If the beginning of the year feels like the best time for you to start submitting to agents, Cornerstones’ Monica Chakraverty runs through a checklist so you can ensure you’re ready to press ‘send’
If you’ve been preparing your manuscript for the trade arena, you might feel that the new year is the perfect time to submit. Before taking the plunge, or just dipping your toe in the water, here are a few pointers that can help avoid pitfalls out there.
I’ll assume that your manuscript is the best it can be, that you’ve worked on revisions and redrafts to tighten your writing, pace and tension and have taken the time to read it objectively. Ideally, it’s good to have someone else perform this task too, as there are often elements that are so familiar they become missed when they fail to sit well within the story – a case of not seeing the wood for the trees.
The story arc (even in non-fiction) is the spine on which everything rests, so ensure it sounds compelling, and look at word count to check your book is within genre limits. Once the writing feels consistently strong and you’re happy with the entire manuscript, my advice is to stop self-editing. This is beneficial as editors and agents often like to have their own input, so allowing a looseness to the text can help your chances of having a request for the remaining chapters. An over-edited submission can have a stagnant effect and discourage constructive feedback if it feels too tied up, so allow room for revision if need be.
You need to shine in a market where agents receive multiple submissions each day, so ensure that your manuscript reaches the perfect agent to respond to your genre. To target your ideal person, do your research and scour successful books that you value – ideally within the same genre – for author thanks to agents and publishers. Industry magazines such as The Bookseller are terrific at highlighting which agents are building new lists or making a splash in the current market. If you’re a novice author, finding an agent who is currently making their name in the market can work brilliantly, with both benefitting from taking a risk with each other.
Once you’ve established a shortlist of suitable candidates, check the agent or publisher’s submission requirements. Most ask for a similar package that consists of a submission letter, a synopsis and the first three chapters of your book. Once you’re confident that you these are strong enough to submit to your hitlist of agents, work on your cover letter and re-r
