 Author Ishta Mercurio offers some important topics to consider when researching an agent. Part of your research should include speaking to clients of that agent. This usually happens when an agent has expressed interest in representing you. It's common practice to ask if you can speak to a few clients and the agent should always say yes and offer a few names. Or you can find the clients yourself (#research), and reach out.
This information originally appeared as a Twitter thread and has been compiled by Threader. ------------------------------ Ishta: Okay, writers. Let’s talk querying. You should always—ALWAYS—ask clients of an agent what that agent is like to work with. I find “do you like your agent?” to be an unhelpful question, because the vast majority of ppl DO like their current agent. But there are helpful questions. Some helpful questions: “How long does it take your agent to read manuscripts after you send them?” “How editorial is your agent? Do they give detailed line edits, or not?” “How does your agent communicate with you: mostly email, mostly phone calls, mostly texts...?” “Does your agent jump into potentially difficult conversations with your editor, or do they ask you first, or do they wait for you to approach them?” “Does your agent send you a list of editors who are considering your work when you ask?” For illustrators: “Does your agent arrange pitch meetings for you?” For picture book writers: “Does your agent typically query one project at a time, or multiple projects?” Data. You aren’t gathering opinions; you are gathering data. Remember that ten perfectly legitimate, perfectly good agents may all do these things differently. The purpose of researching agents is to find out which agents do these things in the way that will work FOR YOU. Research agents. Period. ---------------------------------------------- Please consider following Ishta on Twitter @IshtaWrites and visiting her website at www.ishtamercurio.com/
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No nonsense literary agent Linda Epstein offers up some thoughts about rejection. The format you see below is created through an app called Thread Reader in which all the tweets in a thread are stitched together so you can read them more easily -- like a blog post. It's pretty cool stuff.
Read Linda's thoughts and breathe them in. Remember that rejections are passes on work and represent opportunities. Cheers, my friends.  Multi-published author, Lisa Amstutz, offers a helpful post for writers who are trying to traditionally publish their first book and experience long periods of time waiting for answers.
[Let me interject that published authors wait, too. In fact, I double dare you to find a published author that doesn't!] Remember Newton's first law, "...a body in motion stays in motion?" It was meant to describe a physics concept but it also applies to writers -- pre-published and published. We must keep moving toward our goals. Lisa helps us realize there are many ways to augment the goal of debut and sharpen our skills and connections in the process. In an effort to most effectively attend to current clients, I am closing to new bookings until November 1 at least. Please check back in for more information. Thanks for your patience.
 Now that the doors on my consulting business have been open a couple of months, I'm hearing similar questions from clients and potential clients. I'll tackle them here over the next few weeks.
FAQ 1: How many queries can I send? Answer: When I hear this question, I immediately see a vat of overcooked spaghetti being thrown against a wall. In other words, this is not the right question. The question should be, "How do I find agents whose interests fit mine and whose interests fit my projects?" Depending upon your interests and your projects, you may find one agent who fits or 10. No matter the number, this alignment gives you the best chance of success in finding your match. And, if you come to me after sending out 75 queries, it becomes very, very difficult, nigh, improbable that we can align the right project/s with the right agent. Save your spaghetti for pasta night.  Many people believe they can "write a children's book" on Thursday and "get an agent" on Friday. In this post on author Jaclyn Kruzie's blog, multi-published author Nancy Churnin does a wonderful job of describing how this is not the case. At all.
Of course, everyone's journey to publication and representation is different but this post is worth a read as a way to learn about the possible steps involved and the many resources available to writers. Want an agent? Roll up your sleeves, my friend. Recently, a client who is working through the stages of my Find Me an Agent Match, Please service shared that fear gets in her way of submitting. When we discussed it further, she and I were both surprised to learn she did not have a fear of failure; she had a fear of success. It took some time to peel back the layers of this fear but she was open to learning why she, a grammarian at heart, sent out query letters with glaring sentence construction mistakes and obvious typos. She had even made the unforgivable error of addressing a query to "Mr. X" when it was directed to "Ms. X." Although her projects were ready for submission, she wasn't. When I asked her what success looked like to her, she described a fairly dramatic scenario where she'd be on the road most of the time promoting at book fairs and presenting at book signings and school visits. Although this was exciting, it was daunting because she is a single mom of two children and because public speaking gave her the heebie-jeebies. We discussed how this scenario might actually play out. She realized she could say yes to people who had offered to help. She could find a balance between home and book life. And, she could send out submissions that reflected her years of work, talent, and her promise as an author. Is fear of success -- or failure -- getting in your way? Take some reflection time and see if you can let it go. Your future is waiting.   Janie Reinart over at GROG posted about creating our personal mission statement. This exercise seems like it could be a bit "woo-woo" but that couldn't be further from the truth. Following our path starts from knowing where we want to go.
Here is my mission statement: to write stories that help children understand the world and their place in it, to exemplify a supportive, professional perspective, and to provide leadership and connection within the children’s literature community. It's a little wordy but it works for me. If you don't have a personal mission statement YET, take a couple of minutes to read Janine's post. Create your statement. Then post it on GROG and here, too. Okay? That makes it real. Remember, we can change our mission statements as our perspective changes. And it's not graded or judged. This work is all for you. Go on a mission. Yours. I follow agent Jessica Sinsheimer on Twitter and she offered this great behind-the-agent- curtain look at why (most) agents don't give feedback (very often). (Parentheses are my own. Some agents do give feedback and some give it occasionally, but I certainly understand the spirit of Jessica's thread.)
Disclaimers: Settle in. This will take a bit to read but it's important for understanding the industry so it's worth it. And, forgive the wonky formatting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jessica Sinsheimer @jsinsheim Ravenous reader, lazy gourmet, literary agent + cheese-obsessed human. Co-creator of #PubTalkTV, #MSWL, Manuscript Wish List® + http://ManuscriptAcademy.com/welcome New York, NY ManuscriptWishList.com Joined April 2011 Jessica Sinsheimer @jsinsheim So it's very common for writers to ask why agents don't give feedback. The answer, usually, is that we're busy--but that's hard to grasp on a concrete level. Today, the lovely and talented @BenFaulknerEd mentioned reading tons, and out of curiosity, I did the math to compare.
 I recently found Tim Fargo on Twitter and appreciate that almost all the quotes he shares resonate with me. This one by Abe spoke to an issue that rumbles around in the picture book creating community: how to move your manuscript from "it's good" to "I'm taking this to acquisition."
Even though (or maybe because) we are living in what some industry experts call a golden age of picture books, competition for space on publishers' lists is fierce. We've seen a rise in sales, a corresponding rise in publisher interest, and deeper conversations about picture books as an important form of literature. All of these factors have contributed to more submissions in the pipeline. So how do we make our manuscripts stand out? Moving a manuscript from good to sold takes a lot of axe sharpening. First, we have to start with an effective manuscript (carefully considered, fresh in concept, revised with a critique group as far as you think is possible). Then, the real work begins. Sharpen: if you don't have an agent or even if you do, consider paying for a critique from an industry expert who sells or publishes what you write. [If you need help finding an editorial resource or agent, reach out.] Sharpen further: try the suggested revision even if you don't think it will work and/or improve the manuscript. Copy the manuscript into a new file called, "It will never work" and just try it. Do NOT dig in your heels at this stage thinking you've already done enough work on this manuscript. The revision that moves the work to acquisition might be next! Transparency alert: this stage is my cryptonite. I certainly recognize the value and I do it, but I start out looking like Grumpy Cat's identical twin. Sharpen even futher: read the manuscript to a new crop of target audience members. I'm not talking about your writer friends, your family, or your trusted beta readers. (What?! You aren't reading the manuscript to your target audience? Gong!) Notice where their sweet little eyes wander (ooops, need a revision there!) and where their happy little faces engage (huzzah!) Sharpen even furtherest: compare your latest version to the published book(s) closest in feel, theme, style, etc. to what you want your published book to be. (What?!? You haven't looked for comp titles? Gong!) Really dissect that comp title. Type it out in pages, study it, tape yourself reading it aloud and listen to it. Where do you engage? Lose interest? Revise accordingly. Is your axe as sharp as it can possibly be? If so, your manuscript might be ready to submit. [If you need help, let me know.] Feel free to share other sharpening techniques, too. We all learn from each other. |