sending queries to agents and publishers ok?

rohitwow

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hi. although I know there are a few publishers who accept unsolicited manuscripts, I seem to have exhausted my list of agents for queries. is it ok then to approach a few publishers? please help.
 

J.W. Alden

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It's "ok" if you are ok with it, but just go in with realistic expectations. Know that when submitting to a publisher directly you will most likely have to wait much longer for a reply (I've heard stories of pubs that took over a year to send a form rejection), and you will most likely not get as good a deal as you would with representation.

Also, be sure to check the publisher's guidelines for unsolicited submissions, as it could be the difference between getting your manuscript read and getting it tossed right into the trash.
 

PinkAmy

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It's ok, but if you requery agents you'll have to tell them which publishers you've contacted and it will probably guarantee they won't bite. Think long and hard about it.
 

Miriel

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It's "ok" if you are ok with it, but just go in with realistic expectations. Know that when submitting to a publisher directly you will most likely have to wait much longer for a reply (I've heard stories of pubs that took over a year to send a form rejection), and you will most likely not get as good a deal as you would with representation.

If you submit direct to a publisher, you can still get an agent to negotiate the deal for you. I've seen some authors do this (for example, so I don't get called out, Brandon Sanderson had a mss. sit on a desk for eighteen months; editor finally looked at it, wanted to buy it, Brandon got an agent to negotiate the contract for him).
 

Little Ming

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hi. although I know there are a few publishers who accept unsolicited manuscripts, I seem to have exhausted my list of agents for queries. is it ok then to approach a few publishers? please help.

May I ask how long your list of agents is? I ask because there are members here who have gone through over a hundred rejections before they finally landed an agent. Your situation may not be as bleak as you think.

Also, you might want to put your query through QLH after you've gained 50 posts. There's no point in resending the same query to publishers if there may be something wrong with it.

But back to answering your question directly: It also depends on what genre you're writing. I believe there are still major fantasy/sci-fi publishers who are willing to look at unconsolidated works, but the wait period can be over a year.
 

rohitwow

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Hi Little Ming!! Well as of today I've sent 225 queries, got one offer of representation which I passed after researching the firm, and 63 rejections. One other agent asked for my manuscript but hasn't gotten back. So where do I stop? 300?
 

Old Hack

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Hi Little Ming!! Well as of today I've sent 225 queries, got one offer of representation which I passed after researching the firm, and 63 rejections. One other agent asked for my manuscript but hasn't gotten back. So where do I stop? 300?

My bold.

This could explain some of your problems. You really should do your research before you send out your submissions, not after you hear back. If you're not researching agents fully before you submit to them you're more than likely sending your work out to agents who don't represent the sort of writing that you do.

I wonder if you need to step back from submitting for a while. Do a whole lot more research into publishing and agents; begin a new project; and after a little time has passed take another look at the work you're submitting right now because it could be that it needs more revision, too.
 

Little Ming

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Do whatever Old Hack tells you. ;)

And I'll just add, if you are querying the right agents, but can't even get your foot in the door (request for a partial/full) you might need to take a hard look at your query. It may not be working for you.

Check out QLH and QueryShark.
 

rohitwow

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Thanks guys. As bad as that made me feel, it made me feel a whole lot better :)