A literary agent's advice on how to write and how to getting picked up by publishers

[Jemini]

I have been watching a Youtube channel called iWriterly lately. It's by a former literary agent and now self-published author who worked some time in the industry. She now advises aspiring authors through her Youtube channel on how to write better and write in a way you are more likely to be picked up by agents.

For those who are unaware, literary agents are the people who represent authors in order to get them picked up by publishers. If you want to have any chance of getting picked up by one of the big publishers, it's going to have to be through an agent. Those big publishing houses simply do not listen to authors, they only work through agents who act like something of a pre-screener for them.

Check her out if you aspire to be published. She doesn't only advise on traditional publishing, she also talks a lot about self publishing and the expenses involved as well as what you have to do in order to self-market.

iWriterly

iWriterly is a book publishing resource for genre fiction with how-to videos on traditional publishing and self-publishing. ?Videos are posted 1-2 times per ...

www.youtube.com

One thing I would suggest starting with is her piece on Query letters, which is the proper first step when it comes to approaching agents.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

That's right. Some of us don't even read the query but go straight to the manuscript, load it into our text-to-speech program, give it thirty minutes, write a rejection letter, and move on to the next until we've gone a few months rejecting everything and take a hiatus to write fanfiction.

 

[AliceShiki]

That's right. Some of us don't even read the query but go straight to the manuscript, load it into our text-to-speech program, give it thirty minutes, write a rejection letter, and move on to the next until we've gone a few months rejecting everything and take a hiatus to write fanfiction.

... What did you smoke?

 

[RepresentingCaution]

... What did you smoke?

Well, I got married. Maybe that had something to do with it.

 

[AliceShiki]

Well, I got married. Maybe that had something to do with it.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

 

[BenJepheneT]

That's right. Some of us don't even read the query but go straight to the manuscript, load it into our text-to-speech program, give it thirty minutes, write a rejection letter, and move on to the next until we've gone a few months rejecting everything and take a hiatus to write fanfiction.

Ma'am, this might seem small but this tiny insight into how agents work with queries actually helped a god damn lot. Thanks.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Ma'am, this might seem small but this tiny insight into how agents work with queries actually helped a god damn lot. Thanks.

You're welcome <3
Oh, and I forgot to mention we paint our nails while listening to your manuscripts!

 

[GDLiZy]

I know that you needed to make your first sentence hooked the agent and is generic in nature, or they simply dropped it, as they couldn't be bothered to read anything unique and controversial, or just anything slow-burn in general. The company wanted not a hit-or-miss masterpiece, but a generic fantasy that would surely make money.

 

[BenJepheneT]

I know that you needed to make your first sentence hooked the agent and is generic in nature, or they simply dropped it, as they couldn't be bothered to read anything unique and controversial, or just anything slow-burn in general. The company wanted not a hit-or-miss masterpiece, but a generic fantasy that would surely make money.

@K5Rakitan please confirm im ready to flush my writing career down the toilet

 

[GDLiZy]

@K5Rakitan please confirm im ready to flush my writing career down the toilet

literally every masterpiece pioneering book was rejected by every publisher because they were not 'mainstream'. Well, either you get paid for mediocrity or risk it all to become rich.

 

[BenJepheneT]

literally every masterpiece pioneering book was rejected by every publisher because they were not 'mainstream'. Well, either you get paid for mediocrity or risk it all to become rich.

i'mma pull a pablo picasso and sell my shit like hotcakes right after i kick the bucket

 

[GDLiZy]

i'mma pull a pablo picasso and sell my shit like hotcakes right after i kick the bucket

it's quite sad actually that some of the greatest authors always lived their life in misery and perpetual poverty. Imagine died thinking that their works were worthless, only to be honoured decades later.

 

[gaylolis]

it's quite sad actually that some of the greatest authors always lived their life in misery and perpetual poverty. Imagine died thinking that their works were worthless, only to be honoured decades later.

they probably get isekai'd as loli catgirls somewhere, we can only hope.

oh wait, fate/grand order.

now that just made it even more sad.

 

[BenJepheneT]

they probably get isekai'd as loli catgirls somewhere, we can only hope.

oh wait, fate/grand order.

now that just made it even more sad.

Fucken' Tesla got reduced to nothing but a virtual ona hole for ungrateful degenerates like us

 

[AliceShiki]

they probably get isekai'd as loli catgirls somewhere, we can only hope.

oh wait, fate/grand order.

now that just made it even more sad.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

I know that you needed to make your first sentence hooked the agent and is generic in nature, or they simply dropped it, as they couldn't be bothered to read anything unique and controversial, or just anything slow-burn in general. The company wanted not a hit-or-miss masterpiece, but a generic fantasy that would surely make money.

It depends on the philosophy of the press. I'm an editor for a small press, and we don't deal with agents. Agents are sand in our gears.

The first sentence can always be tweaked later. However, if I don't get hooked in the first thirty minutes, I drop it like a rock. If I'm hooked but not 100% into it, I'll pass it on to another editor who might like it better.

 

[AliceShiki]

It depends on the philosophy of the press. I'm an editor for a small press, and we don't deal with agents. Agents are sand in our gears.

The first sentence can always be tweaked later. However, if I don't get hooked in the first thirty minutes, I drop it like a rock. If I'm hooked but not 100% into it, I'll pass it on to another editor who might like it better.

Oh!

That's right. Some of us don't even read the query but go straight to the manuscript, load it into our text-to-speech program, give it thirty minutes, write a rejection letter, and move on to the next until we've gone a few months rejecting everything and take a hiatus to write fanfiction.

Now this post makes sense! The context made the whole difference! xD