Agent/Publisher Research Chart

Last week, I shared the chart I used to track what I had submitted and to whom. This week, I thought I'd share the chart I used to research the people I submitted to. And, yes, I realize that I'm doing this backwards, but oh well. :)

Very early on, I decided to try to sell my first book without an agent. So, I went about learning everything I possibly could about the submission process and how to choose a publishing house. These are the things I kept track of:

Editor and house, type of publisher (trade, education, etc), what genres and age groups they publish, how many books they published the previous year, how many of those books were debut vs. known authors, submission guidelines, my reason for submitting to this house, and any other notes I had about them.

When researching agents, you need some of the same info, but not all. When I decided to try for an agent, these are the things I kept track of:

Agency and agent, what they represent, their recent deals, how many of those deals were new vs. old clients, submission guidelines, my reason for submitting to this agency, and any other notes I had on them.

I put all of this into a spreadsheet and started to collect information several months before I was ready to submit. When I was ready, I had no less than 50 agents in my list to submit to. Having so many kept me from freaking out each time I got a rejection and wailing about how I'd get my book published. Rejection is a part of this business, but it's also really difficult to deal with at times. For me, having several backups kept me from losing it. :)

If you don't already have a way to research agents or editors, you're welcome to use the spreadsheet I created. You can download a copy here.

Submission Tracking Chart

When I first started submitting my work to agents, I had no idea what I was doing. In fact, the very first time I sent out my ms, I didn’t properly record what I’d sent or who I’d sent it to. Basically, it was a big mess.

Over the years, I learned from my mistakes and honed my submission process, finally ending up with a workable system. A few people have asked me how I handled my submissions when I found my agent, so I thought I’d share it with all of you, too.

I utilized Query Tracker’s tool for keeping track of submissions, but I also created a spreadsheet of my own. That way I knew exactly what I’d sent out and when I could expect a response. I created a header for all of this information, then created subsections for material that had been requested, rejected, was still out, and who I had left to query.

Here’s kind of what it looked like:

Agency	Agent	Items Sent	Date	Due Back	Received	Response
Requested
Hunter Agency	John Doe	query & first ten pages; first fifty pages	1/1/2011, 2/2/11	4/1/11, 5/2/11	1/31/2011	"Thank you for the opportunity to read your work. I enjoyed your query and sample, and would love to see the first fifty pages. Feel free to email them at your earliest convenience."
Pending
Doe Eyes Agency	Jane Doe	query & first page	6/1/2011	10/31/2011	-	-
Recieved
Knot Agency	Mr. No	query	10/31/2010	1/31/2011	11/15/2010	form rejection
No Response
Quiet Agency	Busy Bee	query & first two pages	10/31/2010	1/31/2011	-	status query sent 3/31/11
To Query
Agency One	Agent One	-	-	-	-	-
Agency Two	Agent Two	-	-	-	-	-
Agency Three	Agent Three	-	-	-	-	-

This isn't a great rendition of the spreadsheet, but it's the best I can do with the tools I have in blogger. But, it basically gets the point across. If you like, you can download a copy of the template from my website, here.

I used this spreadsheet to keep track of everything, including feedback I'd gotten on revision suggestions. When I first started out, I didn't collect so much info, and later on I was wishing I had. I also refined my submission strategy.

When I queried a new project, I started out with only two agents at a time. That way, if I got feedback then I could revise and make the piece better before sending it out to the next person on my list. Otherwise, I ran the risk of burning through everyone too quickly, with material that I could easily have made better. Once I started getting more consistent feedback, along the lines of "This is good, but not for me," then I started sending it out to more agents at a time.

How many of you have been submitting for a while? How many of you just got started? How many are getting ready to start? What's your submission process?

When To Start Submitting

"When should I start sending queries to agents or editors? Is a synopsis and a few chapters sufficient? Or do I need to have a completed novel?"

This question comes across the internet pretty regularly, in blogs, discussion boards, listservs, you name it. Though I've been seeing it more often lately. Not sure why.

The short answer to this question is this: you MUST finish your novel first. Why? For many reasons.

1. Not everyone is capable of finishing what they start. Since agents and editors don't know you personally, they don't know if you possess that particular skill. So if you approach an agent with only three chapters and an outline, they won't know if you will finish the first draft, plus get through all the necessary rounds of revision (once an editor buys your work, you will have to go through at least one round of revision - it's just the way it is).

2. It takes many drafts to make a good novel. Whether you revise as you go or write multiple drafts, you still need to re-read what you've written. If you don't, then you really have no idea what kind of quality you're submitting. It also means you're sending out a project that does not reflect your full potential. Therefore, you're not showing the agent or editor what you can really do. It makes it easier to set your work down.

3. As you write, you will likely make discoveries about your characters, setting, plot, etc, which could change the way your story unfolds - even if you've planned everything out. In other words, the agent/editor might end up with a different product than she expected. That could raise some issues, such as cancelled contracts.

4. These days, the query count has skyrocketed. That means your work really needs to stand out from the massive pile on the agent/editor'S desk. An incomplete project isn't going to do this, because it is not the best that it can be. 'Potentially good' isn't going to cut it, because there is still no guarantee that you will finish what you started. So, it's really in your own best interest to send out a novel that you have gone through more than once, and make it as good as you possibly can.

There are exceptions, of course. If you have already published a novel (not self-published) and proven that you can make it through the process, then your subsequent books will likely sell on proposal. Also, non-fiction generally sells on proposal - three chapters plus outline. But fiction doesn't work this way for debut authors. We get to work on spec until we establish ourselves.

Many writers start querying too soon. Either they don't want to put in a bunch of work for a project that might not sell, or they are too excited about the story to wait until it's done. But we get one shot with agents and editors, so we need to make sure to hit them with the absolute best work possible do they will have no reason to say no. An unfinished project will never do that.