Sci-Fi/Fantasy author seeking agent, anxious as hell

You are not untouchable

That MS may be.

If you can , write something new. If you can, always write something new

And welcome and al that shizzle

CM Weller,

I am in a semi-similar position to you. I spend the days seriously contemplating self-immolation as protest or similar. I have also attempted self-publication and whilst I am still open to it, I think the indie route might not be for me either.

I also want to get out there. I want to have a certain message heard.

I am not very good at critically reading, but I can offer to look at your manuscript and give my opinion as to whether it might be worth promoting or doing further work on.

As to your specific questions, I am only new here and I am sure longer-time players can offer better answers. But with regard to publishing, I get the feeling there are only a few mistakes that cannot be recovered from. You have not mentioned making any of them.

Welcome to the forums! I don't know very much about self publishing, as I plan to try the traditional route myself, but in my opinion, I'd say try to submit to publishers big or small first. If after a while you think it's not going anywhere, then do self publishing, but that's just my feelings on it. Someone else here will probably have something more useful to say. I hope you enjoy it here.

The sp doesn't make you untouchable and if your kung fu one has never been sp, there is no issue. The one that you had on Smashwords might be more problematic.

All right! Good to see another SFF wordsmith around here, looking forward to seeing your stuff on the forums! (Also, from what I've read, you're not untouchable. The MS may be, as has been said, so maybe consider putting something new out there.)

Hi CM, it's Claire here, you posted on vision writers and I directed you to Absolute Write - I hope it pays off ;-) This is a very informative forum.

Try and complete your book. Probably the two Australian agents that will take what you write are Alex Adsett and Book Haven agency. But only with a FINISHED book. Also head to Query Letter Hell and check out querying an agent for representation.

In relation to trying for an agent *without* a completed book to sell....

Try this: http://queryshark.blogspot.com.au/2009/09/134.html


Google "How to write an agent query letter" and visit querytracker.com. Lots of good info.

Since you're already in QLD, I reccommend you get to this year's Genrecon. A lot of lit agents are aquired through networking rather than direct querying. They'll all be there. www.genrecon.com.au/

I agree with what you've already been told: the book you have already self-published is probably done, but the next book you write won't be affected at all.

To find an agent: first, finish the book, then revise it as effectively as you can. Then write a query for it, find a list of appropriate agents, and send the query off in batches of five or ten. You don't have to query only agents in Australia (I think that's where you are): you can query US agents instead, and that could be a wise decision if you think your main market will be the US, as you pay a smaller commission to your agent on home sales.

You can post your query in our Share Your Work room, but you'll need fifty or more posts before you can do that.

Treehouseman said:

Since you're already in QLD, I reccommend you get to this year's Genrecon. A lot of lit agents are aquired through networking rather than direct querying. They'll all be there. www.genrecon.com.au/

Click to expand...

Most agents are found by querying, not by networking. Attending conventions is good, but it is not going to get you an agent. All it will do is get you an invitation to query--and you don't need an invitation, so it doesn't put you ahead of the game at all.

Old Hack said:

Most agents are found by querying, not by networking. Attending conventions is good, but it is not going to get you an agent. All it will do is get you an invitation to query--and you don't need an invitation, so it doesn't put you ahead of the game at all.

Click to expand...

Whoops, better clarify, CM wanted to first look at getting an agent from Queensland, Australia where she lives, and Alex - who is actively acquiring SF/F for her QLD-based agency - will most probably be there. She only takes queries through pitches and recommendations, and may be the rare example of "talking to her and holding a place for future query".

Genrecon isn't really a convention, it's more of a pro-writer symposium with added extras.

The Aussie genre publishing scene is very tiny, so these things are more likely, I guess. (Can I say I've noticed a bit of a cultural difference too? I don't know, it's one of those oddly indescribable qualities of Australian fiction that doesn't translate to OS sales.)

Apart from that the genre-agent scene is very thin on the ground here. Personally I'd say to go overseas to look for rep, but that's up to a writer I suppose :-/

Hello and welcome to the community CM Weller!

I am still learning the ropes of the indie route and whether or not to pursue legitimate queries with agencies. I have a website ready to launch but I don't know how I want to present me work. Just give it free and see what people think and then go from there? I don't know yet.

You have certainly come to one of the greatest resources on the web for publishing, critiquing, opinions, ideas, etc. There's a lot of help and knowledge in this community and I am positive you will find the help you need.