Unless you have a “name” or have been previously published and sold lots of books, or have won impressive literary awards for your writing, or have written an amazingly original book that taps into current trends, you will have a hard time getting an agent to even glance at your novel. Most likely, it will end up in a slush pile. I know because I’m staring at a very big one right now. (Okay, truth be told, it’s a “virtual” slush pile nowadays—so what I really mean is that I have a very full inbox.)
An agent receives numerous submissions every day. The first few sentences in the query letter will often tell the agent everything she needs to know. Usually, the result is the agent just clicks on to the next message and doesn’t even look at the sample chapter. Paying a real agent to read your work and give you feedback on it means having the eyes of a book-industry professional on your novel, an opportunity you may not ever get on your own.
About the Author
CARLY CANTOR is a twice-published author, agent, and publishing industry veteran who worked for several years as an acquisitions editor at a New York publisher. She is currently a meticulous, hands-on independent editor who “becomes one” with every project, paying close attention to both the big picture and the small details. Her extensive experience includes critiquing, development editing, and line-editing of fiction and nonfiction projects.
Hi Carly , I wrote a story,” 24,000 words” It wasn’t supposed be that big but the more I wrote, more ideas kept popping into my head. In short it’s about a16 yr. old shoe shine boy in Santo Domingo who is given a generous tip from a successful business man from N.Y. city. He wastes little time turning it into a small fortune ,but he never forgot that person who has since had nothing but misfortune. The story builds to a chance meeting in Central Park NYC. Not sure If I have a decent or good story but I thought it would be best to have it critiqued before going any further. Thanks, James Willis
James,
A critique is certainly a great way to proceed–it will give you some new ideas and help you focus as you finish your draft. If you’d like to start the process of signing up for a start date, please submit an inquiry by going to this link…
https://editing-writing.com/submit-for-quote/
You can ask for me in the form.
Carly Cantor