Ask Me Anything, with Literary Agent Louise Buckley - AUGUST

Hi Everyone,

Oof, it’s muggy today in the UK today. It’s also my birthday! That is completely irrelevant to this post, but I just wanted to put it in here :D.

Last night I held my monthly ‘Ask Me Anything’ here in my Substack chat, which was exactly what it sounds like – a chance for authors to ask me anything on writing, editing or getting published!

Please do send on to anyone who you think might benefit from reading the answers. There were some excellent questions!

**Please note –you’re welcome to comment on this post, but I won’t be answering questions on it - you can ask questions in the next AMA on Sunday 27th September. I also don’t take questions in advance of the AMA.

Is it even worth sending out my psychological thriller that’s only 46,000 words?

It depends. If it’s literary fiction you can sometimes get away with it being really short. But if it’s commercial, you’d ideally be looking to move towards a minimum of 70K words before submitting to literary agents - I would personally pass on something that short, as I wouldn’t feel confident that I could sell it.

If you have paid for professional feedback and been told by agents that your submission package is good, your book is marketable and you are good to go, but you don’t seem to be getting anywhere with agents (not even full requests) what should your next steps be?

It depends how long it’s been on submission to agents. If it’s been six months, I would consider getting outside feedback but being very specific and saying that you want feedback on why it hasn’t been picked up. People often approach me for feedback on their submission documents and I’ll feed back on ways to strengthen them but unless they specifically say ‘I want to know why this hasn’t been picked up’, I won’t offer my opinion on that. I’d also recommend thinking about the next book - giving yourself something else to get excited about.

Biggest query letter no no? Or biggest yes yes lol

Turn off is simply when it’s not a genre I represent! For example, children’s books. Yes is much harder to qualify! Really, I just want something that clearly states what it is (e.g. all ‘market info’ like genre and comparison authors) and makes me intrigued enough to read the sample...

Do different literary agents like things submitted differently? And can you remind me best way to find suitable literary agents and will they then have requirements listed??

Yes, some agents - mostly agents in the US, but some in the UK also - prefer submissions to be sent to them via Query Tracker. Others, like my agency, prefer submissions via our website. The best way to check how they want to be submitted to is via looking at the guidelines on their website.

There are various ways to find literary agents - Query Tracker for US agents. There’s a directory on the website of the Association of Author’s Agents in the UK and manuscriptwishlist.com is very useful as you can search by genre, keyword or comparison author.

Hi Louise, what would you say is a great way to establish high stakes at the beginning of a novel and to show what the character risks losing if they don’t achieve their goal? I know how important this is to establish in pitching to agents but how is this best shown early in the novel? Thanks

I think there are various ways to do this. Try to ensure that your stakes are connected to both the plot and emotional arc of the novel and pick one of those to demonstrate in the opening chapter. One of the best ways you can do this is to give your character a difficult choice right at the start - for example, they have to choose between doing what their mum wants or doing what their boyfriend wants? The stake doesn’t have to be grand, but it has to feel significant to the character. Also adding in antagonists early on that are going to thwart your protagonist’s choices at every turn.

Also high stakes while have some intro to the character so the readers know a bit about them and care. Where’s the balance?

It’s hard to comment on this without having read it - I would seek feedback from others’ on the balance. You can drip feed character and thought into action, and then expand on character in later chapters. It’s absolutely possible to have both.

Any advice on the 30,00-foot review of a second draft?

Know that it’s hard. Get second reads from trusted readers. If you find yourself struggling, leave it for another couple of weeks. I know these sound trite, but they can help.

Are agents/publishers willing to have an author who wants to publish across genres?

Absolutely! I represent several authors who write across genres. The only time it’s really an issue is when the agent doesn’t represent certain areas. For example, I don’t represent children’s books.

Hi, I am really struggling at the moment - I have queried a lot of agents - mostly getting form rejections - only one full - he hung onto it for 7 months - then passed - he said he loved the book , connected with the protagonist, and enjoyed my style, and called me a “telented writer” but didnt think it would “break out” - its not safe its mixed genre. And am guessing risky - I just dont know whether I should park it and finish another project - feeling really disheartened - as I poured my heart and soul into it.

I’m sorry about that, I can understand how disheartening that must be. If you feel you’ve exhausted every agent and avenue then yes I would park it for now. Take what you’ve learnt from this - mixed genre is hard to sell! And think about something new that will fire up a flame in you. Occasionally, once you have an agent, they are able to sell previously written books, so it might not be a no forever.

Do you have any advice on waiting times? I’ve had a full manuscript request, which I sent over. Haven’t heard anything since. Waited three months before sending a polite follow-up. Haven’t heard anything. Is there any industry standard on agents replying after a full request? When should I call it quits and move on?

I would simply bear in mind that reading full submissions is usually at the bottom of an agent’s to-do list and it may be much longer before you hear back - it’s not uncommon for it to take six months for me to get back to authors on a full manuscript request. It’s not that I don’t want to but that reading them comes out of my free time and is done for free (we’re not paid until we’ve sold a book). I would let the other agents you’ve submitted to know that you’ve had a full manuscript request and also see if there are any other agents you can submit to whilst waiting.

Re comps: if I have four lister is it ok for one to be a really big, older book? My novel is about an obsessive female friendship and was hugely inspired by My Brilliant Friend. It feels remiss not to mention it! My three more comps that are more recent and modest!

That’s totally fine! So long as you have one recent comp.

As a first step to finding an agent, I want to publish an article-length version of the nonfiction story I’d like to expand to book length. Feedback from one literary magazine has been “fascinating story, excellent writing, but can you reduce from 6K words to 2K words?” Happy to do that but 2K words will tell a small piece of tale; it won’t serve agents as a preview of the book-length story. Is it still a next good step to submit the short version?

That’s tricky. I’m sorry to say I can’t answer it either - if the magazine have asked for a condensed version, and you want it to be published in the magazine, go for it! But most agents don’t ask for only 2k words - you usually have space for up to 10,000 words when submitting to them. It won’t matter to them if only 2K words were published in the magazine.

Hi Louise, my first novel is published with an indie publisher. I received my copies yesterday, which is the most exciting thing to have happened. I am therefore just at the start of launching this novel. I have full publishing rights over this book and 💯 royalties, which my publisher generously did for me as we worked together. I know this is probably common, but I love this book. Can I resubmit this novel now to agents or should I just put my energy into maximising what this book can do given the route it has taken and focus on the next novel?

Congratulations on publication with the indie publisher! Sadly, unless the book sells in large quantities, you won’t be able to submit it to literary agents. Publishers and retailers see previously published books as ‘known quantities’ and therefore don’t take them on unless they have sold in huge amounts or gone viral on TikTok. Therefore, agents won’t take them on as they won’t feel confident they can sell them to publishers.

Are any agents interested in late bloomers? I’m old. My career was spent writing (as a feature journalist) and now writing lit fiction, memoir, children’s and poetry which I know makes me look like a flake, but any and all rearranging of words interests me. (Sold a kids book to a big 5, short fiction and poetry to small lit journals but keep getting I-like-but… rejections on novels.)

Most agents really don’t care about age. They care about whether they can sell the book. Honestly. The market is challenging at the moment. Unless you are writing fantasy, horror or romance, it’s hard. Even literary fiction is tough at the moment. Keep trying and don’t let your worry about age get in the way! :-)

Are there times that UK agents are less responsive to queries? I started querying beginning of August, but some say that for US and UK authors August is a time many go on holidays and are away from their computer.

There are times when agents are more likely to respond and times when they are less likely, but that really varies per agent. Yes, August is a busy time as agents are either on holiday or looking after their kids over the summer (or both! That’s me!). But it has only been a few weeks since the start of August - most agents take a long time to get back on submissions because submission reading happens in their spare time. I’d give it another few months.

Hello, I’m neurodivergent and I really struggle to see books as comps. I struggle to compare my writing to others, I just can’t see it? Not in any I think I’m better or my book is unique kind of way! I can see tropes that are similar but when I have to give authors as an example for tone/vibe, I just can’t do it. Obviously this is a big concern for when I’m going to query, have you got any suggestions for what I can do please? Others have said I’ve just got to do it but I simply can’t 😞

I can see how this is hard. I would seek several second opinions from friends or beta readers or an editor/publishing expert. And then consider if those comparisons are somewhat suitable. Or ask in online writing groups too.

Are you seeing any changes in the way the Industry is engaging with Serialized Fiction from a publishing standpoint? Or is it still “come back to us when you have a finished book?

I am sorry to say that I haven’t seen any change in how the industry approaches serialized fiction - agents and publishers always want a completed manuscript unless it’s non-fiction (and to write that you need to either be an expert in your field or have a huge social media following).

Why do agents call books projects? Does it only become a book when it’s published?

I am not aware of agent calling them this, but editors in house will view them as projects because most of their role is project management.

Do you have any thoughts on the emerging “new adult” genre? I’ve heard some people also refer to it as crossover too and wonder if you’ve heard any rumblings of it becoming more popular! Thank you :)

Yes, I’ve been aware of this for the last couple of years - publishing has skewed ‘younger’ in recent years in terms of the audience they are aiming fiction at (women 18-30, primarily) and publishers have also published little into the YA space and so they are publishing in this ‘crossover’ space. But New Adult is a term that has been around since I was starting out in Publishing in 2009, it’s just come back around (Publishing is cyclical!).

Advice for memoirists querying their debut novel? It’s SO HARD for my clients to stand out with debuts. But, some of them have really fascinating stories to tell. It’s frustrating that they need a platform built first! While they are actively building and querying, is there anything they could be doing to stand out? Pitch events?

Are they querying their memoir or their novel? As memoir is REALLY difficult and yes you do usually need a platform, but you don’t for fiction. Yes, pitch events are a good way of getting your face in front of an agent.

Greetings from Canada, Louise. I am embarking on a self-published journey with my MG kids’ book and accompanying album of original songs. Meant for inspiring the gift of story telling and songwriting. Do I have a chance of reaching the eyes and ears of publishers?

I’m sure you do, but I am sorry to say that I don’t represent MG so don’t have any insights into it!

I have been sitting on a DEI book for 3 years and now it has metamorphosed into a book on staying human in every encounter. I was discouraged by feedback that the industry ‘can’t sell DEI’ but am now worried that I am not enough of a somebody to talk on the broader topic of staying human 😂 Does the premise sound true to you? DEI doesn’t sell? Does my phoenix from the flames make sense even though my expertise is in fact DEI 😂

Ah that’s a hard one to answer as I am not sure! DEI certainly isn’t selling like it was a few years ago but in my opinion that doesn’t mean there’s no space for it! There’s always an angle it can be hooked around (e.g. Jason Arday situation). But without seeing the specific proposal it’s hard to say.

Do you have an opinion or insight on seeking an agent for those of us with “large” subscriber lists? Is that realistic (using the large list to seek an agent, as well as writing ability of course)?

A large list will certainly count for something but the main thing agents are looking for is a strong idea/pitch; something they know they can sell.

Hi Louise, cover letter q: what’s the best way to hook you or agents in general would you say - start with an elevator pitch then add the blurb and then word count, genre etc after? Or you don’t care? Some feedback I’ve had from someone in publishing but not this country was that my letter is too long and takes too long to get to the hook so it’s almost buried (genre etc first) - would you just switch this. Also is a short bio expected here in the uk?

I prefer the market info like genre, word count and comparison authors right at the front - I like to know what I’m about to read and not have to hunt for that information. And then I’d launch into the ‘hook’. Yes to a short bio :-)

Another Q: for comps if you don’t mind - is it best to just say for fans of x and x? Or something specific from those books ie the atmospheric setting of x and the x of x Last thing, is there ever a place for an excerpt of the novel blurb style on the cover letter? Or save that for the sample material?

I think either way can be effective - so long as it’s not too long-winded. And yes absolutely a place for a blurb in a query letter! But keep it short: no more than 180 words, if possible.

And that was a wrap for this month! Thanks to those who joined.

Louise

• Thank you to all my subscribers! I really appreciate you being here. If you found this post helpful, please do like, subscribe and share with anyone else who you think will find this post useful.

• Towards the end of September I’ll be launching a new course for paid subscribers, about how to make the opening pages of your novel stand out.

• If you are waiting to submit to me, I am sorry to say that I won’t be opening in September for submissions after all – I’ve had a number of unexpected spanners in the works with my family this year and with 600+ submissions still waiting in my inbox, I need to pause submissions for now. I may reopen for a week in October, but that will only be if I have made sufficient progress through my existing backlog.

• If you would like to work with me editorially, I am taking bookings for November onwards and you can contact me about this on my website.

• I have written an ebook on writing a standout query letter, which you can find here.

• I will be running further workshops on query letters and opening pages in the future. Watch this space!