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Below you’ll discover tips on finding the right literary agents for your work, crafting compelling query letters, and effectively pitching your manuscript. The key to being traditionally published is to craft the perfect agent submission pack and getting it to the right publishers – here you’ll find examples, advice, and more to doing just that.

How to get a literary agent in the UK

Representation from a literary agent is key to getting traditionally published, as most publishing houses don’t accept unsolicited or unagented manuscripts. This post covers how to get a literary agent in the UK, including top tips for perfecting your agent submission pack. If you’re looking for how to find a literary agent in the UK, my other post explains where to find literary agents accepting submissions. Do you need a literary agent to get published? If you dream of seeing your book in bookshops, or you just don’t want to deal with self-publishing, you need a literary agent. Because publishing… Read More »How to get a literary agent in the UK

An introduction to submitting to literary agents

Agent query packs – also known as agent submission packs – are essential for any author hoping to gain representation from a literary agent. Submitting to literary agents involves creating, personalising, and sending agent query packs. Aspiring authors put together agent query packs when trying to secure a literary agent. Comprised of a query/cover letter, book synopsis, and an extract of your manuscript, an agent query pack is sent to literary agents in the hope that they’ll be interested in representing you and your book. If you don’t know where to start, read on to find out more. What are… Read More »An introduction to submitting to literary agents

Affirmations for writers

We’re writers – of course we struggle to stay motivated. Using affirmations can be a great way to stay motivated and challenge imposter syndrome. I’ve used affirming statements to help me get through many situations. To help myself and others more, I’ve compiled 91 affirmations for writers. Many of us could benefit from creating self-care techniques to benefit us when writing or dealing with rejections. No matter what you write or how you want to get your writing out to readers, you might find some benefits from reading through these affirmations for writers. Not all affirmations will work for everyone.… Read More »Affirmations for writers

Top tips for aspiring romance authors

If it’s your dream to be a romance author, you need these tips for writing, editing, and publishing a romance novel. Romance is the most popular fiction genre, with around 40 million romance books sold within a year. Self-published romance authors are emerging every day, but the demand for romance novels by publishing houses isn’t lessening. No matter whether you’ve still choosing between self-publishing and traditional publishing or not, this blog post will support your journey as an aspiring romance author. How to be a romance author You might already have experience writing and publishing, but for many romance authors… Read More »Top tips for aspiring romance authors

How to find a literary agent in the UK

For writers seeking traditional publishing, finding a literary agent is crucial. While not required, literary agents can be invaluable thanks to the guidance, support, and connections they provide. To find a literary agent in the UK, you need to know what to look for, where to look, and how to make the best impression. Here you’ll find links to some of the best websites to search for a literary agent, what an agent query pack is, and a list of some UK literary agencies with clear submissions guidelines. Where to find a literary agent in the UK There are many… Read More »How to find a literary agent in the UK

What you need to know about authenticity reading

You might already be familiar with the term ‘sensitivity reading’, but maybe you’ve just come across another term: ‘authenticity reading’. Whether you’ve just read it somewhere or someone has recommended you find an authenticity reader, here’s everything you need to know about what authenticity reading is. Authenticity reading is a form of beta reading focused on helping the author feel confident in how they’ve portrayed certain characters. Authors usually seek out authenticity reading when their book needs it, to ensure accurate representation of a culture or community and to support diverse voices. If your book portrays something you have no… Read More »What you need to know about authenticity reading

Should you pursue self-publishing or traditional publishing?

You’ve got a book, whether you’ve finished the first draft or you’re through to the third draft. You need to decide whether to self-publish it or take it to publishers in the hope that they’ll publish it for you. How do you decide? There are 3 major questions you can ask yourself that can help you decide between self-publishing and traditional publishing. Determining what you want out of publishing is the easiest way to compare the two. Otherwise it can become overwhelming to look through ten articles all stating different pros and cons. Ask yourself these questions, and see if… Read More »Should you pursue self-publishing or traditional publishing?

Agent query letter tips for aspiring authors

Querying literary agents can be pretty daunting, especially when you hear horror stories of how many agents people reach out to. I’ve compiled some of the best agent query letter tips to help aspiring authors impress literary agents from the get-go. There are plenty of resources out there to help you when querying, and starting with a strong query letter is essential. This is your first chance to impress and intrigue a literary agent, so it needs to be as strong as possible. What are query letters? If you’re not familiar with agent query letters, they’re also known as agent… Read More »Agent query letter tips for aspiring authors

Query letter samples for fantasy novels

Writing a perfect query letter to a literary agent is difficult, especially if you don’t know where to start. I’ve written two query letter samples for fantasy writers to help inspire you on how to get started. I’ve also included a query letter template if you need a jumping off point to start drafting your own query. You can see how this leads into the two samples I wrote. All of the information in the samples is completely made up. I just wanted to give an idea of what your own query letter might look like. No query letter is… Read More »Query letter samples for fantasy novels

Query letter samples for LGBTQ+ fiction

Writing a query letter is difficult for everyone, whether they nail it from the beginning or it takes many attempts to get it right. I’ve written some query letter samples to help you draft your own query letter for your LGBTQ+ novel. Below you’ll find a query letter template designed with LGBTQ+ fiction in mind. You can use this template as written, with your own information replacing the placeholders, or you can take it just as inspiration on wording your letter. No query letter is perfect, and every agent is after something different. I hope these help you when drafting… Read More »Query letter samples for LGBTQ+ fiction

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