Researching Literary Agents - It's Never Too Soon

Reading all my favorite writer's blogs, and your comments at this site, I notice that many of you are looking forward to the agent search when your book is finished. In fact, it's never too soon to start.

The process of deciding what tack you'll take, what agent query site, doesn't start when you've decided your work is ready - it starts now, because it takes a long time to vet each agent.

Here's my method, just to get you started. You'll soon find out what works best for you and devise different approaches, perhaps.

I used Query Tracker. I asked for results for Women's Fiction, and opted for New York* agents, because I'm only an hour away by air, brightly thinking I'd be handy to the wonderful being who'd committed to represent me, in case they wanted to have a quick coffee, shoot the breeze.

The truth is, many writers never meet their agents. Just about everything is done online now, and sitting down face-to-face is probably long gone. We all know that agents are busy, busy people, and I doubt they could manage regular meetings with their writers without seriously disrupting their attempts to find new ones. (However, if you make them heaps of money, I'm pretty sure they'll at least have a coffee with you.)

*Originally, I did research British agents, as Hafan Deg's setting is divided almost equally between Britain and Australia, but so few of them take email submissions - old-school traditionalists that they are. I managed to find only two who appealed to me, one of whom took me on, but that was late, late, in my querying, the submission almost an afterthought.

Once Query Tracker gave me my list of choices, those who didn't take email submissions were marked 'Disregard'. Perhaps I missed out on some great ones, but I have neither the time nor inclination to be running to the post office with hard copy. If things got desperate later, I could always return to them.

From the reduced list, I read the comments left by other Query Tracker users. It doesn't take long to skim down and see whether or not an agent is efficient in responding, or prone to losing manuscripts, etc. More 'Disregards'.

With the remaining list, I then looked more closely at each agent. I checked what their response stats were, what other writing sites like Publishers' Market had on them (linked from the agent page). If things looked reasonable, I went to their website.

This is where the real stuff is - their clients, perhaps (not always), to see what books they've handled and if yours is a good fit; their reading likes and dislikes; their personal genre favorites; their agenting style - warm and friendly, or cold and intimidating. I made notes here (on the site page) to be used in my query for that personal touch. More agents were marked 'Disregard' at this point.

The website is also where you examine their Submission Guidelines. It would be great if agents could agree on an industry standard - where all accepted a brief query letter, one-page synopsis, and first three chapters - or even just five pages - to see your actual writing, but they don't. Each one has his or her own set of rules.

The one-page query is mystifying. What can really be assessed there? How can the quality of your unique book be judged by a few paragraphs? I sent nine of them, of course, receiving just one request for a partial, and NO responses to the others. If you go this route, you'd better have a magical letter. I thought mine was perfect...

In many cases, when I came across condescending or what I called Bossy-Britches guidelines - we must do this, and must do that, or off with our heads! - I dropped them from my list. I mean, I'm not a child, and if most agents feel it unnecessary to treat me as one, I don't need to deal with those who do.

Once my list was more or less complete, I added them to My Query List. I began Googling them for their blog sites, to get a closer understanding of them, and more personal references for the query letter.

So, out of hundreds of names, I ended up with a list of perhaps 40 that took ages to produce, and even longer to analyze. And that's why you need to start now. Devoting some time to it, when you're taking a break from your writing, will give you a well-considered group to query when you're finally ready. If you're really ambitious, you could do draft emails to each of them, ready to go. You'll have spent so much time with them, perhaps following their blogs, and having articles about them delivered to your Reader, that they will feel almost like friends when you send that email off to them.

Now - your way - your brilliant book is going to just sit, while you mess around with your agent research at the end. Best start now. It's fun. It also could reveal some important points that need to be incorporated into your manuscript.

As to your query letter, that should be done and dusted. It's been tweaked and polished to a finely-tuned work of art in itself by now, right? Set it up in a draft email. All that's necessary is to pop in those personalized bits. Send one to yourself at your other email site. Pretend you're an agent, opening it.

Interestingly, you'll find that doing these things - having your agents' list, and the query all ready to go - will make you more confident in the writing, even more determined to stick to the schedule you've set for yourself.


By the way, I'm not so egotistical as to think that I am through with querying agents. Strachan's Attic, so close to completion, could be of no interest to the agent I'm signing with for Hafan Deg. And this same agent could well throw in the towel in a few months, if he can't find an editor for the first one. So I'm keeping my list up-to-date. Things happen. I'm always a realist.


I know my stats are of less importance now, as Hafan Deg's been picked up, but would you believe that an agent I really liked, who had my Partial, finally asked for a full submission? It hurt to have to turn her down, but a Full doesn't guarantee an offer, and I'm committed to signing with my new agent as soon as the paperwork arrives. One thing that came out of it - I now have her direct email address for anything else I'd like to submit to her in the future (she found my writing 'lovely'). This means not having to go through the usual crowded portal with other queriers, if I do need her down the road.

I'm on another hot-hot roll with Strachan - 11,000 words over the last four days, 80% finished, and not wanting to stop. It won't be long now.

That last wistful comment, incidentally, recurs throughout the novel, used as it was by so many waiting for World War II to come to an end.

Milestones - Michael's Gone

I know exactly where I was when John F. Kennedy died. I remember the Moon Landing, John Lennon's death, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of Apartheid, the introduction of the first personal computer, the cell phone, the internet - and many other events that have had an impact on all of our lives, one way or another.

Michael Jackson's death yesterday marks another milestone. I have neither the expertise nor enough personal knowledge to comment on his life, but I liked him, love his music, and had followed him since the beginning. This extraordinary talent was central to our days, whether we cared for him or not. He was there. He could not be ignored.

I'm saddened that he didn't have the opportunity to renew himself with the planned 2010 Tour. They are saying now that preparations for this perhaps contributed to his death. His public life was too much for one man, his private life too tortured.

I remember his dear little face when he first came on the music scene. That's how I'd like to remember him.

Renewed Writing Vitality - That's What Friends Are For

Well, I've reviewed the agency's contract, and now the hard copy should be winging its way to me for signature. According to Malinda Lo, things are then largely out of my hands, and I should just get on with the next book. Her blog on how she got published is a good one, and, whether you're at that stage, or dreaming about it, you must read it.

I had mentioned to the agent that my other novel, Strachan's Attic, was close to completion, and they now have a synopsis and 30 pages to consider. They pointed out that most publishers prefer writers with more than one book, to prove they aren't that hackneyed "one-book wonder". Naturally, I hope they'll want it, too, but it's a totally different book, quite unlike Hafan Deg, and nothing is guaranteed.

Did my news of this past weekend make you sit up and take notice? I think so, by the number of comments. Are you now more determined than ever to get your own book picked up? You'd better be.

Melissa, of Grosvenor Square, told me that she was spurred on when I mentioned publishers' preferences for more than one book, and now really would be getting down to it. We've been exchanging critiques lately, and I think of her as my writing buddy. Considering that Melissa has already finished three novels (!) and is working on her fourth, she's almost home and dry, in my eyes. Although her prolific output is impressive, her writing is even more phenomenal. Now if she can just snag that agent...

Casey's blog, Literary Rambles has been featuring the querying process lately, and there are some good things there. She also had a good post she picked up from Query Tracker on researching agents that I thought you should look at. Again, although you know these things, it's a clarion call to getting the query process right, and it can't hurt to revisit the topic.

So, are you now looking at your own work with renewed vitality? I want that for you. We know the writing is the most important thing, but getting an agent, possibly publication, would make it all so valid, wouldn't it? All those solitary hours of frowning, weeping, laughing over your words would finally be rewarded publicly. Are you feeling that?

I've calmed down now, and will get back to Chapter 24 of Strachan's Attic today. Poor Strachan and the others were left dangling at a crucial point of the story last week, because I just couldn't get my head around this Agent Found thing.

Thanks to all of you for your good wishes - you commented and emailed - even Etsy artists from my art blog. It was quite overwhelming. But, after all, to quote the song - 'That's What Friends Are For', I guess.

“You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing...By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows, anyone's life can stand a little of that."
- Charlotte, 'Charlotte's Web' —E. B. White (1899-1985); author.

On Finally Securing an Agent, and Coming Back to Earth.

I had a range of reactions to getting that 'Yes!' from the British agent this weekend: disbelief, shock, joy, doubt, suspicion, then joy again. I did little writing, which was to be expected considering how out of things I felt. This morning I am accepting and grateful, now the adrenaline has worn off. I've apparently cleared the penultimate hurdle in this writer's foot race, but it has left me tired, as I slowly flutter back to earth today.

Although I did my usual snoop around, prior to sending off my query to them, I've since done even more homework on the company, and have found nothing negative. It's a relatively small outfit, with an equally smallish list of clients. This is possibly why they take such a personal approach with their queries. On their submission site, they are encouraging, warm and humorous - no drill sergeant orders here. I showed a snippet of their guidelines on May 29, in case you missed it. I certainly was getting impatient with being addressed like a wayward child on some of those other agency pages - in fact, I didn't query agents whose wording was overly demanding or patronizing.

All I have to do now is sign the agency agreement, assuming I like their terms. Practical as ever, I believe it's never over 'til it's over. The final hurdle will be their success in finding a publisher. And that's a whole new challenge in the race, akin to marathon runners 'hitting the wall', as they put it, but who's going to give up now, so close to the winner's line?


Anne Mini of Author!, Author! (left side bar under Helpful Sites) has a wealth of information - I mention her a lot, because she's so good. She's covered just about every question the unpublished writer could ask. Here's a paragraph on rejection that I'd like to share:

"The important thing to bear in mind is that at the query or pitching stage, the book could not possibly have been rejected because the manuscript was poorly written . The query might have been rejected for that reason, naturally, but it’s logically impossible for an agent to pass judgment on a manuscript’s writing quality without reading it."

So my suggestion to you today, if you're not quite convinced your query is the best it could be, or your automatic rejects are coming at you fast and furiously, give that vital letter an overhaul. Check out Anne's site and all those others offering tips.

Right now, with each query, you're standing outside the agent's door, your email 'send' button is your foot inching around the door, but your fascinating query is the only thing that's going to fling that door wide open. Once it's open, you'd better have a fantastic manuscript to follow up with. And I know you do.

Go get 'em!

 

I Have An Agent!

Okay, guys, it's Saturday, not my usual day for blogging, but I had to tell you what happened this morning.

I opened an email from the British agent who had requested the full manuscript for Hafan Deg. Ho hum, I thought, as I saw the opening line,

"Thank you for your full submission which I have now had the opportunity to read in full."

This is where I expected to see "However, I regret that we are unable to offer..."

But then, what came next, well, it hit me in the stomach!

"I thoroughly enjoyed the whole story and couldn't put it down, which is always a good sign for me. Without making any guarantees as to publication, we would like to present your manuscript to a number of publishers for their consideration".

For all of you who have traveled this querying path with me, you know how I'm feeling right now. I thought I was Ms Cool about the rejections, but I sure as heck wasn't about an acceptance!

They've suggested some very minor alterations to the structure - I mean, minor: several scattered back story references that they'd like as one chapter being the biggest one. A few paragraph deletions here and there. Naturally (what else is new?), there are some minor typos (that Typo Imp even managed to get through to the agent!) but, with the amazing current technology, a clear, editorially-marked manuscript ready for me to take action on, I should have it done in no time. In the olden days, from whence I came, this would have taken weeks!

Then all they have to face is the long haul (as they put it) to publishers, but I'm not even going to think about that. My little orphan Hafan Deg has come in from the cold, at last.

Thanks to all of my blogging friends who have followed me this far. You were always there for me when I needed advice or reassurance.

And now I have another friend. He's my agent.

How cool are those words!

 

Writing chronologically your thing, or being bold with back-insertions?

I understand that movies are shot out of sequence, perhaps not all, but definitely some. I have no idea why this happens, other than obvious things. Outside shooting would require the right weather; the actor needs to lose weight within the film (Cast Away's ending was shot at the beginning - it was easier for Tom Hanks to get really thin before the start of production, then take time off to bulk up for the early scenes); the director's preference; and other reasons beyond my knowledge.

It must be one of the greatest challenges of movie acting (other than the boring time sitting around between takes) with things so disjointed and each day's shooting unrelated to that of the day before. I really admire film editors, too, who give us the final product.

In Belle's blog recently, she expressed her dislike of writing out of sequence, the disjointedness of it. I'd never considered my feelings on it, but I've always done it. Long after I've completed chapters, an idea will pop up that simply has to be expressed in Chapter 2, or an event in Chapter 20 needs a reference to it in Chapter 10. In fact, I write about a quarter of the book, I'm guessing, out of sequence. I've inserted great chunks of dialogue into beginning sections, because I suddenly want to introduce some new event now, in this later piece of writing, and it needs an earlier clue. I imagine that all mystery writers must do this.

In a way, it's the opposite of revision, where we must remove irrelevant passages (despite how damned good they are). Just as I take out brilliantly conceived paragraphs, or even whole pages, I also need to insert things.

I'm surprised that writers would have a different take on this; I assumed everyone worked the way I do. I guess it could be perceived as scattered thinking, but life is scattered, when you think about it. We go along day-to-day, and things from our past unexpectedly come rushing in at us; events long-gone now intrude; memories temporarily blot out our present; a casual conversation reveals an unknown snippet of history that totally changes our view of someone or something. So it is with my writing.

In fact, during the writing process - not the "ass applied to the seat" work, but the internal writing, while I'm doing housework, walking, whatever - I am rarely thinking about the future content, other than the basic plot outline. I'm analyzing what's happened previously. Did he really say that in the right tone? Would she have done this willingly? Should she have spoken to him first, before acting on it?

Whatever method we use, it makes no difference to the final outcome, as long as we're enjoying the writing process - all of it. I don't like to hear that people are agonizing over their work. Of course it's brain-taxing, and often emotionally-draining, but it should always be a joy. It's temporarily painful to remove some of your brilliant words during revision, but I believe there should be nothing but love involved in adding to the original work. No tortured writer here.


A rather chicken-pecking word count yesterday - just 1600 words. They resented being put on the page, but are thankfully satisfying to read. It happens sometimes, doesn't it? The little writing muse tells us to back off a bit, take it easy. But I prefer Tally-ho! writing, the Boadicea approach. I have a feeling it will be back this weekend.

No changes to my stats this week. Still 9 Pending, 1 Partial, 1 Full, 10 No Response, 12 Rejections, for a total of 33 queries for Hafan Deg, my orphan in agent-land.

Have a good weekend, and - if you're lucky enough to have him in your life - show Dad you love him.

 

How do you write? Fast or slow?

I finished another 2200 words over the past two days, bringing me very close (I keep saying that!) to my cut-off point for the World War II memoir-within-the-novel, prior to concentrating only on present day events.

Bonnie commented that she can't write so quickly, but needs to analyze each and every word. We all have our own methods. I can't work slowly, or interrupt my flow, as I mentioned in another blog. If my writing isn't moving like a torrent, I become irritable. For me, revision can only come after those exuberant words have been poured out onto the pages en masse.

There is an excitement during this period and I barely take a break, needing to get back to it. I revise after about an hour's work, it seems, although I certainly don't time myself. This is a quick revision for obvious errors and to get a clear feel for the structure, but I don't spend too much time at it, because I don't want to spoil that zone I'm in. I then get back to the actual writing, and then revise, and so on, again and again, including the earlier sections I've already dealt with during this session.

After about four hours of this, usually by the end of a chapter, I'll do a more thorough, more or less final revision. Then I start pecking around like a chicken, finding a better word, refining a phrase or a sentence, and correcting typoes. This is slow work, as all of you know, but it's the only time I am slow.

After that, I send the whole thing to my Yola site, suitably re-fonted for readability online. At this point, it gets edited again, because errors pop out with the larger font I use there. It's then ready for those of you who are reading it online to catch up with Strachan's adventures.

Once this manuscript is complete, I'll then revise, revise, revise, for the almost final version, print it off, and edit the hard copy completely. That stage could take weeks, or months. I've been doing so well with this particular book (it wasn't so easy with Hafan Deg, for some reason) that I'm making an assumption that the revision work will not take too long at the end, because I'm very satisfied with what's complete now. I may well add more segments on the War, because I keep coming up with new anecdotes that would just add that extra something, but, at the same time, I need to keep an eye on my word count. The last thing I need at the conclusion of the work, is to have to go back and chop major sections out because I've written too much.

Were I well-published, selling, receiving some critical interest, I could easily produce 150,000 words, but lacking that stature means I must stick close to 95,000 if I want an agent to consider me. They don't like flogging new work to publishers if the work is too long. (Something to do with their costing/revenue projections, I think.)

On days when I have few other household, art blog, or online reading demands, I write at my computer from early morning and, if the buzz is in me, will work right through until dinner time, when my cats start bugging me for food. I more or less work office hours, and this suits me. I am still writing in my head long after I've switched off the computer, of course, which makes for little piles of notes on the coffee table, scribbled out when I'm meant to be following the news, or a movie. It's really hard not to go back to the computer sometimes, and I have to be very firm with myself. I guess some of you might think this is a bit obsessive, this work routine, but it's a huge joy for me, having the time to devote to it.

I've freelanced for years, working from home for other people, and I made the decision when I came to Brighton, this quiet, not too exciting (but cheap!) town, that I'd do MY stuff, be it painting or writing. Of course, the writing is the clear winner at this point.

We want to be published, need it for some vain proof that our work has substance, that it could somehow move people who read it. But that's not the reason we write. Ultimately, this need that we have, this drive, goes beyond public recognition. It's simply necessary for ourselves. We are, in fact, in love with it.

 

Querying Two Novels - How tricky is that?

I wrote over two chapters this weekend (6,600 words) in my effort to move my main protagonist, Strachan, permanently back to the modern world. She doesn't want to go, so I'm stuck in the 40s for a little longer. I remind you that I am at the mercy of my characters. This week is crunch time. Who's the Momma here?

Soon, probably by fall, I should be querying agents for two novels. You can't query them together, because they don't want to know about your second until they've sold the first, but it makes life a little easier for me, this round. I've researched and approached so many agents, that it will be relatively easy to identify the true possibilities. I know who doesn't respond at all (a bit rude, I think - the bottom of my list), and the tone and substance of rejections, so the most approachable will be at the top.

But what if you sent out one book to a new agent on your list who hated it, when she might have loved the second? I suppose, depending on the quality of her rejection, you simply shoot back a second query, saying something like, "Well, I do have this other one, by the way, which could be more your style..." I mean, you've established contact, right? That's one of our biggest challenges.

I know a lot of you have written more than one book, yet to be picked up. How do you deal with it? Or, if you're in the same boat as I am, how will you deal with it, when the time comes.

As it is now, I end my query letter with, "This is my second novel. The first is currently being revised." So far, no one has sent a rejection with the postcript, "Oh, do send us details on your other book when it's ready, as perhaps we'll like that one much better."

We writers are an over-imaginative lot, aren't we?

Manuscript Analysis and a Voice for Your Words

I've completed just 1800 words since Wednesday. My writing process for those few pages was unusual for me. I did a page, and then needed a break. An hour later, I went back and did another page, and so on over an eight-hour period. For the life of me, I can't think what was behind this odd, broken word flow, but I hope it doesn't happen too often; I can't work that way. If my fingers don't fly for a sustained period, about three hours, I lose all interest.

So many of you commented about my full manuscript request, and it was lovely to hear from you all. I could feel your excitement for me, and understand that it brings everything we're pursuing more sharply into focus when one of us has this kind of news. I don't want you to get your hopes up for me too much, however. I mean, it's bad enough that I could have to deal with a rejection on it, but I certainly wouldn't want to spoil those positive aspirations for your own work. Let's simply be optimistic about it, keep ourselves on an even keel, and just wait and see.


Grammbo has this useful post at The Bookshelf Muse dedicated to manuscript analysis and it's an interesting read. We all have doubts about our work from time to time. They come from out of the blue, for no reason I can thing of (other than to get rid of any arrogant tendencies, and to fill us with humility). This blog makes some not-so-obvious points about possible writing flaws that could wound our darlings.

Darcy Pattison at Revision Notes is always coming up with useful advice. I've incorporated many of her suggestions into my own work, both literary and technical. Her latest must-try is this text-to-voice site. We know we should all be reading our work out loud. This is essential. But our own voice is so familiar, and it's good to hear someone else speak the words back to us. Natural Reader has a free download, and the voice is wonderfully robotic, like Hal in 2001, a Space Odyssey, when his power packs were being removed - remember? But if you can put up with that, it's a good exercise. "Hal" doesn't seem to read more than a couple of paragraphs at a time, so you have to constantly click on the next passage for him, but, if nothing else, it's fun.


There's a new listing in my Submission Stats. Those queries sent out more than three months ago, with no response to date, are now separate from the possibles. Today's Stats are as follows: No Response 10, Pending 9, Partials 1, Full 1, Rejections 12, for a total of 33.


I intend to finish the first section of my book this weekend, the part that involves World War II England. You already know that I'm sad to do this, but at the same time I'll be more or less permanently back in today's world, without the emotional ups and downs that earlier time gives me as I write about it. My Toronto protagonist is about to enter a brand new stage of her life. It will be like starting a new book!

Have a great weekend!

Another Full Request - British Agent!

Hafan Deg, the novel that's currently out there, poor orphan, in agent land, is set mainly in Wales and Australia. I would have preferred dealing with a London agent for it, believing they would somehow relate to the work more easily, but most British agents seem to detest email submissions, and I'm darned if I want to be running to the post office on a regular basis, especially as it costs. So I concentrated on New York, with only two queries sent to London.

I am delighted to announce that I had a request for the full manuscript yesterday, from a London agent. It's silly, but this pleases me enormously - not just the full request, which is amazing in itself - but I was born there, and my roots are there, despite years of living as an ex-pat. It's only fitting that my novel, which is probably 25% autobiographical, should go home.

This is the second Full request I've had, and I'll try to remain as practical about it as I can. I've been very cool about this whole submission business, haven't I? You know that from my philosophical blogs. If it happens, it happens. If it's good, it will sell. If it doesn't sell, I'll keep writing regardless. You've seen all that.

Then what the hell was that about yesterday, when I opened this agent's email, figuring it for another rejection? I burst into tears, didn't I? Only for a minute, mind, because I would have made the keyboard wet, but long enough to worry the cats.

My excuse is that I've been a bit emotional lately, what with the World War II events in Strachan's Attic (and the D-Day anniversary marathon TV viewing last weekend), and probably needed that good old-fashioned female response. But deep down I'm wondering if I'm as cool as I thought I was. We writers are only human, after all, agent-fail comments to the contrary.


I've written just one chapter of Strachan's Attic since Friday, or 2,600 words. I'm working in two time frames and locales, modern day Canada and 40's Britain, and the story is a fascinating but complicated ride. In some unconscious way, I think I'm delaying this portion of the book because within the next 5,000 words, I believe, I'll be dealing only with modern day events. I'm seriously going to miss my 40's characters.

Because my basic plot and the last line of the book (I always come up with that first with my novels) is already firm in my mind, it's where the characters will take it that's the unknown factor. This draft was based on a much earlier book but it's changed so much that my original agent wouldn't recognize it. It's the book I should have written the first time around, but didn't, and then I revised it for her, and basically screwed it up even more. I didn't believe in it after the changes, and neither, in the end, did she.

If you lose your passion for the work, you should put it firmly aside and let it ferment a little longer, and then try again. Strachan's story has been fermenting for a long time, and should be ready for decanting this time. I'm loving every minute of this total re-write, although it's taken me far longer that I'd expected, because my characters took over and I surrendered control to them. This time, however, aside from the sheer slog of writing, I am having a huge amount of fun.