@@thebookbelle Hey! I've written a book titled 'Murder's No Big Deal' where the people of Outer Island have decided collectively that they were tired of grieving so much and would instead look at death and murder as breaking a bone; not ideal, but not the end of the world. Alex comes from the US and decries how crazy this is, attempting to change people's minds. However, he realizes that their opinions have merit and watches himself being persuaded by the natives, ultimately leading to a middle of the road approach. The book shows that no matter how right you think you are, there are always arguments to the contrary. Do you think I have a shot with that and do you know anyone who'd want to take it on?
Wow! This says a lot about you as an author! I'm so happy for you. I have received one full manuscript request and I didn't consider writing the others to tell them. I think I'll do that tomorrow.
Interesting and I agree with much of what you have said. The big problem I find is that many agents don't respond at all these days. They don't even give an indication of a timescale when you know you have been rejected so you could find yourself waiting for a response that never comes. You are absolutely right in advising to start writing another book which is what I have done. I have sent of 12 queries and just 2 rejections so far in around six weeks. Like you I was at oine time head of PR sdo I know my way around!
Thanks for your comment! In the UK, most agents do have bounce back auto-responses that give you guidelines of when to expect a reply, and if it's beyond that timeframe, to expect it being a 'no'. Most agents are hugely swamped so not entirely their fault, but I completely understand that it's hard not to have any response at all! Best of luck with your querying journey ☺️
Watched this video ten days ago but came back to it today because I was writing the first draft of my query letter! And even though a few things in the query journey are different here in Germany your video helped me a lot - thank you very much! :)
Oh there are a lot of differences. But first of all there are only a total of around 30 agencies that are a fit for my genre and you don't really personalise your application (you just adjust your documents a little bit). There are no personal informations about the agents and therefore you can't know what is interesting for them - you can just go with the knowledge of other authors that are represented by this agency. Agencies won't usually work with you on your manuscript. It's expected that this work is done beforehand or is this minor that it is directly done with the publisher after the manuscript is sold.
It was so helpful to hear your process. Thank you for sharing, and congratulations on finding your agent! 🎉 I'm very happy to have reached the querying stage, and also to be working in the sequel to my book. I agree, it's important to be working on something else at the same time.
NEW SUBSCRIBER! This was great!! Thank you so much for the video. I'm new here and writing my first novel (historical fiction). The writing is going great but the business part is something I have very little knowledge but I'm learning (especially from writers like you). I'm very excited to see your work out in the world and wish you the utmost success!
Great video! Very helpful. I'm struggling with writing my first query letter right now and really appreciate what you said about patience. My first novel wasn't good enough to query and I'm really glad I waited till I have something I really believe in to even attempt this arduous process. Congrats on getting an agent.
Great video, thank you!🎉 What do you think, is it okay to put the hook+blurb part before the housekeeping info and personalization? I saw two types of queries, where the title and the wordcount is after “Dear agent,” and where this info is under the blurb. What works better?🤔 Thank you!
I don't think there is one that necessarily works better - the key thing is to make sure that the letter hooks the agent from the beginning! I think having the hook & blurb first will work just as well - but doing it the other way around helps the agent to know exactly how you're pitching it etc. Maybe test both ways on different agents and see what works best. Good luck! :)
It’s more of a nice encouraging message, especially if you’re still in the beginning phases. I’ve finished my draft however since I’m a loser with zero friends and even family members who laugh at my aspirations for being a published author. I don’t have anyone around to proofread my manuscript. So I’ve hired an editor to look things over from my manuscript to my letters.
I’ve watched so many of these videos and was surprised I learnt something new! Everyone else has been cagey on when to ‘nudge’ agents. My query letter is literally driving me crazy. Your advice on not querying too soon was the bitch slap I needed. My word count was way too high and I’ve just done a re-edit. I def queried too soon! Will stop pressuring myself so much 😂
This is such a helpful video! Thank you for this! Also, apologies if I missed this, but if you get a rejection from an agent for one book, is it okay to reach out to that same agent again about a different book?
So pleased it was helpful! Yes you can reach out to the same agent with a different book, but I would definitely space it out a bit to show that you've carefully considered your query and that the book is the right fit for the agent. Hope that helps!
Hi Lucy. Thanks for the video. Can I ask for advice on one aspect please? I gave up querying my first novel a while ago as I felt so disillusioned with the process. I'm going to finish my trilogy and then try again. The one element I struggled with was the bit where you have to show how much you have researched the agent. I followed all of the other rules to the letter, complied with their requirements, and only approached people that said they did sci-fi / technology thrillers. But after that my query probably felt generic... and yet I'm struggling to understand why this is an issue? I rarely know any of the people or books they have directly worked with so I can't say "it's like X". I've seen some agent youtubers (american admittedly) that have pretty much implied that we need to make them feel special. I have a lot of belief in myself and my book(s), but I'm not seeing why it's not as simple as "Here's a paragraph selling my book... let me know if you're interested" (plus the other requested bits obviously) Many thanks in advance
Hi! Tailoring your query to the agent helps to show that you've done your research on why you're querying to THAT agent as opposed to other agents. You don't necessarily have to mention how your book is similar to books/authors they represent, but it's definitely worth trying to comp the book to other books within the genres your book fits into, especially if they've said they like sci-fi/tech thrillers for example. I think the key thing with your query letter is to ensure it stands out and catches the agent's attention - reading their submission guidelines and tailoring your letter to explain why you're querying to them will help set you apart from other querying writers. Best of luck!
Thank you, this video was so helpful. I was wondering if in the about me section of the query should I mention past experience writing in a different genre under a pen name?
I am not an author, i just have simple question. Can an author have multiple agents? What are the reason for authors not choosing self published option?
Technically I think they can, yes! For example, some authors have authors for the UK territories and then a separate US agent. But usually, in the agreement you sign with an agent they specify that you can't sign with anyone else whilst you're working with them. In terms of why authors don't go self-published - self-pubbed authors have to be the whole publishing team and do it themselves (ie. design, marketing, PR etc!) as opposed to going the trad published route and working with a team of experts who can take that all on for you. It really depends on the route you'd like to take. Often self-pubbed authors won't find their books in bookshops as booksellers only will work with traditional publishers in order to stock books, so pros and cons of each route I'd say :)
Thank you for sharing your story, it was informative and inspirational. I do have a question, which may seem like an obvious one. My fantasy is at a massive 220k words. And I've downed it from 250. I know it's still too much, but if I cut it into two parts, leaving me with about 119k for the first, I've run into a problem which is that the first book doesn't have a substantial ending (which is contained at the end of the second half). I heard that any book you put out should have a proper ending, but would cut off so much if I placed that ending in the first. My question is, is 220k words a guaranteed rejection?
I’ve literally had the same issue! I queried at 165k words and was told thought rejections it was too long even for fantasy. But most agents didn’t comment on length so I was left wondering. I finally cut it to 100k plus bonus chapters. Thankfully I had a good place to do so and only had to add a few sentences and a new epilogue to set up the next one. But now I’m left with 58k words for the 2nd one in the series and all the big reveals and cliffhanger are there. Plus now I need to change my synopsis and query letter. I guess I’ll see what response I get from agents. Really, only already published authors can do massive word counts.
Thanks for your comment! Sadly (as I know it’ll be a lot of work!) I think you would need to cut it massively to max 120k words and try to round off the story as much as you can. It can of course be part of a series and definitely mention that in your query letter, but an agent would need to find the book you’re querying with as a complete book that fits within the genre word count conventions to consider it! Best of luck with your query ☺️
Hey! I've written a book titled 'Murder's No Big Deal' where the people of Outer Island have decided collectively that they were tired of grieving so much and would instead look at death and murder as breaking a bone; not ideal, but not the end of the world. Alex comes from the US and decries how crazy this is, attempting to change people's minds. However, he realizes that their opinions have merit and watches himself being persuaded by the natives, ultimately leading to a middle of the road approach. The book shows that no matter how right you think you are, there are always arguments to the contrary. Do you think I have a shot with that and do you know anyone who'd want to take it on?
hello! Really sorry but I can't advise on if you'd have a shot with it or who would take it on. You'll know your book better than anyone - so get it to the best place it can be, research agents who represent your book's genre and follow their submission guidelines. Best of luck!
I'm only like four minutes in to your video and I understand having edited your book before querying BUT don't the better publishers provide editing assistance? What are they editing if you've already thoroughly edited your novel?
Hello! Yes publishers do another edit once they’ve bought your book - but to get to the point of even getting and agent then a book deal, your novel needs to be of a high enough standard. It shows commitment and an understanding of being able to be critical of your own work if you at least do an edit of your manuscript before querying! Hope that helps 😊
I'm about to launcch into this myself, my only real worry being that my novel length is a bit much for what's apparently recommended. Sci Fi, recommended says 90K-125K and after several revision edits i've only gotten mine down to 143K. Is it dead in the water?
Hi there! Yes I would say if your book is over 120k words, you really should be looking at ways to cut it down before querying. Either be savage and cut sections out entirely, or find another natural ending for the book and make it into a series. Sadly some agents will automatically reject due to the word count. Good luck with your querying journey!
@@thebookbelle that's a problem, since it's already the first in a series and the wordcount has already been slashed through several editing runs. Crap.
The word count issue with agents is the bane of my existence as a new writer and quite unfair. In the middlegrade fantasy genre agents seem draconian about being under the wordcount made up numbers for a first novel. They dont care what story mechanics you used. Even though the novel itself is fine. But agents wont even look at it if your manuscript is over a few thousand words over the targets. (even with several edit drafts). This has been my experience to date. Very frustrating
It is very frustrating but it's just the industry standards I'm afraid! They need to know that you're familiar enough with the industry to know the average word lengths per genre. Best of luck!
Thank you for sharing your experience with us! I really liked this video and would love to hear more on your querying process.
Thanks so much for watching - glad you enjoyed the video! ☺️
@@thebookbelle Hey! I've written a book titled 'Murder's No Big Deal' where the people of Outer Island have decided collectively that they were tired of grieving so much and would instead look at death and murder as breaking a bone; not ideal, but not the end of the world. Alex comes from the US and decries how crazy this is, attempting to change people's minds. However, he realizes that their opinions have merit and watches himself being persuaded by the natives, ultimately leading to a middle of the road approach. The book shows that no matter how right you think you are, there are always arguments to the contrary. Do you think I have a shot with that and do you know anyone who'd want to take it on?
Wow! This says a lot about you as an author! I'm so happy for you. I have received one full manuscript request and I didn't consider writing the others to tell them. I think I'll do that tomorrow.
Thanks so much! Best of luck with your querying journey.
Interesting and I agree with much of what you have said. The big problem I find is that many agents don't respond at all these days. They don't even give an indication of a timescale when you know you have been rejected so you could find yourself waiting for a response that never comes. You are absolutely right in advising to start writing another book which is what I have done. I have sent of 12 queries and just 2 rejections so far in around six weeks. Like you I was at oine time head of PR sdo I know my way around!
Thanks for your comment! In the UK, most agents do have bounce back auto-responses that give you guidelines of when to expect a reply, and if it's beyond that timeframe, to expect it being a 'no'. Most agents are hugely swamped so not entirely their fault, but I completely understand that it's hard not to have any response at all! Best of luck with your querying journey ☺️
I loved the video! ❤❤❤
Thanks so much for watching! ☺️
Watched this video ten days ago but came back to it today because I was writing the first draft of my query letter! And even though a few things in the query journey are different here in Germany your video helped me a lot - thank you very much! :)
So pleased it was helpful and good luck with querying ☺️
That's great. How is it different in Germany?
Oh there are a lot of differences. But first of all there are only a total of around 30 agencies that are a fit for my genre and you don't really personalise your application (you just adjust your documents a little bit). There are no personal informations about the agents and therefore you can't know what is interesting for them - you can just go with the knowledge of other authors that are represented by this agency.
Agencies won't usually work with you on your manuscript. It's expected that this work is done beforehand or is this minor that it is directly done with the publisher after the manuscript is sold.
It was so helpful to hear your process. Thank you for sharing, and congratulations on finding your agent! 🎉 I'm very happy to have reached the querying stage, and also to be working in the sequel to my book. I agree, it's important to be working on something else at the same time.
Best of luck on your querying journey! ☺️
This is so straightforward and complete. Many thanks!
So pleased it was helpful! Thanks for watching ☺️
NEW SUBSCRIBER! This was great!! Thank you so much for the video. I'm new here and writing my first novel (historical fiction). The writing is going great but the business part is something I have very little knowledge but I'm learning (especially from writers like you). I'm very excited to see your work out in the world and wish you the utmost success!
Thanks so much for subscribing! Best of luck with your novel :)
Great video! Very helpful. I'm struggling with writing my first query letter right now and really appreciate what you said about patience. My first novel wasn't good enough to query and I'm really glad I waited till I have something I really believe in to even attempt this arduous process. Congrats on getting an agent.
Best of luck with your querying journey and thanks for watching!
Omg best video, so happy that I found you! 🌸
ah so pleased! Thanks for watching 🥰
Thank you so much! I'm in the query-letter stage and this is quite helpful.
I have definitely subscribed.
So pleased it was helpful! Best of luck with your querying journey 😊
This was so comprehensive. Thank you so much!!
So pleased to hear! Thanks for watching :)
Great informative video and congratulations 🎉👏
This video is so valuable. Thank you!
So pleased you found it helpful! Thanks for watching :)
Great video, thank you!🎉 What do you think, is it okay to put the hook+blurb part before the housekeeping info and personalization? I saw two types of queries, where the title and the wordcount is after “Dear agent,” and where this info is under the blurb. What works better?🤔 Thank you!
I don't think there is one that necessarily works better - the key thing is to make sure that the letter hooks the agent from the beginning! I think having the hook & blurb first will work just as well - but doing it the other way around helps the agent to know exactly how you're pitching it etc. Maybe test both ways on different agents and see what works best. Good luck! :)
@@thebookbelle Thank you so much!
I don’t even have a first draft I don’t know why I’m watching these videos 😅
It’s more of a nice encouraging message, especially if you’re still in the beginning phases. I’ve finished my draft however since I’m a loser with zero friends and even family members who laugh at my aspirations for being a published author. I don’t have anyone around to proofread my manuscript. So I’ve hired an editor to look things over from my manuscript to my letters.
It's always good to educate yourself about the process! I'm sure you'll have a first draft soon. Thanks for watching :)
I’ve watched so many of these videos and was surprised I learnt something new! Everyone else has been cagey on when to ‘nudge’ agents. My query letter is literally driving me crazy. Your advice on not querying too soon was the bitch slap I needed. My word count was way too high and I’ve just done a re-edit. I def queried too soon! Will stop pressuring myself so much 😂
Best of luck with your querying journey and thanks for watching! ☺️
Thank you!
Hope it was helpful - thanks for watching :)
This is such a helpful video! Thank you for this!
Also, apologies if I missed this, but if you get a rejection from an agent for one book, is it okay to reach out to that same agent again about a different book?
So pleased it was helpful! Yes you can reach out to the same agent with a different book, but I would definitely space it out a bit to show that you've carefully considered your query and that the book is the right fit for the agent. Hope that helps!
Hi Lucy. Thanks for the video. Can I ask for advice on one aspect please?
I gave up querying my first novel a while ago as I felt so disillusioned with the process. I'm going to finish my trilogy and then try again.
The one element I struggled with was the bit where you have to show how much you have researched the agent. I followed all of the other rules to the letter, complied with their requirements, and only approached people that said they did sci-fi / technology thrillers. But after that my query probably felt generic... and yet I'm struggling to understand why this is an issue? I rarely know any of the people or books they have directly worked with so I can't say "it's like X". I've seen some agent youtubers (american admittedly) that have pretty much implied that we need to make them feel special.
I have a lot of belief in myself and my book(s), but I'm not seeing why it's not as simple as "Here's a paragraph selling my book... let me know if you're interested" (plus the other requested bits obviously)
Many thanks in advance
Hi! Tailoring your query to the agent helps to show that you've done your research on why you're querying to THAT agent as opposed to other agents. You don't necessarily have to mention how your book is similar to books/authors they represent, but it's definitely worth trying to comp the book to other books within the genres your book fits into, especially if they've said they like sci-fi/tech thrillers for example. I think the key thing with your query letter is to ensure it stands out and catches the agent's attention - reading their submission guidelines and tailoring your letter to explain why you're querying to them will help set you apart from other querying writers. Best of luck!
Thanks for these tips. They really help!
So pleased the video was helpful! Thanks for watching :)
Thank you, this video was so helpful. I was wondering if in the about me section of the query should I mention past experience writing in a different genre under a pen name?
So pleased it was helpful! Yes absolutely, I would mention your other books under your other pen name. Best of luck! ☺️
I am not an author, i just have simple question. Can an author have multiple agents? What are the reason for authors not choosing self published option?
Technically I think they can, yes! For example, some authors have authors for the UK territories and then a separate US agent. But usually, in the agreement you sign with an agent they specify that you can't sign with anyone else whilst you're working with them. In terms of why authors don't go self-published - self-pubbed authors have to be the whole publishing team and do it themselves (ie. design, marketing, PR etc!) as opposed to going the trad published route and working with a team of experts who can take that all on for you. It really depends on the route you'd like to take. Often self-pubbed authors won't find their books in bookshops as booksellers only will work with traditional publishers in order to stock books, so pros and cons of each route I'd say :)
Ty..really helpful!
So pleased you found it helpful! Thanks for watching 😊
Thank you so much!
Thanks for watching!
What is suggested length for historical fiction?
I would say between 80k - 100k words - no more than that usually!
Thank you for sharing your story, it was informative and inspirational. I do have a question, which may seem like an obvious one. My fantasy is at a massive 220k words. And I've downed it from 250. I know it's still too much, but if I cut it into two parts, leaving me with about 119k for the first, I've run into a problem which is that the first book doesn't have a substantial ending (which is contained at the end of the second half). I heard that any book you put out should have a proper ending, but would cut off so much if I placed that ending in the first. My question is, is 220k words a guaranteed rejection?
I’ve literally had the same issue! I queried at 165k words and was told thought rejections it was too long even for fantasy. But most agents didn’t comment on length so I was left wondering. I finally cut it to 100k plus bonus chapters. Thankfully I had a good place to do so and only had to add a few sentences and a new epilogue to set up the next one. But now I’m left with 58k words for the 2nd one in the series and all the big reveals and cliffhanger are there. Plus now I need to change my synopsis and query letter. I guess I’ll see what response I get from agents.
Really, only already published authors can do massive word counts.
Thanks for your comment! Sadly (as I know it’ll be a lot of work!) I think you would need to cut it massively to max 120k words and try to round off the story as much as you can. It can of course be part of a series and definitely mention that in your query letter, but an agent would need to find the book you’re querying with as a complete book that fits within the genre word count conventions to consider it! Best of luck with your query ☺️
@@thebookbelle Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time out to answer this
@elishevahmonrad8591 yes, I know it is tough to tell a story in all of its parts and still fall in the accepted criteria. Good luck with yours!
Hey! I've written a book titled 'Murder's No Big Deal' where the people of Outer Island have decided collectively that they were tired of grieving so much and would instead look at death and murder as breaking a bone; not ideal, but not the end of the world. Alex comes from the US and decries how crazy this is, attempting to change people's minds. However, he realizes that their opinions have merit and watches himself being persuaded by the natives, ultimately leading to a middle of the road approach. The book shows that no matter how right you think you are, there are always arguments to the contrary. Do you think I have a shot with that and do you know anyone who'd want to take it on?
hello! Really sorry but I can't advise on if you'd have a shot with it or who would take it on. You'll know your book better than anyone - so get it to the best place it can be, research agents who represent your book's genre and follow their submission guidelines. Best of luck!
I'm only like four minutes in to your video and I understand having edited your book before querying BUT don't the better publishers provide editing assistance? What are they editing if you've already thoroughly edited your novel?
Hello! Yes publishers do another edit once they’ve bought your book - but to get to the point of even getting and agent then a book deal, your novel needs to be of a high enough standard. It shows commitment and an understanding of being able to be critical of your own work if you at least do an edit of your manuscript before querying! Hope that helps 😊
Are you on any writer's forums?
I'm not!
I'm loving your video but I keep hearing what sounds like a spooling hard drive or focusing camera. What is it?
It's my camera focusing - very annoying!
I'm about to launcch into this myself, my only real worry being that my novel length is a bit much for what's apparently recommended. Sci Fi, recommended says 90K-125K and after several revision edits i've only gotten mine down to 143K. Is it dead in the water?
Hi there! Yes I would say if your book is over 120k words, you really should be looking at ways to cut it down before querying. Either be savage and cut sections out entirely, or find another natural ending for the book and make it into a series. Sadly some agents will automatically reject due to the word count. Good luck with your querying journey!
@@thebookbelle that's a problem, since it's already the first in a series and the wordcount has already been slashed through several editing runs.
Crap.
@@smokinggnu6584 best of luck with it! ☺️
The word count issue with agents is the bane of my existence as a new writer and quite unfair. In the middlegrade fantasy genre agents seem draconian about being under the wordcount made up numbers for a first novel. They dont care what story mechanics you used. Even though the novel itself is fine. But agents wont even look at it if your manuscript is over a few thousand words over the targets. (even with several edit drafts). This has been my experience to date. Very frustrating
It is very frustrating but it's just the industry standards I'm afraid! They need to know that you're familiar enough with the industry to know the average word lengths per genre. Best of luck!
Be a woman. Easiest way to get an agent.
@@MrNoucfeanor Not true at all, but thanks for your comment 😂
This was so, so helpful! Thank you!
SO pleased to hear! Thanks for watching :)