When Do You Unveil Your Work in Progress to Your Agent?
You’re slaving over your latest manuscript, denying yourself movies, TV shows, reading for pleasure — insert the carrot you hold in front of yourself here — all in the name of finishing your latest novel or non-fiction project. Now, for the sake of this argument, you already have an agent. When do you show your latest concoction to your agent? Do you wait until the manuscript is finished? Do you show to friends first? Wait for input from writing partners? Or do you just send it off when you feel it’s ready, relying on your own gut?
Bill Tancer posted: 19 Jan at 8:49 pm
I’m a nonfiction writer, so my interactions with my agent might differ from the novelist/agent relationship. I’m constantly throwing ideas out to my agent at very early stages, she acts as devil’s advocate, helping me test for marketability.
Warren Orlando posted: 19 Jan at 9:32 pm
Somebody wanna hook a brutha up with an agent?
Eric posted: 20 Jan at 12:00 am
Agents care about only one thing: Can they sell it. They will prefer 50 pages of something that’s got a clear sales pitch to an entire manuscript whose marketability is unclear. Say, “This is a story about outer-borough New Yorkers far from the glamor.” Or, “This is a magical realism story brought up to date with modern neuroses.” Or, “This is about a Pakistani-American girl who is caught between cultures, wearing mini-skirts to school even though her parents are also arranging a marriage for her.”