Lying To Editors and Agents Is Not The Right Approach

I was scrolling through TikTok this weekend and an author was talking about the ultimate way to make sure editors and agents not only pay attention to you, but sign you. In this case, here is what she recommended.

Send in your submission and then follow it up with an email saying that there are a ton of other people wanting to read the project. She claims that agents immediately drop what they are doing, read your project and want to buy it.

Ummmm, no.

We know you send out simultaneous submissions. Sorry, but this common. But if you start claiming other people are begging for your project, and that is not true, that lie is going to come back and bite you in the butt.

Understand this. If I like your project, I am going to call and talk to you about the project. Your lie WILL come out in that discussion. To add to this, remember that an author-agent relationship is built on a big word TRUST.

If you are someone who lies, I cannot trust you.

There are far too many people out there claiming all of these tricks to get us to read your project and sign you. These are gimmicks. In the end, we want those stories that are quality. And we don't want lying and manipulative authors. 

Formatting Is The Least Of Our Worries (sort of)

I am always amazed at the number of authors out there, who, when sitting in an editor/agent panel have the chance to ask any number of questions, and yet, spend their time on formatting. Really? This is the best you can do?

The deal is that, for the most part, we are not so hung up on the formatting of your manuscript. Standard 12 pt. font that is double spaced is pretty much the standard. We know you are all working on different platforms, with different word processing programs, but how you set up your paragraphs, whether there is an extra space between your paragraphs is the least of our worries.

This obsession over formatting is really coming from the self-publishing models where you are entirely responsible for the layout and so forth. These documents need to be "digital ready" since no one else is assisting with that work.

The goal is that you turn in a document that is professional and easy to read. You need a document that everyone can access your work. I am stressing this especially for those of you who might be working with Open Doc formats. In cases such as this, I do recommend using Rich Text Format.

Just one more thing you don't have to obsess over.

Your Story Doesn't Go To Every Publisher

I am sure I have said this before, but it is always good to be reminded of a few things in this business.
When it comes to marketing your story to editors and agents, it is always important to remember that your project DOES NOT fit with every single place you send it to. Simply looking at the genre the editor or agent accepts does not mean it is right fit. The same goes for those of you submitting to Harlequin. Just because you have a contemporary romance of a certain word count DOES NOT mean it can go to everyone of the lines that have that same word count.

The voice of every different line is very unique. The types of characters and storylines they look for really does vary greatly from one place to the next.

As a writer, it is really your obligation to take the time to really research that publisher carefully before sending a project out. Even as an agent, I take the time to really look over all of the potential publishers that might take a specific project. There may be a lot of publishers out there, but the list gets to be much smaller once you start focusing your efforts.

Does this mean you sell the project? Not necessarily. But it may make a big difference down the road. Let me explain it this way. You have sent projects to all of these editors and really not taken the time to research if it is the right fit or not. You may have sent a lot of projects out to the same editors that are never the right match. And then you have the story that truly does fit. You may have shot yourself in the leg on this one because the editors are now used to use and projects that were so far off the mark that they cannot help but see this one in that same light.

Now, let me explain something. I am, in no way saying that you shouldn't query editors or agents with new projects. I am also not saying that just because you have been rejected once or twice by an editor or agent that they will always pass on your work. What I am saying is that if your projects have been so off the mark and were never the right fit, AND, it gave the impression to us that you haven't learned from these mistakes, you should expect that rejection.

The solution is simple. Take your time. Do your reseach. Read what they produce and make wise choices.

Why Agents Pick and Choose Our Projects - No, It Isn't About the EASY Sale

I think it is important for writers to understand why agents pick the projects we want to work with and why we pass on others. Despite what some writers seem to believe, we don't only select the projects that will make us a ton of cash with our select and exclusive group of editors we work with. But, with that said, yes, sales does factor into the project.

Obviously, agnets only make money when we sell books. That is just the simple, cold-hard truth. So, with that in mind, yes, we do look at whether or not we believe we can market that book in a fashion that we believe the author would want and one that will yield the best return for the author (and yes, for us too). But, our ability to sell that book comes down to several other factors that I do believe many author fail to remember.

First of all, we have to like the book. This is simple. If the book is something we don't enjoy, we simply won't have the enthusiasm to want to market it. I call this the brocolli principle. Think of the item(s) that we leave on our plate. In many cases (although not at my house) we leave the brocolli or some other food we just don't like. The same goes for the stories we as agents market. If we are totally in love with a project, we market it like crazy. It is the first thing that comes up in a conversation with editors or book buyers. We simply can't say enough. If we aren't completely crazy about it, we tend to forget it. It is simply off the radar. This is no reflection on the author or the book, it simply comes down to our connection to it.

Secondly, we have to love and understand the genre. Look, despite what some think, we as agents do not know every genre inside and out. Each genre has its own unique quirks and characteristics. Science fiction is much more than simply talking about distant planets and unique weapon and spaceship names. There is a unique voice. For that reason, we are likely going to pass on projects that fall into genres that we just are not connected enough with to provide the best editorial guidance. I'll be very honest, this is the reason I don't represent the fantasy and the sci-fi. I don't mind reading it, but it is just not in my realm of complete understanding. Hey, this is no different than mechanics. Sure, most engines work relatively the same way, but the differences are significant enough that mechanics specialize. The same goes for doctors, dentists, educators and so forth.

Next, there is the issue of who we currently have in our agency at the time of a new submission. If we already have a group of writers in that particular genre, we will not likely add a new writer in that genre for the simple reason that we don't want our writers to be in competition with each other. We would never want an editor to have to make a choice between two authors we represent. We don't mind it if they are writers at different agencies, but internally, this just isn't going to work.

Finally, there is the issue of connections. Yes, agents do meet a lot of different editors out there, but we don't know everyone. No, this is not an issue of being in New York, it simply comes down to the time we spend together at conferences. If we don't have the connections, we might not be able to fairly represent your book. In many ways, we are throwing darts just like many writers do when they mass query every agent or editor out there. Without the connection, the sales just doesn't go through. For me, this is one reason why I don't represent the general inspriational category. The connection necessary to dive into the CBA market are pretty extensive. There are agents out there that have those connections and for them, this is perfect.

Hopefully you can see that when we look at projects, there is a bit more than simply the quality of the book.

Scott