Agent Q&A Part Three

A few weeks ago, I posted a note here on Substack inviting writers to ask their burning questions about querying, editing, writing, publishing, and the like. The last two Tuesday articles have been my responses to those questions. There are a few left, and these are kind of a general/mish-mash of various publishing-related questions.

And I just want to first say that these little AskMeAnythings bring me joy! I love getting questions—even the hard ones—and providing helpful information! So much of publishing is a mystery, and the “interwebs” are full of misinformation. I’m as honest as I can be because being anything other than that would just be stoking the bad advice fire, and I can’t do that. It’s in my bones to be helpful! :)

So, here we go with the final round (for now!) of questions!

Question 1

Should writers focus on more edits to the book they’re querying, writing the next book in the imagined series, or jumping back into social media and trying to remarket their backlist? How should writers prioritize their precious writing time?

Answer 1

This is going to be a very individual answer. Each person has a different way of doing things, different priorities, different strengths, different preferences. There’s lots of advice out there saying to always work on the next book, and I don’t disagree with that; it keeps your mind off the project that’s now finished and it keeps the creative juices flowing. It also depends on where you’re at in the process—are you querying? Are you self-publishing?

In this case, the writer is querying. So, take that manuscript as far as you can possibly take it. Make sure it’s as close to perfect as you can make it. When it’s out there in the query realm, let it go (for now). It can sometimes take a loooong time before you hear back from agents. In the meantime, if you have other books out there, and they still need to be marketed, then yes—that’s a schedule that you have to come up with, depending on whatever works for you. If you have a book that’s out there, I’m sure you’ll want to keep promoting it. But you should always find the time to work on the next book too. The one that you’re querying may not be the one that lands you an agent, and so if you’re working on something else, then sooner or later, it’ll be ready too—and then you have a new manuscript to query. Sometimes the first book you query becomes the fourth or fifth book you publish—and that’s ok!

If it’s series you’re working on, though, then again, that’s a very personal decision. You can choose to write the next book in the series, or you can wait to see if it’s even going to become a series. The thing is, whatever you’re writing is never a waste, so why not start on the next book? Writers are always improving their craft the more the write (and read!). That’s my take!

In terms of prioritizing precious writing time… I may not be the best one to answer that because I put my pen down several years ago. 🥴 Work just got too busy. I think about it now and again, but I still get to work on helping other people with their stories, and there’s real enjoyment in that for me.

Making the time for writing is as important as you want it to be; if you want that time, go for it! You might only have one night a week where you have some time to yourself. Maybe you get up a little earlier in the mornings so you have quiet, uninterrupted time. Even half an hour a day will eventually put a dent in it. I would also encourage to free write; don’t worry about what it looks like or how many typos there are, just let it flow onto the page. You can fix it after. Once the ideas are down, you’ll at least eventually have a skeleton draft to work from.

Essentially, if you really want to write, you have to find the time to carve out for it. Somewhere, anywhere. Yes, that writing time is precious. If you struggle to carve out time, just make little goals for now so that it’s not insurmountable. Ten minutes here, an hour there. (If you find some unexpected time, bonus!) Make a plan to do it, and then do it. 😊

Question 2

How can writers learn to focus their writing on the elements that matter, so that they can stop wasting years of their lives rewriting something that ends up getting no offers from agents?

Answer 2

First, you need to identify what the elements are that matter. My first thought is to get as much feedback on a completed draft as you can. And when I say “completed draft,” I don’t mean the file that’s called “My Cool Story - Final - FINAL x 2 - REAL FINAL.” I mean the one that you draft, work a little bit on, and think it’s in good shape for beta readers. That’s never the final draft. Once you get feedback, work on the areas that need improvement. If you’re not an experienced writer, read books in your genre and read craft books. Once you’ve got a revised draft, go back out with it to different beta readers and get some more feedback. If you can and want to, hire an editor to give you an editorial assessment. They’ll look at all the big-picture elements to ensure everything is flowing the way it should and give you recommendations on areas to focus on improving. If you have a couple of manuscripts under your belt, you may start seeing a pattern of the areas that need improving, and this can give you an idea of the “elements that matter” that you should work on honing.

And if, by “elements that matter” you mean incorporating elements into your novel that will attract the attention of agents and publishers, unfortunately, there’s no formula for that. (If there was, we’d all be rich writers!) Don’t chase the elements that you think will matter; that’s like following trends, and trends don’t matter by the time the book comes out anyway. Focus instead on writing the story that matters to you; the one that pours your passion onto the page. That’s where the real story is!

I’ve said this many, many times: any writing that you do is never a waste of time. Every story you write is a stepping stone to the next story and the next one; if you work on the areas that seem to be falling flat and get some advice on how to improve them, then you’re taking steps toward getting better. Sometimes, a story gets put into the proverbial drawer for years, and you may not think it’ll ever see the light of day again. But sometimes, it gets found, brought out, dusted off, and all those years you’ve spent improving your craft can go into revising that story—the one that taught you that you wanted to write, the one that started it all. And sometimes, that story can still be published.

I know it’s frustrating when you’ve worked so hard on something and it just doesn’t get picked up. If you’re reaching that point of frustration, it could mean that it’s time to put it away for a little while; we need to protect our mental health too! Perhaps try working on another idea that excites you. You don’t have to say goodbye to that story, it’s just goodbye for now. Let it motivate you to keep learning, keep improving, keep writing the next story.

Question 3

How do you take the idea for a book and put together all the ideas that you’ve accumulated over the years? I.e., you know what you want your book to be about and have ideas to present, but putting them together seems very daunting.

Answer 3

I get it! It is daunting! Each person will have their own way of tackling this, but for me, a good brainstorming session can go a long way! Brainstorm how to connect all those ideas. Help give your story some shape. Then, again, reading craft books are a good way to start understanding how stories come together; what elements are important, where they go in the story, and why they’re important. Also, read books that you think are similar to yours. Even if it’s a book you’ve already read and enjoyed and want to pull from in terms of elements or themes, read it again, but read it like a writer. Study how they write their scenes, how they string their sentences together and what you like about those lines. Study what the scenes are making you feel, and where and why and how. Study how their character is at the beginning, how they’re changing in the middle, and how they’re different at the end. Dissect each chapter to analyze how the author does what they do and why you think it works. This can be super helpful in figuring out how to pull all your ideas together into a coherent story.

Try asking yourself some questions:

• What is your goal with this story—what is the message you want to impart?

• How can these pieces of a story help get that message across to readers?

• What personality traits and lessons will you need to have in place for the main character(s) as a vessel for that message?

• Why will readers be interested in this story? What will they get out of it?

• Are each of the disconnected ideas integral to the plot? If one is removed, does it make the story fall apart? (If not, that’s something that may not need to be in the story or it may need to be more fully fleshed out.)

• And in terms of the protagonist:

  • What is their desire—what will make them happy?

  • What is the worst possible thing that could happen to them as they try to reach this goal?

  • What’s holding them back from walking away instead of trying to reach this goal?

• Are there any contrasting ideals in the story that can help create tension? (I.e., the antagonist should represent the exact opposite philosophy of the protagonist.)

And a quick litmus test:

“My book is about a [type of character] who wants [this specific goal], but [XYZ is standing in their way], so to get it, they have to [overcome a specific internal flaw] and/or do [this Big Risky Thing], or else [the worst thing imaginable will happen].

If any part of that above line can’t be filled in, that’s an area that needs more discovery or development.

You might also try a book coach! Book coaches are a fantastic resource for writers who aren’t sure how to get their story out onto the page.

Question 4

What is something agents wish writers understood about the publishing industry but struggle to explain without sounding discouraging?

Answer 4

How much time it actually takes. Sometimes you hear of an author who just started querying a week ago, they’ve already got eleven full requests, and agent calls start pouring in. They have five offers of representation, they choose the one they vibe with the best, and they’re out on submission less than a month later. Then the offers start rolling in, and suddenly, they’re announcing they got a deal with a Big 5 publisher with a “significant” advance.

This is not the norm, folks. It can and does happen, yes. But the reality is that it generally takes a lot time for agents to prepare the submission (which can heavily depend on the state of the manuscript they receive), do all the research, try and keep up with which imprint has moved where and what editors have left and who the new ones are and where they’ve moved to and what their tastes are… Then it goes out on submission and…we wait. Sigh. It’s a big ol’ waiting game. Many times, projects will be out on submission for a long time before there are any interested editors, if there are any interested editors. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen, and we move on to the next book (see answer 1; this is why it’s good to keep writing the next story while you’re out on submission!).

Patience will be tested… Mine and yours both. And behind the scenes, I’m constantly checking up on things, I’ll nudge editors after a respectable amount of time has passed and I haven’t heard from them, I’m looking at maybe a new imprint that has come up that might be a good fit to send it to… There are all kinds of things happening in the background while authors are waiting to hear some good news. We would love to be able to snap our fingers and have an offer appear in our inboxes, but the reality is, that’s just not how it works.

Patience is key. A good story takes time to write and perfect. And it takes time to get it out into the world, no matter which publishing path you take.

It truly sucks when we don’t get any offers on a project! It hurts the author, and it also hurts the agent. We believe in your stories so much that we’re willing to put all that time and effort into them and do everything we can to sell them for you, knowing that if it doesn’t sell, we don’t get paid for our time. It’s a risk we take—so, yes, it hurts when we can’t get an offer on a book for a client. It’s disheartening that we have to let our clients down while being let down ourselves—we want to see those stories on bookstore shelves. But no matter what happens, I’m still proud of my clients and their stories, and I understand how hard they worked on them (I’ve been there, too! I get it!). And whether a story sells or not, my clients still have me in their corner. 💜

Question 5

What can someone who assists in publishing preparation offer besides a query letter, proposals, tip sheets, comp titles, agent targets, and guidelines? What’s the best way for freelance editors to develop relationships with agents?

Answer 5

Hmmmm. This one is a bit tricky. First of all, those are amazing services that you’re offering your clients! Many writers don’t know where to start when it comes to querying agents, and so this guidance can be very helpful. I would add a synopsis to that, though, and perhaps a pitch line/logline. Most agents ask for a synopsis, and my general guideline is to keep it to 500-800 words, include all the plot points, main characters, and spoilers, as well as how it ends. These are not for the general public; they’re only for agents’ eyes (and possibly acquisitions editors who are considering perhaps a Book 2 in a multi-book offer).

But in terms of establishing relationships with agents, it could be helpful in some cases but it could also be problematic.

This may or may not be something you’re considering, but it comes to mind: Perhaps it’s just me, but I dislike when I get a query from someone who’s querying on behalf of someone else. It feels disingenuous to me. I want to meet the real author behind the story, and I want to know that they’re putting the effort into querying. If they’re not, I’m not sure that’s a person I want to work with. Querying is a part of traditional publishing, and so it must be done, as overwhelming as it can seem. If someone can write a book, and their goal is to be traditionally published, they can query it.

For you, if you’re establishing relationships with agents, I think this can be great—it opens doors, and networking is fantastic; it’s a big part of the publishing industry. But you have to be careful about who and what you’re referring to agents. Yes, many of us receive referrals, but what we wouldn’t want is someone who’s marketing services saying, “I have relationships with agents and can refer you.” It feels…kind of icky to me to charge a client a fee to refer them to agents. When I get referrals, it’s from someone I know in the industry or a client I already work with or someone I know. It’s not a paid service. On my end of things, I wouldn’t want it to look like I’m on board with monetizing access to my inbox. I know this sounds harsh! But it’s the reality. I’ve been a querying writer before, and I know there are services out there that promise things that shouldn’t be promised. Writers who are desperate to connect with agents might pay for a service like that, but it’s still not a guarantee, and I feel like it’s taking advantage of them. It adds an extra layer of hope for them that will still likely (statistically) result in a pass, and then it might feel extra disappointing to them.

Additionally, if I keep getting referrals from a person who’s charging a fee to make those referrals, and I’m signing those clients, it’s going to look like I’m in on it, and that would destroy my reputation. It creates that pay-to-play perception, and that’s exactly the kind of gatekeep-y stuff that we want to stay away from. It’s what many of us actively avoid and advise writers to steer clear from.

Even if I know and like a consultant who offers a referral service to their clients, agents’ tastes in stories are extremely subjective, and they’re constantly shifting. If a consultant sends an author my way, and their manuscript isn’t anywhere near ready or the author is…difficult, that can erode trust. Now, your reputation is on the line: they’ve paid you for a service, you need to deliver to keep them happy, and so you refer them to an agent that probably won’t offer them representation, and the agent questions your integrity.

There are all kinds of messy things I could get into here, but at the end of the day, I would actually steer clear of charging clients to refer them to a list of agents that you come to know. It just creates a sticky situation for everyone involved, including you and your business. If you have a client with a manuscript and pitch that gives you goosebumps, that’s a sign that it could be “the one” for an agent, but there are never any guarantees. If you happen to know an agent who might be a great fit for a project, you can suggest that agent to your client, but I wouldn’t charge a fee for it, and I wouldn’t make it a habit. Do it because you believe in the story and the author and because you want to see that book on shelves someday. (And maybe send the agent a heads-up so they know it’s probably coming.)

I think the services you’re already offering are great, though!

Question 6

What are some common agent pet peeves that stop agents from working with clients? What can an author do besides building platform to increase odds of finding agent representation? What kind of time/energy commitment is reasonable when working with an agent? How does someone know if an agent will work well for them in this capacity?

Answer 6

There’s a lot to unpack here! First of all, I can only speak for myself and knowledge of agents in general, but some pet peeves are:

• being egotistical and unrealistic in a query letter

• having word counts that are waaaaayyyyy outside the norm for traditional publishing (especially for a debut)

• being unreceptive to feedback and unwilling to take editorial advice

• complaining about the publishing industry in a query letter

• being self-depricating in the query letter (be positive and confident!)

• getting repeatedly queried by the same author in a short timeframe with different projects

• getting a query that’s blasted out to fifty agents with no personalisation

• having unrealistic expectations from the industry (see answer 4)

• telling an agent how to do their job, who to submit to, when, how, etc.

• Needing weekly updates from an agent/micromanaging the business relationship

These are some of the red flags that cause us to think twice about offering representation.

In terms of increasing the odds of finding agent representation, I’ll refer you to this post I did a couple of months ago. There’s more than one way to finding an agent, and the magic word is in that article! 😉

Time/energy commitment when working with an agent is entirely dependent on you, your agent, and your project. There are ebbs and flows of time and energy when working with an agent. Sometimes you’re quietly working on your novel for a few months, other times, like when your project is about to go out on submission, it can feel hectic and emotional. Then, suddenly, you’re twiddling your thumbs and staring at your inbox waiting for an offer to come in (0/10, do not recommend!). When I’m chatting with a potential client and considering offering representation, this is a topic that gets brought up. I need to be transparent about my time so the author can manage their expectations, and the client needs to tell me what their expectations are and how (and how often) they prefer to communicate. Some authors demand a lot of their agent’s time, even when there’s nothing going on and no updates to provide. It’s an unrealistic expectation. Communication levels ebb and flow too, depending on what stage you’re in.

How do you know if you and an agent will work well together? That’s why “the call” is so important. If an agent would like to have a call with you after you’ve sent them your manuscript, fire all your questions at them, and they will do the same with you. You both need to get to know each other as much as you can on this call; it’s very much a vibe check. Do they share your vision? Do you feel excited when you’re talking with them? Do you get a good feeling from their level of energy and enthusiasm? Talk about communication expectations, talk about how going out on submissions works with them, talk about thoughts on this manuscript and what happens after, whether it sells or not. Talk about time commitment and timeline. Make sure they’re not pressuring you for anything (timeline, certain edits, deciding to sign with them, etc.). And at the end of the call, once you’ve had time to think it over, go with your gut! Always trust your gut.

And finally, Question 7

Why don’t agents ask for business plans from clients?

Answer 8

This is a question that I thought perhaps could be an entire article, but I decided to answer it here. In a world where authors are constantly told that they’re running a business and they should treat it like one, it’s sometimes hard to understand what that means. As an author, yes, you really are running your own business. You’re producing a product (the book), you’re paying an agent to sell it for you (not out of pocket, but via commission when it sells), and you accept money from the buyer (the publisher), which is your revenue. But it’s not your agent’s job to manage your business.

An agent’s job is to represent a piece of that business. We evaluate that single project’s marketability, we negotiate contract terms, we help that author get their book out into the world and help protect and manage that IP. It’s the publisher, if one is secured, that provides the capital, the risk absorption, supply chain, distribution, production, sales force, and marketing/publicity. The agent doesn’t handle those things.

When an agent pitches an editor and that editor is interested in a project, they meet with their editorial board and decide whether it’s worth the financial risk to buy the rights to publish the book. Many things factor into their decision: the author’s past sales record (if there is one), comp title success, publication form and related production costs (which vary from project to project), what an advance will cost them, sales and marketing costs, etc. If they decide it’s a project that will likely give them an ROI, they’ll usually decide to make an offer. So, that’s all done by the publisher before the offer ever comes to light, if it does. The author has no control over that and isn’t privy to the numbers and spreadsheets. They can’t possibly know what the project revenue will be, the timeline, the costs, the expected number of copies sold, etc.

Unfortunately, an author’s optimistic projections won’t change the math that happens during an editorial board meeting, and a business plan would be inaccurate at best. It’s also not possible to guarantee how well the book will do once it’s out there. No one can predict that accurately, not even publishers. It might be an unexpected bestseller, it might be a flop.

And to be honest, it’s the manuscript and the vibe I have with the author that matter to me, not how they choose to run their business. Agents barely have time to get through queries and manuscripts; we definitely don’t have time to go through business plans that we can’t affect or that have no effect on us or our work. Having a business plan will not nudge a publisher toward an offer; in fact, I would go so far as to say that publishers might think it’s weird if an author wanted to show them a business plan (i.e., a red flag). And you don’t want to give any reason for a publisher to say no.

One other thing is that presenting a business plan to an agent might raise a red flag for them as well. This is not how the publishing industry works, so receiving a business plan and unrealistic expectations could signal to an agent that the client may be difficult to work with. It might signal that the author may struggle with the slow timeline and try to micromanage or dictate terms to sales reps, publicists, and cover designers down the road—and our job as agents also incorporates protecting the editors and publishers to a certain extent. We won’t feel good if we’re sending a manuscript and author to a publisher who might be blindsided by the unrealistic expectations and micromanagement of said author. (Similar to my answer about offering paid referrals to agents above.) (And this is not to say that any of this is you, the asker of this question, personally; it’s a general answer, just to be clear!)

Literary agents are not corporate consultants and don’t need to see how you manage your business. We only need to fall in love with your story, have a great vibe with you, and play matchmaker.

Caveat: if your project is nonfiction, then your proposal is the closest thing to a business plan, and it is a must for nonfiction projects. Agents have to see one because they have to send it to presses; it’s how nonfiction projects are sold. And the proposal must be solid. There are all kinds of things that go into a complete proposal, but that’s for another time!

And that wraps up this three-part Agent Q&A newsletter! I hope you found the questions and answers helpful! If you know a writer who might benefit from reading this, please pass it on and have them subscribe! I’d really love to keep growing this community and appreciate all the support from my subscribers. Plus, subscribing for a year costs about the same as booking a query critique with me, which you can get as a perk (and more!), so it’s worth it! 😊

Remember: I’ll be online in the Substack Kat’s Keynotes Subscriber Chat from 2-3pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, July 29! So, if you have more questions or want to chat further about one of the answers I’ve provided in these Q&A newsletters, please come to the chat! I’ll be there to interact with my subscribers, and I hope you will be too!

Until next time, happy drafting!