Hello all, I finished my first novel in 2003 called False Starts, it is quite a dark tale of how drugs can affect one persons life. It is written in first person in a sort of story mode i.e. there is a sort of start and end. It is also a tale of romance and how love can be someone's saviour, there are a lot of twists and turns and although I am quite bias i believe it is a good read. Unfortunately many agents don't agree.. I send usually around 2-3 chapters over and they just send them back saying either they have too many authors on their books or it's not right for them. It can get quite frustrating as I'm sure you can imagine. Does anyone have any idea about any online agents or tips or anything? if you wish to have a look i can send you the story over. kathy x
Did the agents specify anything? Because when you send 2-3 chapters over and they say it's not right for them, they must have a reason. Sometimes they specify, sometimes they don't. But when they do, listen to their advice, they know what they're talking about. Try taking a look over your work, see if you can make it more interesting, more compelling, take out any errors and such. And when it comes to editing, be as objective as you can. I know it's hard, but root out anything that might sound akward or doesn't fit the story. All the grief will be worth it when you see your book on the shelf. If you can, try buying the Guide to Literary Agents. It offers a comprehensive list of agencies which look for these types of novels.
You didn't mention anything about a query letter in your post, so I wasn't sure if you actually wrote one or not. If you did, then you might need to tweak it to sell your work better. If you haven't written one, then I suggest you write one immediately.
Some agents don't want sample chapters unless requested. Always follow their guidelines. There are innumerable reasons for work to be rejected but the most likely are a poorly-written query, improper presentation of material and a error-filled and/or uninteresting manuscript. As noted above, your book must be the best it can possibly be before you start shopping it. Then you have to shop it properly by crafting an appetite-whetting query delivered to agents/publishers in the manner they request it. Good luck.
send me a brief synopsis and your first chapter and i'll be glad to give you some neutral feedback on whether it's marketable quality, or not... if it is, then you should just keep on querying and submitting till someone bites... and if it's not, i'll show you what needs to be done to get it to that level... love and hugs, maia maia3maia@hotmail.com
Hello, I always follow the guidelines to the word and only send whatever they specify. I have a copy of the Writers and Artists year book for 2009 and I send over a query letter with a synopsis on the front. No they have never given me any constructive criticism. It is always 'Our books are full' or 'Your work is not suitable for us.'. They never said why it isn't suitable and I made sure it matched the genres they look for. Guess they're just too picky hey!! Kathy
meaning what?... unless they specifically require one, you shouldn't be sending a synopsis... the summary/brief synopsis should be IN the query...
oh, then that may be a uk thing, as american agents don't usually require a synopsis with a query, the summary paragraph in the query being enough for them to decide whether they want to bother asking for more, or not...
