Agents get literally thousands of submissions a year, including query letters, sample pages, and synopses. Of those thousands, they request a full manuscript from few and offer representation to even fewer.
Think of your submission package as a job application for your book. You not only want to apply to the right people, the ones who have a passion for the books you write, but you want to present your book in such a way that they will easily see what your book has to offer. This brand new live Writers Digest boot camp will teach you how to put together a dynamic yet professional submission package that will show agents you take your potential author career seriously and make them want to read your work.
In this brand new boot camp from Fuse Literary Agency, attendees will learn how to put together a short yet effective query letter, a one- to two-page book synopsis (fiction), and a nonfiction book proposal. They'll also learn some best practices for submitting their query, pages, and synopsis and/or proposal to agents. |
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HERE'S HOW IT WORKS:
On Tuesday, June 20, you will gain access to a 60-minute workshop led by literary agents Jennifer Chen Tran, Tricia Skinner, Michelle Richter, and Carlisle Webber. This workshop will show you what agents expect from your submission package and how you can shape it to fit their needs.
After listening to the presentation, attendees will spend the next two days revising materials as necessary. Following the tutorial, writers will have two days in which to log onto the discussion boards and ask your assigned agent critiquer questions related to revising your materials. The agents will be available for a discussion session from 1-3 p.m. (PT) on both Wednesday, June 21 and Thursday, June 22. By end of day (11:59 p.m., PT) on Friday, June 23 , attendees will submit up to 10 double-spaced pages for review to their assigned agents. These pages can include any combination of double-spaced query, synopsis, book proposal, or pages of their manuscript.
The agents will spend three weeks reviewing all assigned pages, provide relevant feedback and offer suggestions to help attendees improve upon them. The agents reserve the right to request more materials if they feel a strong connection to the work and want to read more.
*While we accept requests to work with a specific agent, there are no guarantees that attendees will be matched with their requested agent. All agents are able to provide critiques for all genres.
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ABOUT FUSE LITERARY AGENTS:
Michelle Richter joined Fuse Literary after eight years at St. Martin's Press. While there, she edited nonfiction including MELISSA EXPLAINS IT ALL by Melissa Joan Hart and RENEWABLE by Jeremy Shere, and worked on women's fiction, memoir/ biography, pop culture, cookbooks, and diet/health books. Michelle is primarily seeking fiction, especially book club reads, women's fiction, contemporary romance, literary fiction, magical realism, and mystery/suspense/thrillers. She's also open to YA fiction, particularly contemporary YA and YA mystery/thriller. For nonfiction, she's interested in fashion, pop culture, science/medicine, sociology/social trends, and economics..
Tricia Skinner has 20 years of experience working with the video game industry in various roles, including public relations, industry relations, and writing/editing. She is also a hybrid author of passionate urban fantasy (represented by Fuse co-founder Laurie McLean). Diversity in genre fiction is dear to Tricia's heart. As an agent, Tricia wants to represent authors who reflect diversity and cultures in their work. She specializes in Adult, Young Adult and Middle Grade.
Jennifer Chen Tran is an Associate Agent at Fuse Literary acquiring both fiction and non-fiction. Jennifer acquires both fiction and non-fiction. For fiction, Jennifer is seeking literary fiction, commercial fiction, women's fiction, upmarket fiction, contemporary romance, mature Young Adult, New Adult, suspense/ thriller and select graphic novels (both adult, YA or MG). She is particularly interested in voices from underrepresented and marginalized communities, strong and conflicted female characters, war and post-war fiction, and writers who are adept at creating a developed sense of place. She admires writers who have an ear for dialogue and who are not afraid to take emotional risks.
Carlisle Webber considers herself to be an editorial agent and has industry experience as a copy editor for Yen Press, a division of Hachette Book Group, and the health and parenting website Spright.com. She belongs to the American Copy Editors Society and Bay Area Editors' Forum and holds a Professional Certificate in Editing from University of California, Berkeley. When editing, she aims to make a book the best possible version of itself, shaping it in a way so it can best use its unique voice to appeal to a wide audience. She is accepting science fiction and fantasy for YA and MG only. |
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