Fishing a Fishy Agent

OK. Darn I am a day late for this post because I have been far too busy with my other blog which I order you to follow if you don't already. :) If agents weren't already fishy enough we would have so much more choices to send to. Just like the title of our subject today I think that sometimes its hard to tell whether an agent is really good. Ok, don't get confused I am not talking about fraudulent agents, like the ones that you have to pay to read your work, or the ones that don't have any contacts or the ones that are jumping out at you when you search them on writers BEWARE. I am talking about agents that simply aren't suitable for your subject.


For example there is an agent I queried that accepts EVERYTHING. They are supposed to be very open to new ideas and new projects. Yet when I look at their client list I see no Fantasy or Science Fiction. Why oh Why? Most likely this agent even if they say that they accept everything only take on specific genres and preferences. They just want to have more choice just in case and I really emphasize that just in case. Maybe they don't have the greatest contacts in your genre and know that they won't be able to rep you. Its important to tell whether you hit a fishy agent or whether your query is fishy. So by all means continiue to query and don't be discouraged, because these facts will blow your head off. (They did mine!) All this coming from Collen Lindsay's (The Swivet) twitter so I suspect its unfortunately and sadly true...


-High fantasy/epic fantasy - VERY hard to sell. I almost never even request them for that reason
Thank god my fantasy isn't high at all nor is it epic. I feel for you if it is though!


- Not true. I worked in SF/F PR for years. But there is no changing the fact that there are only a handful of SF/F editors now.


-There are now really only a handful of publishers that will buy any adult SF/F so it has to be spectacular


- There are only about 8 good places to sell UF, too. But not the SAME 8 places


- The queries I see for fantasy are better than the ones I see for SF. You have to consider that there are only about 8 places to sell F/SF


So for now tootles, but keep in mind to keep on trying no matter the odds!

Your Manuscript & You

We write them. We hate them and we love them. Our manuscript that we have worked for years on and revised, hated and at the same time loved is ready for submissions. This means that so many fresh eyes will be evaluating our query letters and rejecting our work and in a way that sort of sucks. But in a way its awesome and is a sign of someting accomplished, whether you find the book a home or not. So fact is ideas are endless, but time is precious and when we spend it on something that isn't worthwhile, well, its wasted.


Personally I wrote a novel last year and finished revising it this year which is titled 'OVERCAST SHADOWS'. To me its the best story I have ever written. Swords, physical and emotional battle, betrayal, hat, angst, power, royalty and fantasy all in one package led by my older antagonist now protagonist. Awesome right? Well, Being that there are so many aspects to the story its real tough to write a query and I think this is a problem for many fantasy novelists because stories in that genre are so 3-D. So I got many great critiques on my query, after a few rejections which I will post and I am revising. These critiques were very encouraging though, especially since they said I already have a great hook, I just have to answer some unanswered questions in the query. So at the same time as I was revising OVERCAST SHADOWS...

I began a new novel called THE DRIFTER. Believe it or not I chose to write a paranormal YA romance. Wow, that was a change for me since I am all swords, battles, epicness and did I mention swords? THE DRIFTER has n swords in it yet it is a thrilling read. Really it’s about Pip, a girl who is a drifter and who has the ability to see when everyone is going to die except herself. Other than that though there is a romance aspect. Currently I am seeking betas for this manuscript so if you are interested leave me a comment!

Back to the original topic. You love your WIP/Finished Manuscript and sending it out to agents is very nerve wrecking for many. I have a few author friends who decided not to even try because they are afraid of rejections, but what about you? How do you feel before you click that taunting send button? Do you just risk it or do you really yelp, close your eyes, send and then check your e-mail every 5 minutes. I used to be the second option, now believe it or not I am the first. So let me know what you guys think and check out my other personal blog. Oh did I mention look out for the next post: Hooking a fishy agent! Coming this Thursday!
 

Some Query Tips

      
  Personally I have been working extremely hard on writing the perfect query letter. The query letter which will amuse my perspective agent, and bring my novel to success. Of course it is much harder then we think. Firstly I beg you not to hurry off sending your query. This way you will send a horrid query to your favorite agents and then you will regret it. Yes, I had done that quite a lengthy time ago, though after I received my first rejection and realized that the query was completely confusing I worked hard to make it perfect. only did I brush off my query to perfection but I also happened to change my manuscript quite a bit. I mean my antagonist and protagonist practically switched. Secondly you need a hook. Seriously you need it. Here is an example of a hook:

An epic tale of fathers and sons, of true friendship and betrayal, that takes us from our dynasty to the next in a striving society of unearthly humans.

Well you see what I mean. Any who I will post more tips further on. Possibly a piece of my own query, yet that can only happen when my book will get published.