Showing posts with label Rory Gilmore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rory Gilmore. Show all posts

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Questions to ask a potential Agent AND yourself!


Literary Agents: someone who represents writers and their works to publishing houses….and film agents/producers, and audiobook companies, and foreign rights publishers, and often edit, and and and


If you’re debating the need for an agent I suggest Rory Gilmore-ing the crap out of it. Pro Con list time! That’s what I did, no surprise, and I landed firmly on traditional publishing which meant: I needed an agent. 


But, how do you select which agents you’d want to work with? How do you know if the ones you pick would be a benefit to your career? 


Truth: You Don’t. 


Situations arise that alter plans. You, nor your agent, can control the opinions of publishers. You, nor your agent, can control the market. There are so many variables that shift around you, choosing a book agent is really a leap of faith—but don’t despair! There’re also some grounded aspects at your fingertips.


Some agent aspects that shouldn’t change with the winds of publishing are: what genres they represent, what have they sold recently, what do some of their current authors think of working with said agent, what’s their reputation—if you can gather that. It’s leg work that absolutely should be done before you pursue them. But, being prepared for the call is also a huge part.


The call is basically you interviewing the agent. So, that means you’d better be prepared with a list of questions for them. And yes, there’s plenty of lists of Questions to ask an Agent before Signing out there, but I believe you should also be asking yourself questions alongside them…and be open with your agent about your thoughts.


Questions for the agent in Red. 

Questions for yourself in Blue.


What did you like about my book?

What do I like about my book?

What work do you see that needs to be done before going out on submission?

Are you an editorial agent?

Do I want to work with an agent on editing my book?

Do you sign authors for one book, or for their career?

Does your agency use a contract?

Are there others at your agency that I would be working with?

What does your submission process look like?

What happens if this book doesn’t sell?

What would I want to do with this book if it doesn’t sell?

What project do I really want to work on next?

Would you support me writing in a different genre?

How many authors do you represent and what genres do they write?

How do you usually communicate with your authors?

Do I want to brainstorm with an agent, or would I prefer to come to them with ready-formed ideas?


As always, there’s no wrong answers to these. But they’re important to ask and think about because once you’re in an agent-author relationship, and working with an agent is a business relationship, you’ll come across all of these situations and more.


I’ve been through this process and would love to answer questions if you have any! Drop them here, or you can find me on Insta and ask there! Otherwise, may the words be with you!

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Standby for NaNoWriMo

The screen of an IV pump displaying a white box with big blue letters: STANDBY

 November draweth nigh. And in the book world that means one  thing…NaNoWriMo!!!

National Novel Writing Month. Now that sounds like the perfect time to write a book? Yeah?


If you’ve been thinking about starting, or have started but stalled out, you might want to jump on this writing train. You can sign up officially and connect with thousands of other people in the same boat, you can track your progress, and you can earn badges and stuff. 


Actually, I’ve never Nano’d. But I have Rory Gilmore’d it and done a pro/con list. 


Pros:

  • if you sign up https://nanowrimo.org/sign-up you have a tracker that will get you to 50,000 words by the end of Nov
  • you can earn badges, we don’t need no stinkin’ badges doesn’t apply here
  • you can connect with writers in the same spot you’re in
  • connections mean cheerleaders to keep you going!


Cons:

  • it takes time to write and also update your nano/connect
  • previous projects have to take a backseat


Sure it’s clear the pros outweigh my cons, but it’s the previous projects part that always gets in the way. I’ve never been at a good place to drop what’s in the works and start a new project. And this year’s no different…I’m still in the editing cave and won’t come out 'til Thanksgiving. 


If you decide to NaNo I wish you many many words! Me, I’m headed back into the dark. If I’m not out in 30 days—send a pie in after me!!