The ones that make you buy that new TV with surround sound, LED Screen, 4K resolution and a perfect curve, even though you have last season’s model sitting at home. Who is your central character? Do you envision the book as part of a series or a standalone novel? What genre would you categorise it as? Where is it set? What is the hook that will entice your reader? What is the word count? What are the most important details that you want to get across? Well, maybe consider these questions to start. If you had 30 seconds to sell your book to an Agent, what would you say? We call this the elevator pitch. Essentially we are readers who enjoy the thrill of a good book, so don’t spoil it for us by giving us the ending before we’ve even begun.īut we do want to know about your novel. You wouldn’t start reading a book on the last page and we don’t like to either. Obviously we want to know about your novel, but what we don’t want is a repeat of your full synopsis. Now, what should be included in your letter. That you’ve considered the facts and given us the exact information that we need. This shows us that you are focused on your goal. And we’re not talking wide margins, size 9 font and single block of text. This information should be no longer than an A4 page. We want to see the passion and enthusiasm that made you to submit to us. This is a chance for you to champion your work. Please don’t assume that a single line asking us to read your work is sufficient for a covering letter. You will see a list of the authors that they represent and a bit more about what it is that they’re looking for. Rather than the standard ‘To Whom it May Concern’, or ‘Dear Sir/Madam’, have a look at the Agents that work for us on our website. This starts with who at the Agency would be bested suit to represent your work. We want to know that you have taken the time to really consider your submission. Well first, it may seem obvious but addressing your letter to the correct person is important. It’s important that we get to know you as well as your book. Whilst your sample chapters will ultimately decide whether an Agent chooses to offer representation, the covering letter is also key to our understanding of you as an author and a potential client. So here we are, kicking things off with one of the most important parts of a submission. But what we found lacking was some guidance on the various components of the submission as a whole. ‘How NOT to start your Novel’ is a fantastic series of blog posts that feature an extensive variety of issues that we come across when reading a first chapter. Now there are plenty of wonderful resources in our archives that deal with the submission process. So we’re starting a new series on our blog to help you get the most out of your submissions. If you ask any published author, each and every one will tell you of the pain of the submission process.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |