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Post by RAVENEYE on Jan 11, 2021 11:25:15 GMT -6
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farida
Counselor 
Book-ed
Posts: 97
Preferred Pronouns: She/her
HARD: 100
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Post by farida on Jan 27, 2021 7:01:32 GMT -6
Hahaha, how to find the right agent? Any agent will do... No, I'm being sarcastic. I think finding the right agent will massively boost your chances of being accepted. All of the advice in this article is incredible valuable. I'd also say, less is more. If you pick around 10 agents, maybe, and do really brilliant personal submissions, you'll stand a much better chance to landing a hit.
The personalisation is really important. Your query email should reflect the agent's interests, and perhaps reference some books they've expressed a liking for - or even represented - that are similar to yours. All that will help the agent place your book in their mental map. "Ah, this book is similar to one that I loved and/or sold, so there's a good chance that I'll love/sell this one as well."
Note by. My agency gets 800 submissions a month. And they take on around 10 new authors a year. So, do the maths. You have to stand out against the crowd, and that's best done with some really personalised and well-researched pitching.
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Post by RAVENEYE on Jan 27, 2021 11:50:58 GMT -6
Hahaha, how to find the right agent? Any agent will do... No, I'm being sarcastic. I think finding the right agent will massively boost your chances of being accepted. All of the advice in this article is incredible valuable. I'd also say, less is more. If you pick around 10 agents, maybe, and do really brilliant personal submissions, you'll stand a much better chance to landing a hit.
The personalisation is really important. Your query email should reflect the agent's interests, and perhaps reference some books they've expressed a liking for - or even represented - that are similar to yours. All that will help the agent place your book in their mental map. "Ah, this book is similar to one that I loved and/or sold, so there's a good chance that I'll love/sell this one as well."
Note by. My agency gets 800 submissions a month. And they take on around 10 new authors a year. So, do the maths. You have to stand out against the crowd, and that's best done with some really personalised and well-researched pitching.
Omg, those numbers kinda induce a mini panic attack. Figured it was that extreme, but seeing it written out is just ... *breathe Raveneye* I'm so comfortable writing puny cover letters and queries for short stories, but this takes things to a whole beastly new level. Your willingness to share this info and your experience is priceless. |
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farida
Counselor
Book-ed
Posts: 97
Preferred Pronouns: She/her
HARD: 100
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Post by farida on Jan 28, 2021 4:38:55 GMT -6
Nooo, don't let these numbers scare you. Of these 800-or-so submissions, about half of them will be deleted right after reading because they are pitches for books in genres that the agency does not represent. Another large chunk goes out of the window because the submission guidelines haven't been followed (i.e. there is material missing). And from the rest, a lot will be chucked because they are incompetent, full of typoes, offensive, ect.
I do want to stress, however, that my agency looks at EVERY query. They do not respond do all of them, but they do read every single one. It's not true, at least not for serious agents, that they delete most queries unseen (a common myth on some writing boards).
So, if you submit a query letter that is well-written, corresponds to the guidelines and fits in with the agent's remit, your chances of being asked to send a full manuscript are actually much, much higher than 1 in 800.
I think I mentioned this in another post. For the book that finally landed me an agent, I did my research very carefully and submitted 12 queries, which resulted in 4 requests for the full manuscript. So that's a 1 in 4 hit rate - not bad at all.
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Post by RAVENEYE on Jan 28, 2021 11:46:34 GMT -6
Nooo, don't let these numbers scare you. Of these 800-or-so submissions, about half of them will be deleted right after reading because they are pitches for books in genres that the agency does not represent. Another large chunk goes out of the window because the submission guidelines haven't been followed (i.e. there is material missing). And from the rest, a lot will be chucked because they are incompetent, full of typoes, offensive, ect.
I do want to stress, however, that my agency looks at EVERY query. They do not respond do all of them, but they do read every single one. It's not true, at least not for serious agents, that they delete most queries unseen (a common myth on some writing boards).
So, if you submit a query letter that is well-written, corresponds to the guidelines and fits in with the agent's remit, your chances of being asked to send a full manuscript are actually much, much higher than 1 in 800.
I think I mentioned this in another post. For the book that finally landed me an agent, I did my research very carefully and submitted 12 queries, which resulted in 4 requests for the full manuscript. So that's a 1 in 4 hit rate - not bad at all.
Ah! Yes, this makes sense. Having been a slush reader, I remember how unprofessional and inappropriate many of the submissions were. Jeez, that was years ago. It was rather a gross process, like the mental version of slogging through sewage while digging for jewels (too few jewels were found, sadly). So I guess it's good to keep that at the forefront to help keep the fears under control. Wow, just 12 queries for that one book! Here I am gearing myself up to send out 60, 80, 100, LOL. I suppose that, too, is a possibility. Persistence and stubbornness are sure to come in handy. Am I the only one who anticipates the worst-case scenario to lessen the disappointment if things do go awry? Then, when things go well, it's all the sweeter. Ok, don't overthink this, Raveneye. Just get writing. |
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farida
Counselor
Book-ed
Posts: 97
Preferred Pronouns: She/her
HARD: 100
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Post by farida on Jan 29, 2021 3:29:55 GMT -6
Wow, just 12 queries for that one book! Here I am gearing myself up to send out 60, 80, 100, LOL. I suppose that, too, is a possibility. Persistence and stubbornness are sure to come in handy. Am I the only one who anticipates the worst-case scenario to lessen the disappointment if things do go awry? Then, when things go well, it's all the sweeter. Ha, I think that's absolutely the right approach. Do your best, prepare yourself mentally for rejections and push on anyway. The 12 queries were for my third book. For the first and second ones that I submitted I sent at least 25 or so queries each, with no takers. So, I think in total I must've sent 60+ queries before I hooked an agent. It's perfectly normal, and I think not even that bad. So mentally prepping for 100 and then being delighted when its fewer is probably the best way to g. |
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