This is connected to my last thread, but I thought I'd start a new one.

Right so I've whittled my first list of agents down to about 5, and I'm looking on their websites re. their submission guidelines. And it seems that they all have a faceless submissions email address. Is that really the way things work? I thought the idea with a cover letter was to target the right contact in the agency.

Or should I be calling the agency, finding the name of the right contact, and submitting it them personally i.e. not through the general submissions email address.

Help please.

Lorraine

That is increasingly how things work yes - I've generally sent the email to the submissions address but addressed the email itself to the relevant agent - basically to show who I was thinking of when I submitted.

Sometimes I put "submission for XXXXX" in the title header too, just to underline it!

But if you feel particularly strongly about one agent then it probably couldn't hurt to send them a polite email to their personal address saying you would like to submit to them personally, and should you do so via the generic address or is it ok to send to them direct.

Incidentally I wouldn't call reception to find out names - they can't tell you which agent to submit to. If you do that they'll likely just say "submit to the generic email address". I think it's best to work out for yourself who to submit to, by checking out the list of agents on their website or on a site like authoradvance and finding the best match for yourself.

Good luck!

Yes, it's how things work, I'm afraid.
Some agencies send the submissions first to Readers who whittle the pile down and forward the 'possibles' to the agent.
Others use fairly junior agents who then need permission from the uber-agent before making an approach.
I've even heard of agencies using a false name, and still get calls from writers who insist this fictional person has asked to see their submission personally.


- NaomiM


<Added>

One thing that will make them sit up and pay attention is if you've met the agent at a one-to-one at a literary festival or day/weekend writers course.

<Added>

The slush pile does work, especially if you've had feedback on your submission before sending it out - the professional approaches stand out in the pile.

<Added>

Just to add, it's a very subjective process - simply being good is not enough, the agent has to love it enough to champion it within the agency and with publishers, etc, so only having a list of 5 agents is giving yourself a very small pool. A list of 30-50 agents would be much better.

<Added>

(for 'literary festival' read 'writers conference'.

Thanks. It's a bit of a quagmire when it's your first time. I appreciate the advice and support.

It is a steep learning curve I still cringe over some of the things I've written in covering letters, and some of the mistakes in the accompanying chapters.
One thing to bear in mind is no submission is wasted. Agents say If you continue to produce new mss and submit regularly to them, then they will start to remember you and your work and may start to respond with encouragment, even if they reject it.

Firstly, Lorraine, a big YAY on getting this far! I know you've worked incredibly hard on this book, and submitting is a bit of a stomach-churning process. You can't help but dream that someone is going to love it, while at the same time being afraid that nobody will. Time to work on developing that thick skin, but without letting go of that tingling hope that just maybe.....


Anyway, as regards the e-mail submissions, I think quite a lot seem to ask you to send to a generalised address. But if you're canny in your covering letter, you can try and ensure it's targeted to a particular person (e.g by comparing your work with a certain author).

I remember subbing to an agency and then getting a reply from a named agent and being confused because I had no record of subbing to her! I had to look her up and see which agency she was with.

And be careful! With e-mail subs, it's all too easy to click the 'send' button and then realise you've missed something out, or there's a random chunk of text that you've cut and pasted that's not meant to be there, or that they asked for a CV and you've not sent one.

Check it and triple check it, in the same way that you would with a postal submission.

(having said that, the agent that eventually signed me was a random, spur of the moment, I've-got-the-sub-ready-and-this-one-accepts-emails submission! No thought or targeted submission whatsoever...lol)

Just to add, it's a very subjective process - simply being good is not enough, the agent has to love it enough to champion it within the agency and with publishers, etc, so only having a list of 5 agents is giving yourself a very small pool. A list of 30-50 agents would be much better.

Totally agree with Naomi on this one but I think doing 5 submissions at a time is quite a good approach. You can keep track of things for a start. Plus feedback from agents may make you want to tweek things to improve them.

Good luck anyway - like you say it's very daunting at first.

you can try and ensure it's targeted to a particular person (e.g by comparing your work with a certain author).

Just to clarify one part of Freebirds good advice, that 'certain author' would be someone on their list that they represent already, plus one other author in the same genre. One to show you think your work will fit their list, and the other to show you're not a carbon copy of that first author, and that you know the genre you're writing it. Avoid picking two bestselling authors because that implies your expectations are too high.

Thanks to all of you for as ever your grounded advice. I've sent my first submission to 7 agents now, 2 postal and 5 email subs. So fingers crossed.