When material is requested, get it in the agent’s hands!

If/when your work is requested by an agent it’s in your best interest to get it to them ASAP.

If you take a long time to get your work to an agent (I’m talking 1 to 2 weeks) it says that:

a) You haven’t edited your work and you queried too soon

b) You haven’t finished your work and you’re finishing it now

c) You aren’t taking this process seriously and aren’t checking your query emails

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). 

PSLA is no longer accepting snail mail submissions

Starting March 1st the P.S. Literary Agency will no longer be accepting snail mail queries. We are going all digital with submissions. E-queries only please.

Deconstructing the Rejection Letter: What does it really mean?

Agency rejection letters might not look like a lot of thought has gone into them, but we take extreme care in crafting the response we give to writers whose work we pass on. We appreciate the time it takes to craft your query letters and do the research on our agency.

The P.S. Literary Agency’s rejection letter looks like this:

Dear Author

Thank you for your submission to the P.S. Literary Agency; unfortunately, we are unable to offer representation as it is not right for us at this time.

Our agency receives over 600 submissions per month and we only take on a few new clients per year. With the publishing industry being extremely competitive we need to feel a strong conviction when representing your work. While it is not for us another agent may well feel differently.

We apologize for responding with a form email, but doing so enables us to respond quickly so that you can continue querying without delay. We wish you luck elsewhere.

 Let’s break this down.

• We address the email Dear Author has we do not have time to address each personally. You can imagine the time it takes our submissions manager and intern to do rejections let alone the time it would take to additionally check spelling on names etc.
• We honestly appreciate the queries that come in unsolicited because you never know what we’ll find in there. That’s why we’re in the industry: to find and cultivate new writers and help them find their footing in the industry while we manage the business of their books.

How to Write a Query Letter

Finished your novel? Need help formulating a query letter? Don’t know where to start?

If you haven’t seen this yet, from BubbleCow.net:

Dear [put the name of the agent here. Avoid using general terms such as sir/madam. Do your research and find the name of the agent that will love your book.]

[Elevator pitch -- A couple of lines that capture the essence of the book. This is a concise and targeted summary of the book in just a couple of sentences. e.g. Using the Three Little Pigs story the first paragraph would be... With his brothers already devoured by a serial killer known only as The Big Bad Wolf, the third pig fights for his life with just a pile of bricks between him and certain death.]

My book is called [your book's title in italics]. It is complete and consists of [word count e.g. 80,000 words]. My book fits firmly into [your book's genre - pick one genre only]. Readers of my book would also read [list three books that are in the same genre as your book and would be read by readers of your book. This will show that you understand the genre and will reassure the agent that your book is in a genre that they represent].

[This is a very brief description of your book's plot. The key is to keep it short. For the Three Little Pigs we get... Set in the fairy tale land of medieval Europe, this tale sees three pigs leaving home to make their way in the world. However, their coming-of-age is overshadowed by the presence of the serial killer known as The Big Bad Wolf. The first pig opts to build a house of straw, but it offers little protection from the Wolf. The second pig tries sticks, but with the same results and he ends up as the Wolf’s second victim. The third pig develops a plan that involves a brick house, a chimney and a pot of boiling water – but will it be enough?]

Why agents take on less than 1% of all queries

You’ve heard ‘agents are extremely selective’ and all the other catch-phrases we use to express why we cannot take on you as an author. We mean what we say. But, even if your work is good, great even, we have to pass and here’s why:

• The industry is competitive so new authors have be able to break out of the pack.
• The industry is saturated in many markets like YA and women’s fiction so new authors have to be very unique with fresh concepts and fabulous writing that can hook readers.
• We have a client working on something similar so we can’t take on a new work in that space as it’s not fair to our first priorities: our clients.
• We like it very much, but we don’t love it. This is a very fine line, admittedly. It’s hard for writers to hear that an agent likes it very much but cannot offer representation. But in the long run you’ll want an agent that is head over heels for it.
• Your submission requires more work than time we can give. Agents have limited time available to work on major editorial tasks. The time we do have for that goes to our clients first.
• We aren’t the best agent for it. Some agents are more specialized in nonfiction, YA, or commercial fiction–for three examples–and those agents can be better for you. Don’t get tied to the idea of working with an agent you follow on Twitter or an agent that you think might be the best fit. Find the best representation for your work and whose agency has a track record that can support your books.

First Impressions and Publishing

Everyone has heard the saying ‘you only have one chance to make a first impression.’ Well, unsurprisingly this is also true in publishing. You only have one chance to show an agent or editor you are serious about writing, that your work is of high quality and that it deserves to be published.

Here are a few examples of when first impressions matter:

• Submitting your work to editors before you have an agent. This can be problematic if/when it’s rejected and it wasn’t in top form. Depending on the circumstance an agent may have to cross that editor off the list if they’ve already seen it, and even if the agent does resubmit to that editor the first impression has already been spent on a manuscript that wasn’t ready.

• Submitting your manuscript to agents. First impressions with agents are equally important. If you have the wrong name at the top of your query letter, email an unprofessional rebuttal to your rejection letter, or have glaring mistakes in your manuscript agents will take this into consideration. If you cannot properly address a query letter how will you address a potential editor? If you dispute a rejection from an agent, how will you respond when your editor has revision comments? This all sets the tone for whether an agent wants to work with you and represent you. When an agent submits material on behalf of a client and introduces a client to their editor the agent’s reputation is also involved. We want to work with clients who are professional in their writing and interactions, always.

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo?

• NaNoWriMo also known as National Novel Writing Month: Don’t query December 1st if the manuscript is freshly written. You only have once chance to make a first impression with an agent so if the work you’ve been doing over November hasn’t been edited or fully flushed out early December is not the time to query. Save it for when it’s ready.

Take your time, publishing is not a race it’s a long process so use strategy.