What do I do if every Query response I get back is that it is a good work but the don't want a first time publishing author. I have two books ready and all the credible publishers I have tried said they won't even look at a submission without an agent but no agent I have talked to wants a new author.
Having a hard time
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Could you quote those responses? Because that would be a bizarre thing for a legit agent to say. I would predict they were scam agents hoping to refer you to a vanity press.
Unfortunately I was upset so I deleted the emails but if they were scams I am glad I did, I would like to work with an agent. Any suggestions for the Young Adult fantasy and romance that I could get in contact with.
How could anyone possibly know that your book is a "good work" from only reading a query?
Many publishers won't look at unagented submissions -- that's just the way it goes. Others will -- do your research.
How may agents have you "talked to"?
There are a number of agents who are not accepting new clients because their list is full. There are many who are willing to look at queries -- do your research.
There is ABSOLUTELY NO AGENT IN THIS WORLD who would not accept a first-time author if the book is something they love and believe they can sell. EVERY SINGLE CLIENT they've ever had or will have was once a first-time author.
So, either you are completely misrepresenting your situation or you haven't paid much attention to the details of your post. Perhaps try again?
Unless an agent can't take on any more clients at all, I've never met one who wouldn't take on a new writer. I don't know who you're talking to, but that's just wrong.
Every writer out there, all of them, were unpublished when they first started out. No one is born with writing credits attached.
Agents and editors make their living by finding new writers who have never been published. Do you have any idea how rich finding just one good, but unpublished writer can make an agent? Agents do not turn down good novels because the writer is new and unpublished. If they did, most of the bestselling writers out there would be unknown because, as I said, they all started out as new, unpublished writers.
The reason agents put out guidelines and ask for submissions is because they do want new, unpublished writers. Experienced writers usually already have agents. Seriously, every agent out there who asks for submissions is after new, unpublished writers.
I will also say that quite a few very, very good publishers will look at unagented queries, and even manuscripts. Even some big five publishers occasionally open one line or another. Do your research, and find a couple.
When you say "talked to," what do you mean? Because if you're literally calling agents on the phone, or tweeting them in public, then stop it. Now.
Scroll down to the section of this board called "Share your Work" and click on it. Then open "Query Letter Hell." Here, you will find query letters that are in the crafting process. This is what you use to find an agent, and as has already been pointed out, there's not a legit agency out there who refuses a book based on "new author" status.
Some of them are referral only, but new writers are not being turned away from open agencies based on their lack of having published.
Also check out Query Shark, which is a blog run by agent Janet Reid. You can find lists of queries that did and didn't work. That way you'll know what to look for in your own to make it shine.
"No new authors" really does sound like the rhetoric of a scam agency.
Also, DO NOT query agents and publishers at the same time. The former will query the latter, so don't pollute the pool they need to swim in by getting rejections in advance.
Go to Query Tracker and Agent Query and use their filtered search functions to get yourself a list of agents who rep your genres. Then cross check that list with Preditors and Editors, or here in the Bewares and Background checks subforum.
It's nothing someone else can do for you. You've got to figure out your own best fit.
Good luck!
I have never done that. When ever I contact any publishing agency or Agent it has been through a professional email, and a private one at that. I do not think that a public query is appropriate, professional, or effective.
In other words, you make many basic writing mistakes even in forum posts and don't have a clue what a critique is. Yet, rather than asking and learning from experienced writers and editors here, you are arguing? I'm sorry but that doesn't inspire me to feel like helping you. *shrug*
I am not arguing and I am asking for help but I do not like being accused of something I have never done. I have gone at this in the most professional of ways and have never done a public query. You do not have to help me if you don't want but please don't accuse me of things I do not do then accuse me of arguing for saying I don't do it.
Someone who knows what they're talking about suggested that you post your query in SYW and you replied, "I do not think that a public query is appropriate, professional, or effective."
Yes, it is appropriate, professional, and effective to post queries in the SYW workshop for help in polishing them. Also, SYW and other critiquing boards are not "public." They're behind a password.
And yes, that is arguing rather than asking a question about something you don't understand. Again, if you want help, ask further questions rather than argue. That way, people want to help you. It's up to you, of course.
Yes, it is appropriate, professional, and effective to post queries in the SYW workshop for help in polishing them. Also, SYW and other critiquing boards are not "public." They're behind a password.
And yes, that is arguing rather than asking a question about something you don't understand. Again, if you want help, ask further questions rather than argue. That way, people want to help you. It's up to you, of course.
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Welcome, Kitty. Read the stickies at the top of this forum. You will learn a lot. Go to QLH and read the responses and queries there and contribute to others. Then you can get up to 50 posts and get some feedback on your query.
Some thoughts:
- It's imperative to keep a list of agents and agencies you query. It may take more than a hundred queries or even many more before you find an agent, and you'll never remember who got sent what and when and what the response was if you don't keep track. Start a spreadsheet and list them all and their responses, the good, the bad and the ugly.
- It's imperative to get used to rejection. Finding an agent may take a long time and involve a lot of difficult-to-hear feedback. It may even take multiple manuscripts.
- It's very important to vet the agents you query BEFORE querying them. Make sure they are reputable. There is a Bewares & Recommendations section on this forum. You can also check out Preditors & Editors to weed out certain scam agents, and you can look for agents who are AAR members (although not all reputable agents are members, all agents who are members are held to a high standard of conduct).
- Everyone is right. No reputable agent will turn a writer away for being unpublished. You just have to have an awesome, publishable manuscript that can satisfy a clear target audience.
You're doing the right thing, asking questions and investigating. My recommendation is to stop querying for a bit and just get more grounded so you get out there on the right foot.
Good luck!
Some thoughts:
- It's imperative to keep a list of agents and agencies you query. It may take more than a hundred queries or even many more before you find an agent, and you'll never remember who got sent what and when and what the response was if you don't keep track. Start a spreadsheet and list them all and their responses, the good, the bad and the ugly.
- It's imperative to get used to rejection. Finding an agent may take a long time and involve a lot of difficult-to-hear feedback. It may even take multiple manuscripts.
- It's very important to vet the agents you query BEFORE querying them. Make sure they are reputable. There is a Bewares & Recommendations section on this forum. You can also check out Preditors & Editors to weed out certain scam agents, and you can look for agents who are AAR members (although not all reputable agents are members, all agents who are members are held to a high standard of conduct).
- Everyone is right. No reputable agent will turn a writer away for being unpublished. You just have to have an awesome, publishable manuscript that can satisfy a clear target audience.
You're doing the right thing, asking questions and investigating. My recommendation is to stop querying for a bit and just get more grounded so you get out there on the right foot.
Good luck!
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Thank you for your help and suggestions i will make note of each one. I will start keeping track and do some better research.
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Your query would still be in your sent mail. You need to keep a record of who you have queried so you know not to query them again for the same book.
It is also a good idea to make a series of decisions and take a series of steps in a systematic way:
1) Publisher or agent, decide
2) Make a list of places to query
3) Develop a good query and sample chapters
4) Tailor it to the publisher or agent at the top of your list
5) Submit
6) Repeat as often as necessary
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It wasn't an accusation on my part, just a question. You'd be surprised how many people DO call or tweet, and then get huffy when an agent doesn't respond.
Fruitbat, I don't think Kitty was arguing against posting here, but rather saying she'd never publicly queried on something like Twitter, though I could be wrong.
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Kitty, all of us writers have to spend a lot of time and effort honing our writing and editing skills before our writing is good enough to entice paying readers. Writing is a craft, something we have to learn -- none of us are born knowing it all! I'd suggest you take some time to get to know us on the forum, participate in the Share Your Work critiquing section, and see how to construct a query that will entice an agent. Once you've got 50 posts logged and you've made some friends here, you can have your own opening pages and query letter critiqued. Most of us find that this helps immensely!
Oh, okay. That's how I read it but I may have gotten the posts mixed up. I've read it over but I can't tell.
Kitty, if I misunderstood your post then please accept my apologies for my replies.
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Most of the good big publishers won't consider your work unless it's submitted through an agent.
All good agents who are open to queries will consider all books submitted to them, regardless of their authors' publication status.
The trick is to write a brilliant book first, then query it appropriately to the right agents.
That trick isn't as easy as it sounds: it takes a lot of skill and hard work, and a good understanding of the query process. But you're at AbsoluteWrite, so you've got a head start: this is the best site for writers you'll find.
Moving on, I'm glad that you all cleared up that little disagreement: it's so important that we assume good intentions, and try not to rise to any perceived slights (which often don't actually exist).
I mean this kindly: but I'm worried that you haven't worked as professionally as you think.
In this thread, which you started a little over two months ago, you stated that you'd published a book with Tate Publishing, which is a notorious vanity publisher.
Now, I'm glad your book is no longer with Tate and I think you've done the right thing in getting your rights back from them: but the fact that you published with them shows that you have made mistakes (don't worry, we all have!) and I worry that you might still be making them. Especially as your assertion that "no agent I have talked to wants a new author" is not remotely true of any good agents I know, but is typical scammer rhetoric.
I'm not criticising you here, I'm just concerned for you. What I hope you'll do is take some time to learn more about the querying process before sending anything off. Learn how to discriminate between good publishers and bad. Learn how good publishing works. Don't rush at being published: it won't serve you well.
I hope to see you around the boards.
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As many have suggested, you have to do your research. Many use this website to verify the legitimacy of agents and publishers. To find an agent, the best website is querytracker.com. There are over 1,000 agents on that site. Patrick does a great job in making sure there are no issues with the agents. But after you've found an agent and research what they are looking for and how to submit to them, come back to this website and search for any threads about the agent and/or agency.
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I'm late to the party (as usual), but if you wish to post your query in SYW, you're free to redact your book title and the proposed agency's name. As far as vetting the efficacy, those aren't needed for that.