A Valentine's treat: your chance to win a speed date with a Manuscript Academy agent
Just some of the great agents at Manuscript Academy!
Happy Valentine’s!—No, it’s not April Fool’s, I actually do have three speed dates with an agent to raffle off, thanks to the generosity of the Manuscript Academy, and specifically to co-founder Jessica Sinsheimer, agent at Context Literary Agency and also known for #MSWL, ManuscriptWishList.com, and #PubTalkTV.
The timing of this gift could not have been better, because I was already planning to write you a missive addressing the question I’m most often asked. (I anticipate a second question will now be, “how do I get into that raffle draw?” I will answer that too, Dear Reader.)
As a Dev Editor, I’m frequently presented with this wonderfully compound question: What is dev editing anyway and does it really make a difference and do I need it and how much—HOW MUCH?!?!—so how can I do it for myself?
Well, here are some actionable answers, and a little external help.
What is Dev Editing?
It’s the big, high level, “Is the book working?!” edit.
Does it make a difference?
Resoundingly yes. Ask any author with a career.
Do I need it?
No writer can accurately see their own work. It’s a fact, like refraction through water or distortion through atmosphere.
How much?
It varies, but here are some recently published rates in The Write Life.
So how can I do it for myself? Well, you need to at least try to duplicate a dev editor’s distance. At the very least, they come to your pages cold. So,
Put it away in a drawer for 3-6 months.
I can hear you yelling, BUT I’M IN A RUSH TO GET PUBLISHED!!!! Anyone in a rush shouldn’t be attempting to get traditionally published. That’s just the truth. It is a loooong process even with the best of luck. If the clock is ticking that badly for you, I’d consider self publishing.
Find a rubric.
You need a new lens that will let you evaluate the work with some objectivity. If you’re writing commercial or genre fiction, a beat sheet might be helpful. Save the Cat Writes a Novel is often recommended. The book is backed by an entire website of beat sheets, classes, and podcasts that you can download. If you’re writing literary fiction, Donald Maass’s The Emotional Craft of Fiction focusses on creating and manipulating the reader’s emotional journey. Even Freytag’s Pyramid in its modern rendition is useful as a draper’s dummy to lay your work against; to see if what you’ve made is in the actual shape of a book. (Don’t underestimate this. Remember when you can’t see, it’s very hard to discern shape. My own work invariably has a too-long sleeve and a missing collar when it’s submitted as “perfect” to an agent or editor. I am always amazed in retrospect by how I suspected X, Y, or Z on some subliminal level but could not see it.)
Learn as much about editing, as opposed to writing, as you can.
I teach dev editing. Here’s my next course. And here is another fun way to learn. I’ll be interviewing dev editor, Susan Chang, recently senior editor at Tor Books/Macmillan, on Tuesday February 22nd, from 6:00-7:00pm PT for one of my little Zoom chats. We’ll be talking about similarities and differences in how we approach dev editing, some of the most frequent errors we see, and how authors can best avoid them. We’ll also be talking about all the latest developments in publishing, as Susan’s so recently had her finger on the Big Four pulse. There’ll be plenty of time for Q&A, and you’ll have two dev editors whose brains you can pick, right there in your living room. To reserve your seat, simply fill out the form below.
Buy as much professional help as you can afford.
I used to advise writers to go to writers’ conferences (here’s the AWP list) and sign up for consultations with editors. The Writing Day Workshops, especially, focus on getting writers in front of editors and agents, and vice versa. Of course, now there is also the online equivalent of a 24/365 writers’ conference dedicated to helping you get your manuscript and query in shape for pitching: Manuscript Academy, with its extensive faculty of editors and agents. In whatever conference-like setting you find us, we participating editors are taking huge cuts to our fees out of good will to the organizers. Take advantage of this! And here’s a tip: the most useful thing to have a dev editor read for a short consultation is your synopsis, or your query and synopsis, if you can squeeze it in. Save first pages for when you’re sure your story is already in great shape and you’re focussing on polishing that powerhouse first chapter.
Of course, you can also book editorial consultations through most editors’ websites. It will cost you more than at a conference, but it will also be to your own schedule and in a less hectic environment. And, if you want feedback on your entire book but can’t afford a dev edit, many editors offer manuscript analyses or assessments that are not as detailed as dev edits. I don’t offer these (I’m so anal that if I read your book, I’ll have too much feedback to fit into a short assessment), but my dev editor friends Susan Chang and Lisa Manterfield both do.Make the most of free opinions.
Join writers’ groups. If you don’t know where to find one, reach out to a genre-specific or regional organization like the SCBWI or the California Writers’ Club, or organize one yourself. The chats or cafeterias of writing conferences, classes, and events are a good place to introduce yourself and your idea of forming a group. Go to writers’ retreats where work will be reviewed or critiqued. Develop a list of beta readers—people you trust whom you can swap whole-manuscript critiques with. Be generous with your own time and assistance, and it might be returned to you in spades.
Of course, the aim of all this is to get your manuscript ready for an agent. My Valentine’s Day metaphor: Dev editing sharpens your arrow for your one shot. Because, you probably will only get one shot at a particular agent. But when it comes to finding your many targets, here are a few possibilities:
1. Cherry pick from acknowledgements
If you know the books you’d love yours to appear next to, look at their acknowledgements. Nearly all authors thank their agents. (Sometimes, you have to plug a few names into Google to figure out who’s who.) Build a list this way. Everyone on this list will have liked a book like yours well enough to acquire it; and been competent enough to sell it. This is what I’d call a vetted and targeted list; an A list.
2. You can also build a list through good-old research.
Websites such as ManuscriptWishList.com, querytracker.net, and publishersmarketplace.com make it easy to find agents, see what they’re wishing for, what they’re buying, what they’re selling, and for how much. So you just have to do the leg work of matching the agents who do X to the X you want doing. Then, PLEASE, visit their websites, browse through their client lists, and read their submission guidelines before querying. Be a professional! Do your homework!
3. If you can, compile a list through networking.
They say the average first novel takes seven to nine years. In all that time, hopefully you’ll have become part of a writing community. Ask all the published authors you know whether they would recommend their agents. Always ask what they like best about them, and what is most challenging. Depending on your personality, some traits are deal breakers and some are not. If on further research an agent sounds good for you and your book specifically, ask that author friend if they would mind giving you a recommendation. This is not something pushy, desperate, or despicable. This is how most agents prefer to acquire new clients!
4. When you have your list(s) of agents, go stalk them!
See if you can find them at conferences—again, the Writing Day Workshops are organized specifically for this purpose, and Manuscript Academy provides a very similar service. Attend classes and workshops these agents are giving. See if you admire them as professionals and like them as people. And see if they like you! Pay for a consultation. This may not be a pitch, depending on the conference, but it is exposure. At the very least they’ll have seen your work and given you real feedback on how to further sharpen that arrow for the next time or the next agent.
For your chance to win a FREE agent consultation through Manuscript Academy (Query - 10 minutes), fill in and submit this form before noon on Monday, February 21st, 2022. Three winners will be drawn by Susan Chang during our Zoom chat on the evening of Tuesday, February 22nd. You must be present to win (if you’ve already registered to attend, you’ll be automatically entered). Don’t worry if you’re not quite ready to speak to an agent yet. Your prize has no expiration date. You’ll be able to submit your work when it’s been dev edited and ready. ;0)
Until then, happy writing!
Shirin
