Tips for Aspiring Writers
The Process of Getting Published
1. Make sure your manuscript is finished. No one will want to talk to you otherwise. Anybody can have an idea for a book. Anybody can write a great first chapter, or even a great fifty pages. Very few people can actually finish a book.
2. Send query letters to agents. Spend a day in the reference section of your library, going through the LITERARY MARKETPLACE (this is a huge multi-volume reference tome, and not something you want to buy yourself, but it is quite extensive). I also recommend you buy the newest edition of The Writer’s Market. Make a list of agents who seem to represent the kind of work you do. Draft a one page query letter and submit it to a LOT of agents — 10-20 for starters. Some agents will accept email queries. Some will not. Follow the guidelines for each agent.
Your query letter should:
Introduce yourself, including any publishing experience or expertise that is relevant to the subject matter of your book.
Explain what sort of book you have written.
Offer to send sample chapters and a plot synopsis.
Enclose a SASE.
The letter should be brief — absolutely no more than one page.
3. If asked, and ONLY if asked, send the agent sample chapters and a plot synopsis. Usually they will ask to see the first three chapters, or the first fifty pages. The plot synopsis can be short — no more than a page. The point of the plot synopsis is to give the agent a brief idea where you are going with the plot, and whether your ending sounds solid.
4. If asked, and ONLY if asked, send the agent the whole manuscript. By this time, months of waiting may have gone by, but if the agent likes the sample chapters, they may ask to see the whole manuscript. Send it and be prepared to wait some more.
5. If the agent likes your work at this point, the agent will offer to represent you. At this point, you have to decide whether or not the agent sounds like the sort of person you can work with. Refer to the web site of the Association of Authors’ Representatives for more information.
6. If you agree to let the agent represent you, the agent will then begin submitting your manuscript to the publishers. This process again may take many months, perhaps longer. The agent should send you periodic updates, but be sure you talk with the agent in advance so you are both clear on what you can reasonably expect. Remember the agent has many other clients.
