Writing a novel
How to submit your book to an agent
14/04/09 09:40 Filed in: Books
When your book arrives on an agent’s desk, it will be one of many, many manuscripts that the agent has to find time to read. Work that is poorly presented or doesn’t answer the agent’s questions will get an instant rejection slip. How do you make sure your work gets read all the way through?
It’s very important to get the details right. The covering letter and the synopsis are the main aids to selling your book. Unless the agent is intrigued and/or excited by them, he won’t bother to read your manuscript, let alone decide if he likes it enough to want to sell it. So pay as much attention to detail here as you did with your story.
1. The Covering Letter. Write a short letter, one page if possible, which deals with the following points:
2. The Synopsis. Length of synopsis required by agents varies from agency to agency. You can always ring them up and ask what form they prefer the synopsis to take, but if in doubt, keep it short, not more than two A4 pages. A good synopsis outlines the basic plot and answers these questions:
That’s all you need to say. Leave out any unnecessary detail, such as what the characters look like, but by all means put in any character traits they have which drive the story. For example, you can say that your protagonist’s love of gossip gets her into serious trouble when she misinterprets an overheard conversation. You can explain a sub-plot, but your explanation must be brief, and try to set it out in a separate paragraph from the main story. And even if your story ends with the most amazing twist that you don’t want to give away, you must do so. An agent will want to know exactly what happens in your novel. How else can he know if it’s a book he wants to sell?
3. The Manuscript. Don’t be tempted to send more than the first three chapters, however brilliant your subsequent chapters may be. In any case, why is your first chapter not as brilliant as the subsequent ones? It should be up to the same standard. A first chapter is what grabs the reader’s attention in the first place and makes them think “I want to find out what’s going to happen”. If your chapters are very long or very short, you can send the first 50-60 pages, but no more. Wait to be asked to send the rest.
Before you send these chapters, make sure they are properly copy-edited and formatted.
a. Copy-Editing. If you send off a manuscript that is full of spelling mistakes, typos, bad punctuation, poor grammar and syntax, the agent won’t read it, simply because they haven’t got time to waste on a poorly presented bit of work. If your spelling and punctuation skills are shaky, get a friend to read your work and check it for you, or spend some money having it done professionally. The cost of this is very small compared to the advance you hope to receive.
b. Formatting. A manuscript and synopsis should be typed on A4 paper in 12pt font. Times New Roman or similar is preferred. Leave generous margins on either side, so there’s room for the agent to write comments. Give the book’s title and your name, address, email and phone number on the title page. You don’t need to bother with a copyright sign – the copyright is yours anyway. Make sure your name and the book title are in the top right hand corner of each page, and that each page is numbered. Don’t bind the manuscript – agents prefer to have the sheets loose. A rubber band to hold it all together is enough. Send it in a Jiffybag with another stamped addressed envelope if you want the material back.
Don’t expect to hear the agent’s opinion for at least a month. If nothing’s happened after six weeks, you can write or telephone to ask when you may expect a decision. If you have sent your manuscript to several agents at once, it is only courteous to let the others know if one of them wants to take your book on.
I hope these tips help you and good luck with your writing!
It’s very important to get the details right. The covering letter and the synopsis are the main aids to selling your book. Unless the agent is intrigued and/or excited by them, he won’t bother to read your manuscript, let alone decide if he likes it enough to want to sell it. So pay as much attention to detail here as you did with your story.
1. The Covering Letter. Write a short letter, one page if possible, which deals with the following points:
- Why you have chosen to submit your book to that particular agency.
• A brief summary of what your book is about.
• Your target readership.
• How will it appeal to this target readership?
• A short paragraph about you, your background, and any writing successes you may have had.
2. The Synopsis. Length of synopsis required by agents varies from agency to agency. You can always ring them up and ask what form they prefer the synopsis to take, but if in doubt, keep it short, not more than two A4 pages. A good synopsis outlines the basic plot and answers these questions:
- Who is the protagonist?
• What do they want?
• What stops them getting it?
• How do they finally achieve their desire?
That’s all you need to say. Leave out any unnecessary detail, such as what the characters look like, but by all means put in any character traits they have which drive the story. For example, you can say that your protagonist’s love of gossip gets her into serious trouble when she misinterprets an overheard conversation. You can explain a sub-plot, but your explanation must be brief, and try to set it out in a separate paragraph from the main story. And even if your story ends with the most amazing twist that you don’t want to give away, you must do so. An agent will want to know exactly what happens in your novel. How else can he know if it’s a book he wants to sell?
3. The Manuscript. Don’t be tempted to send more than the first three chapters, however brilliant your subsequent chapters may be. In any case, why is your first chapter not as brilliant as the subsequent ones? It should be up to the same standard. A first chapter is what grabs the reader’s attention in the first place and makes them think “I want to find out what’s going to happen”. If your chapters are very long or very short, you can send the first 50-60 pages, but no more. Wait to be asked to send the rest.
Before you send these chapters, make sure they are properly copy-edited and formatted.
a. Copy-Editing. If you send off a manuscript that is full of spelling mistakes, typos, bad punctuation, poor grammar and syntax, the agent won’t read it, simply because they haven’t got time to waste on a poorly presented bit of work. If your spelling and punctuation skills are shaky, get a friend to read your work and check it for you, or spend some money having it done professionally. The cost of this is very small compared to the advance you hope to receive.
b. Formatting. A manuscript and synopsis should be typed on A4 paper in 12pt font. Times New Roman or similar is preferred. Leave generous margins on either side, so there’s room for the agent to write comments. Give the book’s title and your name, address, email and phone number on the title page. You don’t need to bother with a copyright sign – the copyright is yours anyway. Make sure your name and the book title are in the top right hand corner of each page, and that each page is numbered. Don’t bind the manuscript – agents prefer to have the sheets loose. A rubber band to hold it all together is enough. Send it in a Jiffybag with another stamped addressed envelope if you want the material back.
Don’t expect to hear the agent’s opinion for at least a month. If nothing’s happened after six weeks, you can write or telephone to ask when you may expect a decision. If you have sent your manuscript to several agents at once, it is only courteous to let the others know if one of them wants to take your book on.
I hope these tips help you and good luck with your writing!
How not to Write a Novel - by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark
18/02/09 22:56 Filed in: Books
If you’ve ever trawled through the Of Interest To Writers shelves of your local bookshop and unbalanced your monthly budget by buying yet more of those How to Write paperbacks, then spend some more money and buy this one.
Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark have turned the How to Write industry on its head and produced a book full of lessons in how not to get published. Do you tell your hero’s back-story, in full detail, before you move the plot forward? That’s right! Is your heroine’s appearance one long list of Barbie-like clichés seasoned with adjectives? Yay! Not researched your subject thoroughly? Attagirl! These and many more pitfalls and flaws are humorously – and mercilessly – exposed by the authors, but they give very good advice as well: ‘Know what the chase is, and cut to it … As a writer you have only one job – to make the reader turn the page…’ and, most insightful of all, ‘… if reading Stephen King on writing really did the trick, we would all by now be writing novels that got on the bestseller lists …’
So if there’s any nagging doubt that your manuscript won’t quite make it to the bestseller lists, or even into print, buy this book and learn from it. Or buy it for the picture of the kitten on the cover - well worth the money on its own, in my view.
Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark have turned the How to Write industry on its head and produced a book full of lessons in how not to get published. Do you tell your hero’s back-story, in full detail, before you move the plot forward? That’s right! Is your heroine’s appearance one long list of Barbie-like clichés seasoned with adjectives? Yay! Not researched your subject thoroughly? Attagirl! These and many more pitfalls and flaws are humorously – and mercilessly – exposed by the authors, but they give very good advice as well: ‘Know what the chase is, and cut to it … As a writer you have only one job – to make the reader turn the page…’ and, most insightful of all, ‘… if reading Stephen King on writing really did the trick, we would all by now be writing novels that got on the bestseller lists …’
So if there’s any nagging doubt that your manuscript won’t quite make it to the bestseller lists, or even into print, buy this book and learn from it. Or buy it for the picture of the kitten on the cover - well worth the money on its own, in my view.