Is it more important for the story to be well done or marketable?

"Dear Mr. Lukeman, I've noticed a trend in YA books, that many follow the exact same popular formulas and are inhabiting an increasingly narrow scope. I keep hearing literary agents say they're "looking for something different", but I'm starting to doubt the validity of that. Why would you take a risk on something that might not make money in an industry that's becoming increasingly difficult to make money in, when you can just follow a formula that is guaranteed to make you money? I can't for one second believe that something like Watership Down would be published in this day and age, (and it definitely wouldn't be published by an American publisher), despite it never being out of print. My question is, when the average attention span of a literary agent is ten times less than that of the average reader, and query letters at best show the competence of a writer, is it more important in this day and age for the story to be well done or for the story to be marketable? "


This is an age old question, and not an easy one to answer. In the ideal world, a story will be both well done--and unique--and marketable. I don't necessarily view the two as mutually exclusive. If your desire is to write commercial YA, then there is no reason why you can not come up with a unique concept within that genre and to strive for the execution of the writing, word by word, to be as strong as possible.

If you are dealing with literary fiction and the writing is superb but the overall genre is not as commercial as certain genres of YA, then you may indeed have a harder time. Then again, if you are writing in commercial YA and your writing is not up to par, you may have a hard time as well. It is also possible that your writing is superb but you are not good at marketing and at summary, and your query letter doesn't get the attention of an agent. It depends on why you are writing--if you are writing to cash in, and chasing the most commercial genre of the moment, then your approach will likely be more marketing-focused. If you are writing literary fiction because that is your passion, then your approach will be different. You must follow your heart.

I would say that, as a rule, if an agent is looking to represent commercial fiction then he or she will scan a query letter with a different set of criteria--with an eye for marketability of the genre and concept. If an agent is looking for literary fiction he will be more drawn to your bio, credentials and the quality of your style. He might be more forgiving when it comes to plot. From an agent's point of view, if one is looking for commercial fiction it is always a nice surprise if the writing is particularly well done; and if one is looking for literary fiction, it is a nice surprise if there is also a strong plot. In this day and age I feel the gap has been widening between literary and commercial--but that needn't be the case. Those are arbitrary distinctions. A literary novel can be commercial and a commercial novel can be literary. Moby Dick is beautifully written, but also has a plot. So does Heart of Darkness. A hundred years ago literary authors knew they had to have a plot, not just pretty prose. For them, literary and commercial fiction were one.

Should I add anything extra in my query letter?

"Mr. Lukeman, If I can describe my plot in two sentences, is it okay to use the third sentence in that paragraph to describe the voice in my writing or is that amateurish? Thanks a lot," Donna Voss


I would really suggest sticking to the basics of what is necessary in a query letter, and keeping it as brief as possible. If you can summarize your plot in two sentences--great. That does not mean you should add a third sentence just for the sake of it. And in this case I would not attempt to describe the voice of your writing--that is the sort of thing that agents must judge for themselves, and which will come out in the writing as they read it. Voice is also subjective, and they must be left to come to their own conclusions.

Should memoir be treated as fiction?

"You say to treat memoir as fiction when querying, and that makes sense to me. My concern is, will I irritate agents if I don't follow their specific guidelines for submitting non-fiction?"


When querying, memoir needs to be treated as fiction in certain respects: as with fiction, the entire manuscript should be finished before you query; as with fiction, your concept won't matter as much as the execution of the writing; and, unless you are a celebrity or have a major, national platform, your background and platform won't matter as much. It is more about the writing itself, whereas with most types of commercial non-fiction, greater weight is given to your expertise, the competition, the market and other issues.

Most agents should specify guidelines for submission of fiction, non-fiction and memoir. If they don't specify, then at first you can treat memoir as non-fiction for the sake of initiating a submission. For example, most agents want you to begin with a one page query letter--and in that case, just send in a letter, and if they want more, they should tell you how much they want. If they ask for a proposal, the typical non-fiction proposal contains an overview, an outline and 1 or 2 chapters, and you can send that. Don't worry--these distinctions are not so important, because if they want more, they will tell  you exactly what they want. The important thing to remember is that, unlike other types of non-fiction, with a memoir you should not query until your entire manuscript is complete. You don't want to have an agent like the first two chapters and then not have the manuscript ready to show for two more years.

How to phrase my query letter?

Dear Mr. Lukeman, Your books are among my favorite writing references. As I prepare my query letter, your advice on the topic has been particularly useful. I've composed a personal query that I feel reflects the type of novel I have written. Yet, frequently I've come across emphatic advice to place the hook in the first paragraph, leading with such phrasing as "When Jane Doe is faced with (random compelling crisis)" or the like. My tastes lean toward literary fiction, and when I imagine phrasing my query leading with a hook, it doesn't suit my story. In your query letter book, you mentioned how conflicting the advice is on the subject. Is it due to genre preference perhaps? Do you consider this type of format more typically used with manuscripts of commercial fiction?


It is impossible to say, to speak in generalities, without having a chance to read your query letter specifically. In every case it will be different.

The most important thing to realize here is that query letters are limited; you only have finite space. They are also showcases for writers to exhibit their talent with word economy and with their ability to grip a reader in just a few sentences. On any given day at a major literary agency, hundreds of queries might arrive. Yours must stand out. Not in a cheap, gimmicky way. But in an organic way, one reflective of you and your writing. That said, it is not a passive letter--it must be an active one, one that appreciates how much is at stake, and how much must be accomplished in a short period of time. Remember what Mark Twain said:

"I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead."

Can I submit to multiple agents simultaneously?

If an agent doesn't specify that they don't accept simultaneous submission, then can I assume that they do? I have my novel with one agent now, but would prefer to have it with more if possible. 

I always suggest submitting your manuscript or proposal or query letter to as many agents as possible--and to do so simultaneously. It is hard to land an agent, and hard to land a book deal, and it is also a very subjective and slow-moving business. If you submit to one at a time, or just a few at a time, you can be waiting years to further your career. I would always err on the side of a more aggressive approach. Even if three agents like your work, all three can still reject it when reading more. Don't wait on anyone--unless a bonafide agent takes a genuine interest in your work and is responding rapidly and requests a limited time window, say a few weeks, of exclusivity.

I speak to this topic at length in my book HOW TO LAND (AND KEEP) A LITERARY AGENT, which I give away for free. I suggest you read it.  www.landaliteraryagent.com

Can I submit requested material via email?

I have a question in regards to publishing. i want to send a manuscript to a publisher who allows sending manuscripts either as a hard copy by post or by email. I wanted your opinion on which way is better.

 

 

 

If a publisher or literary agent specifies that they have no preference as to whether you submit via hard copy or email, then feel free to submit either way. Neither form of submission will necessarily gain you an advantage--or hurt you. In general, always follow an agent's guidelines. The bigger issue to worry about is your biasing an agent to your work because you submit a manuscript via email when he specifically requests hard copy--or vice versa. Just respect their wishes and all will be fine.

 

 

Which publishers should I submit to?

What are some good publishers that we can use? I have recently written a book and received an offer from Tate Publishing but turned it down due to their contract. So now I'm off to looking for another publisher. Any suggestions?

If your goal is to land a traditional publishing deal with a major publisher, then you should find a literary agent first. You should not submit directly to publishers, for many reasons (your not knowing which to choose being just one of them). In fact, submitting directly can do you more harm than good. I speak to this topic at length in my book, HOW TO LAND (AND KEEP) A LITERARY AGENT, which I give away for free. www.landaliteraryagent.com  I suggest you read the chapter devoted to this topic.