Getting Back on the Horse

NDZone

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Cliffs:

Was repped by a wonderful agent, submitted 2 ms over a few years but couldn't cross the finish line. The second, in particular, went to Ed Board with 3 houses but didn't sell. Finally, my agent parted ways, I got a real job and have been in a writer's rejection funk for 5 years. A few then-interns who helped me on revisions (and professed love for my work) are now successful agents. I've started writing again, so naturally I'll reach out once my WIP is complete, but meanwhile I'm finding everything has changed LOL. Can anyone suggest where I can learn the new ropes? Are manuscript wishlist sites for real? Etc.

I used to hang out here a little, but mostly at WN and AQ so I could use a little direction. Any suggestions are appreciated. Peace.
 

buz

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I've started writing again, so naturally I'll reach out once my WIP is complete, but meanwhile I'm finding everything has changed LOL. Can anyone suggest where I can learn the new ropes? Are manuscript wishlist sites for real? Etc.

I'm not actually sure which ropes you're asking about :) do you mean about submitting to agents? . . . I mean, as far as I know, querying-wise, you do an agent search by whatever means you prefer, look closer at each agent who looks like they represent your genre to see if you think they'd be interested, and send a query (and/or synopsis, sample pages, depending on the agent -- they will usually say on their website what to send) according to whatever that agent's guidelines are, basically.

Manuscript wishlists...I mean, I've seen the one site, and various places agents have indicated a preference for something; I'm not sure what "is it for real" means -- if the agent says it's something they'd be interested in, then it's something that they're interested in, but as far as I know it's the same process. Just another means of trying to figure out what agent might be a good fit.

There are pitch contests and stuff on social media, but again, this is usually just...another path to the same process. Find an agent that might be a good fit, send a query.

But then, I'm not super in-the-loop lately; other people can probably provide better info than I can. But it's a bit difficult to answer generically -- are there specific aspects you have questions about? Writing, querying, publishing?
 
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Undercover

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There's literally a site called ManuscriptWishList It has some really specific things that agents and editors want. Also #MSWL on Twitter has a feed of the same thing. Good luck to you!
 

NDZone

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Thanks. I'm very familiar with the querying process and also that of researching agents. In the old days any website claiming to connect you with agents was most likely a scam. Now I see some, including the one mentioned above, and I just wondered if there was now a method preferred above old fashioned querying. I'd much prefer old school.
 

Fuchsia Groan

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Thanks. I'm very familiar with the querying process and also that of researching agents. In the old days any website claiming to connect you with agents was most likely a scam. Now I see some, including the one mentioned above, and I just wondered if there was now a method preferred above old fashioned querying. I'd much prefer old school.

MSWL doesn't claim to "connect you" with agents, as I understand it. It aggregates agent preferences so you can narrow your search better. I haven't actually used it, because it wasn't around as a website when I was querying (only as a Twitter hashtag), but my agent is one of the founders, and she's legit. There's a "sister company" now called Manuscript Academy, where you can pay for classes and critiques, but that's a separate thing.

When I originally queried, I used Agent Query to find appropriate agents. If I did it now, I'd probably use a combination of Query Tracker (to cast a wide net) and MSWL (where I'd search each agent to learn more about what they're looking for).