Submissions - Page 7

Dear Merrily…

Tell them. Knowing you had an agent before can give weight to your query—it means you’ve caught someone’s eye once before. My agent, Erin Murphy of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency, says that while agent reactions can vary, she isn’t put off to learn someone had a previous agent. But she doesn’t dig the term “creative differences.” Erin says, “Much as I know agents and writers part ways for many reasons having nothing to do with either of them being troublemakers, of course there is always a tiny voice wondering why things didn’t work out with that agent, and that phrase sounds more of an alarm than many explanations; I immediately begin to suspect that this writer doesn’t like to listen to guidance. Something like ‘differing opinions about which direction to take my writing next’ sounds less ominous to my ear—it essentially means the same thing but can be taken as ‘that agent wanted me to write to a particular market and my muse wouldn’t cooperate,’ which I’m sympathetic to.” In the initial query, though, something like this will do you just fine: “In November 2009 I amicably parted ways with my agent of three years and I am now seeking new representation.” There are other factors, of course. Did the other agent sell anything? How widely circulated were the manuscripts? Is there any new material that the agent had not sent out, which would give a new agent space to build from? But you can get into that later, after this new agent has nibbled.

Happy writing!

The Editor

Dear Losing Hope…

Back up a step. 10 requests for the full ms? You’ve obviously got an effective query letter and an intriguing concept. Huge! Already, two reasons to hang onto Hope. A third reason: Even if an agent is being nice while rejecting, “loved” and “fantastic” are strong words that are easily avoided, so I’m willing to bet that your narrative voice is, indeed, well crafted. Those are reasons enough to get that chin of yours back up and keep at this. 10 rejections suggest something could be stronger in the ms; you’d do well to get it professionally critiqued or join a critique group to try to identify areas of weakness. But it may just be that you haven’t found the right “chemistry” yet between agent and manuscript. Agents hope for that inexplicable attraction every day, which could be why the agent in question asked to see your full ms despite hints of similarity with a client’s work. If she’s repping something similar, clearly she likes that type of material and you picked your submission target well. Hey, reason-to-be-hopeful #4! You’re on a roll. Don’t stop now.

Happy writing!

The Editor

Dear Kathy…

On the contrary, I recommend you pursue young editors and agents at full speed because they are often in high list-building mode. That means they’re more likely than those long in the tooth to fly around the nation for smaller events like writing chapters’ Agent/Editor Days, making them more accessible to submitting authors, and they are more likely to offer an ‘open call’ for submissions when they get there. They are also more willing to work through a round or two of revision on a promising project. And very importantly, in almost every case these young’uns have deeply experienced mentors hovering in the background. Mentoring is a big thing in the ranks of literary professionals, and that, coupled with youthful enthusiasm, brings young agents and editors up to speed on the marketplace and their craft very quickly. These ‘kids’ are hungry, driven, and acquiring; does it get any better than that? If you have an opportunity to connect with an editor or agent, forget about your abundance of gray hairs and their lack thereof. It’s about the books, always.

Happy writing!

The Editor

Dear Kelly…

Absolutely include it. The prologue is the beginning of your story. It’s the first thing your readers will set eyes on when they open the book, so it should be the first thing your agent sets eyes on when s/he opens the manuscript. You decided to launch the story with a prologue for a reason–it sets up a mood, maybe, or provides a vital plot tease before readers plunge into the main story. If you can omit it easily, I question its use in your manuscript at all. A prologue is your introductory handshake with your readers; extend that same hand to your potential agent.

Happy writing!

The Editor