If you’re trying to sign with a literary agent, it might seem like there are an endless number of things to get just right.

Your query letter needs to tell them everything they need to know about your book, but it needs to be short. The first paragraph needs to totally hook them on your plot, but don’t waste your words on describing the characters. You need to have recent, recognizable comparison titles, but your book needs to be wholly original. And even though you’re likely early on in your career if you’re looking to sign with an agent, you should have something interesting to say about yourself in your bio. 

And none of that has anything to do with your actual book! 

Getting sample pages ready to show to prospective agents is nothing to be afraid of, but it’s a step you need to take seriously. 

Follow the Rules

Different agents have different preferences. Some people want to see just a page or two, some want the first fifty pages, some don’t want you to send anything unless they get back to you and request it. 

It might be tempting to simply attach a PDF of your first fifty pages to every query email you send. That way agents who want to see it have it there, and they can simply read as much or as little as they prefer. 

But agents get sent a lot of material. And they aren’t looking to make your dreams come true—or at least, making dreams come true is a very close second on their priority list. First is building a business relationship, and a business relationship needs to be built on respect and trust. If you can’t be bothered to submit your work as it’s requested, why should they bother giving your writing the time and attention you supposedly want them to? 

Take the time to do it right. Make a document with a good chunk of your book’s beginning, at least fifty pages, and get it formatted correctly. From there, you can easily take however many pages you need and paste them into a fresh document, saved with all the requested information. If you are asked to paste the pages directly into the body of the email, go through and format them nicely so it’s pleasant and easy to read—large enough font, double-spaced, and so on. 

What About the Actual Words?

You’ve gone over and over your book until your eyes have dried out. You’ve pestered every friend you can to give you feedback. Maybe you’ve even spent money on developmental editors. If your book wasn’t ready to be sent out, even just the initial pages, you wouldn’t be sending it out. So how are you supposed to make yet another round of edits? 

The edits you make to your manuscript as a whole should be about making your book the best it can be, to truly take the idealized version in your head and make it real and just what you were hoping it could be. 

The edits you make to your initial pages should be about convincing someone else it’s as good as you say. 

If you want to take the route of traditional publishing, you’re going to have to work with other people. That means inviting them into the world you’ve created and letting them get to know your characters just as they’ll be getting to know you. 

Look at those first pages not just with fresh eyes but with the eyes of someone who doesn’t have any emotional attachment to you or your publishing dreams. Why should they keep turning the pages? What kind of impression is your protagonist making? Is your setting described with enough detail for someone who doesn’t live in your brain to understand? 

Start at the Beginning

This next part is going to be tough. 

Go to your first page. How do you begin? Likely by describing your characters, your setting, and delicately setting up your plot, right? 

Scroll through a few pages. When does your protagonist actually do something? When do they really get involved with the events that unfold? 

Now, set your cursor right on that spot and delete everything that comes before it. Start with the action, with the true beginning of your plot. 

Of course, there are plenty of books with quiet first chapters. It can absolutely be an artistic choice that works. But that’s for you to work out with your future agent or maybe even an editor. When you’re submitting to agents, you need to grab the attention of someone who doesn’t have a lot of time and your query needs to get right to the point. Your story should get right to the point, too! 

It’s Good to Have a Team

A lot of authors like to complain about jumping through hoops to break into traditional publishing. But do you know why you need to make your opening pages so perfect, even if “perfect” means “not how I imagined it to be at first”?

It’s because literary agents love books so much that they spend hours and hours a day, hours they will not be paid for, to read through submissions to find something that speaks to them. Isn’t it exciting to find someone that eager to help you build your career? 

Chelsea Ennen is a writer living in Brooklyn with her husband and her dog. When not writing or reading, she is a fiber and textile artist who sews, knits, crochets, weaves, and spins.