Luigi Bonomi on submitting to agents.

I found this interview with the winner of the London Book Award's 2010 Agent of the Year, Luigi Bonomi of LBA, and thought that it might be useful for anyone just starting out in their submission process.

http://www.saltpublishing.com/horizon/issues/01/text/bonomi_luigi.htm

Why have one when you can have two?

Well, it's as if time is repeating itself almost. I have two major literary agencies asking to see the full manuscript of my novel 'Genesis'. One is already considering the work, whilst the second got in touch recently.

After last time, when two agencies had full manuscripts of mine and both turned them down, I'm a little less excited. Once bitten, twice shy and all that. None the less, it's very encouraging and at least I know that the story itself is strong enough to grab the attention of very capable ( and very busy ) agents. Once again, however, I'm wringing my hands over whether the rest of the novel lives up to the promise of the submission package.

I've been very fortunate in being in e-mail contact with a successful author represented by one of those agencies: Matt Hilton, author of the Joe Hunter series of thrillers and a top chap, who's been giving me a great deal of advice, inside-knowledge and encouragement on what may happen should things go my way. Having been writing alone for so long, it's great to hear from somebody who's already been through the mill, so to speak, and realise that once upon a time, they too were where I am now.

Two agents, one good novel.... Fingers, legs and eyes crossed that this time things go my way.

It's been a looong time.....

But once again I am at the submission stage. After two full-manuscripts being read in 2007 by leading literary agents, both of which were ultimately turned down, I'm now once again chewing my nails and worrying about whether the tome that I've sent out is good enough.

A leading London literary agency is currently reading the full manuscript of my latest thriller, 'Genesis', and I'm alternating between feeling that my chances are good and feeling that I'm an imposter whose efforts can't possibly live up to said agent's existing clients.

It's been just over two months since my initial submission, and a week since the full manuscript went out. It's going to be a tricky wait as I agonise over each and every possible ( phantom ? )flaw with the story, characters, dialogue, pace and on and on and on.....

Fingers crossed I'll be smiling some time soon, but for now I'll just stew in my own desperate indecision. Either I'm on my way, or I'm on the way to disappointment!

'Never tell me the odds.'

It's crossed my mind that most people wouldn't have a clue about how high the odds are against an unpublished author getting into print. I thought that, in order to put my trials into context, I'd describe just how tough it is...

Once an author has completed his or her novel ( in itself a major achievement ) the submission process begins. This initially involves sending to a literary agency a synopsis and three sample chapters of the work. If the agent likes the submission, then they will ask to see the whole novel.

There are perhaps eighty or so reputable agents listed in The Writer's Handbook. Each receives anywhere between one hundred and two hundred submissions a week from prospective new clients. So that's an average ( mean ) total of 7,500 submissions per year per agent. I have it on good authority from one of those London agents that they will request a full manuscript about once a week. So let's call that fifty full manuscripts per year, out of a total 7,500. Of those fifty, the agent may choose to represent perhaps one or two authors as new clients per year....

So, it isn't easy to stand out from the crowd enough to earn representation from a good agent. The fact that I've had the full manuscript of my novel read by two major agencies bodes well, but of course in the long-run it was also rejected by those agencies. I'm close, I'm sure, but only time will tell if the novel is good enough to reach publication - once an agent represents the work, they then have to sell it to a publishing house, and then the competition is in terms of quality rather than quantity...

Foiled again!

Well, once again the full manuscript of my novel was returned from a London Agency. This time, however, there were no helpful editorial notes - not even a brief line or two saying why the work was rejected.

At this stage, I'm not too concerned about being rejected. For those of you who don't know, an initial submission to an agent consists of a covering letter, short synopsis ( 4 pages in my case ) and the first three chapters of the novel. The letter should grab the agent's attention, the synopsis should interest them in the story, and the chapters show them whether or not the author can actually write ( somewhat essential in this game ).

So, I know that both of the agents who have requested a full mansuscript so far like the story and like my writing. Therefore, something in the full manuscript must be letting the story down. Having spent the last month and a half reviewing the work, I think I know what that might be, and have begun adjusting the novel to account for some changes that will hopefully rectify the problem. In addition, I have recruited two great-mates ( Pete Dev and Mattior ) to read the novel and let me know if there's anything within that spoils the show and makes an agent say 'no' instead of 'Yes!' They have to believe that they can sell the work to a publisher, and do so without trawling through months of editorial work....

In the mean-time, submissions are going out to eight agencies, in the hopes that one or two might be interested in reading further. It's a shame only in the sense that so much time is spent waiting ( three months per agent on average, from submission to final decision ). Still, I have the sense that I'm close - two hits from major agencies in a row isn't bad going me thinks....

Traumas and Triumphs.

Well, they said no. After a three month wait, the agency decided that the manuscript was 'not yet ready' for the market. This happened just before Christmas, so, Yo-Ho-Ho and thanks very much.
In all fairness, they did present me with a long editorial list of suggested changes that they felt would improve the manuscript and address the issues they felt would prevent its successful sale to a publishing house.
Soooo - I've made the changes. I sent out new submissions to four major London literary agencies, and lo-and-behold this Saturday a letter dropped onto my door-mat from one of them. I took one look at it, lying there, and thought;
"Ah, there's the rejection I've been waiting for..."
However, upon opening and reading the enclosed letter, joyous was I to discover that, once again, a major agency was interested in reviewing the full manuscript!!
So, here we go again....

Success!!

Well, having decided to record the long and difficult process of getting first an agent and then a publishing deal, I can report that on my first attempt I have garnered the interest of a major London literary agency.
Having sent them the first three chapters of my novel, along with a four page synopsis, I was told that there would be a two to three month wait for a response. At least they were efficient enough to let me know, thus avoiding any unnecessary anxiety. Then, after ten weeks, an e-mail asking for the full manuscript, and also enquiring as to whether the work had been sent direct to any other agent or publisher.
That happened at the end of August, so, having sent the material and received confirmation that it will be another two months at least before I learn whether or not this agency will represent me, the waiting will continue. On, and on, and on and.....

So I've got one too.

Blogs. They're like those Tamagochi things - everyone's heard of them, many people went out and got one, yet nobody knows why they bothered in the first place.
Now I've got one. A blog that is. There is every chance in the world that nobody anywhere on earth will actually ever visit this site and read these words, which makes me wonder why I'm typing them. Well, the reason is that this is going to be an on-line diary of one individuals' attempts to get a novel published. I thought it might be a good idea as the blog could quite happily exist for the next sixty five years and never actually come to an end, such is the difficulty in getting one's name into print.
Here's where it starts, and at some point in the future it will, I hope, provide hopeful new writers with a genuine and enjoyable record of one writer's efforts to get themselves out of the drudgery of nine-to-five and into the light as an author.
More posts, detailing my writing history so far and hopefully some tips and tricks of the industry learned along the way, will follow. Comments, useful links and general shared knowledge of the commercial publishing industry, with an emphasis on thrillers, are welcomed and encouraged from everyone (anyone?) who might pass by this way.
Welcome.