[stylist] Agent questions

Sun Apr 26 23:17:36 UTC 2009

Tami,

I am sure that others have probably responded already. But here is my take.
There is a difference between submitting to agents and submitting to
publishers.

An agent will represent you to publishers. You can submit to as many as you
like.

A publisher is actually going to buy the work. You must follow the specific
guidelines given. I have noticed more of a trend of simultaneous submissions
lately, but the general rule is still no.

Cindy
Not the Cindy that John was apparently replying to.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org 
> [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tamara Smith-Kinney
> Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 2:47 PM
> To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Agent questions
> 
> 
> John,
> 
> Good points.  When I was first mucking around with the notion 
> of submitting my first volume, mostly because I couldn't 
> figure out what else to do with the thing, the supposed rule 
> was to send to one publisher or agent, then wait to hear, 
> then send to another one, then wait to hear....  Dire 
> consequences were threatened if you submitted to multiple prospects!
> 
> Can you now get away with using the shotgun method by sending 
> out multiple submissions simultaneously?  I'm not close to 
> there these days, but I'm starting to get a couple of long 
> fiction projects moving and would really like to not have to 
> play the single submission game.  Ugh!
> 
> Tami Smith-Kinney
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org 
> [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of John Lee Clark
> Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2009 4:31 PM
> To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Agent questions
> 
> Cindy:
> 
> The five questions to ask are biased, since it's an agent who 
> wrote them down.  It is missing one crucial question, one 
> that successful authors know
> well: Are you prepared to send out over two hundred eueries 
> and follow up with them all?
> 
> The publishing world is fickile.  Take the case of Jasper 
> Foorde, the bestselling author of The Eyre Affair and many 
> other books.  He sent Eyre carefully to markets he kinew 
> well.  No go.  he slowly spread out, still being careful to 
> learn about the publishers and agents and studying them to 
> find out if they would be a fit.  Still no go.  It was only 
> after he said "Screw it" and machine-gunned his query all 
> over the place, getting seventy-six rejections before he hit 
> gold, and oh boy was it real gold!  He is very wealthy now.
> 
> Unless I have a previous relationship, like I was published 
> there before, and unless I really had one place in mind 
> before I even wrote the first words, the machine gun method 
> has always worked the best for me.  Tiptoeing around and 
> waiting around for months to get a response before trying 
> another one does no good at all.
> 
> There are people who are PAID to screen stuff, so let them do 
> their job. You're not getting paid unless you have a hit.  
> They get paid anyway, any way it goes.  So my advice is to fire away.
> 
> John
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org 
> [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of The Crowd
> Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 7:40 AM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: [stylist] Agent questions
> 
> In an article by Kristen Auclair, a literary agent of 
> Graybill and English, 
> the FIVE QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE SENDING YOUR QUERY LETTER:
> 
>     1.  Is it polished, error-free, and professional?
>     2.  Does the tone of your query letter reflect the tone 
> of your book?
>     3.  Are you sure that the agent you're pitching works on 
> this type of 
> project?
>     4.  Do you know your market?
>     5.  Are you emphasizing the best aspects of your project?
> 
> Taking a moment to send this inbetween packing my apartment!
> 
> A
> 
> Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how 
> you take it.
> 
> Life is short ...forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, 
> laugh uncontrollably... and never regret anything that made you smile
> 
> "Qui docet, discit."
> "He who teaches, learns"
> 
> I have learned that people will forget what you said,
> people will forget what you did,
> but people will never forget how you made them feel.
> Maya Angelou
>  
> 
> 
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