"Old" People Writing for Teens V

jtrylch13 said:

The agent who had my partial just asked for a full after I nudged her because another agent requested a full. I am super excited, yet trying not to be excited.

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My fingers are a little tingly, I'm so excited for you

So I handwrite and hate typing up, so I recorded myself reading my ms, and then listened to that as I typed.
Has anyone ever read their own stuff then listened to it? It's very odd actually, I feel like it's a good way to kind of distance myself and judge it a little differently then if I am just reading it.

M.S Wiggens, I am very intrigued my your book now, knowing that you need to use lamp post in the query. Sounds like something I would like!

Smiley0501 said:

Oh man, I too hate writing query letters. And guess what…blurb/query/synopsis writing doesn't end when you get an agent. I still have to write 'em. Sigh!

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I've had to write both a blurb and synopsis in the last couple months for agented stuff. It never ends.

jtrylch13 said:

The agent who had my partial just asked for a full after I nudged her because another agent requested a full. I am super excited, yet trying not to be excited.

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Oooh, this is exciting! Fingers crossed!

I am curious, though. How did you "nudge" the agent? What exactly did yo say or do? I haven't gotten to the querying stage yet, (Hell, I haven't even finished a first draft) so I'm always up for hearing how to handle things!

VeryFairy said:

So I handwrite and hate typing up, so I recorded myself reading my ms, and then listened to that as I typed.
Has anyone ever read their own stuff then listened to it? It's very odd actually, I feel like it's a good way to kind of distance myself and judge it a little differently then if I am just reading it.

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That sounds like it would be very strange! I hate hearing my recorded voice, so this probably isn't for me, but one of my favourite revision techniques is to read the book aloud with a friend all in one sitting. It's surprisingly fun.

Thanks for the good wishes guys! It gets even better. I received another request this afternoon! I am on a serious optimistic high right now.

As for "nudging" PaintIt, it depends on the situation. As Agent 1 already had my partial and Agent 2 requested a full, I needed to let Agent 1 know that I was sending out my MS. It's common courtesy. I was going to nudge her anyway because I never got a confirmation that she received it, but I was going to wait 2 months. You just write a short polite email referencing the original query/submission and ask how it's going. It really depends on the situation. I wouldn't nudge for a query unless an agent specifically says in their guidelines to do so, and some do. I would nudge for a submission only after the time they say on their website has gone by. Now that Agent 3 has requested, I'll send an email to 1 & 2 to let them know I have another request. Nobody asked for exclusive, so I'm not stepping on any toes, and maybe they'll read it sooner. I don't know. If they don't like it, it won't matter how many requests I've got, but maybe I won't have to agonize as long.

Huh. I've never nudged based on receiving a full request, or let an agent know that other agents had it. I guess I thought they just assumed I was querying widely? I did let the other agents (even ones who only had queries) know when I had an offer of rep. (Which yielded some additional requests and some "good luck but no thanks".) That's interesting.

I wish you lots more requests and hopefully good news soon, jtrylch13!

wampuscat said:

Huh. I've never nudged based on receiving a full request, or let an agent know that other agents had it. I guess I thought they just assumed I was querying widely? I did let the other agents (even ones who only had queries) know when I had an offer of rep. (Which yielded some additional requests and some "good luck but no thanks".) That's interesting.

I wish you lots more requests and hopefully good news soon, jtrylch13!

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Yeah, I pretty much go like hell in my agent sub process without divulging the whos, whens, wheres and whys. I think it's pretty much understood that you're on the sub trail unless you have a special reason for notifying someone. I just wouldn't start a chain reaction involving several agents at the same time, letting everyone know my status. It kind of clogs things up (agent-wise) and puts an extra workload on me. The time to start multiple contacts is really when you get an offer and have outstanding manuscripts out there (particularly fulls)--then things can get VERY interesting indeed.

CAMueller said:

+1

ETA: But only for my own work. I can write queries/synopses for my CP's books with ease.

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Yep. I rather enjoy crafting queries and synopsis material. Just as a challenge to see how effective and clear I come out.

tri

jtrylch13 said:

Thanks for the good wishes guys! It gets even better. I received another request this afternoon! I am on a serious optimistic high right now.

As for "nudging" PaintIt, it depends on the situation. As Agent 1 already had my partial and Agent 2 requested a full, I needed to let Agent 1 know that I was sending out my MS. It's common courtesy. I was going to nudge her anyway because I never got a confirmation that she received it, but I was going to wait 2 months. You just write a short polite email referencing the original query/submission and ask how it's going. It really depends on the situation. I wouldn't nudge for a query unless an agent specifically says in their guidelines to do so, and some do. I would nudge for a submission only after the time they say on their website has gone by. Now that Agent 3 has requested, I'll send an email to 1 & 2 to let them know I have another request. Nobody asked for exclusive, so I'm not stepping on any toes, and maybe they'll read it sooner. I don't know. If they don't like it, it won't matter how many requests I've got, but maybe I won't have to agonize as long.

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I didn't know you were supposed to let them know (each time) that others had requested a full. I thought you just let them know if someone was interested in repping you.

The only time I told agents about other agents having my book is when I had an offer of rep on the table. I've never nudged for requests.

Becca C. said:

The only time I told agents about other agents having my book is when I had an offer of rep on the table. I've never nudged for requests.

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Ditto.

I wrote a whole long paragraph and lost it somehow. Starting over . . .

Let me clarify and retract some of what I said earlier. Agent 1 specifically asked to know if I received any other requests because at the time she was the only one looking at it. I also knew she would be going on maternity leave soon and since she hadn't confirmed that she had received it I was a little nervous and planned on contacting her after the two months she said she would take. Agent 2 asked if anyone else was reading so I told her one other agent had my MS. Agent 3 didn't ask and now I realize I forgot to tell her that other agents were reading, but I'm not going to go back and send another email. I have heard it is courtesy to let agents know if they are the only ones reading or not. And I've seen on several agent websites where they request to know the movement on any MS they are reading. I think movement probably means offers, but I don't know. Regardless, I think I was a little drunk on excitement when I made my earlier post, which is why I didn't send any emails until I calmed down. I'm not contacting Agent 1 or 2 about the third request, but if they ask I will tell them. Besides, nudging Agent 1 got a response in a day and I'd been waiting a month and a half to hear from her. I wouldn't do it in every case, but in this one I felt it was the right thing to do. And we emailed back and forth a few times talking about the novel I'm working on now, so that felt like a good sign. I guess we'll see. If none of the three like the novel, at least I've gotten some experience with querying.

I just stayed up way too late reading my own WIP. I got so sucked into it I didn't realize the time well, if it's a page turner for me even in second draft stage, it's a good sign!

Wooop! Congratulations on all those requests jtrylch13!! That's great news!

And yay Becca! Being sucked into your own story world is a magical feeling

I tend to read my stories out loud during revisions, too, but my favorite method is reading side by side with my best friend. She won't say anything about my sentence structure or spelling, but knowing that someone else is reading often sharpens my eyes to the errors

I am all O_O to you who read your stuff aloud. I am so impressed! I hate my speaking/recording voice so I can't bear it. I think I've read this thing on a computer though 573957478 times

So, people, do not trust me to go to the library. I went to return a book and then leave. I left with 3 more. Ahhhh! I can't help myself. It's a kid in the candy story… I also preordered a book on my Kindle… Ahhhh.

JTRlych, congrats on all the requests I usually nudged if it had been more than their standard time (aka 4 months for a full, if their website said it or something). I also nudged when i had an R&R. Like 10 times. The agent never responded. Finally she did but this was a year later, and she hadn't read my ms

Smiley0501 said:

I am all O_O to you who read your stuff aloud. I am so impressed! I hate my speaking/recording voice so I can't bear it. I think I've read this thing on a computer though 573957478 times

So, people, do not trust me to go to the library. I went to return a book and then leave. I left with 3 more. Ahhhh! I can't help myself. It's a kid in the candy story… I also preordered a book on my Kindle… Ahhhh.

JTRlych, congrats on all the requests I usually nudged if it had been more than their standard time (aka 4 months for a full, if their website said it or something). I also nudged when i had an R&R. Like 10 times. The agent never responded. Finally she did but this was a year later, and she hadn't read my ms

(also I reviewed a wicked good YA out in March, would love if y'all could take a look at the review. review )

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??????? Seriously??? That's terrible! Did you she ever give you any reason as to why? (Also, would it be possible for you to rep me with the agent's name? I mean, Christ, that sounds like somebody I should avoid...:/)

The_Ink_Goddess said:

??????? Seriously??? That's terrible! Did you she ever give you any reason as to why? (Also, would it be possible for you to rep me with the agent's name? I mean, Christ, that sounds like somebody I should avoid…:/)

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Sure. I'll PM.

dancing-drama said:

I tend to read my stories out loud during revisions, too, but my favorite method is reading side by side with my best friend. She won't say anything about my sentence structure or spelling, but knowing that someone else is reading often sharpens my eyes to the errors

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I usually do at least one revision where I read the whole book out loud to myself. Sometimes sentences that flow smoothly when I read them silently don't work when spoken.

I'm revising my ending right now and just started reading it out loud. My dog was sleeping with his head on his leg and immediately perked up, like, "What was that about a flight to Anchorage?"

ETA: These horror stories about R&Rs are so sad. I know agents don't owe anything to querying writers, but especially at the R&R stage there's such a thing as professional courtesy.

I thought I'd share this: Natalie Parker is putting together groups of recently agented writers who can share the angst of being on submission. Read more here.

dancing-drama said:

I thought I'd share this: Natalie Parker is putting together groups of recently agented writers who can share the angst of being on submission. Read more here.

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Thanks for sharing! I'll be signing up as soon as my contract is actually signed.

I think if an agent requests an R&R they owe you a timely response. No agent owes you a request, no agent owes you to read your MS in your time frame instead of theirs, but if they say, "Hey I like this, but if you change x, y and z I might like it better. Get back to me when you're done." then they definitely owe you a response within their normal time frame. If they aren't going to take the time they shouldn't request. JMHO. Your time is worth money too.

jtrylch13 said:

I think if an agent requests an R&R they owe you a timely response. No agent owes you a request, no agent owes you to read your MS in your time frame instead of theirs, but if they say, "Hey I like this, but if you change x, y and z I might like it better. Get back to me when you're done." then they definitely owe you a response within their normal time frame. If they aren't going to take the time they shouldn't request. JMHO. Your time is worth money too.

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That's fair. Congrats on all the requests, btw!

I'm not a huge fan of my own voice either, but everyone else has to live with it and they don't seem to mind, so I figure I might as well get use to it as well. But..even better, my little sis (who is a little bit vain) volunteered to record it for me, so that should be even better.

I'd be signing up for the group thingy as well, if I had an agent. Very cool.