So I've edited, now what?

[writersbeenblocked]

I've been writing this book for two years or so now and I think I'm pretty much finished editing. Where do I go from here? Ideally I want to find an agent, but it's a question of how. I don't know where to begin, who to ask, who not to ask! Anyone fancy helping a desperate, tired, young writer?

(Context: no idea what genre I'm in, it's a bit of everything, gets fairly dark without being gothic, wouldn't call it escapism! Also I'm very naive, self-published before with no luck, and had run-ins with vanity publishers. Plus I'm very tired and rambling tonight )

You need to decide what genre you're in. Who represents authors who write novels similar to yours? Look them up and see if their lists are open. Trawl through the big agencies' pages and look for individual agents with open lists who express an interest in your kind of thing. Have a look at what agents are judging competitions or doing pitch events at literary festivals. (Try pitching to an agent at an event, or entering a reputable competition?)

Make a list, starting with the agents you think are the best match. Then look at what each agent wants you to send -- some specify the length of synopsis they want, some don't, some want your first three chapters, some the first 10000 words, some more. Sometimes individual agents specify, but at other times (Curtis Brown for one) there's a standard submissions policy across the whole agency, and you send to a standard submissions email address but specify an individual agent in your pitch letter.

Work very hard on getting your letter and synopsis right. Then start sending. Keep accurate records of which agents have your novel at any one time. Don't send to more than one agent in an agency at the same time.

Good luck!

Think about Amazon - when you look up a book there it tells you what customers bought as well. It's really important you know that.

The problem is, I've never really seen a book similar to mine (in terms of its structure, anyway). And it spans a hell of a lot, flits from escapism to the complete opposite! I'll take your advice on board though, thank you

I have got a similar issue Writers, it is difficult to place my book into any one genre, someone suggested inspirational fiction but it also flits from historical to the here and now. Watching this thread with interest.

If it's inspirational fiction it would come under Up Lit! (Think of Eleanor Oliphant.)

Thanks Hollow x

Hiya Writers, I wouldn't worry too much about describing it in any particular genre. My publishers have marketed mine (successfully) in a genre completely different to the one I thought it should have been in :-)

FWIW I don't have an agent and work direct to my publisher. (I don't want to say which one because a) it'd out me IRL and b) it would make me sound like a total bellend #seemypublishedworks) A friend who writes in the same genre as I do, does have an agent and (IMO) has been misadvised quite sadly in the past by them, so I guess it's not only finding one that you like but finding one who wants what you want. I did have one when I started out and I hated working with them, they were trying to sell the book as something it absolutely wasn't. Now I could have gone on and on trying to find the right fit, but tbh by then I just couldn't be @rsed. I'd already built up a following self-publishing so I was able to bring that to the table and here I am, really, making quite a decent living out of it.

(That last is not just to sound like a tool - there's this paranoia that publishers look down on self-publishing and most don't. If you're able to demonstrate competence*, it can show that you're able to engage with your market, on board with publicity, professional, and flexible.)
*which is not the same as being a bestseller, necessarily.

Inspirational fiction is probably the closest I've ever got to describing it... at least, I think so! Maybe I should get some beta readers, anyone volunteering?

ALWAYS a good idea to get a fresh pair of eyes, Writers! My thing is historical fiction of a very specific period, so would I be any good to you?

If no one else has seen it, you'd probably benefit from having fresh eyes on it. There's always something that sneaks through. Also same goes for the synopsis and letter. That's the make or break point lots of times. Have a short pitch worked out too... It's no use not being able to describe your work quickly!

Twitter is a great tool for writers. 99% of agents are on there and there are events like pitch madness.

Don't forget that the agent works for you and you need to find someone who you can work with with. The Writing Excuses podcast has a good episode on this.

The problem is, I've never really seen a book similar to mine (in terms of its structure, anyway). And it spans a hell of a lot, flits from escapism to the complete opposite! I'll take your advice on board though, thank you

My honest advice here would be to get a few beta readers to give you some feedback (try Twitter, fb groups, etc - I’d steer clear of friends/family as they’re unlikely to be as honest as you’d like/need).

Once you’ve got some feedback, give open-minded consideration to whether you’d benefit from a structural/developmental edit, or a manuscript appraisal/critique. Without meaning to sound harsh, “I've never really seen a book similar to mine (in terms of its structure, anyway). And it spans a hell of a lot, flits from escapism to the complete opposite” raises a few flags for me (I work in publishing, not directly related to acquisitions, but I’ve read a LOT of manuscripts).

You may well have written a genuinely genre-defying novel that challenges established novelistic expectations and has a unique structure, and the ‘flits’ in tone might be deftly handled, but by your own admission you’re naive about publishing and didn’t succeed in marketing/pitching a previous work, so I’d strongly advise seeking some impartial feedback and guidance to help you decide what the next move should be.

In terms of finding an agent, think of some recent books that you’ve loved, work out which of those are most similar to what you’ve written (something somewhere will have points on similarity - you probably haven’t reinvented the novel in an entirely unprecedented way), use the internet to find out who represents them, and go from there.

Good luck

MrsRussell I'll PM you with the historical period of my book

QuestionableMouse I'll have a good look at Twitter if I can get to grips with it, thank you!

colourless Beta readers are definitely top of my list, I've seen a website for them but don't know whether to trust it, so I'll have a look at some FB groups and Twitter pages to see what I can find on there. I am definitely naive to publishing, and my book is a bit of a yo-yo so I will see what I can do in terms of (a lot of) critiquing. I think I was being a bit rash when I said escapism though That's a good idea to see who represents the writers I like, I'll have a scout around.

Thank you all for your advice

I've just looked at the competition entry rules on gransnet - one of the rules say that the finished article must be at least 85,000 words whereas mine is just over 70,000. Is 85,000 the norm? I'm not going to enter the competition because my main female protagonist is just a bit too young but as anyone else written a novel of around the 70,000 word mark?

Sorry, I've posted this on the wrong thread. Still, I am curious to know the length of novel that other people have written.

Have you had readers? You need to make sure you have had it read.
Is it well written? - would ‘t hurt to have it have a copy edit.
Pick a GENRE - even for now. You need to know who you’re targeting. Find who publishes books like yours. Where would a book shop shelve it? Once it’s out of all the windows obvs!
You need a great synopsis and a bit of bio and off you pop!