well and create a readership wanting to see what you do next. No wonder you have an agent for it -- you have to be a great rarity!

arrowqueen said:

Dear Irene
It just occurred to me that you might also be interested in the following 'guidelines'

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Not sure who Irene is, but it sounds to me like your selling to markets such as Vi Menn, Hjemmet, Allers or Familien? Do you find that Scandinavian pay is better or worse than what British mags pay?

Even if there were agents who represent single short stories, it would be a waste of your time. Why have them do the work and fork over a percentage when you can do it all yourself and keep the money?