Credits

Don't be so damned modest, popmuse! If mentioning real publishing credits is arrogant and pushing to the head of the queue, what does that make me? In my last e-query, I started with something along the lines of "I met (name of author) at such-and-such convention and he recommended you. And I have an R&R from (name of publisher that several of his clients are published by)." Only then did I pitch my book.

And yes, it did help get me to the head of the queue, if the 90-minute turnaround on the request for partial was any indication. What's wrong with that? And if I had the credentials, I would surely be pushing those as well!

Why would you de-emphasize your credits? Isn't that a bit like submitting a resume and downplaying your relevant job experience?

credits show that you are serious, that you have a record. It's good, and it can help you get read, but it's not going to make a bad book read better.

Mention the ones that are relevant if you don't want to mention them all.

But being published or no, you should still expect form rejections, who has the time to write individual notes to every published writer who queries?

popmuze said:

What I'm wondering is how agents feel about authors with credits.

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They feel like the query comes from a writer who has proven he can write fiction good enough to make an editor part with money. This is a very good thing. Very darned few writers who query can do this.

Technically, credits may not make your book read any better, but good credits sure as heck put the agent or editor in a better mood, and raise expectations. This is always a good thing.

Now, having good credits won't automatically stop form rejections, but it absolutely should curtail them greatly. It's a matter of professional courtesy. I can't remember the last time I had a form rejection with any kind of writing, and a huge part of this is because I do have good credits, and always put the best three right up front in cover letters.

The whole point of a query letter is to get the agent to look at your writing. You should obviously make your query letter excellent, but I imagine an agent would still take a peek at the pages, anyway -- which is the whole goal. Definitely don't sell yourself short.

Not sure about whether multi-published authors query or not. Also not sure how much they help if the prior credits are not in the genre you are querying.

But, from what I have heard, legitimate writing credits can get your pages read, and maybe even read faster. But it still all comes down to the book you're querying.

One thing I've heard from a few agents and editors is that if they haven't heard of you, they will look up your prior books, and look at how they sold. So, I've heard of a few authors who believed their prior low sales were actually hurting their chances, as opposed to helping.

Now, I've always heard query under your real name - so maybe those authors just don't mention their pub credits and the agents/editors don't then look up the prior books until they already love the queried book.

But if the credits are there, and if they are in fiction, and especially if they are in the genre/subgenre you are querying, the agents may be looking at the sales numbers - because that will come up when they pitch the book to editors (your prior sales are a factor).

I'd say continue to list your credits, as they can get your pages read - but all the credits in the world are not going to cause an agent to be hooked by a book/pages the agent doesn't think they can sell, unless your name alone can sell it (ie, well-known author, with proven fan base).

So...regardless of placement, all the credits can do is cause the agent to read the pages - the book/pages still have to hook the agent all on their own merit.

~suki

I'm wondering if a lot of (multi) published authors are actually querying.

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You are, and so am I. Stephen King isn't.

Midlisters are querying like mad. Do you remember this article from a few years ago?

popmuze said:

There seems to be a back and forth on this. Some people say to put the credits last, which I've been doing lately. A few years ago, I led off with the credits. In fact, in my query, all I said was, let me know if you'd like to see my latest book--and summed it up in a single line. It got a lot of requests and eventually led to signing with an agent.

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As an editor, I sure prefer credits up front. Why not take advantage of reader expectations? When an agent or editors has no reason to believe you've been published, expectations arr that you're reading one more bad writer, just like 99% of everything else you pull from the slush. You expect it to be bad, and it usually is, and may read that way, even if it isn't.

When you know right upfront that the writer has been published, expectations rise, and you pay closer attention to what you're reading. You expect it to be good, and it usually is, even if it's much like every other query you read.

It is all about the book, but anyone who thinks agents and editors are always objective doesn't know much abut human nature.

Even good queries all start to sound alike in short order, and any positive thing you have that separates you from the pack is a big advantage.

The real point this it is all about the book, but it doesn't matter a damn hod good the book is unless you can convince an agent or an editor to read it. Credits go a long, long way in making them read it.

To me this is an interesting debate. You should for sure tell them your credits BUT I have read recently that there are way too many people who have published a mediocre or unsuccessful novel and that it is now even more difficult to get another publishing deal once that happens.

Here is where I read a little on this subject.

http://aviewfromthetop-unfiltered.blogspot.com/2010/05/upcoming-interview-molly-jaffa-agent.html

"E.I. Do you see the demand for first novels increasing? Any difference between literary and genre work? What is your opinion?

Molly Jaffa: The demand for first novels is increasing only in the sense that it’s often easier to sell a novel by an author with no publishing track record than it is to sell a book by a previously published author whose work wasn’t a commercial success. In this economy, publishers are sometimes unwilling to take another financial risk on a writer whose books haven’t sold through for them in the past."


If that is the case (and assuming that you are one of those writers) than maybe it would be better to low play your credits. I don't know. But now that I think about it, I would guess that still an agent will ask more details about your publishing history if you were to merely mention it and omitting it would help no on in my opinion.


In the end credits most likely will give you a better chance at getting your work read (even if it MIGHT be harder to sell) and your work will then need to speak for itself. In the end that is what matters. Your letter needs to be good enough to get the agent to the next step then your writing needs to seal the deal.

popmuze said:

So the strategy would be to use the credits to get read--and quicker--and then have the agent send the new book out under a pseudonym to avoid the plague of past poor sales. Sound like a plan?

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Well, I would include them to get the advantage in querying. And then discuss frankly with your new agent the pros and cons of yoru prior sales, and what strategy to follow.

~suki