Writing sample/Partial

jomama7366

Hello all. This is my first post. I am just about ready to start quering agents about my book. I have been doing a lot of research, not only on which agents to query, but on protocol issues. My book is non-fictional, but closer to philosophy/memoir, along the lines of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence." I know that some agents ask for partials, usually the "First 3 chapters" or something along those lines. The thing is, given the structure of my book, I do not feel that the first 50 pages are the best representation for the entire work (my manuscript is about 140,000 words, so 50 double-spaced pages aren't a whole lot). This is not to say that the first 50 pages suck or anything like that :), but rather that I would like to put my best foot forward. So, I was wondering if it would be okay to send a selected sample rather than the first 50 pages, which I feel would better represent what this work is all about. I would also rather have an agent read a few sections that might really impress them rather than the initial acceleration, if you will. How strict are agents about this matter? Anyway, any thoughts/opinions are very welcome.
 
Little Red Barn

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They all seem to have specific requests, which I would try to honor. Check their guidelines and good luck!
 
Popeyesays

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Since it's non-fiction, do a proposal instead. Check with agencies and publishers who pubish such material and seek out THEIR guidelines for submission. A proposal usually includes a chapter outline and three chapters which do not have to be the first three.

Regards,
Scott
 
KCH

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Jomama,

If an agent wants the first 50 pages, that's what you send. Agents ask for first pages not just because it seems the logical and orderly thing to do. First pages are what determine if you can catch and hold a reader's interest and entice them to read on. So if you don't think your first 50 pages can do that, that's a good sign they could use some work to bring them to the caliber of the sections that you'd like to send.
 
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With fiction you usually send the first chapters and a synopsis. However, with non-fiction I think there's a good range. Do check with submission guidelines. Many will ask to see a book proposal with writing samples. In that case, you can send your best chapters. The proposal is the most important part -- I've known a nonfic writer who spent a whole year working on a proposal with his agent, just to get it right.
 
johnzakour

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Popeyesays said:
Since it's non-fiction, do a proposal instead. Check with agencies and publishers who pubish such material and seek out THEIR guidelines for submission. A proposal usually includes a chapter outline and three chapters which do not have to be the first three.
Click to expand...

This is really good advice. Proposals can be as challenging to write as full books, but are a great way for a potential publisher or agent to get a grasp of what a book is about and a writers skill.

Plus like Popeyesays you can include any three sample chapters you feel best shows your work.

I’ve had publisher buy my non-fiction work (or offer other work) based on my proposals.
 

jomama7366

thanks for all the responses. since this is closer to narrative non-fiction, a book proposal just doesn't make much sense. i have also read that one should treat some narrative non-fiction more like fiction in the submission process, which makes more sense to me for this project.

and i realized yesterday after i first posted that i was worrying about something that's not really a big deal. first of all, if my first fifty pages don't grab an agent's attention, then i've got a problem. and second, i've been working so hard editing this project for the last many months that it's easy to lose objectivity. for all i know, the first fifty pages are the exact right thing to grab someone's interest. as with most things in life, i realized that it's best to just not worry about it and send what they ask for and if it's going to happen it will happen.

thanks again.
 
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