What you send to an agent depends on the type of book you are pitching. If you write fiction, the agent will want to see the full manuscript. If you write nonfiction, you’ll send a book proposal. Your agent will help you polish both, but you need to have a great first draft to get signed with a literary agent.
Some agents will have you send something shorter to query them initially instead of sending the full manuscript or proposal so check their website to learn how they want you to pitch them. Here are the most common ways to pitch a literary agent.
Query Letter:
At the top of the letter, include your name and contact info and address it to a particular agent. A query letter is a one-page pitch for your book. Include the title and subtitle, the genre and category, the word count, and a short few sentence summary of the book. Think of a combination of what you’d tell a friend if you were telling them about your book and what would be the description on the back of the book. Then add a short bio that includes any publications you’ve written for and what you do for work. Thank them for your time and sign the letter.
Novel Synopsis:
This is a one to two page summary of the entire story. Explain when and where the story takes place and the main characters then summarize the main points of the story. Include the conflict in the book and the narrative arc. You should also include the ending. Write it in the third person.
Nonfiction Book Proposal:
A nonfiction book proposal is essentially a business plan for your book. I’ll write another post on how to write a nonfiction book proposal and the sections to include. Unlike with fiction, nonfiction writers don’t have to write the entire manuscript to pitch a book. Focus on how the book will help the reader because that helps to show why there is a need for the book and why people will buy it.
Novel Proposal:
Include a short elevator pitch for the book, a short bio, who the target audience is, a one-page synopsis, and two or three sample chapters. You could also include competitive titles, which are books that are similar to yours, and a few sentences on how you’d plan to market the book.
Sample Chapters:
If you wrote a novel, it makes sense to send the first chapters. If you are writing non-fiction, send a few chapters that stand well on their own so the reader “gets it” even if they don’t have the full manuscript.
Most agencies will also say how soon you can follow up, so check that too so you don’t follow up too soon!
