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Ask an Agent: February 2025
In this monthly column, we check in with one of our resident agents to answer those questions you’re too afraid to ask for yourself. This month, Laura Bennett of the Liverpool Literary Agency tackles questions asked by BFS members in our dedicated Discord channel.
Name: Laura Bennett
Agency: Liverpool Literary Agency
Specialism: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Location: North West England
Follow: Threads: Losbennett / Twitter: Losbennett
Read more about Laura in her BFS member profile, here.
Q. What would you suggest for a debut novelist who wants to avoid self-publishing: try for an agent or look for a suitable indie publisher? And what is the best resource to find the latter?
Both, is my short answer. I would honestly submit to any publishers who accept open submissions, and to agents who are relevant. If a publisher then makes you an offer, you can always take that offer to the agents you’ve got open queries with and ask if they would be interested in taking it over. (Results may vary – sometimes it’s not worth it as an agent to take a small offer, as the commission isn’t worth the work, and the author doesn’t need the help.) It is SO difficult to get into publishing that you might as well explore any avenue. Good places to look for indies: The Bookseller (in the UK) and Publisher’s Marketplace to see what deals have been done in your genre. Otherwise, just have a look at books that you like, and see who published them! The BFS is a great resource for this too, as a lot of fab indies are involved in it, and go to FantasyCon. Events are a great place to meet small presses.
There are pros and cons to being agented and to going with small presses.
Q. What would you suggest for a debut novelist who has multiple WIPs/completed manuscripts they’d like to pursue?
Pick the strongest one. You should query one of them, and you can mention the others in the letter. Sometimes an agent or a publisher will want to see or talk about your other projects, but you should only approach with one at a time. Pick the one you think is most likely to sell and go from there.
Q. Are you or any other agents that you know of currently taking short story collections?
I don’t, and I don’t know of any – but I’m not an expert! Short story collections are a difficult sell. People tend to pick up anthologies (often with one or two big names) or they might get a collection of stories from an author they know. I don’t know any editors who have asked for short story collections. You might be better off submitting them separately to publications.
Q. I was at the UK Ghost Story Festival this weekend and it feels like historical-set gothics, both about hauntings and witches, are just eternally popular for whatever reason. The market feels saturated! For those working in this realm, do you have any tips on how to stand out in a crowded marketplace? For any genre that seems to be super-popular and in the zeitgeist, should those querying look to capitalise or stand out by doing something totally different? Basically: is it about timing or about being different?
Good question. I think that it’s like everything else in publishing – you need to have the right thing, to the right person, at the right time. I always say there is no point in writing to trend, because by the time you’ve written the thing, the trend will be gone. Write what you love. A good query and solid writing is always going to stand out. Being different is good too, but make sure you aren’t just doing it for the sake of trying to stand out – you need to believe in what you’re writing.
Q. How do you suggest pitching a cross-genre novel, urban fantasy/chick- lit?
You could totally pitch as “Urban fantasy meets chick-lit”, but it depends what you mean by chick-lit. If it’s romance, that’s already around as romantasy. Have a look at similar books and what categories they are listed in on bookseller sites. You can go with the example above, or something like “Urban fantasy with a dash of chick-lit”, or “urban fantasy with the feel-good writing of a chick-lit”. It depends if it’s solidly both genres, or more of one than the other.
Q. I have one from my very personal interests: Hey Laura, How did you manage the transition from being a teacher to being an editor?
It’s a long story! I was actually a writer first – I did a degree in creative writing, then realised there were no publishing jobs around the Liverpool area, and I needed money. So I went into education. I was a teacher for a few years, took a couple of years out to do my MA in Writing, went back into education as a TA. Got incredibly stressed (most likely undiagnosed ADHD, we think!), left my job, intending to do some supply work while I did some writing. Then the pandemic hit! Clare (the Director of my agency) got in touch and offered me the editing job, as she’d heard through a mutual friend that I was looking for work. That then led to becoming an agent (with a break for having a baby!). So I think it’s not so much that I went from being a teacher to being an editor, but rather that I was a teacher while I waited for a way to get into the industry!
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