I’d love to find a manuscript about…

You know what kind of manuscript I’d love to find?! I’d love to find an historical literary fiction set in GreenwichVillage in 1979. Or a YA Steampunky story where the Steampunkness is incidental and the story part is phenomenal. Or a very sad story about two best friends. Or a really romantic gay love story set at the turn of the last century.  Or a MG story for boys with some adventure and personal growth but no paranormal or fantastical creatures. Or a feminist retelling of a Celtic pre-Christian legend. Or a story that takes place on an island. Or a story about food. Or a road trip. Or hats.

I have eclectic taste in literature. I don’t really know what I want to find until I find it. I like to keep my options open. I like to take chances. I like to be moved. And to think.

How about you? Do you already know what you like to read? Do you ever think outside that box?

Revising & Editing: How Sharp is Your Pencil?

This past weekend I was deep into a line edit of one of my client’s manuscripts. This is my third time reading it and my first marking it up. The first read was a “Do I want to represent this person and this manuscript?” The second read was  a “Where is this manuscript working and not working so I can tell the client the direction I think it needs to go.” This last pass is with a razor sharp red pencil (ok, it’s really with Track Changes, but…). I’m looking for any word that shouldn’t be in there or isn’t working; dialogue that needs smoothing; faulty sentence construction; plot inconsistencies; pacing problems; difficulties maintaining voice or perspective; anything that isn’t working even a little bit.

Although I have moments when I get self-conscious as I’m editing (after all, who the hell am I to tell another writer to change a single word?!) I’ve found that a. I’m actually pretty damn good at it and, b. my authors are usually grateful. I’m a hands-on agent. My grimy little fingers are all over these manuscripts, pushing and pulling and poking and prodding and plotting and primping them, in partnership with my clients. When editors get my clients’ manuscripts I like to know there was nothing else I personally could do to help make that manuscript the best it could be.

But let me tell you something, editing is extremely draining. I put so much brain power into it I’m exhausted when I stop. But you already knew that, right? Because you are doing the same thing when you are revising your manuscript, right? Before you send it out with a query to agents, right? I thought so. I knew you were looking at every word. Every sentence. Every angle and point of view and piece of dialogue.

Who reads your work for you? Do you have people you can trust to be brutally honest?

When Sending a Query: What to Include and What Not to Include

I’ve received a ridiculous number of queries since November, when I first started taking them. It’s only been two and a half months and, put it this way, I’m almost up to 4 digits. Some more seasoned agents may not think that is such a big deal, but for me it’s like going from 0 to 100mph in about 30 seconds. Coupled with the fact that I’ve been reading queries and submissions for other agents for the past 3 years, I think I’ve learned a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t in a query letter. So here are two lists for you, to help you know what to do and what not to do when querying me (or anyone else):

Five things you should always include in your query letter…

1. Your name and the name of your manuscript
2. The word count of your manuscript and that it’s complete
3. A very short description of the story, including its genre
4. Your previous writing credits and/or if you have a relevant platform
5. An appropriate salutation and sign-off, including a way you can be reached

Five things you should never include in your query letter:

1. That you have an idea for a novel but you just wanted to run it by me to see what I think, before you spend all that time writing the whole damn thing
2. That you’ve written a fictional novel
3. That your fiction manuscript is almost complete and you’ll send it to me when you’re done
4.  To whom it may concern
5. Whether you are currently on or off your psychotropic medication

Happy writing! Can’t wait to receive your query at:

linda (dot) p (dot) epstein (at) gmail (dot) com