by Charlie Fabre
Sending your work to literary agents for future representation (and publication!!!) can be quite an intimidating thing. But it doesn’t have to be, and the procedure is actually quite easy once you get the hang of it!
Here’s a quick guide for all of you with finished manuscripts and pamphlets who are ready to take that leap into the world of publication!
Where to find an agent
First things first, where do you even find an agent?
There’s loads of websites out there designed specifically for that – so finding an agent that corresponds to you as a piece of cake.
Personally I use Query Tracker and Reedsy, or if you want to be represented by a specific agency (like Curtis Brown for example) you can go onto their website directly and browse their agents.
It’s as easy as googling something like ‘find literary agent’ and then you can spend a few hours doing your research and finding the names and contact details of agents to connect with.
Make sure your agent is right for you
Don’t just submit your work to any old agent – it won’t get you anywhere.
When searching for an agent, you should make sure that they’d be interested in your specific brand of writing. Whatever genre or form you write in, romance, lit fic, poetry, etc. you want to make sure that the agent is interested in representing that kind of work. There’s no use sending your epic fantasy novel to an agent who represents historical memoirs – they won’t look at it and it won’t go anywhere.
Some agents will also detail what specific characters or themes they like – so say you write lit fic and have found an agent who represents lit fic, but they’re interested in motherhood and you’ve written about politics (for example), then they might not be the best pick for you.
Also make sure the agent is actually open for submissions as well – there’s nothing worse than sending your portfolio of work to an agent if they’re not going to read it.
Agents talk
If there is a specific agency that you’re interested in DO NOT send your work to more than one agent there. Agents talk, within agencies, but also outside. If you send your portfolio to more than one agent within one firm it’s likely that they’ll catch on and this isn’t the best look for you.
But on the flip side, agents talk and know each other. So, say you send your work to one agent and they feel it’s not quite right for them, they might know an agent who would be interested, and they can pass the work along.
The Cover Letter
So, now that you’ve found an agent you’re interested in submitting to, you need to construct your submission.
First things first you need a cover letter. This has to be short and sweet, here’s a breakdown of it for you:
First paragraph: Fact Dump
Here you’ll include the title of your manuscript, word count, genre, and a one to two sentence blurb. You want to sell your manuscript as much as possible here to keep the agent’s attention – remember they know nothing about it so this is your chance to give them a highlight.
Second paragraph: Synopsis
After your one to two sentence blurb, you want to follow it up with more. Here you’ll give a longer synopsis, but it should read the way a blurb on the back of a book does. So, you’re highlighting the central characters, some of the world and a bit of a the plot, without giving away the entire intrigue.
Third paragraph: Market Pitch
The Market Pitch is where you go into the selling specifics. Who is this book for? What genre is it? Highlight similar titles and authors – where might this book sit in a Waterstones or Barnes & Nobles? You should also explain why this manuscript should be of interest to this agent specifically.
Note: when highlighting similar authors, be as accurate as possible. Don’t compare your work to Sally Rooney for example just because you’re both Irish and Marxist – if the style and story and characters aren’t at all similar, then your work isn’t like Sally Rooney’s. This can come off as a red flag as it may indicate that you don’t know your own work very well.
Fourth paragraph: Author Bio
Keep this brief. A few lines about your job/education (IF RELEVANT), what prompted you to write this manuscript, if you’ve been previously published tell them where, anything relevant in your personal/professional life.
You want to keep this very succinct as your pitch and blurb should do the real talking. Make sure everything you mention is relevant – and if you’ve won any awards make sure they are from widely known sources.
Fifth paragraph: Call to Action
This is only a line in which you invite the agent to contact you should they have any further questions or if they’re interested. You want to leave your contact details here like an email address or a phone number.
Sixth paragraph: Sign Off
Something along the lines of “thank you for your consideration, I look froward to hearing back from you” will be enough here.
The Submission
What you actually submit will depend on the agent and the form you’re writing in. Different forms have different conventions, for example if you’re submitting a novel generally an agent will want the first 3 chapters. If you’re submitting poetry or short stories the conventions are different.
Some agents will only accept work that is finished, while others are happy for you to send unfinished word (though I would recommend being at least 3/4s of the way done, including all your editing.)
Some agents may also request a full synopsis which you should write as a bullet point list moving through cause and effect.
For example:
- Sophie is fired from her job
- Desperate, this prompts Sophie to respond to an ad online, where she is enlisted to rob a bank. This is how she meets Jake.
- etc.
Don’t go into too much detail as a synopsis should generally sit on one page (depending on the length of your manuscript). You want to keep your synopsis to only the A plot (side character plots don’t need. to be mentioned here).
Hearing back
Generally an agent will mention in their bio how long they take to get back to writers who have submitted their work. If not, expect to wait anywhere between 1 1/2 months to 3 months.
Some agents will only respond if they’re interested in your work and won’t bother if it’s a rejection. This isn’t anything personal, and rejection is par for the course in any creative field. It’s something you’ll have to get used to, but trust that you will eventually find the right agent for you who believes in your work as much as you do.
Good luck to you all! I hope. toread everyone’s published work one day soon!
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