Who Wants to Talk to Agents & Editors

Follow the Twitter Hashtag: #askagent and you’ll never know what things you’ll learn.

Publishing and industry executives weigh in their thoughts to aspiring writers on what works for querying, what the market is currently seeking, and what gives as the book industry continues to shift models from paper to paper-less.

Not PAPERLESS, mind you – but less waste. Less production. Fewer galleys, fewer returns — and the like — can all lead to a greening of our industry.

Today, the #askagent session went something like this:

@bostonbookgirl - Lauren MacLeod’s tweet-identity – @strothmanagency with an emphasis in YA and MG fiction and nonfiction. Twitter opinions are my own.

: I handle both YA and nonfiction but you do YA w/ me but nonfiction w/ another agency I would probably fire you. #askagent

: I’d love to see more quirky nonfiction for young adults & middle grade readers in my slush, esp. narrative. #askagent

: I can usually tell if I hate something in 1-3 pages. Takes longer to love it. #askagent

: When the book feels finished? Depends on the genre, but 100K seems long. Prob more like 20-40k. #askagent

& most importantly:

: I think any time you see a bunch of agents or editors saying the same thing you should give it a lot of thought. #askagent

@colleenlindsay – host of #askagent – and self described: Bio Publishing browncoat. Digital proselytizer. Literary agent. Queer human. Pop culture junkie. People connector. Sartorial tragedy. Cat herder. Professional nerd.

had this to say:

: Voice, great writing, compelling story, a narrative that drives the story forward effortlessly. #askagent

: Anything can be seem fresh if written well. But I do get tired of epic fantasy without a real plot. #askagent

: I’m looking for good adult thrillers, commercial fiction, pop culture non-fiction, literary LGBT, urban fantasy. #askagent

These are just some of the pearls of wisdom from one brief session. Keep your eyes and ears open. Follow people who are interesting to you/your career. You’ll never know who you can meet or chat with on any given day on Twitter.

Advertisement