Agent Advice from Twitter (and an internship announcement and a book winner!)

INTERNSHIP AVAILABLE!

Earlier this week, agent Carly Watters announced that P.S. Literary is accepting applications for two internships: Digital & Social Media Intern and Editorial Intern. Read her post HERE

BOOK WINNER

Random.org has spoken and the winner of Linda Urban's The Center of Everything (see my post/interview with Linda HERE) is...Kirsten Lopresti! Kirsten, please shoot me an email with your address and I'll get that shipped to you.

#askagent

Every once in awhile an agent takes to Twitter to answer questions about publishing. This past Sunday, agent  Jennifer Laughran (Andrea Brown Literary Agency) was nice enough to do just that. You can follow her at @literaticat. Here are some of the questions/answers from the session:

QUESTION: #askagent I see in the AR book finder that they use "LG" for lower grade. Can I query with this or should I say young MG or chapter book?

ANSWER: yes, I'd say chapter book/ young mg. "lower grade" is AR specific methinks, never heard a publishing person use it. #askagent

QUESTION: If an author has Self-pubbed on a small scale, does that affect your consideration of them for future MSs? Thoughts? #askagent

ANSWER: nah, just as long this is a fresh ms. #askagent

QUESTION: do publishers favor agents who are in NY, who they have a relationship with? #askagent

ANSWER: Relationships matter... BUT, some of the best agents in the country don't live in NY. #askagent

QUESTION: once a book gets bought by a publisher, what is the turn around time for print? #askagent

ANSWER: usually one to two years. Unless it is illustrated... Then longer.

QUESTION: does age matter? Would you offer rep to a college student if you had complete confidence in his/her work? Thnks!

ANSWER: sure... college students are adults. Why not. #askagent

QUESTION: real q: when did you know you wanted to be an agent?

ANSWER: when I met an agent and realized what they do. Which is a extension of what I already did, but moreso. :-)

QUESTION: what do you think of the digital only imprints like hydra? #askagent

ANSWER:  I'm interested in imprints that PAY and ARE FAIR TO authors. So. #askagent

QUESTION: What do you think will be the biggest change/shift in the next 5 years in publishing & book selling/consumption? #askagent

ANSWER: That's a thinky question! I think in many ways business has never been better... so. I'm not doom-and-gloomy. :-) #askagent

QUESTION: I'm writing a YA ms in diary form. Some entries r short. What's the preferred format when submitting 2 an agent? Page breaks? Thx! #askagent

ANSWER: presumably you'll have some indications of a new entry -- dates, or asterisks or something? Don't sweat it. #askagent

QUESTION: How does an author's website or social media presence affect your interest in a manuscript? #askagent Thanks!

ANSWER: I'd rather have a kickass book and an author with no social media presence, than a so-so book/great presence. #askagent