After first establishing that my work falls within a specific genre that an agent deals with, my question is this: Does the agent want to hear my work is typical of the other published works in that genre? It seems to me this would eliminate risk for the agent. He'd (she'd) be dealing with a proven commodity. Or, on the other hand, does an agent want to hear that my work has a unique twist on the genre . . . perhaps offers something the mainstream works of that genre do not offer? There would be some risk here, but you always hear "How is your work different? Why does your work stand out?" So maybe unique is good. I don't know. I'd love to get your take on this. Thanks.
Is unique good or bad?
- Thread starter Umgowa
- Start date
Hmmm. I think agents would want something different in a sense that the book isn't exactly the same, but they still want to be able to sell it. Like in a romance, romances have one big thing in common, but many of them are different from each other. However if there was a romance where the author followed the lovebirds all the way to their divorce, then that may be too unique. Or not...maybe divorce is hot these days.
I'm no expert, but here's my 2 cents for what it's worth. I'm not sure you want to spend too much time describing your genre to them or how your work fits. They will know it when they see your work. Being succinct in your query is important. I read as many sample successful queries as I could get my hands on. (sorry I don't have a link right now but there are links here on AW for them). I didn't see people spending much time on describing their genre or making comparisons.
I've read that on agent websites too where they ask how is your work different, etc. but then when I read actual queries, it was more about describing the book. Hope this helps.
I've read that on agent websites too where they ask how is your work different, etc. but then when I read actual queries, it was more about describing the book. Hope this helps.
The agent doesn't want to hear anything, he wants to be able to tell from your query letter whether you've got a fresh or stale approach. Telling him what you've written is unique would be a big no-no. Your query letter needs to be at most 200-250 words, you don't have a lot of wiggle room.
rsullivan9597
Banned
It's a fine line. In order to properly calculate P&L potential they need to have comps to use as a basis - so in this case too unique will work against you. I think the market is tight right now and in tight times publishers seem to retract to "safe" which means trying to reproduce previous successes. In "better times" there may be less pressure and more willingness to take a chance - but this is just speculation on my part.
This is tough to really answer because, from a marketing standpoint, it's easier to sell something that 'fits' with what's already out there. It's hard to place something that's 'completely different and unique' than it is to place something that is similar to other books in the chosen genre.
Different is good, but too different is bad.
Different is good, but too different is bad.
Thanks
These have all been incredibly helpful responses. I'm beginning to think the following: It's helpful to let the agent know what genre your work is. But perhaps it's best to stay away from any direct author comparisons, like: "It's written in the same spirit as author ABC" etc. Just identify the genre and then entice the agent with your brief description or synopsis. Let the agent come to his/her own conclusion about how different or unique it might (or might not) be. What do you think?
These have all been incredibly helpful responses. I'm beginning to think the following: It's helpful to let the agent know what genre your work is. But perhaps it's best to stay away from any direct author comparisons, like: "It's written in the same spirit as author ABC" etc. Just identify the genre and then entice the agent with your brief description or synopsis. Let the agent come to his/her own conclusion about how different or unique it might (or might not) be. What do you think?
Yes. Unless! (hehe) the agent specifically asks you to. I've come across this a few times. If you have to do this, be sure not to compare your book to other books that are too similar to one they already rep.
Avoid both. Both are telling, both are meaningless statements, and simply your opinion. Just write a wonderful synopsis portion of the query letter, and let your writing speak for itself.
Show, don't tell 
In my admittedly limited experience, the time to talk to an agent about where your work fits into the market is after they show interest, not at the query stage. It's all part of the delicate dance of working out if you're a good fit for one another and not going to find yourselves at cross-purposes.
In my admittedly limited experience, the time to talk to an agent about where your work fits into the market is after they show interest, not at the query stage. It's all part of the delicate dance of working out if you're a good fit for one another and not going to find yourselves at cross-purposes.