Online Chat With Literary Agent Michelle Brower

That was a fantastic chat over on Agent Query with literary agent Michelle Brower. It was nice, homey and cozy. As chat moderator there wasn’t any juggling cats, turtles or even anything flaming last night. Just straight forward good ol’ information about queries, genres, young writers, older writers, killer titles and so much more. Yeah, you missed it. But yes, you can check out the transcripts right here.

Half the scoop: Yes, you need to polish your writing before getting it out there. Generally the setting can distinguish the genre, but many some twists on a story such as a story set in elfland, NOT being about elves would be good. (The ideas are endless when you think like that! Wahoo!) Some titles rock more than others and yes, a killer title can help set your query apart. Yes, Michelle likes the one sentence hook, but definitely the story hook to be obvious in your query. There was so much great info, you need to read the transcripts yourself. It won’t take long and I promise you will learn a lot.

And did you know that landing an agent and getting the book sold and printed can be compared to having a baby? I kid you not. (Another reason to check out the transcript–I wouldn’t want to spoil the reason for the comparison for you. It surprised me. It might surprise you too.)

Michelle Brower, literary agent with Wendy Sherman Associates.

(A big thanks to Michelle for spending time with us over on AQ.)

Michelle is also blogging over at her agency website. Go check it out.

Michelle Brower is Coming to Chat on AQ

Agent Query‘s literary agent guest for May is Michelle Brower of Wendy Sherman and Associates in New York. Michelle will be chatting to Agent Query’s members tomorrow night (May 12th) at 9 pm Eastern.

A bit about Michelle:

Michelle Brower has been with Wendy Sherman Associates since 2004, and has also previously worked with Joelle Delbourgo Associates. She enjoys working directly with emerging writers and is interested in representing literary and commercial fiction, memoir, pop culture, humor, crafting, graphic novels, popular science and narrative non-fiction. Books that capture elements of the strange and wonderful will always pique her interest, and she also looks for those that offer a unique perspective of the world. She has a MA in Literature from New York University. (From the Wendy Sherman and Associates website.)

She will also be attending the following conferences this year: Thrillerfest, New York, NY ( July 10)
Sewanee Writer’s Conference, Sewanee, TN ( July 18-20).

Join me (I’ll be chat moderator) over on AQ tomorrow night to chat with Michelle. It’s sure to be an educationally good time.

Jeffrey Moores Gives the Scoop on Query Hooks…and More

During last week’s Tuesday night chat, literary consultant and editor (and also former literary agent), Jeffrey Moores dropped the bomb. Agents are sick and tired of the query letter hook–avoid it at all costs. Here’s the 411 straight from the chat:

Yvonnetherese asked: How do you feel about starting the query letter with a hook sentence vs. genre, word count, etc. up front?

Jeffrey Moores replied: AVOID THE HOOK! It’s annoying. An agent instead wants simple reality: I am seeking representation for my YA novel about vampires and teenage werewolves. Put what you want up front. Be very simple.

I asked: Do many agents feel this way, Jeff?

He replied: As far as I know, all of them do. It’s very tiresome to read, over and over again, things like: “Imagine yourself in a world where…” An agent isn’t like a normal reader. They’ve got a lot more analytical wheels turning, and are more interested in your book’s place within the market and your ability to write. The actual details of your plot are only as important as your ability to frame your book within the query letter.

Well, I tell you, after cleaning all the grey matter  that had splattered all over the chat room walls during the chat, I went away and thought about what Jeffrey had said. I decided I needed a bit more info on the topic and so the next night (he did two chats for us over on AQ.) I asked for a bit of clarification. Here’s the scoop:

My question: Jeffrey, in regards to your surprising advice in regards to queries (“AVOID THE HOOK”) I got to wondering, how do YOU define a hook? Could you give us some specifics in terms of what to avoid?

Jeffrey Moores: I think that the typical “hook”, wherein a writer tries to hook an agent with a taste of the plot right away, often comes across as false and forced. Such as: “Imagine a town where nothing quite feels like it should…”

Instead, agents want to hear something like this: “My novel is a comedy-of-manners that skewers the reality of a strange town whose inhabitants seem to have no clue about the rest of the world…” or something similar. This is a more abstracted and contextualized description of your novel, and is more effective than assuming that an agent is sitting at her desk waiting to be entertained the same way she is when she’s picking a novel off of a book shelf at home.

It is still VERY IMPORTANT to “hook” an agent, but it is MORE IMPORTANT to do this through concise and effective presentation of your book’s specific themes and its place in the market, rather than drafting a sort of plot description or synopsis. Often, writers go on and on after their “hook” but fail to mention anywhere in the query WHAT TYPE OF BOOK THEY’VE WRITTEN. novel, YA, fantasy, mainstream, etc.

*******

He also mentioned to be confident in your proposal when writing nonfiction. The more confident you are, the more likely it will get picked up. As well, fiction writers should step out when writing their queries and “approach the query in a more nonfiction way”. That means, make your fiction query more about where your story fits into the market, who its audience is–that sort of thing. Which makes sense. It is a business letter. He also mentions to compare your letter to other books that are similar. Just make sure it is selling well! He provided pointers on how to pick the selling well books to compare yours to:

Very simply — go to your local bookstore and browse. Notice which books have prominent placement in the stores (front tables, end caps, facing OUT on the shelves, rather than their binding facing out). Publishers have paid for these privileges and it means that they’ve invested extra money in hopes that these books will sell well. Or, it means the book has already begun to sell well so they are pushing it further. Also, check out Amazon’s book rankings, reviews, and blurbs by other authors for that book — if five well-known authors have blurbed a given book, it’s safe to assume is better-known than a book with a blurb by only one lesser-known writer.

Both chats with Jeffrey where informative with lots of great tidbits you won’t find elsewhere. If you missed the chats, you can read the transcripts over on AgentQuery.

Literary Consultant Chat: Victims Needed

Agent Query has a chat coming up tomorrow night (Tuesday April 28, 9pm Eastern) with literary consultant, Jeffrey Moores. And as an added bonus, there is a second chat on Wednesday night (9pm Eastern, April 29). It is for the second chat that we need our victims. Oops. I mean, volunteers.

About Tuesday night’s chat: It will be a regular publishing industry chat with Jeff who will fill member’s brains with useful industry insider tidbits not normally found while sitting at one’s writing chair. How can I make such a bold claim? Well, let me tell you a bit about Jeff. Recently he began his own business as an editor and literary consultant (that means he helps people who need writing help/advice–read more on his website) after leaving his job as a literary agent at Dunow, Carlson and Lerner in New York. Yes, a former literary agent and student of literature is going to deliver the goods! That’s how I can make such bold claims.

Now, Wednesday night we’re throwing AQ chat tradition to the wind…and we need victims. I mean volunteers. See, Jeff has very graciously offered to do a live critique on 5 first paragraphs whether they be from someone’s query or manuscript. What you need to do is jump over to AQ (finish reading this first) and check out this thread where I explain everything. If you aren’t a member of AQ, become one. It’s free. Really. No strings attached. Okay, I lied. The community will make you a better writer–not a bad ‘string’, eh? Once you are a member, bravely toss your name in the hat. On Wednesday, I will have the sorting hat pick a few sacrificial lambs for Wednesday’s chat. We need a variety, so come one, come all. And if the hat doesn’t pick you, no worries, you can still join in the chat and learn a ton. So come on, put down the remote, get in your writing chair and help out your writing career.

As usual, I will be there moderating the chat, so come out and join us! It is sure to be a blast.

Fantastic Chat with Literary Agent Jamie Brenner

Last night literary agent Jamie Brenner replied to close to 40 questions over on AQ. There were 60 members from all across the world popping in and out of the chat. Whew! It was a busy place.

And what did I learn? A brief synopsis is anywhere from two paragraphs to two pages. Women’s Fiction can be considered to cover Chick Lit, Hen Lit, Granny Lit and the like. Agents don’t really like writers who’ve gone and self-published, they prefer a ‘fresh’ face and a ‘true’ debut writer. There are tons of great nuggets including word count and specific writing tips over in the transcripts. You will have to be a member to read them, but seeing as membership is free, what is there to lose?

There is a chat with author Tommy Newberry over on The Knight Agency website tonight.  I think I’ll check that one out too.

Enjoy!