PITCHING FOR INTROVERTS, by Hilda Eunice Burgos

Last month, the Eastern Pennsylvania chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (EPA SCBWI) hosted Fall Philly Author Day and Pitchfest.  Attendees heard inspirational and informative speeches by six local authors, and also had the opportunity to purchase ten-minute pitch sessions with any of ten acquiring agents.  As an introvert, I was hesitant to sign up for any pitch sessions.  I believe I communicate best in writing, so I told myself that a written query would be preferable.  But I knew, in the back of my mind, that making a personal connection can be very helpful.  So I reluctantly signed up for one pitch session.  A couple weeks later, as I listened to a “networking for introverts” webinar conducted by my college’s alumni group, I realized that some of the tips for networking may also be applied to pitching, and that I had actually used a few of those techniques for the Pitchfest.  Those of you who are also introverts may find the following networking tips (tweaked to apply to pitches) helpful as well. 

1)  Set a realistic goal for yourself.  If making one meaningful connection is all you can handle in one day, then that should be your goal.  Don’t ask too much of yourself, as that can lead to disappointment.  I signed up for just one pitch session, and I felt successful at the end of my session because I had attained my goal.

2)  Research ahead of time so that you know your audience.  Before signing up for my pitch session, I looked up all of the agents’ websites, and selected the one that seemed most interested in my type of writing.  The EPA SCBWI posted interviews with the participating agents on its blog before the Pitchfest.  I read my selected agent’s interview, and saw what she looks for in a pitch.  This was extremely helpful because I was able to craft my pitch to include the information she wanted to hear.  It also decreased my nervousness, as I now had clear and realistic expectations for the pitch session.

3)  Develop your pitch and your personal brand.  Remember that you are looking for an agent who will work well with you and with whom you can work well.  I developed a pitch for my story and also for myself and my work in general.  I wanted the agent to learn about me and my writing style so that we could together make the right choice about whether or not to establish a working relationship.

4)  Listen and reflect what you hear.  Most introverts are good listeners, but when you’re nervous and thinking about what you need to say, you may forget to use that skill effectively.  Although I had done my research and I had a pretty good idea about what this agent was looking for in a pitch, she still surprised me with a few questions I was not expecting.  I made sure to pause, listen to what she had to say, and think carefully before providing my answers.

5)  Be present.  During my pitch session, I focused completely on that ten-minute block of time.  If I had scheduled more than one session, I might have spent the first session worrying about the next pitch, and that would definitely not be good.  Of course, not everyone is like me.  If you can handle more than one pitch session in a day, go for it, but remember to be present for each one.

6)  Follow up.  How you do this depends on the outcome of your pitch session.  In my case, the agent asked me to send her my story, so I emailed the manuscript to her as soon as I got home that day.  She later responded by asking to see more of my work, which I then sent to her (note: when you pitch a picture book, be prepared to share more than one manuscript).  I’m still waiting to hear back (fingers crossed!).

Bottom line:  know yourself, and accept and embrace your introverted personality.  Talking to people is a required part of being a writer, so come up with strategies to network and pitch effectively without making yourself miserable.  Believe me, if I can do it, so can you!

A Continuation on Rejection Letters, by Hilary Wagner

These are my REAL rejection letters from 2009-2010.

Just last week, Kell Andrews did a great post on rejection letters. Below are some of the general responses she received. 

Thank you for your submission
Thank you for your patience
No reflection on your work
No reflection on you
I don't feel passionate
I don't feel connected
Not a fit at this time
Not a fit for my list
Sorry for the delay
Sorry for the news
Sorry

As some of you have read in previous posts, I too was rejected so many times I'd be rich if they were counted in dollars. Here are a few of my rejections to add on to Kell's list. 

I don't believe in anthropomorphic animals.
Too many characters.
Too gritty.
I hate rats.

I think the funniest rejection letter was the one I received from an agency about 6 months after my first book was published and in stores. That one made me laugh out loud.... BEST. REJECTION. EVER! 

That said, along the way, I did get one very special rejection from an agent at a well-known children's agency. She rejected the manuscript after reading the whole thing, but gave me the most amazing insight and really pointed out some issues I couldn't see from where I sat in the author's chair. 

Every once in a while you get lucky with an agent who rejects you, but gives you valuable feedback. Her advice made me change some major items in the manuscript. Did this lead to it getting picked up by another agency? I think so. The thing that got me the most, was this agent, who owed me absolutely nothing and could have easily have given me one of those generic rejections, took the time to really help me. That's rare and it's special and even though you might receive 100 generic rejections, you're bound to receive one or two that are really helping hands, so take advantage. 

After I signed my contract, I emailed this agent to let her know and to thank her. She was very happy to hear about it and her exact words were, "I knew there was something there!" 

And yes, I did mail her a copy of the book! 

KEEP MOVING FORWARD! 

Hilary

A Conversation with Rejection by Linda Williams Jackson

Me: Hi, Rejection! Welcome to Project Middle Grade Mayhem! (I think….)

Rejection: Thanks, Linda! I’m VERY happy to be here. I’ve known many of you Mayhemmers for a long time. (Howdy, Caroline Starr Rose!) As a matter of fact, Linda, you and I go waaaay back.

Me: Hold up…. Let’s get something straight. Yes, we’ve known each other for a long time, since the early 1990’s, tbh. But that doesn’t mean we go way back. Going waaaay back, in my opinion, denotes a certain level of friendliness. And you, Mr. Rejection, are no friend of mine.

Rejection: Oh, touchy, aren’t you?

Me: You should know. You’ve made me cry a few times, haven’t you?

Rejection: A few times? Girl, please. I made you cry a whole lotta times.

Me: And now you’re bragging about it?!?!

Rejection: Not bragging. Just stating the facts. Here’s the deal, sweetheart. My job is to make people better, more specifically for the purpose of this conversation, to make you guys better writers.

Me (under my breath): Do you have to be so ruthless about it?

Rejection: I heard that. And the answer is yes. I can’t let you guys off easily. No pain, no gain, baby. I mean, would you have ever written Midnight Without a Moon if I had let you get that little funeral home story published?

Me: Hey, don’t make fun of my funeral home story. I love that story!

Rejection (under his breath): Obviously, you queried it for five and a half years.

Me: I heard that.

Rejection: Good! I’m glad you heard it. I hope you learned something from all that pain I put you through. Otherwise, my time has been wasted.

Me: Oh, I learned plenty. Thank you very much.

Rejection: Such as?

Me: Don’t get stuck on one project, no matter how much you love it. And regardless of how many agents have requested the full and provided positive feedback, or how many pitch contests the project has won, I should have been seriously writing more projects and querying them.

Rejection: But you did write more manuscripts. I remember doing my magic to make sure those were under my spell too. You didn’t get anywhere with them.

Me: I know. But I realized I had gotten to the point where I wanted an agent more than anything else in the world. My focus was all wrong. I was writing to get a “yes” instead of writing to tell a story that I felt like people needed to hear, or read, rather.

Rejection (smiling broadly): Awww. I feel like a proud papa. That’s exactly what I was hoping to accomplish by putting you through the wringer the way I did.

Me (rolling eyes)

Rejection: What else did you learn?

Me: Humility.

Rejection (clapping): Bravo! Another score for Rejection! I really know how to knock the pride out of you guys!

Me (under my breath): And the wind too.

Rejection (laughing): Sorry about that.

Me: Sure you are.

Rejection: Remember that time I made you break down and cry right in front of your computer? I mean, that rejection stung so hard that you hadn’t even finished reading the email before you started bawling.

Me: But, I survived.

Rejection: Yes, you did. You were a real trooper…simply unstoppable.

Me: Well, I don’t know about unstoppable. I think I was ready to quit. If you hadn’t stopped coming at me in 2015, I might have given up.

Rejection: Wait! What?!?! You mean I was THAT close to breaking you?

Me: Yep. You sure were.

Rejection (slaps forehead): Aw, man! One more year, huh?

Me: Yep. That’s what I was giving myself.

Rejection: You’re saying that now, Linda. But as I recall, you said that every year. “Just one more year. If I don’t make it this time, I’m quitting.”

Me (chuckling): I did say that, didn’t I?

Rejection: Yep. Every year. Actually, you said it after every full request, too. You said, “If this one isn’t ‘the one,’ then I’m done.” Then I’d show up. Then you’d cry. Then you’d go listen to some inspirational song or read some inspirational post. Then you’d be right back at it the next day.

Me: I was pretty stubborn, huh?

Rejection: No, honey. You were resilient. (Gestures around the Mayhem blog) You all were. I tried to break you guys, but you just kept going. You were all so determined.

Me: Why, Rejection? Why do you put people through all this? I know you said to make us better writers and to make us humble, but why make it so hard? Don’t you trust that we’ll improve our skills and appreciate our success without so much pain?

Rejection: You read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, right?

Me: I did.

Rejection: Remember what he said about brick walls?

Me (Googling): He said, “The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.”

Rejection (wiping tears from his eyes): I’m sorry I hurt you so badly, Linda. I’m sorry I hurt all you guys, Mayhemmers. But do you now understand why I did it? You guys wanted this badly enough to take everything that I threw at you. You were unstoppable. And I am very proud of you. But please know that my job is never completely done. You will still face rejection. But I know you will persevere. All of you, because you are winners.

Me: Thank you, Rejection, not just for being here with us at Project Middle Grade Mayhem today, but for being present with us during our writing journey. Thank you for showing up when we needed you even though we didn’t want you there. You were like a helicopter parent who knows what’s best for her kid even when the kid doesn’t realize it at the time. You made us better writers. And because you humbled us, we don’t mind helping others along the way. No offense, but you are both hated and loved at the same time.

Rejection: No offense taken, my dear. I’m just happy to do my job. Now I must leave you guys. I have some dreams to try to crush. Good bye.

Me: So long, Rejection. I’m not looking forward to seeing you again any time soon.

When Your Agent Says "NO", by Hilary Wagner

You've battled through what may be the toughest step in your writing career to date. You landed an agent. You have representation, something to be very proud of. Next step: get published. Okay, an equally tough step...correction, even tougher. 

So what do you do when your own agent tells you "no"? In other words, your manuscript isn't clicking with him or her and they don't think your work is ready to send off to editors or maybe your latest manuscript is a complete bust and in their opinion shouldn't be sent at all.

It happens...and it hurts. 

Whether you've been published before or you're still trying to get published, a great agent is going to tell you when your work isn't up to par and should not be sent off to editors. If your agent truly respects you, they're going to tell you the truth no matter what. Agents only get paid when their writers get published, so a candid agent is truly looking after your best interests. The last thing you want is an agent throwing your work against editors' walls, just in the hopes something sticks, and here's why... many times, once and editor rejects a writer's work, they don't want to see work from that writer again. Of course there are exceptions, but why risk it? You've worked far too hard to land an agent, so listen to them, because once an editor from your favorite publishing house gives the dreaded "no", it could mean no forever. 

So, what do you do?

Talk it out with your agent. What were the major issues? Best case scenario your manuscript is salvageable. Perhaps your storyline went meandering in the middle or there's simply too many characters to keep track of. Some of the best books out there were completely rewritten several times over before they made it into print. Worst case, your agent thinks there not much worth saving and your manuscript will never see the light of day. If that's the situation, as much as it might sting, appreciate your agent's honesty, learn from your mistakes, pull yourself up by the proverbial bootstraps and get going on something new. Whether you spent months or even years on a manuscript you need to move on--as hard as that may be--and many times the best books come out of crushing disappoint and a new found fire.

Okay, but despite all of the above your heart is still dead set on getting this manuscript published, even after your agent says it's a no-go. Agents are agents for good reason, they know their craft, and an editor's thoughts will generally echo what your agent is thinking, but that's not always the case, so if you're still sure your manuscript is solid gold, at the very least compromise. Ask your agent if they'd be willing to share with one or two editors before completely letting it go. If feedback comes back similar to what your agent said, thank them profusely for helping you dodge a bullet! 

Bear in mind, even bestselling authors get told no by their agents or editors. It happens all the time. Nobody's perfect!

Long story short, we all want to succeed in this business and in order to do that we need to hear the good, the bad, and the very ugly when it comes to our work. Some of the most well published writers will tell you they've had some stinkers that have never and will never see the light of day, so don't despair. Once you get into your new story, you'll feel you have a new lease on life. 

A writer friend of mine, who is now a published mystery writer, has a wonderful mantra that we all need to follow. "Never give up! Never surrender!" 

Now get out there and write!

Luck and Talent by Kell Andrews

“You’re so talented any agent would be lucky to have you.”

I overheard that the other day, and no, it wasn’t about me! But it struck me because this sentence uses the words “talent” and “luck” in a way that misleads. You don't get representation or a book contract or success just because you're talented, or even by earning it through hard work, deliberate craft, and persistence. You need luck too.

A few years ago, I got an offer of agent representation from the first and only query I ever sent. I might be forgiven for my momentary conviction that my talent was unmistakable – that first agent had seen it, so surely everyone would. That agent was lucky to have me. After one query, my success seemed assured and inevitable.

But it wasn’t. Getting agented quickly wasn’t a sign of genius. It was a stroke of luck. I queried the right agent at the right time – or maybe the wrong one, because that book never sold and that agent – a respectable one with a respectable agency – left the business.

I sent 100 queries for my next book, then another 200, and then I lost count. I did not get another agent. Was I less talented than before? I don’t think so. I think my craft was stronger. Maybe I was less lucky -- my timing was wrong, whether querying after the market had cooled off, or having my email hit a possible right agent's desk right as they spilled a cup of coffee on their sweater.

But I wrote other books, and eventually I got another agent. I sold two books two years apart, and I counted myself lucky.

Along the way, I’ve received more rejections than acceptances by a factor of a hundred or more.  I actually found the first contract offer I received in my junk mail. My email program was so used to rejections that it filed good news away as spam.

And I’m unagented again. Less talented than I was when I still had an agent? I don’t think so. I have more rejections now because I’ve been at this longer. Because I’ve been at it longer, I think I’m better – a better writer, a more resilient person. We writers have to be.

So am I less lucky than I was when I sent that very first query? I don’t think that either. I still have a book coming out June 14, and I'm lucky to be where am I. Sure, I know other people who are more talented, and others who are luckier -- often, the same people. 

I'm hoping to be one of them the next time I query. The odds are always long, but I'm playing a long game. Sometimes luck catches up.

On What To Ask A Prospective Agent's Clients by Joy McCullough-Carranza

You’ve gotten an offer of representation! Huzzah!! Perhaps you’ve even gotten more than one offer!! And you’ve had your call and asked the agents all the questions you’re supposed to ask. (If you need a list, my wonderful agent recently wrote a blog post listing those questions you should ask.) And one of those things you’ve asked the agent is for referrals to a couple clients you can talk to. This is important whether you’re deciding between multiple offers, or only assessing whether or not to accept one offer. It can be such a struggle to get an agent offer that it’s tempting to accept any offer, but an agent who’s a poor fit for you really is worse than no agent at all.

So you’re going to do your due diligence with the offering agent’s clients. And hopefully, when you asked for referrals, you also specified that you’d like to talk to someone whose book has not yet sold. Left to their own devices, agents are likely to point you toward clients for whom they’ve sold lots of books! And that’s great! But…it’s extremely likely those clients are happy. The real clincher is finding a client whose book hasn’t sold who STILL thinks the agent is terrific. If the agent only refers you to established authors, you can seek out those not-yet-published clients. If the agent is active on Twitter, checking out who they interact with is one way to find their clients. If the grapevine leads you to a client who was formerly represented by an agent, they may also have some interesting information for you, and there’s nothing wrong with asking former clients if they’d be willing to answer a few questions. (Just respect if the answer is no: It’s a small industry and some people may not want to be forthcoming about why they split with an agent.)

So you’ve got that client phone number or email address in hand—what do you ask? Before we get to my list of questions, let’s be clear that there are no right answers to any of these questions. For example, you may want an agent who’s all business, or you may want one who’s a bit more nurturing. You may hope for a heavily editorial agent, or want one who’ll simply try to sell what you give them. The main thing is to assess what you want out of your agent relationship and see if client experiences reflect the relationship you’re hoping to have. 

Communication

Because poor communication is one of the main reasons agent-client relationships fall apart, it’s one of the most important things to evaluate when signing with an agent. When you talked to the agent, you probably asked them how long it takes them to respond to emails and read client manuscripts. But you shouldn’t necessarily take the agents’ word on this.

It’s not that they’re lying to you—at least not intentionally! During The Call, an agent is nervous too. In a situation of multiple agent offers, they’re trying to convince you to partner with them. So when they get asked how long it takes them to respond to client emails, they may tell you how long it takes them under perfectly ideal circumstances, or what they shoot for, or how long it took them when they were first starting out. The reality, however, may be a bit (or a lot) different. So this is where talking to clients about their actual experiences can come in handy.

Here are a few key things to ask about communication:

• How long does it take the agent to respond to your emails?

• How long does it take the agent to read and give revision notes on client manuscripts? 

• Does the agent answer questions about your bigger picture career path, or only the manuscript at hand?

Editorial Feedback

Another important part of the agent-author relationship is editorial feedback. Some agents are very hands-on, giving in-depth editorial feedback on manuscripts from the earliest stages, some give line edits on every misplaced comma before going on sub, and others are much more hands off, submitting the manuscript more or less as the author turns it in to them. So in that vein, you should ask clients:

• How editorial is the agent?

•  At what stage do they like to read a manuscript and begin to offer input?

• Do they do line edits, editorial letters, both, or neither?

• Whatever their feedback style, is it clear? Do you understand what they’re asking? Do you know how to proceed after you’ve received and digested their revision notes? Do you feel comfortable asking clarifying questions about their notes?

• Does the agent read pitches and give feedback on which new projects to pursue, or do you write a whole new manuscript before showing it to your agent? 

Submission Approach

Going on submission is an exciting and nerve-wracking part of the publishing journey. There’s little info out there on how it happens, in part because agents vary widely in how they handle the submission process. Here are a few things to ask their clients:

• How does the agent approach submission? Do they submit in rounds to editors? How many in each round? When editors pass, does the agent send out new subs on a rolling basis, or wait until all the passes are in and then send out a new round of submissions?

• How does the agent communicate about editor responses (ie, forwarding them in their entirety as they come in, waiting until all the editors in the round passed, or something in between)?

Personality

This is something you’ll get a feel for when talking to an agent on the phone, but you may be so nervous that you can’t assess it as well as you otherwise would. The agent may be nervous, too! So talk to clients who’ve worked with the agent for a while to get a feel for these things:

• Is the agent all business, or more personal?

• When things are rough, is the agent warm and encouraging and/or does the agent give tough love as needed?

• Do you trust your agent’s business instincts and experience?

• Are you comfortable telling your agent what you need, asking questions, and expressing concerns?

I’m sure there are many more questions to ask, and feel free to add yours in the comments, but this is a good starting point. If you’ve had an agent, what’s the number one thing you think writers should ask clients when evaluating whether or not to sign with an offering agent?

COMING BACK TO THE AUTHOR by Eden Unger Bowditch

Recently, we at Project Mayhem have been talking a lot about literary agents.  These conversations contain vital pieces of advice for many would-be, pre-published, and already-published authors. I know because I am one of them!

This is a true story. Years ago, a friend and I both decided we wanted to write books. We both had burning ideas that excited us to no end. I started writing. She decided to put her time into finding an agent. In a month, she wrote a proposal and I was well on my way with a draft. A few months later, she had an agent on board (she was a well-known journalist so she interviewed many) and I had finished a first draft. Her agent spent months shopping her proposal. I began my own rewrites. And then, an award-winning children’s writer friend took a peek at my manuscript and asked if he could show it to his publisher. The publisher asked for a meeting. I flew back to the US and signed a deal. Meanwhile, my friend never was offered a publishing deal. She had taken time off work to find the agent and work on the book proposal so she shelved the book and returned to journalism.

What is the moral of this story? Well…we can consider that, had I been clever enough to remember one should have an agent, I might have gotten a better deal (though that would be hard for me to imagine, but that’s just me!). We can consider that my friend should have stuck with it and eventually gotten the deal she wanted. Or we can say…wait! The point is, there is a book that needs to be written. Whether you have an agent or not, focus on writing it! The passion you feel for it is what will drive you. Do not stop and wait and hope for an agent. Keep working on your stuff since there is always room in the world for brilliant works of literature. An agent will help you realize some of those dreams but the dreams start with you.

So what is the moral? I guess it’s…WRITE!

If you have an idea, Hurray! But don’t wait! If you have an agent, hurray! If you’ve already written a book, hurray! But never forget, the book is the magic around which all else revolves.

ON PARTING WAYS WITH LITERARY AGENTS by Joy McCullough-Carranza

Many stops along the writing journey are filled with maps and guidebooks and tour guides clamoring for the writer’s attention. Query Station, ‘The Call’ Street, Debut Year Blvd…these are well-lit and heavily trafficked.

Some other stations are necessary to pass through, but for whatever reason, they have nary a flickering bulb and certainly no tour guides. We rarely talk about being on submission, for example, or what happens if your editor leaves in the middle of your series. Another poorly illuminated stop along the writing journey is the one where writers part ways with their agents.

Here’s the thing though—Breakup Station is poorly illuminated, but it’s not lightly traveled. Many, many writers part ways with their agents and return to the query trenches. Some quickly find another agent and some toil in the trenches for another long spell. Almost all feel alone, and like they’ve failed in some way. Because it’s so poorly illuminated, they have no idea how many fellow travelers are stumbling around this station.

One of the things I’ve learned along the writing journey is how incredibly comforting it is to get to know one’s fellow travelers – the other writers who have gone on submission but not sold their book. The other writers who had to query five manuscripts before they got an agent. The other writers who parted ways with an agent.

So I hauled some floodlights into Breakup Station. I wanted to see who was passing through there—a LOT of people, it turns out—and for them to see one another.

I created a survey for writers who had parted ways with an agent and I shared it with a closed Facebook group of Pitchwars mentors—around 100 people. Those folks in turn shared it with debut year groups for 2014, 2015, and 2016, and with the MG and YA Binders groups. I had over 100 survey responses within 24 hours.

If you are in Breakup Station: YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

So let’s look at some of the responses to see why writers and agents part ways, and what happens after they do. (And you guys, I tried super hard to make these into pretty pie charts, but I deal in words and it would have been simpler for me to make five actual pies.)

Question: Who initated the breakup?

Agent – 34%

Writer – 66%

Question: If your agent initiated the breakup, what was the reason? (Check all that apply.)

Agent left the business – 37%

Agent couldn’t sell a manuscript – 20%

Agent didn’t want to represent writer’s next project – 34%

Couldn’t agree on editorial direction of next project – 7%

Communication styles – 20%

Personality Clash – 10%

Other – Several of these responses included an agent switching to another agency and culling her list in the process, and an agent deciding to focus on a different genre or category.

QUESTION: If the writer initiated the breakup, what were the reasons (check all that apply):

Agent couldn’t sell a previous manuscript – 34%

Agent didn’t like the writer’s next project – 31%

Couldn’t agree on editorial direction – 25%

Communication styles – 61%

Personality clash – 31%

Other – Many of these responses included excessively slow turn-around time in reading manuscripts, getting feedback to a writer, responding to emails, or putting manuscripts on submission. Also included: concerns about the strength of the agent’s connections, agent not passing on feedback from editors, or writer not wanting to stay with the agent when they made a big career move (like to another agency).

QUESTION: How long were you with agent before splitting up?

0-6 months – 5%

6 months – 1 year – 14%

1-2 years – 40%

More than 2 years – 42%

QUESTION: If you’ve gone on to get another agent, how long did it take after your initial split?

0-6 months – 67%

6 months – 1 year – 13%

1-2 years – 15%

More than 2 years – 5%

Now, I’m throwing a lot of info at you, but there’s so little out there on this topic that I want to do it full justice. I know many writers who head into Breakup Station despair of ever getting an agent again. They think they’re damaged goods (actual wording I saw recently), they think the manuscript their agent subbed is dead forever, they think they’ve missed their shot. I wanted to get an agent’s perspective on receiving queries from writers who’ve been previously agented, so I talked to Brent Taylor of Triada US Literary Agency. He was kind enough to answer candidly. Querying writers should consider him—his manuscript wish list is here.

Me: How does it affect your consideration of a query when you see a writer has parted ways with a previous agent?

Brent: I want to note upfront that all of this is very much case-by-case. But for me, it sometimes works in the writer's favor and I'm more forgiving of query mistakes/my initial hesitations about the project if I know that this writer's work was "good enough" for a different agent. Not all agents might feel that way, though. I'm usually giving the writer the benefit of the doubt and assuming that the author-agent split was amicable and because of stylistic incompatibilities. 

But there are many other factors. Sometimes I'm very friendly with the agent that the querying writer parted ways with, and I might check in with them first just to maintain my professional relationship. Agents talk. We're a talkative crowd. 

Me: Would you sign a new client with a manuscript that had previously been seen by editors?

Brent: It depends on how I feel about the project and my vision. Every agent has different instincts, and I've certainly seen submissions lists that differ drastically from ones I would have come up with. So let's say you queried me with a middle grade novel and I felt it was a perfect fit for the more traditionally literary imprints with award-winning lists, and your previous agent had mostly submitted it to the imprints I considered more on the commercial side -- then there's certainly some wiggle room there. But I've also been in a position where I've had to say, "Look, this is great, but all these editors that passed are the same editors that I would have gone to." I know that's a completely unhelpful answer.

Me: How many editors would be too many for you to take on an already-subbed project?

Brent: I say at above ten editors, your ship has sailed and you need to write a new book. 

Thanks for your time, Brent!

I hope this gives some hope to those travelers passing through Breakup Station—or pondering a stop there. You aren’t alone. It will be a temporary stop for you, but there are fellow travelers to meet and wisdom to be gained. Much love on your journey.