Alrighty, then. Much has changed since that post. First, I received my first rejection from this batch of agents queried. But I also encountered a significant opportunity of which I took full advantage.
A group called The Manuscript Academy--headed up by Julie True Kingsley and Jessica Sinsheimer--rounded up several literary agents and a sprinkling of editors who were willing (for a modest fee) to meet over Skype with those of us interested in spending ten minutes with an agent (or editor). We could ask whatever questions we had about the publishing industry in general, have said agent critique a query letter, or have them critique the first page of our manuscript.
It was pure genius on their parts. I am shocked no one has thought of this before. Kudos for the extensive planning and execution, ladies! Such an incredible opportunity!
I've participated in face-to-face agent queries at two separate writer's conferences. The experience is nerve-wracking for many reasons, but my main pet peeves: The room is so noisy, you have to practically shove your lips down the agent's ear canal so they can hear you; if it's a "herding" situation, i.e., you're one of the herd and must wait in line to speak with an agent, time can run out.
Skype facetime for ten minutes from the quiet and privacy of your home is literary heaven. The conversations were so relaxed, I not only heard what the agents had to say, but I was able to absorb it in a non-frenzied situation.
Because. Flowers.
The two agents I chose were Jaida Temperly (New Leaf Literary) and Sarah LaPolla (Bradford Literary Agency). They were both interested in magical realism. Turns out my book doesn't fall into the magical realism genre, but is supernatural with speculative elements. Jaida does not represent these genres, but she was still generous with her critique. Sarah, I learned at the end of the ten minutes, reps urban fantasy, but more about this in a bit.
Since my history of querying indicates agents are interested in the story and my query further piques their interest, but then a disconnect exists with my writing (submitting the first few pages), I wanted to get to the bottom of the disconnect. Therefor, I purchased two ten-minute sessions with each agent, the first session to cover the query, and the second session to cover my first page.
Jaida related that both my query and writing held her interest, and she would keep reading. She encouraged me to submit to agents who are specifically looking for my genre. She suggested that I try to reduce my word count below 100K (currently at 107K+) because that could be an automatic turnoff for some agents.
Sarah deconstructed my query letter and explained what I could cut and what she wanted more of, what the query letter left out that she wanted to know. So I explained a confusing passage for her. She pointed out how the new information, when added, tied together the entire query. She also showed me how the query did not directly connect to my opening page. That point alone, I believe, is the major disconnect I've been experiencing.
Both Jaida and Sarah agreed with my editor--I'm beginning my novel in the wrong place, and then we all agreed where it should begin. The correction would affect the dreaded high word count and bring it more in line with industry standards. I loved Sarah's honesty when she stated, "If I'm on a time crunch and your query and story capture my interest, but it's over 100K words, I know I don't have the time to read it and will pass for that reason alone."
At the end of our conversation, I asked Sarah what agents at her agency she might refer me to when I was ready again to query. She said, "Me! I'd love for you to query me." After I picked myself up off the floor, I told her I looked forward to it!
One thing I must add to this post: all the agents and editors I've interacted with, both in person and over Skype, have been good, decent people who are just like you and me. They're down-to-earth, easy to converse with, and eager to help writers become successful.
And isn't that what we should all strive for--helping one another. Now, back to writing and revising!
One of the strangest flowers I've ever seen or photographed.
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