So, an agent has passed on your manuscript…what now?

We know it can be a huge blow when an agent doesn’t request to see more of your manuscript so we thought we’d put together some advice for what to do next.
 
First up – putting your work out there is a huge thing and you might find it reassuring to read this essay on aiming for 100 rejections a year.

But after that, what are the practical things you can do to give yourself a better chance?
 
Think about the types of passes you’re getting from agents. Are they all form rejections or are any of them personalised? If an agent has taken the time to personalise then you’re possibly very close and it might just mean you haven’t found the right agent at the right time (there’s a lot of luck involved in publishing) and you should keep trying. But, if all you’re getting is form rejections then it might be time to take a deeper dive into your submission package and the book itself in order to help you achieve your goals

 
Take another look at your cover letter: these are the things we find it helpful to see when we’re reading our submissions:
 
1. INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOOK
Title/Category/genre/Age range (for children’s fiction)/Word count

2. PITCH LINE
Think about grabbing attention – what is going to intrigue most about your book?

3. BLURB
A longer pitch to give the reader an idea why they’re going to be interested in your book – for fiction, some plot information but mostly this is about making the reader care about your character’s predicament. This is a useful starting point: When A (Inciting Event) happens, B (Character) must do C (Action) otherwise D (Catastrophe) will happen.

4. MARKET AWARENESS
Who is your intended audience, what else are they reading, what makes your book stand out, is it a standalone/trilogy, do you have other ideas for the same market…

5. AUTHOR INFORMATION
Do you have any previous publishing experience or a track record with doing well in writing competitions? Why is this the book you wrote? Include biographical information that is pertinent to the book and might help promote it.

6. THE AGENCY
What is it about our agency that appealed to you? Why the agent you’re approaching specifically? What makes you think this would be a good fit?

If your cover letter is solid then the next thing to consider is whether your concept is as strong as it needs to be.
 
Can you hook the reader in with a single sentence? If not, maybe there isn’t enough clarity in your idea?
 
These are some books we rate on the craft of writing which will help you to hone your skills and ensure that you have a concept that really grabs attention:

• STORY GENIUS by Lisa Cron (brilliant on plotting using the psychology of your character to inform your story)

• WIRED FOR STORY by Lisa Cron (brilliant on ensuring you have enough of a hook to keep your reader interested)

• SAVE THE CAT WRITES A NOVEL by Jessica Brody (brilliant on plotting generally)

• ON WRITING by Stephen King

• INTO THE WOODS by John Yorke

Get impartial feedback on your work and take another look at your manuscript.
 
You might find it helpful to join a writers’ group if you aren’t in one already. Alternatively, you could look for some beta readers (the writing community on Twitter is quite active – look at conversations under the #AmWriting #AmEditing #WritingCommunity tags to find people at a similar stage to you writing in your genre). You’ll learn as much from critiquing other people’s work as you will from receiving critiques and it will really help you to develop your craft.
 
There are several regional writer’s initiatives you could look at which might have information about local writer’s groups:
Writing North
Writing South
Writing East Midlands
National Centre for Writing
 
Also think about your own wider reading. Start to read with an analytical eye – what has made you pick up the book you’re currently reading (it has probably got a really clear hook that piqued your interest)? Think about identifying the character’s goal and what’s at stake. What techniques does the author use to keep you hooked? How are they maintaining tension through the plot? What is driving the action? Where do the main turning points in the novel fall?
 
There are also a number of services (some free, some paid) available to authors to help identify and solve issues in their submissions or to mentor you through the development of your project. Some of these also offer more formal writing courses. They will often have an active writing community around them too which can be really helpful – find the one that feels like a good fit for you.

It’s worth remembering that no draft of a novel is ever wasted – every published novel you read has gone through multiple drafts. You’ll learn so much from every edit and every new idea and your skills will improve with everything you write. We know it can feel dispiriting to have to put a novel that isn’t working to one side, but the best advice we can give when you start submitting, is to start work on something new.

Good luck!