Hi and looking for publishing advice

  • This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.

Tracyg

New Member
Feb 5, 2015
1
2
60
Hi all!
I've never posted to a forum so if I do something that's offensive, let me know!
I have a publishing question: I've written about 340 pages of my first novel. The first 30 pages are now "clean". I've heard varying opinions of when I should start sending it to agents. Do I wait until the entire manuscript is clean or can I send it the first 30 pages? Thanks in advance for your thoughts, Tracy
 

Moderator

Ms. Mod
Administrator
Jul 10, 2006
52,243
157,324
Maine
Hi all!
I've never posted to a forum so if I do something that's offensive, let me know!
I have a publishing question: I've written about 340 pages of my first novel. The first 30 pages are now "clean". I've heard varying opinions of when I should start sending it to agents. Do I wait until the entire manuscript is clean or can I send it the first 30 pages? Thanks in advance for your thoughts, Tracy
I'm not a published writer, I just work for one, so the other published writers here on the Board may have a different opinion or personal experience so I'd give their input more weight. Personally I'd wait until the manuscript was finished and after you've done at least a first go-through for editing so it is more polished. Getting published these days is highly competitive so you'll want to put your best efforts forward to let the publishers see you in a professional light. Unless those 30 pages blew me out of the water, as an editor I think I'd be more likely to move on to someone who had a finished novel rather than taking a chance on someone who may or may not finish what they've submitted. You might be given more leniency after you've had something published to do that but for a first submission, probably not.
 

Bev Vincent

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,351
11,651
Texas
www.bevvincent.com
Hi all!
I've never posted to a forum so if I do something that's offensive, let me know!
I have a publishing question: I've written about 340 pages of my first novel. The first 30 pages are now "clean". I've heard varying opinions of when I should start sending it to agents. Do I wait until the entire manuscript is clean or can I send it the first 30 pages? Thanks in advance for your thoughts, Tracy

I agree with Ms. Mod 100% Your entire manuscript should be clean before you start querying.
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
Ditto. And if you want to be taken seriously, spring for a professional edit. A writer can do a lot of clean up, but no one is able to self-edit to publication standards--you're just too close to the material to be objective. It's incredibly competitive out there, and publishers are looking to save every dime they can. The less editing they have to do on a first book, the better for them, and the better chance of someone taking a chance on you. Many agents and small publishers will look at a few pages and a synopsis, so your first chapter better be damn good. If they like it, they'll either ask for the first three chaps (the most common request) or the whole shebang (very promising if they do this), and they want it NOW, not when you have time to get it ready. If you're looking at small presses, many will take unagented submissions. None of the Big Six (or I guess Big Five now) will. If you intend to shoot for the big leagues right away, you need an agent before you need to worry about a publisher, so it's good that you're thinking about that now.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
18a2d7a4400f9c4f40efaa8bb23225f6.jpg