Writing is all about following rules and knowing when to break them. We observe the rules of grammar and usage, but then we flout them to create a unique narrative voice or make our dialogue more authentic. Our stories emerge in the context of literary conventions about genre, style, and audience, but the best stories defy and reshape those conventions. The rules only get stricter when we finish our books and try to publish them.
Like all gatekeepers, literary agents establish rules for entry into their domain, and their grasp of the rules publishing houses and editors impose earns them a fifteen percent commission of their clients’ profits. However, as is the case for that better known category of agents—real estate agents—literary agents do a lot of uncompensated work. Many literary agents who appear in Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents claim to have a rejection rate of ninety-nine percent. In order to cut down on the huge number of query letters they receive, they have clear submission guidelines that include injunctions against such no-nos as sending email attachments or making telephone inquiries. Many of the most successful agents simply inform writers that they “do not accept unsolicited queries.” In other words, they prefer to sign on clients through direct referrals or they just do not want more clients.
Recently, I sensed that my novel Blind Girl’s Bluff had such a strong connection with the work of another writer that I chose to break the “no unsolicited queries” rule. This resulted in the agency requesting "a few chapters," and my hope is that the agent feels the same enthusiasm for my novel that she presumably felt for those of her client. Whatever the outcome, I will not regret what confirmed for me the importance of being pushy—albeit gently and selectively. My guess is that breaking this rule with a more generic query (without an explicit connection between my work and that of the agent’s client) would have been unlikely to generate interest, and it is not my goal to waste anyone's time.
This leads me to propose a new rule: if you are going to break the agent hunting rules, you better have a good reason. While this approach may not always pay off, we can console ourselves with the knowledge that in taking such risks we writers have nothing to lose except our one percent chance of getting published.
Here's to keeping my fingers crossed on your book! And yay for being pushy ( in a nice gentle way :-))
Karen
Posted by: Karen Kane | 04/06/2011 at 08:42 PM