FictionAddiction.NET

Q: My current agent has pulled out of the fiction submitting business. As I begin to look for another agent, do I tell them in my query letters that info and the houses my novel was previously submitted to? I’d appreciate any help in constructing that kind of letter. -Susan

A: I’m sorry about your situation with the agent—that must be frustrating. As to what you disclose in your hunt for new representation, you should definitely let a prospective agent know the status of the manuscript, and the publishing houses it’s been sent to (and preferrably the names of the editors who’ve seen it, if you’ve got them). You want a new agent to be able to do his or her best work for you, and they can’t if they don’t have all the information they need. Consider the alternative—if the agent wants to represent your work, best to have all the cards on the table upfront for a better long-term working relationship.

As for your query letter, I would include a paragraph regarding the manuscript’s status after your pitch for the book, and let the agent know which publishing houses have seen the manuscript already (and whether it’s still under consideration at any of them) in an attachment. Let the agent know you will also provide specific names of editors if the agent would prefer it (assuming you can get them). Frankly the fact that your agent is no longer representing fiction is no reflection on the quality of your work, and it could be to your advantage that one agent has already agreed to represent your work.

Anne Bowling
Editor of 2001-2005 Novel & Short Story Writer's Markets
Writer's Digest Books