Jenna Moreci Interviews Meg LaTorre of iWriterly About How to Query Literary Agents

Jenna Moreci, indie author of THE SAVIOR’S CHAMPION and EVE: THE AWAKENING and YouTube sensation, interviews Meg LaTorre of iWriterly about querying literary agents.

Questions discussed in the interview:

What exactly is a literary agent, and how did you get into that line of work?
How do writers typically find and engage with literary agents?
How do literary agents get paid? Similarly, what are the costs associated with choosing to pursue representation as an author?
What should a person look for when seeking agency representation in order to tell if that agent is legitimate and a good fit for them? What are some red flags?
For those who are new to this, what’s the query process, and what is a query letter?
What usually were the top determining factors, both in the query letter and manuscript, that made you decide to sign a writer for representation? What makes a writer stand out in a good way?
What would you say are some of the biggest or most common mistakes writers make when querying? These can be red flags in their query letters, red flags in their manuscript, or mistakes in how they go about the query process.
How much value do you put on the query letter versus the initial pages of the manuscript? For example, if the query letter sucks, will you even give the sample pages a look, or is it onto the next?
Lots of authors want to stand out in their submissions. Where is the line between standing out and completely disregarding acceptable business etiquette?
What kind of traditional publishing offers are predatory or not worth an author’s time?
What are some key things you wish more writers understood about the publishing industry before they began querying?
What’s the best thing a writer can do if they’re in the query trenches and they keep getting rejected? Should they keep at it, edit their manuscript, or something else?
Any tips for new writers who are JUST beginning to look into agents and have NO idea how to get started? What are some of the first steps they should take?
What’s your advice for anyone who wants to become a literary agent?

ABOUT JENNA:

Jenna Moreci is a Silicon Valley native and YouTube sensation, dominating the AuthorTube community with her straightforward and hilarious writing channel. A lifelong storyteller, Jenna specializes in crafting thrilling adventures with heaping doses of bloodshed and romance. When she’s not writing or ‘tubing, Jenna enjoys angry music, potent wine, and laughing until her face hurts with her goofball fiancé.