Is it acceptable to continue to send queries to agents while your book is on submission to a publisher?
Thanks
scfirenice
Thanks
scfirenice
Katiba said:Many agents do accept YA authors - go to agentquery.com and do a search for 'young adult' to find agents who will accept YA submissions.
That doesn't reflect my sense of things; the YA field seems just as competitive as much adult fiction, especially if you're writing YA fantasy. Again, if your goal is one of the large houses, an agent is really the best option. If you want to approach independents (there are some good indies that do YA, such as Milkweed Editions), you can go agentless, since most indies are willing to work direct with authors.Valona said:Does all this advice apply to young adult literature as well? I've heard that agents generally don't accept YA clients unless they have an offer from a publisher first.
Andrew Zack said:IMHO, going "agentless" is a bit like walking into the hospital and asking where you go to perform surgery on yourself. Sounds crazy, no? I have spoken to very smart lawyers who don't understand publishing contracts. I have spoken to contracts people at publishing houses who do not understand THEIR OWN HOUSE'S contract. You need an agent. Period. Can you do a deal with an indie on your own? Or a major? Maybe, but I promise you, you will eventually be posting your worries and complaints in this site, asking how you can get out of your contract.
I agree. You shouldn't consider signing a publishing contract without getting professional advice, whether the publisher is large or small. What I meant to point out was that most smaller publishers are accustomed to dealing directly with writers, and you don't need an agent to submit to them--as you do with most imprints of larger publishers.Andrew Zack said:IMHO, going "agentless" is a bit like walking into the hospital and asking where you go to perform surgery on yourself. Sounds crazy, no? I have spoken to very smart lawyers who don't understand publishing contracts. I have spoken to contracts people at publishing houses who do not understand THEIR OWN HOUSE'S contract.