Aspiring authors — read this link!
Sunday, Aug 5th, 2007 @ 10:10 am
Writer Marcus Sakey gives a great summary of how to write a query and land a literary agent:
http://killeryear.wordpress.com/2007/08/02/the-query-go-round/
8 Responses to “Aspiring authors — read this link!”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
August 5th, 2007 @ 11:52 am |
You know, I guess if they didn’t make it as hard as it is to get an agent, then everyone would be doing it, right? Isn’t that always what people say? “The harder you work, the greater the reward…” and so on…?
Haha. It just sucks right NOW, as I’m sure you remember from 20 books ago! But, I have faith, and I plan on keeping it as long as necessary… I’ve actually gotten two nibbles through the Maui Writers Conference, which is more than I could have said a month ago! So, keeping fingers crossed… and if you happen upon someone making a virgin sacrifice to the Gods, that would be me…
August 5th, 2007 @ 2:40 pm |
Kyle: the agent search DOES suck, and requires a thick skin. Just remember the immortal words of Commander Taggart: “Never give up! Never surrender!”
August 6th, 2007 @ 12:39 pm |
I’m so used to rejection now, it rolls off my back. I’ve queried lots of agents on several books. I’ve gotten increasingly better response, but still no agent. Someday, though. Someday.
August 6th, 2007 @ 1:00 pm |
Thanks for the encouraging words, JD! Are you a Harry Potter fan? How about Mad-Eye Moody’s “Constant Vigilance!”…? Haha…
Yeah, I’m actually way better at rejection then I thought I would be. It rolls right off my back, too, which is definitely a good thing if we’re going to win this battle! We writers are a strong lot, though, so I think we’ll make it! Keep fightin’ the good fight, Liz!
August 7th, 2007 @ 5:31 am |
It sounds like the most difficult part in a writer’s career comes from getting the ‘right’ agent to sell your books. Do they get a share of commission if the book sells well or head back for another round of printing (can that explain why agents are so picky on the authors they work with)? Or is there any preference in authors to sign ‘a book a year’ contract compared to ‘a book two years’ contract? Since the agent are being attached to more than one authors in similar fields, isn’t it ‘dangerous’ that one’s unpublished script could leak to another? It’d be worse, if the author is new and doesn’t have foothold in the industry.
Well, I went ahead with Harry Potter and I’m just amazed by JK Rowling’s ability to knit all the small subplots so masterfully into her web of ideas, and how she could write the same thing for more than a decade, revealing only bits and pieces of information at a time. I’m just sad Severus Snape died just like that. But it goes back to the questions again, there’ll be no attraction I were to read from book 1 and wait two years for another sequel.
August 7th, 2007 @ 8:46 am |
And I thought I was SUCH a sad geek girl when I collated together a master spreadsheet of agents and publishers - and who their authors were - seems like I was not the only one. Marcus’s sheet is almost identical. Including who will accept e-mail query letters. Here in the UK most folks ask for a partial, but still an excellent tool.
This is an excellent link from a site I had not heard of before.
Many thanks, Ray-Anne
August 7th, 2007 @ 11:38 am |
Hey folks, glad it’s helpful to you!
Terri, to answer your questions, an agent generally gets 15%. Which means that it is in their interest only to accept books they think they can sell, because if it doesn’t move, their work goes unpaid. That’s why the process is tough.
The flip side is that getting an agent is by and large harder than actually selling the manuscript. This is partly because agents are the new gatekeepers of the publishing industry; you really have to have one to sell to a major house. But it’s also because from that point on, selling the book is someone else’s concern. Obviously, you do everything you can to support that effort, but it’s still a significant step back towards the writing side of the spectrum.
As for contracts, sure, if you can write two a year, and a publisher wants to publish two a year, there is an obvious fiscal upside.
That said, for most people, that’s not a route I would recommend. Unless you’re really just wicked fast (I mean J.A. Konrath or Allison Brennan fast) it’s better to take the time you need to write the best book you can. That will make for a larger upside all around.
As for unpublished work “leaking,” it’s simply not a problem. This is a buyer’s market–there are way more manuscripts than there are available deals. There’s just no need to steal them.
And Ray-Anne, I felt like a geek too. But man did it help. Comes a point where it all starts to get jumbled, and having the single document helps immensely.
August 13th, 2007 @ 2:40 pm |
To be honest with you getting an agent is like getting that metal detector, you have a shot at finding the “treasure” which in this case is the selling of your book. Its one reason why you look at the Acknowledgements in authors books as you know that that agent has done a good job rather than certain ones who tend to just grab the money and do the author over. I wont say that it doesnt happen this way any more as I can name an example or two were the Agent got a better deal than the author did however its one good reason to find an Agent that represents more than one author.
Likewise think of the agent search as akin to getting the book written, youve slaved over it for months, youve not just scribbled it and sent it thinking its the best thing since sliced bread. (although some authors would claim just that but its not true) Getting that Agent is just a part of the process that is just as important as getting the script written. Just dont rush it.
Always good to see advice written like this as its a big help to everyone, also good to show that its not a jealously guarded secret.