I am thinking of submitting a manuscript electronically to a US agency. Has anyone done this? Are there any potential pitfalls that I should be aware of? If anyone has feedback on doing it this way, please let me know.
H

I'd be interested to know why you're thinking of doing this? I've heard they have successful genres there that don't sell here. Also that US agents are more available to new writers. It's a tempting thought.

Dee

Those are primarily the reasons Dee. I have heard, here and elsewhere, that anything in the fantasy/scifi genre is more likely to get a kick start over there, and that there are more opportunities for new writers. However, for some reason I just don't trust all those miles, and I don't (not sure why not!) trust a request for an entire manuscript prior to seeing a sample. Personally I am much more keen on trying to get a result in the UK, but I was thinking that if after a year or maybe 18 months I was still trying, it might be a way to go. meanwhile, I have had submission guidelines from an agency that requests the entire ms by email. Also, looking at their terms and conditions, the process <after> acceptance is not cost free - I wondered if that was normal practice in the US or not. Seems a bit odd to get a potential author to sign up and then ask for money post contract.
H

Heather, which agency is this?

I was just on the website of S T Literary Agency...they ask for an emailed complete ms as well - no synopsis. I still need to read terms and conditions.

I have to admit that I've been tempted also to submit to agencies in the US so I'm glad you've asked this question Heather.

Nahed

Well, I've searched their website and there are no terms and conditions on it. They claim to read every script/ms sent to them and they encourage new writers. They also like to deal with writers outside the US. I've read their FAQs and it all seems straightforward enough and appear to be a very proactive agency. It'll be interesting to hear if anyone has tried submitting work to US agencies and if they further with them than their British counterparts.

<Added>

that should be: got further with them

Hi Nahed - yes it's the same agency - ST. I just had an email from them in reply to my enquiry saying they would like me to send a full MS. So i went back to their site, and if you hunt around (can't find it now - blast!), it says no fees prior to an author being accepted, but on acceptance a contribution is requested towards the cost of 'printing and binding'??? I have never seen a request like that before from an agency, so am a little wary. What do you think?

This is begining to look like a vanity publisher... They must have them in the States. I would be very wary.

ee.

Printing and binding???

Oh they mean printing and binding your emailed manuscript so they can send it out to the publishers in hard copy. I suppose they have every right to request that...I've no idea if Literary Agents do that here after you've been accepted by them. For those of you who have agents - it would be good to know if this is the norm.

Dee...it's a literary agent not a publisher. Maybe they work differently in America?

I remember it saying on the FAQs that once accepted, they send out to 10 publishers at a time (or interested parties as they called them). I suppose there's a bit of cost involved. I don't know how Agents work so I don't know Heather...Katie (Elspeth) would definitely be able to help with this.

yes, it would make sense as they are accepting ms's by email. I don't think they are a vanity publisher. But, I would have thought confidence in the product would lead them to expect a return via commission rather than upfront charges for preparing works for presentation. Maybe I'm wrong and its the way the US business works. The part of the site that says it seems a bit hard to find - I looked twice just now and couldn't find it again!

With no reference to the above whatever, I was talking to a friend who used to live in the states and wrote a book that was taken up by an agent. The agent then arranged a series of 'parties' to which publishers were invited to be sold new works. The friend then got the bill for the parties! sadly the book never found a publisher. Makes you feel a bit like Daniel skipping gaily into the lions den!!

I'm on the wrong side of the business...I shoulda been a publisher in the US. Free parties, free food and drink with no obligation to buy. Your poor friend!! I would be so bitter if that happened to me. I don't know...I'm with you about feeling a little wary because of the distance between you and the agent with the agent not being in the same country...you can't go and take the air out of their tyres if they take the p*ss and mess you about. Only kidding...I would never do that!!!

No, but seriously, at least with the UK agents and publishers - you can familiarise yourself with the guidelines they have to work by and it just feels safer etc...it's a different ball game in America. I think I would definitely leave it as a final option.

I can’t go into detail at the moment but my toe has been dipped into the US market and I’ve been led to believe that the system over there is much the same as here.

Certainly, in this country, publishers don’t want manuscripts bound before they get them. On a practical level they like to have the pages loose, just as you send them to an agent, so they can take a handful of pages or a chapter to read when and where it suits them. The most they want is a couple of rubber bands to hold it together in transit. My agent submits to one publisher at a time, giving them a deadline of 2-4 weeks, and he sends them the copy from the author.
If, for any reason, an agent would have to print out another copy, s/he would charge the author the direct cost of that. Personally I think it would be absolutely unacceptable for an agent to go to the unnecessary expense of printing and binding many copies of a manuscript to send out multiple submissions to publishers.

The reason we pay agents is for their experience and their contacts in order to fast-track submissions to publishers. The difference is one month, sent from an agent (with the implication from the agent that the ms has been read and is considered worthy of consideration) or nine to twelve months, sent direct (with an implication that this is a dogturd not worth reading because no agent will touch it). So I can’t see any reason why they can justify multiple submissions, whichever side of the pond they happen to be on.

In the final accounting – any expenses incurred in selling a manuscript to a publisher should be deducted from royalties earned as a result of the sales on the published book. If an agent – wherever they are – doesn’t have the confidence to stand the cost of photocopying a manuscript they are in the wrong business.

Dee.


<Added>

Just re-read this and realised that 'dogturd' might seem a little harsh to people who haven't gone down the agent route. It's just that I get the impression that some (not all) publishers assume that direct submissions are ones that have failed to attract an agent. I could be wrong but it might be worth bearing in mind.

Dee.

In the final accounting – any expenses incurred in selling a manuscript to a publisher should be deducted from royalties earned as a result of the sales on the published book. If an agent – wherever they are – doesn’t have the confidence to stand the cost of photocopying a manuscript they are in the wrong business.

My sentiments exactly Dee. So...you can't go into too much detail huh?? You tease you!

Since there seems to be quite a bit of interest in submitting to the US, and in fantasy, I thought it was worth repeating my recent reply to Heather (copied below) in case anyone missed it. I have used Writers' Market (details and link below) to submit to the US, and found it to be very reliable. It will tell you which agents/publishers accept e-submissions and/or give you a link to their websites so you can find out.

For anyone worried about vanity publishers and the like, it's worth checking this site:

http://www.sfwa.org/beware/

although it's a sci-fi/fantasy site, it covers all kinds of publishers in its 'beware' pages.


Heather,

IB has succinctly summed up the current state of play in the publishing world. But if you’re still not put off, there are lots of things you can do towards working out what to do with your book. If you want to be sure it’s fantasy, then do some research on what constitutes that genre. There’s a very good book on writing sci-fi and fantasy by Orson Scott Card (check it out on Amazon). There are also two excellent websites, Locus Magazine and the Science Fiction Writers of American (links below).

If you decide your book is adult fantasy, you’d be well advised to try the US. I spoke to the editor of the biggest UK fantasy publishers recently and she convinced me that it’s now extremely difficult for new UK fantasy writers to get published in the UK. Which is crazy when you think it shouldn’t matter when the subject matter is made-up worlds! But certainly the US is where it all happens in fantasy (well, in more ways than one). I’ve also spoken to UK fantasy writers who have found agents and publishers in the US. These days, it’s not so difficult to approach them – some even let you email your query letter/first few chaps. If you decide to go this route, I’d strongly recommend subscribing to a US writers’ site – Writers’ Market (link below). It’s only about £2 a month (and you can cancel any time), and is very easy to check out all fantasy agents and publishers in the US (and some in other parts of the world). Entries include up to date info on what a particular agent/publisher is looking for at present, and quite often a percentage breakdown of manuscripts they accept from new, established and agented authors.

If you decide to try the UK, as Sue says, the two writers’ handbooks will list agents and publishers. A good idea is to look at the client list for an agent then check out each author’s books on Amazon. This will give you a good idea of what that agent looks for. For instance, they may list ‘fantasy’ as one of their areas, but you might then find that there is a heavy bias in the clients’ books towards, say, dark fantasy whereas yours might be high fantasy (genres within genres!).

Finally, it’s worth joining the British Fantasy Society. It’s a pretty chaotic bunch but they do have regular get-togethers (usually in London) where you can meet other writers, editors, etc. And they hold an excellent convention once a year (in Stafford last time) where, for instance, top fantasy editors hold free workshops. There is of course quite a bit of snobbery against genre writing, like fantasy. But in terms of writing support, writing classes, conventions, etc, I’ve found it to be streets ahead of ‘proper’ literature, whatever that is.

Good luck.

Terry

http://www.locusmag.com

http://www.sfwa.org/

http://www.writersmarket.com/index_ns.asp

http://www.britishfantasysociety.org.uk/bfsindex.htm


<Added>

If you live near Colchester, there is an excellent independent bookshop on the high street - Red Lion Books. It stocks all kinds of books but specialises in fantasy. Terry Pratchett and David Gemmell have done signings and talks there. Have a chat with the owner, Peter Donaldson, who very knowledgeable and helpful.

I think you have confirmed my feeling too Dee. If an agent is going to print and bind 10 copies to send simultaneously, they should recoup their costs from sales - and it sounds as if it could work out pretty expensive for the author if he/she is paying!
H