Agent Q&A - Michael Carr, Veritas Literary
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Michael, thank you for continuing this thread for so long. It makes for an intriguing read.
What are some of your current favorite books and authors across genres? Is it difficult to find time to read published books amidst all of your on-the-job reading?
What are some of your current favorite books and authors across genres? Is it difficult to find time to read published books amidst all of your on-the-job reading?
I guess, times when editors gave a chance to a pile of lose paper hidden in a suitcase, missing its first chapters, are over. If Margaret Michell lived today, Gone with the Wind would end up in landfill
I can't help it, but have the feeling that this exaggerated perfectionism is weeding out great books and is discouraging writers with no thick skins, but great stories.
If I was an agent, I would be actively looking for flawed geniuses and not-so-perfect trendsetters. (Knowing that every other agent rejects them, so they are MINE!) I would help them polish the books. If you can't find the finished koh-i-noor, you should be looking for a diamond in the raw.
If you train your helpers to get rid of everything with a few typos or wrong punctuation, you can miss something really great. On the other hand, I understand that ninety-nine times out of a hundred, sloppy writing is a sign of a bad writer, but I would hate to miss that ONE gem.
What the world needs is not another vampire-loves-werewolf story, but something new from a fresh perspective. You can't create something exceptional while anxiously trying to follow a bunch of rules. Creativity and obeying the rules are two completely different beasts.
I think it's probably easy to say that when you're not the one sifting through hundreds of queries every week.
Some of my favorite authors include Alan Furst, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, and Chris Bohjalian. I really enjoyed Finn, by Jon Clinch, but haven't had a chance to read his newest novel. I read a lot of non-fiction about history, economics, and science.
And yes, I do have a hard time trying to read outside of work. My work stack is so big that I feel a little guilty (and tired, to be honest) when I sit down with a book. I probably do most of my casual reading while traveling. Even then, I'm more likely to break out the Kindle and take a look at requested full or client manuscripts.
Hi Michael,
Thanks for all your advice on the forums. A question about revising. I've gotten some comments from a few agents, but am still waiting to hear back from other agents. Should I go ahead and get started on the revisions, or wait to see what the others say?
Also, if an agent knows you have manuscripts out with other agents, and a lot of time goes by (and they can safely assume you're either getting rejected or ignored), would that make them less likely to want to read your manuscript sitting in their queue?
Thanks!
Thanks for all your advice on the forums. A question about revising. I've gotten some comments from a few agents, but am still waiting to hear back from other agents. Should I go ahead and get started on the revisions, or wait to see what the others say?
Also, if an agent knows you have manuscripts out with other agents, and a lot of time goes by (and they can safely assume you're either getting rejected or ignored), would that make them less likely to want to read your manuscript sitting in their queue?
Thanks!
My gut feeling is that you should be working on something else while you're waiting to hear back from your current crop of agents, then evaluate the manuscript once those possibilities have petered out.
Beyond that, do you agree with the feedback? Is everyone telling you the same thing, or does the sum total simply amount to, "They're just not that into you?"
If you revise while you're still on submission, be sure to save the current version.
I don't think you can assume this. A lot of agents simply get very behind in their reading. An agent may be very interested, but she could have so much else on her plate that she simply can't get to it yet.
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Mr. Carr - Thank you for a very educational and enlightening thread. It's helpful to get a peek behind the curtain, especially considering the daunting hill writers climb once their WIP is complete.
Based on your experience, what is the interim phase between an offer and a submission to a publishing house like for both the writer and the agent? I assume the author should be working on the next WIP, but is there a lot of back-and-forth between you and the author or is it mostly between you and the publishers?
Also, you mentioned in a previous post that you like to keep authors for the long-term. Does that timeline focus more on the life of a genre (i.e. novel series) or do you want to maintain a professional relationship with the author based on their skill set whether or not they branch out into other genres down the road?
Based on your experience, what is the interim phase between an offer and a submission to a publishing house like for both the writer and the agent? I assume the author should be working on the next WIP, but is there a lot of back-and-forth between you and the author or is it mostly between you and the publishers?
Also, you mentioned in a previous post that you like to keep authors for the long-term. Does that timeline focus more on the life of a genre (i.e. novel series) or do you want to maintain a professional relationship with the author based on their skill set whether or not they branch out into other genres down the road?
No, between agency offer and submission is mostly work on this particular book. There are almost always some tweaks before I want to send it out. Once it's ready, I'll try to get it on submission as soon as possible, hopefully within a few weeks. This varies, of course, depending on the time of the year, whether the editors are in the office or not, and if we've got other projects already out with the same editors.
I'm happy to work with them on all types of different projects.
In that case I almost hope I have to wait a few weeks to get an offer - I so need to work on Book Two, otherwise I will go crazy
Michael, at the moment I'm listening to Mike Resnick's excellent podcast "The Business of Writing", which has some very enlightening (and slightly scary!) anecdotes about the significance of various contract clauses (I highly recommend it to writers like me who are starting to venture into the submissions process). How much difference do you think the average agent makes, in terms of avoiding disadvantageous terms (such as joint accounting on multi-book deals)?
It's pretty important insofar as recognizing the gotchas. In some cases, there's room for negotiation, but in others, the only option is to simply forgo the offer. If there's only one offer on the table, how many first-time novelists have the guts to walk?
Yeah, that's a tricky one. I have some things I want to stick to my guns on (I have strong opinions about electronic rights), but others...a good deal might sway me.
Is this what some authors have referred to as the "spit and polish" for their manuscripts? Are the tweaks normally based on industry trends you've seen with other submissions or weak areas you think need tightening to make the project marketable?
How much does the current trend in the market drive your love of a query? I would suppose there has to be a balancing act between an author that writes well and one that is marketable based on industry demands. Or is the mindset that even story about sparkly vampires in the Wild West fighting an end-of-times plague can find a fan base if it's tight and well-written?
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Michael, thank you for all the information you have given this board.
If this questions has been asked already I apologize.
If we sent you a query, in the past few weeks, and have not heard back from you should we assume that you are passing.
Thanks again for all the terrific info
Bear
If this questions has been asked already I apologize.
If we sent you a query, in the past few weeks, and have not heard back from you should we assume that you are passing.
Thanks again for all the terrific info
Bear
Tweaks are correcting typos, clarifications, fixing things that didn't quite work or didn't make sense. I don't generally ask writers to make changes for the sake of marketability, not after I've offered anyway.
As I mentioned earlier, I'll sometimes pass on books that I like but don't think I could sell. The better writer you are, the more you can break the rules.
I don't reject via the non-response. If you queried me more than three days ago and haven't heard back then either your query or the response got lost.
If you submitted to the general submissions(at)veritasliterary(dot)com, versus my own email, then one of the other agents might have been on duty with the regular slush and I can't say for sure what their response times are at the moment.
Dear Mr. Carr,
I'd like to echo all the "thanks" for your time in answering all the questions on this thread so far. Reading through them all has been very insightful.
My question: What are your feelings on writer-agent conferences? The one I'm thinking of attending is Backspace, but I'm not convinced of its value given its price.
If a writer hasn't extinguished the regular query process yet (I sent out 14 late last year, and the result has been so-so), do you believe it's worthwhile to attend these sort of conferences?
Thanks again!
sgf
I'd like to echo all the "thanks" for your time in answering all the questions on this thread so far. Reading through them all has been very insightful.
My question: What are your feelings on writer-agent conferences? The one I'm thinking of attending is Backspace, but I'm not convinced of its value given its price.
If a writer hasn't extinguished the regular query process yet (I sent out 14 late last year, and the result has been so-so), do you believe it's worthwhile to attend these sort of conferences?
Thanks again!
sgf
You need to be realistic about your manuscript, but if you're right on the cusp, this could be useful. I attended the Backspace Conference once and it could be a very useful tool for meeting agents and networking with other writers. This assumes you're the sort of person who has some interpersonal skills, which not all writers do.
One other useful thing about workshops, conferences, retreats, and the like is that they often make writers think about themselves in a more serious light, as professionals, rather than aspirants. That is a good thing.
In the end, however, a writer with no contacts who can write a fantastic story is going to do better than a writer with strong contents who is a weak writer. Similarly, talking about writing should never take the place of putting your butt in the chair and banging out words.
Thanks for your response, Mr. Carr. Sitting on my butt and banging out words to tell a story is exactly what I enjoy doing .... more so than talking about writing (or writing queries or synopses).
.... more so than talking about writing (or writing queries or synopses).A plaintive plea for Mr C.
As your wonderful thread roars on to the thirty-page mark--surely fifty or more by summer--I have a suggestion.
If there's a way to do this technically, you might consider listing at the top of your thread a summary of the essentials so far. I would call it
CARR KEYS. Absolute, or near-absolute, no-nos. What warms the cockles of your heart. What gives you the willies. Your top ten pieces of advice. Etc.
All best.
As your wonderful thread roars on to the thirty-page mark--surely fifty or more by summer--I have a suggestion.
If there's a way to do this technically, you might consider listing at the top of your thread a summary of the essentials so far. I would call it
CARR KEYS. Absolute, or near-absolute, no-nos. What warms the cockles of your heart. What gives you the willies. Your top ten pieces of advice. Etc.
All best.
Hello Mr. Carr, I know it's been said quite a few times already in this thread, but I really appreciate all of your valuable insider insight, I've learned so much! I'm hoping for your opinion on what to do when an agent responds to a query asking for a partial but only if she can read the material exclusively. I currently have two partials out to other agents, and feel it's much too soon to attempt a "nudge" on status (we're at about the three and a half week mark for both). Would you suggest I simply explain to this agent that I cannot grant exclusivity and hope that she'll still take a peek at the story? Any other suggestions? Thanks so much in advance for your input!!
Thanks so much for offering to answer questions! I have one of my own, too:
I've been having a lot of trouble getting agents to bother to look at my manuscript, because I'm a first time author, no credentials (besides a BA in Creative Writing) and I'm writing something that blurs a few genres and isn't the norm for genre fiction. I heard that smaller presses would be more willing to look at something like that, and I'm wondering if I get an offer from a smaller press, would agents be more willing to try and sign me after that? I'm told its easier to get an agent after an offer from a press, but I assumed that meant major publishers.
Thanks!
I've been having a lot of trouble getting agents to bother to look at my manuscript, because I'm a first time author, no credentials (besides a BA in Creative Writing) and I'm writing something that blurs a few genres and isn't the norm for genre fiction. I heard that smaller presses would be more willing to look at something like that, and I'm wondering if I get an offer from a smaller press, would agents be more willing to try and sign me after that? I'm told its easier to get an agent after an offer from a press, but I assumed that meant major publishers.
Thanks!
TracyG;5765044! said:
Here's what I would do. I would send out the partial and say something like, "Here are the first three chapters, as you requested. I do have partials out at two other agents who requested just within the last few weeks. Hopefully, this won't be a problem. I'll hold off on sending out any other queries until I hear back from you."
This is assuming "hear back from you" means just a week or two. Anything longer on a partial is too much to ask. There's a chance she'll just pass, or tell you to try back when you don't have other partials out there, but I wouldn't rush the first two agents based on this agent's request after the fact.
If you're not getting requests, it has little to do with your credentials (don't list the BA in your query, it doesn't help), it means that your query and first few pages are not strong enough. Work on that, first.
Yes, that means major publishers. The problem is, in most cases you'll have an easier time getting interest from an agent than from a major publisher, and attempting the latter cuts you off from the former.
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