Publishing 101: The 5 Critical Steps to Getting an Agent and Getting Published

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Today, Nathan Wilcox of Writers’ Clearinghouse, a NaNoWriMo 2019/2020 sponsor, is here to help you with an in-depth publishing how-to:

So you finished a novel. You’ve spent hundreds of hours writing. You’ve studied writing manuals. You’ve edited until your eyes crossed. You’ve recruited your friends to provide feedback. You’ve completed one of the greatest of all human accomplishments: You are a novelist.

The hard part is done, right? You’ll just send some letters off to agents and sit back and wait for them to come begging. Only it’s most likely not the agents that come calling. It’s their little red gremlin friends bent on destroying your will as an author: rejections.

Rejection is a part of being an author. Even the greatest authors have faced piles of rejections, and unless you’re ridiculously lucky, so will you. Personally, I’ve had 147 rejections across two manuscripts. Rejection is going to happen, but the truth is that it doesn’t matter. What matters is acceptance – you only need one “yes” to make all the “no’s” irrelevant. So rather than worry about rejections, let’s talk about how to get accepted.  

All those rejections are exactly why we spent a full year studying why manuscripts are rejected and how authors can improve their chances of going from rejections to acceptance. From what we learned, we formed Writers’ Clearinghouse with a mission of making it easier for authors to get feedback and to get noticed.

Step 1: Query the right agents. 

In this new-fangled internet age, there is honestly no excuse for not researching the agents you plan to query. The information is out there, it is easy to access, and it is (mostly) free. 

First, make sure that you find agents that represent your genre and target audience. Agents are people (hard to believe, I know). And just like you and me, they have certain types of books that they like to read and certain types they don’t. Compile a list of agents that represent the genre you write. The easiest way to do this is to visit one of the many agent databases out there:

www.manuscriptwishlist.com/www.agentquery.comwww.querytracker.netwww.pw.org/literary_agentswww.writersch.comwww.literaryagencies.com/list-of-literary-agents/literary-agent-directory/https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/

Once you’ve found agents who are interested in what you write, then you should narrow your list. There are over a thousand agents out there. And unless you’re writing something like literary westerns in verse, there are probably hundreds that represent your genre. We recommend working in batches of 10-15 queries at a time. Here are a few questions that can help:

Do you want a young, hungry agent? Or a more established (but potentially more selective) agent?Do you have any connection to an agent – met them at a conference, went to same university, live in same city, grew up in same area, have serious blackmail dirt?When you read her bio, how did you feel about her? Did an agent stand out as someone you’d really like to work with?Did an agent mention liking or looking for something that is similar to what you’ve written?

Once you have your list, thoroughly research those agents. What kind of books do they currently represent? Which authors do they represent? What have they sold in the past? Are they open for queries? All the information from this research will allow you to make sure that you are querying the right agents and that you are writing a query letter that appeals to their specific desires. 

Step 2: Write a query letter that captures an agent’s attention. 

Agents receive hundreds of query letters EVERY WEEK. They make decisions based on a small slice of information, and for pure survival, they have to look for reasons to reject submissions, not accept them. So how do you make it as hard as possible for them to reject your query? 

Follow the formula: Agents have certain expectations regarding query letters, and if you don’t meet those basic requirements, it will result in almost instantaneous rejection. A query letter is a sales letter. You are trying to get an agent to bite on your manuscript, to read the pages you’ve submitted, to ask for more. 

Luckily, a lot of really smart people have written articles on how to write a query letter. And because they’re all very good, I’ll let you read them yourself: 

“The 10 Dos and Don’ts of Writing a Query Letter” by Brian Klems (Writers’ Digest)“How to Write a Darn Good Query Letter” by NY Book Editors“The Complete Guide to Query Letters” by Jane Friedman“How to Write a Query That Grabs an Agent’s Attention” by Jenny Jenkins“How to Write a Successful Query Letter” by Jericho Writers“How to Write a Fantastic Query Letter” by Charlotte Dixon (The Writing Cooperative)“The Secret to Writing a Successful Query Letter” by Andrea Somberg (Manuscript Wishlist)

Get your letter reviewed by a professional: Remember, you only have one shot to impress an agent. The future of your entire novel (all those hours, all the sweat and tears and frustration) rests on 300 words. That’s why we recommend you have an expert look at your query letter before you send it. A list of services that will help you polish your query letter are below:

Writers’ Clearinghouse: $20.00 — Review and feedback provided by former agentsWriters Digest Shop: $39.99 — Freelance editors, suggestions only
Book Baby: $49.99 — Contracted independent editorsDLA Editors: $99.99 — Editing and FeedbackStep 3: Write an amazing opening. 

An agent read your query letter. Her hand wavered above the big red REJECT button, but something caught her attention, and she thought, “Alright, let’s see.”

Now that agent is going to read your writing sample. Typically, this will be the first five to ten pages of your manuscript. There is an old adage that the first sentence is the most important sentence, the first page is the most important page, the first chapter is the most important chapter. The reason is obvious: if a reader doesn’t get past the first sentence, the first page, the first chapter, she won’t read your book. The same thing applies to agents.

Luckily, just like with query letters, a lot has been written about how to craft an amazing first chapter. Here are some of our favorites:

8 Ways to Write a Five-Star Chapter One by Elizabeth Sims (Writers’ Digest)
How to Begin a Novel: 8 Ways to Captivate by Now NovelHow to Write the First Chapter of Your Book by Dorrance Publishing10 Things Your First Chapter Should Do: A Checklist for Self-Editing by Anne R. AllenHow to Write a Good Hook & Start Your Novel with a Bang by Sara Shepard (BookBub)Tips on Writing the First Chapter of Your Book by Regina Clark (The Writing Cooperative)

There are many more articles. You can also find webinars, videos, and workshops through your local writing association or conference. The point is that those first five to ten pages need to be dynamite, because if they’re not, the agent will not request any more.

Get your opening reviewed by a professional: Just like with the query letter, I would suggest that the first ten pages of your manuscript are far too important to leave to chance. After all the time, effort, and yes, money, you’ve put into your novel, a review of the pages that will sell it is a small investment, especially since you can get a review for as little as $20. We had a harder time finding services that will review only the first few pages, but here are a few:

Writers’ Clearinghouse: $20.00 — Evaluation and feedback in 5 categories by former agentsBook Baby: $100.00 — Line edit with commentsWriters Digest Shop: $150.00 — ($3/page, min 50 pages) High-level comments in key areas, independently contracted editorsDLA Editors: $200.00 — Editing and FeedbackStep 4: Have a publication-ready manuscript. 

You’ve researched the best agents, you’ve written the perfect query letter, your first ten pages are unforgettable, and an agent has just asked to see your full manuscript! This is it. You’re on your way! 

Or… you wait six months and hear nothing – except your own whimpers. Trust me, I’ve been there. My latest work received several requests for the full manuscript when I queried, but when I sent it, I just got silence, crickets, the radio static from a post-apocalyptic drama. 

What went wrong? I never would have known that the first third of my manuscript was critically flawed if one (incredibly kind) agent hadn’t taken the time to write me a page of notes. Critique groups are great. Beta readers are really helpful. But you know what? Unless you’re really lucky, your beta readers and critique group (as amazing as they are) do not know what it takes to get a book published. 

You know who does? Agents and professional editors. Many editors provide a quicker, cheaper assessment of your manuscript that tells you exactly where it stands. If it’s ready to go, they tell you. If it needs work, they tell you where. Then, you can decide what to do next: submit it, revise it, hire a professional editor. But at least you know that you are not wasting your time by sending out a flawed manuscript. 

Below is a list of companies that provide manuscript evaluation services. We, of course, suggest Writers’ Clearinghouse, not only because we’re the cheapest but also because we provide a comprehensive breakdown of your manuscript in twenty areas along with a score that you can use as part of your queries to tell agents exactly how great your manuscript is.

Writers’ Clearinghouse: $350 ($50 + $5 / 1,000 word) — Frequent discounts; Evaluation in 20 categories with comments and suggestions by former agentsWriters’ Digest Shop: $730 ($3 per page) — High-level comments in key areas, independently contracted editorsManuscript Critique Ninja: $595 (up to 100,000 words) — 20 years industry experience, editorial letter and creative suggestionsFriesen Press: $499 (up to 60k words) — 5 – 6 page editorial letter, professional editorPage Turner Manuscript Evaluations: $1,440 — “Big picture deep analysis” in 10 areasStrong Tower Publishing: $490 ($10 + $2 per page) — Top-level analysis and page-by-page discussion without specific suggestions Clear Voice Editing: $660 ($2.75 per page) — Overview of strengths and weaknesses as well as detailed feedback at the chapter level

Finally, to finish my story, I purchased an evaluation from Writers’ Clearinghouse for my manuscript (because I’m not only an owner, I’m a customer). I just wish I’d been able to do it before I sent my manuscript to all those agents because the Writers’ Clearinghouse review told me the exact same thing that agent did (practically word for word). The problem was there the entire time. If I’d only found and fixed it before I sent my manuscript to all those agents, I might be on my way to publication right now.

Step 5: Keep writing.

Sometimes, we can do all the right things, tick off every box, follow every step, and things still don’t work out. And not every book is going to find an agent much less a publisher. 

So, what’s an author to do? KEEP WRITING!

You’re a writer, after all, so WRITE! Start the next project, use everything you’ve learned, keep getting better, and then do it all over again. 

But first, I think you owe it to yourself, to your work, to your characters, to your world, to do everything you can to get your book published. You’ve spent countless hours writing that manuscript. You’ve sacrificed for it. You’ve paid for conferences and workshops and tutorials and writing manuals. You’ve called in every favor and strained every friendship to solicit critiques and beta readers.

So why wouldn’t you spend the time and money to give that work every possible chance to succeed? And in the end, it’s not that much time, it’s not that much money. For less than $400 you can have a former agent or editor review your query letter, first ten pages, AND entire manuscript. 

Is your writing worth it? I think it is.

Nathan Wilcox is a business development expert turned author who quickly learned how frustrating and opaque the process of getting published can be. He founded Writers’ Clearinghouse to take the guesswork out of publication by providing low-cost evaluations that tell authors if their manuscripts are ready for publication and if not, where they should focus their efforts. To learn more about Writers’ Clearinghouse, visit us at writersch.com.

Top photo via Adobe Stock images.