Nicola Morgan is an award-winning author, with around 90 titles across many genres, and a former chair of the Society of Authors in Scotland. She is a professional speaker, not only on her own books but also literacy, neuroscience, adolescence, social networking for authors, self-publishing, and authors’ rights. She is known for the honest advice on her popular blog,Help! I Need a Publisher! and in the book, Write to be Published, and ebook Write a Great Synopsis. Notable works include her famously gruesome novel Fleshmarket; the Aventis shortlisted Blame My Brain: The Amazing Teenage Brain Revealed; and Wasted, longlisted for the Carnegie Medal, and winner of the Scottish Children’s Book Award amongst others.
The query letter, (along with the synopsis) is what strikes fear into every writer approaching an agent with their completed novel and Nicola Morgan’s new book Dear Agent – Write the Letter that Sells Your Book contains everything you need to know – and everything you didn’t know you needed to know – in writing that crucial first impression query to a potential agent. Written in Nicola’s clear, no-nonsense yet reassuring style, it covers preparation, top tips, the body of the letter, hooks , selling and mistakes. I’ve read Nicola’s other short guides and they are second to none in providing the kind of advice (if you’ve gone down the route before) you wish someone had given you. If you are just starting out, you’re in luck, Nicola will guide you away from common errors and towards a competent submission. Including crazy examples of the things people do to get noticed (some of which she shares below) this book will entertain and inform in equal measure. Nicola has agreed to share some of her tips and stories with us from the Dear Agent.
Dear Agent – Write the Letter That Sells Your Book is published on Friday 10th August and there will be a special introductory price running over the weekend if you wish to avail of it. Check it out on Amazon!
Nicola explained to me, what it was all about: “I wonder if you have any idea of the level of weirdness of many of the submissions that agents and publishers receive? Submissions too often contain odd “extras”: confetti, toffees, tea-bags, naked photos and sachets of dog food are some I’ve heard of recently. Others contain letters that look as though no care was taken at all, include nasty warnings about cursing the agent if she rejects the MS, or claim that the book was dictated during the night by God.
Leaving aside such extreme and utterly unhelpful behaviour, there are a whole load of other ways in which even hard-working writers can trip up, making what might have been a good book seem unappealing, and perhaps making the agent decide not to read on; or at least stopping her being enthusiastic. Some of the mistakes are far from obvious and I am sure I made some of them in the (21!) years when I was trying and failing to be published.
Readers of my blog, Help! I Need a Publisher!, are fabulously undelusional, practical, and striving to be as sensible as possible. They – and you! – are the writers I try to help. That’s what my various books for writers also try to do, the latest one being Dear Agent, an ebook dealing with every aspect of the covering letter.”
Especially for writing.ie, Nicola revealed her top tips for submitting your work in an uncrazy way:
- Obey submission guidelines for each particular agent or publisher – each approach must be personal and individual.
- Make sure you are submitting to agents or publishers who do actually handle this type of book.
- Know the market for your type of book – be an expert, passionate reader, so you know what those readers want and therefore what boxes to tick in your pitch. The pitch for a romantic novel, for example, would have a different tone and focus on different emotional tugs from a crime novel.
- Avoid being so close to your book that you can’t see its core: the pitch needs to focus only on the most compelling things.
- Make the pitch concrete, not abstract. For example, “My book is about survival” is not enough – who must survive what and why?
- Keep your letter brief – ideally one side of A4 (or equivalent if email). You are trying to show how economical you can be with words.
- Make sure your letter has no typos or crossings out and is as perfect as you can make it.
- Do not ask the agent/publisher to visit your blog or website but do include the address(es).
- Never be negative, cynical, arrogant, know-it-all, naïve.
- If someone well-known in the business has given your book genuine written praise, and if you have their permission, you may quote it. But only if it is for this book.
- Remember that you are selling yourself as well as your book, so come over as professional, hard-working and informed about the business.
- Unless the guidelines specify no separate synopsis, you need to provide a 2-page synopsis of your book, as well as the letter and 3-chapter sample.
- For a non-fiction book, you also need a brief document that is like a business proposal, outlining the market, competition, gap.
- Remember that agents and publishers are human and they do want to find a great book. Do not be afraid of them.
- Once you’ve done all this, go to bed. Send your submission the next day.
- Submit to three or four at once, as long as they don’t forbid this.
- Never submit your book while drunk or in any other way not in complete control of your actions.
Good luck! Keep writing – and keep reading. There is no other way.
There is much more detailed advice about covering letters, with lots of examples, in Dear Agent, which is available as an ebook only, for all platforms including laptops.
For details about how to buy this or her other books for writers, such as Write to be Published, Write a Great Synopsis, and Tweet Right, and to read all the advice packed in there, please see look at Nicola’s blog.
And if you have any questions that aren’t answered in the book, email Dear Crabbit! See the blog for instructions. And do join her there – she doesn’t bite!
Do follow her on Twitter – @nicolamorgan – and join her Facebook page for news, competitions, links and giveaways.
