W the Second

Once you've begun identifying agents who might be interested in the kind of books your write (who) it's time to take a second look at your manuscript, the what in our classic 5 W occassion.

First, identify the genre and target audience of the book. At the very least, know what age group it's for. When an author mixes up Young Adult and Middle Grade, or, surprisingly even more common, YA and chapter books, it looks a little silly. But more importantly, does the book have a tone, length or style suited to its audience? I once saw a 120,000 word middle grade novel in which the heroes eventually must take on three witches. My first thought was to do the math. That's easily three MG novels. Three books, three witches. Why did he combine it? Simply seperating those stories would make such a huge difference. It means series potential, which MG publishers love. It means lower printing costs. It means less money spent in development of a single product. Everybody would win just by cutting it down. Far more frequently I see interesting books that are written with the wrong age group in mind. Usually, this is a picture book, chapter book or midddle grade written in a style closer to YA or Adult, but it goes all ways. I've seen successful MG novelists trying to write a YA for the first time and what they come up with tends to be a very long middle grade. As for the genre, beyond "thriller" or "mystery" or "sci-fi" or "literary" think about what KIND of books they are within that genre. If an agent says they only touch sci-fi or fantasy if it's unusual and exceptional, consider steampunk. Or dystopian. Or retro-futurism. Or something. You'll probably be wasting your time to send swords and sorcery. Same with all genres.

Next, take a look at the manuscript itself. I'll blabber some other time about a few hallmarks of a good query, but read the first few pages and ask yourself if a totally disinterested party is likely to want to know what happens. Take a good, honest look at all the components. From plot and pacing, to tone and copy editing, is this, if not "ready for print" since even established authors likely owe a lot to capable editors (and agents)is it a book that could be ready for print with a reasonable effort on the part of agents and editors. A few primary things to consider- what's your competition? And never, ever say "this book is totally unique." I assure you it isn't. And even if there isn't a book just like it availible, don't think for a moment that there aren't similar ones. Or books in the works. Or books out of print. Next, look at your opening lines. As a reader, I'll push on if the first paragraph or two is solidly written, but I won't be favorably inclined even if I like the premise. When your job is to read the first 20 pages of 25 books every single day, a book has to be exceptional to make it stand out and make me feel like I'm reading for fun rather than work. And best yet is if you have a really kick ass opening line. Be a drama queen. Demand my attention. Just one caveat: do it by being interesting. Nowhere is better for that than the first sentence of your manuscript.