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Have you heard of or used an “editorial agent”? The right one is a writer’s best friend. Once they decide to accept your manuscript they help you polish it so that they are sending the best example possible to editors. Kelly, at Pub Crawl, is one of these special agents and she lets us peek into the process.
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The Crafting of an Editorial Letter
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If you’re in the query trenches you’ve probably heard the words “editorial agent” floating around. These are agents who work with their clients to edit and revise a manuscript before submitting it to editors (who will then edit the manuscript even further if they end up acquiring it!) I am an editorial agent and believe strongly in sending out the most polished manuscript possible to editors. The market is competitive, and I think it’s vital these days to go out with your very best work. I’ve just finished (I mean just finished–it’s open in another window) an editorial letter for a client. The second one I’ve written since becoming an agent. And while I can’t speak for all editors and editorial agents as to how they do things, I thought I’d talk a little bit about my editing process so that writers can get a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes.For both of my clients I quoted about a month (give or take) to get them their editorial letter. I was late both times. *headdesk* A much more realistic timeline for me personally is probably two months. If I was able to put absolutely everything else in my life and work on hold I could probably get an edit done in a week. But alas, the power to stop time does not belong to me. Two months it is! (And I’ll never overpromise on a deadline again. The guilt consumed me).