The Total Package
A Simple Checklist to Make Your Work Ready For an Agent
Now that your query letter is a work of art, and your synopsis sings, you begin to send out query letters. Using the listing of agents included in this book, you narrow down your search and target the agents who represent your genre or type of book. When sending out queries, I always recommend sending sample chapters. Make sure you send the first three chapters. Do not select them randomly. Sending random chapters only applies to snail mail queries. Do not send attachments or long emails to agents you are querying by email.
When the agent of your dreams responds with a “yes, I would like to read this manuscript,” your work has just begun. This is the reason I suggest doing this step before you begin querying agents. If you don’t, you might find yourself making a quick trip to the post office, mailing off the tome, complete with a self-addressed stamped envelope, and returning home with the niggling feeling you have forgotten something.
You pick up a copy of the manuscript you just sent, and your stomach starts to churn, your knees start to knock and your head starts to spin. You just found a typo on page ten! How did you miss it? What else did you miss? Egads, you left out the cover letter!
Can you now kiss the agent goodbye? How could you have avoided this?
There are steps you can take before sending a manuscript that will allow you to rest easy after you leave the post office. It will help if you think of your submission as a total package: cover letter, manuscript, and mailing material.
Let’s concentrate first on the bulk of your package: the manuscript
1. Finalizing your manuscript. Remember that it is absolutely imperative that someone other than you reads the manuscript. This is not a slight to your own editing and proofreading skills, but insurance against mistakes your eye becomes trained to jump over. Once you’ve read the same words over and over again (you have read them over and over again, haven’t you?), it becomes nearly impossible to spot all mistakes and typos. I recommend you have your work professionally edited. Check with your local college or in the classified ads for editing services. Join a writing list, such as the one I moderate on YahooGroups (send a blank email to: The-Write-List-subscribe@yahoogroups.com), and ask other authors to recommend an editor. Offer to become a critique partner to writers whose work you admire. The friendships that can arise out of these situations are both beneficial and rewarding.
“I have a friend—she’s an editor, a writing teacher, and a published writer—who edits my material before it goes to any agent. Nancy is simply great; superb is actually the right word. With a few touches, a few notes and a ruthless strike-out method, she literally elevates the writing to the next higher commercial level,” said Edita Petrick, a writer from Toronto, Ontario. “Today, I don’t submit anything to an agent/agency, unless Nancy has edited it. We arrange and negotiate a fee for each such editing job. Editing is not a hobby and it’s not a short job either. Nancy has done many free favors for me. But when it comes to a complete novel that I’ve finished as my next-to-last draft, it’s pay for excellent service.”
If you can’t afford an editor, join a professional online critique group, such as the Internet Writing Workshop. Critique workshops like the IWW are filled with other writers, like you, who need someone to look over their work. Most workshops function on a reciprocal critiquing system. If you critique a lot of other work, your work will receive a lot of critiques.
After your work has been edited and critiqued, and you feel it’s complete and ready to go, you are ready to follow the rest of the checklist.
2. Format. All manuscript submissions, unless otherwise noted by the agent you are submitting to, should be on 8½x11 paper, single-sided, in twelve-point Courier Font. There has been much discussion recently on whether or not this is necessary, and some say it is old school. However, I prefer to keep the odds in my favor by following all the guidelines. Why put yourself at risk because you despise Courier and would rather use Times New Roman? The wrong format or font won’t destroy your chances. It might not even hurt them, but are you willing to take the chance that your writing is strong enough to sell itself if you don’t do things properly?
When I send out a manuscript, these are the guidelines I follow:
• I use the Courier font
• Twelve point
• Double spaced (between lines, not words!)
• A one inch margin on all sides
• On one side of the paper only
• Address in the upper left-hand corner of page one
• Word-count in the upper right-hand corner of page one
• Title in all caps in the exact middle of page one
• Byline (“by Natalie R. Collins”) two lines underneath it.
• Story beginning on page two (or a later page if you have dedications/quotes/acknowledgments/etc. to go at the start)
• With all pages after the first page containing the author’s last name, the story title, and the current page number in the upper right-hand corner as a header (“Author/STORY/2”)
• Make sure all your chapters start on a fresh page, and include the chapter number and title, in bold.
3. Spell Check and Grammar Check. Almost all word processing programs come with a grammar and spell checker. Use it. This is time consuming and irritating, particularly when your grammar checker wants you to make changes that you know are wrong. Remember, it is a computer, and it isn’t really “reading” your work. However, every time I use this tool I do find one or two mistakes that I might have missed. Even if you already did this before your work was edited, do it again. If you made any changes, the possibility of new mistakes exists.
4. Use your Find and Replace Tool. I routinely check the entire manuscript for homonyms. Words like “then” and “than,” “it’s” and “its,” and “their, they’re,” and “there” are easy to type wrong and just as easy to miss when editing. Using your find tool allows you to zero in on these words, and make sure you’ve used them correctly.
I also search for “that,” a word that is often overused. If it’s not necessary, I delete it. Other weasel words to search for are “suddenly,” “felt,” “realized,” and “managed.” Did your character manage to walk through the door, or did he just do it? And if you have to use “suddenly” to build tension, you haven’t done your job as a writer.
Make sure to check for “anymore” and “everyday.” “Anymore” indicates time while “any more” shows quantity. “Everyday,” means routine, common, ordinary, while “every day” also indicates time.
I also check every name, to make sure my spelling stays consistent throughout the manuscript.
5. Print Out a Copy. Once your editing has been done on screen, it’s essential to edit a printed copy.
“I always print my work out in hard copy because it’s easier to find the punctuation mistakes. Tired eyes can mistake a comma for a period very easily when you’ve been staring at the computer screen for an extended period of time,” said Tina Morgan, a fantasy writer from the Midwest.
6. Editing on screen saves both time and paper, but it is essential to read through a printed copy at least once before your manuscript is mailed. If you are concerned about saving paper or about wear and tear on your printer, remember that you only have to reprint the pages you correct (unless you edit with a cup of hot cocoa, a donut, and chocolate bars).
7. Check and Double Check. Make sure you have the agent’s name correct, double check the address and never forget your SASE. Write “requested material” on your package. This allows the agent to sort through the unsolicited manuscripts they receive. Make sure you include a cover letter. In addition, include the original query, even if it was an e-query.
“What I double check is that the whole package sells me as a professional,” said Shirley Kawa-Jump, a Midwest author who has written more books than I can quote here.
“Does the letterhead look clean and crisp? Does the cover letter really punch and inspire them to read the rest? Did I put it all into a manuscript box instead of an envelope so it arrives in pristine condition? Did I double-check the address? And I always opt for Priority Tracking, too, so I can be sure it gets delivered and eliminate a phone call to the agent. Then I send it off and obsess until they call me!”
Once you’ve followed the steps of this checklist, you can send your manuscript off with no qualms. Now the time has come to toss and turn and wait for a response. Remember, agents are busy. Although you can’t gauge the agent’s reaction to your prose, you can rest confident in knowing you have done everything to make your manuscript stand out from the crowd.
When all of this is finished, we are left once again with the question, “What do agents really want?”
Now that your query letter is a work of art, and your synopsis sings, you begin to send out query letters. Using the listing of agents included in this book, you narrow down your search and target the agents who represent your genre or type of book. When sending out queries, I always recommend sending sample chapters. Make sure you send the first three chapters. Do not select them randomly. Sending random chapters only applies to snail mail queries. Do not send attachments or long emails to agents you are querying by email.
When the agent of your dreams responds with a “yes, I would like to read this manuscript,” your work has just begun. This is the reason I suggest doing this step before you begin querying agents. If you don’t, you might find yourself making a quick trip to the post office, mailing off the tome, complete with a self-addressed stamped envelope, and returning home with the niggling feeling you have forgotten something.
You pick up a copy of the manuscript you just sent, and your stomach starts to churn, your knees start to knock and your head starts to spin. You just found a typo on page ten! How did you miss it? What else did you miss? Egads, you left out the cover letter!
Can you now kiss the agent goodbye? How could you have avoided this?
There are steps you can take before sending a manuscript that will allow you to rest easy after you leave the post office. It will help if you think of your submission as a total package: cover letter, manuscript, and mailing material.
Let’s concentrate first on the bulk of your package: the manuscript
1. Finalizing your manuscript. Remember that it is absolutely imperative that someone other than you reads the manuscript. This is not a slight to your own editing and proofreading skills, but insurance against mistakes your eye becomes trained to jump over. Once you’ve read the same words over and over again (you have read them over and over again, haven’t you?), it becomes nearly impossible to spot all mistakes and typos. I recommend you have your work professionally edited. Check with your local college or in the classified ads for editing services. Join a writing list, such as the one I moderate on YahooGroups (send a blank email to: The-Write-List-subscribe@yahoogroups.com), and ask other authors to recommend an editor. Offer to become a critique partner to writers whose work you admire. The friendships that can arise out of these situations are both beneficial and rewarding.
“I have a friend—she’s an editor, a writing teacher, and a published writer—who edits my material before it goes to any agent. Nancy is simply great; superb is actually the right word. With a few touches, a few notes and a ruthless strike-out method, she literally elevates the writing to the next higher commercial level,” said Edita Petrick, a writer from Toronto, Ontario. “Today, I don’t submit anything to an agent/agency, unless Nancy has edited it. We arrange and negotiate a fee for each such editing job. Editing is not a hobby and it’s not a short job either. Nancy has done many free favors for me. But when it comes to a complete novel that I’ve finished as my next-to-last draft, it’s pay for excellent service.”
If you can’t afford an editor, join a professional online critique group, such as the Internet Writing Workshop. Critique workshops like the IWW are filled with other writers, like you, who need someone to look over their work. Most workshops function on a reciprocal critiquing system. If you critique a lot of other work, your work will receive a lot of critiques.
After your work has been edited and critiqued, and you feel it’s complete and ready to go, you are ready to follow the rest of the checklist.
2. Format. All manuscript submissions, unless otherwise noted by the agent you are submitting to, should be on 8½x11 paper, single-sided, in twelve-point Courier Font. There has been much discussion recently on whether or not this is necessary, and some say it is old school. However, I prefer to keep the odds in my favor by following all the guidelines. Why put yourself at risk because you despise Courier and would rather use Times New Roman? The wrong format or font won’t destroy your chances. It might not even hurt them, but are you willing to take the chance that your writing is strong enough to sell itself if you don’t do things properly?
When I send out a manuscript, these are the guidelines I follow:
• I use the Courier font
• Twelve point
• Double spaced (between lines, not words!)
• A one inch margin on all sides
• On one side of the paper only
• Address in the upper left-hand corner of page one
• Word-count in the upper right-hand corner of page one
• Title in all caps in the exact middle of page one
• Byline (“by Natalie R. Collins”) two lines underneath it.
• Story beginning on page two (or a later page if you have dedications/quotes/acknowledgments/etc. to go at the start)
• With all pages after the first page containing the author’s last name, the story title, and the current page number in the upper right-hand corner as a header (“Author/STORY/2”)
• Make sure all your chapters start on a fresh page, and include the chapter number and title, in bold.
3. Spell Check and Grammar Check. Almost all word processing programs come with a grammar and spell checker. Use it. This is time consuming and irritating, particularly when your grammar checker wants you to make changes that you know are wrong. Remember, it is a computer, and it isn’t really “reading” your work. However, every time I use this tool I do find one or two mistakes that I might have missed. Even if you already did this before your work was edited, do it again. If you made any changes, the possibility of new mistakes exists.
4. Use your Find and Replace Tool. I routinely check the entire manuscript for homonyms. Words like “then” and “than,” “it’s” and “its,” and “their, they’re,” and “there” are easy to type wrong and just as easy to miss when editing. Using your find tool allows you to zero in on these words, and make sure you’ve used them correctly.
I also search for “that,” a word that is often overused. If it’s not necessary, I delete it. Other weasel words to search for are “suddenly,” “felt,” “realized,” and “managed.” Did your character manage to walk through the door, or did he just do it? And if you have to use “suddenly” to build tension, you haven’t done your job as a writer.
Make sure to check for “anymore” and “everyday.” “Anymore” indicates time while “any more” shows quantity. “Everyday,” means routine, common, ordinary, while “every day” also indicates time.
I also check every name, to make sure my spelling stays consistent throughout the manuscript.
5. Print Out a Copy. Once your editing has been done on screen, it’s essential to edit a printed copy.
“I always print my work out in hard copy because it’s easier to find the punctuation mistakes. Tired eyes can mistake a comma for a period very easily when you’ve been staring at the computer screen for an extended period of time,” said Tina Morgan, a fantasy writer from the Midwest.
6. Editing on screen saves both time and paper, but it is essential to read through a printed copy at least once before your manuscript is mailed. If you are concerned about saving paper or about wear and tear on your printer, remember that you only have to reprint the pages you correct (unless you edit with a cup of hot cocoa, a donut, and chocolate bars).
7. Check and Double Check. Make sure you have the agent’s name correct, double check the address and never forget your SASE. Write “requested material” on your package. This allows the agent to sort through the unsolicited manuscripts they receive. Make sure you include a cover letter. In addition, include the original query, even if it was an e-query.
“What I double check is that the whole package sells me as a professional,” said Shirley Kawa-Jump, a Midwest author who has written more books than I can quote here.
“Does the letterhead look clean and crisp? Does the cover letter really punch and inspire them to read the rest? Did I put it all into a manuscript box instead of an envelope so it arrives in pristine condition? Did I double-check the address? And I always opt for Priority Tracking, too, so I can be sure it gets delivered and eliminate a phone call to the agent. Then I send it off and obsess until they call me!”
Once you’ve followed the steps of this checklist, you can send your manuscript off with no qualms. Now the time has come to toss and turn and wait for a response. Remember, agents are busy. Although you can’t gauge the agent’s reaction to your prose, you can rest confident in knowing you have done everything to make your manuscript stand out from the crowd.
When all of this is finished, we are left once again with the question, “What do agents really want?”