Posts tagged ‘literary agent scams’
LITERAY AGENCY QUERY REQUIREMENTS
LITERAY AGENCY QUERY REQUIREMENTS
As mentioned in a previous post, when searching for a literary agent you will discover that many agencies use an online form you must use to make your query. This makes the search much easier than it was in the past for most of the information required is, more or less, the same for all forms.
Here is a list of the information required on many of the forms,
Information on previously published books
Title
Publisher
Release date
If you have self-published a book
Query letter
Synopsis
Sample pages or sample chapters
The number of pages or chapters varies by agency.
Pitch
Target audience
Books similar to your book
Bio
Most agencies using an online form also require that you are a member of Query Tracker, a free website.
In a future post I will supply a form used by an agency so that you may see what they look like.
LITERARY AGENT SEARCH
UNWANTED INTERUPTIONS OF SEARCHES CONTINUED
As mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been bombarded with unwanted ads resulting from my search for publishers and agents.
I get ads from companies saying that they want to read my book. I have little doubt that after reading my book they would want to publish my book. Okay, they don’t know whether my book is fiction or nonfiction. For fiction they don’t know the genre. For nonfiction they don’t know the subject. They have no idea of the quality of my craft, but they want to read my book.
This company wants to spend time reading my book and may decide not to publish my book. Right! I have little doubt that after reading my book, if they read it at all, they will like to publish it.
I feel one of the major reasons these companies exit is to stroke the fragile egos of those who would like to say they have published a book and have money to burn.
Now it is possible to find success in self-publishing a book. Ever hear of the novel The Martian which became a bestseller and subsequently made into a movie? Self-published. So success can occur but you must have an exceptional manuscript and be willing to work you ass off, and the asses of close friends.
I’m posting this as a warning. Stay away from companies whose ads state that they want to publish your book.
And as far as agents are concerned, I can’t imagine a reputable agency of agents seeking clients with an ad.
LITERARY AGENT SEARCH
UNWANTED INTERUPTIONS OF SEARCHES
I am in the process of looking for a publisher for my novel, The Beast Awaits.
As I’m sure you know I am fan of the website Duotrope for locating publishers. The site also provides information for literary agents. I have used Duotrope to explore publishers with little luck for my novel, so I am now using it to seek an agent. My search for an agent on Duotrope resulted in a list of 124. I then used another website and reduced the number to 16. The method I used will be described in a later post.
Since beginning my search, I have been inundated with ads for publishers wanting to read my novel and agents wanting me to contact them for representation.
I’m fairly certain that Duotrope or the other site I used would not sell my name and email address, so this intrusion must be the result of my searches. In this day and age someone is constantly looking over your shoulder.
Companies now involved with self-publishing were once called vanity presses. Also, I have never seen ad for agents before.
More to follow.
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