This week, I received word that I secured a one-on-one meeting with a literary agent at the forthcoming James River Writers Conference in October.
This won’t be my first time meeting with an agent, but I hope this opportunity will be better spent. Last time, I didn’t have much focus or confidence. I had a completed novel–a real train wreck, if I look back on it–and I had brought my query letter with me. Instead of letting the agent read it, I just talked about my novel in a very scattered way. The agent said I could submit, but I never even received a form rejection.
That was three years ago. I’m wiser, now. I want things to go differently.
But this time, I don’t have a completed novel. My initial desire was to have an agent read over my first page and tell me yay or nay in terms of overall quality. But, now I’m wondering if that’s a best use of time (8 brief minutes). I also have several questions I wouldn’t mind asking said agent:
- What’s the best book you’ve read this year?
- What’s the rising trend in Speculative Fiction?
- What do you think about novellas?
I’d still like to get an agent’s eye on my first page. I feel like her initial reaction could be very beneficial. Will she groan because my mc is a werewolf? Or will she say, “Seems interesting, I’d keep reading.” Even though I know she’s just one person, getting agent feedback face-to-face is such a rare opportunity, I feel I’d be silly to pass it by without at least spending two minutes on my first page.
So, what would you ask if it was you and you did not have a completed novel to pitch? And how have your experiences gone when engaging an agent at one of these confereneces? Do you find breaking the alotted time into blocks helps cover all your areas of interest? Please leave a comment or word of advice! We’re all in this writing thing together!
Endless Edits 