THE FINISHED MANUSCRIPT

The completed manuscript (ms) has a specific format. On the first page, at the top left, put your name and address. Also include your telephone number and email address. On the upper right put the number of words in your manuscript. This constitutes the heading of the first page. Right after this (still on the first page), center the following: the novel’s title in capital letters followed two lines later by "CHAPTER 1" and two lines after that the first paragraph of the novel. The text of the manuscript follows this same format. Each chapter starts on a new page. At the very end of the manuscript you put the words “THE END” centered two lines after the last word of the novel.

The body of the manuscript should be double-spaced, left-justified with the right edge jagged. Agents and publishers consider it unprofessional to also right-justify the text, so leave the text right edge jagged. Margins should be at least one inch on all sides and not exceed 1.25 inches. The author’s last name, the title or a shortened version of it, and the page number should appear at the upper right of each page, except for the first page.

The font should be 12 point and have a "clean" appearance on the full page. Some fonts, though they appear fine as individual letters, bleed into each other and generally give off strange visual effects when you see a page full. Make sure you select a font that looks good on the full page. You should have 250-300 words per page, but this will be determined by your font and margins. A published novel can have almost any number depending on the format the publisher chooses. The Bridges of Madison County has approximately 250 words per page, Red Storm Rising about 500. The manuscript should be no more than 100,000 words. Unpublished authors have a particularly difficult time getting a long novel published, but you will see it happen occasionally. Be forewarned that the longer the first novel, the more difficult it will be to get published.

THE DON’TS

·        Don’t use a separate cover sheet or title page.

·        No fancy fonts.

·        No script texts (like this).

·        No large fancy first-letters of the first words of chapters, like they sometimes appear in a published novel. The manuscript is a bland, no frills presentation of the text.

·        Don’t try to imitate the format of a published novel. This is a manuscript, not a book.

·        Don’t put it in a binder. Manuscripts are loose-leaf.

·        Don’t use a cover illustration.

RESEARCHING THE MARKET

Once you have the manuscript complete, it’s time to try to get a literary agent. Hopefully, all during the time you’re writing your novel you’ve been researching the marketplace to see what’s out there that resembles your novel. If you write genre fiction your task will be easier. If you’ve written something a little more original, you’ll have a task ahead of you.

While you write, read, and search for highly-acclaimed novels with which to compare yours. Each novel should have an "acknowledgements" section where the author may mention his agent or editor. This type of information will give you a first guess at who might want to represent or publish your novel.

FINDING AN AGENT

First go to the agents who belong to the Association of Authors Representatives (AAR). I recommend dealing only with AAR members because otherwise you open yourself up to all sorts of scams and unethical agents, many of whom will want to edit your manuscript for a small fortune. Don’t fall for it. Real agents aren’t editors. AAR can be reached on the web at the above link.

Take the list of AAR members with you to your local Library and find the book version of the Literary Market Place (LMP), which you can also find at the link just provided. There you will find a listing of all the agents in existence. In the book version of the LMP you will find a brief description of each agency and the agents who work there. Try to find those who represent novels similar to yours. Look for a specific name so you can address you query to them personally. Then go to the Internet and do a search on the agent’s name. Perhaps they’ll have a website, or you might even find out authors they represent. If they have a website, it’ll tell you what they represent and how to go about contacting them. Rarely will they accept email submissions.

THE QUERY LETTER

Limit yourself to three, at most four, paragraphs, hopefully on a single page. State in the opening of your letter what you have and why you believe they may be interested in representing your work. Your one-sentence statement of what your novel is about will also go in the first paragraph. The one paragraph statement of the storyline will constitute the second paragraph, with perhaps a few modifications. The third paragraph will be about yourself, and hopefully convince the agent that you are sane, educated, know your subject and have a certain amount of writing skill. That's it. Tell them if they'd like to see the full manuscript, it's available and close with "Sincerely", etc.

Lastly, if you can’t tell if the agency represents your type of novel, call the agency. But only to ensure the agency still exists and ask to whom to direct the query. Don’t try a sales pitch.

WHAT TO SEND

1. Query letter to a specific person at the agency.

2. First 10 pages or so, maybe as many as 50, depending on agency guidelines if you can determine them.

3. Synopsis, up to 20 pages, if the agency guidelines so state. Many agencies don’t want a detailed synopsis. The synopsis is the chapter summaries you wrote as a class assignment.

4. Include return postage and packaging. Include a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope). If you forget the SASE you will most certainly be rejected out of hand and never hear a word.

You should use a paper clip to hold the all pages together, but don’t staple any of it.

Query approximately 100 agents, all simultaneously. A few will receive your elaborate package but most only your query letter and first chapter (~10 pages). The postage alone will probably put you in the poor house.

AGENT RESPONSES

Responses come in many forms. Some (most) will be form letters addressed to "Dear Author." Occasionally you’ll get a personal response. Don’t let any of them discourage you. Persistence is the name of the game.

Sending out the full manuscript. Hopefully your query letter will generate a little interest. Depending on the type of novel you’ve written and how well you’ve targeted your marketing, you may have as many as 50% percent of the agents request the full manuscript. But more likely you’ll get about 10%, or less, who are interested.

Most agents will request the manuscript on an exclusive basis. This means that you can’t send the full manuscript to anyone else while they have it. I have mixed feelings about complying with this because agents won’t generally do what they say they’ll do anyway. Some will respond immediately, but others will wait months. I would at least consider sending it out to several agents (if you are so lucky to have that many interested) simultaneously even if they request it exclusively. Just don’t tell them what you’re doing. The chance any one of them will accept it is still slim, and if one says they’ll take it, you can always tell the others you want your manuscript back without giving a reason. You should be so lucky as to have two agents who want it simultaneously. The decision is yours.

CAUTIONS:

1. DON’T PAY A READING FEE TO AN AGENCY. AAR specifically forbids their agents to do this.

2. AVOID ANY AGENCY THAT WANTS TO EDIT YOUR NOVEL FOR A PRICE. THIS IS A SCAM. Some charge as much as $125 per hour. NO REPUTABLE AGENCY, PARTICULARLY NOT ONE THAT BELONGS TO AAR, WILL DO THIS. Reputable agents will either accept or reject your manuscript.

Some agents will respond immediately, those most interested usually, and some will take several months. A few agents will never respond to your query. Once 80% of the responses have come in, and your complete ms has been rejected several times, you’ll know whether you want to pursue getting an agent further or might just decide you’ve had enough crap from agents and try to get a publisher instead.

LOOKING FOR A PUBLISHER

To approach a publisher, you can use the query letter and synopsis you used to look for an agent with a few obvious modifications. Again return to the LMP. Many publishing houses will not even consider a submission from an unagented author, but most will. This time you’ll be looking for what’s called an "acquisitions editor." The same rules apply. Acquisitions editors deal with specific types of books so try to find all the information you can on each person. Also consult the Writer’s Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents. This time you’ll look for editors who buy your type of novel. Find out what they represent and what they expect in a query. If you can’t find out any other way, call the publishing house. Again, don’t try to sell your novel. Be business-like, get the information you’re after and hang up.

DON’T GIVE UP!!!

I’ve had several friends who wrote great novels, received rejections from 10-12 agents, tried 10-12 publishers, got more rejections and quit. On the other hand, Stephen White (a psychologist who lives in Boulder, Colorado and writes psychological thrillers) wrote his first novel (Privileged Information) and tried for two years to get an agent/publisher and failed totally. Then he talked to a friend who had a contact at Viking and the magic happened. The book became a best seller, so much so that Stephen had to quit his practice as a psychotherapist.

LIFE AFTER PUBLICATION 

A good friend of mine, who recently published her first novel, had a dream (but real) experience after a publishing house accepted her novel. She flew to New York, met her agent and publisher, went out to dinner with them (at the agent’s expense) and generally had a marvelous time. Her editor did an excellent job editing the novel, no disagreements, and generally improved the work. But after the book was published the publisher slumped into the background, didn’t promote it at all, and it didn’t sell well. It did make a profit, received favorable reviews, even in the New York Times Book Review. Publishers generally put the marketing dollars on the books that sell well after the first couple of weeks. Don't expect your publisher to do all the publicity. You may still be on your own.