An agent's requirements - is it worth it?

[AnyaKimlin]

This feels like a lot of work and I am not sure I can think of three to five works that are similar to my own.

Fiction:

>A brief covering letter (no more than one page) with relevant introductory information. This might state what type of novel it is and characterize it in a succinct sentence or two.
>A CV including any published work. Please limit unrelated career history to a half-page at most.
>A mini-synopsis, aiming to emulate the style of blurbs on the jackets of published books; i.e. it should convey both the main ‘hooks’ or themes and the plot in 150-300 words.
>A list of three to five comparable successful novels already in the marketplace. Please explain the comparison and what you believe makes yours distinctive within the group.
>The first three chapters or approximately the first fifty pages to a natural break.
>Summary of the plot & characters (a paragraph per chapter, amounting to 2 or 3 pages in total).

 

[glutton]

Are they known to be successful in your genre? Those requirements are pretty unusual.

 

[Brian G Turner]

This feels like a lot of work and I am not sure I can think of three to five works that are similar to my own.

Simply put, where can publishers slot you into, genre wise? Which books and authors are they going to put your book next to? Which authors will they need to consider asking for a sentence or two for the cover blurb?

Surely you've read enough sf/f to have an idea of why you might fit in??

 

[AnyaKimlin]

He is just starting a new list so unsure - he does not say no to fantasy which is usually on submissions guidelines. At present my synopsis is either 300 words or 790 words.

He used to work for Curtis Brown so has reasonable credentials.

Simply put, where can publishers slot you into, genre wise? Which books and authors are they going to put your book next to? Which authors will they need to consider asking for a sentence or two for the cover blurb?

Surely you've read enough sf/f to have an idea of why you might fit in??

Lord of The Rings I guess but mine is set in a contemporary era otherworld and I designed my own races. Maybe Eragon

It has connections to the Merlin stories but that is not obvious in the first book and won't be until one of my character's real identity is revealed.

My character faces similar issues and it is aimed at a similar age group to Across the Nightingale Floor.

To be honest I tend to read stories that are borderline fantasy or those written before Tolkein. It's nothing like Torchwood books or The Dresden Files or Anne Lyle's books or Terry Pratchett. Perhaps oddly it maybe similar to the Pern series in someways but it has no dragons.

I have asked on here for stories/worlds with a similar premise and I got no real answers.

I am sure there are similar contemporary works but I don't know them.

It would basically in my mind be slotted on the YA Fantasy shelf.

 

[alchemist]

I'd expect an agent to request some of that but not all. It sounds like a lot of extra work an heartache. If it was me, I'd be putting him further down my spreadsheet.

 

[HareBrain]

He forgot to add the list of publishers he should send it to.

 

[Fishbowl Helmet]

This feels like a lot of work and I am not sure I can think of three to five works that are similar to my own.

This is a lot of work compared to what? Writing the novel in the first place? If you can't think of other similar novels you need to read more in the genre. This is where you go from the art & craft of writing to the business of publishing.

Fiction:

>A brief covering letter (no more than one page) with relevant introductory information. This might state what type of novel it is and characterize it in a succinct sentence or two.

You should already have this for your own edification.

>A CV including any published work. Please limit unrelated career history to a half-page at most.

Again, this should be something you already have.

>A mini-synopsis, aiming to emulate the style of blurbs on the jackets of published books; i.e. it should convey both the main ‘hooks’ or themes and the plot in 150-300 words.

You're the person with the most familiarity with your novel, and you're a writer. Kicking out 300 words on it shouldn't be that hard.

>A list of three to five comparable successful novels already in the marketplace. Please explain the comparison and what you believe makes yours distinctive within the group.

If you don't already know of 3-5 similar novels you need to read a lot more in the genre. But admittedly this one is a bit odd. Usually acquisition editors sneer at any comparison made to other successful works, maybe agents are different.

>The first three chapters or approximately the first fifty pages to a natural break.

Fairly standard, and I should hope you actually have this before looking for an agent.

>Summary of the plot & characters (a paragraph per chapter, amounting to 2 or 3 pages in total).

Again, fairly standard and you should have something similar already worked up.

 

[allmywires]

To me, that's too much and unless I was reaaaally certain he'd love my work I'd probably pass. But then I'm a flighty so-and-so and wouldn't even send to agencies if they were snail-mail only, so...

Besides, I know I don't read enough in the genre so I'd be screwed. That's why I write my kind of fantasy, because I find most of the standard stuff intolerable.*

*I realise that my burning need to write a book that's ~different~ is 100 per cent going to be my downfall in the world of publishing. Similar, who wants similar, pfft.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

LOL HareBrain it does feel like I am doing the work for him. I may give him a miss this time. My dream agent rejected me with the most positive rejection I could ever have had - she had obviously read all three chapters and liked it. Described it as original and written with verve and panache but she has too much YA High-Fantasy right now.

It is the longer synopsis that seems a lot of work because it is not standard as most ask for less than 1000 words or maybe two paragraphs.

Maybe I should read more but my husband and friend who read fantasy/sci-fi can't seem to give me 3-5 similar works and neither can my librarian friend. Telling him the differences and what makes it stand out is fairly easy.

 

[Kissmequick]

Quote:
>A list of three to five comparable successful novels already in the marketplace. Please explain the comparison and what you believe makes yours distinctive within the group.

If you don't already know of 3-5 similar novels you need to read a lot more in the genre. But admittedly this one is a bit odd. Usually acquisition editors sneer at any comparison made to other successful works, maybe agents are different

.

Not at all odd. They want to know you have a grip on the current market place, on what is selling, where you (think you) fit in said marketplace etc etc.

It's not a matter of saying 'My book will outsell Harry Potter and Twilight combined and is more literary than Ian McEwan!' hyerbole, but more 'fans of Book X should enjoy....' It's not really a comparison as such - not in how good etc it is at least, it's not saying you're better - , it's showing where you fit, genre/tone/style wise. (Or as an agent once articulated it to me, 'whose readers do you want to steal?')

Shows you've done your research. Not all agents require it, but if they do, give serious thought to giving it because it will help them see where you are coming from and how they might pitch it and to who(also some acquiring editors like it too)

 

[AnyaKimlin]

This is how I usually tackle it:

Mayhem is a 99,000-word, YA Fantasy that is aimed at the older end of the market. It is a high-fantasy in most respects: magical races, religious beliefs, magic systems and a royal saga but the world has technology that is similar to our own. The races, religion and culture are designed specifically for the story rather than being taken directly from existing myths.

*** OR
Angus, my main character, is of a similar age and faces some of the same dramatic family issues as Tomasu/Takeo in Across the Nightingale floor. However my story is set in a modern world that is very different to the Japanese inspired world of Lian Hearne's book.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

The chapter by chapter thing is unusual and sounds like a lot of work. I'd hesitate over that one unless an agent had already shown an interest in the book. (I used to send one-page-per-chapter outlines to my publishers and didn't consider that a lot of work, but those were for option books, so it wasn't like I was doing all that work for someone who might not be interested at all.)

A lot of agents ask potential clients to compare their books to books that have recently been published. As others have said, anyone who can't do that needs to become more familiar with what's going on right now -- it's not as though you need to read a particular book all the way through to see if it's similar to yours! Increasingly this sort of thing is necessary research, and all excuses aside, anyone who doesn't do it is handicapping themselves. Besides, if you aren't reading the books that are being published now, how do you know that what you are writing is so very unique? There may be loads of books that are similar to yours in some way. Giving reasons why your book is not like another book seems counterproductive.

If you do read widely and aren't finding books like your own ... well, I don't think that's a problem you can easily solve, except by writing only what you think will sell, which is not something I would recommend. Of course we need to write books that we would want to read ourselves; anything else is going to be drudgery, probably dull and lifeless, and a good way to kill our love of writing.

The most important question here is if you think this will be a good agent for you. He's been with Curtis Brown, so that's a good sign. But you say he doesn't specifically say no fantasy. That's not a good sign. Supposing he does condescend to represent an occasional fantasy novel? Does he know editors in the field? Does he know what sort of pitch is likely to pique the interest of each one? Does he know the kinds of books each Fantasy/SF imprint is looking for? If offered a contract from one of them, does he know which changes he can ask for with a good chance of getting them, and which are just a waste of time? The answer to each of these questions is probably no if he doesn't list fantasy as one of the genres he is looking to represent.

You should be approaching agents that do list fantasy among the genres they want to see.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

He doesn't actually list any genres - says he will look at anything.

I do have two or three others I can indicate are similar to mine in the fact they are aimed at the same age group and they are fantasy. But I think it has a potentially broader readership some of my influences were the God Box by Alex Sanchez (a YA LGBT story) and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott which is hardly recent but it does sell well.

I guess because of the first-person present tense there are comparisons to the Hunger Games with style.

This guy specifically asks for the distinctions.

I'll see how long the synopsis looks like taking and then make a decision. He'll be one of about ten now I know it is a good submission package.

 

[Boneman]

Books that would compare to yours: The Green Rider (series) by Kristen Britain, and there's another one, hold on just a moment... oh yeah Celine Kiernan Moorhawke Trilogy (1st book The Poison Throne), and also Sarah Ash Tears of Artamon series (1st Book Lord of Snow and Shadows) and another series I totally forgot the name of where there's an ovberthrow of the throne and they go around on ice-skates when the canals freeze (help me out here, anybody?) and the MC develops a bond with strange snow animals, and a younger prince is sent to an Abbey to learn magic/religion (sound familiar?), and a younger princess is whisked away to foreign lands ands all kinds of doodah. I'll try and find it out if nobody else knows it: JJ is her agent and I think she's an Aussie.

 

[Kissmequick]

I do have two or three others I can indicate are similar to mine in the fact they are aimed at the same age group and they are fantasy.

Yeah that might be a little too broad to be meaningful I wouldn't worry so much about tense as being applicable either, especially, unless you've got other major similarities.

What books are similar in theme? In who the protagonist(s) is/are? Atmosphere? Setting?

Whose readers will be interested in this book? (For example, I used a book that on the surface is little like mine. But the nature of the protag and the atmosphere were similar, though I noted mine was darker)

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Thanks Boneman you are right - I need to concentrate on the story which is not the most original bit of the book lol Green Rider Series I have read some of hmm... That is very helpful thanks. Across the Nightingale floor as I have mentioned is the big one in terms of similarity and audience I would be aiming for. The Iron King by Julia Kagawa is about a teen with royal connections who everyone is trying to use as a pawn and is tested to the limits saving someone she cares about. That's three. Now you have given me those I am having the same issue of remembering snatches of stories. Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray again is a royal drama with a child who rises to the challenge for the claws are out to get her. Could do with some more boy characters lol.

No there is no real similarities to Hunger Games beyond the tense Well I guess it is a YA character with everyone out to get him but it is his sister that wants to kill him.

My beta-readers tend to be middle-aged women, gay men and teen boys So far they all like it but I guess that is not what I want to put in my letter. Basically the women want to mother Angus, the gay men want him to be gay (although his brother is OK) and the teen boys like the action. (Yes my beta readers tend to be stereotypes)

 

[Brian G Turner]

Besides, I know I don't read enough in the genre so I'd be screwed. That's why I write my kind of fantasy, because I find most of the standard stuff intolerable.*

How do you know the other stuff is intolerable if you don't read it?

 

[Boneman]

The King's ******* and series by Rowena Cory Daniels - this is the one with sibling sent to study at abbey and regicide and a Gay friend. Probably the closest to your book. List all those and that'll keep the agent happy! Good luck!

 

[Erin99]

Blimey. Ambivalence toward the genre that we're supposed to love so much we want to write in and add to...

There are fantasy book out there for everybody, whether romance, historical, adventure, epic, gritty, science, etc. Some categories I love more than others... but there's ALWAYS something to enjoy.

Anyway, I'd be wary of agents who don't specialise, for the reasons Teresa mentioned. If they say they will look at anything, that's a pretty broad scope of contacts they must have to be able to fit a book to the correct publishing-house imprints... I'm not saying that they haven't got that scope, but, sadly, some may not.

Agents who know their genre inside-out are the way to go, to be on the safe side. And if you can't sell to those, it's time to reassess or look to other agents. Good luck, Anya! It sounds as if you're getting an idea of what to list, now.

 

[Susan Boulton]

This feels like a lot of work and I am not sure I can think of three to five works that are similar to my own.

Fiction:

>A brief covering letter (no more than one page) with relevant introductory information. This might state what type of novel it is and characterize it in a succinct sentence or two.

Done it and done it verbally during a conversation with agent and possible publisher. You need to be able to sum up your work in just a few words, because sometimes that's all you have.

>A CV including any published work. Please limit unrelated career history to a half-page at most.

Did it for for first submission and updated it thereafter.

>A mini-synopsis, aiming to emulate the style of blurbs on the jackets of published books; i.e. it should convey both the main ‘hooks’ or themes and the plot in 150-300 words.

Did it for all four books I submitted, plus a 500, and 1,000 word synopsis to cover all bases.

>A list of three to five comparable successful novels already in the marketplace. Please explain the comparison and what you believe makes yours distinctive within the group.

Done it and once off the top of my head during a pitch session, but that was only three books.

>The first three chapters or approximately the first fifty pages to a natural break.

This is a given isn't it for any submission, you need this ready.

>Summary of the plot & characters (a paragraph per chapter, amounting to 2 or 3 pages in total).

Done this once when an agent came back after liking the original submission package. They wanted it along with the rest of the manuscript.

To be honest I see nothing here that I haven't done a few dozen times when I was agent hunting. Once you have each done then you can re-work and update it as you require