Oof, it’s muggy today in the UK today. It’s also my birthday! That is completely irrelevant to this post, but I just wanted to put it in here :D.

Last night I held my monthly ‘Ask Me Anything’ here in my Substack chat, which was exactly what it sounds like – a chance for authors to ask me anything on writing, editing or getting published!

Please do send on to anyone who you think might benefit from reading the answers. There were some excellent questions!

**Please note –you’re welcome to comment on this post, but I won’t be answering questions on it - you can ask questions in the next AMA on Sunday 27th September. I also don’t take questions in advance of the AMA.

Is it even worth sending out my psychological thriller that’s only 46,000 words?

It depends. If it’s literary fiction you can sometimes get away with it being really short. But if it’s commercial, you’d ideally be looking to move towards a minimum of 70K words before submitting to literary agents - I would personally pass on something that short, as I wouldn’t feel confident that I could sell it.

If you have paid for professional feedback and been told by agents that your submission package is good, your book is marketable and you are good to go, but you don’t seem to be getting anywhere with agents (not even full requests) what should your next steps be?

It depends how long it’s been on submission to agents. If it’s been six months, I would consider getting outside feedback but being very specific and saying that you want feedback on why it hasn’t been picked up. People often approach me for feedback on their submission documents and I’ll feed back on ways to strengthen them but unless they specifically say ‘I want to know why this hasn’t been picked up’, I won’t offer my opinion on that. I’d also recommend thinking about the next book - giving yourself something else to get excited about.

Biggest query letter no no? Or biggest yes yes lol

Turn off is simply when it’s not a genre I represent! For example, children’s books. Yes is much harder to qualify! Really, I just want something that clearly states what it is (e.g. all ‘market info’ like genre and comparison authors) and makes me intrigued enough to read the sample...

Do different literary agents like things submitted differently? And can you remind me best way to find suitable literary agents and will they then have requirements listed??

Yes, some agents - mostly agents in the US, but some in the UK also - prefer submissions to be sent to them via Query Tracker. Others, like my agency, prefer submissions via our website. The best way to check how they want to be submitted to is via looking at the guidelines on their website.

There are various ways to find literary agents - Query Tracker for US agents. There’s a directory on the website of the Association of Author’s Agents in the UK and manuscriptwishlist.com is very useful as you can search by genre, keyword or comparison author.

Hi Louise, what would you say is a great way to establish high stakes at the beginning of a novel and to show what the character risks losing if they don’t achieve their goal? I know how important this is to establish in pitching to agents but how is this best shown early in the novel? Thanks

I think there are various ways to do this. Try to ensure that your stakes are connected to both the plot and emotional arc of the novel and pick one of those to demonstrate in the opening chapter. One of the best ways you can do this is to give your character a difficult choice right at the start - for example, they have to choose between doing what their mum wants or doing what their boyfriend wants? The stake doesn’t have to be grand, but it has to feel significant to the character. Also adding in antagonists early on that are going to thwart your protagonist’s choices at every turn.

Also high stakes while have some intro to the character so the readers know a bit about them and care. Where’s the balance?

It’s hard to comment on this without having read it - I would seek feedback from others’ on the balance. You can drip feed character and thought into action, and then expand on character in later chapters. It’s absolutely possible to have both.

Any advice on the 30,00-foot review of a second draft?

Know that it’s hard. Get second reads from trusted readers. If you find yourself struggling, leave it for another couple of weeks. I know these sound trite, but they can help.

Are agents/publishers willing to have an author who wants to publish across genres?

Absolutely! I represent several authors who write across genres. The only time it’s really an issue is when the agent doesn’t represent certain areas. For example, I don’t represent children’s books.

Hi, I am really struggling at the moment - I have queried a lot of agents - mostly getting form rejections - only one full - he hung onto it for 7 months - then passed - he said he loved the book , connected with the protagonist, and enjoyed my style, and called me a “telented writer” but didnt think it would “break out” - its not safe its mixed genre. And am guessing risky - I just dont know whether I should park it and finish another project - feeling really disheartened - as I poured my heart and soul into it.

I’m sorry about that, I can understand how disheartening that must be. If you feel you’ve exhausted every agent and avenue then yes I would park it for now. Take what you’ve learnt from this - mixed genre is hard to sell! And think about something new that will fire up a flame in you. Occasionally, once you have an agent, they are able to sell previously written books, so it might not be a no forever.

Do you have any advice on waiting times? I’ve had a full manuscript request, which I sent over. Haven’t heard anything since. Waited three months before sending a polite follow-up. Haven’t heard anything. Is there any industry standard on agents replying after a full request? When should I call it quits and move on?

I would simply bear in mind that reading full submissions is usually at the bottom of an agent’s to-do list and it may be much longer before you hear back - it’s not uncommon for it to take six months for me to get back to authors on a full manuscript request. It’s not that I don’t want to but that reading them comes out of my free time and is done for free (we’re not paid until we’ve sold a book). I would let the other agents you’ve submitted to know that you’ve had a full manuscript request and also see if there are any other agents you can submit to whilst waiting.

Re comps: if I have four lister is it ok for one to be a really big, older book? My novel is about an obsessive female friendship and was hugely inspired by My Brilliant Friend. It feels remiss not to mention it! My three more comps that are more recent and modest!

That’s totally fine! So long as you have one recent comp.

As a first step to finding an agent, I want to publish an article-length version of the nonfiction story I’d like to expand to book length. Feedback from one literary magazine has been “fascinating story, excellent writing, but can you reduce from 6K words to 2K words?” Happy to do that but 2K words will tell a small piece of tale; it won’t serve agents as a preview of the book-length story. Is it still a next good step to submit the short version?

That’s tricky. I’m sorry to say I can’t answer it either - if the magazine have asked for a condensed version, and you want it to be published in the magazine, go for it! But most agents don’t ask for only 2k words - you usually have space for up to 10,000 words when submitting to them. It won’t matter to them if only 2K words were published in the magazine.

Hi Louise, my first novel is published with an indie publisher. I received my copies yesterday, which is the most exciting thing to have happened. I am therefore just at the start of launching this novel. I have full publishing rights over this book and 💯 royalties, which my publisher generously did for me as we worked together. I know this is probably common, but I love this book. Can I resubmit this novel now to agents or should I just put my energy into maximising what this book can do given the route it has taken and focus on the next novel?

Congratulations on publication with the indie publisher! Sadly, unless the book sells in large quantities, you won’t be able to submit it to literary agents. Publishers and retailers see previously published books as ‘known quantities’ and therefore don’t take them on unless they have sold in huge amounts or gone viral on TikTok. Therefore, agents won’t take them on as they won’t feel confident they can sell them to publishers.

Are any agents interested in late bloomers? I’m old. My career was spent writing (as a feature journalist) and now writing lit fiction, memoir, children’s and poetry which I know makes me look like a flake, but any and all rearranging of words interests me. (Sold a kids book to a big 5, short fiction and poetry to small lit journals but keep getting I-like-but… rejections on novels.)

Most agents really don’t care about age. They care about whether they can sell the book. Honestly. The market is challenging at the moment. Unless you are writing fantasy, horror or romance, it’s hard. Even literary fiction is tough at the moment. Keep trying and don’t let your worry about age get in the way! :-)

Are there times that UK agents are less responsive to queries? I started querying beginning of August, but some say that for US and UK authors August is a time many go on holidays and are away from their computer.

There are times when agents are more likely to respond and times when they are less likely, but that really varies per agent. Yes, August is a busy time as agents are either on holiday or looking after their kids over the summer (or both! That’s me!). But it has only been a few weeks since the start of August - most agents take a long time to get back on submissions because submission reading happens in their spare time. I’d give it another few months.

Hello, I’m neurodivergent and I really struggle to see books as comps. I struggle to compare my writing to others, I just can’t see it? Not in any I think I’m better or my book is unique kind of way! I can see tropes that are similar but when I have to give authors as an example for tone/vibe, I just can’t do it. Obviously this is a big concern for when I’m going to query, have you got any suggestions for what I can do please? Others have said I’ve just got to do it but I simply can’t 😞

I can see how this is hard. I would seek several second opinions from friends or beta readers or an editor/publishing expert. And then consider if those comparisons are somewhat suitable. Or ask in online writing groups too.

Are you seeing any changes in the way the Industry is engaging with Serialized Fiction from a publishing standpoint? Or is it still “come back to us when you have a finished book?

I am sorry to say that I haven’t seen any change in how the industry approaches serialized fiction - agents and publishers always want a completed manuscript unless it’s non-fiction (and to write that you need to either be an expert in your field or have a huge social media following).

Why do agents call books projects? Does it only become a book when it’s published?

I am not aware of agent calling them this, but editors in house will view them as projects because most of their role is project management.

Do you have any thoughts on the emerging “new adult” genre? I’ve heard some people also refer to it as crossover too and wonder if you’ve heard any rumblings of it becoming more popular! Thank you :)

Yes, I’ve been aware of this for the last couple of years - publishing has skewed ‘younger’ in recent years in terms of the audience they are aiming fiction at (women 18-30, primarily) and publishers have also published little into the YA space and so they are publishing in this ‘crossover’ space. But New Adult is a term that has been around since I was starting out in Publishing in 2009, it’s just come back around (Publishing is cyclical!).

Advice for memoirists querying their debut novel? It’s SO HARD for my clients to stand out with debuts. But, some of them have really fascinating stories to tell. It’s frustrating that they need a platform built first! While they are actively building and querying, is there anything they could be doing to stand out? Pitch events?

Are they querying their memoir or their novel? As memoir is REALLY difficult and yes you do usually need a platform, but you don’t for fiction. Yes, pitch events are a good way of getting your face in front of an agent.

Greetings from Canada, Louise. I am embarking on a self-published journey with my MG kids’ book and accompanying album of original songs. Meant for inspiring the gift of story telling and songwriting. Do I have a chance of reaching the eyes and ears of publishers?

I’m sure you do, but I am sorry to say that I don’t represent MG so don’t have any insights into it!

I have been sitting on a DEI book for 3 years and now it has metamorphosed into a book on staying human in every encounter. I was discouraged by feedback that the industry ‘can’t sell DEI’ but am now worried that I am not enough of a somebody to talk on the broader topic of staying human 😂 Does the premise sound true to you? DEI doesn’t sell? Does my phoenix from the flames make sense even though my expertise is in fact DEI 😂

Ah that’s a hard one to answer as I am not sure! DEI certainly isn’t selling like it was a few years ago but in my opinion that doesn’t mean there’s no space for it! There’s always an angle it can be hooked around (e.g. Jason Arday situation). But without seeing the specific proposal it’s hard to say.

Do you have an opinion or insight on seeking an agent for those of us with “large” subscriber lists? Is that realistic (using the large list to seek an agent, as well as writing ability of course)?

A large list will certainly count for something but the main thing agents are looking for is a strong idea/pitch; something they know they can sell.

Hi Louise, cover letter q: what’s the best way to hook you or agents in general would you say - start with an elevator pitch then add the blurb and then word count, genre etc after? Or you don’t care? Some feedback I’ve had from someone in publishing but not this country was that my letter is too long and takes too long to get to the hook so it’s almost buried (genre etc first) - would you just switch this. Also is a short bio expected here in the uk?

I prefer the market info like genre, word count and comparison authors right at the front - I like to know what I’m about to read and not have to hunt for that information. And then I’d launch into the ‘hook’. Yes to a short bio :-)

Another Q: for comps if you don’t mind - is it best to just say for fans of x and x? Or something specific from those books ie the atmospheric setting of x and the x of x Last thing, is there ever a place for an excerpt of the novel blurb style on the cover letter? Or save that for the sample material?

I think either way can be effective - so long as it’s not too long-winded. And yes absolutely a place for a blurb in a query letter! But keep it short: no more than 180 words, if possible.

And that was a wrap for this month! Thanks to those who joined.

Louise

A Note From Me

• Thank you to all my subscribers! I really appreciate you being here. If you found this post helpful, please do like, subscribe and share with anyone else who you think will find this post useful.

• Towards the end of September I’ll be launching a new course for paid subscribers, about how to make the opening pages of your novel stand out.

• If you are waiting to submit to me, I am sorry to say that I won’t be opening in September for submissions after all – I’ve had a number of unexpected spanners in the works with my family this year and with 600+ submissions still waiting in my inbox, I need to pause submissions for now. I may reopen for a week in October, but that will only be if I have made sufficient progress through my existing backlog.

• If you would like to work with me editorially, I am taking bookings for November onwards and you can contact me about this on my website.

• I have written an ebook on writing a standout query letter, which you can find here.

• I will be running further workshops on query letters and opening pages in the future. Watch this space!

These kinds of storylines offer us ongoing tension and suspense, but through a predictable lens: usually, most of the time, the people are saved from the fire, the man retrieves the jewels and the teenagers find a safe place to stay before it gets dark. We know what to expect. But that element of possibility – that the character’s might not achieve their goal – is what makes us sit on the edge of our seat and continue watching.

The same principle can be applied to your novel; adding a ‘ticking clock’ can make your novel more tense and encourage the reader to keep reading when they might have given up. Or, it could become the whole conceit upon which the novel is built. This is the case in Holly Seddon’s 59 Minutes, in which the UK is told that a nuclear bomb will hit in 59 Minutes and various characters spend most of the book trying to get back to, or locate, their loved ones. With each chapter, the clock counts down, until the fateful moment when we as a reader know a nuclear bomb will hit.

Think about these scenarios: you’ve been told your novel needs more tension, but you don’t know how to add that in. Or, you know your novel needs more tension and conflict but you’re at a loss for how to do that – as far as you are concerned, there’s conflict between your characters and impactful events happening, but some of the scenes just need a little extra something to make the reader want to continue turning the pages.

Read more

On Sunday night I held my monthly ‘Ask Me Anything’ here in my Substack chat, which was exactly what it sounds like – a chance for authors to ask me anything on writing, editing or getting published!

Here is a transcript of all the questions and my answers. There were a couple of questions I missed, so I’m sorry if anyone asked a question and I didn’t answer; Substack was being glitchy and I had to keep refreshing the page for it to show me all the questions.

Please do send on to anyone who you think might benefit from reading the answers. There were some excellent questions!

**Please note –you’re welcome to comment on this post, but I won’t be answering questions on it - you can ask questions in the next AMA on Wednesday 26^th August (note the date change: I am away on the Sunday). I also don’t take questions in advance of the AMA.

I am really struggling with a title for my book. Have any ideas how to make a really catchy one?

Titles are hard so you have my sympathies! I would say look at titles of competitor books for ideas. But also, if aiming for agent representation it’s totally fine to not have your title down - an agent and/or publisher can help you come up with a better one if it’s not quite right.

What is the best advice to someone who is looking for an agent with regard to where they live? Should a Brit look for a UK based agent? Does it matter?

It doesn’t really matter - but if the book is set in the UK then it would make sense to try UK agents first unless your book is a genre that you know US agents love. But honestly, most agents don’t care where an author lives.

If you have two stand alone manuscripts that you want to query, what’s the best way to approach this? Query one in the fall and the other in the spring if no agent responds?

There are different ways, your approach sounds good but equally I’ve seen different authors query both books at the same time but with no two agents at the same agency. It’s entirely up to you and won’t make a difference to the agent. You can also mention in your query letter - for example if you’re submitting a crime novel but have also written a horror you can add a line saying ‘I have also written a horror novel that I’ll be going out with shortly’ or some such.

Hi Louise, What makes you stop reading a submission – and where does that usually happen?

So many things! But mostly loss of tension and conflict in the first half.

Hi Louise I have a second book ready to go and don’t know how to move forward, first one was on Amazon! Yes query letter I think I understand that then what?

Is the second book part of a series? In which case I’m sorry to say it will be hard to secure representation if the first book is self-published unless it sold amazingly well. So you’d need to take it down from Amazon and submit the first book to agents. If second book is in a different genre or a standalone it’s fine to say you’ve self-published a separate book.

We’ve seen the internet debates nonstop over the past few years, but how do actual publishing companies feel about AI? Artistic value vs cost effectiveness be risk to audience... lots of things a consider when you’re a company, not an artist.

Publishing companies now almost all have clauses in their author contacts to say they won’t be using AI with the book. As an agent it’s our duty to make sure this covers certain scenarios, such as AI on the cover and ensuring that books aren’t uploaded to LLMs. But what I think companies *are* doing is using AI to streamline some internal processes. Don’t quote me on that though!

Any suggestions for social media handles? Does it have to have writer in it, for example?

Doesn’t matter at all, whatever you choose!

How long can it take an agent to respond after requesting a full manuscript? I waited 3 months and then contacted them but I’ve had no reply. They were super complimentary when they read the first 50 pages but now I feel like I’m being ghosted!

Oh, ages, sorry 😬. I can only speak for myself but it’s not unheard of for it to take me six months to respond! Full ms reading comes in my spare time and I don’t have a lot of that with two jobs and kids. There’s a lot of talk online about ghosting and I know some agents do that but most of the time it’s because agents really struggle to read the fulls in their spare time. I know it’s not what most authors want to hear!

Does your firm consider inquiries from American authors? More generally, do British agents consider American authors and vice versa?

Absolutely! We don’t care where an author is from, only whether we can sell the ms. Sometimes a ms set in the US will be easier for a US agent to sell (and vice versa with UK agents) but really it depends on who is representing your genre and what you are writing.

When you read a debut, how do you tell the difference between a strong voice and a strong idea? What does voice actually look like on the page for you?

Voice is the quality of the writing and how well the writing conveys character, internal thought, etc. It’s separate from pitch which is the concept 🙂.

Can you talk a bit about what upmarket means as a genre? My understanding is that it is a mix of literary and commercial but for some reason it feels really weird and up myself to call my work upmarket 😂.

You are right - it *is* that mix between literary and commercial and it’s really hard to be able to judge yourself if your writing is upmarket. I would get a second opinion from friends who understand books and genres and can give you an honest opinion. Or from an industry expert. Don’t be embarrassed! You need to sell your work correctly. But just bear in mind that most people are actually writing commercial fiction not upmarket 😁.

What can we do to submit our manuscripts to you?

You submit via a form on the HS-LA.com website. We will be opening again on 1st September for a week (though for anyone here who has submitted to me, I have a huge backlog to work through and will then be closed for the rest of the year!)

I wondered what you thought about competition entries as a strategy? By that I mean would you consider shortlistees of short story comps or first chapter / pages comps more favourably?

I *do* pay slightly more attention if an author has a prize shortlisting but if I’m honest the most important aspects for me are the pitch and the writing, so if you don’t have those, a prize shortlisting won’t matter.

Hi Louise. I’ve just finished a novel based mostly in the Boston area but with Irish expat characters. Is it best to query Irish or English or American agents? Thanks

I would say US agents to start with as this will feel more familiar to them. There aren’t many Irish agents but I’d target them if you don’t have much luck with US agents. Then only pitch to UK agents if you don’t have luck with the first two 😏.

How do I find agent suited to memoir genre! First book set worldwide english spelling 2nd American set in New York lived there 15 years do I just mention that and send both to same agent?

There are various places you can look, places like manuscriptwishlist.com are excellent because agents upload their wishlist and you can search by keyword e.g memoir. Yes.

I’ve sent out a batch of queries to literary agents 6 weeks ago - no full requests as yet. Is this a bad sign, or typical summer slow down? Thank you!

This is totally normal, whatever the time of year. Querying will likely take a long time and many agents have a policy whereby if you don’t hear back it’s a no so you’ll never hear back from them. I’d give it 6 months and then re-evaluate if you want to keep going. Also send out in batches so give it another 6 weeks and then see if there are more agents to submit to.

If you have a genuinely new angle on well covered topic, what would convince you to read more?

If I also felt that it was a genuinely new angle and if the writing is excellent. Also with most non-fiction publishers expect the author to either be an expert in their field or to have a large social media platform.

Do you have to have a different agent for YA / children’s and adult?

Sometimes, it depends if that agents represents both. For example, I only represent adult books but the other agent at my agency, Hannah, represents both adults and kids. So it depends on the agent. But it’s not uncommon to have two agents.

Will you work with writers who have used AI strictly for checking for typos and punctuation errors?

Our company policy is that we don’t work with writers who have used AI. But if there are instances where it’s been used to check for typos (for example if someone is dyslexic) then I think just add that in the query letter and most agents will be understanding.

So how important is building a writers platform for fiction writers? Why do you think we keep hearing the opposite?

Not important at all. In the US some agents are only really looking at follower numbers on places like TikTok but no UK agents are looking for this. It’s definitely misinformation as I haven’t had any publishers say they want their fiction authors to have a social media following.

And that was a wrap for this month!

A Note From Me

• Thank you to all my subscribers! I really appreciate you being here. If you found this post helpful, please do like, subscribe and share with anyone else who you think will find this post helpful.

• I am booked up with editorial work until mid-October, but if you are interested in working with me editorially from that point onward, feel free to reach out via my website.

• I have written an ebook on writing a standout query letter, which you can find here.

• I will be running further workshops on query letters and opening pages in the future. Watch this space!

“I’m a literary agent and one of the most common problems I see in opening pages is a lack of descriptive detail.

You have the dialogue

You have the inciting incident

You have the characters

Things happen

But I don’t know what the scene should look like in my head - there’s nothing in my mind’s eye. I don’t know what the characters can hear or smell. I don’t know what season it is.

Adding evocative descriptive details is one of the most powerful ways you can draw in a reader, and a literary agent.”

And it got me thinking: I haven’t written about the importance of adding descriptive detail to your writing! I’ve written about showing rather than telling, about adding detail to add credibility to your world-building, establishing character through details and adding detail to your opening paragraphs, but I haven’t written about descriptive detail as a general concept in fiction writing.

The responses to that note also taught me some valuable lessons:

• That some people out there have been told to cut the descriptive details and focus on everything else

• That some people have aphantasia, which means they aren’t able to visualise a picture in their mind’s eye

I knew both these points already but it was helpful having so many people confirm these to be true. Because it helps me to understand why so many writers really struggle to incorporate descriptive detail in their writing.

In my opinion (and it is just an opinion), descriptive detail is one of the most important aspects of fiction writing, and narrative non-fiction writing, because it is what helps to elevate your writing above what many others are doing at the moment. And when you want to catch the eye of a literary agent, or be remembered by your readers, it’s an aspect that needs just as much thought and focus as plot, structure, pacing and characterisation.

My responses to my note also taught me a third point: that many authors thought that I was suggesting descriptive detail trumps all the other aspects of writing. But that simply isn’t true. The more I read and edit over the years, the more I come to understand that writing is about a balance of elements. You need all the components (plot, structure, pacing, characterisation and descriptive detail, among others) for the book to work.

Note that this article is more for the underwriters than the overwriters. If you tend to include too much description, you will need to get out your red pen and trim some of it back, particularly if it gets in the way of the other elements.

So what is descriptive detail?

Descriptive detail is an aspect of writing that enhances reader engagement by enabling the reader to both visualise the story as it is happening and also feel what is happening. This distinction is important as those people with aphantasia, I am reliably told, feel and sense the story rather than seeing it in their mind’s eye.

Effective descriptive detail enhances and deepens the reading experience and also allows the book to feel more authentic and immersive.

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It’s a different type of post today as I thought it might be fun and interesting to write about the cover process – how covers are designed, what kind of feedback goes into creating them, how much input the author has, etc.

I’m going to do this through explaining how the cover for Betty Firth’s The Variety Girls came to be. If you haven’t guessed already, Betty is one of my authors and The Variety Girls was published yesterday. Here is the final, finished cover. I’m loving that gorgeous blue sky!

Step One: Editor briefs Designer

Betty is published by Hera and Betty’s editor at Hera created a ‘brief’ for the Designer to use when drafting ideas and cover approaches. With most traditionally published books, the editor will have read the book first and come up with some ideas for the cover from that initial read. In non-fiction the brief may be led more by the concept than the content. In the case of saga (or any books in a series), the author has often written a detailed outline of the content of the book – time-period, themes, characters, unique aspects and selling points – and in these instances the editor doesn’t always need to have read the book before giving a brief. In this instance, Betty’s editor knew that the series would be focused around a travelling variety troupe employed by ENSA, the organisation that provided morale-boosting entertainment to the armed forces in World War II, and so was able to send off a brief focusing on these aspects.

Sagas are unique in that there will often be a photo shoot for the picture of the women on the cover. Sometimes they are holding a baby, or a prop. Sometimes there are children on the cover, too. When I was an editor I was lucky enough to attend one of these photoshoots! If there isn’t a photoshoot, then a picture will be selected from a catalogue of unused photographs from other saga shoots, or stock libraries such as Alamy, Shutterstock and Trevillion.

Step Two: Team feeds back on Designer’s cover ideas

Once a Designer has received a brief, they will usually spend a few weeks working on this before presenting one, two or several different cover ideas in a ‘cover meeting’. The cover meeting is usually attended by members of the Sales teams as well as Marketing and Publicity, who will all get a chance to feed back on the suitability of the designs. The Editor also has a chance to feed back on whether the books fit the series style or branding, or if all the aspects match the content of the book.

Sometimes, especially if a retailer has been especially supportive of an author in the past, or if they are hoping a certain retailer will come on board with the book, the draft cover will be sent to the retailer for their feedback. This is often the case with books that Publishers are hoping Waterstones will come on board with, and sometimes the feedback from a retailer will completely change the whole approach to the cover and the Publisher will go back to the drawing board after the meeting.

Step Three: Send to author and work through different drafts

Once the company has a picture they are happy with in-house, it will be sent to the author to have a look at (in most instances!). As Betty says:

I always love seeing the first draft design of a new book cover, and how the designer has interpreted the story. I’m lucky to have a publisher who allow me some feedback on the way my covers look, which isn’t always the case. However, I know that the first job of a cover is to represent the story’s “vibe” in an appealing way to potential readers so I try not to be too precise about things like, for example, the hair or eye colours of the cover models compared to the characters. I do always check carefully for anything that might hint at a historical anachronism, which it’s important to get right (or readers will let you know about it!).

In the case of The Variety Girls, this is the cover that was sent to me and Betty:

As you can see, much of the cover is the same, but the backdrop is different. This is what Betty (who is really called Lisa) had to say about this version. With the cover for The Variety Girls, I was sent multiple drafts for my feedback. The first one had an urban background that I felt wasn’t well-suited to the story, the significant parts of which take place on the coast, and also that the cover model looked older than the main character.

Once this was fed back, we were sent a second version, here:

As you can see, the background has changed hugely. However, we still felt it wasn’t quite right. As Betty/Lisa says: The second draft fixed these issues, but included some rather modern seaside railings that didn’t suit the wartime setting. I included a reference photo for railing style with my feedback, and in the third draft, everything was perfect! The ultimate decision on design, title and shoutline is always the publisher’s, but it’s lovely as an author to feel I have a voice on how the book is presented as well.

And this is how we arrived at the cover I posted at the beginning!

You can find out more about the book here and here.

And read the blurb here:

Even in war, the show must go on…

March 1940
Bradford mill girl Molly Clough can hardly believe it when she successfully auditions for ENSA, the organisation that entertains the troops. Despite the much-mocked ENSA’s reputation as ‘Every Night Something Awful’, singing on stage feels like a dream come true for Molly.

But as she tours with her troupe, the Forces Follies, life proves to be far from the glamorous showbusiness world Molly had imagined. She and her new friends discover that raising the morale of tired, anxious soldiers is no easy task, especially now the so-called Phoney War has begun to heat up.

Life changes for Molly when handsome crooner Jack Forrester joins the Follies. At first she finds herself exasperated by Jack’s laid-back attitude, but when the two are paired as a singing duo, they quickly grow close. But will a devastating secret from Molly’s past derail their growing romance? And as evacuated soldiers pour in from Dunkirk, can the girls of the Forces Follies lift the spirits of men who have given everything for their country?

An emotional, captivating and uplifting romance for fans of Donna Douglas and Johanna Bell.

A Note From Me

• Thank you to all my subscribers! I really appreciate you being here. If you found this post helpful, please do like, subscribe and share with anyone else who you think will find this post helpful.

• I am booked up with editorial work until mid-October, but if you are interested in working with me editorially from that point onward, feel free to reach out via my website.

• I have written an ebook on writing a standout query letter, which you can find here.

As I will go on to show though, there are really only three aspects that the agent will truly care about. And most authors nail these!

If you want further confirmation on this, I spoke to literary agents Sally Ekus and Abigail Fenton too, for their take on which personal qualities they look for in an author. You can read what they had to say further down.

Without further ado, here are the three personal qualities agents look for in authors.

1) Ability to pitch their novel succinctly.

I’ve put this quality first because it comes first in an agent’s reasoning; agents are considering the pitch from the very first line in the query letter, long before they get in touch with the author to have ‘the call’. Publishing is a business and if the book doesn’t have a clear pitch, the agent won’t be offering representation. Therefore, as an author, you need to think about making your pitch as clear as possible. Writing and understanding the industry are two different types of work – but both need to happen before you submit to agents. And as an agent, it’s easier to work with an author who understands the industry they want to break into: they will understand the market, understand (and hopefully share) the vision for the book that the agent presents and also understand what is expected of them as an author.

As Abigail Fenton says, ‘Above all I’m looking for authors who are looking to build a long-term career as an author. That means being open to editorial feedback, understanding that publishing is a business, and full of ideas.’

Read more

It means that when something is really good, it stands out. And if a book can make me cry, then I know I’m reading something special.

Last week I was making my daughter’s packed-lunch before I took my kids to school, and whilst I was doing this I was listening to the ending of A Family Matter by Claire Lynch. [Note, this isn’t a book I’ve represented, just to make that clear.]

And I was crying. Properly sobbing. Tears dropping-into-the-pitta-bread kind of crying.

Because Maggie had just confronted her mother Dawn about why Dawn left her all those years ago.

To Maggie, and I would presume much of the real-life outside world, her mother’s decision to leave her when she was four-years-old constituted an abandonment that she spent 40 years wrestling with.

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But what you come to learn over the course of the novel is that Dawn was made to face an impossible choice.

Now, before I go on to tell you what that impossible choice is, I strongly suggest that if you plan on reading this book, you stop reading now. Or at least skip until after the book cover.

Read more

Last night I held my monthly ‘Ask Me Anything’ here in my Substack chat, which was exactly what it sounds like – a chance for authors to ask me anything on writing, editing or getting published!

Here is a transcript of all the questions and my answers. Please do send on to anyone who you think might benefit from reading the answers. There were some excellent questions!

**Please note –you’re welcome to comment on this post, but I won’t be answering questions on it - you can ask questions in the next AMA on Sunday 26^th July. I also don’t take questions in advance of the AMA.

Hi Louise. I wanted to ask as an international author, how do things differ in the process of querying to publishing? Are there certain things I need to keep in mind? If I get an offer would my contract be different? Thank you

Hi, so the process would only differ if you’re trying to secure publication in your own country. If you’re applying to UK agents it would be the same process as UK authors. Your contract wouldn’t be different. The only thing that might be different is in terms of how you are paid once you have a deal - you might have to fill out certain forms for tax purposes.

Amazing, and most of that can be done remotely, right? What would be a situation where I’d have to fly over?

All of it can be done remotely! You’d only fly over once you have a deal and if the publisher is paying for it and wants you here for publicity.

Is it worth sending a manuscript to a publisher with open submissions as a ‘cold call’ or should you make every effort to find an agent first?

I would say if you’ve tried getting an agent and haven’t had any luck then it’s certainly worth applying with open submissions to publishers. Sometimes being offered a deal off the back of that can result in then securing an agent.

Hi Louise, my question might be somewhat specific. I’m a Hungarian debut author with a traditionally published historical fiction set in 17th century England (I studied early modern history at uni). I’d like to have it published in English (I hold the translation rights) but I’m not sure how to get started. Can I only query with a fully translated manuscript in case of an already published book or would 3-5 chapters do? I think I’d be able to put together a pretty strong query letter and I’ve found a few professional literary translators but the amount of text I need translated worries me budgetwise. And I’m not even sure if I’d stand a chance on the international book market. Do you have any advice?

Hi, so you wouldn’t usually need the whole manuscript translated - 3-5 chapters is fine 🙂.

Hi Louise! Thanks so much for this. I’m about to go into editing mode after leaving my first draft alone for a month. I have a reward chart and a plan, I think I know what I need to do, but my confidence is zero. The last project I worked on came to a standstill during my editing phase because I couldn’t figure out the plot/stakes. I don’t have that issue this time, but I keep thinking I’m not capable, I won’t be able to do this story/editing justice. I feel really scared??? It’s really weird. I love this project and want to make it great, but my head is getting in the way. Any advice greatly received. Thank you x

I imagine there will be plenty of authors who this feeling will resonate with 🙂. I would just try really hard not to let the negative thoughts get in the way. Tell yourself that it’s okay to have a 2nd/3rd/4th shitty draft but that you will get there in the end. Also get someone else to read the manuscript whose opinion you trust. Sometimes just hearing what they enjoyed can be validating.

Hey Louise. I’m a writer from the Nigerian space—a country where writing isn’t really celebrated or renowned... A place where reading is just a means to some end. But I write stories that are for a demographic like yours. Those who see the dexterity and skill in writing. And so I also want to know what would it take for me to be represented? Do agents take representation from people like myself? Things like that I’ve always wanted to know.

Most agents are happy to represent anyone from anywhere, they don’t care which part of the world someone comes from or lives in. But the book does have to have a pitch they know they can sell and also the English needs to be of a really high quality.

I also want to know if you are interested in Philosophical Literary Fiction. Writings like C.S. Lewis’s that have a hidden agenda of inspiring belief in God/Christianity through beautiful fiction. Mine is a Time Travel Story.

I’m interested in this genre but I’d need to have recent comparison titles; I’d need to be made to feel confident that I could sell it and I know exactly how to pitch it.

Evening Louise, when a manuscript is ready, and it’s submitted to various agents, what would be your advice if one agent replies, but you are still awaiting a response from others?

Do you mean if an agent requests the full manuscript? You let the other agents know you have a full manuscript request 🙂.

I have a question about the marketability of my work-in-progress. It is a historical fiction adventure novel set in ancient Egypt and has a teen protagonist. However I am worried it will not fit well in the categories of marketable fiction (it is YA historical fiction). Right now I am only in the research/plotting stage, but would hate to waste the next year or so on a book that has nowhere to go on a bookstore’s shelf. I appreciate your thoughts!

Hi, so I don’t represent YA and am therefore not the best person to ask ... However, I would say that wherever the market is at now, will not be where the market is whether the book is ready to be submitted to agents so I’d try not to let that get in the way of writing - it’s best to write what you are passionate about and worry about how to sell it down the line.

Can you explain the option vs outright purchase of tv/movie rights for a novel? How common is it? What type of monetary offers are possible in the present streaming-led marketplace. Thank you.

I only have linked experience in this area as I’m a book agent rather than TV but it’s almost always options. Or the film and TV companies licence something called a shopping agreement where they have a writer or producer attached and they then have to ‘shop’ around to find a financial partner.

Hey! I have a question on AI. While I’ve been writing my book without AI, there are times when I am stuck figuring out how to phrase things the best way so I’ll consult a bot. From your perspective, what, if any, risks are involved in using a bot?

I would say it depends on the extent of the usage. If it makes the work read like AI then that will be a red flag for most agents and publishers. But if it’s the occasional line that’s fair enough. (Though purely from an environmental perspective, given the heatwave we’ve just had in Europe, I’d not use AI at all).

A friend asks you: “What can an average author earn from 100,000 units sold?” From your experiences, what is a ballpark idea about the average royalty for books, pre-agent fee, etc. Using net sales price after pub costs on royalty percentages; different formats & territories not withstanding.

Hi, that’s an impossible question to answer here as there are so many factors to it - for example, if the deal is using an advance model or a royalty-only model. I can’t answer in this AMA I’m afraid.

For a 1st and 2nd novel for a new author on your list (thriller/suspense/crime), what level of sales would you consider a success/failure? And what level would avoid a failure to place a 2nd book deal w/the publisher to publish book #3 & #4?

As with previous question, this is impossible to answer as it depends on so many factors. For example, if you were given a £100k advance and sold 50k units, this would likely be deemed a failure as you wouldn’t have been able to earn out your advance but if you received a £3k advance and sold 20k copies, you’d earn out your advance and be considered a more attractive proposition to publishers.

Do you have advice on writing a good synopsis?

Lots of advice! If you scroll back through my posts on here, I wrote a Substack piece on it a couple of months ago. Essentially, summarise all the main plot points, and emotional arcs and make sure to include how the novel ends.

Should you tell them which agent is looking at your book, or is that unprofessional?

I think most agents don’t need to know/it’s irrelevant to them. Occasionally when people do say and it’s a really established agent I might sit up a bit but most of the time I just want to know that other agents are interested and therefore I should place it higher up the list.

Hi Louise, are you seeing any trends in genres coming through in your submissions?

Not especially. I see a lot of fantasy but that is what is popular at the moment and what Publishers are asking for. I also see a lot of climate fiction, which I imagine I will see a whole lot more of following this summer!

Hi Louise. Thanks so much for doing this. I was wondering if you have any insight into the current market for contemporary romance/romcoms written by men and from the male perspective please? Recent male-written novels in the genre - Nicholls, Hornby and now David Webb - seem to be from a female or a male AND female perspective, and am nervous that this might be the wrong time to continue querying my novel.

Romance is very popular right now and even though many of the authors are female that’s more because a majority of the readership is female. I definitely think there’s space for male writers in this area! And I think publishers would too ☺️.

What are the top minimum requirements a new author must accomplish in their book to have a literary agent take them serious and additional be moved to take action?

I would say the main priorities are 1) something with a clear USP that will be easy for an agent to pitch and 2) brilliant writing.

Hi Louise, thank you for your time. There seems to be growing interest in novels that sit between genres, for example, epic fantasy with strong romantic threads, or historical fantasy rooted in mythology. Would you see that as a strength because it broadens readership, or a challenge because it makes positioning the book more difficult? Thanks again

Hi, unless you’re writing fantasy romance I would see it as a challenge. This has just been my own experience but I’ve repped a couple of books that have been ‘between genres’ and every publisher turned it down for that very reason. That said, if it’s two popular genres at the moment, I think they’d still stand a chance. For example a thriller romance or horror romance (basically anything + romance ...)

Hi Louise, I may be asking this twice, but my original question seems to have disappeared. Q: With the new stated UK trad pubs policy on no AI whatsoever, does that now preclude writers who used AI simply to check for typos and misused or missing punctuation?

I am unsure if I’m honest. I would err on the side of caution as there was the recent story of a book where the author hired an editor who outsourced the copy-editing to AI without the author’s knowledge and then the book was pulled. It’s probably fine to use it for proofreading but only if you then go back through the whole thing and check that it hasn’t changed any of it. Personally, I’d be wary about using it at all, especially as every time we use AI it has a significant environmental impact.

I’m taking a submission break over the summer and use this time to do what I should have done 5 years ago. I have butchered my first manuscript. A 250,000 word duology has become a 105,000 word standalone. Now it’s close to what it should have before I sent it to every relevant agent I could find in two countries. My question: three years after I gave up would you have reread my much improved cover letter?

I do look at something again if an author says they submitted it to me in the past but they’ve considerably changed it. It would need to be a significant change though.

How do you stay motivated to keep submitting when it feels like it’s hard to get an agent and publishing deal and if you self publish you’ve got to think hard about marketing....or I’d have to do that either way. Every time I click on anywhere I read how challenging it is publishing a book but I love writing but really want to get my books into the world.

I’m probably not the best person to ask as I can only offer statistics that might feel quite dispiriting. I’d say think about all those authors who were only picked up on their 4th/5th/7th book. And focus on learning how to be a better writer, improving craft. Find other writers to commiserate with, who understand.

I’m writing about a fictionalized version of my experience as a US based former homeschooler and the struggles the main character goes through after being free of the fundamentalist/evangelical movement and trying to assimilate back into main stream life. This follows the likes of Jill Duggar’s book Counting the Cost and Shari Franke’s book The House of My Mother. I’m hesitant to bring up the related politics and US MAGA movement because while it’s all very interconnected, it also sets the book in a very specific time. Do you have an opinion on either leaving politics completely out or using it to weave the story into bigger narratives?

I’m probably not the best person to ask as I’m UK based and I don’t really know how US agents would feel about books with a political standpoint. I think you’d need to ask a US agent if this is fine. I suspect it is and there will always be agents looking for bold, discussion producing books with a message.

Hey. Quick question, out of the 3,000 submissions you receive per year, how many are instantly no gos? I ask this because I recently found an old query letter of mine from 10 years ago. It made for embarrassing reading…. the agent probably didn’t make it past the first sentence.

I’d say it’s a fast no for maybe 50% of submissions but often that’s because the author is writing in an area I don’t represent or the word count is wildly out.

And that’s a wrap!

*
Webinar on how to craft the perfect query letter

For the first time ever, I am holding a live workshop on how to craft the perfect query letter.

This session is perfect for those writing adult or YA fiction.

Together, we will explore the key elements of a query letter, including:

• Pitch

• Comparison authors

• Blurb

• How to personalise to each agent

• And other aspects!

Throughout the session there will be opportunities to share aspects of your query letter with me (such as pitch) and I will provide live feedback on it. I will also be sharing examples of successful query letters and answering FAQs.

The webinar will be held on **Thursday 9th June** from 1pm-4pm UK time, on zoom.

I appreciate this isn’t the best time or day for everyone and I will be hosting other webinars later in the year.

Here is the event invite:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-write-a-standout-query-letter-tickets-1990768235382?aff=oddtdtcreator

I still have lots of tickets available and I’d love to see some of you there!

* A Note From Me

• Thank you to all my subscribers! I really appreciate you being here. If you found this post helpful, please do like, subscribe and share with anyone else who you think will find this post helpful.

• I am booked up with editorial work until October, but if you are interested in working with me editorially from that point onwards, feel free to reach out via my website.

• I have written an ebook on writing a standout query letter, which you can find here

• My next open window as an agent will be 1st-7th July and then I will be closing for August and possibly longer, depending on how long it takes me to go through my submissions. I am still working my way through submissions from earlier in the year, so do bear with me!

What is a prologue?

A prologue is an introductory chapter, that opens your novel. It is often, but not always, shorter than the average chapter. Often it features events the precede the main action in the story, but sometimes it takes an event from later in the novel and uses it as a teaser for what is to come. Usually it sets the tone, introduces important characters and themes or provides backstory.

Read more

A slightly different post today as I wanted to share some of the accounts I have most enjoyed reading since I joined Substack. Whilst my own Substack is all about how to edit your novel and how to get published, I am a human being (I know, shocker!) and sometimes I just want to read about books that are not the books I’m working on, or read about tortured artists and their difficult lives.

With this in mind, I am recommending five accounts for those of you who also enjoy reading and art.

1) Still Sketching by Deborah Vass

There is something about the lives of 20^th century artists that has always fascinated me and when I stumbled across Deborah’s Substack, I knew this was a writer I wanted to read more from. Deborah is an artist who writes about women whose lives have been shaped by the men around them - female artists, writers and illustrators who were prevented from forging their own path because of motherhood or domestic duty or who fortune didn’t favour and have largely been forgotten about. What I love most about Deborah’s Substack posts are how she is able to write in a way that appears effortlessly engaging and yet it is clear how much work and research has gone into writing each piece.

Read: The Vanishing of Krystyna Turska

2) Receipt from the Bookshop by Katie Clapham

Katie is someone I’ve followed for many years, first on other platforms and now on here. She co-owns an independent bookshop called Storytellers, Inc, in a UK seaside town and posts about her day-in-the-life at the bookshop. Her Substack is warm and bookish, with a brilliant weekend chat where readers can see what others’ are reading. And as someone who started her publishing career working in a bookshop, I find the commentary of who comes in and buys what endlessly fascinating. She has also (last week!) had a book published, Receipts from the Bookshop.

Read: Receipt from the Bookshop #147

3) Cool Stories About Art

Cool Stories About Art is exactly what the publication name describes – a prolific publication that brings to light 10 ‘captivating stories’ a month, plus multiple notes a day, about artists and their paintings. I love the focus on both famous artists and also lesser known artists, and the publication has brought many paintings to attention that I wouldn’t have otherwise known about. What is impressive is the sheer output – at any one time you can visit the Substack and learn something new. The Substack also brings to light the hidden stories behind some of history’s most famous art works.

Read: The Mafia and the Missing Carravagio

4) Crib Notes by Elizabeth Morris

Like Katie, Elizabeth is also someone I’ve followed for a long time, since before the inception of her newsletter, Crib Notes. Crib Notes provides book recommendations ‘from the frontline of motherhood’ for time-strapped women, primarily, but usually she covers a real breadth of literary and upmarket fiction recommendations in each newsletter, often grouped around themes (e.g on desire, on if you have SAD, if you want something spooky). If I am ever unsure what to read next, I know that there will be at least one recommendation in her newsletter that captures – and holds – my attention. All the books she recommends are also on the Crib Notes virtual bookshop.

Read: 19 Books for Every Mood of Motherhood

5) Alice’s Substack: The Well Read Watercolourist

This last entry is a bit of a sneaky one as I am biased, because Alice is a close friend of mine. But Alice writes about a mix of topics across the spectrum of art and writing - she is both a very talented pet portrait artist and an author. She’s also one of the most well read people I know! I love the way each of her longer Substack posts mix thoughts on art, writing, reading, nature, our seaside town of St Leonards-on-Sea and notes on everyday life.

Read: A Week in Watercolour: The Greenest Week

A Note From Me

• Thank you to all my subscribers! I really appreciate you being here. If you found this post helpful, please do like, subscribe and share with anyone else who you think will find this post helpful.

• I have have had a longer project cancelled and therefore am available to take on some editorial work at the end of this month and into the first half of July. I also have some spots available for book coaching from September. If you are interested in working with me editorially, feel free to reach out via my website.

• I am holding a virtual workshop on writing a query letter on Thursday 9th July, from 1pm - 4pm. I haven’t sorted an invite yet, but you can register your interest here. Places will be limited.

• I have written an ebook on writing a standout query letter, which you can find here

• My next open window as an agent will be 1st-7th July and then I will be closing for August and possibly longer, depending on how long it takes me to go through my submissions.

Last night I held my monthly ‘Ask Me Anything’ here in my Substack chat, which was exactly what it sounds like – a chance for authors to ask me anything on writing, editing or getting published!

Here is a transcript of all the questions and my answers. Please do send on to anyone who you think might benefit from reading the answers. There were some excellent questions, and it’s a long one!

**Please note –you’re welcome to comment on this post, but I won’t be answering questions on it - you can ask questions in the next AMA on 28th June.

Hello! Good evening! can you let me know a little what to expect with traditional publishing contracts and deadlines. How long do you typically have to work on other books in a sequel. It takes me years to write, juggling children and work. I didn’t know whether self pub might be better as I have full control over deadlines etc

Hi! So this is something that is usually agreed with a publisher. Most publishers prefer authors of commercial fiction to be writing a book a year, but with literary fiction there are often no deadlines as such and the author is given more leeway. If a book a year isn’t possible then yes self-publishing might be the better option. But if I’m honest it can take months and sometimes years to even secure agent representation and in that time you might have written another novel!

Hello, I have a question. If I’ve already queried an agent from a literary agency, and was rejected, can I then query another agent in that agency afterwards? I have exhausted my list of literary agents to query and don’t know whether it’s appropriate/polite to query another agent from the same agency. Thank you

I would email the new agent at the agency and ask if they are happy to receive it 🙂. You’ll probably find that most are, but some agencies might have a policy of only submit to one - you’ll need to look at their website to check.

I’m just over 44,000 words on my debut horror novel and Ive been looking online for the ideal word count for the genre and I often find websites saying 70k - 90k is a good spot. I fear that mine may be longer than that (maybe 110 - 120k) and I dont want to put agents off when it comes to submitting my manuscript.
What’s your thoughts on this?

I would say that yes 110-12Ok is too long. At the moment, don’t worry about that though. Focus on finishing it and then prune back afterwards, incorporating beta reader feedback too on how to make it more concise.

I’d like to get your take on an idea for making the query process more humane for all involved. Agents are inundated with queries; authors get no feedback. What if authors and agents made a pact, in which authors agreed to limit the number of queries they make, say 25 per quarter, and in turn agents agreed to respond to every query with some kind of feedback? (I’m leaving out the technical details of monitoring compliance, for brevity.)

I understand why you’re suggesting this. But the issue is the number of people querying not how many agents they query. Many authors I know have only queried 20-30 agents *in total*
The other issue is that agents only have time to look at queries in their spare time as most are only paid once they have sold a book and have day jobs during the day (at least some of the time). I wish I had an answer to the problem but I don’t unfortunately 😔.

Sorry if this is a silly/obvious question- but I don’t really know where to start… I have a book idea, a rough outline and a few hundred words. I’m guessing that I need an agent, and to secure that, I need at least the first chapter and a solid outline? Do I need more than that? And is there an easy way to find agents who’d be interested?

Hi, I’m sorry to say that almost all agents will only accept finished manuscripts/books. Your best way of thinking at the moment is to forget about finding an agent for now and to focus on writing and then finishing the book. They you need to edit it (probably many times) and then you will be in a good place to approach agents 🙂. To answer the second part of your question there are directories and places where you can find agents such as manuscriptwishlist.com, Jericho Writers and the members directory on the website for the Association of Authors’ Agents.

Hi Louise, what advice can you give when it comes to editing? My word count is currently pretty much where it should be (from what I understand) for my genre, but when it comes to trying to remove words, what sorts of things do you look for as targets for the ‘cutting room floor’? (so to speak)

If your word count is where it should be then you may not need to do much cutting 😏.
But when I’m editing I tend to look more at the big picture - is every scene progressing both the plot and character arc/s? Are all of my characters serving the best purpose or does one of them need to go? Are there any scenes slowing down the pace? Am I info dumping instead of showing the story?
At a line level I usually only suggest cuts where something is repeated or the reader is being told something they could be shown.

We all know how important the story is, but when looking to work with a new author, what else do you consider? How you click is key I’m sure, but what about networking, social media presence etc? I’ve had a number of short stories published recently, and I wonder if it makes any difference when you’re in the slush pile? Again, thank you, any glimpse behind the curtain is helpful!

I would say it’s worth mentioning any short story prize listings or publications but agents don’t really care so much about social media presence for fiction. I’m not sure what you mean by networking - attending events with agents? I think they can be valuable as you can often receive feedback on your writing at these events and have the opportunity to get a feel for an agent and ask them questions.

I’m writing fantasy, UK based. I’m finding navigating the agent space slightly overwhelming. Are there pro and cons of querying UK vs US agents? Or ultimately unless it’s a UK-specific historical fiction type it ultimately doesn’t matter.

With fantasy I really don’t think it matters which side of the pond you query - it’s more about whether your book matches what the agent is looking for. I don’t know if that helps or makes it more overwhelming?!

I have a question and I am not sure it is clear-cut. Where does Middle-Grade Fiction fall—is it YA or does it fall under another category? I am confused! Thank you.

No worries! Middle-grade is... Middle-grade! It’s its own separate category, assuming you mean you are writing for 8-12 year-olds. It’s not YA 🙂

A reputable press offered to publish my book but requested a commitment by me to purchase a number of books. I posted this on the Authors Guild site and someone said that even legit presses are requesting this from debut authors. Is this the case?

I have NEVER heard of this and I would be wary. It might be something that’s acceptable in the US but it certainly isn’t in the UK.

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Does memoir differ in how it opens (I’m thinking about the hero journey/inciting incident and perhaps the need to get there quite quickly in a health/travel memoir? I am more used to writing fiction but naturally want to use fiction beats/hero journey for this “story”. Thanks. In common with The Salt Path - it is a travel/health journey.

If I’m honest, I haven’t studied whether the hero’s journey can/should be mapped onto memoir (one for me to think about though!!). But the thing with memoir is you do need a strong emotional event at the start, told in a narrative way, to introduce the main ‘themes’ of the book.

Hi, excellent to see you doing this. I am writing a sequel to my published work. Is it common decency to propose the sequel to my publisher first? Or is going a different route, such as finding an agent, or self publishing my sequel ok? I have a great relationship with my publisher though. Just exploring options.

If your first book is traditionally published with a publisher then you will need to check the contract. Most publishers will have an ‘option clause’ in the contract you signed stating that they have first look at your next book. I would reach out to your publisher first if you have a great relationship with them.

For every author/manuscript that you take on, approx. how many 3 chapter submissions, full requests & Zoom/Phone calls led up to it? If, for example, 3,000 3 chapter submissions were received, how many warranted a full request. And how many Zoom requests to eventually whittle it down to the one author?

So I can only speak for myself but of 3,000 submissions I might request maybe 25 full manuscripts. But I only ask for a zoom when I’m going to offer representation. And I might offer on maybe 7 of those full manuscripts.

And of the 7 offers made, how many of them get accepted by the authors? Thanks.

Totally depends on the agent! I made 7 offers last year and 5 accepted and the other two had other agent offers and picked them instead.
But most authors accept the agent offer as they might not get another one - though I should add you should only accept if it’s an agent you trust and feel happy with.

What helps an agent make a decision as to whether or not they want to represent a romance novel? What do you look for? What excites you?

If the novel has a clear point of difference meaning it will stand out in a competitive market. So that means a clear ‘hook’, that ideally feels fresh, and also clear comparison titles so I know exactly where it sits in the market.

Hi Louise, this is really useful to read through so thanks for doing this! In your opinion, what would you say most authors get ‘wrong’ when they first start querying? Is it the synopsis or how/what they’re selling the story as or something else?

The two most common reasons for me passing on something are:
-word count is way over standard parameters (or occasionally under)
-the genre is not one I represent, not on my wishlist
So I would say the most common problems are that authors aren’t aware of standard word counts or haven’t edited sufficiently, or that they haven’t done their due diligence to make sure their book matches what the agent is looking for.
Synopsis doesn’t usually come into it!

Thanks for taking questions! In your experience, how likely is it that men will read a book whose lead character is a female? Thanks!

Unlikely, because statistically many more women read that men 🙂 but hard to say without knowing the specific genre.

In your experience, what is the likely acceptance rate of a debut author or does it purely depend on the quality of thr writing.
Generally what is the usual timescale from taking on a manuscript to publication or does this depend on which publishers are interested?

Acceptance by agents? Most agents probably take on 1-5% of books submitted to them. Acceptance by Publishers? Maybe 40-50% of books submitted to publishers from agents but don’t quote me on that!
Timescale to publication once we’ve secured a publisher - for fiction: 18 months - 2 years, non-fiction: 6 months - 2 years.

Louise, what’s high on your wishlist for projects? Is there anything you’d love to see in your inbox?

If I’m completely honest I’d love some more non-fiction from experts in their fields. And some more literary fiction. Commercial fiction is tough right now and I don’t represent romantasy so I’m less sure what I’m looking for in fiction at the moment as I’m waiting to see where the market moves. It’s more a case of ‘I’ll know when I’ll see it’.

The word count thing seems to come up a lot. I know a lot of advice says you are not the exception of the rule, but if the word count is 20k above the typical guidelines is it a flat out rejection and you don’t even read the query / work. Or would you read it first?

This response will differ by agent. When I was first starting out I was much more forgiving of word count. But my life is much busier now and I have less time to read longer books, and more importantly publishers are less likely to take on longer books - the cost of paper has risen significantly since Brexit along with other costs meaning that cost per book is much higher than it used to be. So publishers are less likely to take on longer books and therefore that makes agents cautious. To clarify, for me word count is often a flat rejection but may not be for other agents.

I have a very specific question. If I were to write a novel where the cast is in a production of a known musical, would that cause issues re copyright? Or only if I used exact quotes from it? X

Hmm that’s a good question! I honestly don’t know. I suspect if you don’t quote at all from the musical you’d be okay.

If the story hook / query letter fails to find interest, does an agent still look at any pages? Or, do they skip it because of workload and lack of initial interest making it harder to represent/sell?

This will also depend on the agent. Some agents start with the opening pages! But I’m not one of them - if I don’t have a handle on the book from the query letter or feel it is something I can sell, I won’t read the sample pages.

You say “commercial fiction is tough right now”—why? And for clarity, how do you define “commercial fiction”?

Various reasons - publishers are only taking on fiction in a few areas at the moment (mostly romance, romantasy, fantasy and horror). If you are writing in other areas, it will be hard for the agent to sell to publishers. Also the supermarkets in the UK have reduced their shelf space for debut authors so there are fewer avenues for debuts to be discovered by readers. Commercial fiction is hard to explain but it’s about the voice and tone - it is the majority of fiction published. Literary fiction is what wins the prizes.

Thank you so much to everyone who came and provided such thoughtful questions. I hope there’s something useful here for everyone.

A Note From Me

• Thank you to all my subscribers! I really appreciate you being here. If you found this post helpful, please do like, subscribe and share with anyone else who you think will find this post helpful.

• I am holding a virtual workshop on writing a query letter on Thursday 9th July, from 1pm - 4pm. I haven’t sorted an invite yet, but you can register your interest here. Places will be limited.

• I have written an ebook on writing a standout query letter, which you can find here

• I have quite a bit of editorial work booked in over the next few months, but if you would like to work with me editorially from September, you can contact me on my website.

• If you would like to submit your work to me, you can find our submission guidelines and a list of the types of books I’m looking for on the HSLA website.

The thing about any world you have created, whether that is a fantastical world, a science fictional world, historical fiction or simply a part of the world or society that most readers aren’t familiar with . . . is that readers need to fully believe the world they are inhabiting. They need to feel immersed in it as they are reading, to be able to visualise it and understand it’s laws and rules. If that is all richly established, the reader can become fully invested in the story and the characters, and completely transported elsewhere.

When these aspects are vague or holey at best, or completely missing at worst, the reader becomes distracted by trying to understand how the world works instead of wrapped up in the story and the characters.

Therefore, it is important you spend some time, if you are writing one of the aforementioned types of novels, fleshing out your world before you start writing, as you write, and when you are editing.

Creating a compelling and believable world in your novel is easier said than done. But I have some suggestions for how you can work on these aspects to create a truly fantastic world.

Read more

I once heard another agent say that there was no ‘formula’ for writing a query letter, and I surreptitiously gave them a side eye. Because, in my opinion, when I go through my submissions inbox, there are letters written in such a way that I am more interested than other submissions.

In other words, there IS a formula that is more likely to pique my attention and make me read the sample pages and synopsis.

And writers want to know what that formula is. This is the reason why posts such as this one and this one are so popular; writers want to know how to write a successful query letter!

I can skirt around the bush and offer hints and tips, as I have done in the past. But that still feels like a form of gatekeeping and as most of you who follow me and subscribe to me know, I’m trying hard not to do that. Instead, I have crafted my own template [formula…], which I am going to share with you.

It’s a template for those writing a novel, so do note that this won’t be useful to non-fiction authors.

THEN I’m going to show you what that template looks like in practice, i.e how you can apply it to your own novel.

*

Before I do that though, it’s worth going over the purpose of a query letter:

I’ve written before about how agents have at most a few minutes to consider each submission, often even less time than this. Therefore, if you consider what I have put above and combine it with how much time an agent has to look at each submission, agents are really only glancing at the following and skim reading everything else:

• Market information, including genre and comparisons

• Word count

• Blurb

If you take these points into consideration, the query letter really only serves the purpose of GETTING YOU THROUGH THE DOOR so that the agent then reads the sample.

I’m going to say this again, as I think it’s something authors worry about (as I would too, if I hadn’t worked in the industry for over 15 years . . . ), your query letter just needs to GET YOU THROUGH THE DOOR so that the agent reads the sample.

It does NOT need:

• To be really long (more than one A4 page)

• To include lots of information about you as a writer

• To replicate some of the synopsis

Some caveats on this template:

• Some agencies may have specific guidelines on the query letter, so always make sure to check individual agency guidelines

• The query letter is an important part of the submission package, but if your sample pages and manuscript aren’t the best they can possibly be, the agent will not be requesting the full manuscript

  *

So I’m not going to prevaricate any more! Here it is…

The Template [Formula]

Dear [Agent],

I am delighted/pleased to be submitting [MY NOVEL] to you, a [number of words], [genre] novel that is [comparison authors]. I am submitting to you because [reason you are submitting to that agent].

[One or two line elevator pitch/hook, if you are using one]

[Blurb – ideally 120-180 words long]

[A few lines about the themes in the book OR what inspired you to write the book]

[2-4 lines about you]

I have attached a synopsis and sample chapters, as per your agency submission guidelines.

Thank you/ Warm regards/ Sincerely

[Name]

And here is an example of what it would look like in practice:

Dear Louise,

I am delighted to be submitting to you A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, an 85,000 word contemporary romance novel that will appeal to readers of POPPY AND ALEX by Emily Henry, for the friends-to-lovers aspect, and WRECK THE HALLS by Tessa Bailey for romance at Christmas. I am submitting to you because it says on your website that you are looking for romance and you ‘love anything featuring Christmas.’

Margaret loves living by herself and spending Christmas with her best friend Emma and Emma’s brother, Sam. But when Emma moves to Australia, Margaret is forced to ask: does she want to be by herself forever? And could there be more to her friendship with Sam?

Ever since Margaret’s parents died when she was 19, Margaret has spent Christmas with her best friend, Emma, Emma’s mum, Gina, and Emma’s geeky older brother, Sam. Margaret has always held a secret flame for Sam and the way he loves the same video games as her and cooks the perfect spaghetti bolognese. She’s never told him, of course. She’s used to living on her own now and she doesn’t need a man to ‘complete her’.

But when Emma emigrates to Australia with her girlfriend, Eloise, everything suddenly feels a bit awkward with Emma’s family and Margaret is left alone at Christmas. There’s no Emma, no Sam, no anyone.

And Margaret is forced to question: what if she does need other people after all?

I was inspired to write the book after I became an orphan at 21 and had to learn the hard way that I need to connect more with other people.

I am a software engineer who lives in Reading with my husband and our two cockapoos, Beryl and Brian. In my spare time I enjoy reading (of course), singing in my local choir and crocheting strange looking small birds.

I have attached a synopsis and sample chapters, as per your agency submission guidelines.

Yours warmly,

Jen

Now, before you start going back to your query letters and worrying because they don’t exactly match the template I have suggested, it’s absolutely fine to use some different phrasing, or to have the themes of the book in a different place, or to have replaced your elevator pitch line with a kind of tag line like you’d find on the front of a book.

But loosely following a similar format, and making sure you have each of the elements I’ve listed in the template above, will help to ensure that your query letter stands out more than those who aren’t following this template.

For a more in depth look at the components of a query letter and how to write them, including how to write an elevator pitch, how to write a blurb and how to find agents to submit to, check out these posts:

How to Write a Standout Query Letter: PART ONE

How to Write a Standout Query Letter: PART TWO

How to Write a Standout Query Letter: PART THREE

How to Write a Standout Query Letter: PART FOUR

How to Write a Standout Query Letter: PART FIVE

In next week’s Substack post, I’ll be writing about immersive world-building.

A Note From Me

• Thank you to all my subscribers! I really appreciate you being here and love writing about craft, editing and Publishing. I also appreciate every like and re-stack - it’s so helpful to me as I build my presence here on Substack

• I have written an ebook on writing a standout query letter, which you can find here

• I have quite a bit of editorial work booked in over the next few months, but I do have a couple of spots for reviews of submission packages in July. If you would like to work with me on this, you can contact me on my website. I have also launched a new service - Book Coaching - which I have spaces for from September. You can read about that service here

• If you would like to submit your work to me, you can find our submission guidelines and a list of the types of books I’m looking for on the HSLA website. Please note though, that I am very behind on my submissions and am currently closed. I will be re-opening on 1st June

If you are looking for way to do this, or even for ways to elevate characters that are already fleshed out but lacking something, I have crafted a list of my top books on writing character.

These books are useful if you are currently writing your novel as well as if you are editing it.

Subscribe now

Christopher Vogler, The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers

I first read this book when I was around 12. It hadn’t been out long and was on my parents’ bookshelf. Reading it, I was blown away by the message: archetypes aren’t just for students of Jung, they are powerful blueprints for your fiction writing. They give your characters a motivation for doing what they do and a goal. Think of Khaleesi in Game of Thrones, who will do anything to protect her dragons (the ‘Mother’ archetype) or Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise, who uses his charm to outwit his enemies (the ‘Trickster’ archetype). Far from being two-dimensional and derivative, archetypes can serve valuable purposes in your story. For example, a ‘mentor’ type character is often there to serve the purpose of being a guide. This guide might believe they are guiding your protagonist along the right path, but they may in fact be unwittingly doing the opposite. Understanding how archetypes can be utilised in your fiction writing will enable you to provide a more nuanced path for your characters as they navigate difficult circumstances, and will also allow you to give greater purpose to smaller and side characters. Vogler also outlines a valuable list of steps for your hero to take in their emotional journey. In that sense, this book can be helpful when you are working out structure and plot, too.

Read more

Last night I held an ‘Ask Me Anything’ here in my Substack chat, which was exactly what it sounds like – a chance for authors to ask me anything! I used to do these all the time on the other platform, the one we no longer talk about.

Going forward, I will be holding these on the last Sunday of each month, here in my Substack chat, from 8pm-9pm UK time and posting the questions with my answers here for authors who couldn’t attend.

**Please note –you’re welcome to comment on this post, but I won’t be answering questions on it - you can ask questions in the next AMA on 31st May.

Thank you for opening this up, it’s great to break the wall between agent and writers! What is your favourite aspect of your job as an agent? 😊

Great question! I have several favourite aspects. It’s a mix of calling an author to tell them I’ve got a deal, working with my authors on the earlier idea generation or editorial feedback, and the other creative aspects - feeding back on blurbs and covers or titles. But also, I just feel very proud looking at my bookshelf and the books I’ve helped to bring into the world ☺️.

I have several agents on my query list that I might want to query, but who also offer their coaching and critiquing services. How does that intersect?

For me, it intersects nicely because I use the same editing and coaching skills for both jobs. The thing to bear in mind is it should be obvious that the agent separates these roles; no agent should ever charge an author to work with them! So I try to be very upfront about it and have a policy whereby I don’t represent anyone I work with editorially, as it muddies the water.

I am considering self-publishing because I find myself feeling less than inspired by agents responses (a standard version of “it’s really good but I don’t know where it sits on the shelf or how to best position it) to my work. I also am attending a Writers conference for the first time this week. Should I wait to hear what they have to say or should I expect that it will just be some form of “find me the comps, sell me the market and share, and then we will represent you to a big 5 publisher”? Or should I just plan to do the self-publishing route, especially if I’m not really looking for a career and instead just looking for a publisher?

That’s a tricky one to answer but one that I imagine many authors are thinking about at the moment. I would say if you’re going to the writing conference this week and already have tickets then it will be useful for you to go and see what the agents there say. Without seeing the pitch, it’s hard to comment on your chances or way forward. If it’s been some time and you haven’t got anywhere then yes I recommend the self-publishing route, which will be a much quicker route to market. It doesn’t have such a dirty name these days and there’s a lot of great advice out there on how to self-publish.

Most important part of a non-fiction proposal please??

Hmm, I would say initially the central idea or point of difference needs to be really explicit - ideally you should be able to pitch the book in a line (I’m not saying it’s easy! 😂)

Is self-publishing the only alternative to the writer who thinks they have a great story but can’t find an agent?

Sadly yes if you haven’t got anywhere with agents. But there are so many factors at play here. It depends on how long you’ve been on submission, which area of the market you are writing in. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes on your submission documents can be really helpful. Sometimes it just takes a REALLY long time to hear back from agents. And sometimes it is realising that this won’t be the book to land you an agent and putting it in a drawer to work on something new, or self-publishing it.

What advice would you give a debut author with a nature and grief memoir in the tradition of H Is for Hawk, in terms of word count and marketability in the UK?

Word count - I’d try to stick to a fairly standard word count for memoir, 70-100k. Marketability - memoir is *really* tricky to sell at the moment but if the pitch and ‘story’ in the query letter is clear that will really help.

Why are music-related novels hard to sell? I’ve heard this from agents and other insiders but find it hard to believe, since there are many successful music novels out there (some good, some less so). For reference, I am currently querying an upmarket novel about an opera singer and another about the wannabe manager of a rock band. I’ve had three full manuscript requests so far (two still open), although it’s been an arduous journey. I have a degree in piano performance, so my expertise is grounded.

It’s a chicken and egg situation. There haven’t been many books published in this area and therefore agents and publishers feel cautious because they don’t have an existing market to fall back on. The main comp in this area is probably Daisy Jones and the Six which was successful, but I am struggling to come up with any alternative comps. I’ve seen it work more in romance but not in the upmarket arena. But the fact that you’ve had three full manuscript requests is a good sign!

How do you know if you’re starting your novel in the right place? I always struggle to feel confident in my openings.

Great question and I honestly think you won’t know until you’ve finished writing it and read back over it and edited it. Probably the best way, if you’re not sure, is to ask beta readers or other people who you trust to be constructive

I am wondering what you do when you get stuck in your first draft. I have done an outline, started some chapters, and then I just get stuck. What’s the best way you can get past this? What next steps should I take to get unstuck?

There are various ways you can do this and different authors do things differently. Sometimes authors pick a scene that they are especially drawn to and start with that and then write another scene you are drawn to and kind of piece it all together. Sometimes it is helpful to have a ‘writing buddy’, someone you can write with together, who will help hold you accountable. If you can afford it, book coaching is an excellent option because it also offers accountability and can also offer more specific strategies. Time can be a prohibitive factor and I know authors who have to book a week off or go away for a long weekend by themselves to really knuckle down and get something written, even if they don’t feel like it. The main thing to remember is it’s better to get something rubbish written down each day than nothing at all – putting the perfectionism to one side here will really help, if that’s the issue.

Do you have any tips for an author about to go on submission for the first time?

If you’re going on submission to editors, the best advice I have is to think about your next work. It’s an anxiety ridden process, and can take a long time so if you can focus on something creative that you want to write, it will take your mind off it ... At least somewhat!

What advice do you give for introverted writers who don’t want to engage in the social media space to ‘build their brand’?

If you’re writing fiction, that’s totally fine! Not all fiction authors have a social media presence. But if it’s non-fiction I would work on building it, as publishers usually specify some kind of existing audience. But you can ‘pick your platform’ and build it from there. For example, build one on here (Substack).

I’m not sure this is a question or venting frustration. I started writing 20 years ago and have produced two manuscripts and a few I have on the backurner. The problem is that I’ve never received any feedback, except for some comments from Cheshire Novel Prize. Beta readers would be useful, but I admit to having strong trust issues. I’m probably not unique, so what do people do?

I think you will find it hard to progress without some kind of objective feedback. Feedback on what is working well as well as what can be improved - as a writer you are so close to the manuscript that it can be really useful receiving feedback on it, can bring up things you hadn’t thought of and be a very positive process. This is what you get when working with an agent and also from an editor so you need to be able to ‘take’ feedback to get to that point. If no one is a suitable beta reader I’d recommend paying a reputable editor for feedback. But I can understand how the lack of feedback or response is frustrating.

Hi! I’ve completed writing the manuscripts for three picture books—two are faith based. I am not sure what the next step is in this process other than querying agents. I’m sure there is, but are there other factors I need to consider or have in place before doing so?

Ah that’s a tricky one to answer as I have no experience with picture books and I think the process is possibly slightly different. I would just make sure you’ve sought another eye over your picture books before sending them out, but yes if they are finished the next step would be focusing on finding agents who represent picture books and submitting to them 🙂.

Writing to market Vs doing something a little different / unexpected. Would love your perspective as an agent.

This is suck a tricky one to answer, as the fiction and non-fiction markets are both in a tough spot at the moment. But I would say ideally try to do both – have one eye on what is selling to publishers at the moment (through, for example, a subscription to The Bookseller) but also try to come up with something a little different; if a book has a fresh and distinctive USP then it stands a better chance of selling than something quite derivative. So I would focus your thoughts on how you can create a strong hook/USP and pitch for your book that can be summed up in one line.

And that’s a wrap for my first AMA on Substack!

Thank you so much to everyone who came and provided such thoughtful questions. I hope there’s something useful here for everyone.

A Note From Me

• Thank you to all my subscribers! I really appreciate you being here. I also appreciate every like and restack - it’s so helpful to me as I build my presence here on Substack

• I have written an ebook on writing a standout query letter, which you can find here

• I have quite a bit of editorial work booked in over the next few months, but I do have a couple of spots for reviews of submission packages in June. If you would like to work with me on this, you can contact me on my website. I have also launched a new service - Book Coaching - which I have spaces for from September. You can read about that service here

• If you would like to submit your work to me, you can find our submission guidelines and a list of the types of books I’m looking for on the HSLA website. Please note though, that I am very behind on my submissions and am currently closed. I plan to re-open on 1st June

This article is my attempt to make the process of writing a synopsis a little less painful. For this reason, it’s definitely an article to save and come back to once you’ve finished your novel.

Firstly though, I’m going to explain…

Why literary agents request a synopsis

A synopsis is essential to an agent because it shows them how the story ends and also draws attention to the main plot and emotional arcs. If I am interested in a pitch and enjoyed reading the sample, I’ll read over the synopsis to check that the story arcs make sense.

So how do you distill a 70k+ word novel into 1-2 A4 pages? And make it sound exciting?

Read more

Yet dialogue is one of my most frequently commented on aspects when editing. It’s hard to get right! Sometimes it’s too on the nose, sometimes the way a character talks gets in the way of the story and on other occasions the balance between dialogue and prose is not right.

With this in mind, I have a number of tips, plus examples, on how to write effective dialogue:

Read more

In the meantime, I am letting you all know about a service I am offering from SEPTEMBER called Book Coaching. This is something I have done before through The Writers’ And Artists’ Yearbook and also privately, and will be under my ‘Editorial Consultant’ hat and unconnected to my Literary Agent role.

It is for anyone writing adult fiction. Please note, I don’t coach non-fiction, poetry or children’s fiction.

What is ‘Book Coaching’?

Book Coaching is where you work with a writing coach 1-1 on your novel or manuscript. It’s a personalised service whereby the coach will guide you through any aspect of planning, structuring, writing and revising your manuscript that you are looking for support and guidance with.

With me in particular, I work with a writer over a period of time, usually ranging from a month to six months, to help them write, finish or edit their book. We work together on zoom and sometimes, if part of the arrangement, I’ll feed back on small chunks of work.

It is helpful for:

• Accountability. You might have a brilliant idea but struggle to write it down. Or you are half way through a novel and finding it hard to finish. Chatting with an expert (me!) can be the motivator to write or finish it.

• Craft. Perhaps you know the manuscript isn’t as good as it could be, and there are aspects of storytelling craft that you want to work on but you don’t know how to. Or perhaps you have received feedback on your manuscript and you’d like support implementing that feedback. Sitting down with me each week over zoom will give us a chance to discuss these aspects and work out a plan for how to improve the book. I also give homework and reading in between sessions, to support your goals.

I’ll be offering the following options:

The ‘Kickstarter’

The perfect package to ‘kickstart’ you writing your book. One month. Four, hour-long Zoom sessions, once a week.

Together, we will develop your idea/s into a fully worked-up outline by the end of the month and I’ll give you as many tools and resources as I see fit to set you off on your writing journey! Or we will shape your existing outline and work on how to get going with your writing.

Three Month Coaching

This package is especially useful if you are half way through writing your novel or coming to the end and want to start editing it.

Over the course of three months, we will have:

• 2 x monthly hour-long Zoom meetings

• Follow-up notes from each meeting with actionable suggestions on next steps and suggested reading

• An optional add-on feedback on 5,000 words per month

Six Month Coaching

This package is especially useful if you are near the start of writing your novel or know that you are many months away from having a finished novel.

Over the course of six months, we will have:

• 2 x monthly hour-long Zoom meetings

• Follow-up notes from each meeting with actionable suggestions on next steps and suggested reading

• An optional add-on feedback on 5,000 words per month

If you want to get in touch about coaching, I offer a 20 minute free consultation where we discuss exactly which type of service you’re looking for.

I will also be offering a small number of discounted places to those on a low income.

If interested in discussing this further with me, do contact me via my website.

Please also note that my editorial work is separate from my agenting work and I have a policy whereby I don’t represent anyone I work with editorially.

A Note From Me

• Thank you to all my subscribers!

• I have written an ebook on writing a standout query letter, which you can find here

• I have quite a bit of editorial work booked in over the next few months, but I do have a couple of spots for reviews of submission packages in June. If you would like to work with me on this, you can contact me on my website

• If you would like to submit your work to me, you can find our submission guidelines and a list of the types of books I’m looking for on the HSLA website. Please note though, that I am very behind on my submissions and am currently closed. I plan to re-open on 1st June

Pacing is something that I often bring up with authors but I don’t think it’s something every author truly understands.

To have a go at understanding it, think about the novels you’ve read recently. I’ll bet you that some have started off action-packed, only to fizzle out somewhere in the middle or even the end. And some have been slow to start, and you were almost ready to give up after the first 100 pages, only for the pace to pick up and you find yourself racing through the pages to the end. You don’t want either of these options, but especially not the second option, where catching an agent’s attention is critical. Ideally, for a reader to feel some sense of satisfaction when reading, the novel will balance faster and slower sections in a way that feels neither too slow, too fast or unevenly paced.

Read more

Often, what authors actually mean by how do I choose a literary agent is:

1) How do I choose which literary agents to submit to?

2) How do I know that the agent is right for me, once I have an offer of representation?

So, let’s answer the first question to start with:

1) How do I choose which literary agents to submit to?

There are various factors to consider before coming up with an initial list of agents to submit to:

Is my book best suited to agents in the UK or in the US or elsewhere?

Most people I work with tend to assume that they can only submit to agents in the country they are writing in, especially with fiction, but that’s not necessarily the case. If you are in the US but have set your novel somewhere like New York, i.e somewhere that UK agents will be familiar with, you can submit to agents over here. Similarly, if you are a UK writer and your characters go on a road trip around America, you might have more success submitting to North American agents first.

Do I want to prioritise a bigger, more established agent or a new ‘up-and-coming’ agent?

There are pros and cons to both options. Bigger, more established agents will have the weight of more sales and more experience behind them. But they are also likely to have a huge client list. And you might not get as much attention. Newer agents may not have the track record or the experience but they will be hungry for a deal and will likely have more time and space to devote to you.

Do I want an agent who focuses on editorial work first or one who is only about the sales? Generally, it’s unusual to find an agent who won’t do any editorial work, but it does happen. And some authors are happy with an agent who doesn’t do much editorial work – for some people, editorial work is not where their strengths lie but they have an incredible track record for sales and therefore, it doesn’t matter as much. This is especially true with non-fiction, where books are often sold on a proposal. But you might be the type of author who wants reassurance that the book is in the best shape possible before it’s sold to a publisher. If that’s the case, I’d recommend looking for agents with a background as an editor or who emphasise editorial work on their profiles.

Once you know they type of agent you are looking for, you can set about searching for agents. But where do I look for agents?!

Generally, I recommend looking in three places for agents:

1) The Association of Authors’ Agents Membership Directory. The AAA is a trade organisation and the UK’s membership body for UK-based literary agencies. They have a very good member’s directory which lists most of the major UK literary agencies. You can tab through and click on each listing to see the types of books that individual agents at each agency are looking for. Though, do note that some of the listings seem to be out-of-date.

2) Manuscript Wishlist. Manuscript Wishlist is an excellent resource and one that I recommend frequently, because (especially here in the UK) it isn’t well known about. On the website, agents are able to upload their ‘wishlist’ for authors to view. You can search by key word, for example ‘time-travel’ or by comparison author, or by type of book, such as ‘middle-grade’ or type of non-fiction. It’s very useful for finding specific matches to the type of book you are submitting.

3) Query Tracker. Query Tracker is probably one of the best known sites for finding and submitting to literary agents. Our agency is not listed on there but most US-based agencies are listed there and some of the UK agencies, and there is also extra detail there on which authors the agents represent. It’s also very useful for allowing you to keep track of who you have submitted to.

However, things to bear in mind about Query Tracker:

• Response times do not reflect how good the agent is at their job. For agents, their current authors are always their number one priority and as I’ve said before on Substack, reading submissions comes out of an agent’s free time and is not remunerated. I’ve had authors tell me they have submitted to me because of my good response times on there but the truth is that my response times are comparatively reasonable because I can go through the passes quickly. If response times were based on how quickly I got back to people on their full submissions, my response times would be terrible! Luckily, as I’ve said, this has no bearing on whether I can sell an author or do any of the other numerous things agents do for their authors

• Authors are much more likely to complain when they are unhappy than when they are happy or have no issue. It’s the same with any service, there’s always a vocal minority and what they say may not be a true picture of that agent. The same goes for stories about agents on Reddit; always take the stories with a pinch of salt or seek to find out if that opinion is held elsewhere on the internet. There are agents who are poor at their job, and/or whose actions are questionable, but they are few and far between

There are also other ways to search for agents:

• Look in your comparison books and see if an agent has been credited in the acknowledgements

• Look at writers festivals and see which agents are attending and where they work

• Ask on writers groups on social media for recommendations of agents representing books in your area

• Look at press releases for books on The Bookseller and Publisher’s Marketplace

2) How do I know that the agent is right for me, once I have an offer of representation?

In a way, it’s even trickier once you have received an offer of representation and in all honesty, until you start working with an agent, you won’t have a true idea of what they are like to work with. If there are no other offers on the table, it can often feel like there’s a lot resting on this relationship.

But there are things you can do to get a sense of the agent and whether you’d be a good fit together. Here are some useful ideas…

‘The call’

Any agent worth their salt will set up an online meeting/phone call/coffee in person (if that’s an option) to make their formal offer of representation and give both of you a chance to get to know each other and work out if you’d be a good fit for each other. In the call, I recommend asking the following (save this as a checklist if you need to!):

• How they would position your book in the market? Which genre they will be pitching it as and what do they see as comparative titles?

• What editorial work do they feel needs to be undertaken before it is submitted to publishers? You need to feel as your vision for the book aligns with theirs, and that includes editorial vision. Does it feel as if the book will be stronger with their input and suggested revisions, or does it feel as if they are pushing the book in a direction you don’t want it to be moved in?

• How would they handle a situation where they felt the two of you had different visions on future books? It’s common in the author-agent relationship for both parties to have slightly different visions for the book at some point. Learning how they would handle potential conflict can be very insightful

• How do they communicate with their authors? This question will be key, for helping you to get a sense of how often they communicate with their authors and whether their preferred method of communication is something that would work well with you. For example, you might be someone who doesn’t like talking on the phone and they might say they do most of their communication over the phone (unlikely, but still worth mentioning!)

• What will they do if the book doesn’t sell? The fact of the matter is that books frequently don’t sell, so this is a likely scenario. The other (sad) fact is that some agents do drop authors if they haven’t been able to sell books. Sometimes it is for a difference of opinion. Sometimes it’s because the agent has lost confidence that they can sell that author. And sometimes it’s because the agency has a policy whereby agents are encouraged to drop authors who haven’t sold. How the agent answers this question will determine whether they are ‘in it’ for the long haul. (Please note, I am an agent who works with authors over the long term. If we don’t sell the book, we work together on something until we do. I was pretty shocked when I learnt that not all agents work this way! But at the end of the day, Publishing is a business and with advances shrinking year-on-year, agents do have to be strategic if they want to make money, so it’s not always a case of an agent lacking integrity).

• What are your connections like with editors? You want to hear that they have excellent links with editors. If they are outside of London, ask them how often they connect with editors there and how (i.e. do they set up regular zoom meetings?). You could also ask them if they have specific people in mind that they want to submit the book to.

• Which publishers would you send the book to? This question is similar to the one above, except you’re looking to see if they can name specific publishers or imprints and whether they feel the book should be sent to big publishers or small presses.

• Do you have a strategy when sending out submissions? Not every agent has a strategy when sending out submissions but if the agent does, it would be worthwhile hearing it. For example, I always create a ‘two tier’ submission list, with my top editors in tier one and other publishers that are perhaps smaller or I am less sure if they are an exact fit, in the second tier.

• Can you tell me about your agency? This one can be key in getting a sense of what the agency offers and stands for. For example, what is their set up with translation rights? Do they have a dedicated person selling translation rights or do they work with co-agents across the globe to sell the foreign rights for them? Do they have a Film & TV partner? If they are with a bigger agency, how does that benefit the author? Similarly, if they are a smaller agency, what can they offer that a bigger agency can’t?

• Describe your ideal client. This can be a useful question because it’s fairly open-ended and will allow you to see if there’s a flexibility to their response. Most authors want an agent who is flexible to their needs.

• If they are a newer agent, who is mentoring you? This is especially important if the agent is working on their own and not part of an agency, or if they have no sales to their name. Agenting is an unregulated industry and it’s hard to sustain as a career if you don’t have good support and guidance along the way.

What do I do if I have more than one offer of representation?

This situation is unusual but it does happen. I would take the checklist above and ask each agent the same questions and compare responses. I’d also, to some extent, listen to your gut; you’ll likely have a sense of who you got on best with from those conversations.

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I think that is everything. It ended up being a longer post than I’d originally intended! If you have any questions about find an agent, you are welcome to post them at the bottom here and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Next week, we will be back to a Writing & Self-Editing Fundamentals post…

A Note From Me

• Thank you to all my subscribers!

• I have written an ebook on writing a standout query letter, which you can find here

• I have quite a bit of editorial work booked in over the next few months, but I do have a couple of spots for reviews of submission packages in May and June. If you would like to work with me on this, you can contact me on my website. I am also especially excited to announce that I am now taking bookings for my new Book Coaching service, from September

• If you would like to submit your work to me, you can find our submission guidelines and a list of the types of books I’m looking for on the HSLA website. Please note though, that I am very behind on my submissions and am currently closed. I plan to re-open on 1st June