Questions tagged [agent]
Someone who represents a writer to publishers.
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Adult Fantasy with a protagonist like Arya Stark
I'm pitching an adult fantasy book with a young protagonist much like Arya Stark in temperament and capabilities, and I'm having difficulty setting that expectation with my comps. There are plenty of ...
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How and where can I submit a finished novel?
I wrote a novel. It took me 15 years to write it.
How do I submit it to a publishing agent? How do I choose one? Will they be good? Will they take care of everything? When will I see the book in print ...
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Does publishing book chapters as standalone short stories hurt recruiting an agent for the books?
If I publish some chapters of completed book manuscripts as standalone stories in literary publications, does it hurt my chances of recruiting an agent to represent the books?
I have a colleague who ...
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How does a multi-genre author find an agent?
I have made several unsuccessful attempts to find a literary agent, sending out queries, going to conferences, and asking other writers to introduce me to their agents.
For background, I have an ...
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Is Duosuma really free and if so what exactly is one able to do and not able do with it for free?
https://writing.stackexchange.com/a/442/49757 says "For tracking short stories and direct submissions to publishers, use Duotrope, a free online tool that contains every market you've ever heard ...
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Is a comparative title in an ongoing book series considered a recent comp or not?
I have a novel where I have an excellent comparative ("comp") title in mind, but the book is part of an ongoing series of novels (scifi/fantasy, if it matters). The suggested time range for ...
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Will a literary agent reject a book that is longer than the average word count?
I'm currently writing a book that goes much, much more than the average word count. (My children's novel is at least 80k words). My targeted audience would be 8-13 years old.
Will an agent reject a ...
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Include book cover in query letter to agent?
I'm emailing a few agents about a novel I wrote. Typical query letter, attaching a summary and the first three chapters, as they request.
I happen to have commissioned a book cover for the novel, ...
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I've written a raw manuscript; what are the next steps? [closed]
More than 10 years ago, I wrote two books for Manning Publications, a publisher of technical non-fiction books. I didn't need to search for a publisher, I was offered a book contract, first by O'...
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What order do I start seeking editors
I have completed writing my first novel. What order should I start putting it in front of editors (copy, development, structural, etc.) before submitting it to an agent or publisher?
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Should I mention a small platform in a query letter?
I run a very small encyclopedia website that gets ~1k visitors per day. My articles have been cited by CNN, NBC, and The Independent (i.e., my website was one of twenty links that articles from these ...
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When applying to Literary Agents do you attach the query letter or paste it into the body of the email?
I'm applying to agents, most of whom want a query letter and most of which want applications via email. I'm confused by the format. Do they want the query letter attached or pasted into the email, and ...
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Are Literary Agents Postponing Their Responses to Queries Thanks to the Coronavirus and Stay-at-Home Orders?
I was wondering if it's possible for literary agents to postpone their responses to queries during this time crisis? In major states like New York, they have stay-at-home orders. Is this going to ...
user42900
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What Does A Person Mean That My Novel Reads Like A Screenplay?
I have recently heard from some literary agents that my book, my opening chapters, reads like a screenplay. Now, this is a minority view. Most agents just think my opening chapters are beautifully ...
user42900
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Who Are Some Literary Agents That Accept Christian Fantasy Novels? [duplicate]
I have about four thoroughly reviewed novels that are technically Christian fantasy novels. I am looking for an agent, a literary agents, that is open to representing these kinds of books. I have ...
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Where Can I Find Literary Agents That Represent Christian Fiction?
I have been trying to find suitable literary agents for three years that feel comfortable representing Christian fiction. I have four unpublished and thoroughly reviewed novels ready to be published, ...
user42900
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What is the ideal word count when shopping a mystery novel to agents?
I know for certain genres, agents and publishers will only consider manuscripts that fit within their expected page count ranges. What's a good target for a standalone mystery novel? My current draft ...
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Should I contact agents/publishers to see if they would be interested in my book before finishing it?
I've spent a year writing a book and still probably have a year to go. And all of this work may be wasted, if I don't get published. Should I contact agents/publishers now to garner their interest to ...
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Simultaneous querying to publishers and agents
I am a first-time author, and a few months ago I completed a picture book manuscript. After completing the manuscript, I had it professionally edited. I also completed a query letter, which was ...
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Querying a book that already has public exposure on Wattpad. What do agents think of this?
My novella won the 2017 Watty Award and has garnered a lot of reads- currently at 67k reads (if were longer, it'd be double that number, but the reads are counted per chapter- It's only 8 chapters in ...
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When do you stop "pushing" a book?
Let's suppose you have finished your novel, through all the appropriate stages of drafting and editing needed. You begin submitting the book to various agents and/or publishing companies, but none of ...
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How to find the right literary agent in the USA?
I want to publish an English language book in the USA as a foreigner. Someone told me that the USA is mainly interested in American subjects, so anything else is quite hard to sell. Besides the fact ...
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As an author, how can you ensure that your agent/publisher isn’t ripping you off by pocketing your money and giving you false info about sales?
Agents typically demand that authors sign over complete control of their royalties to them so that their money comes from the agent rather than from the publisher directly. I know a certain author ...
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Are submission services worth pursuing?
I have found a company called Writer’s Relief. Their service is to write compelling submission and query letters to genre appropriate agents and publishers.
They ask for a synopsis, fifteen pages of ...
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Would a full service print-on-demand (PoD) company include a literary agent?
I have been communicating with three PoD companies.
I was considering the first, it has been in business for years and provides a certain number of copies to the author, the rest are sold from their ...
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Should I give out specific information about agent interest to other agents?
I've edited the question for clarity following some unexpected comments in the first answer.
I submitted my latest novel to a handful of agents, and had a request for a full manuscript.
On almost ...
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Can I hire an author manager as a beginner author?
So far, I've only written one short story but I wish to write a novella. I'm worried, however, about the enormous work of marketing and contacting agents and publishers. I just want to focus on my ...
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I cannot figure out the exact genre (and target audience) of my book
For more than three years, I've been writing and re-writing my novel involving immortal characters.
Now I'm finally gathering courage to write a query letter and begin searching for agents. My ...
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How to convey a concept without illustrations when submitting?
Everything I have read or been told, and every guideline I have seen regarding submitting a picture book manuscript to a publisher has indicated that illustrations should not be included in the ...
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Is it posssible to find a literary agent if I'm Egyptian but write in English?
Here is my situation:
I am Egyptian, my native language is Arabic but I don't want to write in Arabic I want to write in English. Would a literary agent from an English speaking country agree to work ...
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How to pitch TV show with a 'hook' when have a complete bible and treatments?
So, I have a TV show I have been writing and will finish soon enough. I have been working on this for a long time, and have written 9 seasons.
The type of show is a sitcom. It is based on my ...
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How can I determine good comparative titles to include in my query letter?
Typically, a writer includes one or two recent titles that are similar in some fashion to the story they are telling, in their query letter.
I'd like any advice for finding good comparative titles.
...
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How Do You Find a Literary Agent?
What is the basic path to getting a literary agent? I understand that going to a writing conference helps you find one, but where can I find writing conferences? I did a search for them and could only ...
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What are typical response rates to non-fiction queries?
I've begun sending out queries to agents for my recently completed non-fiction manuscript.
A decade ago, I sent out queries frequently, for children's books, directly to publishers. After a while, ...
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What exactly is an editor "summary"?
An Australian literary agent just knocked me back after reading my debut novel manuscript. He advised me to find an editor and said he'll entertain reading my work again but would like to first see ...
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Usefulness of writing conferences and realistic expectations of obtaining an agent
I completed my first fiction novel a short while ago (heist/romance). I've been trying to get a literary agent by viewing their websites and following their submission requirements. However, it hasn't ...
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Tense in a query letter, synopsis, outline
When writing fiction, we generally use past tense for the narration and present tense for dialogue. When you are done with a fiction novel and are ready to query a literary agent/publisher, what ...
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Literary agent terms
I've been trying to find a literary agent, but I've been coming across some terms that are foreign to me. I have a clue on what they mean, but would like to have more clarification.
Terms:
Serious ...
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If the first book didn't sell well due to going the self-publishing route, is writing the sequel worth it from a business perspective toward agents?
I wrote and self-published a MG fantasy book that did relatively well locally: It's in elementary school libraries, at the local public libraries, and as a student teacher I enjoy giving lessons on ...
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Time frame of a traditional publisher, submitting to publishers, and need for an agent
In general, how long does it take a traditional publisher to approve/disapprove your manuscript from the time you submit it to them? The literary work is fiction and is about 330 pages.
Also, is it a ...
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Get an agent for prescriptive non-fiction before or after completing a manuscript?
In the publishing industry, is it usual for authors to have a complete prescriptive non-fiction manuscript before seeking an agent, or after seeking an agent?
I am a professor interested in writing a ...
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What Genre Is My Book Judging By My Logline?
I have polished my first debut novel as a senior at university, and I have sent about thirty to fifty query letters to mostly literary agents in New York, and some in my home state in Florida. I ...
user23794
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How to prepare a manuscript for submission?
When my book is ready to give to some volunteer readers/reviewers:
Suppose some of the reviewers want a hard copy. What's the best way to prepare the hard copy for them? Is this the same as the ...
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How much and which parts of a manuscript should I submit to an agent?
I've got a book that I think is interesting and action packed - a traumatic scene begins right in the prologue, but chapter one is a bit slow while I introduce characters, the setting, and weave ...
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Does it matter which literary agents one contacts first?
Novelists seeking a literary agent's representation are advised to prepare a long list of carefully chosen agents (e.g. genre matches are important), but to only contact a few at a time. The response ...
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A question about agents and multiple submissions
I very recently finished my first sci-fi novel and sent out agent queries, and fortune has smiled on me. Out of four responses, one was a request for the full manuscript, which was sent about a week ...
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How much does imperfect grammar put off an agent?
I've written a novel and looking back the story line was good but the grammar wasn't great. I submitted the book to a few agents and received some constructive comments which I took on board. I have ...
user18794
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Submitting a partially complete draft?
I'm 50,000 words into my first book. Based on my plot and roadmap, that's about 25% of the way into it, so about 200k.
I have roughly 110 pages in a good place, as I've already re-drafted three or ...
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What to do when my preview exceeds the requested submission length?
One of the agents I intend to query to requests the first fifty pages be attached to the query email. When I formatted the first four chapters and prologue into submission format, it reached 52 pages. ...
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Why would an agent request an exclusive submission?
I understand why publishers often ask for exclusive submissions. They're counting on a story that has been submitted to them to be available for them to purchase if they decide they like it and it ...
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