Post
by Nick » February 8th, 2010, 11:30 pm
Username, I don't conceit to answer for agents, but have you seen the numbers Nathan puts out every now and again regarding the number of queries he receives? All right, let's say it takes you ten or fifteen pages to map out a sufficient mini-arc to capture some degree of attention. Great; but even that eats up extra time. And I get the impression your first act is of fairly hefty length. That eats up even more time. And if everyone sends in 30+ pages with their query letter, it would take even longer. As is I don't know how Nathan gets through those things. I would probably have had a melt down by now were I in his place. Also, within the first five pages, things should be happening. The epic quest or whatever the main drive of your narrative is need not be happening, but it shouldn't be five pages of nothingness. So it still gives them some inclination of the story and, I think more importantly, how well you write and/or your style. Doesn't matter how fantastic an idea you have if your writing fails to adequately convey it, y'know? Also, different agents have different guidelines. I'd wager with enough hunting, you could find at least one agent who is willing to accept your whole first act, or at least a good chunk of it. Whether or not they are a good agent, I can't say, but I'm sure they exist, or will exist if they are presently just an intern or some such. At the end of the day, it's like Nathan says, the system isn't perfect but what're you gonna do? Anything more just becomes impractical.