10 Queries in 10 Tweets

MarleyB said:

(Y/A women's fiction--hello, crossover?).

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Some genres cross over. You can have a Historical Mystery, or a Western Suspense. You can't, however, have an Historical Sci-Fi novel - the terms are contradictory just as Y/A and women's fiction are. The issues Women's fiction deals with are not of interest to the average 16-year-old Y/A reader, any more than the issues of a 16-year-old are of interest to me. Anybody who thinks they have written something which appeals equally to both parties probably doesn't understand the genres.

Would it be acceptable for a writer to tweet about private correspondence they exchanged with an editor or agent, do you think?

MarleyB said:

@Alexandra, I know crossover isn't a genre. I was just pointing out that the author of the query she rejected because they called their work YA/Women's fiction was probably saying the work had potential in both markets. It's a crappy reason to reject a query.

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Repeat Cyia's answer here.

In addition, in Query Letter Hell (QLH) we see a lot of virgin posters who want to argue that their novel has crossover potential. We try to squelch that immediately because it shows the individual doesn't understand how publishing works.

Starting point from publisher is the middlemen here, bookstores and libraries. Occasionally a book can get two shelf spaces in bookstores and libraries, but those are the exceptions to the rule and are the long shots. Agents and editors do not play to long shots. So if a book is only going to get one shelf space in libraries and bookstores, it is going to be either YA or adult. I've yet to see a library or a bookstore that has a section called crossover.

So how does a publisher deal with this division? Very simple. Editors, by and large, are either adult editors or YA editors, and publishers that are large enough have an adult department and a YA department. Although editors can see when a book might appeal to both adults and YA, they understand they have to work within that division.

Crossover is a readership issue, not a publishing issue. Although everyone is aware of it in the industry, arguing that your book has crossover appeal shows a lack of understanding of the industry. Almost as bad as referring to your book as a fiction novel.

And from the point of view of an agent (which I'm not), would I want to spend time with a writer teaching them about publishing, material which is widely available? Because quite honestly, a writer is going to have a lot to learn about publishing even with a significant level of knowledge about the industry.

She's not the only agent who uses things like this to gauge a writer's knowledge of publishing. And to reject writers who haven't done their homework. I don't blame her.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Theo81 said:

You can't, however, have an Historical Sci-Fi novel

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Sure you can . That's exactly what the Alternate History genre is.

(Yes, I know, this is beside the point.)

Scarlett,

The thing about what Sara is doing is that she has stripped it of all identifying material. It's just bits of the query. I can tweet about an agent's reply, and quote the agent, I guess, as long as I don't identify the agent.

Yeah, crossover happens. But it's usually not by design, but by marketing. YA and Women's fic don't usually crossover because of the nature of their genres. YA Romance IS a genre, though.

Historic Sci-fi? Welcome to Steampunk

LindaJeanne said:

Sure you can . That's exactly what the Alternate History genre is.

(Yes, I know, this is beside the point.)

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Christine N. said:

Historic Sci-fi? Welcome to Steampunk

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DAMN YOU BOTH!!!!!

Oh, and just as a point of fact: while yes, this particular agent may or may not be a good public speaker, and may or may not have had a bad day, consider this: I've seen enough of the 'great' authors speak, in person and on TV, to see many that are AWFUL in public. Bumbling, incoherent, and seemingly socially inept when faced with a crowd of people who want to hang on their every word. They CANNOT function in front of a group.

They're still great writers and nice people and I'll still buy their books.

Imagine some of us, if an agent came to a place we were speaking and we were not of an ilk that does well in front of large groups. They might write us off without reading a word we'd ever written.

That's because we're writers. They're the ones who should have more social nous, to sell our books.

(And yes, I know writers need to do promo. My point being, agents need to be even more social than us cave-dwelling creative types.)

And there's a difference between being a good PUBLIC speaker and being able to SELL a book to an editor in a one-on-one conversation.

Those of us who are terrible in front of a crowd are most likely able to carry on a coherent conversation with a single individual. OBVIOUSLY, based on her record, this agent either falls into this category, or she only sells her client's books through email (not likely).

All I am saying is that sure, you may write her off due to what you see as poor performance or what you think is ineptitude, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so to speak. Still, your choice.

This debate has gone on awfully long, but I'll just say this:

If Megibow is a lousy public speaker (and she wasn't really speaking in public; it was a webinar) then she and/or Writer's Digest shouldn't be charging $80 to the public to listen to her. It was a waste of time all around.

Secondly: genres are fluid. As much as publishers' marketing departments may just love having little boxes to put our novels in, all the better to sell them, the (nuanced) truth is that adults (especially adult women!) read Y/A. And young adults read adult fiction. Middle graders read adult fiction too. How do you suppose, for example, Markus Zuzak might have categorized his genre when he was pitching The Book Thief? Do you think it might have been fair for him to say his historical novel was YA/Adult Literary? Seems to fit the bill, doesn't it? Or what about somebody saying their book is Middle Grade/Young Adult (in other words, on the cusp, as "tween"). In a way, saying a novel might span two age categories is a lot more honest than trying to shoehorn it into a single category for the convenience of the sales reps.

So you guys really think it would be out of the question that Sara Megibow could take the time to work out these nuances with a promising debut author after she signs him or her? I still say it's a poor excuse to reject. Unless it was just one of many reasons (which I suspect was the case, anyway. Making all my blathering about it a moot point).

See, the difference there is that READERS made them crossover hits, NOT the writer, NOT the agent, and (most likely) NOT the publisher marketing department. The agent and writer really have nothing to do with how the book is marketed to bookstores. Nothing at all.


An author who touts a book to an agent as 'a crossover' doesn't really know what they're talking about. As was the point in the first place. Only readers will decide if a book is a crossover, and MAYBE a publisher marketing department will market it that way.

And, as always, why would an agent take on someone who knows nothing about publishing when there are literally PILES of subs coming in from people who DO? When I read slush, I reject when an author starts a query "I was hoping you'd represent my book..." Uh, no we're a PUBLISHER, not an AGENT. You either can't take the time to rewrite your query OR you have no idea what you're talking about. Reject. See? Easy peasy.

scarletpeaches said:

Would it be acceptable for a writer to tweet about private correspondence they exchanged with an editor or agent, do you think?

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In the most general of ways, sure. Writers do it all the time here on AW and sites like QT and AQ. Whenever writers post topics asking for specific advice and paraphrasing things an agent said to them about their work or in regards to revisions, etc.