
Novel Writer for Hire
Publishers decided to accept manuscript submissions that are handed to them by professional literary agents simply because there would be too much work for them to do without the criterion. Reading manuscripts and only ending up pronouncing them as unworthy already takes all the time of several salaried editors. Requiring “agented submissions” will somehow serve as a preliminary filtration system. Agents, just like the publishers, do not want to waste their time reading stories that they think are not marketable.
To have a head start in the competition, it is important that you have incorporated some basic requirements in your work. You need to have an extraordinary however still plausible plot, with less narration but more action to reveal to readers what your characters are like, along with outstanding grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Writers should know the right market to present their work. Several novice writers make a common mistake in hastily handing over their manuscripts to an unknown publisher or one with a supposed esteemed reputation or just some publisher nearest to him.
Most publishers have special markets where they dominate. Some publishers govern only a particular genre where they have an expertise on what this classification of readers want. There might even be publishers who are so focused only in one genre of fiction that he is indifferent on the other kinds. A publisher who is a supporter of feminism wouldn’t know and wouldn’t want to know how to promote a men’s action – adventure novel. A children’s publisher would never know how to appreciate your remarkable murder mystery. These are only examples on how publishers can only correspond to the needs of particular writers.
So the first step is to study the publishing houses which are probable markets for your novel. Know the previous titles that they have published so you will get ideas on the kind of books that they successfully market. Your list of prospective publishers will be declining until you only have a few to choose from.
You can learn many things in Writer’s Market. Read about those impending publishers’ entries and take note the names of their editors in specific categories. You may realize that there are revisions that need to be done in your work. You may also read of how long it takes publishers to reply to queries and submissions especially when submissions are not made through agents.
Writer’s Market has a list of publishers sorted out according to the genres they publish. This list is only a guide. Before you rush off, know more things on the houses where you intend to make your submissions. Make sure that most of their recent titles in your genre are successful. If not, find another, or you might find yourself in the hands of a bad publisher and all your work gone to waste.
There are several sources which can give you up – to – date information which can help you: Publishing Trade Press, Quill and Quire in Canada and Publisher’s Weekly in US, The Writer and Writer’s Digest. You need to be aware of the publishers who are currently selling big in their genres so you can formulate the right marketing strategy.
You might find yourself in the situation when all your prospective publishers provide restrictions on submissions that are not made through agents. Then this means you really have to get one to do the job. Make sure you get a good one by checking out an updated list of agents in any library or the reference division of a bookstore. Agents Scott Meredith and Richard Curtis have also written books about the publishing industry.
The most ideal place to get an agent is New York City since most publishers are present in the city. Your agent needs to be an expert in the market of your genre. It will save you a lot of time if you have an agent who speedily sends your work to probable markets. Some agents get multiple copies of a work and submit them to all prospective markets.
But when looking for an agent, do not dwell too much on his location. Consider the other more important factors. Advance communication devices make it easy for any agent to go into New York market without the need of residing in the place.
Try to get good advice from published writers about their experiences with agents. You might find yourself confuse over either choosing a big agent with plenty of clients, or a small – time agent. Each has its own advantage and disadvantage. When you choose the big agent, he may have the influence and power to make you successful, however he has little to lose and little to gain if ever he fails or succeeds in promoting you. While the small agent may show admirable dedication, he may not make his way to some editors.
It’s the agent’s job to market manuscripts but he can not force the editor to purchase it if he does not want to. This is why agents choose the works that they deal with. Of course, they want the manuscripts that have serious sales potential, those that they are likely to get out of their hands at the least time possible.
Finding an agent to deal with your work might not be easy. It might be necessary for you to write query letters to a number of agents before you find one who will take your manuscript. You might even need to pay those respectable agents before they read what you present to them.
Agents respond in different ways after reading your manuscript. You might get a forthright response or a comprehensive criticism. You can either let it destroy your sense of self or you can let it educate you. When the agent sees that your work has a good potential in the market and that you are eager to formally become one of his clients, then he may not even ask you for a reading fee.
What your agent might ask from you might not be easy. It could be something as simple as making revisions, or as demanding as changing your story. Listen carefully to everything that he is saying because he knows how the market works. There are different ways on how you can make an agreement with an agent. It could be something as formal as a comprehensive contract or something as unfussy as a settlement over the phone. Whatever way you both agreed on, what is important is that you understand the conditions and provisions of your agent such as the commission percentage, terms on other expenses and his extent of control over your written works.
It would be better that the communication between you and your agent be kept strictly business in nature. The agent will inform you if he has something to tell. On the other hand, call him only if you have something to report to him such as an update on your manuscript or a plot regarding your novels.
There are a small number of instances however, that the writer is able to sell his novel by himself to a publisher before he decides to get an agent. When this happens to you, it must be easier for you to find an interested agent. You can negotiate the first contract with the publisher on your own or you can let the agent do the process. Most publishers have respectable and honest characters. However your first book would probably profit so little that they wouldn’t probably bother cheating on you.