Manuscript Reading: Don’t assume we’ll read it right away, or at all.

You spend two years writing a novel. You start submitting it to agents. You get some sample material requests. And it disappears into the abyss…

Or so it seems. What happens behind the scenes is different in each situation and different for each agent. If we’re excited we might push it to the top of the pile. If we’re super busy we might be excited about it, but it might take days/weeks to get to it.

I want to reiterate not to assume anything. If we get back quickly or if we get back slowly we might have the same levels of excitement, but it surfaces differently depending on a variety of factors.

In addition, never assume that we’ll read the whole thing. If we’re loving it we will, but if we waver and see the stack of contracts on our desk reminding us of the other things we need to be doing, we might put down your work and never pick it back up. Just because we requested it, unfortunately, doesn’t mean that we’re dropping everything to read it (or read it all). 

My Manuscript Evaluation Checklist

With all the submissions I get I use my intuition and my checklist to see how they fare. While it is mostly gut reaction I need the checklist to balance out my feelings so I can best evaluate the content and quality of the material I’m looking at.

I’ve received some great queries lately so if you want to know how to get from the query stage to me interested in taking your work further I share my checklist showing what I look for when I read your work:

• Does the beginning work? Does the ending work?
• Does the plot have good pace, does it make sense, and is it a natural outcome for the premise?
• Do I care about the outcome of the characters?
• Do the characters stick to their traits?
• How many subplots are there? Do they have appropriate attention with what you’ve set out to do in the novel?
• Is the writing of high, lasting quality?
• Is it special? Will it stand out on an editor’s desk and in a bookshop?

The True Beginning

Does your novel start in the right place? Read on for tips...

Do you know where to start your novel?

Successful commercial fiction doesn’t start with first words you ever put on the page. The start is where the true beginning lies. It’s where the book takes off. It’s where subtle character introduction meets engrossing plot. I don’t mean an interesting memory or event. I mean riveting, don’t want to put it down, if I only requested three chapters I need more, stat! In today’s age of short Twitter-like attention spans, online reading communities that give you quick starred reviews as well as editors and agents who have piles of reading on their desk and computers you need to grab someone’s attention and keep it.

Is Your Manuscript Ready for Querying?

So you’ve written a great query letter and the agent or editor you submitted to has requested material. Now what?

So often partials I request have a great hook, but the final product is far being fully realized. This may be a result of a few issues: