#SFFChat Day

Dan Koboldt has put together a great #SFFpit for December 10th where you can pitch your science fiction and fantasy manuscript to agents on twitter. He's also put together a chat for the day before where you can ask questions and talk about SFF books with some published authors--I'm one of them.

So come by with questions about writing SFF or publishing or anything else writer related at 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm EST and 9:00 - 10:00 pm EST today. Use the hashtag #SFFchat. We'll do our best to give experienced advice and answer you all. 

Query Questions with Juliet Mushens

Writers have copious amounts of imagination. It's what makes their stories so fantastic. But there's a darker side to so much out of the box thinking. When a writer is in the query trenches, their worries go into overdrive. They imagine every possible disaster.

Here to relieve some of that endless worrying is a new series of posts called Query Questions. I'll ask the questions that prey on every writer's mind, and hopefully take some of the pain out of querying. These are questions that I've seen tossed around on twitter and writing sites like Agent Query Connect. They are the type of questions that you need answers for the real expert--agents!

If you have your own specific query question, please leave it in the comments and it might show up in future editions of Query Questions.

Today I'm very pleased to bring you answers from agent extraordinary Juliet Mushens of The Agency Group. Thank you so much Ms. Mushens for taking the time to respond and maybe ease some fears about the query process.

Is there a particular time of year that is better to query?

Not really - the only bad times are April and October because of the book fairs. However everything gets read, I just might be slower than usual in responding because I'm so busy.

Does one typo or misplaced comma shoot down the entire query?

Not at all. I do advise people to get a friend to proofread it for them, but we all make mistakes and I understand that. 

Do you look at sample pages without fail or only if the query is strong?

Yes, absolutely. Though there is a difference in UK & US submissions - in the UK you send a cover letter and the first 3 chapters. I'll always turn to the first three chapters though I can usually tell if a book will be me for me by the end of the cover letter - I have occasionally been proven wrong though. 

Do crazy fonts caused by email gremlins make for an automatic rejection?

No, but do try sending it to yourself first to make sure it looks normal! 

Do you prefer a little personalized chit-chat in a query letter, or would you rather hear about the manuscript?

I want the focus to be on the manuscript but a couple of lines about yourself is welcome too. Warm and funny letters are always nice.

Is there a bias against querying authors who have self-published?

No. One of my most successful writers self-published originally - he sold 350k copies and is now a paperback best seller with publishing deals in 10 countries. 

Do you go through a large group of queries at a time or hold yourself to a few?

I try and set aside half an hour on the bus every day to do submissions - I can get through 1 in that time, or I can get through 20. I'm used to doing it so I know pretty quickly if it's one for me or not. If I'm really busy I can build up a backlog - it is a common misconception that we spend all day reading, whereas in reality most submissions reading is extracurricular.

How many queries do you receive in a week? How many requests might you make out of those?

Probably 30 or so. I call in maybe 2 full manuscripts a month. Sometimes I call in nothing for 6 months, sometimes 2 in a week.

Have you form rejected great projects you think could be accepted elsewhere or do you try to give some feedback?

If I think something is great I will probably represent it! Occasionally I have said no to good things as I'm busy but I will always explain that.

What does ‘just didn’t connect enough’ mean to you?

I'm not invested enough in the characters, usually.

What’s the strangest/funniest thing you've seen in a query?

I once got sent a gnome with a query before. That was pretty weird.

Juliet Mushens is an agent in the UK literary department of The Agency Group where she represents a bestselling list of fiction and non-fiction writers. She was picked by The Bookseller as a Rising Star in 2012 and shortlisted for the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize 2013. Please email her your cover letter and first 3 chapters when submitting. You can follow her on twitter at @mushenska 

Professional Writer?

When did you first consider yourself a professional writer? In the middle of filling out a questionnaire for an upcoming blog tour, that question brought me to a screeching halt. It was something unexpected, and I didn’t feel like it applied to me. A professional writer. Professional. Was I among that list? To me that list includes great fantasy writers like Sanderson, Tolkien, and Rowling. Was that me? Although Kindar’s Cure will soon be released as my debut novel, I didn’t really think so.

I looked up the word. –relating or belonging to a profession.  –engaged in an occupation as a paid job  –businesslike, conforming to the standards of skill, competence, or character  –very competent  –doing something habitually.

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For some reason, except for doing something habitually, I don’t feel like I fit those definitions. I haven’t been paid yet, so I can’t judge if I’ll feel professional when the first (small) royalty check lands in my lap. There are no reviews from readers on Amazon or Barnes and Nobles, so I can’t use them to judge if I have skill, competence or character. The fantasy and science fiction writers’ organization doesn’t accept authors who don’t receive advances, so I can’t join their professional group.

Possible modesty complex aside, none of those excuses are the real reason that I don’t feel like a professional. To me the term professional assumes something more than those definitions. It means you treat your skill like a business. You perform it for the gain you receive. It implies a sense of being jaded. But that has never been my idea of writing.

Most writers write because they must, or because they love to surprise readers, or for the thrill of getting a reader reaction to their words and sharing a story. Maybe deep down there is also the desire to be immortal. So feel like a professional—no. To me it’s the thrill of unfolding a story and having it take me to unplanned places. I hope that never becomes old. So no, I don’t think I’ll ever feel one hundred percent like a professional.

What are your thoughts? What does it take to be a professional writer? An agent? A publishing contract? What will tip the scales for you? 

November Ask an Agent

I had planned to do the follow up James Bond post today, but then I stumbled across an active #askagent on twitter. I spent an hour reading messages while waiting on laundry at my dad's house. Our washer gave us an early Christmas present by refusing to spin. I figure those answers would be of more interesting than talking about creating a series.  Most of the agents involved represent YA, MG, and children’s genres, though they also rep adult genres.

Since I’m always braver when not face-to-face, I asked four questions and got answers to all of them. I want to add grateful thanks to the agents for sharing their knowledge. Here we go:

If you’ve nudged on a full request and gotten no answer, do you let it go? Molly Ker Hawn and Julia Churchill both responded with nudge again, then move on.

What should I read into a form rejection on a full request? Is it a bad sign? Juliet Mushens said it’s a subjective industry so don’t read too much into it. Sometimes we are too busy for proper feedback.

Is dystopian dead for YA? I’ve heard it is a tough sell. Two agents agreed. They said it was tough but not impossible if they really loved it. I saw many answers to questions about genre and number of POV’s that the answers basically boil down to it depends on the pages and the query letter.

Is it better not to query in December because of the holidays? Juliet Mushens said in some ways it is better as it’s quieter. Interesting answer! You know what I’ll be doing next month.

Some other questions that were asked that I found interesting:

Is swearing okay in YA (excluding the F-bomb)? (Kelly Harvey asked this I believe. Great question!) Answer was swearing should be in keeping with the situation in the manuscript (if it fits the scene), but be aware it might be toned down by an editor.

Should I mention winning a contest? Go ahead and mention but it depends on the query and the pages. Sounded like they didn’t care either way.

Also if you didn’t win a contest but got a request from a small press should you mention that fact? Answer was yes. They’d want to know.

Does being referred by a client give you an edge? It might get you read sooner, but it still depends on the pages and query letter.

Do you need to have a blog? This one made me perk up my ears. Most answered they don’t care. Two said they don’t follow the links in the query letter to check out a writer’s blog. Many said they had clients who didn’t even have a Facebook page.

Does your YA ms need to be part of a series? Are stand alones gaining ground in fantasy? Editors are interested in stand alone books. They also like series.

How many query letters do you get a day? Most responded around 20 a day.

Have you ever been queried on Christmas Day? Yes, but they didn’t read it until a week later.

I’m sure there were many more questions that got answered, but those are the ones that stand out in my memory. If anyone else remembers more, please shout out in the comments.