Annie Hwang of Folio Literary Management
I have been told by several agents that they rely on Nielsen BookScan to check an author’s previous sales and often base their reactions to queries accordingly. How widespread is this practice, and can you share your thoughts about how an author can overcome an early record that isn’t his or her fault?
Laury from Highlands, New Jersey
More often than not, if a writer mentions a previously published book in a query (and you should, of course), I check its sales numbers. That said, before I do, I first fully consider the project that writer is querying me with before I take the author’s previous track record into consideration. If I love the project, chances are that overcoming a previous track record is just a matter of strategy that the author and I would discuss once we are officially working together.
This story is from the January - February 2018 edition of Poets & Writers Magazine.
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This story is from the January - February 2018 edition of Poets & Writers Magazine.
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