Preparing to Publish
by Victoria Fortune
For writers approaching the submission stage, there are a multitude of online resources offering guidance (see list below), but nothing compares with getting feedback directly from publishing insiders and agents. I recently attended a Publishing Prep Workshop offered by Galiot Press that offered just that. The two-and-a-half-day workshop included instruction on writing the query and synopsis, as well as critiques of these items and my first ten pages from one of the publishers of Galiot Press and each of the two agents in attendance. The process gave me valuable new insight into the submission process.
Anjali Mitter Duva, one of the founders of Galiot Press, offered some excellent advice and tips on writing the query:
The hook, the book, and the cook:
• Begin with a direct appeal to the specific agent, explaining why you are querying them. Show that you did your research into the type of work that interests them and why your book might appeal to them.
• Then include the hook: your one to two sentence elevator pitch. The general rule of thumb is to include your word count and comps (comparable books published in the last 5 years) up front in this section. (See tips below.)
•Next, include one to two paragraphs about the book: the quest, the goal, the stakes. Who needs to accomplish what by when, where, and why? Include only the most important story line/characters. The tone or voice of the novel should come through and you should give a sense of the structure of the book.
• End with the cook: your bio. Don’t include the smaller stuff. Do include something unexpected yet relevant that will humanize you.
Tips on writing the query:
• If you’re having trouble getting started, tell someone else about your book and have them take notes, then see what comes up in the notes.
• Use strong verbs and adjectives.
• Don’t dwell on themes unless they’re part of the hook.
• Include comps from the last 5 years. Can be a movie or show if the connection is strong but always include a book as well. (I’ve found my local librarians extremely helpful in coming up with comps.)
• Word count is critical to include. Between 50,000-90,000 is ideal for a novel. Fewer than 50,000 words is a novella. If it’s100,000 or more, include the word count toward the end of the letter. Publishers are sensitive to length. Some books warrant it, but if your book is long, hook them on the idea before spooking them on the word count.
Be friendly. There was general agreement among the publishers and agents that any sign a writer is argumentative, resistant to feedback, or otherwise difficult to work with is a major turn off and could well make them reject a manuscript they might otherwise be interested in. It was good to hear that in this day and age, being nice still counts for something.
The publishers strongly discouraged using AI. Journalist and bestselling author Andrea Bartz, who sued Anthropic for scraping her books and won, has written extensively about the issues with generative AI. Even writers who would never use AI to write their book may be tempted to use it for other purposes. But as unpleasant as it is to write a query, using AI to do so robs you of the opportunity to think deeply and carefully about the critical elements of your book. Continually returning to my query throughout the revision process has helped me remain focused on my purpose and what I’m trying to achieve. The more I hone it, the better prepared I am to describe my book and discuss it with anyone who asks. But if you do decide to take a shortcut and use AI to write your query, be sure to edit the response carefully. The publishers told a story about receiving a query letter with the instructions to an AI program still included at the top. Needless to say, that author did not get a deal.
The two agents I met with had very different reactions to my pages and query: One didn’t like my comps. Another thought they were just right. One loved the fact that the principal characters in my historical novel were real people. Another thought that it would make the book harder to sell. All of which goes to show that searching for an agent is about finding the right fit—an agent who is excited about your story. If an agent fixates on technical problems with your query, it’s a good bet the story does not resonate with them. So, take the feedback you get, apply it if useful, and move on. Do your research into agents and keep searching. The writers who get published are the ones who don’t give up.
The synopsis is a whole other beast, which I’ll write about in another post, but the best advice I’ve come across online is Jane Friedman’s How to Write a Novel Synopsis.
Some other great resources for preparing to publish:
Andrea Bartz’s How to Pitch Your Book Substack
Courtney Maum’s Before and After the Book Deal Substack
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast. (For the bravest of souls, you can submit your query to be critiqued live on the broadcast.)
