So........Some questions...

Treysaur21

Registered
Joined
Mar 13, 2011
Messages
34
Reaction score
3
Location
The Bahamas
Website
www.wattpad.com
I know I haven't logged in for a while, and I feel bad about that. I've been distracted by editing, writing, and being bombarded by muse and inspiration. In that same vein........... I have some questions, and I'd appreciate any sort of answers anyone could give me. :)
1) Do I have to have completed a round of editing? Since I'm going to have to edit it anyway, I thought I should ask. Should I mention that I'm in the middle of the first edit when I query, or should I just wait?
2) Are agents for scripts and books the same? This is just something I stumbled into one day, and so i thought I'd ask, since my research didn't turn up any definitive results.
3) Do you have to pay an agent to represent you? I know I saw this question and subsequent answer before, but I'd feel a whole lot better if someone could answer it again.
4) Would anyone mind recommending a good fantasy/YA genre agent, or two? I've been looking, but I want to see if anyone you guys can give come up on my list...

Thats it for now, and Thanks so much!!! It's good to be back.
 
PinkAmy

PinkAmy

New kid, be gentle!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 21, 2010
Messages
2,758
Reaction score
423
Location
Philadelphia
Treysaur21 said:
I know I haven't logged in for a while, and I feel bad about that. I've been distracted by editing, writing, and being bombarded by muse and inspiration. In that same vein........... I have some questions, and I'd appreciate any sort of answers anyone could give me. :)
1) Do I have to have completed a round of editing? Since I'm going to have to edit it anyway, I thought I should ask. Should I mention that I'm in the middle of the first edit when I query, or should I just wait?
Wait until your manuscript is perfect and has had beta readers before querying. Querying too early is considered unprofessional and will get you a rejection if the agent looks at your MS and it's not ready to go, you will have wasted the query.
2) Are agents for scripts and books the same? This is just something I stumbled into one day, and so i thought I'd ask, since my research didn't turn up any definitive results. agents usually represent different genres, so probably not because they are two different animals. You'll have to do your own research.
3) Do you have to pay an agent to represent you? I know I saw this question and subsequent answer before, but I'd feel a whole lot better if someone could answer it again. NO, never pay an agent. You make money for that agent if your book sells and they get percentage.
4) Would anyone mind recommending a good fantasy/YA genre agent, or two? I've been looking, but I want to see if anyone you guys can give come up on my list... honestly, you'll have to research just like everyone else does. You can join querytracker.org and then do searches and look at websites. It takes a long time, there are no shortcuts

Thats it for now, and Thanks so much!!! It's good to be back.
Click to expand...
Check in QLH and read all the stickies at the top. You'll get a lot of good information there.
Read agent blogs.
Visit agent websites.
You mustn't have done much googling because some of your questions are very basic and would have been answered with very little research.
 
heyjude

heyjude

Making my own sunshine
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 15, 2007
Messages
19,740
Reaction score
6,192
Location
Gulf coast of FL
I second the QueryTracker idea. It's a fantastic resource. And yeah, agent-hunting can be arduous, but it's worth the work. Make sure you check them against Writer Beware. And check out this thread. Tons of good info. :)
 
waylander

waylander

Who's going for a beer?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 24, 2005
Messages
8,333
Reaction score
1,583
Age
65
Location
London, UK
waylander

waylander

Who's going for a beer?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 24, 2005
Messages
8,333
Reaction score
1,583
Age
65
Location
London, UK
No.
Not unless you have thousands of followers/hits a week
 
wheelwriter

wheelwriter

Not a runner, running.
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 16, 2008
Messages
1,435
Reaction score
407
Location
Shiny and New Hampshire
Treysaur21 said:
3) Do you have to pay an agent to represent you? I know I saw this question and subsequent answer before, but I'd feel a whole lot better if someone could answer it again.

Thats it for now, and Thanks so much!!! It's good to be back.
Click to expand...

Just seconding that you should not pay an agent to represent you. Also, please keep on the lookout for scam agencies that say they don't charge but only market to the author. Before submitting a query letter I'd check each agent on Preditors and Editors. If they are listed as not recommended, I'd stay clear.
 
tko

tko

just thanks fore everything
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 16, 2010
Messages
2,724
Reaction score
626
Location
Los Angeles
Website
500px.com
maybe 5 rounds of editing?

You're not getting any worse at writing! Odds are the latter part of you novel is better than the first part just because you've improved. If you've written 10 novels maybe one or two rounds of editing is OK, you've been around the block, know what you are doing, maybe you're not getting any better.

I've spent maybe 4 months writing my novel and 5 months editing it. Inputs from beta writer inputs, learning, improving my skills, proofing. Sounds silly, but writing is hard work. I've probably read the whole silly thing out loud 5 times. I get new ideas, new twists, better explanations. There are few sentence in the world that can't be improved.

Sure, I'm trying to be a perfectionist, but you only get one shot with each agent. No going back and saying, "excuse me, I didn't give it my best because I didn't think you'd notice."

From what I've heard, if you tell them you're in an editing round you'll get tossed.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.