Question 5

Thanks for doing this! I am someone who can never write two manuscripts in the same genre. I’m all over the place: SFF, romance, horror, crime/thriller/mystery, historical. And I love writing a new genre every time—it allows me to explore my style and ideas. But I know it’s a hard sell for agents because they want authors to carve a niche for themselves and build an audience. How would you recommend querying when the MS I have prepared isn’t necessarily the genre I want to stick with for the rest of my career? Should I try to find agents who represent all of the genres I write in, or hope that a good agent would be flexible with their clients? Do I mention this in the query letter, or wait until it comes up in a call?

You can find this mentor, Gabi Burton, here!

Hi! This is a great question and something a lot of people worry about.

The short answer: Querying is about getting an agent for the book you're querying. You don't need to limit your query-list to agents who represent all the genres you write or plan to write, and you don't need to mention it in your query. Agents will definitely ask you about next projects and where you see your career going on the call, so bring it up then. The important thing is being honest and open on the call.

The longer answer: Thinking ahead can never hurt, but there's only so much you can plan for when it comes to knowing an agent's policies. I have a few suggestions for planning ahead while building an agent list. If you have two genres that you write the most, find agents who represent those two primary genres and, of course, disclose that you're a genre hopper on the call. Another tip is to focus on agents at agencies with sales in a broad array of genres. Agents tend to network and share connections within their agencies, so if the agency is capable of selling in multiple genres, your agent will likely be able to use other agents at their agency for support (if you have a call with an agent at an agency like this, make sure to ask about how they work together. Don't just assume)

You do NOT need to find an agent that actively represents every single genre you want to write. A lot of agents are willing to represent different genres for their clients. That said, there are also a lot of agencies that sign authors on a book by book basis. Meaning you would sign a fresh contract for each book. This doesn't mean those agents aren't flexible with representing their client's different genres as well, it's just something to keep in mind. Unfortunately, unless you have friends repped by all the agents you're going to query (which most people don't), you most likely won't know until the call how an agent operates.

Here's the thing: it's impossible to know the agent or their agency's policies for everyone you query. How agents network within their agency, if they sign authors on a book by book basis, etc. are things you most likely won't know when you query them. And that's ok! That's why the call exists. So you can disclose information about you and your writing process, and learn about the agent/agency as well.

It's definitely true that building a niche/brand for yourself is beneficial for career longevity, BUT there are some perks to being able to genre-hop as well. Most publishing contracts include an option clause. It gives your publisher the right of first refusal (meaning they get the first look) of your next novel in a particular age category or genre before you can send it to other publishers. It's meant to slow down your ability to publish another book with a different publisher that might compete with your first publisher. If you write in multiple genres/age categories, this can work in your favor. If the first book you sell is romance and your option clause stipulates that your publisher has the right of first refusal for your next romance/contemporary novel, you and your agent can shop a speculative novel to different publishers without violating your contract. Which means you can potentially release more books!

All of this is contingent on the agent/agency's policy and your contract with a future potential publisher. Which all means it's something you can't plan for right now. So, write what you love! Focus on getting an agent interested in the story you're writing. Query who you think will be the best fit and advocate for your current book. You don't need to mention you're a genre-hopper in the query. Save the talk about future books for the call.