Hi everyone!

Post any question you would like to ask a literary agent here. Four agents will answer questions on the Book Country blog in May. 

Thanks!

Janet

--edited by Janet Umenta, Book Country Assistant on 4/1/2015, 10:18 AM--

I have a question for the agents!

What do you do if one of your clients' books gets a cover that you find really ugly, but the publisher and the author love it? Do you hold your tongue or do you put in your 2 cents?

I was recently at a Pitch-o-Rama in SF and pitched my book to three agents.  All of them were interested in the book, a cozy mystery and first in a series, until I told them I'd self-published it.  At which point the agents said the same thing:  No way! That they simply couldn't sell a book to a publisher that had already been self published, and that publishing houses do not want to pick up the second book in a series. 

One of the agents said to come back and see her when I'd sold 50,000 of the first book.  If I could sell that many self-published books, I probably would't be looking for an agent.

As you can imagine, I am disappointed.  My book has sold reasonably well, but I would like to increase its reach and readership. Based on what those agents told me, if want an agent, I'll have to abandon my current series and start a new one in order to find an agent.

Now for the questions:  What options that are available to me given my situation?  And, is this a universal sentiment among agents/publishers, that once a novel has been self-published, it can't/won't be picked up by an agent or publisher?

Thanks,

Janice

--edited by JanPeac on 4/1/2015, 4:00 PM--

Thanks for this opportunity! In fact, I was just mulling over this question a couple days ago when RT Convention posted time slots to speak with agents one-on-one.

If a self-published author isn't actively looking for a publisher now or in the near future, what would the benefits be of having an agent? What are some other reasons to explore that relationship?

Thanks!

Jessica

These are fantastic questions!

I just thought of another one that I am curious about:

What's a normal workday in the life of an agent?

...

Follow up question: How much time do you spend on Twitter?

My question seems to be similar to everyone else's ... self-published author trying to gain more readership. 

It was recommended to me to self-publish first, mainly because of having control, but with all of the self-published titles in competition, how do we stand above, and also, how do we compete with traditionally published authors?

I prefer the quality over quantity approach, but I don't know of any other options.

So, essentially, would an agent take a gamble on a self-published author/book?

If you feel that a novel from a first-time author is strong (style, voice, premise, etc) -- but, could use some changes (more than simple tweaking) -- are you likely to say to the author, Make these changes and then send it back to me? 

And what does the author do if confronted with responses by more than one agent - some (okay, most) reject the book out of hand; maybe if the writer is super lucky, one agent likes the book as is; and yet another agent thinks changes are needed too, but changes different from what the other agent was looking for? I realize this is a highly unlikely scenario for a first-time author unless he/she is the next Jonathan Franzen, but I'm just wondering how the author would reconcile conflicting reactions and figure out what the right course of action is.

Thanks - this is a great opportunity!

This particular question has been tumbling about in my mind for a while.  As a member of the book country community of writers, I have a manuscript (Historical Fiction/Personage) that lately has been giving me five stars on my reviews. The book is virtually finished, but I am in a quandary as whether to seek an agent or self publish. I have worked on this story for many years, and it is the advice of other writers that has helped me bring the novel to this point.

Rob Emery

I have a non-fiction book that I wrote about Christianity and how suffering has a purpose for those of faith. My questions are:

1. Do I have to seek out agents who only handle books on Christianity or will any agent consider the job?
2. If I have to seek out agents who specifically handle Christian literature where do I find them? 

For an author who's new to the traditional publishing game, sometimes it can be overwhelming navigating the world. I have an agent, an editor, a publisher, and even a publicist.

How do you define these roles? What are things agents do specifically, then let's say, an editor wouldn't? Would I send my agent an unedited manuscript, and do we run through edits together? Is this just a story edit? Should I have an editor I use separately? Or do I just run the MS through my agent, and then if/when a publisher picks it up, it'll go through an edit then? (sorry for the twenty questions).

What would the break down of the role of an agent be, so the expectations and lines don't get blurred through all the people an author might work with?

Thanks so much. Hopefully I make sense. haha.

-Alex

--edited by Alex Rosa on 4/2/2015, 6:37 PM--

Hi

My question is: Is it acceptable to query more than one agent about a manuscript at a time? Unless an agency specifically requests otherwise, is it all right to query other agents? And if so, what's the etiquette involved? In the query, should the author mention they've contacted other agents and are waiting for their replies?

Or is it better to query only one agent and wait for them to either reject or accept you before moving on?

Also, if a debut author approached you about representing a series, would you automatically reject them? Should a debut author focus on querying standalone titles and having them published before looking into approaching an agent about representing a series? Is a debut author seeking representation for a series a turn-off for agents?

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Newbie Writer, Amber

--edited by Amber Wolfe on 4/10/2015, 8:03 AM--

Janice,

Fantastic question! I'll be interested to see what the agent has to say as I'm in a similar situation. 

~Stephanie

As a follow-up, would your thoughts change upon learning that I'm a first-time author or that the manuscript is targeted for 10- to 14-year-old readers? 

When do you need an agent?  How do you know when you are ready as a writer to take this step? 

What should an agent expect from you as a client? What should you expect from an agent? ( An what should you not expect?) 

Thanks  for considering these questions for the panel, 

Claire Count 

Very good question Alex. Love to have this one answered. 

Claire Count 

I hope I'm not too late. I've been looking for somewhere to post this question and being new to book country I'm finding it a bit confusing.

My question is, when a writer is looking for an agent, should they hope to find an agent who will represent them in only one genre? Or will most agents be happy to represent the author in a mix of genres. For instance, I write mostly YA fiction, but have been working on a chick lit too.