By Natalie Taylor
Previously, in The Craft of Writing, I spoke about being a writer. This week, I would like to take it to the next level, how to polish your writing so it may be accepted by a publisher.
Elizabeth Kracht is a literary agent with over a decade in the industry. She was at the recent San Miguel Writers’ Conference, where I had the opportunity to interview her, and get her advice. A literary agent is the intermediary between writer and publisher, helping the writer bring the work up to par, and then promote it to the appropriate publisher.
So how do you make your work good enough for publication? The answer is simple: edit, edit, and edit some more. It begins with self-editing—looking at your work objectively, and cutting mercilessly. When asked how he created such beautiful sculptures from bare marble, Michelangelo said: “I carve away everything that isn’t sculpture.” Elizabeth advises to look at each element of your writing independently. Are your characters realistic and do they “act in character” throughout? Do your scenes have a beginning, middle, and end? Is the dialogue sharp? Her advice is “get in late, leave early” with dialogue, get to the heart by eliminating extraneous verbiage. Do this for every part of your writing, taking your time to evaluate all aspects.
Learn as much as you can about what constitutes good writing. Read great writers’ advice on writing. Attend workshops, take writing classes, even considering getting an advanced degree. Understand what a first draft is. It is simply dumping words on paper (or computer) and is not for public consumption. A first draft it is what Elizabeth calls “a lot of throat clearing.” To bring one’s work to publishable quality may require many, many drafts.
Next comes having someone else read your work. Do not engage family or friends! They love you, and may even love your worst writing. Instead, look for peers or professionals to give you an objective opinion. You may find good readers at a writers’ conference, in a writers’ group, or even a book club. After this, you may want to engage a professional to evaluate your manuscript. Elizabeth suggests looking for a developmental editor, and a good source is reedsy.com, where you may even find an agent who has worked for major publishing houses, but is looking for moonlighting work. That would be a real coup.
Once you feel that you are ready to submit to an agent, make sure it’s the right one. Elizabeth, for example, does not take mysteries, thrillers, fantasy, or science fiction. If you submit one of these to her, it will be rejected outright. When you find the right agent, follow his or her submission requirements to the letter, and be as professional as possible when submitting. There is nothing better than having a literary agent who loves your work, because you know they will do their utmost to get you to the best publishing house, and follow through to publication. A good agent is a writer’s best friend. So continue writing and revising, and do not give up!
