Teehee James...that made me laugh. I love that you're always trying to help but then retract it with a self deprecating comment. You too shall soon find your agent and become published! I'm off for dinner, then I'll read your uploaded story

Okay, I'm still in the process of researching the list of agents I hope to submit to and some of them ask for a CV (sigh)...now as far as I know, when I apply for a job I would send a CV that would give personal information as well as experience pertinent to the job I'm applying for. I have no experience as a writer so my CV to an agent is going to be rather blank. It'll be name, age, sex, marital status and then ....blank. The novels I'm working on or have completed are already mentioned in my cover letter, so what else is there to write if you have no experience???

When I read books on how to get your dream job using the perfect CV and writing the ultimate cover letter, I remember they advised things like not mentioning your desired or expected salary or withholding that information although in the Advertisement it would ask that you state this. The books suggest that this could be something to discuss during an interview. Should I treat the CV request in a similar fashion. My inexperience may be a negative point with some agents who may not give me a chance to show that my work may still be worth considering.

OK… this is what I’ve picked up/worked out so I can’t guarantee it’s all absolutely correct for every agent. And it appears to me that the terms ‘preliminary letter’ ‘cover letter’ and ‘cv’ mean different things to different agents.

If the entry in WAYB asks for, say, a synopsis plus the first three chapters, the cover letter is what you send with them. In it you give details of the novel itself: genre, word count, POV, setting and one sentence to sum up the story. Add in a short paragraph on anything else you’ve got finished or in progress, whether you’re planning a sequel or a series.

As far as I can tell, 'no unsolicited manuscripts' means they don’t want the full manuscript unless they specifically ask for it.

Preliminary letter/autobiographical notes/CV: I think these are basically the same things:
First of all, don’t confuse ‘writing experience’ with ‘being published’. You can – most of us do if we’re determined enough – have years of writing experience without being published.
Agents are looking for writers with a long-term commitment. They want to know that you have more than one novel in you. Tell them how much you’ve done and what you have planned for the future.
Tell them why you write. Is it for the money (nothing wrong with that) or to see your name in bookshops. Or a combination of reasons.
They don’t want to know where you went to school or what other jobs you’ve had in the past unless it’s very relevant to your writing. For instance if you’re a detective and you want to write a series of crime novels they could be reasonably confident (I would hope!) that your procedural details would be accurate.

And as for selling yourself… you will have to learn…

Hope this helps.
Dee.

Thanks Dee. That's very helpful. Yes I will have to learn to sell myself but the reason why I hate talking about me is because once I start...no one can shut me up

Hi Word's Worth - I'd agree with everything Dee said (very well explained).

Whatever you call them, for me, the letter that accompanies a manuscript, a sample, or a synopsis needs pretty much the same information, as Dee outlined above.

Traveller - Don't worry, of course I don't chuck out submissions that are accompanied by a less-than-inspiring letter, and I welcome submissions from people who havn't had anything published. When I talk about mentioning the agency in the letter, I just mean having it at the top of the page, or addressed to the agent in question.

As we discussed in the query letter forum, agents claim to be able to tell from the letter whether or not someone can write (and it's strange that you can, most of the time). Yes, I have to be selective about what I read in full as I'm the only person who deals with the 30-40 submissions we receive each week.

As far as researching the agency in question goes, I just think it's helpful to find out a little to make sure you're not wasting your time. (For example we don't deal with children's literature). I'm quite happy to talk to people on the phone when they call up to ask who to send something to, or whether we're accepting manuscripts or whatever.
But of course, if the book's good, who cares about the letter? It's just a case of first impressions and distinguishing yourself from the dozens of other writers I consider each week.

If there's something you're not sure of, give the agency a call.

Anthony - according to Philip Pullman, you can't choose your own daemon, so I'm not sure what I'd be!

Thank you Katie. I rewrote my cover letter for my new batch of submissions in line with Dee's very helpful post and I hope it goes some way to making the agent read it and keep on reading it along with the synopsis. Off I plod to post them before I chicken out...

Oh yeah, I seem to remember that about Philip Pullman now. Didn't stop them speculating though I suppose!

Mmm, malteasers!

Erm so is it acceptable or not?

Hello all

Like Sue, I sent mine out in blocks of three or four at a time, but then I'm not a patient kind of guy. I huff in queues and I swear at traffic lights. I tut loudly at people walking slower than me down a street and the coffee machine at work drives me crazy. I'm often found muttering 'come on, come on' and telling inanimate objects that aren't up to speed to just 'fuck off.'

However, I'm great with certain animals and people. Just don't keep me waiting or I'll rip your ears off.

So, yeah, I think it's reasonable to multi submit. There is a flip side as well: agents who keep you waiting inordinate amounts of time for a one sentence reply (about as helpful as a parasol in a hurricane). Katie herself was really good and very quick with her replies. Others have been totally cruel. I even got one back, just like Katie did, without a rejection slip. Just my three chapters. Lovely.

The book is signed up now, and I felt a great deal of smug satisfation when I received my rejection from Millevres Press the other day - only twelve months after I'd sent it to them. They said they'd hung on to it as they found it interesting but changes in the company prevent them from pursuing it further.

Well, thanks for telling me!

Mail bomb 'em your genius, my fellow wits.

JB

What if they've asked for an 'exclusive'?

I would say that, if they ask for an exclusive, you have a right to put a time limit on them. Explain that you are eager to see your work published and you’ll let them have an exclusive option for six weeks – maybe eight. If at the end of that time you haven’t heard from them then you can send it out to others.

Dee

Thanks Dee. If you agree to an 'exclusive' - are you obliged to go with that agent if they accept? This is all very hypothetical - probably will get rejected by everyone!

Of course you’re not obliged to go with that agent but I have to say that I think it would be extraordinarily fool-hardy to turn them down if they offered you a contract. Presumably, if you’ve researched the market, you’re only submitting work to agents you feel you could work with.

Dee

Yeah sure. It's difficult to know though about whether you can work with an agent before meeting them. I've been advised that it's a really important decision and not to go with the first agent who offers a contract. There is also the big agency v small agency argument. I don't know - it's all conjecture and as I said I'm not expecting anything! (But it'd be nice!)

Traveller, my experience of agents is that you will know if the agent is someone you can work with (and vice versa), and all concerns about exclusivity will disappear at that point. Dee's note about checking out the market is very important: do not send randomly to agencies on the basis that they're willing to accept unsolicited manuscripts. It's a hiding to nothing. Isolate agents who specialise in the subject areas that you're covering, or the type of writer. It is always worth putting in a call beforehand. Agents do not contract you, they take a percentage of the contracts they win for you. You can change agencies at any time. The only residual connection will be their taking a percentage of existing contracts that they negotiated. If you're leaving because they've failed to sell your work, then you owe them nothing at all. Shyama.