It'll depend on the agent. Some agents want commercial fiction, others want literary fiction (though the ones who want literary fiction still need to "sell" the work, so any work of literary fiction today will need to have some commercial appeal). Which is why there's a suicide and an FBI agent in my literary fiction novel.
Thanks for sharing. Being a Swede who ended up in New Jersey via Beijing a long time ago, I find the American system with Literary Agents intimidating. In Sweden, you send the manuscript directly to the publisher and in 3-4 months you have your rejection. Here there are thousands of agents and once you found legit ones, you need to target the ones you hope will be open to your particular work. My question is, how did you pick 151? Did you skip targeting or?
As a debut author, I can't afford to be that picky. Most successful queries will get a 5-10% response rate, and most authors need about 10-12 full MS requests before getting signed. The math works out to about 150 queries in that case. This is about what I'm seeing in recent years for what it takes to get signed as a debut author.
Absolutely no room to be shy. I have learned that what works best in this world is bothering people who never asked to be bothered until something clicks.
Just curious, does your query letter or opening chapter also emphasize the entertainment value of the work in addition to the social/literary value?
Do you mean my materials personally or queries in general?
More of a general question. In other words, are agents more interested in lighter (presumably more salable) fiction or literary fiction?
It'll depend on the agent. Some agents want commercial fiction, others want literary fiction (though the ones who want literary fiction still need to "sell" the work, so any work of literary fiction today will need to have some commercial appeal). Which is why there's a suicide and an FBI agent in my literary fiction novel.
Life is to art as those grapes are to wine. Big Love, you are a loving and brilliant creature. 🌺🕊️
Thanks for sharing. Being a Swede who ended up in New Jersey via Beijing a long time ago, I find the American system with Literary Agents intimidating. In Sweden, you send the manuscript directly to the publisher and in 3-4 months you have your rejection. Here there are thousands of agents and once you found legit ones, you need to target the ones you hope will be open to your particular work. My question is, how did you pick 151? Did you skip targeting or?
As a debut author, I can't afford to be that picky. Most successful queries will get a 5-10% response rate, and most authors need about 10-12 full MS requests before getting signed. The math works out to about 150 queries in that case. This is about what I'm seeing in recent years for what it takes to get signed as a debut author.
So maybe this is not a business where you should be shy... Or a humble Swede. ;-)
Absolutely no room to be shy. I have learned that what works best in this world is bothering people who never asked to be bothered until something clicks.
You're smart! I hope to read your novel one day soon!