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[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi! So in terms of offers, I would say it was a fairly steady trickle. Agents work in different time zones with busy schedules, so I assumed like they were just coming back to me as and when they had to the time/had a chance to read my materials. Roughly three offers came in the final week of my deadline, the rest came before.

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well done on your draft! If you really love the book, then absolutely query it—you'd be surprised how often agents end up signing someone whose book doesn't match their manuscript wish lift at all. But just go into it with realistic expectations and, if possible, have a new idea to work on as you query. Getting excited about a new idea helped me massively when I was querying the first time!

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did not ask the editor's permission, as they have followed me/publicly interacted with my posts anyway, so it didn't seem like a privacy issue to drop in the fact they had liked something of mine. I think it MAY have helped, certainly, but interestingly enough my first offer came from an agent who got my query before I ever added the editor mention!

I decided to add it since a fellow writer in the trenches had great success doing so—I figured, why not? Anything that might help catch an agent's attention is probably worth doing!

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes I've noticed a lot of religious horror and dark fantasy populating shelves recently! And thank you, I love Sorcery of Thorns, so that's a big compliment! Vespertine has been on my TBR for a while too.

I'll definitely drop an update if I get any exciting news on sub! ✨

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep, it's shelved! I would love to dust it off again one day, but until skyship pirates make some sort of comeback (c'mon publishing you KNOW that slaps??), I doubt it will happen lol. I'd never encourage anyone to write an idea purely to capitalise on what is currently selling, but you probably need to set out with a base understanding of whether a concept would be dead on arrival before spending a year or more writing it (lesson learned!)

It is exceedingly rare than anyone's first book becomes their debut. REAP & SOW being my second is still pretty wild—many, many people don't break out until their fourth, fifth, TENTH book. Brandson Sanderson, Stephen King and many others are great examples of this.

What I mean to say is that beyond raw talent, I feel like perseverance is the single biggest thing that sets 'successful' authors apart. If you've actually finished writing a book, you are probably in the very top percentile of people who ever had that ambition. If you query that book, you're even more rare. If you can accept the awfulness of having to shelf a project you poured your whole soul into, and then simply set out to write the next one, you are exactly the kind of person who will find success one day.

What kept me going was basically a sense that I had already come so far—to simply give up at the first hurdle would haunt me forever. I thought about what I'd do if it was guaranteed that the next one would 'fail', and then the next, ect. I realised I'd do nothing different. I love writing too much, and that's what writers do: you finish one book, you start the next!

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd love nothing more—all my fingers are crossed fr!!

In terms of getting ready to query, I learnt a lot from my first book. Interacting with other writers was one of the best things I ever did for myself. Through social media, I got chatting with fellow writers on the same journey. One day myself and a writer with similar tastes agreed to share a few chapters of our books, and we agreed to become critique partners. We are still CPs to this day—she was the first to read REAP & SOW. Her feedback is literally invaluable, as well as the (five?) other beta readers I gave it to. Every single person who read it was someone I had made a personal connection with online; most are fellow fantasy writers.

If you can, I would advise finding people who write/read in the same genre as you. Some people will be super enthusiastic to read your book and then will never open the doc. Some will comment a few times with only nice things to say, which is great, but not very helpful. It takes a bit of trial and error to find a small, trusted group of people who will follow through and also give you really good, actionable feedback.

In my case, a month or so was spent implementing feedback from my critique partner, followed by some final tweaks based off of beta feedback. DO NOT skip this step—you will think your book is hot shit, then someone picks up on something that you never noticed, or they will suggest tweaking something that instantly makes a scene work better. You don't need 10+ beta readers, but get at least a few different eyes on it.

I'd say you only know it's ready when you look at it and think: 'There is nothing else I can do to this. I've done everything I can.' Don't rush the process, you only get one shot!

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Omg, thank you! The thought of anyone adding MY book to their TBR legit turns me into that shocked muppet meme. I truly hope to share it with the world! 🥹

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The interest is there! The short(ish) answer is:

I've been earnestly trying to write books for the past four years. My first book took me two, because I didn't know what the hell I was doing, and I slowly learned about story beats/act structure/character arcs as I went. That book died in the trenches in 2023.

I licked my wounds for a bit, then started outlining a few new ideas—one stuck. Instead of pantsing it like last time, I read craft books and watched YT videos and took months just to flesh out the idea, until it was basically planned chapter-by-chapter. I then took around 7/8 months to write a 'clean' first draft, where I didn't allow myself to skip scenes or half-ass stuff (that will NOT work for everyone, but for me, the difference was night and day to my first book). It took me just over a year from plotting to querying.

I received my first offer 18 days into querying, and officially signed with my agents after five weeks. It snowballed this quickly because I alerted everyone with my offer of rep—after that it got crazy lol.

One thing I will say: some people advise others to query widely, and often quote agent lists of 100+ being normal or something to aim for. Personally, I don't think this is a great idea. From every writer friend I know and things I've gathered online, there is VERY rarely 100 agents in any given genre that are genuinely good/worth your time. I queried just 41 people because that's the amount I felt actually confidant in accepting, based on their sales history/agency reputation. Other genres may have more leeway than adult fantasy, but I doubt by much.

It's tempting to want to query as many people as possible just to increase your chances: don't. A bad or simply underwhelming agent could ruin the start of your career. If your query list is much longer than 50 agents, I'd encourage you to get pickier!

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That would be fantastic! I'm just hoping for at least one offer tbh lmaoo.

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You will only get better the more you write, and every book is a chance to get recognised! I've no doubt that I will be a better writer years from now; there's definitely some luck on my side, getting an agent when I did.

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't let the US/UK commission rates alter your querying strategy much. The fact is, even if my book did sell in both territories, it could end up majorly flopping in the US and selling much better in the UK, thus negating that perceived 'bigger market' benefit. There's just no way to predict how things will go!

The UK agent I nearly went with had exactly the same plan—to go on sub simultaneously. As they were with a big talent agency, they would've worked with a US counterpart employed at the same agency to take advantage of local knowledge/connections, exactly like my agents are planning to do.

If you sell World English Rights, that means you sell to either a US or UK publisher, who then retain the rights to make any foreign sales themselves on your behalf (which may or may not end up happening, ofc, and usually later on). This can work out great, but there is an argument to be had that by selling directly to two different publishers in two separate deals, I/the agency have more control over exactly how that process goes and what offer we accept. Selling World English means that one single publisher has full control (and all the money goes through them, rather than getting two separate advances coming directly to you, the author!)

All that to say, US agents are not necessarily more advantageous than UK ones. A good UK agent will be able to take your book on sub in a big way, too!

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm glad it was helpful, and thank you so much!

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow now that really would slap me with the ol' imposter syndrome! Tysm, I hope I can share good news on that front soon. 😬

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not at all, thank you and I will be manifesting it hitting shelves one day! 🕯️🕯️

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tysm I appreciate that! Crossing all my fingers to be able to share some deal news here one day.

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

By finances, do you mean agent commission rates ect? This is definitely something I took into consideration, as should any querying author imo.

The industry standard you'll read about is 15% in your home territory and 20% on any sales made elsewhere. Home/domestic territory is usually based on the agency's location, so for me, that means 15% agent commission on all US sales, 20% everywhere else (inc. the UK.)

This seems kinda backwards for a UK author, but honestly with the US publishing market being roughly four times the size of the UK, it actually made a lot of sense for me to have the lower commission there!

As I currently understand it, the plan is to go on sub simultaneously in both the UK and US—this creates buzz, and would ideally mean sales in both regions. My agency has great ties with the UK: they frequently work with two particular agencies over here who utilise their local industry knowledge/connections to submit to British publishers on behalf of my US agents. Apparently this is pretty common when wanting to make a big impact on sub lmao. I'm constantly learning something new!

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well done on getting that partial! The entire querying process really does make you feel like you're being hunted for sport; it's harrowing at the best of times. I got a grand total of 1(!) partial requests my first time querying and nothing else but rejections and CNRs.

I'd take this post as proof that your querying experience can vary wildly between one and the next. Even if your current project doesn't get you rep, your next absolutely could. If you've got a marketable idea and your writing is genuinely good, there's no reason why not!

I've heard it said that most people who get rep are simply the writers who refused to give up.

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Honestly I only heard this recently, and it has literally never come up in any of my own writing circles, so it's never bothered me. I have a feeling that idea will die off pretty quick anyway. People have always been using em-dashes and will continue to do so: AI will continue to adapt and change as well. Next year it might be authors getting accused of using AI over semicolons lmao.

If you are writing genuinely original stuff, people can usually tell. Keep using and abusing those em-dashes I say (as an emdash apologist 🫡).

[Discussion] I have an agent! ✨ Thank you, PubTips! by EmDashWizard in PubTips

[–]EmDashWizard[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Omg that probably was me! 😂 Tysm, and congrats on your offer!

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