Ask the Agent

Questions on Queries

Here are a few questions I often receive about queries and what I say in response: You said “don’t pitch a novel unless it’s complete.” Do you feel the same about query letters? Do we only query completed works, or are ideas fair game? If you are sending a query to an agent, only pitch…
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Decisions, Decisions

A writer asked: If you have a bunch of book ideas, how do you decide which ones are viable?     FOR NON-FICTION: Spend some time on each idea, one by one. First work on a rough outline of what the book would be. List the themes and topics you’d want to cover. Ask yourself:…
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Agent-Client Communication

A writer asked: “How much communication should you expect from your agent? Is it unrealistic to ask them to let you know to which publishers they’ve sent a proposal? Should they give you periodic updates (perhaps quarterly?) or are agents generally so busy that it’s unfair to expect them to contact you unless they receive…
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ASK THE AGENT: Exclusivity

A writer asked: “If you are working on revision suggestions for one agent with whom you have NOT signed, should you still query other agents?” Simple answer: No. If the agent has given you revision suggestions but not agreed to represent it, you should honor them (the fact that they took the time to give…
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Telling Your Personal Story

Telling Your Personal Story

Dear Rachelle, People are always telling me, “You should write a book!” For years I have been ignoring them, but more and more people are telling me that I shouldn’t let my experiences be wasted, that I need to share them because they are not only inspirational, they will make people laugh, make them cry, and…
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Answering Your Questions

John said…Do you welcome queries from England in the same way as you would from America? I welcome fiction queries from everywhere. Non-fiction is tougher, because most non-fiction books are more dependent on the author being able to promote the book here in the US, but if I loved the book I wouldn’t say no…
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Your Questions, My Answers

Okay, here are more questions I’ve received lately. I’ll warn you right now, my answers are NOT FUNNY. They are, in fact, boring. Sorry. JR Beasley said:I have queried multiple agents. One agent has requested a full manuscript and three others are reviewing partials. When offered representation by an agent, what is the proper protocol…
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Your Questions Sweetly Answered

Kati Patrianoceu asked…Do you get tired of writing about the same things on your blog over and over? Do you enjoy writing dozens of blogs about good-and-bad-queries, or does it drive you nuts?I like writing the same things over and over. I like writing the same things over and over. I like writing the same…
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One-Sentence Summary Critiques & Tips

Today I’m offering some thoughts on a few of the one-sentence summaries that were entered in the contest. Sometimes it’s helpful to see what’s not quite working, in order to learn how to do it better. Maybe these examples will help you spot something you can improve with your own pitch. We’ll group them according…
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Random! Questions! Answered!

Over the weekend I asked my Twitter followers to send me questions. Here are some of them, with my brief answers. Kennectto asked:Do publishers sometimes accept queries and/or manuscript ideas from writers without agents? Some publishers accept unagented queries and proposals, but most of the majors don’t unless an editor met the writer at a…
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YA & Middle Grade Fiction

Stephanie Reed wrote: A fellow CBA children’s author and I heard that, because there are already so many good mainstream children’s novels, there’s not much need for CBA children’s novels. Do you agree? And if so, please tell me how great mainstream novels and great CBA novels for adults have peacefully co-existed for years. My…
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Ask the Agent: A Matter of Time

I always get questions about how long the publishing process takes. Of course, the biggest question is why does it take so long? My answer: it just does. There are a lot of reasons, but even if I tell you the reasons, it won’t change anything. It won’t make you happier about the length of…
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Ask the Agent: Writing in Multiple Genres

One of the most common questions I receive is: Can I write books in more than one genre? Well, sure, write whatever you want! Can I write books in multiple genres and expect to build a successful publishing career? No. A lot of people have asked me this question, and they don’t understand my answer.…
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One Last Post about the Kindle

I hope you don’t get too annoyed with me for doing another post about the Kindle. There were several great comments and questions after last week’s post, and I wanted to take the discussion a little further.Here are my answers to a few of the issues raised: → What if I lose or destroy my…
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