Would/Has anyone used an agent for short stories?

[joeybee12]

I'm going to start shopping around a novel in the next few months (giving myself now a few months off to ignore it, then come back and see if it still works) but in the meantime I've been trying my hand at writing short stories. The idea is to try and get some publsihed in smaller literary magazines so I can have a publishing trail when I shop around the novel. However, I really like a couple of the stories, and would like to try to get them into some more widely-circulated magazines, hence I'd need an agent. Do you know if any agents take on this? Is it not worth their time (i.e., they ain't gonna make much money). I would think that in the past it would be easier to get an agent this way before everything got so market-driven.

Any advice is greatly appreciated! :hi:

[Boomer]

1. Agent advice

Most agents will not take on a novice writer for short-story submissions. As you already suspected, there simply isn't enough money in short story sales to be worth the risk of taking on an unproven author. Established writers, on the other hand, who can command top dollar and have a proven track record of sales, may have agents who will take on this duty.

The traditional approach for aspiring writers is to submit short stories on their own. If you actually get a few stories published, then you may be able to interest an agent in handling your novel submission. But bear in mind that it can take months, sometimes even years, to get stories published, so this is not a useful approach if you are on the verge of shopping a novel.

A most likely scenarior is that you will not be able to secure an agent until your first novel is accepted by a publishing house. Before signing the contract, find an agent to broker the sale -- with an offer in hand, getting an agent's attention won't be difficult.

For most writers, making that first sale can be a real bitch. It's a frustrating, time-consuming and emotionally draining experience that can take years. Just remember, though, that after years of rejection Stephen King was just about to quit when his wife fished his manuscript out of the trash. He gave it one last try and was golden.

Good luck.

[joeybee12]

2. Thanks...you always hear stories about how much rejection many

writers face...I recall just about everyone rejected "Politically Correct Fairy Tales" which turned out to be a monster hit.

I had considered trying small publishing houses directly instead of going through agents--thought they might be more receptive than many agenst these days. What do you think? Thanks again.

[smoogatz]

3. You don't need a "publishing trail" to publish a novel.

Lots of first novelists have never published anything prior. You do need an honest, reputable agent who loves your book and wants to get you a big advance. What published books are similar to yours? Go online and try to find the agents for those books. Send them a query letter about your manuscript (look online for examples): be sure to include a SASE and your name, address, phone number and email address. If they're interested, they'll get back to you (it may take a few weeks). They may ask to see a few pages, or the whole ms. You may go through this process a number of times before you find someone who likes your book well enough to take it on. It will undoubtedly take several months. It may well take a year or two. Write short stories if you love the form and feel that you have stories in you that can best be told in under twenty pages. Otherwise, forget it--for every Jhumpa Lahiri there are a thousand anonymous but talented short story writers out there slaving away in dead-end teaching jobs. Or waiting tables. Rule of thumb: a novelist has a chance, at least, of supporting him/herself by writing. Short story writers and poets are in roughly the same small, rickety boat, bailing away.

Here's a useful website for beginning the agent search: www.agentresearch.com

[joeybee12]

4. Thanks for the info...

...however, I do see in most agent listings that they want to know what you've published. You're right, you don't have to be published, but if you are, there's a greater chance of having someone actually at least look at your work.

I have gone about and done waht you suggested--finding the clients and books of agents so I can add something to my query like: My novel would be a good fit...yada, yada, and then try to find similar themes.

It's a pain in the butt, but I guess it has to be done!

[Boomer]

5. Catch 22

Its an insane obstacle: Publishers pay more attention to agented manuscripts, but agents won't handle your manuscript until you've been publsihed.

In truth, it's not impossible to get an agent, just really difficult. I was extremely fortunate in having a good friend who was an agent, so she was willing to read my manuscript and then was pleased enough with what she read to shop it around. (And yes, it got published.) So don't hesiate to follow ANY connection that may lead to getting an agent's attention. Just beware the one's who charge outlandish reading fees, because many of them are scam artists.

On the other hand, it's not impossible to pique editorial interest without an agent either. I had that happen once as well. So pick your poison.

The one VERY great advantage of getting your manuscript read by a reputable agent is that they will tell you whether the novel is of publishible quality or whether you're just wasting your time. And that's the advantage to an editor receiving an unsolicited ms. from an agent -- they won't be wasting their time reading dreck. The vast majority of editors are overworked and underpaid and have a stack of unsolicited manuscripts several feet high waiting to be perused in some free minute of the day.

Even though an editor can generally tell whether a book is even remotely marketable after reading a few pages (if not a few paragraphs), it can still take months for them to work through the slush pile.

I've led about a dozen writer's workshops (for a genre market) and I was constantly amazed at the people who had no clue whatsoever that their manuscript absolutely sucked. And NO ONE who begged for an honest opinion of their work was ever pleased to hear it, no matter how tactfully and gently it was worded.

Nonetheless, it always helps to get a disinterested opinion. Mothers, lovers, best friends, and co-workers don't count.

[joeybee12]

6. I tell you, getting even "interested" opinions is hard...

...most people don't want to critique, and a lot of people simply don't read anymore!

[Boomer]

7. Ain't that the truth

Critiques are emotionally draining on the critic as well as the criticized. Except for some literary sadists who enjoy abusing people, most people would rather encourage rather than discourage creative effort. Unfortunately, that delicacy about offering criticism undermines a writer's ability to learn and improve.

Whenever I read any less-than-glowing remarks about my work (and I've had my fair share of pans), I take a deep breath, try hard to park my ego to one side, and ask these two essential questions:

1. Is this valid criticism?

2. Is this pertinent criticism?

For instance, I once faced a reader's stinging remark that one of my books was "the worst book ever written!" because I had used the word "logarithm" instead of "algorithm." I assume that the criticism is valid since I (and the copyeditor) didn't know squat about mathematics.

Was it pertinent? Not in the slightest. This was a throw away piece of dialogue that had no bearing on the plot or much of anything else. If this degree of science nitpicking was the reader's criteria for a "good" book, then they would never find my books satisfying because my focus was on character, not science.

[joeybee12]

8. Hey, you should be taken out and shot for using logarithm!

Just kidding.

You know, people do love to criticize--just look at how some of the threads in some of the forums can get out of hand at times.

I got one scathing letter from an agent once. I was furious when I read it. Then I put it aside for a while, and then re-read with a cooler head. His criticism was actually valid; however, what it was about I thought was rather minor (like your experience) and easily fixed. I was tempted to write him back and say thank him, but do so in a snide sort of way. I ended up just dropping it, but have kept the letter (and other rejections) to know who not to go to the next time around!;-)

[OldLeftieLawyer]

9. The best way to find an agent

is to have a writer friend who already has an agent. That's the only sure-fire way I know of to get any reputable agent even to look at your work.

It's worse than a Catch-22, I swear, because there's no government agency to blame. In fact, it's just how it is. I thought it was terrifically unfair unti my agent told me a few years ago that her agency got over 50,000 submissions a year from people wanting anyone to read the work.

If you know someone who's already happily represented, I would urge you to ask him for an introduction. I would guess that the writer would want to read your work first, before passing you along to his agent (that's my deal with my agent), so don't be surprised by that.

Just keep in mind that "Everyone says 'no' until someone says 'yes,'" something my agent told me when everyone was turning down my first novel until someone at a big publishing house saw it and fell in love with it.

And whoever wrote about getting a "big advance" might want to reconsider that. Most first novels don't come close to making back the advance, and once you're in that computer, your next work might have a hell of a time getting any attention, let alone a "big advance." If you're lucky enough to get an agent who loves your work and sells it, be happy with a (smart) small advance.

I don't write short stories, but I've talked about doing some with my agent - who's very good and does great work - and she said that short stories were a very hard sell. I would guess that, for a new writer, they'd be an even harder sell. Personally, I find them an incredibly difficult and complex art form, but I'm a novelist, and I tend to run long.

Witness this post.

In any event, good luck.

[joeybee12]

10. Thanks for the info...

...I started short stories just to get a publishing trial which would help with getting an agent. I'm just going to send the stories around myself--some take them on-line--gotta love not having to pay that postage!

Another reason for the short stories is that I'm working on a novel, and when I get to a point where I feel I need a break (not really writer's block, but burn-out) I want to continue writing, but change my focus.

Thanks again.

[janx]

11. I hope you will write the stories because you love the form.

Sending them out sounds like a lot of work, and it is. Look at it this way: as long as you're sending them out, someone is reading them. It took me many years submitting stories to get one published, but I realized after awhile that as long as I got rejection letters in my mailbox, someone was reading my stories. It got to be a bit of a joke: some days I'd find two or three rejection letters in the mailbox. And once I got a rejection letter that turned out to be a mistake; the publisher wrote to me later and recanted.

Caution: Some publishers take online submissions, that's true. But you are likely to earn a better publication record if you take the time to mail your stories the traditional way.

[janx]

12. Also--

Some agents will represent your stories if they are already representing your novel, as a kind of courtesy. Other than that situation, it's really not worth their time.

[joeybee12]

13. Thanks for sharing...

...I kind of figured this part about agents representing as a courtesy--there's really no money in it, unless you're well-known enough to command a nice little sum for a short story in a major magazine...and then you're probably selling it on your name and reputation, and not on its own merits.

[joeybee12]

14. One other thng--have you ever sent more than one story at a time to a

magazine? I've noted in my writer's market that some don't mind, actually encourage that, but do you think that they're more apt to just get pushed aside than a single story would be? You know, lost in the shuffle?

Thanks.

[readmoreoften]

15. Advice to me from a major literary agent in NYC

I'm in NYU's MFA in fiction program and we meet w/ agents and publishers to discuss the industry. As a novelist, I asked whether I should get a better record of publication through short stories and the agent's advice was: do not waste your time.

She said that she was not interested in whether or not someone had SS creds, it would not help her sell the book. Similarly she said that there are only 6 imprints left in America who will even deal with short story collections from non-famous authors. The only way an agent can sell a SS collection is if they sell a novel with it.

It's always good to keep writing. Write the stories because you like writing stories, but know that it will be your novel that matters to them.

[joeybee12]

16. Thanks for the info!

Sorry it took me so long to respond!:hi:

[sundaybloodysunday]

17. Ever consider POD "print on demand" ?

I am in the process of finishing a series of short stories which I plan on publishing myself through a print on demand company called Aventine Press. I figured that if I can get my name out there and a publisher takes an interest in my work, I'll write some more :) The concept of short stories is great for someone like myself who does not have a book-driven concept yet.

[joeybee12]

18. Welcome to DU--so this would be a book of short stories?