An agent's guide to getting published
Top agent Luigi Bonomi gives his top five tips for getting your fiction into print
The race to become a bestselling author is getting tougher and tougher, and the first hurdle is getting the attention of a literary agent. Top literary agent Luigi Bonomi, one of the judges of Good Housekeeping's Get Your Novel Published competition, has 28 years' experience in publishing and a knack for finding hidden gems in the 'reject' pile - so we asked him for some tips on getting noticed...
1) ‘Make sure you send it to a literary agent who is actively looking for new authors – as I am.’
2) ‘Post them the first three chapters of your novel along with a simple one-page synopsis - two pages at most - setting out what the story is about and how it ends.’
3) ‘Print it in double space, and use a popular font like Times New Roman – a 14pt type is easy on the eye.’
4) ‘Include a one-page submission letter saying a little about yourself and what brought you to write this novel. It’s tempting to talk about other ideas, but this can look unfocussed – concentrate on this one.’
5) ‘What really sells a book is the first page of your novel – so make it snappy! Start in mid action or with a conversation, Make it intriguing and keep it moving along at a swift pace and the agent will want to read more. Keep your chapters short so that the pace is that much faster and try and end each chapter with a cliff hanger to increase a sense of excitement.’
If you follow the guidelines above, you will already be way ahead of the field – the rest is down to your writing, determination and luck!
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Top tips from a published author
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