number of pages to send an agent

nehama · Feb 3, 2009

If an agent asks for the first 20 pages for example and your scene runs a few lines past that, is it ok to send that extra bit?
Or if they should ask for the first fifty pages and your chapter ends on page 52 is it legitimate to send that amount?
I don't want to cut off a scene unnecessarily, but neither do I want to reject specific guidelines.
Thanks for your suggestions.

Madisonwrites · Feb 3, 2009

The answers to your questions are yes and yes. But if your scene ends on page 64, then just bring your 50 pages to a natural stop, even if that stop is on page 52.

If you want advice from a literary agent, check out Nathan Bransford's blog: http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com. I actually got my answer to your question from him. Check out his FAQ section. It's AWESOME!

Good luck and happy writing!

Stacia Kane · Feb 4, 2009

Just dittoing here. My first scene was six pages long; I sent the whole scene when querying and pretty much got requests from all of them, so I don't think it hurt me.

Danthia · Feb 4, 2009

Dittoing yes as well. Because if they like the book, reading an extra one or two pages won't matter. If they don't like the book, they won't get to those extra pages anyway

scope · Feb 4, 2009

Yes and Yes.

number of pages to send an agent

nehama

Madisonwrites

The Unicorn Writer

Stacia Kane

Girl Detective

Danthia

scope

Commonsensical Maverick