When I talked to the first agent who offered representation, I had a list of questions I got from the internet…which was basically a bust. I asked if she had publishers in mind already (of course she did, or she wouldn’t want to represent my book.) The following are the questions I thought were most important:
1) What do you think is the strongest thing about my manuscript?
2) What do you think is the weakest thing about my manuscript?
3) How much editing do you think it needs? A few tweaks, or a complete overhaul?
4) What are some of your favorite books?
5) What happens next?
6) Will you help me with a blog/website?
7) Will you go to New York
As you can see, I was mostly interested in editorial suggestions and ended up picking the agent I thought had the best insight into my manuscript. You may think other things are more important, like being NY based or belonging to a large agency.
The main thing to look for is if you click. Over the course of your conversation, you'll get a feel for the agent and can see if you're on the same page. There is no perfect agent, only the perfect agent for you. With that cliché, I’ll leave you to it.
Next week…more on choosing an agent.
Next week…more on choosing an agent.
Good questions to ask, when the time comes.
ReplyDeleteNice... those questions are so much more relevant than the lists I've seen online! Thanks for sharing...I'll file them away!
ReplyDeleteThese are so much of questions and I believe that they can be managed. I believe there are many such publishers who can deal with such things.
ReplyDelete