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Lord Mureth · 10th September 2007, 11:23 PM

Hi everyone, just found this forum... WOW! I'm so pleased that there's actually something out there for us aspiring writers.

I've pretty much finished a rather epic dark comic fantasy, and I'd appreciate a little advice as regards submission to agents. I've read loads of books, looked at loads of websites, and have read agent's submission guidelines; and yet I'm STILL unclear about a few things!

Okay, I'll try to keep this short. Unlike my manuscript... which is my first question. The story is approx 205k words; is this unpublishably long for a debut author? I'm guessing it is... to the point where I've pretty much convinced myself that it needs to be split into two books (fortunately, I've got a good break at 120k, which gives me the luxury of expanding the second part - which I'd love to do anyway!) Anyway, is this the correct assumption? I know that it'd be damned hard to get something of this length published in its entirety, but is it impossible?

Secondly, I'm pretty confused about a certain submission point. Since most agents/publishers want the MSS double-spaced on submission, how does that apply to the number of pages they would want? If they ask for the first 50 pages, do I send in MY original first 50 pages and then double-space them; or do I send in the fist 50 double-spaced pages?

Finally, what about presentation? I've sent a few submissions off already, with the first three chapters unbound save for an elastic band; a stapled two-page synopsis, a covering letter, CV and header sheet for the MSS itself (with of course an SAE!) - in a gold garment bag, which is conveniently A4 sized. The bags are something my business uses on a regular basis, and look nice; plus they're free...

Just wondering if anyone else has any better ideas for their submissions? Am I doing anything that might annoy an agent with my packages?

[removed by I, Brian]

Haven't, alas, got time to post more here tonight (work and all that...) but would appreciate any help - thanks!

10th September 2007, 11:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
Lord Mureth Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cornwall Posts: 4	Howdy... and help! Hi everyone, just found this forum... WOW! I'm so pleased that there's actually something out there for us aspiring writers. I've pretty much finished a rather epic dark comic fantasy, and I'd appreciate a little advice as regards submission to agents. I've read loads of books, looked at loads of websites, and have read agent's submission guidelines; and yet I'm STILL unclear about a few things! Okay, I'll try to keep this short. Unlike my manuscript... which is my first question. The story is approx 205k words; is this unpublishably long for a debut author? I'm guessing it is... to the point where I've pretty much convinced myself that it needs to be split into two books (fortunately, I've got a good break at 120k, which gives me the luxury of expanding the second part - which I'd love to do anyway!) Anyway, is this the correct assumption? I know that it'd be damned hard to get something of this length published in its entirety, but is it impossible? Secondly, I'm pretty confused about a certain submission point. Since most agents/publishers want the MSS double-spaced on submission, how does that apply to the number of pages they would want? If they ask for the first 50 pages, do I send in MY original first 50 pages and then double-space them; or do I send in the fist 50 double-spaced pages? Finally, what about presentation? I've sent a few submissions off already, with the first three chapters unbound save for an elastic band; a stapled two-page synopsis, a covering letter, CV and header sheet for the MSS itself (with of course an SAE!) - in a gold garment bag, which is conveniently A4 sized. The bags are something my business uses on a regular basis, and look nice; plus they're free... Just wondering if anyone else has any better ideas for their submissions? Am I doing anything that might annoy an agent with my packages? [removed by I, Brian] Haven't, alas, got time to post more here tonight (work and all that...) but would appreciate any help - thanks!