Welcome to Writers Talkback. If you are a new user, your account will have to be approved manually to prevent spam. Please bear with us in the meantime
I sent a query letter to an agent who doesn't accept unsolicited submissions. In his reply he asks for synopsis and 50 pages of ms. No problem. He also asks me to let him know which publishers so far have seen any part of my work. My initial reaction is that I can't see how sending my long list of rejections can enhance my chances of increasing his interesst in representing me. However, if I ignore his request, (impolite to say the least) will he assume that publishers who have seen the work are too numerous to mention?
I'm in a quandry. What would you do?
Comments
I would emphasise that since the submissions to x,x and x publishers the manuscript has had more work done to improve it.
Publishers do reject potentially good books, because it may not have been what they were looking for at the time you submitted, so don't look on their rejections as a sign it is no good.
What do you think?
I can see why you're not keen to give this info, but it doesn't seem unreasonable for the agent to ask. If it's already been rejected by the only people he'd consider showing it to, then there'd be no point in him offering to represent you.
Yes, limit your info to publishers who have seen your work, and as Carol says, mention the work you've done since, even itemising the improvements you've made to prove it without going over the top. Your covering letter will of course state why you want this agent to represent you, perhaps with reference to a book you liked which they represented for another author. A bit of homework required here. This goes down very well, apparently.
Good luck.
Good luck.
War of the Worlds: H.G Wells, The time Machine was also rejected.
Animal Farm: George Orwell.
Fahrenheit 451: Ray Bradbury.
Dune: Frank Herbert. 23 Rejections.
Carrie: Stephen King. 30 rejections!
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: J.K Rowling was rejected 12 times before Bloombury took it on.
I'd list the places you've tried, it'll make the agent's job easier and they'll like that, as time is money and if you ain't earning, neither are they.
To the tune of (then) Books 1 2 and 3's millions, that was one understated reply!
To the tune of (then) Books 1 2 and 3's millions, that was one understated reply! [/quote]
Aha - perhaps you should have added "Not omniscient then ?" but you maybe too nice to say it !
If you look at it logically,
'what? a book about a boy wizard? what rubbish. send it back.'
You can hear it, if you shut out the HP hype that has gone on since ... ignoring the books, as I have, you can look dispassionately at it and say but of course it was rejected. As with my books, it needed to be read by someone with a certain degree of imagination and the nerve to take on something different, and that is not found in every agency, more's the pity, or we would have more variety on the shelves than we do.
You may be right, Dorothy (you usually are). JKR was finally taken on by Christopher Little (I think it was), who may have seen the germ of the breakthrough her books could become in her mixed up MS, suggested wholesale changes to her and helped her to edit her way to the final version. This is a likely scenario, especially in the light of the fact that some of her later HPs were turgid affairs, double the length they should have been if it was a good story that was wanted. They passed muster, I suppose, because HPs fans wanted much more of the magic, adventures, descriptions, quidditch and all the rest. I think she's overrated.
Jealous? Who, me? ;)
Also - her success came via word of mouth. Childen who read the books (my nephews and neices included) in the early years recommended them to friends and the success grew from that, not from PR, publicity or huge discounting by the publishers, who didn't expect it to do well.
Again - if anyone knows different???
Word of mouth was definitely the shifter!
It's the book buying public that make best sellers, not the publishers or agents.
I don't think that's fair Casey.
No-one knows what is going to be a bestseller. Not agents, not publishers, not booksellers, or even the book buying public.
Agents do know what is happening inside the publishers, and what has a chance of selling. Agents and editors have the ability to pick up some fantastic books. No author became what they are without a fantastic agent and/or publisher.
Debut novels get pulled out of the slush-pile everyday. Just look at our Col, plucked out from the slush pile by a top New York agent. :D
To be fair, Stirling, Col was never in the slush pile. His work was noticed on the TKnC forum and he was invited to send in some of his work - so Nat Sobel was (eagerly) awaiting the work.
Anyone know how the Frankfurt Book Fair went? Col's not said anything ... I'm hoping there is something to be said!
It wasn't commissioned though. More a sophisticated version of the slush pile. He was querying agents at the same time also.