You also want to research the market. You need to know what books are being acquired by the agent that you have chosen to query, as well as how well books like yours are selling in the market.  Armed with this knowledge, you can better position yourself to sell your project and yourself to the agent. Who would turn down a book that not only stacks up to a book that has already sold a million copies, but is even better than those that are selling?  That’s why it’s a good thing to know your book so well you can tell the agent  how and why your book could do better.  Just remember: show confidence in your project, not arrogance!

Remind yourself that a rejection doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t write. It is just one person’s opinion! Have confidence and pride in your work. Believe in yourself  and in your talent. If you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect others to? Rework your project and send it out to the next agent on your list. And keep repeating this process for as long as it takes! Until you finally receive that letter that says:

Congratulations!  Agent A would love to offer you a contract and take you on as our client!

There is no greater feeling than knowing that you have just put yourself in reach of your goal: Seeing a book on the shelves at a bookstore with your name on it!

I hope my experiences have helped you.  Take care and Good Luck!

You can increase your chances of getting taken on as a client if you keep your package tight. Less is more, in my opinion and my motto is make them ask for more!  How do you do that?  Learn to describe you book in one paragraph using adjectives that paint a picture of your story that makes your manuscript sound fresh and exciting. End your paragraph with something that  makes the reader wonder, “What happens next?!”

The Submission Package requirements can vary from publisher to publisher, agent to agent, and editor to editor.  So please do your research and follow the submission guidelines for the person/company you plan to submit to. (This is very important, but more on that later)

In general, a submission package should include the following elements:

A one or two page letter -the query letter-that describes yourself and  your qualifications for writing the book. Make sure you state whether your work is fiction or non-fiction.

a brief description of your story– the synopsis. I recommend no more than a paragraph or two.   Compare your book to the competition and tell them how your book is different. What would make a reader pick up your book and not the another writer’s whose work is similar to yours.   Maybe you could  compare your book to one of the writer’s that the agent already represents. This will let the agent know that you have done your research on their agency and what type of works they represent, as well as letting them know that you are aware of the competition that is out there. This is your marketing analysis.

You might want to include a one or two page sample of your writing, but NEVER send your entire manuscript unless the agent requests it! This is very important. If you send your manuscript without waiting for an agent to formally request it, your manuscript will more than likely end up in the trash or in the “slush pile” and you really don’t want that.

End your submission by thanking the agent for his/her time. Make sure you proof your letter for errors and grammar.  Believe it or not, the agent will often decide if you are can write well by how you construct your query letter.  Make it dynamic, but review my tips on writing a dynamic query letter in one of the earlier posts. Don’t forget to include your contact information and a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope)

  It’s okay to take pride in your work, in fact it’s desirable when refining your project and putting that final polish on it before you submit to an agent or editor. But once your project is the best you can make it and you send it out, you should now open your mind to recieve constructive criticism and advice from professionals who have been working in the publishing business for many more years than you have.

It isn’t true that these professionals are out to make you feel bad, or to cause you to give up looking for an agent/editor, or to make you feel that you are not good enough to make it in the business. In fact, just the opposite is true. Agents and acquisitions editors are ALWAYS looking for new talent! They are searching for that fresh, new voice that will make them sit up and take notice. That new writer who is so good, it makes them want to read more. So why shouldn’t you be that one who fulfills this role?

Remember, don’t fall in love with what you have written so much that you refuse to take suggestions from those who know. Chances are, if an agent or editor takes time away from their very busy schedule to ask you if you are willing to rewrite a portion of your story, and takes it a step further and points out the weaknesses in your story, they are considering taking you on as a client. If you stubbornly hold on to the notion that what you have written is perfect and doesn’t need anything and that it is fine the way it is–that professional doesn’t know a good thing when they see it. This is where pride can become arrogance.  This attitude might just cost you the very thing you’re after. The publishing contract.

Those who work at the business of buying and selling books have most likely studied the market, they know what is selling, they know what is hot and they have an idea of how a new writer stacks up against the competition.  And yes, this is a VERY competitive business.  They know what it takes to make it in the business, and listening might help you land the agent/editor you’re after,

Rejection is not the end of the road for you! In fact it can be a new beginning. Remember, that letter came from ONE PERSON and it is ONE PERSON’S OPINION! Now is not the time to throw in the towel. There are hundreds of editors and agents out there,  get busy and send out another query. If you’re lucky, the person who wrote the rejection will add a line or two telling you why they didn’t like your submission. In my case, the agent told me,  my narrative was cold, and didn’t make him feel like reading any further, and that he didn’t care for writing that included religous themes. I was crushed for a moment. I threw the letter up on a shelf and refused to read it, or my manuscript for a couple of months. But then I got over it and remembered that a writer has to have patience and perserverance above all else. (Developing a thick skin will help also) I had to remember that rejection isn’t personal, it is business. It was right then and there that I decided to make that rejection letter work for me. I took it down from the shelf and read it again. The writer said my narrative was cold. If he was right, I could fix that. I got out my manuscript and began reading. I decided he was right, it did read a bit cold and emotionless. So I set about revising it and spicing it up a bit with dialogue and action.  I began another REWRITE. 

Next I looked at his other reason for rejecting my manuscript. He didn’t like works that included religion.  Well that was an integral part of my story, so I knew I wasn’t going to change that. But what I did decide to do was more research on which agents WOULD like a book that featured religous backdrops in a book. I looked at books that were similar to mine and began making a list of who the agents were who represented the writers of these kinds of books. I did some research on each one and picked the one I felt most closely reflected my ideas and goals. Then, I revised my query and sent it out to that person. What happened? She asked for a synopsis and the first three chapters of my manuscript! Eventually she asked for the entire manuscript and ultimately decided to take me on as a client.

I made the one rejection letter work for me and as a result got picked up by and agent and she was able to get me picked up by one of the big ten NY publishers!  I can’t promise you that your story will end like mine did, but I can tell you that you will GREATLY increase your chances of getting accepted instead of rejected time and time again if you make your rejections work for you as I did. Don’t take rejection personally. Learn from it, revise your submission and send it out again.  And the most important thing: NEVER GIVE UP!

YES your goal with writing your query is to get the reader to ask to read more of your manuscript and possibly even ask for the entire manuscript. If you can accomplish this, you have just raised your manuscript from unsolicited to  solicited status.   (Solicited means requested, and of course unsolicited means not requested by anyone) This means your manuscript, or at least a few chapters of your manuscript will be read by the agent/editor or one of thier assitants. Don’t diss the assistant! In my case the assitant to the editor loved my manuscript so much, she was in the editor’s office every single day raving about how great it was and telling her all the juicy details. The assistant actually helped me get picked up by the publishing company.

The crucial elements of a query?  Introduce yourself in the first paragraph. This is where you include your PUBLISHED writing credits.  For example, have you been published in a local newspaper or magazine. This is not where you tell about writing for the high school or college newsletter.  You are basically telling the reader here what qualifies you to be a writer. If you don’t have any previous writing credit, that’s okay. That doesn’t count your query out. Just wow them in the next paragraph with the brief synopsis of your story.

Use strong adjectives/adverbs to move the synopsis and keep them reading. Paint a picture with your words about the story, but avoid using descriptors like, ” this is a mind blowing, fantastic read”. These types of statements are a turn-off for the professional, because it read likes you are trying to Tell them what to think about your manuscript instead of allowing them to form their own opinion. Instead use words like  “this is the story of a woman’s unforgettable battle with an addiction that threatens to destroy her life, and the lives of her children…” I have just told them in my opening sentence what my story is about. Now I can use the ramaining sentences to build drama to make them want more. Remember give them the beginning middle and ending of your story in a couple of paragraphs. This is your opportunity to sell your story, so pour all of the passion that you feel into this portion of the query. If you feel what you are writing, so will the reader!

Next you want to compare your work, to works that are already on the market. This advises the reader that you know your target market and you have thought about the competition. You should tell the reader how your work is similar, but also how it is different and what will cause the prospective buyers of your finished novel pick up your new book instead of the competition. For example, I compared my work to a famous writer’s by using the comparison of both of us using religous threads and backdrops in our writing, but pointed out that my writing differed from hers because my writing was grittier, and gave a different point of view than her stories.

Finally, in concluding your query, thank the reader for taking the time to read your query. Include your contact information,  phone number(s), email address, etc.

One final note: Don’t send any part of your manuscript with the query! Agents/editors don’t like getting stuff they haven’t asked you for. This is the quickest way for your submission to end up in the dreaded slush pile, or even worse the trash bin!

Until next time!

Mari

NEXT: KEY Number Five: Make Rejections Work FOR you!

It is very, very important to remember the lesson our elders taught us about minding our manners in this business. Remember, the people whose attention you seek are VERY BUSY! So you’d be surprised how far a little common courtesy and respect can take you.  Those little “please and thank you’s” can open doors for you quicker than a battering ram. Just think you are an editor or agent who looks at hundreds of submissions a day. All of the writers of those submission thinks that they have written the next best selling novel that all of hollywood is going to be fighting over the film rights for. In the query letter (more on the all important query letter later) all the writers are so busy telling the agent/editor what fools they would be to pass up this marvelous book, or how they need to read this manuscript ASAP before someone else snaps it up, and on and on. And then the agent/editor picks up your submission and it begins with:

Dear Ms. Koster,

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my query letter.  Please find enclosed my query letter, and a brief synopsis…

You immediately set yourself apart from the crowd, because you have acknowledged that this very busy person is taking time from their very busy schedule to read a letter from you and you are THANKING them for doing so. You have set a tone for the rest of your letter, and probably have made the reader more willing to give your letter more than a perfunctory read.

Despite what many think good manners, beginning a request with “please” and ending your letter with “thank you” helps the reader in creating a favorable impression of you.  You always want the reader to feel how easy it will be to work with you, should they decide to take you on as a client. The only thing they have to base this decision on are YOUR WORDS on paper. They can’t hear your voice, they don’t see your facial expression, so you words, how you express yourselves will tell them everything they want to know. Make your words a reflection of your true self and your true intentions. Now is not the time to come off like an arrogant know-it-all.  Remember your manners.  It will stand you head and shoulders above those who forget!

Until next time!

Take Care, 

Mari

This should really have been Key number one.  Okay, so you’ve labored long and hard and have finally written “the end” to your very first novel. Congratulations! Finishing is your very first hurdle and is not to be taken lightly. You love your book, your family and friends rave about it.  But is it time to begin sending it out to prospective agents or publishers? Absolutely not! Surprised, hunh? Once you get your story down on paper, this is just your first draft.  Your manuscript should go through second, third, fourth, or even more drafts before it’s polished enough to begin sending out. Even bestselling authors must edit the first draft and revise it before submitting it to thier editors.

Rewrites are part of t-phe business. This is a fact of life.  And it is a process that will make a poor writer better, a good writer great, and a great writer a best selling author! (well, sometimes.) Writing is just like any other craft. You must work on your skills to become the best you can be.  The common misconception among beginners is that “If they like my story enough, THEY will fix all my errors and make my story better.” Nothing could be farther from the truth! Most professionals are extremely busy. Most credible agents and editors, have multiple clients that they currently represent and must shuffle through hundreds of submissions per day to find new clients. Put yourself in thier shoes. Would you read a submission that is sloppy, riddled with errors, some so common that a simple spell check would fix them, and just overall unprofessionally put together with the thought, “That’s okay, I can fix this for them later?” Not hardly. Chances are you’re so busy taking work home each night and on the weekends has become a course of business for you. Why would you add correcting spelling and grammar so that I can read this, to your already long list? A well written,  revised, error proofed, manuscript  together with a story that takes thier breath away, is every agent or editors dream.  Doing your best to deliver what they’re looking for should be the goal. This will go a long way in setting your work above the rest. Remember, a submission is the first impression  the agent or editor gets of you. If your submission is sloppy and carelessly thrown together, that’s how that person will view you. If you don’t take pride in your work, why should anyone else?  That’s all for now. More on this later. Take care! Mari