The Agent Answers: Paranormal vs Fantasy

You have questions? Do you constantly miss #askagent sessions on Twitter? Is it impossible, despite a hundred Google searches, to find an answer to your question? Then you've come to the right place. Ask a question either on any "Agent Answers" post or on Twitter, and I'll answer as many as I can. My answers will be subjective and should not be considered applicable to every agent (though I do like to assume my opinions are the majority).

I happen to be very particular about my genres. In my head, there is a definitive line between paranormal and fantasy. To me, the only* fantasy worthwhile is the straight, epic, high, king, queens, dragons, different realm, no world jumping type. Lord of the Rings instead of Chronicles of Narnia. And paranormal is set in our world with supernatural beings (and the sort I love best is with hot naked vampires--this doesn't apply to Twlight because we only see half naked werewolves, not vampires... not that I'm complaining Taylor!).

I was asked:

My WIP is technically paranormal but instead of creatures it has reincarnating soldiers from the crusades. To keep agents from rolling their eyes when they read my query, should I label it paranormal or fantasy? 

For me**, it depends. YA or Adult? I'm much more receptive to Adult Paranormal--if there are naked vampires (werewolves, harpies, Frankensteins, reincarnated badasses in history--I have one of those!--as long as they're naked). In YA I'm a little burnt out on the paranormal, not that someone somewhere won't buy it if it's good.

Honestly, label it what it is. Don't try to cheat, we will call you out on it (I do it by glaring at the wall then rejecting the query). To me, it sounds paranormal. Call it paranormal. This is where comparables help, they tell us so much more than a simple label.

Happy writing!

*There are exceptions to every rule.
**Everything is subjective.

The Agent Answers... Again. Word Count Take 2

You have questions? Do you constantly miss #askagent sessions on Twitter? Is it impossible, despite a hundred Google searches, to find an answer to your question? Then you've come to the right place. Ask a question either on any "Agent Answers" post or on Twitter, and I'll answer as many as I can. My answers will be subjective and should not be considered applicable to every agent (though I do like to assume my opinions are the majority). 

A few days ago, I answered a question about rounding your word count--do it to the nearest thousandth. And suddenly I got an influx of people asking about too long, too short, what if this?

I'm going to go on the record here--agents (most of us) hate answering questions about word count. Writers are obsessed. Follow the rules so you know how to break them. Google it. Most agents go with the same guidelines (Colleen Lindsay's post on the subject is a good one, here). One conference I was at this past year, I was on a panel with many other agents, in a huge room filled with hundreds of people. It was open season on the agents--ask anything and we answer. And a few people wasted everyone else's time asking specifics about word count (well, my manuscript is yadda yadda, is 275K too long?). We got tired of it and it became a running joke that most of the writers, but not all of them, got.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this. I will most likely reject anything over 140K. I *might* look at something over 110K. I won't look at anything under 50K for any genre. YA runs a little shorter, Adult a little longer, MG shorter still, best selling authors and Diana Gabaldon even longer.

Concentrate on writing the best you can. If that means writing 30K or 400K to achieve that, go for it!

Happy writing!

The Agent Answers: Dreaded Middle Pile

You have questions? Do you constantly miss #askagent sessions on Twitter? Is it impossible, despite a hundred Google searches, to find an answer to your question? Then you've come to the right place. Ask a question either on any "Agent Answers" post or on Twitter, and I'll answer as many as I can. My answers will be subjective and should not be considered applicable to every agent (though I do like to assume my opinions are the majority). 

Question: Do you and/or most agents have a 'maybe' file that you sort queries into? For the manuscripts that you don't immediately want to request or reject?

Answer: Who remembers my post about the middle pile? You've got the great stuff, that goes in a teeny weenie pile that agents fight over with giant rubber pencils. And you've got the horrible stuff, that goes in a sizable that shouldn't see the light of day.

Then you have the stuff that is well written, okay concept, characters that are fleshed out, and above all, readable. What do we do with this stuff?

When talking about queries, I do this a lot. I think, "Self, this has some merit. But..." That's why a lot of agents ask that you include the first five or ten pages with your query. And if those still make us go, "Self, this has some merit. But..." We'll probably ask for some more. If we're busy or jaded, it's a no.

Do I have a file that these go into? Not really. Sometimes if I read part, most, or all of an ms and I'm not sure if I love or even like it, I set it aside. I'll go back to this folder where requested mss go, and I'll see it and think, "Self, what is this?" If I can't immediately remember, that's a bad sign. And a rejection. If think, "Self, why did you stop reading this, I remember this concept!" then there is something there, maybe the writing was holding me back. That most likely will get it a second look and possibly a Revision Request.

Happy writing!

Fortune Cookie Friday: Yoda on Changing it Up

 Fridays always feel like Chinese food sort of days, and what's takeout without a fortune cookie? Thus, Fridays will bring you tips, tricks, advice, and some riddles that might apply to everything but will turn a light bulb on in your head (or maybe I just like talking like Yoda).


If no mistake have you made, yet losing you are ... a different game you should play.

An argument for self-publishing, oh wise one? Or a suggestion you find yourself a new critique group?

Happy writing!

The Agent Answers: Word Count

You have questions? Do you constantly miss #askagent sessions on Twitter? Is it impossible, despite a hundred Google searches, to find an answer to your question? Then you've come to the right place. Ask a question either on any "Agent Answers" post or on Twitter, and I'll answer as many as I can. My answers will be subjective and should not be considered applicable to every agent (though I do like to assume my opinions are the majority). 


Question: Do you like to be given the exact word count in queries?

Answer: Please don't. It looks amateurish and we don't care that much about those 253 words. Round it to the nearest thousandth. We get the picture from there. So, 60K, 72K, 105K, 193K, etc.

That said, please don't query me with a 193K word project. I will reject you.

Happy writing!

The Agent Answers: Paranormal

You have questions? Do you constantly miss #askagent sessions on Twitter? Is it impossible, despite a hundred Google searches, to find an answer to your question? Then you've come to the right place. Ask a question either on any "Agent Answers" post or on Twitter, and I'll answer as many as I can. My answers will be subjective and should not be considered applicable to every agent (though I do like to assume my opinions are the majority).

Question: We always hear that paranormal romance in YA is dead, no one is buying it. Do you think it'd be wiser for paranormal authors to hold back querying a paranormal project?

Answer: No way! Go ahead and query. Sure, I'll probably reject it. But there's a chance an agent will fall in love with it and ask to see something else, or keep you in the back of their mind for when editors are suddenly hungry for paranormal again (back off, a girl can dream, right?). Besides, some editors are still buying paranormal and some agents are still having luck with it. As I like to tell writers, "Good writing will "always" sell." (You may ask why I put bunny ears around the always. Good question. It means, nothing in this business is absolute. Good writing can get passed over on occasion.)

That said, if you don't feel your project can stand on its own, either because of the writing or content, you have bigger problems than the market. Like, are you actually ready to be querying?

Happy writing!

Grammar Manners: Prepositions

Since we all love Mondays and we all love Grammar and the minutes of writing, Mondays are hereafter dedicated to things we'd rather leave in the dark. Might as well start the week with a kick in the pants. I'll bring to you the mistakes I see all the time as an agent (or just a concerned English Major) and things I think writers should just know. Tips will range from first-grade knowledge of the English language to Master's Degree expertise.

borrowed from Corner LOL

Question: Are we allowed to end sentences with prepositions?

Answer: Who the hell cares?

Okay, somebody cares. I never give this much thought. It goes under the umbrella of "write well", which is self-explanatory, right? Right? Er... Well, not once when editing or reading mss did I think, "This could be a best seller, if only that sentence didn't end with a preposition."

The "rule" never end a sentence with a preposition is completely misleading. Because it is extremely simple to fix, you simply end the sentence with something else. See image to the right.


Okay, so before we continue on, let's answer a related question (that, btw, no one has asked me... the writers get cookies).

Question: What is a preposition?

Answer: Anything an evil squirrel can do with a box. (Warning: the image below may contain violent content and may not be suitable for young children, women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant, anyone with heart or nervous disorders.)

borrowed from Outside My Window

In, Out, Around, Over, Under, Through, etc etc.

The Preposition Song, sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle (and find a full list of Prepositions here):

above, across, after, at,

around, before, behind,

below, beside, between,

by, down, during, for, from,

in, inside, onto, of,

off, on, out, through,

to, under, up, with

Well, okay, that's all fun. Now we know what a preposition is.

That's half the battle. Look at a page in your manuscript. Are all of your sentences ending with prepositions? Does an evil squirrel show up every time your plot needs some excitement? Does every one of your characters lift an eyebrow to show emotion? My point being, you need variety and you need to be self aware of everything you do. Know the rules so you can break them.

Happy writing!