Questions on submitting partials to agents/publishers

[farfromfearless]

I feel like I am getting a little ahead of myself, however I am close to finishing my manuscript and I think it may be time soon to start thinking about representation and publication. I have a couple questions that hopefully someone can provide some insights.

1. Would it be premature to submit a partial to agents? If not, what is the expected length of a partial and what do I need to include with it (aside from the introductory letter and basic information).

2. Are partials frowned upon, or is this an acceptable method of seeking representation by an agent?

3. What can I expect in response (see #1) from interested agents/publishers?

[PeeDee]

Go to the agent's web-site and see what they want. They'll tell you if they want a partial, a chapter, or just a query and synopsis, or just a query.

The response will depend on what they want from you, and what they think of what you send them.

If you can't find the web-sites, hit the Writer's Market. It should list Agents too (I think it does) and it certainly lists what to send publishers.

[icerose]

Generally you start with query letter and the first five pages. Also you haven't even finished it let alone edited and polished it. Push on those brakes and finish the story then give it a rest and ask for some feedback so you can see how much work your story needs and believe me they always need work no matter how brilliant they sound coming out.

[Pisarz]

Agent Query is an excellent source, too. http://www.agentquery.com

[PeeDee]

I hadn't seen that site before, that's valuable. I'm lacking in information on agents, so that's nice.

[farfromfearless]

I know so little. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

[UrsusMinor]

Whoo-boy. This is a can of worms.

The best recommendation is to look closely at what each agent or editor says and follow their guidelines. Some say "query only." Others ask for a specific number of pages (usually five or ten), and those who operate on an older (more sensible) model usually want what was traditionally considered to be a "partial:" the first three chapters, or the first fifty pages.

Problem #1: Some agents don't specify a damn thing.

Problem #2: Many specify "query only."

How you approach these problems--and I say this with full awareness that I will probably get flamed--depends on how effective your prose is. Some agents (Miss Snark among them) say that "writing trumps all" and think that at least few opening pages really ought to be part of a query. "Query only" is different in the minds of some agents from "Query letter only."

In a sensible world, it is hard to imagine that any agent would be offended by a few pages. The worst that could happen is that they would toss them in the trash--Lord, what a burden! But, suprisingly, some agents use "Query Letter Only" as a sort of litmus test, and claim that they automatically reject any writer who sends anything material but the query letter itself (or, if specified, Query + Synopsis).

The few who have made statements as to why they would automatically reject anything that included unasked-for pages say that it is a test of author compliance, to see if we can follow the rules.

I always included pages, because I knew that if anything was going to sell the agent I wanted, it was the writing. Did I get reqests for manuscripts from agents who had stated "query only"? I did.

Did I get rejections because I included unasked-for pages? Possibly (how would I know?), but the fact was that any agent that worried about my "client compliance," who hunted down manuscripts solely on the basis of the TV-Guide summary included in a query letter, was probably not the agent for me. This "testing" idea works both ways.

{Space inserted here for forum members to shout, "Always, always send exactly what the agents asks for, no more, no less!"}

As to what happens next if the agent/publisher is interested, they will generally want to see either a longer partial (three chaps if you sent only ten pages, for example), or, more likely, the full manuscript.

Were I you, I would have finished the manuscript, polished it, gotten feedback from readers, and rewritten before sending out even partials. You do yourself no good and much harm by shopping a manuscript that isn't ready.

What's the big rush?

[engmajor2005]

Agent Query is an excellent source, too. http://www.agentquery.com

:Jaw:

[farfromfearless]

No big rush - it's in the re-writing stage at this point, much of the edits and core parts of the story have been work shopped locally. There is new material that I am including though. Thanks for the advice! I keep keep up with Miss Snark as well, and her blog has been invaluable for reference and insights.

[James D. Macdonald]

I'd seriously recommend finishing the book (and doing all the rewriting and revisions) before sending out partials. You may not know yet what the first chapter will look like.

Meanwhile, lots of info about agents: http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/2005/01/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about.asp

[victoriastrauss]

I agree with Uncle Jim--finish and polish the book before you do anything else. But wait--it's still not time to start submitting. Find yourself a book on the publication process (any large bookstore should have a decent selection of these; the "Dummies" and "Idiots" lines both put out decent how-to-get-published manuals), and read it cover to cover . Before you dive into the submissions process, you absolutely MUST know something about the way publishing works--not only will this answer a lot of the questions you have right now, it will help you to submit your manuscript more effectively--and, just as important, keep you out of the hands of scammers and amateurs, of which there are, unfortunately, a large number.

Please don't skip this step. It's tedious at the outset, but it can save you a huge amount of time and grief in the long run.

(I suggest a printed book rather than looking for resources on the Internet, because a recently published book is far more likely to be up-to-date and written by someone who knows what s/he is talking about. Even if you're lucky enough to stumble on a fabulous site such as Absolute Write, the plethora of opinons you'll get when you ask questions may be confusing, and it'll help if you already have enough of a knowledge base to enable you to sift through them.)

- Victoria

[farfromfearless]

Thank you all for the wonderful insights; there are obviously many things to consider for first-time writers, and it makes me feel good knowing that I have managed to stumble onto a site like absolutewrite.com fill with such great folks!

Victoria, I keep meaning to pick up The Burning Land; I think this weekend I may just have to do that. ;)

[karo.ambrose]

Please, please,pleeeaaase, as one unpublished writer to another, be VERY patient before submitting. I made the horrible mistake of submitting 25 query letters after finishing the rough draft. My novel was FAR from ready to be considered and now I fear that I've wasted 25 good agents that I could've queried later. I was so excited to be done and I hadn't learned the art of patience. I still haven't, I'm learning, but I beg of you, do at least 3 or 4 more drafts before you submit. If your work is anything like mine, you'll discover that a lot of problems that pop up aren't superficial (grammar, spelling, etc), but rather are very core issues (character development, plot development, POV issues, info dumps, etc.) and it will take serious surgery to correct.

One thing that I learned really helps correct the core issues is to write a synopsis after your first draft. It shows if you actually have a plot, or if you just have things that happen in sequential order.

BTW, it doesn't hurt to write your query letter now, just don't submit it. Write a query and a synopsis (and get them beaten to a bloody pulp in the Share Your Work section) so you can get a better feel for your novel. It might sound strange that you truly won't know what your novel is about until you write it from an objective viewpoint, but it's true, at least it was for me.

And you could also post a sample chapter to see what other people have to think about it. Very valuable tools, seriously.

And congrats on getting a book finished. Or your close, right? Oh... maybe you'll be finished by the time you read this so... congrats anyways.

[ORION]

Karo is right on.
Being hasty really hurts writers. Let your project sit for several weeks after you make a pass through it - then start your next project.
When you come back to your original work you will see even more stuff you want to fix.
I was also a hasty one.
Even my agent asks me to slow down when I do revisions for her.
JMHO

[J.S Greer]

Go to the agent's web-site and see what they want. They'll tell you if they want a partial, a chapter, or just a query and synopsis, or just a query.

The response will depend on what they want from you, and what they think of what you send them.


Bingo.

Also, as our dear uncle said above, do not query until you have a completed MS; Edits, rewrites, formatting and all.

If you do, you will be ill prepared if you get a response asking for samples or the whole MS.