Marie Brown & Associates
Faith Childs Literary Agency
Banks Communications
Connor Literary Agency
Crichton & Associates
Lisa Davis Literary Agency
The Mondella Jones Literary Agency
Kissed Publications and Literary Agency
JMG Books
Lawrence Jordan Literary Agency
Stinson Literary Agency | |
Cardinal Rules of Manuscript Submission
- Find out the rules of submission.
So many manuscripts get turned down for violating these rules. Some houses, like Berkeley,
only accept agented submissions. Very few big houses nowadays accept unsolicited pieces;
the science-fiction house Tor is an exception.
- Find out what the house publishes.
Again, critical information. You wouldn't send a mystery novel to a house that specializes
in historical romances. Not only is it a waste of time, it's also a clear sign of
ignorance.
- Find out who the manuscript should be sent to.
Often, the editor who was in one house last year turns up in someone else's house the next
year. Submitting a manuscript to the attention of an anonymous editor doesn't help at all.
- If you find a house you'd like to submit to, be
sure to send a query letter first.
A query letter is exactly what it sounds like, a letter asking if a house would be
interested in looking at your work. A query also helps avoid the frustration of rejection
later on down the road. A number of resources are available, most notably from
Writer's Digest Books, to help authors with the ins and outs of publication. WDB annually
publishes The Writer's Market series, which includes volumes on general fiction, romance,
science fiction and fantasy, songwriting, and children's books...
There are other resources as well...Check out your local
library or bookstore for the latest!!"
Notes Courtesy of Claxton Graham - scifiwriter8502@email.com from a post on
Thumper's Corner, the AALBC.com's discussion group (http://aalbc.com)
Should an agent charge fees?
Someone doesn't need to pass a test or be licensed to become an agent (though
you do have to have a certain amount of experience and recommendations to join
the Association of Authors Representatives
or AAR). You can just hang up your shingle and become one. The practice of
charging fees used to be far more common than it is now. Though the practice
is not unheard of now, it tends to be frowned upon (I know new members of the
AAR cannot charge fees; ones who were already members and did when the
practice was more acceptable can continue). It was more common a while ago but
it's basically dying out.
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