publishing advice and query letter feedback.

Can we have a publishing thread? Planning to start reaching out to agents. Was wondering if any anons have advice or experience to share? A few things I found: https://queryshark.blogspot.com/ : A literary agents blog full of critiques of query letters. Useful to understand both what is expected and what makes an effective pitch. https://querytracker.net : The best site I found to search for agents and keep track of queries you've sent. Last: wondering if anyone can critique my query letter.

Hey. I am interested in this. Don't have any experience personally just a finished project on the side and I have to start searching for a sci-fi oriented agent. From what I have gathered, one has to read extensivelly things that the agent has produced / helped publish and then write accordingly, so one has to take some time to scour through the agent's content. I see no other reliable (and honest) way to approach an agent. I plan to move ahead with reading and analysing some of their works soon, to find my niche and a rational-well fitting agent.

>>10845 Forgot to comment on your critique letter. I think it is pretty solid and compact for its size. Got me curious and I can already visualize some of the plot points and flow. A few points. Not sure how you apply Neo and New to everything. It mostly seems like paint, making the concepts but a prefix addition. I would like to see it expanded on how this is "new" compared to today I guess (or the old west). Just saying that quantum realities are accepted and proven in that setting kinda puts a general idea on what to expect, but then again quantum things are infinatelly expanding. It is infinatelly generalising, ultimatelly playing on plot points that are invisible on a cover letter. One way you already kind of show that is by promising plot points connecting to the Red man and the quantum russian roulette, but I think a more concrete description of such a plot point may help. I am guessing out my ass here, but I suppose a quick and cryptic sentence on how this roulette game is played would help. This might also help reduce the descriptions of the world and compact the letter. >... -- the train has had a malfunction, we ask your patience during certain unavoidable delays -- welcome to the Immaterial Age. I like this, but it doesn't really reveal whether there is a comedic tone to the project, plain old etiquette, or perhaps some looming horror (as the Red man implies by existing here and there). I assume you play a lot on the Mysterious, but maybe it would be better to replace that train mulfunction announcement with (i really dont know what is written in the project) some in-book quote about something very cryptic/ horrifying/ mysterious? Not sure if you should include self criticism where you believe some of your shortcomings. This is not a good idea probably, but maybe there is something specific you are looking from a specific agent. It is funny because I am also using "Immaterial" a bit in a small project I am working on right now and I am wondering how much I would like the agent to cooperate with me on some already written things.

>>10860 From what I have read it's majorly a numbers game. And you most likely have to send out 100 to 200 queries. I don't know about mentioning stuff they put out, because I've never seen examples of that in a query letter and don't know where I'd put it. I know tuning the QL to the agent is good, but not sure how I'd do that. Other issue is this is literary fiction. IDK if/how all that "know your genre/market" advice I hear applies. Similar authors? It's difficult because I think literary sci-fi is uncommon.

>>10864 >literary sci-fi is uncommon Sure, that is true, tho I can think of a few counterarguments to this. Mainly that we have seen things like Disco Elysium (and by extension its predecesor, Foul and Sacred air) get published, albeit in different forms. One could make the argument that fiction and sci-fi aren't all that different apart. I see sci-fi more as a foundation where on top of ot you can express "new" ideas and of course you can write these ideas with good prose and other literary peculiarities that in turn add to this foundation. I mean. You could leverage that more if you are looking for an agent. As for mentioning agent's stuff, I see it more as an oportunity to patch some holes in your writting, show understanding on the agent's behalf and lure them in with good understanding of common things between both of your works.

>>10870 Stuff like Lem and PKD are obviously not genre fiction, the sci-fi is scaffold / mirror for ideas. In my case, though, the sci-fi element is more a scaffold for romanticism. There is a definite speculative fiction bent (multiple worlds - Quantum russian roulette) but I don't think a spec fic reader would be satisfied as it gets less and less relevant. The philosophical line (simulacra americana) doesn't get a hard hitting finish, it tapers out as well. In the end all you have is an unreliable narrator and a bittersweet love story. I'm actually quite pleased that the final product feels so unique. But I'm hoping that's my author's bias, and there's actually stuff like this out there I can cite.

>>10908 Do you believe you are a good listener?

>>10917 I've been told I'm the best. What happened anon? > sci-fi is scaffold / mirror for ideas. This was meant to be agreement. my bad.

>>10920 nta but I think that anon is telling you that you have not answered to any of his questions.

>>10952 Obviously he thinks I've ignored something. But he didn't say what.