Hi everyone!

Post any question you would like to ask an agent here. Thanks! 

Janet

Do agents who represent historical fiction typically represent historical adventure fiction?  (Particularly non-YA swashbucklers.)  From what I've seen from agents who represent historical fiction, the works they tout on their websites are mostly romances and dramas.  Most of the agents I've come across who represent historical adventure fiction specifically are only interested if it's YA. 

Am I just finding the wrong HF agents, or should I be looking to market to agents who represent thrillers instead? 

--edited by Ian Nathaniel Cohen on 7/1/2014, 4:37 PM--

My book is a piece of arch humor, flamboyant in style and quasi-historical in substance. It is not a neat, known genre. I am looking for advice on who might be likely to consider a character-driven goofball adventure with literary inclinations. Does such a service exist?

--edited by Mimi Speike on 7/2/2014, 9:16 PM--

Not too many folks are jumping in here, so I don’t feel too bad about asking another question.

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My thing is odd. (Tristram Shandy meets Beatrix Potter begins to describe it.) I'm a graphic artist. I'll try to court interest with visuals. I will create a paper-doll of my wise-guy Elizabethan cat, with a blurb on the back, like they did on early advertising, to mail to agents, publishers, etc. Do you think this strategy might get me a look-at?

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Hey! Animals In Pants! That’s my genre! A venerable one it is, too. Paper-dolls of my smart-cookie critters have to be a part of my fun. I insist on it. I am an antique-paper-toy collector, and full of ideas.

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Anyone sick of hearing from me? Get your asses in gear. The Lord, or else the Flying Spaghetti Monster, my deity of choice, helps those who help themselves. So I've heard.

--edited by Mimi Speike on 7/4/2014, 12:33 AM--

Are agents becoming interested in representing non-traditional, that is to say, independent or self-published works?

If so, what could an author expect from them?

Kindly,

Robin

I have never queried. What is the etiquette? (Simultaneous approaches, waiting periods, etc.)

.

--edited by Mimi Speike on 7/4/2014, 11:35 PM--

We just posted Part I of our "Ask an Agent" blog series! See if Lucy Carson answered your question! 

Next week, we will have another "Ask an Agent," so keep your questions coming.

Janet

Hi,

I've self-published three novels, going back to 2008, and my books have been a Spur winner and a Spur finalist. I realize that an agent's job is changing and everyone has a different approach. But I'd still like to ask: What can an agent do for a self-published author that I can't do for myself?

Carol

My Ask an Agent question:

In today's market authors are very involved with promoting their work via Twitter and Facebook.  When looking over a query, do agents look at the author too and evaluate their networks?  Does this have any weight?

Some of the best, catchiest writing in my book is a bit of an amble in--the kind of thing that could be broken out and submitted around as a short story, but does not work as an opening chapter. When querying an agent, is it ever okay to submit work that is not from the first three chapters/first fifty pages? If this is ever okay, is it smart to highlight what you've done? 

Additionally, are comps always necessarily "imagine Author #1 written by Author #2" format? Might one advise referring to extraliterary genres or media, such as visual arts or music? 

Finally: say you've achieved little public attention in your book's genre, but you've worked writing journalism, grant proposals, or other technical or nonliterary work: best to mention in your brief query letter bio, or excise? 

Thanks very much.

Best,

Brian

I have read that Kirkus was sold, and that it now offers reviews for a fee. Are those reviews of the same integrity as the ones prepared for their catalog? Does the name Kirkus mean what it did? I should think that a good review from them would be a powerful marketing tool. Do you agree?

--edited by Mimi Speike on 7/12/2014, 12:13 AM--

Hi,

I had done a couple of rounds of querying agents a couple of years ago. I admit, the books (I wrote a science fiction trilogy; I'm not a published fiction author) weren't really ready for prime time then. I've been doing a lot of rewriting and revising and just good ol'fashioned editing and am wondering if it's okay to re-query agents I had approached in the past.

Thanks!

Assuming the query letter generates your interest and the writing is strong enough in the chapters you see (and yes, that's a big assumption ), what kind of things do you look for in the writer? Or is the writer somewhat irrelevant when it comes to closing the deal with the publisher?

Hi everyone!

Part II of 'Ask an Agent' is up! Literary agent Melissa Sarver White answered your questions about the verbal pitch, query etiquette, how to query a book if you've self-published before, and what the AAR means for authors. 

Janet

I am trying to create a short pitch. In my piece, nuts-and-bolts plot is secondary. Arch humor is key. My bare-bones summary would be: A know-it-all cat cavorts through loony episodes on a grand tour of an alternative history sixteenth century Europe. Not too compelling, I fear.  

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How about: Sly! - starring Sylvester Boots, a wise-cracking Elizabethan cat - is a flamboyant chronicle of quasi-historical skullduggery. The focus is on extravagant characterization that exploits and embellishes human foibles. Is this useful?  Or does a pitch consist of who/what/where/when/that's it?

--edited by Mimi Speike on 7/23/2014, 6:50 PM--

We are launching our Ask an Editor series in August. Submit questions in the discussion board: Book Country Ask an Editor Blog Series. 

Janet