Hello everyone,

First of all I wanted to introduce myself to all of you in the hope that I can be drawn warmly to the WW bosom! I signed up a while ago, but haven't posted before. I've been trawling through a lot of the old threads on this forum, though, and found them very interesting and useful.

My situation is that I've been writing for years, but have never made much of an attempt to get an agent or a publisher. I have two finished novels and a screenplay, and have recently started thinking that I might make a concerted effort with the screenplay and novel number 2. I did send an earlier draft of the novel out to a couple of agents in a rather lacklustre fashion quite a long time ago, but was put off by the rejections (albeit one of them was quite a positive and personal one) and weakly gave up.

Anyway, I am returning to the fray and thought you might be able to give me the benefit of your experience. I sent an unsolicited email on a whim to a very good agent at the beginning of last week, pitching the novel to him and asking if I could send him a sample. He replied immediately saying that it sounded great and to email him the whole manuscript right away, not even with a synopsis....is this usual?! I was a little surprised as I'd expected a bit more caution! His request actually prompted a whirlwind of activity as I made the unlucky discovery that the last five chapters of the novel seemed to have completely disappeared from my computer, so I ended up staying up literally almost all night typing them out from a print-out. Not much fun...but I sent him the whole lot the next morning.

Since then I've heard nothing, which is understandable given that it's been under a week. How long is "no new good news" for?! How long should I wait before giving him a gentle prod (given that I've sort of established a relationship and he has solicited the full script)? And do you think I should send the novel to other agents in the mean time, or hold fire?

Thanks!

Becky,

Agents usually want a synopsis, particularly from a new writer, simply because it might save them having to plough through a whole ms, i.e. the synopsis might show that the plot's too hackneyed, or that the writer simply can't sustain the characters, whatever. If this agent doesn't want a synopsis, it's either because that's his normal practice or he's so impressed with your pitch that he wants to cut straight to the meat. Either way, it's good news, since almost everybody struggles with a synopsis.

I'd be very interested to know what you put in the pitch. You say you gave up with earlier submissions after sending them out in a 'lacklustre fashion'. Presumably your pitch was anything but. What made you change your approach?

Terry

P.S. It's almost always best not to chase up an agent who's asked to see your work. It won't make him read it any quicker and is more likely to irritate him for when he does. If you've heard nothing after five or six weeks, you could politely email to ask if he received the ms – in the process, you could add value by mentioning that you have another finished novel and a screenplay, etc.

Many congrats, Becky - that all sounds really positive and certainly NOT the "usual" experience. Do keep us updated. And welcome to WW!

Frances

Hello again,

Thanks to both of you!

Terry, I kind of suspected that (re. the not chasing up) and I think I'll follow your advice and wait another 5 weeks or so before sending a gentle nudge.

As far as what I put in the pitch, I basically just wrote a paragraph designed to sell the novel - more of a back-jacket blurb than a synopsis. I tried to set out the major overarching themes of the novel and set up expectations, and kept it to 8 lines, as I didn't want him to get bored halfway through! (I'm awful at writing two page synopses, so it's probably just as well he didn't want one.) I also personalised the pitch by pointing out some authors that I had heard he liked, who also happened to be favourites of mine, and said that I was aiming at similar territory. Finally, a relative of mine is represented by another agent at the same agency, so I made a jokey little fact of that at the end of the email. I guess maybe these things made my email stand out from the norm? I'm not really sure.

I'll keep you updated!

Becky,

I have to say, that sounds like an object lesson in how to approach an agent. You haven't dumped your ms on him without being asked for it. Instead, you've told him what your book is about in a suspenseful way, mentioned other writers who produce similar work and made use of your personal connection. Great stuff.

Terry