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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/29762
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/29762
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Well, more to the point, no agent is going to want to read a sequel to a book they don't represent because no publisher is going to want to publish a sequel to a book that they did not publish. The value to agents and publishers is seldom in the first book, it is in the body of work. If they want the second, they are going to want the first.

Now, if you can frame the second novel as a stand-alone work, without reference to the first book at all, then you may be able to sell it as the first book in a series, and then (once the series is established and making people money), bring the first book to them as a prequel (A _Magician's Nephew_, in other words.)

On the other hand, if you have testimonials and a record of library checkout to point to, that may make it possible to approach agents again with the first book. The agent and the publisher are both primarily asking themselves, can this sell. Tangible demonstration that the book is being read and requested (if the evidence is credible) can convince them it will.

Publishing is a commercial business. Agents and publishers turn down books they personally like that they don't think will sell. They accept books that they don't like that they do think will sell. Just be aware that the "my nephew and his friends all loved it" pitch cuts no ice. You need to find a way to demonstrate that the response you are getting is a genuine response to the book and not just a matter of local kids, teachers, or librarians being nice to someone they know.

Original score: 12