Cornerstones for lit fic?

[WhisperTree]

Evening all,

I'm after a bit of feedback about Cornerstones Literary Agency, and maybe a hand hold. I decided to send my manuscript off to them when I was super-busy with work and needed an outside head to bounce ideas off to complete it.

Long story short, an editor from one of the major houses picked it up. I had a brief telecon with her after reading her report, and the missing pieces just snapped into place. Fast forward to this week, and I now have my full length MS ready to go.

Thinking aloud here trying to make up my mind. My options are now:

(1) start sending it out to agents, or

(2) send it back to Cornerstones for mentoring with the same editor.

My ambivalence is thus: the book is literary fiction, and all the books Cornerstones has had success with seem to be genre and/or commercial fiction. How likely is it that their networks will work for my book?

Secondly, mentoring is the only next step available, but I feel like I'm 'there' with the MS, and don't especially want to rewrite (unless, of course, it's the difference between publication and filing in the bottom desk drawer). I'm also about to start a new job and will be pressed for time.

Talk me down, please, people. Would I be silly not to send the MS back to the editor who seems so keen on it, and hope the head of the agency carries it forward? They are under zero obligation to do so.

Has anyone here had a good experience with Cornerstones, with literary fiction?

Thanks.

Hi, I'm a bit confused - are you talking about Cornerstones Literary Consultancy or Cornerstone literary Agency? (I have never heard of the latter but googled it and it is a US based agency with very little info available).

If it's Cornerstones Consultancy then obviously what they are offering you is their paid services, they aren't an agency and the editor works for them, probably as a freelancer. It's up to you if you want to pay any more (I've heard they are very pricey!) but I personally would get some feedback from a number of beta readers first. Has anyone other than Cornerstones read it?

If you don’t want to do any more work on it, send it to agents. Nothing to lose! If you have (or can get) the direct contact of the editor Cornerstones used, drop them an email to say how much you appreciated the advice and it’s now ready to send out to agents. Cross your fingers they like it enough to ask to read the final version and see what happens.

I wouldn’t worry too much about Cornerstones seeming to have more success with commercial fiction. That’s twofold - there’s just more commercial fiction both written and published, and it’s the most likely to produce a marketing worthy advance/success story because literary fiction sells less and authors often have a more slowburn career. If you wanted to see if they’d take you on for next steps and recommending to agents I’m sure they’d do a good job at that. But it’s not the free option!

Hi, yes, I mean the consultancy where you pay for services! Sorry, I thought that was clear. Nobody else has read it, besides the editor. You mean circulate it to a few readers and see whether they think it's ready to send out? As a sanity check? Maybe. That would be an alternative way to go. Thanks.

Thanks so much for this @NoSquirrels I can tell you know whereof you speak, and I appreciate you sharing what you know.

I feel like if I dive into this novel again, all I'll be doing is unravelling what's good about it. The scope to keep tinkering is endless. You have to draw a line at some point. And it emerged pretty fully-formed, with its own momentum.

I do have the editor's direct contact details. Do you mean that I could politely reject the mentoring package suggested by the consultancy (not agency - my bad), and just tell the editor that her advice was golden (it was), and that I'm going to start sending it out? Then that leave it in her hands, whether she wants to read it again when not being paid to do so?

When you suggest asking the consultancy if they'd take me on for next steps & recommending agents, you mean as an alternative to the mentoring package they suggested? So I'd be telling them "thanks, but I don't wish to pursue mentoring; I'd like to skip a step." I wonder how that would go down? Sounds a bit arrogant, or questioning their professional judgment?

I don't want to make a gaffe!

I note what you say re commercial fiction being so much more abundant than the niche my book happens to fit into. Vital context. Makes sense. Thanks again.

I do have the editor's direct contact details. Do you mean that I could politely reject the mentoring package suggested by the consultancy (not agency - my bad), and just tell the editor that her advice was golden (it was), and that I'm going to start sending it out? Then that leave it in her hands, whether she wants to read it again when not being paid to do so?

Yes, exactly as you say. Nice email that only gives praise & info & puts no pressure on. If they want to take it further you’ll find out. It depends on so much, many things out of individual people’s control, so anyone helpful you encounter along the way you want to be remembered as a nice person to interact with!

When you suggest asking the consultancy if they'd take me on for next steps & recommending agents, you mean as an alternative to the mentoring package they suggested? So I'd be telling them "thanks, but I don't wish to pursue mentoring; I'd like to skip a step." I wonder how that would go down? Sounds a bit arrogant, or questioning their professional judgment?

No, I meant that if you went the paid mentoring route via the consultancy that might include them offering you next steps and recommendations to agents. But that would be led by them, you can’t ask, just hope they offer. They’ll only offer if they think they can get an agent interested (and then they’d get a finder’s fee if your book sold I imagine - am not 100% up on the ins and outs of those relationships/agreements).

Honestly, if you don’t want any further editorial advice I’d just crack on with sorting a good query letter and researching agents. You can always go back to mentoring if you feel you haven’t got anywhere at a later date.

Thanks so much @NoSquirrels I really appreciate you taking time to tap out these insights.

My sole outstanding misgiving is that once I've sent the MS out, it loses that brand-new-unread-MS status which the consultancy seemed to value...So I had better be confident it is ready to go, and make the right choice.

As you say, it's probably best to hang onto the fact nobody in this process has control over the variables. It is always a punt!

Which takes me back to the start of the thought cycle. But you've been tremendously helpful. Thanks again.

It wasn’t clear, because you said ‘an editor from one of the major houses picked it up’. That expression means that editor bought your book, but from what you say, he/she didn’t, this is a consultancy offering paid assessments of an MS? I think you’re a bit confused about their role. Consultancies of this kind are just reading and editorial services. I’ve just looked at their website and they seem to have an option where they scout for agents for you if they like your work and think it’s marketable, but honestly, you’re just paying for something you can do yourself, finding representation.

How many drafts have you done of the MS?