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    Why You May Not Want to Find an Agent Right Now

    I often speak at writers’ conferences where I listen to many would-be authors gripe about how much hard work it takes to find an agent to represent one’s book. I don’t know that I’d say it’s hard work to find an agent—after all, you’re not doing any heavy lifting or even breaking a sweat (though you might if you’re a particularly anxious mailbox stalker). It’s more like time-consuming and soul-crushing work!  Pursuing a publishing deal is not for the thin-skinned: Stories about big-name authors who submitted to as many as 100 agents before they find an agent and get a book deal abound. You’ve got to be in it for the long haul.

    True, the Big Five publishing houses generally won’t review unagented submissions and many mid-size publishers won’t either, so if your dream is to become a mega-bestselling author, one day you will likely need an agent. But there are a lot of viable alternatives that don’t require an agent at all. You could start that way or stay that way.

    You Have Alternatives

    It’s becoming increasingly common for authors to pursue alternate routes to publishing books in the face of extremely long response times and extraordinarily bad odds. More first-time authors are self-publishing to distinguish themselves and make some cash; agents and editors are more proactive than ever in seeking out successful indie authors who’ve built strong platforms.

    Additionally, printing and marketing technologies such as POD and social media have resulted in a wonderful explosion of micro-publishers and small publishers devoted to discovering new talent. These generally don’t offer large advances if at all and instead rely on profit-sharing models, but one of many upsides is that you don’t need an agent to submit your work (so at least that tiny advance is all yours!).

    You Don’t Have to Choose

    The thing is, you don’t have to choose one or the other. While you’re spending years trying to find an agent, why let your manuscript grow mold in a desk drawer? If it’s print-ready (and I would hope that it is if you’re seeking an agent), maybe you’d like to self-publish it and start building an audience so that, when an agent does finally show interest, you have more ammo with which to persuade her to sign you up (and likewise to get that publishing deal).

    At the very least, start working on your next book while you shop or market your first. Or get that first book out there so you can prove yourself while you query agents for your second book.

    Find an Agent, Or You Could…

    • While the largest publishers struggle, the indie scene is thriving, perhaps for the first time since media conglomerates started consolidating the entire industry some decades ago. Independent publishers often have the experience and at least a modest budget to help launch a career or nurture a small but loyal following. Major successes could lead to a bigger house picking up your unused rights (for example, if you’re published in hardcover, another company might negotiate with your current publisher for paperback rights) or to a bigger deal on your next book. Remember, you don’t need an agent to submit to most small publishers.
    • Certain genres such as almost anything in the YA or paranormal romance categories are hot now, so if your book fits, why not capitalize on the trend and see if you can make a little moolah by self-publishing? If you do well, it can only help you get an agent for this and future books. You may even decide you prefer being independent.
    • Even if you get an agent, there’s no guarantee she’ll be able to sell your book to a publisher. Experiment in the interim by self-publishing an ebook, which can be done with little or no cost, and play with pricing, marketing techniques, even different cover approaches to see what gives you the best ROI. If the reader feedback is negative, you’ll get a much-needed reality check before wasting more time seeking an agent when it would be better spent revising, taking writing workshops, or meeting with a critique group.
    • Every agent wants an author with a great manuscript and a well-developed platform. Use your first book or other works such as short stories and blog posts with a great website, email capture system, and marketing plan to start building a mailing list and readership. Seek out reading opportunities. Attend conferences and make friends with published writers who are willing to endorse your work. Whether you get your agent and then get a deal or ultimately self-publish, you will need a strong platform to sell books, so your time is never wasted on these efforts.

    It’s Your Own Damn Fault

    If you’re just sitting on your thumbs waiting to hear back from agents, you’re wasting a lot of time that could be very productive for you and your writing career. No amount of griping is going to make agents miraculously read and respond more quickly, or allow them to psychically browse their gigantic submission piles so they will recognize your talent instantly. And if you are hearing back from agents in a timely manner but no one is biting, it’s probably time to get really honest with yourself: Is your query letter strong enough? Is your book marketable? Are your sample pages engaging and effective? Sometimes it takes a long time to get a “yes” because you simply aren’t ready for one.

    Bottom line: If your career languishes while you send out queries and wait for responses, you’ve no one to blame but yourself. Use that time productively by following the suggestions in this post, or investigate other options. Post a comment here describing what you’re doing to help further your writing goals while you wait to hear back from agents. Inquiring minds want to know 🙂

    Ally Machate Book EditorFounder of The Writer’s Ally, Ally E. Machate is a bestselling book collaborator, award-winning editor, and expert publishing consultant who loves using her insider knowledge and experience with the publishing industry to lead serious authors toward success. She and her team live to help make great books happen, whether that means showing a writer how to improve a manuscript, get an agent, or self-publish; or coaching an author on growing her platform to sell more books. Since 1999, she has supported hundreds of authors on their publishing journey and takes pride in serving as their books’ best ally.

    How Much Research Is Enough to Sell Your Book?

    According to Bowker’s, roughly 85% of all titles published are nonfiction. That’s good news for you nonfiction writers, because it means there’s a greater chance of you finding a home for your book.

    For many of you, research will be an important part of your project. Balancing the amount of time and money you’re investing in creating the book proposal, before you have the guarantee of an advance, can be tricky. Here’s a little advice to guide you.

    How much research must I complete before seeking representation?

    If no one expects you to have your book fully written, it follows they also don’t expect you to have completed the research you’ll need to write it—at least, not yet. Your first consideration is whether there’s any information on which your entire concept depends, or if you expect any problems arising from an inability to get particular bits of data. Make sure you get that stuff done well before pitching anyone to make sure you have a book worth pitching!

    Besides the table of contents and chapter summaries—for which you’ll want at least a basic idea of what you’re going to investigate—you’ll need to thoroughly research the topics of your sample chapters. It’s also important to do enough research to talk intelligently about your book, how it fits in the marketplace, and who you think the target audience is.

    Basically, if you have enough information to make a convincing argument for why anyone should publish your book, you’re good. The goal is to make potential agents/publishers feel confident that you have a clear idea what you’re writing, even if you don’t have all the minute details researched yet.

    How long can I ask for to research and write the rest?

    Nine months to one year is a typical delivery schedule, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ask for more time if you need it.

    The first issue is the timeliness of your book’s subject: Is it an evergreen subject or is it connected to some recent news event or cultural shift? Is there an upcoming newsworthy event like an anniversary that a publisher might want to use as a pub date to get more exposure for your book? Will readers still care about your subject three years from now? (Remember, it typically takes a year from manuscript to shelves, so you’ve got to factor that in on top of whatever time you need to research and write the thing.) These are things a publisher will consider regarding your delivery dates.

    If your topic is interesting and marketable enough, and there are no timeliness issues, a couple of years isn’t an unreasonable request. Expect a deal structured around partial deliveries—so you may get a piece of your advance each time you deliver a certain number of pages, or chunks of notes, etc. Also keep in mind that you can continue to research while you’re looking for an agent, and likewise while your agent is submitting to editors; both aspects of the submission process can take months to years. So you will likely have a lot more research done between creating the book proposal and getting an offer anyway.

    How can I avoid spending money on research before I have a deal?

    The short answer is, you can’t. The tips in this article will help you limit your pre-contract investment, but at the end of the day that’s what research-related costs are: an investment in your business venture.

    Consider  self-publishing if you aren’t able to find an agent and/or publisher. Why let all that hard work (and money) go to waste? New technology and cultural shifts are making it easier than ever to get your work out to its intended audience. Writers are using resources like Kickstarter, a website that lets you raise funds for a work in progress (you could use this to fund research for your book proposal, too). Some writers release one chapter at a time and use paid subscriptions to fund further work. [Check out this neat article on “crowdfunding” for more ideas.]

    However you intend to do it, be smart with where you spend limited funds, but don’t be cheap. After all, if you skimp on what’s necessary to write a compelling book proposal, you won’t have what it takes to get a publishing contract. Short-changing a great project in that way would be the real waste.

    Ally Machate Book EditorFounder of The Writer’s Ally, Ally E. Machate is a bestselling book collaborator, award-winning editor, and expert publishing consultant who loves using her insider knowledge and experience with the publishing industry to lead serious authors toward success. She and her team live to help make great books happen, whether that means showing a writer how to improve a manuscript, get an agent, or self-publish; or coaching an author on growing her platform to sell more books. Since 1999, she has supported hundreds of authors on their publishing journey and takes pride in serving as their books’ best ally.

    10 Reliable Ways to Get the Most Out of Meeting with Agents & Editors

    There are hundreds of literary agents out there, and many times that number of writers submitting to each one. I frequently advise clients to attend writers’ conferences for a variety of reasons, but one of the best is to take advantage of one-on-one meetings with agents and editors. Many conferences bring out agents and editors from top agencies and houses to meet with attendees in private consultations. Expect to pay a little extra for this option on top of your conference registration fee.

    If you have a manuscript or book proposal that’s ready to submit, it’s worth the extra cash—a one-on-one session is an excellent way to make a personal connection to an agent or editor.  If you aren’t quite ready to submit or if you’re self-publishing, you can still get valuable advice from these industry pros, many of whom don’t offer freelance services or normally charge a lot more for them than you’re paying at the conference.

    Meeting with agents and editors at conferences is usually a time-limited event: The sessions vary in length but are typically short, lasting anywhere from ten to thirty minutes. Get the most out of meeting with agents and editors by following the ten tips below.

    1. You can usually choose who you want to meet with, so pick a pro who might actually want to rep/buy your book or who is familiar with books like yours. Do a little background research ahead of time so you can impress them with your industry savvy.
    2. If you’re angling for an invitation to submit, make sure your work is ready to go before you attend the conference so you can send it out immediately afterward, but don’t bring it with you. Imagine if everyone meeting with that agent/editor brought a manuscript! Would you want to lug all that home?
    3. If your goal is to get feedback on a work-in-progress, again, polish up your work so the agent/editor is reviewing your best attempt.
    4. Prepare an “elevator pitch” of your book. This should be a one-minute description designed to grab interest. Pitch it and see what the agent/editor thinks of your concept.
    5. If she doesn’t invite you to send it to her (or someone else at the company), ask her if she can suggest agents or publishers who would be better fits.
    6. See if she knows of any comparative titles you aren’t aware of, or has information on what made those books successful—something you might be able to emulate in terms of format or marketing.
    7. Self-publishing authors may wonder about the best time of year to publish their book. See if the agent/editor has any thoughts on this.
    8. Briefly, outline how you’re building your platform and see if she has any feedback on what you’ve done or advice on what to do next.
    9. Ask if she has any tips on media outlets that might be appropriate to hit up for some platform-building publicity.
    10. You can also ask what things you might do/avoid if you plan to use self-publishing as a way to get a traditional publishing contract down the road. One thing doesn’t necessarily lead to the other, but sometimes a self-published author who does really well can parlay that experience into a contract. There might be things you can particularly aim for or avoid doing that would help in this endeavor.

    For upcoming writers’ conferences near you, check out the extensive listings on the Association of Writers and Writing Programs’ website.

    Ally Machate Book EditorFounder of The Writer’s Ally, Ally E. Machate is a bestselling book collaborator, award-winning editor, and expert publishing consultant who loves using her insider knowledge and experience with the publishing industry to lead serious authors toward success. She and her team live to help make great books happen, whether that means showing a writer how to improve a manuscript, get an agent, or self-publish; or coaching an author on growing her platform to sell more books. Since 1999, she has supported hundreds of authors on their publishing journey and takes pride in serving as their books’ best ally.

    11 Great Query Letter Resources

    It seems unfair, I know, to have to learn yet another writing skill after you’ve already spent years perfecting your ability to tell a good story or write an accessible self-help book. But mastering the art of the query letter is essential if you hope to obtain an agent or publisher. And, frankly, the same marketing and copywriting skills that go into a good query will serve you when writing any number of promo pieces for your self-published book as well.

    Writing a great query letter involves a combination of your abilities to identify important details, be succinct, and create snappy turns of phrase, all while conveying a sense of your characters and the motivations that propel them through your plot.

    I could give you the formulaic outline for what goes into a successful query letter (and I may do so in a future post), but I really believe the best way to get a feel for what makes a query work is to read other good ones. So here are some example query letters, plus other resources I’ve found really useful in teaching clients how to improve their querying powers.

    Good luck!

    http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2008/03/query-letter-mad-lib.html

    http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2007/05/anatomy-of-good-query-letter-ii.html

    https://www.writersdigest.com/get-published-sell-my-work/write-knock-dead-query-letters

    https://www.writersdigest.com/getting-published/how-to-write-the-perfect-query-letter

    http://www.writersdigest.com/article/query-clinic-perkins/

    https://www.writersdigest.com/general/the-best-query-writing-advice

    http://www.writersdigest.com/article/a-killer-query/

    https://www.janefriedman.com/query-letters/ 

    http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/successful-queries

    https://blog.reedsy.com/how-to-write-a-query-letter 

    http://misssnark.blogspot.com/search/label/query%20letters (read the whole string if you can, or skim the headlines for what’s most pertinent to you)

    Still think you need some help shaping your query letter to get agents and publishers asking for your sample chapters or book proposal? Consider The Writer’s Ally query letter review service. Here’s what a previous client had to say:

    Ally’s edited version of my query letter produced results that were swift and remarkable. Within an hour of sending the new version out, I had my first response asking to read my manuscript! Ally culled the best points of my query and highlighted what elements would catch the eye of agents—and they responded!—Tara Ellison, novelist

    Ally Machate Book EditorFounder of The Writer’s Ally, Ally E. Machate is a bestselling book collaborator, award-winning editor, and expert publishing consultant who loves using her insider knowledge and experience with the publishing industry to lead serious authors toward success. She and her team live to help make great books happen, whether that means showing a writer how to improve a manuscript, get an agent, or self-publish; or coaching an author on growing her platform to sell more books. Since 1999, she has supported hundreds of authors on their publishing journey and takes pride in serving as their books’ best ally.

    Why Are Agents Still Rejecting Me?

    My client Tara tells me she’s sent queries to forty-nine agents and nine have asked for partial or full manuscripts. But after reviewing the manuscript their interest ended with the agents rejecting her project. She writes, “I’ve gotten kind rejections, but I haven’t received any offers. I’m at a loss as to what to do next. Please advise!”

    Though the rejections hurt, in reality, Tara has about a 20% success rate in terms of her query letter, the goal of which is to tempt an agent to ask for material. That’s not bad. It’s not uncommon for a writer to submit to lots of agents or editors before finding the right match. Stephen King got thirty rejection letters for Carrie, which he threw away (his wife pulled it out and forced him to keep going). Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen, authors of Chicken Soup for the Soul, received 134 rejections. For his classic, Roots, Alex Hayley received a whopping 208! (Check out this encouraging post for more famous stories about agents rejecting authors who became big sellers.)

    Since a good number of agents are asking for partial manuscripts, my feeling is Tara’s query letter is doing its job well. So what’s the problem?

    You need to balance what you can control (great opening, excellent writing and storytelling, choosing appropriate agents) with what you can’t (market changes, agent enthusiasm, timing). There are many elements that must come together in just the right combination, like a potion for publishing success. If any one of these elements isn’t present, you won’t get an offer and agents rejecting you will start to feel like the norm.

    What You Can Control

    If agents are requesting sample material but then passing on your project, consider whether your manuscript is truly the best it can be. Agents may be rejecting you because:

    • the story doesn’t live up to the promise of the pitch
    • the material is good, but not exceptional enough to warrant an offer
    • you have a great story concept, but your execution isn’t quite there yet
    • your writing skills aren’t as strong as your imagination
    • you’re submitting to the wrong agents

    Pay attention to the responses you’re getting. Are you receiving rejection letters very shortly after sending the partials? This probably indicates a lack of enthusiasm and/or marketability, both of which an agent can determine pretty quickly reading the first chapter and a synopsis. Lack of enthusiasm is often a result of the above mentioned characteristics. However, lack of marketability is a bit stickier: on the one hand, you can control what you write about and how well your story plays into trends, genre expectations, and potential media hooks; on the other hand, you’ve got to write your story the way you receive it from the Muse, or it will be soulless drivel.

    What You Can’t Control

    Again, if you’re getting rejections fairly quickly after sending your sample chapters, the culprit is probably lack of enthusiasm and/or marketability. This is mostly the result of issues you can control, but not always. Have you ever fallen head-over-heels in love with a book and recommended it to a friend, only to have your friend return it half read, with a “Meh” response? A great book may still fail to ignite an agent’s enthusiasm because of issues beyond your control. For example, the agent may not:

    • be taking on new clients right now
    • be confident in her network of editors who acquire in your category
    • feel the current market is friendly enough to your type of book
    • be in love with your style or subject matter

    The last item—a lack of love—is key. The publishing industry can be very subjective. This is why you hear stories of huge bestsellers that got rejected over and over (check out the link above or just Google “famous author rejections”). An agent wants to be totally bonkers about your book before offering to represent it, and provided you’re submitting excellent work to appropriate agents, there’s nothing at all you can do to force that level of enthusiasm.

    So What Do I Do About Agents Rejecting Me?

    If you’re getting requests for sample chapters but no offers, keep submitting. I recommend a reassessment every 50 rejections. Consider the potential issues cited in this article and be really, really honest with yourself. Is your writing skill up to the challenge of your concept? Is your book’s opening effective and engaging? Are other books like yours getting acquired? Like the prayer goes, have the serenity to accept those things you cannot change and the courage to change those things you can.

    As for the wisdom to know the difference, keep learning about the industry and working on your craft. The most common reason an agent or editor will reject after reading a partial is that they love the concept pitched in the query, but find your sample pages underwhelming. Pick up some books on writing at the library or browse the Internet for techniques you can apply to your manuscript.

    If you’re unsure of the problem, consider hiring a professional freelance editor to review your manuscript. Many freelancers offer a variety of ways to get your work in front of experienced, savvy eyes, with feedback ranging from “Yeah, this just isn’t good enough” to “Here are some specific ways I think you can improve…” Fees vary, but you can get a ballpark from the Editorial Freelancers Association rate chart. Another way to get professional insight is to attend writers’ conferences, many of which offer one-on-one sessions with visiting agents and editors. A frank conversation may reveal the key—better still if the consultation involves a review of some pages.

    Most important of all, don’t give up! As Richard Bach (140 rejections) would say, “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.”

    Ally Machate Book EditorFounder of The Writer’s Ally, Ally E. Machate is a bestselling book collaborator, award-winning editor, and expert publishing consultant who loves using her insider knowledge and experience with the publishing industry to lead serious authors toward success. She and her team live to help make great books happen, whether that means showing a writer how to improve a manuscript, get an agent, or self-publish; or coaching an author on growing her platform to sell more books. Since 1999, she has supported hundreds of authors on their publishing journey and takes pride in serving as their books’ best ally.

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