Jennifer March Soloway

Happy, happy book birthday to @sylvialiu.bsky.social's delightfully fun STEALING THE SCORE!

Hooray for this book, and congratulations, Sylvia!

⚽️ It's STEALING THE SCORE release day! I'm excited to share this fun World Cup-themed soccer mystery

I'm so grateful to the many people who made this book possible, so I'm sharing the acknowledgements.

⚽️Order a signed copy from my indie bookstore, Prince Books: bit.ly/StheSPB

It really depends on the author's goals. Do they prefer an agent that lives in the same country and the same time zone (which makes scheduling calls and meetings easier)? Do they wish to publish in a particular country more than another? I represent creators all over the world. Hope this helps!

Best of luck to you!

Thank you so much for spending the hour with me tonight. I appreciate your questions and hope I was able to share some insight.

Wishing all #writers and #illustrators and #book #creators the best of luck. I'm rooting for you!

As I want to know your goals, what's in the works, which projects are most important to you, what you might want to do someday, so I can discern whether or not I would be the right fit for you ongoing.

You deserve the best agent for your career, not just the project at hand. Hope that helps!

Good question. I suggest you focus the query on the project you are sharing with the agent. However, at the end of your query letter, you can mention that you have other projects in the works that you'd be happy to share.

When I have a call with a prospective client, I always ask as well

1/?

Likely, the answer is yes, but I won't know until I see it, and who knows, I might fall in love with your maximalist prose.

If you think I could be a good fit, try me.

Best of luck to you!

Or the market? For better or worse, books are competing with social media and other short forms, and it seems everyone's attention is fragmented. I have seen a trend toward shorter books, including shorter chapters, for shorter reading sessions. Does that trend include minimalist prose?

8/?

Now, maximalist prose. As you can tell, I am extremely long-winded (verbose, loquacious, an abuser of run-on sentences with multiple conjunctions and em-dashes), so I don't mind maximalism, as long as it is engaging and masterfully done.

So yes, I'm open to it, but are readers?

7/?

Every once in a while, I do encounter a terrific, polished manuscript with a dynamite prologue, followed by a fabulous book, and in such cases I fall in love with both and offer rep right away!

It's old advice, but to break the rule, you must master it first.

Hope that helps!

6/?

Or when I read a confusing prologue but then fall in love with the chapter (and the rest of the book), I might suggest to the author to let the prologue go, that I don't think it's necessary. Then the author can decide if they like my note/vision. If so, great! If not, I'm not the right fit.

5/?

When I read an exciting prologue followed by a first chapter that's much slower, I find myself wishing I could continue reading the story introduced in the prologue. In such cases, I usually pass and let the author know I'd love to see a revision.

4/?

(b) confusing and vague, but then page one of the first chapter feels like the beginning of the book and launches the story in a great way

3/?

...(a) super exciting and engaging, but then page one of the first chapter starts somewhere else in time and place that feels jarring or quiet or both,

or

2/?

Ah, I love this question! To prologue or not to prologue, that is the question. (More on maximalist prose in a moment.)

Prologues are tricky. When they work well, a prologue can be masterful! But in early drafts, when a writer hasn't quite figured out the story, a prologue can either be...

1/?

Oh, wow, that's a big team full of twins and duos!

Would you ever want to do individual projects?

I suggest you first talk through these questions to know where each other stands. Once you know, you can decide which option is the best fit for you.

Does that make sense? Hope that helps. Good luck!

Additionally, if you are team, how do you wish to split the earnings? Ex., sometimes an artist will receive a larger advance, to enable them live/eat while creating the art, but then the two creators will share the royalties evenly.

4/?

If not, you might still want separate representation. (Again there are pros and cons for both options.)

3/?

Would the author want to write separate projects (novels, PB with another artist)?

If so, would you want the same agent? Or would you want separate representation? (There are pros and cons for both options.)

2/?

If you are an author-illustrator team, I suggest you first take a step back and talk about your goals. Do you only want to create books as a team? Would you ever want to take on projects individually? Ex: would the illustrator want to illustrate other texts?

1/?

I can answer both situations, but I want to make sure I understand your question and address it to best help you.

Great question. Are you both author-illustrators working individually? Or are you author + illustrator team?

Happy Wednesday, #writers!

Got questions? Need tips on #querying or #writing or #revising?

Please reply and ask me anything. I'm here and happy to help!

#StarlingLit

me, stating a plain and simple truth to my wife just now: “I am incapable of having fun! I have a stick up my ass and am deeply whimsyless”

Today is a reading day (both client manuscripts and #queries).

If I see any #JMSQueryBoxTrends or think of a #WriteTip or #QueryTip, I will share insight.

Wishing you a great #writing / #revising day and weekend!

Cuddle up with a book! (Thank you @msyingling.bsky.social for including STRANDED!)

They are probably just running behind with heavy reading queues. (I can relate; I am behind, too. Even with the best intensions, it's hard to manage the heavy reading load.) I know the wait is frustrating. If I were you, I would keep querying and trying other agents.

Good luck!

There are a few pitches I fell in love with that I still think about. Sadly, the pages weren't polished enough to be ready for my representation, and I had to pass. But the premises were terrific!