Help with submission?

Iforgotthis · Jun 29, 2014

There's this agent I found who seems pretty good. The agency he works for has somewhat vague requirements, and I don't want to mess up my submission. They say this on their website:

"Please send us a query letter describing the work you'd like to submit, along with some information about yourself and a sample chapter if appropriate."

On the website that spoke about him, they quoted him as saying:

"Send a query letter to info [at] thegernertco.com, with “Attn: Andy Kifer ” in the e-mail’s subject line. I’d prefer to see the first few chapters pasted into the body of the e-mail."

It's all a bit too vague for me; I much prefer very definite guidelines, mainly because then I know I'm not doing things wrong and ruining my chances, and annoying the agent at the same time. How many chapters constitutes 'a few'? Do you think they want a synopsis, or a blurb style little bit of writing?

Thanks for your time

rainsmom · Jun 29, 2014

They want a standard query and three chapters.

Osulagh · Jun 29, 2014

They want the query letter and a sample chapter. He wants a query letter and the first few chapters...

It's not vague at all, pretty straight-forward in fact. But I think you're confused on what a query letter is and what it's not. Read up on all the stickies in the publishing forum and QLH in the SYW section.

JulianneQJohnson · Jun 29, 2014

I agree. Go with the agents specs if that's who you are sending it to. The specific agent often has requirements that differ slightly from the agency as a whole. So, standard query and three chapters copied into the email. No synopsis.

Iforgotthis · Jun 29, 2014

Osulagh: Well, for me personally, I find it a little vague. I've never assumed that if you don't ask for something you don't want it. And we both know that 'a few' is hardly the most accurate phrase in the world. Perhaps I'm just getting too crazy over details...

JulianneQJohnson: Thank you for clearing that up! I won't lie, this is comforting to read. Thank you!

Laer Carroll · Jul 2, 2014

Iforgotthis said:
...'a few' is hardly the most accurate phrase in the world. Perhaps I'm just getting too crazy over details...

Yes, you are. The agent is actually giving you the freedom to submit what your intuition tells you is the right amount.

kenpochick · Jul 3, 2014

Seems pretty clear to me. I always use the specific agent's request if it differs from the agency request. In this case the agency request looks like it applies to fiction and non-fiction.

noranne · Jul 3, 2014

Don't psyche yourself out so much. Sending a poorly formatted 3-page query with the entire manuscript as an attachment, probably going to get your query deleted. Sending 1-5 chapters to someone who requested "a few" is not.

FWIW, I queried him a couple weeks ago and just included the first chapter. I thought about including the first three but my chapters are quite long.

gingerwoman · Jul 3, 2014

He's saying "a few chapters" to give you the freedom to give him the most powerful ending to the chapters as possible, be that the end of chapter three or the end of chapter four.

Old Hack · Jul 4, 2014

I'd send the first fifty pages or so. End the sample at a natural break in the text. And try not to worry too much about the specifics: this agent just wants to see enough of your work to know if it's something he can represent. If he thinks your writing is great he won't reject your book just because you sent the wrong number of pages.

triceretops · Jul 4, 2014

Just remember to paste in the email body--no attachments.

tri

Help with submission?

Iforgotthis

rainsmom

Feeling like an old timer

Osulagh

Independent fluffy puppy.

JulianneQJohnson

Ferret Herder

Iforgotthis

Laer Carroll

Aerospace engineer turned writer

kenpochick

I should be writing, not on AW.:-)

noranne

the possibilities are endless

gingerwoman

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

triceretops