Face-to-face agent critiques give writers like us that
chance to gather feedback from working agents.
To make the most of your next opportunity, remember that the
conversation should start, but don’t stop, with your manuscript. Keep the opportunities to learn coming with
these five tips:
1. Review the critique. Hopefully you had a chance to read her
comments ahead of time. If not, quickly read over what she had to say. This is not the time to defend your work; do
that later with your critique group. Instead, take this opportunity to learn. Ask for clarification. Or bounce an idea off her on how to fix
something. Agents love it when you take
their suggestions seriously.
2. Discuss your work in general. Let the agent know where your work has
already appeared. If you’re someone with
a track record, let her know. Discuss how
this manuscript fits into your work in general.
That said, keep it brief unless she is asking you questions. But also be ready with questions for
her. Is your work too diverse? Should
you specialize? What advice does she
have for someone trying to break into x genre?
3. When is an author is ready for an agent? Most of us look for agents because we hate
marketing and we want the opportunity to publish at closed houses. That’s a no brainer. But find out what this agent looks for in a “ready
writer.” Is it a specific number of sales?
Number of polished manuscripts ready to go?
4. What recommendations does she have for new clients? Some agents advise new clients to read
certain how-tos or even certain titles in their genre. What does this agent recommend? If you ask her this even though she has no
interest in acquiring you as a client, you are showing her that you are ready
to learn.
5. What other recommendations does she have for you? This is a catch-all question but what piece
of information does she have for you that she hasn’t had a chance to
share? It might be something about your
manuscript, your body of work, or even the name of a fellow agent that you
might consider approaching.
A face-to-face critique is a great opportunity to learn, but
you can’t learn if you do all of the talking or even most of the talking. Ask open ended questions that can’t be
answered with a simple yes or no. Once you get her talking, you have the
opportunity to listen and learn.
--SueBE
Sue is the instructor for our course, Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults. The next session begins on September 7, 2015.
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