Ask Jennifer Laughran! Tireless agent-in-residence!

scope · Nov 29, 2009

Hi Jennifer,

Thanks for taking your time to compile the list showing just some of the things a conscientious agent does.

Much appreciated.

HMS · Nov 30, 2009

Jennifer
I wonder if I had the wrong assumption about exclusive reviews. Maybe you can help set me straight.
This summer I attended the writers conference. One of the author/faculty members passed my submission on to an agent, who I met briefly face to face. The agent later called me and asked to see the entire MS, which I sent him 2 months ago. He has since emailed me to say the MS is getting "several reads". All this is great.
I have been assuming that my submission to him was to be exclusive, but nothing was said either way. I haven't sent it to anyone else, but am I wondering if I am short-changing myself and should be shopping the MS around more.
It's a YA novel. Thanks

HH Johnson · Nov 30, 2009

About the "new" genre NEW ADULT --

The word length requirements for New Adult should be the same as Young Adult?

Is the New Adult genre a gimmick or do you think it has staying power?

Jennifer_Laughran · Nov 30, 2009

HMS said:
I have been assuming that my submission to him was to be exclusive, but nothing was said either way. I haven't sent it to anyone else, but am I wondering if I am short-changing myself and should be shopping the MS around more.

If he never asked for an exclusive, you are under no obligation to give him one, and yes, you are short-changing yourself. I am sure I address this elsewhere in the thread -- I am strongly opposed to exclusives. And a self-imposed exclusive? Bah, I say!

If he asked for one, and you agreed to one, it would be for a limited amount of time anyway. Say - a few weeks, maximum. But that is not the case. Get out there, babe!

Jennifer_Laughran · Nov 30, 2009

HH Johnson said:
About the "new" genre NEW ADULT --

The word length requirements for New Adult should be the same as Young Adult?

Is the New Adult genre a gimmick or do you think it has staying power?

Well only one publisher is talking about "new adult" -- I personally don't think that it will stick, but what the hell, who knows. It seems like regular old "crossover" fiction to me. But perhaps you ought to keep your eyes peeled and see how St. Martin's does with this rebranding scheme, and if any other publishers follow suit.

I'd say that the wordcount should be about the same as YA, yes. Less than 100k, certainly. But that is a nice rule of thumb for everything, in my opinion.

Epiphany · Nov 30, 2009

Hi Jennifer,

Most agents recommend the author stating whether or not they have an M.F.A in their query letter. Would it also be appropriate to mention whether or not I am currently in a program and haven't graduated yet, or if I have been accepted into a program and will be attending in a few months?

HMS · Nov 30, 2009

Thanks Jennifer. I will get it out there pronto.

Hittman · Dec 1, 2009

Over in SYW I'm working on a query for a novel about a Jehovah's Witness who becomes a vampire. This is the closing paragraph:

"Earlier this year I released BLOOD WITNESS as a podcast audio book to help build a following and gauge its potential market. To date over 60,000 episodes have been downloaded, and downloads are continuing at the rate of about 5,000 episodes a month. Based on the feedback and reviews, the book appeals to horror fans, ex-Jehovah's Witnesses (like me) and action fans."

Several authors have used this method to build an audience prior to publication. At least two have made the NYT bestseller list. Are most agents aware of this approach? Do they think it's a good idea, or does this give the book an "already published" or "self published" taint?

Autodidact · Dec 1, 2009

Thank you so much for answering our questions. I confess I haven't read the entire thread, though I did search. I gather you, personally, do not handle much non-fiction? I have a specific question relative to Young Adult Non-Fiction.

And congratulations on representing a personal hero of mine, Daniel Pinkwater. Please tell me he's a sweetheart.

Jennifer_Laughran · Dec 1, 2009

Epiphany said:
Hi Jennifer,

Most agents recommend the author stating whether or not they have an M.F.A in their query letter. Would it also be appropriate to mention whether or not I am currently in a program and haven't graduated yet, or if I have been accepted into a program and will be attending in a few months?

Sure. I wouldn't hit it too hard, but it is fine to mention it in passing.

Jennifer_Laughran · Dec 1, 2009

Hittman said:
Several authors have used this method to build an audience prior to publication. At least two have made the NYT bestseller list. Are most agents aware of this approach? Do they think it's a good idea, or does this give the book an "already published" or "self published" taint?

Personally, me, myself, I feel like publicity is a superb thing to do when you already have a book deal. For example, one of my clients serializes all his books and does podcasts online prior to their release. I have no problem with that (and he has his publisher's blessing). But the thing is - - there IS a release date. It is going to be a book. If people like the serialization or podcast, they can order the book, because it is going to be real.

I feel less positive about publicity efforts made before there is an actual forthcoming book to promote. That, to me, does feel a little self-publishing-gimmicky, and I think some (ok, most) agents might be snobby about that.

But you know, please prove me wrong. I think it would be great if it worked out in your favor.

Jennifer_Laughran · Dec 1, 2009

Autodidact said:
Thank you so much for answering our questions. I confess I haven't read the entire thread, though I did search. I gather you, personally, do not handle much non-fiction? I have a specific question relative to Young Adult Non-Fiction.

And congratulations on representing a personal hero of mine, Daniel Pinkwater. Please tell me he's a sweetheart.

I do a bit of children's/YA nonfiction, but it is far from a specialty. I might be able to answer a question, though... depends on the question!

Yes, DP is a sweetheart, and I am very happy to say is a dear friend as well as delightful client.

popmuze · Dec 1, 2009

Jennifer,
Thanks for answering my question on another thread. This is not exactly a follow up, but it does relate to what kind of information is best to present an agent in a query letter.
Is there such a thing as too many credits?
Unlike a lot of people here, I have published a lot of books and been published in dozens of national magazines. But these have occurred over a long time span--and none of the books were exactly best sellers.
For instance, I am going around with my 4th YA novel, but the first three were published 25 years ago.
Since everyone is looking for the next hot young writer, is this a good thing or a bad thing to let an agent know right off the bat?
Would it make them want to like the book just a little bit less, or think selling it would be just a little bit harder?

Autodidact · Dec 1, 2009

Jennifer_Laughran said:
I do a bit of children's/YA nonfiction, but it is far from a specialty. I might be able to answer a question, though... depends on the question!

Yes, DP is a sweetheart, and I am very happy to say is a dear friend as well as delightful client.

Just as I suspected.

O.K., my personal goal for 2010 is to complete my first book proposal, and I'm considering which one to work on. One that I have in mind would be a non-fiction compilation of short bios (tentatively) titled: Brave Souls and Beautiful Spirits: A Book of Gay and Lesbian Heroes for Young Adults.

So, is the whole concept of a compilation of gay and lesbian heroes for young adults ridiculous? Could that be remotely marketable? Might the potential controversy actually help? In short, what do you think of the concept, assuming that my execution would be ~~flawless~~ acceptable?

Epiphany · Dec 1, 2009

Jennifer_Laughran said:
Sure. I wouldn't hit it too hard, but it is fine to mention it in passing.

Thank you so much for helping us out!

Hittman · Dec 1, 2009

I feel less positive about publicity efforts made before there is an actual forthcoming book to promote. That, to me, does feel a little self-publishing-gimmicky, and I think some (ok, most) agents might be snobby about that.

So how should I handle it in the query? It's already done – it's out there and easy to find, so I have to make at least some mention of it.

willfs · Dec 2, 2009

Jennifer,

If I am equerying an agent, with the full manuscript of a picture book within the email, is the body of the equery that important? My work is right there for the agent to see. I don't see why a quick description and blurb wouldn't be best in this situation. Would you ever stop from even reading the first few lines of a picture book if the query didn't sweep you off your feet?

thanks

Old Hack · Dec 2, 2009

I found Jennifer's post outlining her work as an agent very useful, and interesting, but if anyone would like to learn more, there's a brilliant book on the subject called "From Pitch to Publication", written by UK literary agent Carole Blake (who Twitters as @caroleagent). It's a fascinating account of agenting in particular, and the publishing business as a whole: I think it's essential reading for anyone who is interested in getting published. It's very funny, too.

muppetsandstuff · Dec 3, 2009

Hi Jennifer,

Thanks for sharing so much of your insight with us.

I have a question about voice, and what it really means in a rejection.

I started pitching at the beginning of October and have currently sent out 5 full manuscripts and 3 partials, which I know I'm really luck to have done. I've had rejections on 2 of the 5 ms, and all of the partials. The only reason for rejection given (every single one) was a lack of connection to the voice. Other than that, they've been extremely complimentary (even those based just on queries) and I've received multiple personalized rejections. The gist: Love the query, love the premise, you're obviously talented, another agent should be picking you up soon, but no other criticism or feedback.

Given that from what I read of others' rejections, which are so varied in scope as to reason for rejection (characters, plot, speed of narrative, environment, etc.), I'm thinking that either means that they hated the pages and didn't get far enough to critique anything else, so voice is the nicest way of letting me down; or that the content/premise/writing ability is there, but that I just need to find one agent who "gets" the voice and can get behind it the project. I know it's all very subjective.

I'm most hopeful about a full request (based on a query and sample pages) from a very reputable agent, who was very complimentary, specifically about the voice. Waiting is KILLING me, so I thought I'd see if you can help me over-think this any less.

Thanks in advance for your time!

Julet · Dec 7, 2009

Hello Jennifer,

I'm a younger writing, and I was wondering how you feel about being an agent for people still in high school? Is there any chance for a fifteen year old to get an agent?

Thank you again for taking the time to reply to all our question!

Roly · Dec 8, 2009

Hi Jennifer!

How do you feel about writer's breifly discussing the inspiration behind their work at the end of the query, especially if they don't have any publishing credits/connections/awards to list? Is it necessary or will a simple, "Thank you for your consideration" suffice?

Thanks for your time!

ILove2Write · Dec 9, 2009

MG question

Hi Jennifer,

I was wondering what an acceptable word range for middle grade was to your standards? I've read in various places that a middle grade work can be anywhere from 30,000 to 80,000 words. From what I've seen, most popular books in the MG area are usually around 70,000. Is it then looked down upon if say I have a manuscript that is 50,000 words? As an agent, would you even consider looking at a manuscript that had under 60,000 words?

Thanks.

Wintress · Dec 11, 2009

Thanks

Jennifer_Laughran said:
I could try to tackle this but... I truly honestly absolutely have no idea how to answer this question. Sorry. All I know is, there are certainly agents who take books in multiple genres/styles. Most big agencies do, in fact. But how they work with ghostwriters, or if they do, I couldn't say.

Ask Nathan B, he does grownup books and non-fiction, maybe he has had some experience in this regard!

Thank you soo much Jennifer! I did ask Nathan and he was able to give me some direction.

Wintress · Dec 11, 2009

Jennifer_Laughran said:
I could try to tackle this but... I

truly honestly absolutely have no idea how to answer this question.

Sorry. All I know is, there are certainly agents who take books in

multiple genres/styles. Most big agencies do, in fact. But how they

work with ghostwriters, or if they do, I couldn't say.

Ask Nathan B, he does grownup books and non-fiction, maybe he has had

some experience in this regard!

Thank you soo much Jennifer! I did ask Nathan and he was able to give

me some direction.

Gemnyc · Dec 12, 2009

Hi Jennifer,

I currently have 2 fulls out with agents I met at a conference. At the conference, I also met a new beta reader and she just sent me some revisions. They are mostly word choice edits and one sub-plot character motivation change. Nothing that would significantly change the MS or the protagonist – just a tidy and extra polish.

The agents have had the MS for 3 weeks, and with the holiday’s I doubt they have read it yet. Is it rude/waste of time/annoying etc etc, to email and ask to resend, explaining the situation. Or perhaps I should not bother and have confidence that it is almost there. I know I should quit tampering with the MS, but 7 drafts and 3 other beta’s, I thought it was as polished as possible when I sent.

Thanks so much for taking the time to help us out on this forum. Happy holidays.

Ask Jennifer Laughran! Tireless agent-in-residence!

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