This was an interesting read! I've read quite a few lit agent interviews, but this one felt fresh--from both angles.
The questions from Alyssa were *good* questions, targeted to audience and guest. Most others I've read have been generic, and vague. Google-able, if that makes sense. And--whether or not I agree with the conclusions--Gideon made some good points. His suggestions actually feel actionable; he didn't give the same tired, sugar-coated "just my opinion" "everyone's writing is wonderful" "everyone has different taste" responses.
All that to say, this was well done. Thank you for posting. 😊
“For novelists, read high-quality contemporary fiction (and please don’t tell me everything being published today sucks).”
Except, it does. That’s part of the reason why literacy rates and book sales are on the decline. But since this take is coming from a literary agent who has to promote mediocre books, this is not surprising.
“If your manuscript is “nothing like anything that’s out there,” then that’s probably not a good thing.”
Even if your prose is objectively better than the average contemporary novel today? And didn’t you say you have to stand out to be a successful writer? Doesn’t that mean being “nothing like anything that’s out there”? Do you realise how contradictory your statement is?
This was an interesting read! I've read quite a few lit agent interviews, but this one felt fresh--from both angles.
The questions from Alyssa were *good* questions, targeted to audience and guest. Most others I've read have been generic, and vague. Google-able, if that makes sense. And--whether or not I agree with the conclusions--Gideon made some good points. His suggestions actually feel actionable; he didn't give the same tired, sugar-coated "just my opinion" "everyone's writing is wonderful" "everyone has different taste" responses.
All that to say, this was well done. Thank you for posting. 😊
“For novelists, read high-quality contemporary fiction (and please don’t tell me everything being published today sucks).”
Except, it does. That’s part of the reason why literacy rates and book sales are on the decline. But since this take is coming from a literary agent who has to promote mediocre books, this is not surprising.
“If your manuscript is “nothing like anything that’s out there,” then that’s probably not a good thing.”
Even if your prose is objectively better than the average contemporary novel today? And didn’t you say you have to stand out to be a successful writer? Doesn’t that mean being “nothing like anything that’s out there”? Do you realise how contradictory your statement is?
I just came across Gideon's profile while searching for authors to query. Wild.
*Wrote a thousand words today.*
*Looks at my laptop after reading this post.*
A thousand more it is!