If you have a question on the publishing process–everything from what my inbox looks like, to querying, to writing a synopsis, to submissions, etc.–please ask in the comments section. I’ll try to answer your questions as far as my experience allows. If I don’t answer that day, tweet at me that you asked a question because I don’t always notice I’ve got a comment!
So, ask away!
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Have pen. Will fly. 
What do you consider as appropriate word count for MG? Would agents reject a manuscript based solely on word count?
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Thanks for your questions. Publisher expectations for middle grade fiction runs from around 30,000-55,000 words depending on the subject matter and age range (lower word count for lower-MG or higher word count for upper-MG-tween fiction). That being said, middle grade science fiction and fantasy can run much higher because of the world building required of that genre; it definitely takes more words to paint believable SFF scenes. The thing to remember for debut writers is not to stray too high or too low outside those expectations. If I get a 62K MG Sci-fi novel from a debut author I can’t put down, I’m not worried about that word count.
To answer your 2nd question, yes, your manuscript can be rejected based solely on word count alone. If you send a 115K MG SF thriller, it’s more than likely going to be a no–right away. I personally try to give a quick glance to the “sample” at that point and check out the writing. If it’s decent, and I have time that day, I might email you back and ask if you haven’t combined two books into one and need to separate them, or suggest you run your book through the exercises in the book “The Word-Loss Diet.” For those with too low a word count, see if you need better showing (versus telling) which requires more words to do, and make sure you have a blend of the 3 needed elements of fiction: narration, action and dialogue. You might be missing something of those.
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Thanks for doing this!
The longer I’m in this writing & publishing world, the more I realize the hook/idea of a manuscript is almost more important than the writing itself. Almost. So I’m curious…the queries that really grab you, is it more for the hook or the writing in the sample chapters?
Thank you!
Kerry
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This is a tough one. The hook and the writing are a little like an old married couple. You know if one dies, the other will follow. They just love each other that much. That, my friend, is the hook and the writing. They go together.
But, I suppose if I nitpick, the hook is more foundational. Without a great idea, you have no marketable story. The hook demonstrates you have conflict to resolve, characters with motivations, stakes to be dealt with, reasons to care. So, if you can write from a great concept/hook, then you’ve got a chance at creating something worth an agent’s attention (ie, something they can sell). Then comes the writing, of course. There are a lot of great ideas and hooks out there, but writers still have to execute. So while a great hook might get you out of the gate and grab an agent’s attention in the query, without great writing, you won’t get that request. And can I just say, that first paragraph REALLY matters.
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So, I guess to be just a bit more specific to your question, the hook in your query is what matters to me most … at first. If I see a great concept, then I’ll want to read your sample right away. If you have a great sample, at that point, you’ll get a request. 🙂
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Hi Ali, I have a question – I have a new idea for a novel. Is there any way I can “test” the concept to see if it is strong enough to attract an agent first before I start the first draft? My concern is spending 6-12 months writing the book, and then have agents say “Oh, that hook isn’t strong enough.” Of course I can ask friends and other writers, but they’re not the agents making the decision. Thanks!
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Great question! I feel like we need to come up with a new hashtag #testpitch or something, and make a day of it. Have other agents like hooks that have promise and feel free to make comments that might help.
That being said, it’s not exactly practical at this time! So, I’d encourage you to try to write a query letter based on your idea. Make the pitch sound like book jacket copy (go read a million of them in the genre you’re writing in, and that will give you an idea of how to do it). Make sure you end the plot summary with the hook! It should include: the Protagonist, central conflict, some atmosphere if possible and the !!!stakes!! The stakes can be public, private or ultimate and they are the reason readers care to see if your conflict can be resolved. I’ve got a diagram on plot arc and stakes somewhere on here, if you want to take a look. There’s a web site called http://agentqueryconnect.com/ where you can post query letters, first chapters, that kind of thing. I’m going to say, put up your “fake” query letter and see what people think!
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Thanks Ali! That’s essentially what I’ve been doing – writing the Query letter first! I’ll check out that website.
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Hi Ali, thanks for taking and answering questions. I have two.
1. When formatting a word document, is the industry standard 5 spaces or the tab button for a new paragraph? I have seen contradictory information on this point.
2. Should I follow agents?
Thanks,
Eva
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Hi! I’m glad to answer questions!
1. I personally format paragraphs with a 0.5″ hanging indent, no tabs for new paragraphs. This is a handy formatting guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3-jtDFRu7Y.
2. You should most definitely follow agents. They won’t all follow you back, but that doesn’t matter! You can learn a lot from the kinds of things they post. For instance, Lauren Zats does #500queries. You’ll see new #MSWLs, which will give you an idea of what’s selling/what they’re looking for. You’ll get #writetips and #pubtips and see what kinds of books they’ve just sold. That will tell you a lot about craft and the market. I personally would create a “list” in twitter — one for agents and one for editors at imprints that would sell the genre you’re writing. You can learn from both. Remember, the editors are the final “control” so it’s good to know what they’re looking for too.
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Hi Ali, thanks for the answers. I often check out the different hashtags and twitter accounts, but I was not sure about actually following agents. I will go ahead and feel free to do so from here on in. Thanks:
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Thanks for answering our questions!
I published my debut under a pen name with a small press. An agent responded to my query with great interest, but she said if my past sales are poor, big 5 editors might not even consider my new project.
Is it possible for me to re-launch with my legal name? I didn’t mention my pen name in the query, but I’m extremely concerned that this will ruin my chances of signing.
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Hi,
Admittedly, I’m not an expert on this, but I can’t imagine that sending a polite reply to her email saying you published with them under a pen name would have an adverse affect. Letting them know you would be willing to use a different pen or your legal name for future projects might help.
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My current WIP (upper MG Sci Fi) is written in first person present tense. From your experience, are agents more likely to connect with that POV versus first person past tense? I’ve been considering doing a past-tense rewrite, but get differing opinions. Thanks
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Thank you for the question. You’ve asked a tough one and one that gets debated (or at least pondered over and googled by writers all the time). The truth is there’s no definitive answer and both are acceptable. This being said, you’ll probably see more first person present tense in realistic fiction, and more past tense in fantastic (sff) fiction. From my personal experience only, overall, I would say past tense is most common. If you consider only the MG novels I ‘personally’ choose to read and those I am queried with (no scientific or definitive data here), I often see MG written third person past tense. And because of my personal likes, I often read/am queried with fantasy/sci-fi.
All this being said, I think the genre and work itself often dictate the voice and tense that’s necessary. And I’m a big fan of testing things out. Consider taking your first chapter and rewriting it in a variation of tenses and point of views and see which one best expresses your intentions. You may find you love third person past, or in retrospect, you can’t believe you ever wrote it in present tense, or wow, present tense first person is awesome! Best of luck!
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Thanks, I haven’t been getting the amount of requests I’d hoped for from the first queries that I sent for this book. Most of the feedback I’ve received says the premise is intriguing, but just not connecting with them. I’m going to do the re-write, mainly because I don’t want to keep burning names on my query list if the tense that I’m using is standing in the way.
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But one more thing, I’m currently on sub to editors with an MG first person past and it’s killer. So to reinterate, the work dictates the perspective and tense!
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Following up on this question from earlier this year, I completed my rewrite with POV change and have sent the book to CPs with a goal of querying after the holidays. However, I recently received critiques stating that my novel should be YA instead of upper MG. After spending the better part of three years revising and cutting word count from 79k for the original YA version to 55k for the current version, I hesitant to go the other direction. I’d like to explain my thinking and get your opinion.
YA readers are mostly females, and I received critiques on the YA version of my book from female teen readers who said they would not choose to read it because it had a male MC. I feel like the main market for this book is upper MG/tweens, although the plot is complex enough to draw in older readers as well. There is limited adult language (cowardly bastards), and some violence (lots of fighting, and a death by gunshot at the climax), and no sexual content. The MC is thirteen years old, the traditional upper limit for MG.
Given this information, I’d like to hear your thoughts on upper MG vs. YA in general as well as any specific advice you’d be willing to provide. Please let me know if there is any additional information I can provide to help form your opinion.
Thanks for making this Q&A available to authors!
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Hello,
How can word count affect the marketability of a novel? Western Vs African settings for example. I’m in Uganda and most of my novels are set there.
Secondly, the term unusual setting is a common one. What specifically makes a setting unusual?
Thank you.
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Thanks for the questions. First lets interchange the word saleability for marketability. An agent can only “sell” a novel to a willing publisher (or more specifically, an acquiring editor for that publisher) if it works for their line — and that is not only due to plot, content, characterization, etc., but word count. Many of the big publishers have a ton of different smaller imprints or houses that focus on specific kinds of literature, age groups or genres. Independent publishers may have niches as well. Each of these imprints or small houses will have word-count expectations of these genres based on age groups, and even the imprints themselves may have more even specific expectations of word count for their specific lines within those categories and age groups. For instance, Harlequin’s Love Inspired line has specific word counts of 55,000 to 60,000 words for each novel submitted. Harlequin Love Inspired readers know what to expect because of that, and Harlequin’s printing and shipping costs remain consistent. To take it further, I can’t sell a 100,000 word middle grade novel to Penguin Random House’s Razorbill (kids SFF line) when that expectation runs 50-65ish (off the top of my head), but I can probably sell a 100,000 word, awesome, adult scifi novel to Penguin Radom House’s Del Ray imprint (adult SFF, bigger word count) because that’s what they are looking for. So, knowing who you are writing for and writing to those expectations, is paramount — or nothing, na da will get rep or get sold.
As to setting, I think authenticity is important and the plot has to make sense within that setting. So, if you set your novels in Africa, make sure those plots work well there. If what’s happening would feel more authentic set in the West, then set it there. So long as you are writing authentically to that setting, you should be good.
Unusual settings are settings a particular editor doesn’t normally see. So maybe a historical romance set in China? Don’t we normally see them in Scotland and England these days, so that would be unusual? That being said, the writing is going to have to be very compelling to put something in an unusual setting in that situation, because you also have to be thinking about where your project fits in the market or where it will be shelved. So, unusual settings for particular genres like historical romance would have to be stellar writers who know exactly what they are doing.
But write me a middle grade novel about a black 12 year old from CA or NY who moves to Africa to be with their other parent (who lives there) following the death of the US parent, and that kid having to come to terms with loss and a new identity, then THAT’s a novel where setting matters, and an unusual setting makes total sense. Also, write it in a literary style with a correct word count and hopefully be a #POC writing it (because, authenticity matters) with knowledge of both cultures, and bam, potential best seller. (Oh, BTW, high-concept middle grade written in a literary style exploring a big theme like loss, that’s hot right now).
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What an elaborate answer! Thank you so much for the explanation and time. Looking forward to writing you that kind of MG, 12yr old black boy from NY, lost US father, goes to stay with the mother in Uganda, finding his late father’s businesses in the hands of his Mom’s new husband and the two boys will definitely never be friends.
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That was a really fantastic reply.
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Hi Eli,
You talk about what stakes are involved with your protagonist, what does she lose or gain in any given action or reaction, and how this conflict drives the story. I’d like to know if, in a first person story, do these stakes need to be obvious to the character from the beginning, or can they be revealed along the way? Do these stakes also need to be blatantly obvious to the reader from the beginning also, or are incredible physiological changes happening to the character and the ongoing external conflict because she is so different, enough to drive the story along? A bit like Ender’s personal story in the training facility above Earth in orbit, but without all of the politics going on behind the scenes. Ultimately that politics did hide a massive twist, but I hate reading all that political mumbling. Thanks
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Hi. Thanks for the question. Well, it’s been many years since I read Ender’s Game, so I’m not remembering a lot of the political mumbling, but do think we should know pretty quickly what’s at stake for our characters because that gives the reader a reason to care and keep reading. That doesn’t mean stakes can’t increase as the plot moves along. Take The Hunger Games (one of my favorite examples because it has all three stakes: public, personal and ultimate). We know from almost the very beginning that these Hunger Games exist and someone is going to get called and most likely die (PERSONAL). Bingo. Katniss ends up on the chopping block and we know that she has MAJOR PERSONAL STAKES in surviving the games. But oh, then poor Peeta is called too, and all the other kids who Katniss ends up wanting to protect (Rue and Thresh) and then it becomes obvious all the sectors are holding their breath over her actions too, so the stakes are upped to PUBLIC STAKES. At the end, Katniss has to decide whether her life is worth more than Peeta’s, and she faces ULTIMATE STAKES (her convictions and motivations are tested), is it just now about her own personal stakes or is it worth protecting others and challenging the system? So in answer, YES, at least part of your stakes need to be pretty obvious from the beginning, but other levels of stakes can be revealed along the way. The higher the stakes, the better the story, so if you can layer them in, that’s the best. These days the story problem needs to be unveiled pretty quickly, and with that problem, the stakes should be apparent because that problem must be solved. Now, all rules can be broken if done well, but you do have to give us a reason to care if you make us wait–make us feel for the protagonist, make us curious with hints of whats to come etc., but don’t wait too long!
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Hello Ali,
I received a rejection letter to one of my novels from an agent which said, ‘…I can see you have an interesting idea here, but after reading your first chapter, I’m sorry it’s not the right fit for me’, and it got me thinking what the deal breaker might have been. Would it be advisable for me to stop querying and consider rewriting the novel since the idea is being dubbed interesting? Is it the African setting? But it makes sense there though it could fit in a western setting too. Can it be the writing?
Thank you.
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Hi Joshua,
I think the rejection has less to do with setting and more to do how you executed your first pages. This could be a matter of taste from that agent or it could be you have an issue with some common first-page problem, and there are lots of those. The fact that you were told your good idea was good is a good thing, and so I wouldn’t go about rewriting everything. You may just need to work on the first pages, which is a common problem for many writers, especially debut writers just figuring things out.
So here’s are the common problem of first pages:
1) You started in the wrong place. You have to get to the inciting incident or the turning point (that turning point in your character’s life that puts him/her on the main path of your plot) fast, usually in the first chapter. If that happens in chapter 3, start in chapter 3 instead. 2) Your first chapter mostly consists of backstory. You as a writer consider the backstory important because you’ve used it to frame your story, but backstory should be sprinkled in. BEWARE the dreaded info dump of backstory. NEVER DO THAT. Read my blog on the golden thread, I think it may be the Bore the Literary Agent post. Akin to this, never start with your character waking up, or doing some activity like riding a bike, washing dishes, etc., any activity where they are basically just sitting around thinking about stuff. Because the stuff they are usually thinking about is the backstory. GET TO THE ACTION QUICKLY. 3) Beware purple prose. Basically this is trying to make everything sound elaborate and ornate. That means adjectives and adverbs everywhere instead of proper showing. 4) You may lack a balance of dialog, narration and action. Every book consists of a) dialog: characters talking, b) action or beats: people doing things c) narration- commentary or what is told to us (point of view is who is telling it, so 1st person vs 3rd person offer slightly different narrative perspectives). If you say have tons of dialog all in a row with no break to show us what your character is doing (action) or narration (to help us understand how they are feeling or their motivations) then it gets rather boring. You need to balance all three of these to there is a proper rhythm to the writing and a proper feeling of engagement in the scene to the reader. We need all three to feel immersed. 5) You used a prologue. This is akin to backstory. MOST AGENTS do not like them. Skip them. Start your plot MOVING from page one. No backstory. No boring situations. 6) You haven’t set the scene or you feature so much exposition to set the scene it’s too much. Balance again. 7) Nothing happens. Plot has to be occurring. So whatever that happens to your main character to motivate them to deal with/bear the circumstances that will be thrown at them, the tension that must be dealt with, whatever happens to do them to put them on the “path of plot” better happen in the first chapter. Do not leave characters idle. Do not write a scene, especially in the first chapter, that does not to advance the story problem/plot. 8) start with cliches 9) In romance, hero and heroine need to meet in first chapter. 10) Too much telling vs. showing 11) For me, I’ll characterize this as the weird opening. Definitely no weird openings… No first line of overtly sexual dialog, My name is …, purple prose first line. 12) voice needs work.
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Hello there! I am new to your blog. I have a completed manuscript, but just don’t know WHERE or HOW to start this process. Do I write a query, 1 Sheet, Synopsis, etc. and start emailing random agents that I find through Google? Do I self publish? Where does one begin the journey of becoming a published author? After reading this post, I have some glaring issues in my first chapter that need addressing. For starters, it is a YA Christian Romance novel and my love interests don’t meet until chapter 2. I now believe that the first chapter is too much “set up.” But, once I’ve got things reworked in following your advice above (much appreciated), where does one start this journey? I’m told the road is long and you must be persistent and sometimes long-suffering. I’m game…once I find the starting line.
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Hi, welcome to the blog and thanks for your questions. I think your first step is finding a few critique partners (CP’s for short). You may be able to do this by joining a local writing group (RWA is romance; ACFW is christian or inspirational) who can give you honest feedback on your work. They’ll be the first to tell you if your project is query ready. The great thing about writing groups is you often have writers in different stages of their journey who can show you the path and tell you pitfalls to avoid. You can also find CPs through Twitter contests like #PitchWars. Then there’s conferences with classes, agent pitch sessions, panel and lots of fun swag. Try attending a local one first: maybe hosted by said RWA or ACFW chapters, or Writers Digest (also has online classes, resources and the famous book “Guide to Literary Agents” (https://www.writersdigestshop.com/guide-to-literary-agents-2018-r6243?gclid=Cj0KCQjwttbWBRDyARIsAN8zhbJzRt655kHf_40b5Eb6t75cbNbWRgN2EogrybniytkVTBpwGxIU-DYaAgQGEALw_wcB) which will tell you a lot about writing queries, etc. and provide a list of agents.
You can also access agent profiles and search by genre (because it’s best to query people who would actually want to see your work, ie, agents who rep inspy, etc.) on http://www.querytracker.net. This site is free but you can also access additional useful tools for what I think is pretty reasonable cost, including the ability to track queries you sent, agent response times, etc. You might also like the resources and community on http://agentqueryconnect.com/ where you can post query letters, first chapters, etc. to be critiqued by the writing community at large. You’ll get lots of advice on these sites, so take that with a grain of salt. Not everyone on them knows what they are talking about.
Twitter is also great. I encourage you to follow agents and editors and see what kind of #writetips, #pubtips, etc. they are posting. Laura Zats does #500queries and basically, she tells you why she asked for or passed on the queries she received. Random agents also do #10queries, so search that hashtag. You can also look up the #MSWL (hashtag for manuscript wishlist where agents/editors post project they want to see, and you can reference that in a query letter to show you have something they may want to see). You can then write the query subject line: QUERY: #MSWL TITLE for added oomph). There are also two manuscript wishlist web sites: http://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/ and http://mswishlist.com/ and I’m also a huge fan of Pub Rants: http://nelsonagency.com/pub-rants/ as a resource.
After you’ve put your MS through the ringer and are SURE you’re ready to query, write a query letter, a synopsis (1-3 pages is good) (my favorite “how to write a synopsis” tutorial: http://www.publishingcrawl.com/2012/04/17/how-to-write-a-1-page-synopsis/) so you have that ready. If you want to be a traditionally published writer, I would NOT recommend self-publishing or signing with the first small/indie press who wants you. If you end up having poor sales in a particular genre with them, then the likelihood of a big publisher picking you up goes down A LOT (even if you didn’t have much of a marketing budget). You’ll basically have to write the end-all be-all book in a DIFFERENT genre at that point, to reinvent yourself. At the very least, if you do this, publish under a PEN name and not your legal name. Save that for if you end up traditionally published.
And if I may, swing over to my new clients blog. It’s an eye opener: https://kaceyvanderkarr.com/2018/04/16/how-i-got-my-agent/.
Keep writing too! Most people don’t sell until they are on their 3 -6 book or something crazy. Rarely is a first book the penultimate of your ability as a writer. Its often the stepping stone (one of many) to get across the rapids that block the way to publishing your first book.
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I am humbled and so grateful for your thoughtful and thorough response. I guess it is time to quit dragging my feet and get a Twitter account so that I can follow and glean and grow.
Again, thank you. Your kindness is appreciated!
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I’m glad to help, and yes definitely jump in the deep end on Twitter. The writing community is ACTIVE and ALIVE on Twitter, and I can’t tell you how much you are missing out on not jumping in feet first. Come follow me and be sure to tweet at me a hi! 🙂 @HerringAli
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Hello,
Could you please advise me where to find a few good beta readers for my novel? My friends and friends of friends have read it and loved it, and gave me their in depth reviews. However, shouldn’t I find some less connected readers to get a better/realistic review?
Thank you.
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Thanks for the question! You’re right that beta readers or critique partners (CP’s as they are often called on Twitter) can be critical–especially outside of your family and friends circle. Great ways to find them are to 1) join and participate in local writing groups (like an RWA chapter if you write romance, ACFW for inspy, SWCA, etc. or area groups like my client KC Karrs Flint Area Writers.) 2) You can also go to conferences to meet like-minded folks and meet there. Sometimes conferences or writer’s workshops have group critiques where you read and comment on each other’s work. You may get lucky in that setting to connect with a CP. 3) Participate in #PitchWars on Twitter. There are often opportunities to find CPs through #pitchwars hashtags that pop up. These are just a few places to go, but a quick google search will tell you more. For instance … https://thewritelife.com/find-a-critique-partner/.
The thing to remember in looking for a good CP is to find a great match. All writers are not created equal, and you both want someone who can meet you where you are at and push you to be better. So, find a skills match but find someone who is better at something that you are weak at and vice versa. Good luck!
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Hi Ali,
I recently finished revworking my manuscript based on your feedback (which is very similar to your most recent blog post!). I thought I’d see if you’d like me to resubmit. I also followed you on Twitter today.
-Robert
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If you’ve made significant revisions, you can try me again, especially since I gave you specific feedback! Good luck!
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Hello Ali,
First of all, I just want to say I appreciate how much you have invested yourself in helping writers to be successful – your blog posts and tweets are both informative and inspirational.
I have been querying agents and have a dilemma regarding who I should be submitting to. My question is, if my manuscript falls under grounded science fiction that is speculative (a first contact is involved), but the story has mainstream commercial appeal to a broad audience, do I query agents who represent science fiction or agents that represent commercial fiction without specifying a genre? When I research agents, many are specifically looking for science fiction, but I get the impression they are looking for elaborate world building so the reader is transported into another universe, rather than my manuscript which is grounded science fiction taking place in the near future (similar to Carl Sagan’s novel Contact, made into a movie with Jodie Foster). My manuscript would fall into the science fiction genre because of the alien elements but would also enjoy broad mainstream appeal with universal themes.
I am finding the query process exhausting because I carefully research each agent I query, in hopes of partnering with someone not just for my current manuscript, but for my career, and I am hoping to find representation that will be a great fit for both parties. I also have another consideration, in that I have a middle-grade fantasy that comes in around 45,000 that I currently have under another round of revision. Do I query agents who primarily represent science fiction and fantasy, since I have a novel coming behind my current manuscript that is fantasy – or do I query agents who represent commercial fiction (an entertaining story) without the specific science fiction genre since my novel doesn’t easily fit in a sci-fi sub genre?
I hope this isn’t too much information or too complicated – I would just like to get your wisdom on how I should select agents for future queries. I am willing to put in all of the hard work – I just want to make sure I am putting my energy in the right direction. Thanks so much for all you do for the writing community – I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts…
Nancy
P.S. This may sound familiar – Thank you for your thoughtful reply earlier this evening.
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Hi thanks for your question. You are probably safer starting with agents that rep science fiction, speculative or SFF (science fiction fantasy) first, and then go to agents who rep commercial fiction. Finding an agent can be a numbers game, really, and I would worry first about having a really tight General query that you only personalize if there’s something authentic to connect you to the agent. Don’t kill your self looking for a tidbit to personalize it Otherwise just focus on the manuscript in hopes it speaks for itself. Hope that helps!
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Thank you for the time you took to reply and for sharing your wisdom and experience – it does help!
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I did have one more question and I hope I’m not being too presumptuous…you are at the top of my list for “dream agent” and so when I received your response regarding my query, “The concept and writing quite appealed to me” I was thrilled – but reading further, ultimately you decided to pass on seeing more (which of course I found disappointing), while inviting me to query future work (which made me feel better). I am guessing you won’t remember the query since you see so many, but I was wondering what if anything I could have done differently to make you want to take it to the next level and request more? If this question is inappropriate here, I apologize and please disregard…but any additional information as I navigate this arduous process in hopes of traditional publishing would be helpful – thanks!
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Ali,
Thanks for the wonderful feedback that you’ve posted here. I wanted to find out more about your opinion on getting published in any way possible versus waiting for a big deal. You mentioned that low sales with a small publisher can hurt an author’s prospects for signing with a large publisher in the future. Would you say that this applies to all writing formats or just novels?
My situation is that I’ve been querying my first manuscript for the last six months, and during that time I entered and won first place in a short story competition (Story Shares 2018). This has made me think that I should focus more of my attention on shorter formats (short stories, novelettes, novellas) as a way to prove my writing ability and build an audience for my writing. But I’m concerned that it might hurt my chances to appeal to a large publisher with my full length novel. Do you think that’s true? Or would large publishers of novels only be concerned with an author’s track record in novel length writing? Also, how would a publisher even attribute sales specifically to the author if a story was published in a journal or collection?
I may have just answered my own question, but I’d still be interested to hear your opinion on the matter.
Thanks,
Myles Christensen
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Thanks for your questions. Publishing short stories in anthologies and magazines is a GREAT way to cut your teeth as a writer. It’s what my client Kurt Kirchmeier did before he was traditionally published. (Check out his recent tweet @saskwriter where he has posted a pic of all his past pubs.) If you want to be traditionally published, don’t self publish and I’d be cautious about small presses. At the very least — if you just can’t stop yourself — don’t publish with your legal name. Use a pen and save the legal name for the big boys. I can’t really speak to the novella question but I think I’d ask what the presses sales numbers are for past novelas and then make that decision.
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Quick follow-up questions. I think I understand that a writer would want to use a pen name in self-publishing (or anything with a different audience) to avoid reader confusion. But you made the statement that if a writer wants to be traditionally published they shouldn’t self-publish. Why is that? I understand that a particular book would never go self-publishing then traditional (or almost never). But what about hybrid authors? Is it possible to explore both options with different types of books/audiences? Or is self-publishing the kiss of death from the traditional publishing point of view?
Myles
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I think writers should consider VERY carefully the possible ramifications of self-publishing if they want to be traditionally published later. This is because they create a record of sales that follows them, that they may have to overcome on a Profit and Loss sheet at some point when their book goes to acquisitions at a traditional publisher — if those books are attached to their name. If they didn’t sell well, it could potentially affect the deal because there could be concern over the author’s ability to draw readers. This might not always be the case, but it can be for some publishers. I think better to play it safe than sorry, personally. Yes, there are successful self published writers (think Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja and Elf on a Shelf) as well as hybrid authors, but I tend to think a lot of them started out traditional, grew their audience in that format, and then brought that audience over with them to their self-published work. No, self-publishing isn’t the kiss of death, but it can definitely be an obstacle to overcome, especially when poor sales are recorded. I hope that makes sense. If you hear differently, please share. This is what I’ve been taught myself, and in publishing, there are always many opinions, and of course, experiences that may differ than this.
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Hi Ali,
Thank you for providing this Q&A space! My question is about how to address the agent in the query letter. I’ve seen some suggestions to use the agent’s first name, but since it is a professional letter, would it be better to say Dear Ms. Last Name or Dear Mr. Last Name? Thank you!
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I think as long as you’re polite, using a first name is fine. I know for me Hi Ali, Dear Ali is fine. But probably use Dear … if they don’t state otherwise.
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Thank you!
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Hi Ali, I’m a writer who lives in The Netherlands and I have finished my first novel this past April. I’ve sent the manuscript to some publishers over here, but while waiting for responses there’s a constant voice in my heart that says I should try to send it to America. Besides the fact that the story is set in the US, I feel it is a ‘classic American story of good versus evil’ (a.k.a. a dystopian YA) But…. and here comes the problem; it’s written in Dutch. Although my English is pretty good, writing in my native language was the best choice for me. In the past few weeks one of my best friends has offered to translate my manuscript (she worked as an interpreter in the past) and I’ve already been searching for agents (I found you and one of your wishlist tweets and felt my story might be a good match 🙂 My question after this loooong intro is: the translation of the manuscript will obviously take some time, but could I send you the first three chapters already? Or is it best to wait (impatient as I am 😉 until the entire manuscript is translated before I start sending query letters? Thanks in advance for reading and answering!
Kind regards, Laura
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Thanks for the question. I think I’d wait until the whole manuscript is translated in hopes you get a request for a full manuscript and then can comply quickly. Good luck as I know your friend is putting in lots of work!
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Hi Ali,
I just wanted to let you know that a year after this question I asked you I can proudly say that the dystopian YA novel I was talking about comes out next month!! I signed a publishing deal with Clavis Books (Belgium/The Netherlands based) and on November 25th ‘ When the night ends’ (or actually ‘ Als de nacht eindigt’ in Dutch 😉 will be in bookstores. I AM OVER THE MOON! An English translation is my next dream, so I’m gonna do my best to make it a success over here!
Laura Diane
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Congratulations Laura!
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Dear Ali, I can’t tell from your wish list and current clients if you have an interest in science fiction not written specifically for MG or YA. Do you? Thanks, liam
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Hi yes! I definitely am looking for adult Science Fiction.
So to break it down, I want anything and everything in the middle grade and adult categories. If you can name a genre or make one up and its MG and YA, I want to see it.
In adult fiction I am looking for: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance (particularly contemporary, but I will consider all time periods), in romance full-length and category-length (to meet guidelines-think Harlequin) romance, Women’s fiction, Southern general fiction, women’s fiction, etc., and Christian fiction. In Christian (sometimes called Inspirational) fiction, I am particularly looking for romance, women’s fiction with a vein of romance, and category-length contemporary romance (to meet any of the expectations of the harlequin lines like Love Inspired). I also tend to take a peak at cozy mysteries (often with southern settings) or thrillers on occasion. If I get sent one of these and don’t think it’s for me, but appreciate it, I’ll often pass it to Sandy Harding in our firm who’s our go-to mystery/thriller agent.
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Ali,
We’ve interacted a bit on Twitter, and you seem wonderfully easy-going and good-natured, so I hope you’ll forgive any clumsiness on my part, as I would hate to be THAT author… Anyhow, I queried through Query Manager Dec 1 and am concerned that my query might somehow have been misdirected to another agent or otherwise lost. Please let me know whether I should resubmit via Query Manager or some other means – or if I need to sit tight a little longer. I don’t mind waiting, but I do want to be sure the query made it to you!
Thank you!
lisa
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Hi, yes, I know you! Theoretically, it was possible it was under the avalanche of my query inbox which is sitting now (gulp) at 426, BUT I looked for your query thinking it may be in my maybe pile, but I can’t find one from you at all. Unless I’ve answered you recently, please requery bia query manager and in the referral form, put “Request from Ali via wordpress” and address the query letter to me, Dear Ali or whatever salutation you prefer! Thanks!
Query: https://bit.ly/2EOFVFa
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Hi Ali,
Quick question – When sending a query, is using your name in the salutation of the letter pasted into the form enough to have it forwarded to you? I couldn’t find any other way to send it to your attention.
Thanks!
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Yes, you just address the query to me and then that query is assigned to me. If authors don’t address the query letter to one of the agents in our firm, then whoever is sorting queries will try to direct it to the best fit. Thanks.
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Thank you!
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Hi Ali,
Are you interested in international literature and books like Chimamanda’s Americanah? I have a wonderful book. I wonder if you can help. The characters are blacks and whites and others even Muslims. The setting is Nigeria and London, England. My friends are always excited about it’s literary merit/qualities.
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Feel free to query me. I can’t determine if something’s a fit without seeing that first. Here’s where to query: https://bit.ly/2EOFVFa. Thanks!
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I sent a query for my YA sci-fi addressing Amanda Leuck, but now that I found out you are from Georgia and like Christian stuff and strong female protags (one of my viewpoint characters is from Georgia and is Christian and the other is a super alien female), I’d love to send to you! Will all the agents at the agency get a chance to consider my manuscript?
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Hi, if you addressed it to Amanda, she’ll be the one to answer your query. However, if you get a no from her, in this instance, you can try me with it. That being said, I’m wayyyyyy behind on queries, so you might be in for a wait.
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Ali,
Thank you so much for letting me know. If I get a no from her and am still querying, I’ll send it your way.
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Hi Ali,
Thanks so much for this Q&A! In the research I’ve done, I’ve seen conflicting advice on what to write in the “author bio” section of a query. While I know it goes agent by agent, I’m trying to find a happy medium between telling a little bit about myself and my hobbies/interests/etc without turning the section into a mini cover letter. What is your personal preference?
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This is a tough one. I’d say if you already have a super long cover letter and no real writing credits, keep it one sentence. Like, “I’m a radio DJ by trade and live in sunny California.” It can be nice to know where someone is regionally and what they do for their day job. Often that, along with your name, gives me enough to google and find the author online if I want to know more. Sorry for the late reply. Remember to ping me on Twitter future question askers, if I don’t reply within a few days!
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Hi Ali,
I read on your blog, not sure if it was via the reply comments or a blog post, not to self-publish if you want to be traditionally published. Do you still agree with that route? I’m asking because this year at a Christian conference, three small houses asked for me to send my manuscript for them to take a look. Then I heard a trusted agent that’s been in the Christian publishing industry for many years state not to publish with a small house that it was better to self publish than go with a small publisher. However, larger Christian houses aren’t looking for YA Contemporary, what would be your best advice in this situation? I didn’t send my manuscript but need to make an informed decision ASAP. This agent said to selfpub, sell well, and the industry would take notice. What are your thoughts?
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Everyone can have different opinions on this, but mine is self-publishing AND publishing with a small house can be a big roadblock to being traditionally published with a bigger house. There are smaller publishers I respect, but I know that their authors can put up decent enough numbers with their marketing support than other lesser-known small presses, to be considered by a bigger house. I PERSONALLY would wait and write something saleable within the Christian market (like romance, romantic suspense, etc.) and try to sell that first. I’ve heard said publishing is like a box. Write in the middle of the box to start and get published. You can write at the corners (like Christian YA) once you have a market to sell to. The truth is it’s really difficult (not impossible) to sell well self-published. It takes lots of marketing and reach.
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Hi Ali,
I took your advice and switched to Contemporary Romance for the Christian market. This week, I placed 2nd in the unpublished category for Contemporary Romance. Thanks for leading me in the right direction. Soon, I’ll have a full proposal to send you. When are you closing your queries for the summer?
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I’m not sure TBH, if you finish after I close, you can just let me know here since we’ve discussed before.
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Hello Ali.
I quired you about a year and a half ago, and since then, I perfected my manuscript (a lot). Is it okay for me to require you again?
Thank you.
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Hi Abigail, I’m not usually a big fan of people querying again unless I requested it with revisions, but since you asked so nicely, try me again 😉
However, for those looking at this question, this is not a blanket everyone can resubmit with revisions. I prefer people only query again with new work.
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Hi, Ali!
I really appreciate you being here to answer our questions. Thank you.
I am getting ready to query my MG novel. It is for the general market, however most of my writing credits and organizations are faith-based. I hesitate to list them in my query because I don’t want agents to see them, assume my novel is for the CBA, and then immediately pass because that’s not what they represent. Should I leave out my credits and perhaps explain later if I get “the call?” Should I leave them in, but then say that my novel is for the general market? If so, what would be the best way to state it?
Thank you and have a fantastic week!
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Hi Kristen,
If you had a novel-length work published by any of the big Christian houses like Thomas Nelson, Zondervan, Revell, Baker, Tyndale, Harlequin romance lines, etc., or perhaps a novel with a smaller but well-respected press like Kregel, then that would be worth mentioning. If you are talking non-book-length work, newsletters, etc. then just keep it simple like, I write professionally, but this would be my debut novel (I hate it when people mention this is their first novel. It sets me up to think it could need work. That’s not always true!). If it’s a well-respected magazine or maybe part of a serial, mention it quickly at the end too.
My formula for success with queries is to keep it simple:
Hi XYZ,
My name is … and I’ve written a 60,000-word middle grade fantasy *age group, genre) called XYZ (ALL CAPS) that’s pitched as XZY meets XYZ (or that would be perfect for fans of XYZ’s). If you are answering an #MSWL, you can give the reason now. If not, get right to this next part: Give a high-concept quick pitch that could be written in less than 3 sentences or so (look at examples from PW deal announcements – this is so if you’ve got an agent who only skims, they get all the important details and then a quick idea of what it’s about UP FRONT). If not an mswl, you can give reason now for pitching them, but keep it short!
You can then follow that with a paragraph like:
Here’s the bigger blurb: (in italics): Then lay it out here in 2 paragraphs or less. Don’t forget to give stakes. I don’t read anything if you can’t tell me what’s at stake for your characters. If this XYZ happens, then this XYZ horrible thing will happen, or this XYZ wonderful thing won’t happen. Stakes are personal, public or ultimate and having all three in your book is best! (See previous blog post on this).
Then you can say something simple like about yourself. I write professionally for a living, and was inspired to write this because…
Or I’m a stay-at-home mom with a degree in XYZ. Or I’m a teacher who XYZ. Just keep it short!
Then your classic last line: Thanks for your consideration,
XYZ name.
Hope that helps!
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Oh, you’d never mention, “This is for the general market,” in your query if pitching something general market. You’d only mention it if you were pitching something for a Christian press. Like… This is a 89,000-word inspirational (code word for Christian) romance that is XYZ meets XYZ…
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Hi, Ali!
This is massively helpful!! Thank you so much. I don’t have any novels published, and my writing credits are from Clubhouse, Clubhouse Jr., Upper Room, places like that, so I’ll keep it generic and then focus on why I wrote the book and a bit about me. Thanks and many blessings.
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Dear Ali,
I just wanted to ask: When will a prologue be okay? What are examples of a prologue you would not mind (or possibly like)?
Is 70,000 words too long for a middle-grade novel if it is a fantasy (the kind that is of Earth, but takes place in a made-up suburb of magical/paranormal elements)?
Are comparisons to other books mandatory for you, or is it okay not to have them?
Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Aria
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I’m going to give you a Twitter link to a post by an editor from Orbit, Brit Hvide, where she discusses (quite well, which is why I’m sharing it), prologues!! https://twitter.com/i/status/1248657687212163078. Prologues are usually unnecessary and used to info dump backstory. If yours is doing this, then don’t do it (read my golden thread blog post). They very rarely work. If I ever like them, they are super short (like three paragraphs) or perhaps written like a letter– and even then I’d never call them a prologue and just slide them in centered on a page right before chapter 1.
70K scares me for a middle grade novel. Some editors I’ve heard from are a little “tired” of word counts creeping up into YA age. I’d rather you max out at 65K for a debut for a top word-count range. You might check out the book THE WORD LOSS DIET to see if it can help you reduce word count.
A good comp can be awesome and really trigger my desire to see the book. I personally like X-book meets X-movie/TV show. If you know you have a super comp put it at the top of the query on its own line! That’s fun to me! If I sign an author, it’s helpful to me that the author did their homework, which helps me get them on sub faster. A lot of agents ask for them, so a good idea to include, but I won’t NOT sign someone with killer writing who didn’t provide them. Please however don’t comp to mega books like Harry Potter. 🙂
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Thank you very much for your response. I read Brit Hvide’s recommended example prologue; it’s about less than a page, maybe.
Thank you for your insight about editors opinion concerning high middle-grade word counts.
Thank you again.
Sincerely,
Aria
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Hi Ali, I see back in the summer that you said you were really behind on your queries. Is that still the case? I’m looking for your current expected response time through Query Manager. I understand you’re super busy! No worries!
Thanks,
Laura G Hayes
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Yes I am! And if you are in my maybe pile, you might wait even longer, so that’s something to consider!
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Hello.
I hope you and your family are doing well during this crazy time in the world.
I got one question:
To hire or not to hire a professional editor before querying an agent, that is the question. 🙂
I know my plot is solid, and the characters are well developed. However, English is my second language, so my grammar is not stellar.
Should I spend $$$$ on copyediting before querying or if the idea is good and the plot is well-executed, will agents help with grammar?
Thank you so much for your time.
🙂
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I would never have thought English was your second language from your question, so I think that’s positive. But that’s a tough one because if your grammar is so distracting, it won’t read well and will mean a pass unless your “story” is just overwhelmingly good. The other issue is, copy editors may cost you a pretty penny and without having had your book read by HONEST critique partners, then you won’t know if your book has reached the level where a copy editor to correct grammar is an investment worth pursuing (meaning if your CPs say “the story isn’t there yet” then maybe it’s best to revise, or maybe better yet write another book). Personally, I’d get several critique partners to read and see what they have to say. Go in with a thick skin and open to criticism. BUT, if you can afford it without hurting yourself or your family or going into debt, then it might be an option for you if it’s something you REALLY want. So in the end, add it all up and see what you want and what you’re willing to pay for, knowing that it’s not a guarantee of an agent’s request or offer of rep. Hey, and you’ll be helping the economy, so there is that!
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Good morning, I would like to submit my proposal but when I click your query manager I receive this message: “This connection is not private and may be impersonating Query Manger to obtain your financial info.”
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That’s super weird Ginny. I can’t speak to technical issues. Maybe try using a different browser. Click the link from our submissions page at http://www.spencerhillassociates.com.
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Are Christmas stories just too seasonal for newbie writers (in terms of the ROI for publishers), or do you think they might gain some popularity with the recent tough times as a means for feel-good escapism? Asking for a friend. TY. 🙂
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Christmas stories can be a tough sale. Mostly the issue I see is that there’s only a few slots for them, so you have publishers “christmas” calendar scheduled for the next three years or so… hard to break into that. I’d think debuts would have a better shot at getting published with something that could be pubbed any time of the year.
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Thank you. Wow! I had no idea Christmas was that far out in planning.
Follow up question?
The second installment in this particular series is an Arabian Night adventure. You don’t have to read book 1 to read the 2nd, but it only adds to the chapter build.
Much thanks!
Should I query book 2 as if it’s the first, or advise prospective agents that this is book 2 and that the first falls under “Christmas?”
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However, you choose to do it, I’d only query one book at at time. I guess I’d start with book 1 (Christmas book) and see if you get any full requests, or if you are only getting back rejections. If that’s the case, then pitch book two as a stand-alone, and don’t mention book 1. That’s how I’d do it personally myself, so don’t take this as law.
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… *character* build.
Thank you for your time and feedback. The 1st in the series (Christmas book) has not received any full requests, but many agents have been genuinely kind and supportive and even mentioned if I have other projects ready to go, to consider them. Three agents have specifically mentioned the Christmas theme being the problem for them personally.
Book 2 (Arabian Night) is not a Christmas book, but my protagonist is a 12 y/o girl who happens to be Santa Claus. Doh! Why did I do this to myself? We’ll, they’ll either love it, or think I’m crazy. Thanks again for all the insight. 🙂
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Hi,
I’m writing an adult SF/F double series. Ideally, I’d love to branch off into all sorts of different genres using the characters within.
However, I’m have a heck of a time deciding if:
1. I should keep my story as is at 165,000 words.
2. Break it off into two books of 95,000 words each by adding another 20,000 words.
3. And for the second part, the fantasy portion, I’m going to be writing 100’s of thousands of words.
I’ve discovered my own voice, but realize that I still have to deliver in my writing. I’m unsure where a new writer, and my veteran’s sense of humor, should go?
Any advice you give would be great thanks.
JJ
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Thanks for your question. I think I’d top out per book no more than 120,000, but each book has to have a complete plot and character arc, so just make sure you’ve got a complete story if you break it into two. You really need to google word count expectations for genre, because A LOT of words doesn’t necessarily a better story make. You might write yourself into oblivion.
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Hello! Just wondering if it’s a bad idea to try to make contact with an agent before submitting a query. Should the first interaction be the query in their inbox, or is it ok to say hello when trying to find the right agent? Thank you for your time!
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Thanks for your question. Don’t reach out via email or linkedin before querying. That won’t be appreciated. You might interact with them on Twitter, but don’t come across as stalkerish either! Hope that makes sense. In the end, I can like you like a bestie, but your work has to speak for itself.
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Hello, Ali.
Thanks for your time! I’ve just realized we could ask you here.
It’s been a month since I queried you—no worries, I know you must be super busy. Not an impatient nudge or anything. However, I’m worried I dumped my chances with you right into the trashcan after I’ve received help to revamp my query letter, synopsis and especially, the first pages. They look so much better now. I learned you have a “maybe” pile (yes, got my hopes up lol) So *just in case* my query may be there sitting on that pile (looking at it respectfully), I don’t know if it may help you to know this info and maybe I could resubmit—in case you request a resubmission, of course. Sorry for the mess and have a good day!
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Hi thanks for your question. To be completely honest, I’m MONTHS behind on queries, so the people in my MAYBE pile are from last year. If you want, withdraw the query and resubmit. That’s your best shot.
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Thank you so much for replying! That’s what I will do. I really want you to see my best work! Have a good day!
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For the last 40 years when I’ve needed a good framer, I went to the local lumber yard – they always had one. So…when I need a good agent, I went to my friends at Thomas Nelson – they recommended YOU! Now what, submissions are closed until September 7th, but I’m no longer buying green bananas…
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Yes, sorry I’m closed. When I reopen, feel free to query. You can use your friend’s name in the Referral box in Query Manager.
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submissions are open now. 🙂
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Jesus asked 153 questions to His disciples. Would you like to read a devotion on each one?
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Sorry Frank, I don’t rep non-fiction!
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Hi, Ali!
I follow you on Twitter, and I’ve got you on my list of agents for two different projects (one at a time, of course). What’s your advice about the best way to write a synopsis? I’ve tried my hand at them, but I don’t think I’ve got it. I could use all the advice I could get on writing the best synopsis.
Thanks,
Becca Hart (Rebekah Artman)
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I’ve always loved sharing this link to learn the basics of synopsis writing using Star Wars as an example. You basically want to hit your major characters, inciting incident (the crossroads your character encounters that reveals the story problem you’ll spend your text answering), major plot points, climax, falling action, etc. https://www.publishingcrawl.com/2012/04/17/how-to-write-a-1-page-synopsis/
Something like this would work for what I ask for with your query. I typically have my authors do about 5 – 7 pages typed double spaced for an editor.
Thanks for your question!
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This whole thread is so refreshing to see — thank you for doing this for prospective authors! My question:
1) The story I’m querying is urban fantasy at its heart, but it masquerades as SF. Alternate Earth setting, present-ish day, assassin MC is brainwashed and misled to think his supernatural abilities come from technology. A big part of the plot arc is him discovering the lie throughout the book. I’ve considered querying this a dozen different ways (“urban fantasy,” “SFF,” “action-adventure with SFF elements,” “SFF thriller,” etc.). Should I just commit to calling it UF, or tailor it with a relevant variation (like those above) to most closely fit an agent’s preferred subgenres?
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Hi thanks for your question. I mean from this description the big umbrella term to use is Speculative Fiction, but from your further description I think you might be looking at what’s called Science Fantasy. Look that up on Wiki and see if that reads true, but if you’re worried, stick with speculative fiction. Thanks!
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Thanks for the reply (and so fast — you rock!). To clarify for safety’s sake, there isn’t actually any advanced technology in my story at all. It’s a present-earth setting in which anything that looks/sounds like advanced tech is actually revealed to be 100% magic (mythology-based). That’s built up throughout the book, soft revealed at the end of act 2, then full revealed in the denouement. Would you still consider it spec fiction or science fantasy with all that in mind?
Many thanks and big appreciation for the help. 😁
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I think I’d just call it speculative then.
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Hi Ali,
I’m hearing a lot of buzz regarding YA POV. In today’s market, I’ve heard that agents will automatically reject a YA manuscript that had a third-person limited POV. Is this true? Would you reject or consider a manuscript for the YA (Romantic Suspense) market with this type of POV? What have you heard from other agents and editors?
Thank you for your time in answering.
Lorrie
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Hi Lorrie, You see a lot of first person with YA but not always. I won’t auto reject due to this. I actually just had an author of mine rewrite something from 1st to third (dual POV though, so you do get two perspectives), because it frankly just worked better. This is even though I LOVE their first person stuff, and signed them for a 1st person narrative, but for some reason the 3rd just fit this next project. Basically, if you know what you’re doing and you’re doing it well and your hook ROCKS, then you might be good. Write some chapters and have some CPs read it. Ask for brutal honesty.
As always with anyone writing, I think the question to ask is should you be writing down the center of the box (ie, the most saleable, the most unobjectionable, etc.) or are you such an incredibly gifted writer you can write at the corners at the start? That being said, 3rd person limited isn’t exactly writing at the corners if you’re good at it, can convey emotional depth, etc and tell the story well, but it’s not exactly dead center either.
Hope that helps! Write some chapters. Have some CPs read. Get their feedback!
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Hey Ali,
How do you feel about authors doing more than one genre? And would you be interested in an ownvoices rom-contemp’s for YA?
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Dear Ali Herring,
How do you recommend young authors without post-secondary degrees or publishing experience get the attention of agents?
Thank you!
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Write a great story from the first sentence to last that captures readers’ hearts, with stakes that make the reader keep reading, with a well-thought out plot, with characters that you love – or maybe hate some too – , who encounter character change as part of that journey, and no lack of degree or publishing experience will matter.
Yes there’s things you can do to do this better: read craft books like STORY GENIUS and MASTERING SUSPENSE STRUCTURE AND PLOT, understand what stakes are and why they matter, recognize when your story actually starts – when your character encounters that story problem that sets them on the path of plot – like in Hunger Games that’s when Katniss’s sisters name was called and she had to decide to volunteer for her, write robust characters who respond authentically to situations based on who you know they are, write dialog that sounds like people actually speaking, have a great balance of narration – the internal story of your character, dialog – what we learn that they speak out loud, and action beats – which can also convey emotion, intention, etc. Oh, big one, write something with a GREAT HOOK that hasn’t been done that way before. A well-written book with a hook that’s subpar won’t stand out.
Don’t be set on your first book is going to be the one to get an agent and a deal. Does it happen? Yes. Does it happen often? No. Keep writing new books. Don’t write sequels to books you don’t get an agent for unless its just for practice. I can’t sell a second book if I can’t sell the first.
Don’t give up. You have to fall off the bike and get scraped up before you can ride. And you have to ride a lot before you’re pulling wheelies and tricks sometimes that get you really seen.
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Hi, Ali! I have so many doubts hahahah I’ll try to sum it up. I’ve written a story but I sure need an editor. I wrote it in English but I am Brazilian, so there will be some semantic problems (probably) and some grammar errors. Would you be willing to help me with my story? Do you also work as an editor?
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Hi Catarina, I don’t work as an editor, sorry.
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Hello Ali,
Thank you for this thread. Reading it is brilliantly insightful.
I had a question about submissions. On the title page of the manuscript, I keep reading you have to have your name, number, address, and e-mail. Of all those, my only concern is my address.
It’s not that I don’t trust the agents, but I don’t really want to be sending out my address.
Is it required to include my address?
Thank you very much.
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Hi Aria,
I wouldn’t worry about putting your address on for now. I think your name, email, and phone number are sufficient for an agent to get in touch with you, which is what they’d use it for now. I mean, they may try to google you and knowing your city might help them find “you” if there’s more than one person with your name, but that’s not a necessity. Make sure you add your genre and word count under that on the left under that too on the title page. I think it’s also helpful to center your title on that title page and put your book jacket copy right under it too. If an agent requests a full, and they start reading it a month after requesting it, it will help orient them.
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This is so very late. I just read it. Thank you very much, especially for the extra tips.
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Ali,
I stumbled upon your name using an agent search on QueryTracker that had the specific genres of my completed novels (historical for the first and military thriller for the second). Yet in looking for information, you don’t appear to be looking for either of those genres.
Since you had this forum for questions, I thought I would ask: should a prospective author follow the QueryTracker record or not?
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Hi Jonathan, truthfully I’m not the best fit for straight realistic historical among the agents at my firm but I do look at it. This is probably what you mean that I don’t appear to be actively looking for either of those, because I’m really not. That doesn’t mean one won’t strike my fancy, which is why I still look at them. However, because we are a “a no from one is a no from all” agency, be selective in who you chose to query. If you query two separate agents with those, if you get an offer from one of us, you’d need to withdraw the other project from the other agent. As to the categories on Query Tracker, yes, you should trust them because they are pulled directly from what we ask for in our own individual accounts. In the dropdown for “select your book’s genre” when you query me through query manager, you’d choose “historical” and/or “military/espionage” for the two categories you’ve mentioned. Thanks, Ali
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I’ve been following many of your posts and advice since finding you on QT, and you’ve been on my, “to query” list ever since. At 40, I’m not a new writer, but I never had to deal with the industry.
I will admit my writing style consists of setting up the world and introducing the characters and explaining the environment before diving into plot and a lot of action. My first plot point happens in chapter 5, where everything ramps up until resolution, but prior to that is some action teasers, revealing personality, motive and world-building with some fore-shadowing.
Many agents ask between the first 5-20 pages for a sample. I fear this may not be enough time to prove my story’s direction. At 107k words I don’t want to add any more scenes to the beginning since this is intended for YA/Upper YA.
Can the pitch and query be enough to entice some agents to think about what comes after the sample? I realize most books have word counts and scenes revised or modified to become desirable to publishers. Do agents think, “I can work with this.”
Thanks in advance.
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Honestly, you’re not going to like this answer. No, not for me. And probably not for most others. I will not spend five chapters reading backstory hoping you start to tell your story. I don’t have that time. Even if I gave you an entire chapter (which is highly unlikely), I wouldn’t give you two, let alone five to get to the point where you introduce the story problem. You have to weave those things into a plot that moves forward from chapter one.
Let me make this harder on you. You really got a couple of sentences, maybe a few paragraphs, at the very beginning of your first chapter to hook me. Just like you picking up a book at Barnes and Noble, and reading that first page, that’s mostly what readers will give you, besides reading the book jacket.
Same with a query. It’s like me reading a book jacket first and saying, “Yes, this interests me.” Then cracking that first (usually half or less of a page or printed type) and reading it, and hoping something in those first few sentences HOOKS me right then.
My point is, if you only really have a few sentences to hook a reader, you’re definitely not going to get five chapters to hook them. My advice, scrap the first five and start at chapter six. Weave world building and character and world in from the get-go.
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Ali,
I have a sorter version that I will need to revisit now, but I had moved away from it because I felt it was a little rushed and was concerned it might be too fast of a read. I can always spruce that one up for query purposes and keep the unabridged version for a future market, maybe?
My other stories fall under 50k words, but never queried them because I saw most publishers wanted at least 80k words.
You saved me from querying too many agents with the director’s cut version 🙂
Thanks.
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