meeting with an agent/publisher

FionaW

...who should be writing
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Assuming I can get away from work (that's a big assumption), I've been accepted onto a course in September that includes a meeting with an agent, and a publisher (UQP).

Now UQP will not be interested in SFF, so I'm going to have a frantic month where I try to finish my fantasy novel for the course and brush up either a contemporary or historical MSS to show them.

My question is this: having spent so much time learning about synopses and hooks and query letters, what on earth do you say when your first meeting with an agent/publisher is not via the written word, but face-to-face?

I have met agents before, especially when I did the Arvon selected fiction course, where several came and had dinner with us. But although it was flagged as 'meet an agent' all we were allowed to do was chat with them about the industry. Actually offering manuscripts was looked on as behaving like a little naif.

So - has anyone had a 'cold' meeting with an agent/publisher to discuss a manuscript? I know they don't bite (well, John doesn't, and I'll assume he's representative) and are fairly human, and I'm going to try not to do anything stupid, like shove a 500-page manuscript at them, or beg, or cry. But some tips would be good.
 
what on earth do you say when your first meeting with an agent/publisher is not via the written word, but face-to-face?

Look into my eyes, look into my eyes, the eyes, the eyes, not around the eyes, don't look around the eyes, look into my eyes. [click] You're under!
 
In what context is the meeting? Does the course give you any clues?

It could be that the agent is : hosting a panel or giving a talk. They could be holding a Q & A session. Or holding "pitch" sessions. The later you given so long to "pitch" your novel. As in a verbal query letter, with 10 pages or so of your manuscript in the agent's hands.

Oh, and my first words to my agent (long before he was my agent) "Hello, yes, this is my first Con."
 
If you are making a pitch, you need to keep it short. Practice describing your story in two or three sentences. (Difficult, but entirely possible.) If there are any similarities to a popular book or series, you should point that out. After that, the agent or publisher may want to ask you a few questions to expand on what you've already said. Be prepared to give brief but fascinating answers.
 
"What sort of books are you looking for? What sort of books do you love? What sort of books is the market looking for?"
 
OK, I'll give it a go. How about:

'I have a completed manuscript titled 'The Painting', a story set in Berlin, Poland and London from 1936 to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990. It's the story of a gay Polish man who sees the rise of the Third Reich, survives Auschwitz and comes to Britain as a refugee in the fifties. The painting is created by his lover to tell the truth of the Nazi horror, and surfaces forty years later in a gallery in East Germany, bringing the story full circle at the end.'

Or:

'A Season of Singing is an almost-complete manuscript that looks at Christianity, atheism and the Church of England at the start of the twentieth century. It tells the story of a man assigned to a church in a small English village as a gentle return to work after a violent physical assault nearly ended his life. His experiences with his new parishoners force him to question his faith, but it is encounters with the empire-building local evangelist and the church heirarchy that will push him to breaking point and beyond.'



I'm not good at judging whether things are hooky enough, especially in literary fiction. The first book is written in an understated, Primo Levi style - after all, a description of one of PL's books: 'A man walks home from Poland to Italy, getting lost several times' doesn't really do justice to it either.
 
'I have a completed manuscript titled 'The Painting', a story set in Berlin, Poland and London from 1936 to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990. It's the story of a gay Polish man who sees the rise of the Third Reich, survives Auschwitz and comes to Britain as a refugee in the fifties. The painting is created by his lover to tell the truth of the Nazi horror, and surfaces forty years later in a gallery in East Germany, bringing the story full circle at the end.'

Something that struck me is that this sounds less dramatic than it should. He sees the rise of the Third Reich; he survives Auschwitz (that's OK then), he comes to Britain. You might get more immediate interest if you said something like:

It's the story of a gay Polish man caught up in the rise of the Third Reich, who is imprisoned in Auschwitz and escapes to Britain as a refugee in the fifties.

By the way, your description of the Primo Levi book might not do it justice, but it actually makes it sound quite an attractive story, because we understand his goal (he has to get home) and the challenges he faces (he gets lost several times) in one easy-to-understand sentence.
 
I agree with HareBrain's suggestions, but I do think the first one is very good.

The second one doesn't hook me at all, although it may appeal to a literary publisher, because it doesn't really sound like anything happens (I am presuming the violent assault happens before the book begins -- if it doesn't you might want to make that clear), and that it's all about his thoughts and feelings. I would definitely suggest losing the first line. You're supposed to be selling them on your story, not your meditations on religion.
 
I would definitely suggest losing the first line. You're supposed to be selling them on your story, not your meditations on religion.

I agree totally. I would also name the man (I'm assuming here) "A Season of Singing is the story of a young priest who is assigned to a small country parish to recuperate after a violent physical assault nearly ends his life. His experiences with his new parishioners force him to question his faith, but it is encounters with the empire-building local evangelist and the church hierarchy that (may?)will push him to (the) breaking point and beyond.'

I can't imagine any situation where someone is assigned to lead a parish who has not been trained for it (either academically or as an apprentice).
 
If there is any specific dramatic incident or interaction with someone in his parish that serves as the beginning or the tipping point into doubt and confusion about his faith, you might use that instead of the more nebulous "experiences with his new parishioners." Even if it's a gradual process within the book, if there is any one moment that stands out more than the others, something that serves to ignite or intensify a crisis of faith, I think that's more likely to hook an agent or a publisher. If there is such a moment.

You might also want to make the experience of questioning his faith sound a little more anguished, if that would be true to what he actually feels in the book.
 
Is the course geared up so that this meeting with the agent is specifically for the purpose of allowing attendees to make a formal pitch, or is it intended as a Q and A session? If the former, then go with what others have advised in this thread. If the latter, you might actually be doing more harm than good by pitching your book. They might feel that you are hijacking a session which actually has another purpose. Why not ask a few intelligent questions, crack a gag or two and generally try and give the Great Ones the impression that you are an intelligent, able and switched on person? Then slope up to them at the end and say how much you'd like to pitch to them and how would they like you to go about it?

Regards,

Peter
 
Nothing is specified, but there are only four people on the course, so they're probably not going to be using PowerPoint.

And I've just found out that two of the four are published already and presumably therefore have agents; I think the third person is a published fiction writer too, but she has a minimal web presence. So it's quite probable that it may be a one-on-one.

I think the way I'll handle it is as PG suggests - be witty and smart, hint that I have a MS that may interest them, and see what the response is.

I was pretty out of my depth at the Arvon, but at least there only 2 out of 16 of us were published. I'm going to be the real noob on this course - I'm really not sure why they picked me, as the standard of the others implies they must have had a LOT of applicants.

Mind you (thinking aloud here) if the others all have agents, and I was selected to complete the quartet, maybe that might mean that an agent might actually be interested as I might be good enough to have something that might interest them?

...........possibly?
 
So:

You'll also have the opportunity to gain input on your work from both a publisher and an agent, each of whom will read your synopsis and sample chapters, give you personal feedback on your work, and answer your questions about the industry.
Whew! Like most writers, I'm far happier when my first contact is via the written word...
 
That sounds really good, FionaW: an opportunity to show what you can do plus what seems to be guaranteed feedback, with the chance to ask questions and get answers.









(It sounds almost as good as our Critiques sub-forum, but - and you can't have it all when you're out in the real world - without Chris ripping through your comma use. ;):))
 
Yes - I have this image of meeting him in person, and as I'm speaking he's shouting out 'Comma!' 'Semicolon!' each time I pause for breath...
 
Yes - I have this image of meeting him in person, and as I'm speaking he's shouting out 'Comma!' 'Semicolon!' each time I pause for breath...

I would have you know that I am a polite (comma) refined conversationalist (comma) not given to correcting people (apostrophe) s English (semicolon) unless (comma) of course (comma) they request that I do so (full stop, colon, capital "D")
 
My guess would be "Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Fiona W." Followed by a handshake and as in all sales, tell them whats in it for them, short and to the point.
 

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