How to Make a Good Book That Impresses Literary Agents
by Mary Kole | Former literary agent, now a freelance editor, writing teacher, and IP/story developer for major publishers and creators.
Do you know how to make a good book when you sit down to write? How to make a good book has a lot to do with what happens in a story beyond the opening chapter. Writing a complete manuscript can be a daunting task, and many writers get stuck at the beginning. Yes, the beginning is incredibly important, but don’t devote all of your attention to the opening.
There’s a tendency to overwork the first ten pages, because that’s likely what literary agents want to see. But then the quality of the prose and story drops off precipitously because the writer has lowered their standards for the rest. On the one hand, it is an encouraging development because everything looks immaculate. On the other hand, you’ll be setting readers up for a bait and switch if the quality drops off on page eleven.
How to Make a Good Book Goes Beyond the Query
A query letter can only give so much insight into a writer's skills. Literary agents and publishers can’t know whether the writer knows how to make a good book based on a one-page cover letter. Besides, the writer may have had someone else compose it, they could have gone over it a hundred times with other writing buddies, or spent ages polishing it. That is all fine and good, but literary agents don’t assume that the query letter correlates in quality to the manuscript itself.
Query letters are meant to be persuasive and descriptive, quite unlike prose. And definitely unlike narrative or structure. Ultimately, the manuscript is what matters most, and that is why many agents request a snippet of the writer's work before rejecting or going for the full manuscript request. That’s what might really tell them whether the writer knows how to make a good book.
Only a small number of writers have the skill to shepherd their stories through a robust plot, with an active protagonist, until their tale reaches a satisfying conclusion. But this careful plotting and planning is actually the secret of how to make a good book. Unfortunately, it’s tougher to learn these skills than it is to polish a sample or write a query.
Conferences, critique groups, and writing workshops mainly focus on critiquing the early stages of a manuscript. Writing the first few pages of a manuscript can be a daunting task, but it's doable.
How to Write a Good Book With Feedback
Getting feedback from a critique partner can be invaluable for a writer's progress toward how to write a good book. Some writers go all out when it comes to preparing their first chapter—attending workshops, taking classes, and going in for expert critique at writer’s conferences. But push past this and start a writing group or critique group or hire a freelance editor to make sure that your entire story lives up to the promise of your refined opening pages. It’s very easy to spot this polished opening phenomenon in the slush pile, and it happens more often than you might think.
If your manuscript has a stunning start, then you've achieved a lot! However, you must now put in just as much effort and meticulous attention to finishing it. After all, if it begins powerfully, we can only expect the rest of the novel to be even more impressive—not less. Consistency is one of the secrets of how to make a good book that goes on to sell.
Elevate Your Storytelling
Wherever you are in your writing journey—from an initial outline to a draft to pitching your project—the experienced team at Good Story Editing can take your work to the next level.