Quote:
Originally Posted by neilmarr
Most, though (I'm an editor, not an agent), tend to adopt my approach to submissions. I don't have time to help develop authors who we have not worked with in the past. From a well, written and tight synopsis, I get a pretty good idea of the potential of a story and its characters. From a couple of sample chapters, I can weigh up whether the author is YET skilled enough to follow through.
|
Thanks, Neil! I agree, John's approach is unusual, and I don't expect many agents or editors to be so thorough. I intend to approach my agent search as I would a job hunt, in that I'm looking for someone I'll enjoy working with, not just anyone who'll have me! Some authors like their agent/editor to be totally hands-off, others like/need more guidance. It's a two-way street
Personally I'm open to suggestions on how to improve a given book (because after umpteen edit passes one develops severe story blindness!), but I'm confident that my writing is pretty much on target overall. It would be foolish in this day and age to expect an agent to take on a client whose writing did not already show acceptable levels of talent!