Here's the deal,

I've written two books, both quite different, one fiction, one non-fiction and both are ready to roll! My dilema is this, which do i try to sell first? Or is it acceptable to approach Agents/Publishers with both at once? Or maybe push one and mention the second? I was thinking of approaching Agents who represent both fiction and non, so i wont have to swap and change agents when i get a deal. I wanna get this right so any help would be gratefully received.

If it was me, I'd approach the relevent agents at the same time - life's too short...
Even if you post them to an agency that deals with fiction and non-fiction they won't go to the same agent - and you need to address the envelopes and covering letters to the relevent agents, and not bung them in the same envelope.

I would treat them as separate entities: an agent who deals with fiction is unlikely to be interested in non-fiction, and vice versa. Although, saying that, it might be worth mentioning the other manuscript briefly if you have a C.V. section in your covering letters.

Thanks for that,

yes i agree. Lifes too short. I guess the more i send out the better the chance of a result.

I think this is good advice. There are agents who deal with both, (though as far as I know, no editors) but even then I'd be inclined to treat selling your two books as completely separate operations. An agent who likes one but not the other (which is really quite likely) might turn you down all together, rather than face the embarrassment of telling you they don't think they can sell your novel.

Plus, bear in mind that the best agent for one kind of work may not be the best for another, even if they say they represent both. A friend of mine has no less than three agents: one for her adult fiction, one for her children's fiction, and one for her plays.

If you get as far as an agent reading a ful MS and talking about taking you on, then you can mention that you have this other book, and what do they suggest you do with it? It may be that there's someone else in the agency who would represent it.

Emma

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I meant separate but simultaneous operations. At the synopsis-and-chapters stage, there's no need to tell them all about each other anyway.

Hi Ferdy, and welcome.

You almost certainly need to approach different agents with these, although you could try seeking two in the same agency.

Before you start firing off though, you might benefit from posting a few chapters on here for feedback. For instance, how many people have seen your fiction? Are they writers? Are they analytical readers? Certainly where fiction is concerned, you only get one shot at an agent – so make sure your work is as good as it can get before you send it to them.

Good luck

Dee

Indeed good advice also,

you're right of course, Agents do tend to specialise, so i will certainly be thinking about the two books as completely different submissions.

Thanks.

Dee,

Yes, maybe the same agency with differrent agents. Im torn to be honest. But great idea to post it here first...can i do that? I just joined tonight so am new to the site.

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Both my books have been read quite extensively by family and friends, and ive had some feed back, both positive and critical, which i have agreed with and acted on.

Just upload a small section – no more than 2000 words to start with. You’ll find that the shorter the piece, the more likely you are to get feedback. And you’ll get even more if you read other members’ work and give them feedback.

The way to do it is to go to Upload Work in the top right hand corner of any page, and follow the directions. Make sure you set it so it’s only visible to WW members, otherwise it’ll be visible to search engines. And use the feedback buttons to let us know what level of comment you're looking for.

DON’T FORGET – until you're a paid up member, you can only upload one piece of work, and you can't edit it once it’s posted. (these restrictions are lifted for members) So make sure you're reasonably happy with it before you post.

I beleive there are more fiction writers on WW than n-f, so you might want to think about uploading your fiction first.

Dee

Hi Dee,

Ok, thanks, yes i've seen the upload work link. Ill go with the advice and start with the fiction. It will be great to see what everyone thinks...at last some really unbiased opinions. I think friends and family are too kind sometimes despite my asking for total honesty.

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Oh by the way, is this one piece of work at a time, or just one piece in total? Can i take one off and put the other on after a while?

It's just the one, until you become a paid-up member. After that you can post one piece every two days, and leave them on as long as you wish.

Dee

I think friends and family are too kind sometimes despite my asking for total honesty

Not only that, but if they don't have an editorial eye, they simply won't be able to tell you where any problems lie. And you only get an editorial eye by critiquing, so reading other people's work and commenting on it is very beneficial to the serious writer.

Welcome aboard!

And you only get an editorial eye by critiquing, so reading other people's work and commenting on it is very beneficial to the serious writer.

Very good point, Colin! I suppose I knew that but had never thought about it consciously.

Although I'm quite new to WW I've been regularly critting for a while now - I do it monthly by email with a group of writing friends - and I know I've got much better at it since we began. I used to edit technical articles professionally but critting fiction is a bit different.

Deb

Ferdy, there is a very useful thread on critiquing on the Lounge forum. It's worth paying the membership fee to read the stuff posted on there, which is closed to non-members.

Basically, politely thank anyone who critiques your work, but don't swallow everything hook line and sinker. You need to learn which bits to take on board and which to ignore, and that only comes with experience.

Thanks everyone, your ideas, help and guidance is really appreciated. Im sorting out a chapter to post on here so you can all have a look at it, and i will indeed read others work as well. I have considered the full membership already, and may do that as well. Thanks again.

I'd certainly send each to a different agent, as in my experience agents prefer you to have similar ideas in mind for the follow-up, if you see what I mean. Submitting two entirely unrelated projects to one agent doesn't look terribly committed, if you see what I mean. Best of luck with it, anyway.