General questions from a virgin

Wrum Riter

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Yeah, I've got the ole Vaseline at the ready, in case this hurts.... no need to be gentle.... though I had really no idea as to where to post this so feel free to shuffle it about to another locale.

Quickly: I'm finally ready to go fishing for an agent (great timing eh, recession, e-books, diminishing returns), though poking around this site has left me with a few questions. If you would be so kind:

-How do you determine word count? Is a long book a death sentence for an as-of-yet unpublished author?

-If you have no history to provide of yourself, and include a separate synopsis, what does your query letter include? A/S/L? :D

-Is it old fashioned to submit via paper, does email work better these days?

-What other questions should I be asking you? Does this shirt match my eyes, should I give up on this before I start :D

TIA, I've a lot to still read through on your forum here (for some reason you folks provide an inordinate amount of text, go figure).
 

stormie

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I'm not an agent, not by a long shot, but I'll answer what I can.
-How do you determine word count? Is a long book a death sentence for an as-of-yet unpublished author?
Whatever word processing program you're using should have that. Microsoft Word has it in the lower left of your screen.

-If you have no history to provide of yourself, and include a separate synopsis, what does your query letter include?
Don't bother with a bio then. Just a great hook and maybe two short paragraphs about your book. Then a thank you and sign off.

-Is it old fashioned to submit via paper, does email work better these days?
Depends on the agent. Most have websites or you can go to www.agentquery.com for more info

TIA, I've a lot to still read through on your forum here (for some reason you folks provide an inordinate amount of text, go figure).
Yeah, you can tell we're writers.

Read, read, read about writing and submitting your queries.

:)
 

Wrum Riter

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Thanks for the replies folks. Do you think a lengthy book is the death knell for an unpublished author looking for representation?
 

Calla Lily

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Depends on your genre, and you have to define 'lengthy'. MG and YA average 50-75K, IIRC. 100K is at the top edge for fantasy and historicals (for debut writers). Mystery, thriller, paranormal are usually 80-90K. I don't know about romance.
 

Danthia

It definitely can be a factor, but you have a little leeway. (Agent Rachelle Gardener once said 25% of the average word count range, so if it he top end was 100K, 125K was still within limits for her. I imagine this holds true for many agents), but if you're too far outside the norm you'll more than likely get a no. If you know you're running long, make sure your query is great and shows you have the skill to have used all the extra words well, you might be okay. It's more about pacing and making every page a page turner than exact word count.
 

Wrum Riter

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So then, let me ask it this way: Is it a an unpublished author no-no to start pan handling book 1 of a series of 2 (or three or four etc)? Essentially cutting the first book in half knowing the story wasn't complete?
 

RoseColoredSkies

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Venturing into series territory is dangerous (possibly shark infested) waters. You want to make the first book stand alone, in case the agent/publisher doesn't want to pick up a series.
 

Danthia

It greatly reduces your chance of success. Buying a book from an unknown author is a risk. Buying a book from an unknown author that requires a second book to get the whole story is a risk few publishers will take. I won't say it's impossible, because I'm sure it has happened, but the odds are strongly against you.

What you can do, is make the first book a stand alone, but keep the cliffhanger stuff in a separate file in case you get a multi-book deal. My book one was a stand alone, but my editor tweaked the ending after she bought it so it set up the next book better. Not a cliffhanger, since the book still stands alone, but there's no doubt the story goes on. They could do something similar with yours after the sale. But first, you gotta sell it ;)
 

waylander

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The key phrase is 'series potential'
Book 1 needs to have a complete story arc but enough threads hanging that it is easy to attach book 2.
A lot of book deals are for 2 books so you need to have that second one mapped out if someone bites