You only get one shot at submitting your book to an agent/publisher, so make sure you get it right! Use the following checklist to guarantee that your submission will be taken seriously.
The manuscript
- Is it as good as you can possibly make it?
- Are you absolutely sure it’s as good as you can possibly make it?
- Has it been carefully (ideally professionally) edited and proofread?
- Is it formatted sensibly (e.g. a standard font, 12 point, double-spaced)?
- Are your name and the book title in the header?
- Have you included page numbers?
- If emailing, is it saved as a .doc or .docx?
The synopsis
- Is it as good as you can possibly make it?
- Are you absolutely sure it’s as good as you can possibly make it?
- Have you introduced the central theme(s) of the book?
- Have you introduced the central character(s) of the book?
- Have you shown when and where the book is set?
- Have you outlined the story – the key events – including the ending?
- Have you written it in a straightforward manner; no blurb/sales pitch attempt?
- Have you proofread it carefully?
- Is it formatted sensibly (e.g. a standard font, 12 point, double-spaced)?
- Are your name and the book title in the header?
- Have you included page numbers?
- If emailing, is it saved as a .doc or .docx?
The covering letter
- Is it as good as you can possibly make it?
- Are you absolutely sure it’s as good as you can possibly make it?
- Have you proofread it carefully?
- Have you addressed it to the correct person (not Dear Sir/Madam)?
- Have you given the title of the book?
- Have you indicated the genre of the book?
- Have you indicated the target reader for the book?
- Have you described the basic premise of the book (one paragraph max)?
- Have you conveyed what makes this book special?
- Have you explained, briefly, any relevant writing experience you have?
- Have you included your name?
- Have you included your postal address?
- Have you included your email address?
- Have you included your phone number?
- Is it formatted sensibly (e.g. a standard font, 12 point)?
- Does it fit on one side of A4?
The list of target agents/publishers
- Have you done as much research as possible into possible agents/publishers?
- Are you approaching only those who are interested in your kind of book?
- Have you sorted your list by order of preference?
The approach
- Are you following individual agent’s/publisher’s instructions for submission?
- Are you tailoring submissions carefully? (No blanket emails or mail merges.)
- Are you logging which agents/publishers you’ve submitted to?
- Are you submitting to just a few, or even one, at a time, then waiting for responses?
- Are you being patient and not hounding agents/publishers?
- Are you taking on board any feedback offered?
- Are you being a consummate professional in all correspondence?
