5 things to know when pitching to literary agents
1. Make sure you’re pitching to the right agent.
Buy the Writers’ and Artists’ Handbook (in the UK). Identify those agents that rep your genre. Google them and find out what their submission guidelines are.
Check out who their clients are. This will give you an idea of how big a player they are — how much influence they have in the publishing world.
An agent with lots of high profile authors might not have as much time for you as an agent with fewer clients. On the upside a bigger agent will have more influence with publishers and be able to get your MS onto desks quicker.
Don’t go overboard with contacting every agent in the book. I contacted 12. I had 7 responses, two of which were very polite no thank yous, three of which were ‘we really think this has potential but we have no room on our list’, and 2 who wanted to sign me immediately.
I signed with the agent who I felt I had the best rapport with but she also happened to be very established with a great client list.
2. Have a complete manuscript
If pitching fiction you MUST have a complete manuscript. It must be edited to the best of your ability and as good as you can make it. Don’t waste an agent’s time by submitting a partial.
3. Keep your cover letter brief and to the point
Keep your cover letter to a maximum three paragraphs. In the first para introduce yourself briefly. Try to think of a hook about yourself — what sets you apart from the thousand other people on the slush pile alongside you. I mentioned in my letter the fact I had just quit my job and was going travelling around the world with my family to find a new place to live.
Mention any cool awards or work you’ve had published (but only if they are impressive — leave out any High School awards etc).
In the second paragraph talk about your book. Do NOT say that you think it is the next ‘Harry Potter / Hunger Games / Dan Brown’, nor that everyone you’ve shown it to thinks it’s guaranteed to become a bestseller. No surer way to send your MS to the bottom of the pile.
Detail what the genre of your book is (young adult / new adult / literary fiction / contemporary / sci-fi), how many words the manuscript is and, if for kids, what age it is aimed at.
- In the third paragraph detail how you can be contacted and why you are interested in working with that agent (without being sycophantic).
4. Follow the individual submission guidelines to the letter.
Never submit a handwritten MS. Make sure it’s formatted neatly in Arial or similar, at 12pt, with 1.5 spacing (and not on pink paper).
5. Don’t harass the agent for an answer.
They will respond if they are interested.
Sarah Alderson is repped by Amanda Preston at Luigi Bonomi Associates. She has published 5 books with Simon & Schuster UK & US and 1 book with Pan Macmillan under the name Mila Gray.
@sarahalderson
