Submissions - Page 4

Dear Amy…

There’s no need to mention your agent to the publishers if you’re the one doing the researching and submitting. Just have a conversation with your agent about the situation before you proceed. That’s necessary for your professional relationship—and you may need to put something in writing to address language about “next published work” in your agency contract. If the agent still wants to be part of this gig, then work out an agreement for this one book where you do the legwork and the agent makes the contact and negotiates the contract for a smaller percentage of your royalty. I’ve personally seen that scenario, with all parties happy about it. It’s professional and fair to all.

Happy writing!

The Editor

Dear Danielle…

Don’t try to nail “awesome” on the first try. As with a story itself, awesome hooks are built through multiple drafts. Start by drafting a pretend CIP summary line. That’s the utilitarian description of a story that appears in the CIP data on a novel’s copyright page. CIP summaries always state the main character, that character’s situation/conflict/goal, and specific details that distinguish the story from all the others in the library—such as era, age of the protagonist, location, that sort of thing. CIP summaries are bland but good at pinning down the details that give each story its unique context. When you’ve nailed that one key element that really makes your story different from the others in its genre, then you can get funky. Rework the wording to emphasize that core distinguishing element, making it tempting, surprising, or in some way intriguing. You’ve struck “awesome” when you can intrigue your hook reader.

Happy writing!

The Editor

Dear Lisa…

I know you’re up to here with waiting, so here’s the quick answer: three to six months. The longer version: At three months, it’s fair to send a follow-up letter asking about the status of the submission. Do that now if you haven’t already. If you’ve had no reply after six months, consider this a “no deal” and move on. It’s possible you’ll hear back after that, but not likely. Meanwhile, if you haven’t already done so, multiply submit that ms to other agents pronto, noting “multiple submission” in the query letters. No need to keep your future agent waiting on an agent who isn’t replying.

Happy writing!

The Editor

Dear Sara…

This isn’t as complicated as it might seem. Simply explain the situation and let the agents decide. Contact the agent you were referred to and say that So-and-So referred you because he thought you’d be a good match . . . you respect So-and-So’s judgment but must point out that the manuscript is already with Colleague Agent . . . you respect the entire agency and would be honored to be represented by either agent . . . you’ll respect the agency’s decision about which agent should handle the submission. That’s respectful (three times over!), forthright, and appropriate. I was in a similar scenario as an editor, and all it took was a quick phone call, one editor to another, to decide who’d handle the submission. Easy-peasy.

Happy writing!

The Editor

Dear Rosi…

I posed this one directly to agents at this weekend’s ALA Midwinter Conference, and the sentiment is consistent: You can’t explain away the knee-jerk skepticism that a word count “far out of the norm” inspires. Don’t try. DO try to go back to your manuscript and justify the final word count to yourself. Does every scene deserve to be there because it is essential to its chapter’s overall goal? Has minutiae crept in, like writing that your character picks up a glass, walks to the sink, and fills it with water when all you really need to write is that the character took a drink? Are you explaining how the characters move from scene to scene or can you just start a scene with the character already there? Is your language as tight and straightforward as it can be within your chosen style? Can the story be broken into two volumes, as with M. T. Anderson’s Octavian Nothing books (both of which are quite long)? If you honestly feel no shortening is necessary, that you aren’t just being reluctant about “killing your darlings,” then simply state the word count in your query letter and knock their socks off with a killer pitch.

Happy writing!

The Editor