Someone who works at one of the large agencies has told me NEVER to submit to 'Submissions Dept', (unless told to), always find a name in an agency, otherwise it will take longer for your script to be read and, when it is, it will be read with much less interest.

Hmm. I'm curious. Has anyone ever had their full MS requested from a submission which wasn't directed towards a specific agent?

Casey

In a word - no.

I overcame my fear of contacting specific agents some time ago. Contrary to popular belief, they are only human, and I've found that a brief phone call ahead of a submission saves the both of us time. One, I get to find out if the agent is interested from a brief blurb, and their name, two, the agent is more likely to remember you and the title of your novel if you actually get to talk to them about it, and ask them to look out for it in the post/email, three, if they aren't interested, you've saved on postage, and the time it takes to wait anxiously for a rejection.

So, in summary, I would always try to personalise your submissions as much as possible.

JB

Yes, I sent a submission to one agency addressed to "The Reader" and got a request within a week for the full script. I honestly don't think it makes a difference when they open the envelope, because bad writing or a tatty script, no matter who you address it to.

What does matter is a clean, professional looking script, a short, clear covering letter and good writing.

Colin M

Hmm, that's what i suspected. Suppose i've been a bit of a coward about ringing agencies but, like you say, what's the worst that can happen if you do?

Casey

Cross-posted, Colin!

I was just surprised when this contact of mine said that the script would be read with scant interest if it were a general submission, i hadn't thought of that. Was your request from a small agency, because i suspect it matters less if the agency isn't huge?

Casey

From what I've heard, it matters more to get the agent name in a small agency if you really want to be personal, but so many small(ish) agencies, who appear to be a single name, have more than one agent (ie Caroline Sheldon), so you could be addressing the wrong person anyway. Bigger agencies, when you phone them (ie PFD) request that you address it to "the reader" and they direct it to a reader/agent internally depending upon subject and genre. If you do your homework and want a particular agent because of a writer they represent, then that's different. You can always find their email address and contact them that way.

My first request was about four years back, and the agency was small(ish) with two main named agents, but the person who requested the script was a name I didn't recognise. She rejected the full script, but from that point onwards, I addressed other material directly to her and that seemed to help things along, making further sumbissions more personal and getting more structured feedback than they standard, "sorry, but no". She's now a partner in the firm.

That's a good idea, Colin, to use a name you've got for the future, even if they reject you.

You know, i've submitted to eg Jane Judd, and because there are no agents listed in the WAAYB under her agency, i've adressed the cover letter to her. I'm now wondering if this is a bit amateurish and maybe to the Reader would be better.

Ay yaye, yaye, talk about obsessing about the minutiae..

Casey

Ay yaye, yaye, talk about obsessing about the minutiae..

Bang on. It's amazing how much we get tangled up over things that probably mean very little. How many times have you had a rejection, where the name on the letter isn't the agent, and to make things worse it's signed, "pp" by someone else again!

If you throw enough balls, you'll knock down a coconut and win a fish. (So long as you've got good balls )

Too many times Colin. And I always take it as an extreme insult! (An excuse to go to the pub.)

JB

Yeh, me too. Here's to Golden Balls

Casey

Here you go, Waxy, some ointment for those wounds.

Bernard's Letter

Colin,
Thanks so much for posting that again!
It was on here a while ago and I couldn't remember what it was called. Brilliant!

Just read an old thread and someone heard an agent from Curtis Brown talk who said that he couldn't remember the last time they had taken someone on from the 'general pile', because people who made a personal approach were more the kind of person they liked to work with. Hmm.

Casey

I sent some submissions to named agents and some to submissions. They were all read eventually, and both sorts requested full MS. For reasons that are boring, I submitted twice to the same agency, one to named agent and one to submissions. Submissions rejected it outright and named agent requested full script. It's a lottery.

Casey,

last year when I submitted to PFD, their submission guidelines said to do exactly that - send things to 'Submissions'. Three weeks later I had an email from an agent there asking to read the full manuscript.

Every agency has their own rules - they usually put them on their websites. I'd stick with their guidelines, unless you have a sure-fire way to grab an agent's attention. Which can work very well too, but you must be 100% sure that it your strategy will work.

Maria

<Added>

PS For the record, the agent I eventually signed with, I targeted very carefully indeed. And found his personal email address, which wasn't on his website. But PFD did stick to their own rules. As sappholit says, a lottery.