Being forward thinking has its drawbacks, I guess. I began querying my epic fantasy about a year and a half ago, and in my queries I commented that it was the perfect time to pick up such a book due to the forthcoming Game of Thrones and Hobbit movies. I got some requests from some really great agents but they all ended up saying 'close but not what I'm after right now'.
So, now Game of Thrones has actually come out, and as I knew it would be, it is huge. I expect a few agents are now interested in taking a fresh look at epic fantasy stories. I dislike the fact that I now feel I can't requery any of the many agents I tried already. It's sad, because one of them might actually consider my story in a fresh light now. Heck, George R. R. Martin was the very inspiration for my story, in style at least, though my story is very different. Wouldn't it have been better for an agent to do the work with me to polish the story a year and a half ago so that it could be ready for publishing now when the fire is hot, rather than only now showing interest in epic fantasy?
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Midnight Died Tonight
20 minutes ago
Yes it would, but only if they knew that the show would be a hit. Sometimes these shows fail massively.
ReplyDeleteWhy not retry the agents who said close? Remind them of their comments, of the success of the show and see if they are interested now. The worst they can do is say no.
I know what you're saying, yet for some reason I never doubted for a moment that this one would be done right. Perhaps it was because of how well I have gotten to 'know' Martin online, so I felt there was no way he would allow it to be done less than very well.
ReplyDeleteContact them again!
ReplyDeleteNomads, are you Wendy? If so, I never knew you came here! The problem is that agents are pretty explicit about not recontacting them about a query they once rejected.
ReplyDeleteUNLESS you've reworked the ms. If you have reworked it, many of them say to recontact them and they'll have a second look. Now after that "second chance," if they're still not interested, you need to look for other agents. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteVictoria, I haven't reworked it enough to count. I want to finish the new book first, and perhaps even the next fantasy novel, before I take a fresh look at this first one.
ReplyDeleteI would argue that the new opening and some other revisions you've made would qualify as substantial revision. I plan on querying agents again who said no before, since mine is now told from an entire different POV. It's not like they're going to remember one query from over a year ago, and if they do the worst they can say is no.
ReplyDeleteYou finished your revision to 1st person, Matt? That was a big job. How did the word count end up?
ReplyDeleteSo try a new batch of agents and publishers!
ReplyDeletei keep thinking (though i know nothing about anything, of course) that what's going to work for you is that your going to write this prequel to the shard- that's going to get you hooked up with an agent, and they'll pub the shard after the new one... with mayb one or two inbetween... :)
ReplyDeleteI would absolutely try them again. Tighten up the query, and go for it. I've done it twice with my books. Got partials on the second go round.
ReplyDeleteand if none of the agents sent you feedback, then they probably won't remember you or the book.
QUERY THEM!!! If its been that long, I'm sure you've made revisions. Query them again!! (and let us know what happens)
ReplyDeleteBest of luck!
The number of agents that rep fantasy continues to decrease. I scratch five off my list every time I have a new ms to query. The fact that many that do were openly requesting epic fantasy submissions tells me they were planning for the HBO effect. So querying "a new batch" as Alex suggests is incredibly hard, assuming you queried the full breadth of fantasy agents currently out there (the number is depressingly small).
ReplyDeleteI have queried mss a second time, but never with the same query. If you don't have a new query and/or a revised manuscript, then you'll likely find the same results as before.
That's my feeling, too, Joseph. I appreciate those trying to be encouraging, but I think my chance on this one came and went. I will try to do better with my new book, and maybe someday the first one will still get its shot.
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