Seven Reasons Agents Stop Reading Your First Chapter

From the Guide to Literary Agents Editor's Blog

Chuck Sambuchino shares the results of a fabulous piece of investigative research.


http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/7+Reasons+Agents+Stop+Reading+Your+First+Chapter.aspx


7 Reasons Agents Stop Reading Your First Chapter
Posted by Chuck

I recently attended the Writer Idol Event at Boston Book Fest. It was not for the faint of heart, but for those willing to brave public ridicule, it was a great way to get helpful feedback.

This is how it worked: An actress picked manuscripts at random and read the first 250 words out loud for the panel and the audience. If at any point a panelist felt he would stop reading, he raised his hand. The actress read until two or more panelists raised their hands, at which point the panel discussed the reasons they stopped, or in cases where the actress read to the end, they discussed what worked. Helene Atwan (Director of Beacon Press) and agents Esmond Harmsworth, Eve Bridburg, and Janet Silver (all from Zachary Shuster Harmsworth) served on the panel.


These panelists were tough! I'd say less than 25% made it to the end of the passage. Here are some of the common reasons panelists stopped reading.

1. Generic beginnings: Stories that opened with the date or the weather didn’t really inspire interest. According to Harmsworth, you are only allowed to start with the weather if you're writing a book about meteorologists. Otherwise, pick something more creative.

2. Slow beginnings: Some manuscripts started with too much pedestrian detail (characters washing dishes, etc) or unnecessary background information.

3. Trying too hard: Sometimes it seemed like a writer was using big words or flowery prose in an attempt to sound more sophisticated. In several cases, the writer used big words incorrectly. Awkward or forced imagery was also a turnoff. At one point, the panelists raised their hands when a character's eyes were described as “little lubricated balls moving back and forth.”

4. TMI (Too Much Information): Overly detailed description of bodily functions or medical examinations had the panelists begging for mercy.

5. Clichés: "The buildings were ramrod straight." "The morning air was raw." "Character X blossomed into Y." "A young woman looks into the mirror and tells us what she sees." Clichés are hard to avoid, but when you revise, go through and try to remove them.

6. Loss of Focus: Some manuscripts didn't have a clear narrative and hopped disjointedly from one theme to the next.

7. Unrealistic internal narrative: Make sure a character's internal narrative—what the character is thinking or feeling—matches up with reality. For example, you wouldn't want a long eloquent narration of what getting strangled feels like—the character would be too busy gasping for breath and passing out. Also, avoid having the character think about things just for the sake of letting the reader know about them.

Ever Thought About Going It Alone?

As a Guest Blogger, Nicole O'Dell Talks About Publishing Without An Agent


http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/12/guest-blogger-nicole-odell.html

One Isn't Always the Loneliest Number

I’ve never considered myself to be a rule breaker. But if you looked at my publishing history, you might think differently.

Let’s take a look at some “unbreakable” industry rules:

→ An unpublished author cannot sell an unwritten fiction manuscript.

In 2008, as an unpublished author, I got a two-book deal for unfinished fiction.

→ An unpublished author can only gain the attention of an agent or editor at a conference or by referral.

Not true for me. I’ve never been to a conference. (I’d LOVE to go but my toddler triplets have other plans for me right now.)

→ An unpublished author cannot approach publishers without an agent.

That two-book deal I mentioned above? There have been two more two-book deals since then. That’s six books since 2008 - with no agent.

In my few short years in the publishing industry, I’ve toiled many hours over the question of whether or not to find an agent to represent my work. In 2008, I was blessed beyond measure to receive a contract for my first two books through direct communication with Barbour Publishing. I didn’t have representation, my manuscripts were incomplete and I was unpublished at the time. I truly believed that my idea was going to sell my books, so I decided to give it a try on my own. Plus, I figured it would be just as difficult to get my ideas in front of an agent as it would be to go to the publisher directly. I broke several industry “rules” by going about it in that way, but it worked for me.

Granted, there are only a few publishers that are open to unagented authors, and fewer still who will contract a novel without it being complete. I happened to find a publisher who did both.

Sometimes, it’s just not the right time to work with an agent. If you’re an unpublished writer whose work is unfinished or unpolished, you’ll only damage the potential of a future contact by approaching them prematurely—after all, what do you expect them to represent? A hope and a promise?

Or, perhaps you’re like me and you’ve gotten your first contracts, written some books, secured future contracts and see a nice steady road mapped out ahead of you—you may not feel you “need” an agent right now, either.

Would things have been different for me if I’d had representation from the beginning? I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m not a negotiator—I’m a contract signer. I’m not a sales person—I’m just a grateful working writer. I’m not an industry-savvy professional—I’m just a learn-as-I-go hard worker. So, in all likelihood, my advance would have been a little higher. Perhaps my royalty split would have been a little tighter. And, an agent would have definitely encouraged me to perfect my work more, knowing that I was still in the throes of learning. But, I think all of that is true for any author, with or without an agent. There’s always something to second guess.

If I were to seek an agent for future projects, I would want someone who believed in me as an author and wanted to manage my career, not just one book. She/he would be able to negotiate killer contracts, ensure that excellent books are published, guide me toward making sure they are marketed properly, etc. My perfect author/agent relationship would include a joint ministry focus, an overall approach to branding and a shared outlook on the future. That’s a tall order. Many agents don’t want to participate in all of that, and that’s fine. But, I would rather not sign with one at all than to settle for anything other than that.

Sometimes it’s okay to work alone. Your writing career doesn’t begin the day you join forces with a literary agency. You can still be a working writer, still pursue contracts and still chase your dreams one step at a time until the doors to the hallowed halls of the perfect literary agency open for you. The key is to keep going, keep writing and keep your eyes on your goals.

Is This The End of America?

This is not my usual blog topic.

Everyday I read the news and wonder just how much more freedom can survive.

The obama administration seems determined to change America into a post American social experiment, where his troops use the patriot act to destroy those who disagree, or resist his agenda.

When a few malcontent liberals can derail the purchase of a sports team because they object to a person's opinions, then go out and fabricate statements just to have something to complain about, is a symptom of the end of our lifestyle as we know it.

The 2010 midterm election is our closest chance to limit the damage obama and his pack of wolves are doing, but we might not have a country to save in another year.

Publishers are pulling books because someone "might" be offended, someday and elitist liberals are demanding more.

Schools are labeling five year old children sex offenders for hugging a crying classmate.

Courts are inventing laws just to please their cocktail party friends and other courts are too timid to reverse them, for fear of being labeled by the left.

Are we experiencing the end of America? Is obama the one that is to blame? Is george soros really the puppet master, controlling obama just as David Rockerfeller controlled Jimmy Carter?

When the dollar fails completely, as obama and his pack of wolves are working toward, how do Americans pay bills, keep the electricity on, fund schools, maintain hospitals and buy food?

The trillions in new deficit sending is guaranteed to collapse our economic system and overwhelm the governments, which is exactly what obama's mentor, Saul Alinsky preached in his writings.

When you look at obama's plans, you see a list of new deficit spending out to the horizon, as if the destruction of America is exactly what he wants.

I think it's coming time to push back and demand accountability, refuse to be silenced by a partisan media with shivers down their legs and elect a new congress and senate. Force these newly elected representatives to appoint intelligent and decent people to judgeship's and stop the insanity.

We have no choice left but to take responsibility for our government's actions and demand that they stop the wholesale destruction of our economy, before there is nothing left to save.

Here is a good plan.

Be Prayerful. Pray for guidance, protection, honorable leaders and courage.

Be Brave.

Be unswayed by the emotional cocktails of the administration's crooks and liars.

Be Honest and Straightforward, giving no quarter to a bunch that would take over your local hospital and turn you out in a heartbeat.

Hold your elected government accountable. Do not let them wiggle off the hook by blaming George Bush, or anyone else.

This is the president that proclaimed no lobbyists would be allowed in his administration, then hired more lobbyists than the last four administrations put together.

This is the president that promised the most open administration in history but sealed the White House visitor records so no one can determine who is coming and going, has sealed every one of his records from first grade on up, and refuses to provide basic information about how he paid for his Harvard education and exactly what did his wife do for over $ 300,000 a year in a Chicago hospital, a job that began right after he was elected to the senate, after a bunch of questionable campaign activities.

In an economic meltdown, while making speeches about people tightening their belts, this is the president that spent millions of our money to go on a date to NYC, then flew Hawaiian dancers to Washington dance for him, at dinner one night.

This is the president that sent his wife on a separate 747, to speak to the Olympic committee, then flew over himself, twelve hours later, ignoring the massive wasted tax money.

This is the president that PROMISED bills would be posted online for FIVE DAYS before a vote so the people could know what their government was doing. You saw the stimulus passed by representatives that were never given time to read what they were hammered to pass and now they plan the exact same thing with health care and then cap and trade.

Each of those are multi-trillion dollar deficit programs, designed to harm American taxpayers. That debt is money the treasury can never tax people enough to pay back but they are inventing taxes at a record pace.

We are living through the end of America at the hands of a despotic regime. It's time to stand up and refuse to die.