With NaNoWriMo coming to a close, you might be wondering what the next steps are. Here is a handy list you can use to figure out how to query literary agents and to trace your path through the publishing industry.
1. Have a completed, revised manuscript.
This means you didn’t type “The End” and then declare the book ready to be sent to agents. Make sure you have other writers read it first to look for pacing issues, plot errors, etc.
2. Draft a strong, attention grabbing query letter. (See link below.)
3. Thoroughly research the agents you want to query.
Find the best agent for you based on location, how many clients they take on, whether they give editorial feedback, whether they give a lifetime contract or a single book contract, etc.
4. Follow agent submission guidelines as mentioned on their agency website.
5. Treat finding an agent like a business.
Start a spreadsheet of what you’ve sent to each agent and the date you sent it. It can also be helpful to record the date you heard back from them in case you want to query them again later you’ll know when to expect a response.
6. Wait. (And start working on something new!)
7. Revise your query/manuscript based on agent feedback.
8. Get an offer.
9. Inform all other agents that you have an offer.
10. If you receive more than one offer, select the best agent for you and negotiate a contract.*
*If you don’t get an offer with your first book, always write something new and start over again at step 1.
11. Sign contract and celebrate.
12. Revise based on agent’s thoughts.
13. Go out on submission to editors.
14. Wait some more.
15. Either get an offer or get a rejection.
If it’s an offer, celebrate. If it’s a rejection, decide if you should revise, and then submit to more editors.
Why Choose the Traditional Publishing Path?
1. An agent to bounce ideas off of and who knows the market.
2. Direct Access to the “big” New York publishers.
3. More time to write (because you don’t have to deal with the business side of things)!!!
4. Advance Money
5. More marketing and publicity support.
Helpful links:
1) Literary Rambles
• Great for finding Young Adult and Children’s agents
2) Absolute Write Water Cooler
• Find out what other writers are saying about agents
3) Query Tracker
• Find out what other writers are saying about agents
4) Preditors & Editors
• See if an agent is legitimate
5) Query Shark
• See examples and get advice on query letters
Annie Sullivan graduated in 2012 with her MFA in creative writing from Butler University. Her work has been featured in Curly Red Stories and Punchnel’s. Her novel won the Luminis Books Award at the 2013 Midwest Writers Workshop, and she is currently working with her literary agent to get it published. She lives in Indianapolis and loves traveling and exploring new cultures. When she’s not off on her own adventures, she’s working as the Publicity Coordinator at Wiley, a 207-year-old publishing company based Hoboken, NJ.
Connect with Annie Sullivan –
Twitter: @annsulliva
Read Annie’s flash fiction story “Blarney”.
Beth Bates 