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Literary agency · submissions
Read this page and you're ahead of most of the pile.
Not because the writing in the pile is bad — a great deal of it is very good. Because roughly a third of what arrives is missing something this page asks for, and gets a no it never needed to get. Twenty minutes here is the cheapest advantage available to anybody.
The numbers, honestly
4,000queries in a typical year
90full manuscripts asked for
4writers taken on
12 wksbefore you should chase
Four thousand isn't a wall — It sounds like one. In practice a great many are in a genre we don't handle, unfinished, or missing the pages — the real competition is far smaller than the headline number
Ninety asked for — About one in forty-five. Getting into that ninety is a genuine achievement even on the days it ends in a no, and it is worth saying so
Four taken on — A list only carries so many. Taking a fifth would mean doing badly by the other four, and that — rather than the writing — is the reason for most noes at this stage
Put your own numbers here — An agency that publishes real figures gets better submissions. Vagueness on this helps nobody and tends to read as though something is being hidden
Ninety asked for — About one in forty-five. Getting into that ninety is a genuine achievement even on the days it ends in a no, and it is worth saying so
Four taken on — A list only carries so many. Taking a fifth would mean doing badly by the other four, and that — rather than the writing — is the reason for most noes at this stage
Put your own numbers here — An agency that publishes real figures gets better submissions. Vagueness on this helps nobody and tends to read as though something is being hidden
What to send
Three things, one email — A query letter in the body of the email, and two attachments: a synopsis and the first three chapters. Not a note offering to send the rest on request
The first three chapters — From the beginning. Not chapter seven because it is the best one — where a book chooses to start is part of what is being read for
Word documents — Double-spaced, twelve point, page numbers, your name in the header. Not a PDF, not a link to a drive, and not pasted into the email
The subject line — QUERY, then the title, then the genre. It is how the pile is sorted, and getting it right genuinely moves you along it
One agent here at a time — Two of us reading the same pages helps nobody. Pick whichever list actually fits and say in a line why you picked them
Submitting elsewhere is fine — And assumed. Mention it in the letter — nobody minds at all, and it saves an awkward conversation if two offers arrive at once
The first three chapters — From the beginning. Not chapter seven because it is the best one — where a book chooses to start is part of what is being read for
Word documents — Double-spaced, twelve point, page numbers, your name in the header. Not a PDF, not a link to a drive, and not pasted into the email
The subject line — QUERY, then the title, then the genre. It is how the pile is sorted, and getting it right genuinely moves you along it
One agent here at a time — Two of us reading the same pages helps nobody. Pick whichever list actually fits and say in a line why you picked them
Submitting elsewhere is fine — And assumed. Mention it in the letter — nobody minds at all, and it saves an awkward conversation if two offers arrive at once
A query letter that works
Dear [Agent],
I'm seeking representation for THE LONG FIELD, literary fiction, complete at 84,000 words. It should appeal to readers of [comparable novel] and [comparable novel].
The summer the reservoir was drained, Ellen Vance came home to a village that had spent thirty years agreeing not to discuss what was underneath it. She was nineteen when she left. She is the only person still living who knows why.
I'm writing to you because of your work with [author], whose interest in landscape and silence is close to what I have tried to do here.
My short fiction has appeared in [magazine] and [magazine]. This is my first novel.
The synopsis and first three chapters are attached. Thank you for your time.
[Name]
[Email] · [Phone]
I'm seeking representation for THE LONG FIELD, literary fiction, complete at 84,000 words. It should appeal to readers of [comparable novel] and [comparable novel].
The summer the reservoir was drained, Ellen Vance came home to a village that had spent thirty years agreeing not to discuss what was underneath it. She was nineteen when she left. She is the only person still living who knows why.
I'm writing to you because of your work with [author], whose interest in landscape and silence is close to what I have tried to do here.
My short fiction has appeared in [magazine] and [magazine]. This is my first novel.
The synopsis and first three chapters are attached. Thank you for your time.
[Name]
[Email] · [Phone]
The first paragraph is admin — Title, genre, word count, and the word "complete". Four facts in one sentence, and no throat-clearing before them
The second paragraph is the book — Not the plot — the situation, the person, and what is at stake. It should read like the back cover, because that is exactly what it is
The third is why us — One specific reason. "I love your list" says nothing at all; naming a book you have actually read says everything
The fourth is you — Publications if you have them, and nothing if you don't. A first novel with no credits is entirely normal here and padding is worse than silence
What is deliberately absent — No apology, no "I know how busy you are", no promise of a bestseller, and no comparison to a book that sold ten million copies
Under 350 words — Longer is not more persuasive. A second page is rarely reached and never helps
The second paragraph is the book — Not the plot — the situation, the person, and what is at stake. It should read like the back cover, because that is exactly what it is
The third is why us — One specific reason. "I love your list" says nothing at all; naming a book you have actually read says everything
The fourth is you — Publications if you have them, and nothing if you don't. A first novel with no credits is entirely normal here and padding is worse than silence
What is deliberately absent — No apology, no "I know how busy you are", no promise of a bestseller, and no comparison to a book that sold ten million copies
Under 350 words — Longer is not more persuasive. A second page is rarely reached and never helps
The synopsis everybody gets wrong
It has to spoil the ending — This is the single most common mistake in the pile. A synopsis is not a blurb, and one that asks "will she discover the truth?" has failed at the only job it has
One page, two at the very most — Single-spaced is fine. One page well done beats two pages of everything that happens
Present tense, third person — Whatever the novel itself does. It should read as a summary rather than as more of the book
Names in capitals, once each — The first time each main character appears. Four or five names is plenty — a synopsis carrying eleven is quietly telling you something about the novel
Say what actually happens — The twist, the death, who ends up with whom. Nobody is having an ending ruined; they are checking that there is one and that it is earned
It is not a test of your prose — Nobody has ever been signed on a synopsis, and plenty of very good writers write poor ones. It is a structural x-ray and nothing more than that
One page, two at the very most — Single-spaced is fine. One page well done beats two pages of everything that happens
Present tense, third person — Whatever the novel itself does. It should read as a summary rather than as more of the book
Names in capitals, once each — The first time each main character appears. Four or five names is plenty — a synopsis carrying eleven is quietly telling you something about the novel
Say what actually happens — The twist, the death, who ends up with whom. Nobody is having an ending ruined; they are checking that there is one and that it is earned
It is not a test of your prose — Nobody has ever been signed on a synopsis, and plenty of very good writers write poor ones. It is a structural x-ray and nothing more than that
What we never ask for
Money, at any stage — An agent is paid a percentage of what they sell for you, after they have sold it. Anyone charging to read, to consider or to "assess" is running a different business from this one
A paid edit first — "Come back once it's been professionally edited", attached to a recommended editor, is a referral fee wearing a coat. A real no is simply a no
A reading fee — Under any name at all — administration, submission, processing, priority. They are the same thing wearing different hats
Your bank details — Ever, for anything, before a contract exists and you have had somebody independent read it
What this page can't do — Tell you whether somebody else is legitimate. It is not a register and not a check. The practical test is only ever this: does money move towards you, or away from you?
If you're unsure about an offer — Ask us. You'll get an honest opinion on a specific offer, free, whether or not you are our client and whether or not you ever will be
A paid edit first — "Come back once it's been professionally edited", attached to a recommended editor, is a referral fee wearing a coat. A real no is simply a no
A reading fee — Under any name at all — administration, submission, processing, priority. They are the same thing wearing different hats
Your bank details — Ever, for anything, before a contract exists and you have had somebody independent read it
What this page can't do — Tell you whether somebody else is legitimate. It is not a register and not a check. The practical test is only ever this: does money move towards you, or away from you?
If you're unsure about an offer — Ask us. You'll get an honest opinion on a specific offer, free, whether or not you are our client and whether or not you ever will be
On the list
Literary and upmarket fiction — The main thing here, and the thing read first
Narrative non-fiction — History, nature, science for general readers. A proposal rather than a finished book is the right way in
Crime with a real place in it — Where the setting is doing work rather than providing scenery
Debuts, actively — Not as a favour and not as a risk. Most of the list started here and it is the most interesting part of the job
Narrative non-fiction — History, nature, science for general readers. A proposal rather than a finished book is the right way in
Crime with a real place in it — Where the setting is doing work rather than providing scenery
Debuts, actively — Not as a favour and not as a risk. Most of the list started here and it is the most interesting part of the job
Not for us
Poetry and screenplays — Not out of snobbery — we would place them badly, and there are agents who place them well
Picture books and early readers — A specialism with its own editors and its own agents. You want one of those instead
Short story collections alone — Alongside a novel, gladly. On their own we would struggle and it is fairer to say so
A no here isn't a verdict — Genre fit is most of it. Send the same book to the right list and it is a completely different conversation
Picture books and early readers — A specialism with its own editors and its own agents. You want one of those instead
Short story collections alone — Alongside a novel, gladly. On their own we would struggle and it is fairer to say so
A no here isn't a verdict — Genre fit is most of it. Send the same book to the right list and it is a completely different conversation
Ask a question
This form is not the submissions route and nothing sent here is read as a submission — those go by email, as set out above. This is for the questions this page didn't answer.
Ask a question
If you asked about an offer somebody else has made you, say so and it goes to the top of the pile. That one is time-sensitive in a way the rest of this isn't.
Live preview — every color, word and block is editable after you pick it.