I have spent about 3 years reviewing and re-reviewing the book. So by no means would call it rushed.
Had uploaded a few opening chapters on a website and the reviews I got were pretty decent. Some really good and some awful and some average as with anything else. What I have written is a love story which does not follow the current path of a love story of a boy meets a girl, fall in love , have an emotional problem, they solve it and happily ever after. Some of the agents came back saying that they like the writing but not the idea. It is as per them intriguing but not marketable.
Unfortunately here is where I disagree. I think romance is highly under rated. There can be much better stories than just a boy meets a girl. That is why I am thinking of self publishing.
- There is a big difference when you write a book and when you write a quick post to gather some information. It as per me is not comparable but those are my thoughts.Have you queried agents who rep romance? Do you know the different types of romance, e.g. HEA, HFN, etc.? I'd try to help point you towards one but I don't know the romance genre well myself and there are others here who do. Make sure you know the genre you're writing in, and its market. Not knowing the market--i.e., thinking romance is just formula--is not a great reason to self-publish. You need to know how to reach readers. It's a business decision. -
- This is failry basic. Anyone writing romance was do this research firrst. Thanks for offering the help though.
No story is an exact take on a formula or else it would be boring. When you write your query letter, make sure you're articulating what the story is. It shouldn't matter what happens exactly as long as the story is engaging and well told. It's also possible you've written something that isn't exactly a romance but is instead women's fiction or a contemporary novel and that should affect which agents you should target.
Agents like the one in the Denouement/Bliss thread you started aren't agents whose feedback you should put any stock in. They aren't agents at all. Agents have sold books to major houses. Like EMaree said, make sure your sources aren't biased. That goes for beta-readers and web reviews, too.
- I was not talking about Bliss books. The agents who came back saying the writing was good were out of Writers and Artists. Also the reviews done on a website I posted have been done by people I dont know. So sources being biased would be a bit difficult here.
One reason I asked about the MS and query is that, at least in your posts here, your writing is very imprecise and feels rushed. If any of those issues show up in the manuscript or query, it won't matter where it's published--it won't sell. A lot of writers never develop the self-awareness to realize there are aspects of craft they have to improve, and that tends to be what most often separates those who languish in the slushpile from those who can get interest from a well-known agent.
Thank you so much old hack. I have queried about 50 agents. About 25% came back with specific responses around what they liked and the rest were standard. Some came back saying they really liked the writing, enjoyed reading it but it is not for them. 1 asked for a full manuscript. To be completely honest I am totally confused because of the mixed responses. My main handicap is marketing. I am not good with it. As for the agents, I have still not stopped querying but don't know how long should I go on.
As far as marketing being a weakness, I don't think it matters much whether you self-publish or go with a small publisher. I've read from multiple sources that I trust that you'll have to do your own marketing in either case--but bear in mind that's second hand. My only small trade publisher experience is with anthologies, and they definitely relied on their authors for marketing.
As for novels, it's second hand again, but I trust the source. In his latest youtube series, Brandon Sanderson stated that if a writer couldn't get a Big Five publisher or close (someone who could get you into bookstores, like Baen), he'd advise them to self-publish. The youtube video link for the series is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4ZDBOc2tX8. I'm sorry I can't remember in which episode he gave that advice, but the series is well worth watching apart from that.