I heard a panel recently where half the writers were dropped by their first agent after they pitched their second project. Be sure to ask around outside of the agent on this one.
As we’re heading into the #PitchWars showcase and since the conversation seems abuzz...here’s a thread of questions I would recommend you ask not only potential agents during The Call, but references, and clients you reach out to personally:
I heard a panel recently where half the writers were dropped by their first agent after they pitched their second project. Be sure to ask around outside of the agent on this one.
Meaning, will they revise the manuscript with you beforehand or just do small edits and send it off to editors. Both have their pros and cons, and one might matter to you more.
In other words, how much time do they have to devote to you and your career. You can also ask, on average how long does it take to get a project on sub?
This one I think is rarely in questions lists, but I think it’s a fun one to see how passionate an agent gets about their career.
This one is to see if they are signing and selling projects like yours. If you write sci-fi and all they’ve sold recently are contemporaries in a different age group that’s good to know!
This will allow you to see if they are excited to send to large publishers or are leaning more toward mid-sized, etc. This might matter more to you one or the other way.
If there are things you are not willing to change that the agent mentions, better to have the conversation before. Many agents won’t tell you everything, you can always mentions some things you don’t want to change too.
If this is super important to you, you can definitely ask about money up front and the value they think your project has.
Career building and planning is definitely something that your agent should have some idea on. A lot depends on what happens with project one, etc, but just an overall idea if this is something they do with clients is good!
I’ve found that a lot of my agent sibs and I have a similar commercial style and it makes me feel like I’m in the right coven. Knowing that your writing fits into what your agent likes to read will make you feel confident.
Last year I attended KT’s bi-annual retreat for the first time and got to know some of my amazing agency sibs and my agent. Definitely is a plus!
This is a business and knowing that your agency has access and experience with other avenues that will make your $ is awesome! If they can give you examples of this even better!
Some agents can and some can’t. Some may leave the industry entirely. Important to know what will happen to you if any of this happens.
This might be important to you even if you are not a marginalized writer. Some agents/agencies are sadly are sometimes racist, etc. Good to know beforehand!
At KT, I think it’s one or two years before I could use a manuscript again with another agent if (Gods forbid) my agent and I parted ways. Important to know!
I also love Jim McCarthy’s list of questions here: https://t.co/JtWuqOu3XG
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THE WINNERS OF THE 24 HOUR STARTUP CHALLENGE
Remember, this money is just fun. If you launched a product (or even attempted a launch) - you did something worth MUCH more than $1,000.
#24hrstartup
The winners 👇
#10
Lattes For Change - Skip a latte and save a life.
https://t.co/M75RAirZzs
@frantzfries built a platform where you can see how skipping your morning latte could do for the world.
A great product for a great cause.
Congrats Chris on winning $250!
#9
Instaland - Create amazing landing pages for your followers.
https://t.co/5KkveJTAsy
A team project! @bpmct and @BaileyPumfleet built a tool for social media influencers to create simple "swipe up" landing pages for followers.
Really impressive for 24 hours. Congrats!
#8
SayHenlo - Chat without distractions
https://t.co/og0B7gmkW6
Built by @DaltonEdwards, it's a platform for combatting conversation overload. This product was also coded exclusively from an iPad 😲
Dalton is a beast. I'm so excited he placed in the top 10.
#7
CoderStory - Learn to code from developers across the globe!
https://t.co/86Ay6nF4AY
Built by @jesswallaceuk, the project is focused on highlighting the experience of developers and people learning to code.
I wish this existed when I learned to code! Congrats on $250!!
THE WINNERS OF THE 24 HOUR STARTUP CHALLENGE
Remember, this money is just fun. If you launched a product (or even attempted a launch) - you did something worth MUCH more than $1,000.
#24hrstartup
The winners 👇
#10
Lattes For Change - Skip a latte and save a life.
https://t.co/M75RAirZzs
@frantzfries built a platform where you can see how skipping your morning latte could do for the world.
A great product for a great cause.
Congrats Chris on winning $250!
#9
Instaland - Create amazing landing pages for your followers.
https://t.co/5KkveJTAsy
A team project! @bpmct and @BaileyPumfleet built a tool for social media influencers to create simple "swipe up" landing pages for followers.
Really impressive for 24 hours. Congrats!
#8
SayHenlo - Chat without distractions
https://t.co/og0B7gmkW6
Built by @DaltonEdwards, it's a platform for combatting conversation overload. This product was also coded exclusively from an iPad 😲
Dalton is a beast. I'm so excited he placed in the top 10.
#7
CoderStory - Learn to code from developers across the globe!
https://t.co/86Ay6nF4AY
Built by @jesswallaceuk, the project is focused on highlighting the experience of developers and people learning to code.
I wish this existed when I learned to code! Congrats on $250!!