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#7 of Top Mistakes to Avoid as an Author

#7 Of Top Mistakes To Avoid As An Author

Top Mistakes to Avoid as an Author #7: Not Bothering to Match an Agent’s Submission Guidelines

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this. Agents post submission guidelines on their websites for a reason. It is your responsibility as an author to make sure you adhere to these guidelines, whether it be for submitting a novel manuscript or a non-fiction proposal.  If you don’t, you are only shooting yourself in the foot and limiting your chances even further of getting picked up for representation.

If you want your foot in the door, listen to your agent! Photo via businesspundit.com

Fiction Submissions

With fiction, I know it’s tempting to give an agent more than they request. As an author in the process of pitching his first novel to agents myself, I’m with you.

Still, if an agent asks for a succinct cover letter, a 2-3-page plot synopsis, and the first 5 pages of the manuscript—do NOT send them 10 pages. I can almost guarantee that you are setting yourself up for rejection. Agents don’t have a lot of free time to look at new material.

A good agent—like a good acquisitions editor—is bombarded with dozens of fiction proposals and manuscripts at any given time. When they do have time to consider new work, they are going to be attracted to something well written of course, but almost more importantly, something that grabs their interest within the first couple of pages. If you can’t do that within 5 pages, you need to work on your opener. If an agent likes what he or she reads in those first 5 pages, they will probably ask to see more.

Non-fiction Submissions

With non-fiction, you have a bit more leeway, though not much. Make sure you pay attention to an agent’s non-fiction proposal guidelines before you submit your work for consideration. Or, if you’re not sure, feel free to email them any questions you might have. Don’t call. Most agents don’t like talking to writers they haven’t already had some interaction with before. The important things to include in a proposal are:

  1. An Overview: A couple of paragraphs describing your book idea.
  2. Target Market: Who is the book targeted toward? We’ve talked about this in Mistake #3.
  3. Table of Content: It doesn’t have to be carved in stone because changes happen during the writing/editorial process, but be sure to include catchy chapter headings as well as a 3-4 sentence summary of each chapter’s contents.
  4. Deliverables: When do you estimate delivering the final manuscript? How many words do you estimate? Any pictures, graphs, charts, or other illustrations?
  5. Competitive Title Analysis: What’s already been published on your subject, when and by whom? How is your book different and/or better than its competition? Be thorough in your research and analysis. Don’t ever say your book is the only one of its kind. Agents won’t be impressed. They’ll just assume you were lazy and didn’t do your homework.
  6. Author Bio: a couple of paragraphs about yourself, your qualifications, etc.
  7. Marketing/PR Platform: What are you already doing to promote and brand yourself as an expert in the field you are writing about? What resources can you draw on to help the publisher market/promote your book once it’s published? This is an essential part of any strong book proposal…and often the most difficult part to write.
  8. Sample Chapters: Usually two should suffice. Choose the chapters that you feel are most representative of your overall narrative.

If your proposal is anywhere in the 75-100 pages length, it’s too long and probably won’t get read. Keep the proposal jam-packed with information, but you don’t want to exceed 50 pages at most. My preference actually is around 30, but every project is different.

In short…

Agents may differ on some of this information but generally what I’ve listed above is what most are looking for. Be sure though to check the agent’s website before sending them anything. Also, it’s important to see how they prefer to receive proposal and manuscript submissions. Most prefer email though not necessarily as attachments. Some are old school and prefer you to send materials through snail mail. It’s important that you pay attention to this. At the very least, it helps you get your foot in the door.

If you missed them, here are more Top Mistakes to Avoid as an Author…

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my List of Top Mistakes to Avoid as an Author. And I hope you keep them in mind—and refer to them often—as you embark on your publishing careers. If you have any questions at all about anything publishing-related, do not hesitate to contact me at jon_malysiak@yahoo.com or follow me on Twitter @jonmalysiak. Be sure also to follow my blog http://author-on-the-town.blogspot.com.

Jon Malysiak is part of the Networlding Publishing Team. He works to support our ongoing efforts to educate thought leaders on the best practices for success in this new world of publishing.

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