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Agents?

leckert

leckert

New Member
I have heard every possibility for whether a new novilist requires an agent. I am told that agents won't talk to you seriously unless you are published, and that publishers won't talk to you seriously until you have an agent.

I have heard that you don't need an agent until after you have your first novel published, and that you need one before you get your first novel published.

I have a novel which will be ready for publication by the end of the summer, and I am cramping my brain trying to figure out how to approach.

I also have several short stories that are making their rounds to several magazines.

Am I on the right track?

Should I wait for one of my short stories to be picked up before I start thinking about the novel?

WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO!!

Any input would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi. There are lots of stories about how someone didn't need an agent, didn't need a completed manuscript, etc. But the standard way to break in is to complete your manuscript and send queries to agents, and also to publishers that aren't agent-only. The number of such publishers is getting smaller every year.

If you can list some short stories that have been accepted by reputable magazines in your query letter, that helps.

Get the following two books. They will change your life:

Guide to Literary Agents, by Writers Digest Books.

Your Novel Proposal, by Blythe Camenson and Marshall Cook.

I have posted some other resources here.

Good luck.
 
Thanks, Mari;

I really appreciate your reading this and responding.

I will get the two books you have suggested.

Does the "Guide to Literary Agents" have current listings, or just advice? Is it something that is updated frequently?

Thanks, again, for your time and advice.
 
The Guide includes listings and advice. It is a whole package for getting an agent. It is updated annually, and only the latest year is useful.

While I'm at it, I should also recommend The Novel and Short Story Writer's Market, another annual book. This one does for publishers what the other book does for agents.
 
Thanks, Moto, and Mari,

I will investigate the "Writer's Market" as well as the "Guide to Literary Agents".

When are they published (I don't want to buy the '05 a week before the '06 comes out!)

Thanks, both of you.
 
I had trouble finding the 2002 Children's Writers & Illustrators Market before March of 2002. Some of the other Writers Markets were already on the shelves but the one I wanted was harder to come by....figures....

I don't think any 2006 version you would want would be out before January of 2006 though. They are pretty up-to-date.
 
The 2006 novels one is due out August 5, 2005.

The 2006 agents one is due out July 27.

Frankly, if your novel isn't done yet, you can certainly wait until then; no need to squeeze in the 2005 editions in the meantime.
 
Mari said:
The 2006 novels one is due out August 5, 2005.
Click to expand...

I see that they are published in a July-ish time frame. But when they are actually placed on the store shelves is another story. Certainly doesn't hurt to ask your local bookstore for a specific date the 2006 will become available.

In other words....don't listen to motokid.... :eek:
 
Yeah, I saw June/July for the Agents guide and the Writer's Market...

I'll see if I can reserve an '06 of each through B&N or Amazon or something.

Thanks, Moto. And I wasn't listening to you anyway! :D
 
The Writers Market 200X is worth the money dished out for it. It's the bible of agents and publishers, and has over a thousand pages of useful information. If you write erotic wizard romance, it will tell you where to send your erotic wizard romance. If you write childrens' horror, it will tell you where to send your childrens' horror.

Regarding the agents vs. publishers ordeal, think of it as getting credit for the first time: in order to obtain initial credit, one must already have credit. It's a lose-lose scenario. Your best bet is to keep doing what you are doing, by sending out those short stories, and simultaneously pushing queries to agents and publishers (but be sure to follow their guidelines exactly, and don't forget that SASE).
 
The bottom line is....there is no "right" or "wrong" way to go about getting published. Your best bet is to never give up, and try every avenue over and over again until you've exhausted yourself, your money, and your patience.

You'll either beat the odds, or you won't. In many cases talent is not the deciding factor, but dumb luck and finding the right person at the right time can lead to great things.
 
Well, I have been collecting rejection slips for a year or more, now, and do not plan to quit anytime soon.

I have been spurred on, though, by a couple of hand written notes at the bottom of the form letters from the editor of GQ, and Esquire magazines which said, in essence, that they liked my work, it just wasn't right for their publication, and asked me to send more. With the thousands of manuscripts that they receive each week, I was impressed that they took the time to write a note to me personally.

So, I understand that it will take persistence, and, judging by some of the absolute shit I have seen on the fiction shelves in bookstores, I am certain success will be a result of timing.

Thanks, Motokid, for your support. I'll keep you posted!
 
Motokid said:
The bottom line is....there is no "right" or "wrong" way to go about getting published.
Click to expand...
While I do agree with this statement, I have to add that there are plenty of wrong ways to go about getting published... such as begging agents for representation, forgetting SASEs, printing your manuscript / query on colorful cardstock, stalking, repetive follow-up phone calls, sending an erotic romance novel to a publisher of childrens books, e-mailing naked pictures of yourself, etc. I have heard numerous horror stories from editors and agents of such things happening.
 
leckert said:
Well, I have been collecting rejection slips for a year or more, now, and do not plan to quit anytime soon.
Click to expand...
I keep a binder full of rejections on my desk for inspiration. I put the ones with notes and tidbits of useful inside information up front.

And I think I'll title my next novel Absolute Shit just so it fits on the bookstore shelves. :cool:
 
sirmyk said:
printing your manuscript / query on colorful cardstock... I have heard numerous horror stories from editors and agents of such things happening.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, Stewart. When I got the first hand written note from an editor, it was like I had been published. I was jumping around the house, waving the rejection slip in my hand. When I called my brother he thought I was insane celebrating what he called "failure", but those little sparks of inspiration are nice every once in a while.

I had heard a story of a lady who sent her manuscripts in shiny gold envelopes. The first person who opened it was dubbed "Midas", and no one wanted to open another one.

So, I take from your advice that I should go ahead and let the publisher's wife and children out of my basement?

(I really wasn't getting any response, anyway. I called the publisher and told him I had them, and he put me on hold!)

lol!
 
There may not be a right or wrong way - but take it from a novelist.
Getting published is nearly as much a process of tenacity as it is writing skill.
If you are writing short stories, you should have some success with out representation selling to magazine publishers. This could lead to anthologies etc as well. If you have written book length fiction 99% of the big houses do not accept manuscripts that are not represented. It's that simple.
Now if you do what I did -- find a small house now you may have success. With my second novel, my publisher has decided it is too big for her little house and is helping me find an agent.
While looking for an agent the first time, I could paper my office with rejects and fill a barge with the letters that never were answered.
But, keep at it.
A Book Talk Show on C-span had 4 Publishing house representatives (I do not remember the houses). One Editor said that there is no reason why every author seeking publishing could not get published in the USA. Time and tenacity were all that were needed.
Note she mentioned NOTHING about any of those works being publishable! Only that their authors were seeking publication...
 
ArJohn, I see you are an award winning author. What, may I ask, was the award? And what's the book called?
 
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