Would an agent accept a sequel if s/he does not represent the first self-published MG book?

coffeehunter

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The title was a mouthful. I think agents just represent the book given to them, so I don't know if they care about a book prior to it or if the new book is stand-alone. But here are some facts of the series:

Some points:

* The first book won an award for best book read in 2016, highly praising it for children. It's in several local public and school libraries. Profit on it is slim. It's a self-published title and I had little time to market it on my own. I'm always asked to make a sequel.
* The first book hints little that a sequel is on its way.
* The second book relies a little on the first book and explains unfamiliar parts to new readers.
* I'm half-way done with the sequel. I feel it's much better than the first. While the first book was for 4-5th grade, I feel the second book is geared toward 6th graders as far as tone and theme goes.

Thanks.
 

coffeehunter

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I would ask individual agents. They all have different approaches. Some would say no and some yes. As long as it is nominally standalone I imagine most would consider it though.

That's good advice. I'll ask individual agents than getting a writer's opinion on here. Which is why this question got moved here, but it seems writers still reply in this section for some reason. I assume there's a variable of what is accepted or not. The book feels like a story occured before this one, but it also has a feeling of depth due to that, which doesn't interfere with the new reader.

And yes, i totally forgot i asked this question already :) This is for agents though.

I'll check back to see if an agent responds here.
 
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Aggy B.

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There are a few who respond when relevant. The thing is, a lot of questions in here are going to vary widely from agent to agent or will depend on the particular project so they may not feel comfortable trying to give you an answer.

(I will say that I have a contract with a small publisher for a couple of books that follow-up a self-pubbed novella. Because the rights are essentially free on the novella so we can use it to do promotion/give-aways/etc. But larger publishers may not feel the same, therefore not every agent will be excited about a second book in a series. [Now, if the sales on the first are small there's a chance they could still sell it to a publisher if the second book is strong and/or the first book could be polished further to create a solid two-fer of material.])
 

novicewriter

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That's good advice. I'll ask individual agents than getting a writer's opinion on here. Which is why this question got moved here, but it seems writers still reply in this section for some reason...And yes, i totally forgot i asked this question already :) This is for agents though.

I'll check back to see if an agent responds here.

Some writers here have an agent or have had several agents over several years, so for me, their advice is still valuable, as they've been through the process of noticing what agents are looking for, what their processes are, etc. Some who don't have an agent also sometimes read or listen to agents' podcast interviews, read what they're looking for on social media, etc. and therefore, might also know the answer.

Also, perhaps writers thought you'd prefer having some type of response to your question, rather than having it sit there, unanswered by agents.
 
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cool pop

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That's good advice. I'll ask individual agents than getting a writer's opinion on here. Which is why this question got moved here, but it seems writers still reply in this section for some reason. I assume there's a variable of what is accepted or not. The book feels like a story occured before this one, but it also has a feeling of depth due to that, which doesn't interfere with the new reader.

And yes, i totally forgot i asked this question already :) This is for agents though.

I'll check back to see if an agent responds here.

This section is not just for agents so writers can and will respond here. Also, just because someone is a writer doesn't mean they can't answer this question. There are many experienced veteran authors here who have worked with agents as well as others familiar with agents and can tell you what to expect. Also, many writers also have worked for agents as assistants, etc. Many agents are also writers so you can't be sure who you are speaking to. Don't think just because someone is a writer that that is the extent of their knowledge in the business.

Saying that, if you're expecting an agent to respond to you then it's best to follow their blogs and comment or see if you can PM them some kind of way. I'd also suggest you Google because I am sure you can find many answers to this question. You're not the first to want to know if an agent wants a book in the middle of the series.

My answer is, most won't want a book in the middle of a series because publishers won't want a book in the middle of a series.
 

Treehouseman

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You can look at the #askagent hashtag on Twitter, sometimes agents answer questions in real time, and there's not much of a difference between individual preferences.

I've directly tweeted agents questions and they've responded straight away.

If they do decide to rep the sequel (miracles do happen), they may also ask you to take the first book down from all sales outlets if you haven't already done so.
 

Barbara R.

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The title was a mouthful. I think agents just represent the book given to them, so I don't know if they care about a book prior to it or if the new book is stand-alone. But here are some facts of the series:

Some points:

* The first book won an award for best book read in 2016, highly praising it for children. It's in several local public and school libraries. Profit on it is slim. It's a self-published title and I had little time to market it on my own. I'm always asked to make a sequel.
* The first book hints little that a sequel is on its way.
* The second book relies a little on the first book and explains unfamiliar parts to new readers.
* I'm half-way done with the sequel. I feel it's much better than the first. While the first book was for 4-5th grade, I feel the second book is geared toward 6th graders as far as tone and theme goes.

Thanks.

Sorry to say that the answer is probably not. If the first book had sold amazingly well--hundreds of thousands of copies---you'd be golden. But it didn't sell very well at all---and don't blame yourself, because most s-p titles don't---so there's no incentive. Agents think the way their client publishers think: What's the point of a series that's missing its first installment?

If you love the second book, go ahead and self-publish it, and do the best you can on promotion and marketing. When you start a new series or write a stand-alone, that's the time to search for an agent.

Barbara (who was a literary agent for 15 years)