International representation

It partly depends on what your manuscript's about and whether it's on a subject that would appeal to US-based readers, e.g. if you've got a US-based storyline, then it's definitely worth taking a punt at US agencies as well.

However, there are plenty of good UK agencies out there and the big ones all have good foreign rights departments with links to the US so they can sell your manuscript internationally. My advice generally would be to start in the UK and then expand out later.

MM

Your British agent will have his/her own subagent in the US; even a small agency will have this. My first UK agent was a one-woman-start-up, and she had a US contact for cases where she would sell the US rights. Sure, you can look for an agent in both the UK and US but whichever one you sign with will represent you internationally.

For the record, I lived in the UK when I signed with a US agent.

jdwhitelaw said:

N.B My MS is Sci-Fi although there are certain British colloquialisms and dialects. Would this matter greatly?

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Nope, not at all. If the book is sold to a US publisher, they might or might not want to 'Americanise' it. Just like when US writers sell to UK publishers, the publisher might or might not want to 'Britishise' it. You don't need to worry about it, even if you're querying US agents. They'll be able to tell from your contact details that you're in the UK and will expect to see British usage.

jdwhitelaw said:

Hello everybody.

I have a question regarding international representation. Being in the very early processes of searching for an agent for my MS, should I be considering North American agencies along with those in my native Britain?

As I'm new to this whole process, this is just a quick inquiry about protocol and, to certain extent, etiquette. Are N.American agents in the habit of taking on clients from abroad etc.

Thanks

JDW

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Yes. Next question.

I know several UK writers with US agents.

jdwhitelaw said:

I was just unsure if there would be difficulties I'm not aware of in terms of representation because of the international difference.

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Not really. The query letter is different (in teh US, often the agent only wants the letter to start with, so it has to hook them in. In the UK, it's more of a cover letter as most agents wants the first three chapters or so in the submission, so you just a few lines to describe your book) but other than that, it's pretty similar I think.

N.B My MS is Sci-Fi although there are certain British colloquialisms and dialects. Would this matter greatly?

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My agented fantasy is full of Britishness too. My agent is in the US. It may affect where the agents subs it to, but if so your agent shoudl discuss this with you.

What matters most is that your submission--your story and in the case of the US, your query--is top notch.