I have a question which kinda refers back to the agents, but also possibly the publishers. After reading this article (knowing it speaks specifically to nonfiction), I was wondering, how much do I need to be able to tell an agent/publisher on my future plans as a fiction writer.
First, one point: It's not uncommon for an author to have both a fiction and a non-fiction agent; there are agents who specialize in various forms of non-fiction, just as there are agents who specialize in different fiction genres. I know nothing at all about the non-fiction market, though.
For example, I am working on my first trilogy of a total 15+ books in the same world. Do I need to tell an agent (assuming I find an agent willng to take me on) this at any point? Or do I map out just the first trilogy? Or just the first book? How specific do I need to be with my book plans? Just the order in which I hope to write them or more specific on the timing?
If the first book is the first of a trilogy, I'd worry about finishing that first. When you have that in a form that you consider submission-worthy, and you begin to send it out (either to agents or editors directly), you'll want to mention that it's the first of a trilogy.
But as the other 14+ books aren't written yet, I personally wouldn't want to go that far ahead. There are many, many authors who start with a world or a set of characters that they then grow beyond, or grow tired of. There are many worlds that don't sell well enough to be published at that length; the publishers may love your writing and want you to work on something else -- and given how sales often go, this happens more frequently than not.
Keep your options open. If the sales for the first set of books take off, then planning other stories in the world will be something of import to both publisher and agent -- but they'll both probably want to see how the first couple of books do first.
At most -- and again, let me stress that this is one person's opinion -- I would say that you can continue writing in this world for books and books, if the sales warrant it.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2004-09-13 09:23 pm (UTC)First, one point: It's not uncommon for an author to have both a fiction and a non-fiction agent; there are agents who specialize in various forms of non-fiction, just as there are agents who specialize in different fiction genres. I know nothing at all about the non-fiction market, though.
For example, I am working on my first trilogy of a total 15+ books in the same world. Do I need to tell an agent (assuming I find an agent willng to take me on) this at any point? Or do I map out just the first trilogy? Or just the first book? How specific do I need to be with my book plans? Just the order in which I hope to write them or more specific on the timing?
If the first book is the first of a trilogy, I'd worry about finishing that first. When you have that in a form that you consider submission-worthy, and you begin to send it out (either to agents or editors directly), you'll want to mention that it's the first of a trilogy.
But as the other 14+ books aren't written yet, I personally wouldn't want to go that far ahead. There are many, many authors who start with a world or a set of characters that they then grow beyond, or grow tired of. There are many worlds that don't sell well enough to be published at that length; the publishers may love your writing and want you to work on something else -- and given how sales often go, this happens more frequently than not.
Keep your options open. If the sales for the first set of books take off, then planning other stories in the world will be something of import to both publisher and agent -- but they'll both probably want to see how the first couple of books do first.
At most -- and again, let me stress that this is one person's opinion -- I would say that you can continue writing in this world for books and books, if the sales warrant it.