Deadly Mistakes With Agents & Publishers - Tips for Authors: Part 2

Want to avoid the slush-pile and give your book the head-start it deserves? Top publishers and literary agents are receiving up to 1000 manuscripts per week. They reject around 95% of these without so much as reading them.

So you need to do everything possible to avoid costly mistakes when submitting your work.

o Poor Layout and Presentation

Publishers don't want single-spaced pages in 10 point typeface. They don't want fancy fonts or coloured paper. You may think it will grab their attention. It will, but for all the wrong reasons.

Use double-spacing and 12 point typeface. Number your pages and include a word count. Put your book title at the top of every page. This will ensure your manuscript looks professional and businesslike.

o Failing To Research Your Market

Do a couple of days' research before sending out your book. Who are the best agents and publishers to send it to? Who is likely to be most receptive?

It's no good haphazardly sending to every agent listed in The Writer's Handbook or The Writers' & Artists' Yearbook. You need to make your targets as precise as possible.

o Sending Out Work Before It's Ready

If you send your book out before it's ready, you'll end up doing yourself more harm than good.

Make sure someone with a credible reputation has read your manuscript before you post it. If possible, get professional endorsement. This means finding a reputable author or editor to read your book. You can then use their comments as part of your pitch.

o Getting Bogged Down By Small Detail

Often when writers revise their books, they focus on deleting sentences or tweaking paragraphs. They change colons to hyphens, and full-stops to commas. They get swamped in the small detail.

When revising your manuscript, remember the bigger picture. Ask yourself: is there enough drama or intrigue? Are there enough challenges, conflicts or questions? Are your chapters logically structured? Do you open your book with a bang rather than a whimper?

o Pestering

There's a fine line between pestering and perseverance. Writers sometimes forget that agents are giving their services for free up until the moment that a book is sold. This means they're covering the considerable costs for staff, time and paperwork, with their own money. This is a tremendous privilege, not an automatic right.

Making a nuisance of yourself by hassling agents - or publishers - is unlikely to result in anything positive. No matter how frustrated you feel, make sure you're always pleasant and polite.

It can be overwhelming when you first start sending out your book to agents and publishers. As with any new skill, it takes practice and repetition before you get it right.

Remember that few dreams are achieved without massive action. By reading this report, you've already taken the first step towards writing a professional pitch.