Tag Archives: literary agent

Agents Literary – Query Letters, Genre, and Giant Books

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As one of my regular agent blog reads once stated, lack of a query response is the same as a form rejection.  So, as I absorb this advice and rack up my next round of queries, let’s check out some more good advice from our favorite literary agents.

Yes, I scour the best literary agent blogs for goodies so you don’t have to!  You can thank me by clickerating that RSS feed button.  Gently!  It’s made of pixels.

Jessica at BookEnds explains why bad queries are great news for good query writers, lets us in on her query pet peeves, gives us some idea of the business rhythm at BookEnds, and tells us to go ahead and send a thank-you note after a rejection.  And, no, she will not rep your 2000-page book.

Over at Dystel & Goderich, Miriam discusses the good and bad of Facebook, Stacey offers some sobering advice about picking a genre (and more!), Jessica navigates the fine line between too much and not enough info in a query letter, Lauren confesses her unrepentant bibliophilia (“teetering piles” of books? me too!), and Jane tells us what negotiating looks like.

Janet Reid clarifies when she does and does not want to hear from you, Jennifer Jackson explains that your query may have been eaten by the grue (and also explains a li’l something about genre), and Kristin Nelson answers boatloads of reader questions.  “How many boatloads?” you ask, noting anxiously that there was no hyperlink in that last clause.  One, two, three boatloads!

Finally, Nathan Bransford tells us how to write and format a query.  He also picks Moby-Dick as his “desert island book,” winning instant kudos from yours truly.  Although a giant pop-up book on sailing with a styrofoam dust sleeve might be a wiser choice…

[Also: how do I decide what to bold in these link lists?  Well, if there’s a site or firm name, I bold that.  Otherwise I bold the blog writer’s name.]

The Latest From My Fave Agent Blogs

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We are back around into the lit agent arc of my new link soup cycle.  (Those of you who missed the big three-way split … psht!  There’s an RSS button in the sidebar now.  No excuse!)

Have fun; and if you know of a fantastic lit agent writing a blog I’m missing, let me know!

Jessica at BookEnds tells us how to submit a partial, and how to find agents and publishers.  She also published an updated version of her publishing dictionary, which reminds me that I have to keep mine updated.

Jennifer Jackson responds to reader questions about queries that don’t follow her agency’s guidelines, Kristin Nelson rants about the agency commission model for ebooks, and Rachelle Gardner says, “Let’s Hear It For Old Fashioned Books!”

Finally, Lucienne Diver wraps up her Debut Week series of guest blogs (which I featured in my last writer link soup) with an agent’s perspective.

Enjoy!

Mandy Morgan Snags An Agent!

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Last October I stumbled over a writer who had posted a bit of supernatural fiction online with an idea so … neat, I think is the best word … that I just had to tell my readers about her.  The story was Mandy Morgan’s “The Sky Goes Black.”

Mandy then posted a teaser for a young adult novel called Zombie Is An Inflammatory Word (And I Resent That).  Now, I am not a fan of supernatural YA (don’t get me started on Twilight) but Mandy’s concept was so intriguing and funny that I included it in my Christmas link soup posting, and again after the New Year when she added another teaser.

Well, I am happy to announce that Mandy is now being represented by Mary Kole of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency!

And, to be totally honest, I do feel a bit of narcissistic satisfaction that I recognized her talent “back in the day.”

Some Publishing Notes

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Today, as I pound out some more pages for “The Crow and the Kinnebeck,”* I just want to throw out a blog entry chock full of agent and author advice. 

For example:

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