Hello,

I'm getting ready to submit a full manuscript to an agent for the first time, and mixed in with my excitement I have a whole load of slightly silly "newbie" questions.

Does it have to be double-spaced? Can I get away with one-and-a-half or am I just being a cheapskate? (Or environmentally friendly?!)

Is it acceptable to say 'don't bother returning this whole thing, but here's a first class stamp for your reply' or is it the mark of an amateur?

In my W&A Yearbook it mentions sending a CV to agents as well as covering letter - does anyone do that?

The manuscript was requested on the basis of my e-query.

Thank you for your help!

Luisa

Hi there, hope I can help.

Does it have to be double-spaced? Can I get away with one-and-a-half or am I just being a cheapskate? (Or environmentally friendly?!)

Absolutely! Double spaced is the industry standard, and unless specified otherwise, do not deviate from this!

Is it acceptable to say 'don't bother returning this whole thing, but here's a first class stamp for your reply' or is it the mark of an amateur?

I'm sure that's ok except why wouldn't you want it returned? You may need to send it out again unfortunately, that is environmentally friendly. Personally, I don't like the idea of my work kicking about, or being chucked in a bin, so I always request them back by enclosing an SAE.

In my W&A Yearbook it mentions sending a CV to agents as well as covering letter - does anyone do that?

This relates to a portfolio of prewviously published works, I am sure. I don't think your employment history is of that much importance to agents, and I only ever send them a list of my writing credits.

Hope this helps!

JB

Hi Luisa

I agree with everything JB's said. Good luck. S

That helps a lot, that's great. Thanks.

I didn't think I'd be able to send a manuscript out again once it had been looked at - I suppose I was hoping it would come back in a shabby, well-read state.

Still, I suppose it will be good to have a copy of my manuscript to scribble on and edit - and that's recycling too.

OK, no more silly questions - I'll get to work now.

Thank you very much.

Luisa

Some places I've looked at say 'a small SAE if you don't want the MS back' but I'm inclined to ask for it back: you can always extract the rude bits and then pass the rest on on to the local nursery school for painting paper. If it's big enough to need a jiffy bag, I've stuck the right stamps onto a big label with my address on it, and they then stick the label back onto the jiffy bag. Either way, comb the website for any guidance, but if there isn't any,

But I think you can recycle - I've had very clean MSs back even though the letter showed that they did read a reasonable amount. If the MS comes back looking a bit scruffy, it's often only the front and back few pages, and you can always just replace those and p.273 which they put a cup of coffee down on.

Double-spaced definitely, but I use 11pt, which comes out to about as many pages as 12pt 1½spaced but looks better.

I think James is right, CV only really applies to publishing credits, though it's quite handy for them to have all your other details - address, phone no.s etc. in one place too. But if your fiction relates to anything in your life it might be useful too: a chick-lit thriller set on an oil rig is much more impressive if you used to work on one. (Or even, cynically, if something irrelevant in your life nonetheless makes you highly promotable.)

Good luck with it.

Emma


<Added>

Oops! Look what comes of feeling like you've had three too many espressos:

'Either way, combe the website for any guidance, but if there isn't any, any option mentioned her should be fine.'

Luisa, just double-checking, are you sure the agent asked for the FULL manuscript? Usually after a query letter they request two or three chapters and a synopsis.

Good luck!

Dee

OK, Dee, now I'm really getting nervous. I just checked the email again, and although the actual word 'full' isn't there, everything else about the email implies 'full'. It's hard to explain, but I'm pretty sure this is what the agent meant.

I'm going to look really stupid if I've got this wrong, aren't I?

Oh, well, I'll live and learn.

But, honestly, it does look like a full is being requested. I wrote a very persuasive query letter, though I say so myself. And it's a very encouraging, full-requesting kind of reply.

Hmm.

Luisa
(who might be about to make a huge fool of herself, both here and in the agent world. Oh dear.)

Luisa, seeing as they weren’t specific, send the whole thing. It will cost you more, obviously (it cost £7.50 to post 420 pages of TWH), but at least they’ll have it. They don’t have to read it all unless they want to… but if they do, they’ve got it in their hands, haven’t they…

Best wishes

Dee

Luisa,

I'm sure you're right. If the agent wanted anything specific, like a few chapters, they'd have asked for it. Sounds like they want the whole shebang.

Break a leg,

Myrtle

Thanks!

Luisa
x

Luisa,

Well done, that's great news. Maybe you have sent this off already but how about sending the agent a return email saying that you plan to send the manuscript double-spaced etc, but that if she has any personal perferences for font style or presentation, you'd be happy to print it out that way.

Good luck.

Ashlinn

Luisa

I'm sick and green with envy. My postman is developing a bad back carrying polite rejections and the first few chapters to my door...Good luck

Craig

Ashlinn, thanks for the great suggestions, but I've got it ready now and I'm just too impatient to wait! I'll definitely bear it in mind for the future.

Craig, don't worry, I'm sure the requests will come flooding in soon - I know how good your novel is. And also don't forget that this will probably come back to me, too, only it will be a very loud thud on the doormat since there's so much of it!

Anyway, it's ready to go, all 250 pages of it. (It's YA fiction, in case anyone thinks that sounds short!) Thanks for your help everyone.

Luisa

P.S. What's the betting I find some horrible typo the minute I send it?

Is it acceptable to say 'don't bother returning this whole thing, but here's a first class stamp for your reply' or is it the mark of an amateur?

Hello, thought I'd jump in too. I used to do this, putting a note asking them to recycle the paper. There's nothing wrong with that at all. But I only did this with sample chapters because I was sending out to so many agencies at once. However, now I feel that doing this makes it look like you're trying to save money, ie because you've sent out to so many, so probably best to avoid anything that might arise suspicion. The other point about getting your script back is that a lot of agents scribble editing notes here and there as they read (I know at least three who've left a few useful pointers on my scripts) so it might be worth getting it back just to see what they've spotted that you have missed.

Best of luck with it.

Colin M