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Agent Requirements?


  • Sange1
    Jul 1 12:13 PM
    Reply
    Alot of litereary agents are somewhat vague on what they want when it comes to submitting a manuscript to them. I have seen some that are specific and state "I want a polished, complete manuscript that I don't have to edit", but most don't specify (or at least the ones i've looked up so far don't).

    When submitting to a literary agent, is is good practice and customary to make sure the work is completely edited so they don't have to worry about that? Or is it normally the agent's job, once they accept you as a client, to find you an editor of thier choosing so that your work can be polished up and then submitted to a publisher and isn't something an author needs to stress over?

    I am currently editing my first novel and have a couple people who are already skilled in it go over it. I've been over it several times myself and it seems almost impossible for me to edit my own work. There are typographical errors, and once others point them out to me, i clearly recognize what needs done, but I can't initially spot those myself. Sadly, those who are helping me are taking so bloody long to do anything that I'm getting very impatient. I hate having to wait on others. Would it be unwise to submit my query with my manuscript as is, despite it needing editing? Or would it be best to just be patient and get it done before submitting queries?

  • CactusJack
    July 1
    Reply
    Great question.
    As to editing before you submit it is always a good idea to have it as near perfect as you can get. Now what this means depends on the individual. If you feel you can trust your slow moving companions to catch all the little mistakes then great. Others might want to have their work put through the ringer by an editing agency. Odds are you're not going to catch every thing. What you want is for your manuscript to read smoothly and for the agent to focus on the work not the fact that your there's their's and they're's aren't in the right place.
    However no matter how thorough you are, if you do get picked up chances are they will have their own editing people give it a thrice over.

    After the initial query letter, most places I've seen want the first three chapters or fifty pages. There are those few that want the whole enchillada.

    Remember both you and the agent/publisher etc. want your book to go flying off the shelves, selling like hot cakes so the editing should be a concern for all parties involved.

    I've said this numerous times before but when I want to edit a story of mine that I've read a zillion times I read it out lud as if I'm reading to a child or class. Slowly, looking at each word. The story could be missing words or have typos but since I know what should be there I tend to read write over it. But reading outloud forces me to focus on each word. This only works, for me anyways, to help with editing since I'm more focused on the words and not so much what they say. Does that make sense?

    Hope I didn't confuse you more

    Jack

  • yoshi97
    July 1
    Reply
    If an agent or editor sees a lot of typos and grammar mistakes they will normally pass, so it's very important to polish your story as much as you can.

    As Jack said ... you can have others do it for you, or pay for a service that does this, which would be quicker but also a bit expensive.

  • Sange1
    July 3
    Reply
    Oy, i know what you mean on the expensive bit for editing. I've priced several of them now and the average seems to be around $3000.00 USD. Definately not in my price range.

  • Myryca
    July 3
    Reply
    I've read and heard that it's fine (and even best) to directly ask the place what they want. As in, call them up and ask a bunch of questions about their requirements and even to who you should be addressing that initial query letter to. Makes you seem more determined or professional I guess.

  • spikeyness
    July 5
    Reply
    Agents want something as near market-ready as possible. Having said that, despite several edits, my agent found typos etc that had escaped me. You don't want to give an agent a reason for rejecting your manuscript. They have so many enquiries that they can afford to spike a book if they have the slightest reason, even if the story is a real gem.
    Stick at it.

  • Pyro Fish
    July 9
    Reply
    the agent makes a percentage of the book sales, so part of the agent's job description is altering the book in such a way that the book sells more copies than what the author originally wrote, if the agent refuses to edit the book, then he isn't really doing any work, he's just being lazy
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