I’ve been thinking a lot about submissions lately, not only because my co-author and I are launching a new book about the querying process, but also because I will be in the trenches soon with my next novel.
A typical submission usually includes a query letter, synopsis, and writing sample, but which one is most important? To be clear, I think every aspect of a submission should be as good as you can make it, but when it comes to the submission package, there’s a hierarchy.
Let’s start with the thing writers seem to obsess over most, even though it’s the least important of the three.
The Query Letter
The query letter is where you make your first impression, so yes, you do want to make a good one, and while most of the time this letter won’t sink your submission, there are some things you can do to make it go so wrong that an agent or publisher might never even look at your writing sample:
- Querying an agent/publisher who doesn’t represent/publish your genre. Aside from the submission being irrelevant to them, it also tells them you haven’t done your homework.
- Ignoring submission guidelines. These are not standardized. Every agent or publisher has their own way of doing things. Read the fine print and only give them what they ask for. If they want a 500-word synopsis but you think your 800-word version is just so good they won’t mind reading more—well, you’re right in one sense. They won’t mind because they might not read any of it.
- Sending a letter riddled with proofreading errors. This screams lazy. And careless. If this is what your letter looks like, the chances are high that your writing sample will be more of the same.
- Having a word count way above or below the industry standard for a debut.
Enter the generous giveaway at the bottom of this post for a chance to make your query dazzle with the help of Michelle’s newest book co-authored with David Griffin Brown…Fake Query Letters by Dead Authors.
In our Book Broker series, many agents have said they will still check out the sample pages even if a pitch doesn’t land, but the better the pitch, the more potential excitement they bring to that reading.
Agents see many fantastic pitches that are accompanied by lesser writing samples, and they also see imperfect pitches with fantastic writing samples. A pitch should clearly and specifically convey character, concept, and stakes. Literary agent Hannah Sheppard has a great template for a strong pitch: When A (inciting incident) happens, B (character) must do C (action) otherwise/before D (catastrophe).
Bottom Line
Here’s a true confession. Years ago, I sat on the poetry editorial board of a literary magazine where I read submission packages. At first, I read the query letters before tackling the submissions, but pretty soon I stopped. I found they created expectations that were not borne out by the writing itself. Authors with impressive publishing credentials often sent in underwhelming work while others who were just starting out blew me away with their poetry. I didn’t like being biased in advance, so I set the query letters aside and only checked them afterwards out of curiosity. In other words, the amount they mattered to me was zero. In fact, in our Book Broker series, many agents have said the same thing.
What does this mean? The writing isn’t just one thing. It’s the main thing.
Bottom line: it’s pretty hard to make a query letter so awful that an agent or publisher will refuse to look at the rest of the submission package. That said, there is value in a strong first impression. If you bias someone against your work, it might make it harder to change their mind.
The Synopsis
When you’re querying a novel or memoir, you will often be asked to include a synopsis. The length of this document varies, but regardless of the maximum word count, it will never feel like it’s enough.
Yes, it’s hard to winnow a full-length novel down to 500 words, but it can be done.
And yes, a poorly written synopsis can sink your whole submission. It’s that important.
A synopsis is more than just a summary of your novel. It’s a signal to the agent or publisher that you know what you’re doing, that you can get this great idea off the ground and land it again in one piece. A synopsis shows that you understand story structure, character arc and transformation, causality, suspense—all the elements of a successful novel. If you don’t, or if your story doesn’t demonstrate this understanding, it will be immediately evident in the synopsis.
A poor synopsis is a sign. Danger: Unstable Structure. Enter at your own risk. Agents and publishers are busy people. If they see this sign, chances are they won’t bother going any further.
If you’re repeatedly getting rejected, the synopsis is a good place to start your investigation into why. But here’s the thing: if the synopsis is shaky, guess where the real problem lies?
The Writing Sample
This is the most important element of your submission package by far. Agents and publishers read so many submissions they can tell in the first page (maybe even the first paragraph) whether yours is worth their time.
Does that sound daunting? It is. It feels like too much pressure for those poor opening paragraphs to bear. But let me ask another question. When you go to a bookstore and pick up a book that you’re considering buying, how far do you read before making up your mind?
Yeah. That’s why the opening has to be that good.
If your book doesn’t get going until chapter five, throw out the first four chapters and start where the fire is. If the opening voice isn’t that great but just wait till you meet the other narrator… you guessed it. Either work on the first narrator’s voice or get rid of them.
But, but… you’ve worked so hard on this draft. Surely I don’t mean you have to throw things in the garbage and start again?
That’s exactly what I mean. If that’s a foreign concept to you, then that’s probably why your manuscripts aren’t gaining any traction with publishers and agents.
I know it sounds harsh, but I didn’t make up the rules. I’ve thrown more drafts into the garbage than I can count. It hurts, but one thing that lessens the pain is knowing that every time I do it, my manuscript improves along with my chances of finding an agent or publisher.
In Conclusion
Publishing is a business, and publishers and agents are in it to make money. We writers tend to take this rejection stuff personally, but it’s not personal. If you can bring that level of cool detachment to your manuscript (or even better, get some feedback from other readers) you’ll be more willing to do the amount of editing that’s necessary.
And when you finally put together your submission package, the most important piece—the writing—will shine.
Giveaway Alert!
Win a copy of Michelle’s newest e-book, co-authored with David Griffin Brown…Fake Query Letters by Dead Authors.
Don’t make agents cry for all the wrong reasons.
Fake Query Letters by Dead Authors offers authors new strategies to ditch the heartache, headaches, and frustration of querying. We step into an agent’s shoes to review five fake query letters and synopses of classic novels, along with their (not fake) opening pages, and then discuss strategies for finding an agent and/or publisher.
Join us in the Fake Deads universe for some hilariously awful submissions and find joy in the process of querying.
Enter using this form!
One winner will be chosen through a random draw.
Random draw winner: Timothy Muldoon. Congrats!
More chances to win!
Share your biggest query hurdles in the comments, and Michelle will give you tips to overcome them. She’ll also select additional winners!
Enter by 2-19-26. Winners will be announced in this post and contacted via e-mail. Good luck! 🙂
Summary for Busy Writers: All aspects of a typical submission package—query letter, synopsis, and writing sample—are important to make a good first impression, but certain elements rise to the top. A strong writing sample, a solid synopsis, and a query letter that follows basic rules are key to a successful submission.
10 Comments.
My biggest query hurdle, is usually to get to the query part. I become stuck trying to figure out which manuscript to send and whether to send illustrations or not? Since I write from a visual perspective, it makes sense to send both. But, I have been writing predominantly during my children’s author journey. So, although, this past year I began focusing on creating some portfolio images (related to my manuscripts), I’m stumped about whether their good enough, yet?
Have you gotten objective feedback on them? I think most of us struggle with trying to figure out if our work is ready to send. Feedback definitely helps, but at a certain point you just have to send out your work and see what happens. Good luck!
My biggest challenge in writing my pitch is how to end it. You can’t end with a question and you don’t want to give the story away. My pitches feel like they just die out.
Pitches are tricky for sure. I do find Hannah Sheppard’s one-sentence logline to be a helpful guide because it ends with the stakes. We don’t know how the story will turn out, but we know why it matters. I’ve tried taking that logline and blowing it out into a full paragraph to create a pitch. It seems to work for me. Good luck!
Here’s another roadblock someone shared in a comment on the entry form:
With the death of my agent, I’m querying for the first time in almost 30 years. I find most of the advice is for debut writers, but those of us with mid-list books need another kind of counseling.
Yes, much advice might seem basic, but the bottom line is the same: you want someone who you can have a long-term business relationship with. Someone who loves your work and is supportive of your process. In your case, I would say dig into the agents’ backgrounds and interests by reading interviews so that you find someone who’s compatible with you. Take a look at the work they’re representing and see if yours fits. I hope that helps.
Michelle–you’re receiving so many thank yous and good luck on your new book in comments on the entry form. I’ll share a couple of comments, too. Here’s one:
It’s frustrating sending queries and receiving replies saying the concept is interesting and the sample prose well written but it’s not the right fit for the agent. Especially after researching so many agents to find the best fit.
Hi Mindy! Thank you for letting me know. To reply to this one, yes, I agree, it is frustrating to hear that what you’ve sent is great but not the right fit for them. This business is so subjective. Even if the agent represents your genre and their clients write books that are similar to yours, it still might not be the right fit, and who even knows why? Often we don’t get enough (or any) feedback to let us know where we might have fallen short. Maybe you wrote a great book about dogs but it was the sixth dog book the agent had seen that day. All you can do is keep writing and keep sending out your work. Don’t give up!
My biggest challenge is that I keep getting really positive feedback (my work has received comments from editors like “High praise incoming, but this reminds me of Ella Enchanted” and “This is beautifully written and very well done. I’d love to keep reading”), but I have not received any requests for revise and resubmit or even for more pages. It’s a bit baffling.
Megan, that’s great that you’re getting positive feedback. It means you’re doing something right. Generally, agents and publishers are too busy to give positive feedback unless they mean it. If they didn’t like your submission, you’d get a form letter… or silence. This business is so subjective and so competitive. Have you had feedback from an editor on your submission package? There are also online forums where strangers give feedback, though this can be a bit brutal, so if you decide to try that, prepare yourself. All in all, it sounds like you’re on the right track, so don’t give up!