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First, I must apologize. I lied. Others lied and i abetted them. There really is a secret hand shake. Pay attention, take notes, post it above your computer, on you fridge, get it laminated and post it in your shower too. This is the most valuable thing you will ever hear about this or any other business.
The Secret Handshake is Competence!
Now the competence I'm talking about isn't merely the ability to write in complete sentences. Most third graders can manage that. I'm also not talking about being mentally replete with the minutia of feudal Korea when writing about that, or able to properly parse the taxonomy of the virus you invented for your tech-thriller. Those things are all well and good, but they are not the key to an agents heart or an editors checkbook. The key is hidden in plain sight. In fact it has got blinking neon signs a color guard and quite possibly its own cheer leaders telling you to pick it up.
The key, that Secret Handshake is thus: Do the basics properly. For example, use either a standard font like one of the Times family, or Courier if the publisher doesn't express a preference, or pick something that is easy on the eyes like Arial. Then, make sure you've got your contact information on the first page of your manuscript. The header space should contain your name and the book title (shortened if need be) and the page number.
Now why, oh why is Competence important? A better question is why isn't it? I'm pretty forgiving of one or two basic mistakes. But when someone has clearly shown by missing all the basics, or even just more than half, the book inevitably gets rejected fairly quickly. Why? Because people who put little or no effort into the things they don't feel are important when submitting a book show the same type of effort in writing the book itself. I doubt my experiences are unique. Ask some of the brighter critters on my f-list, there are half a dozen agents, several editors, and other people who are clue burdened.
To paraphrase one of my favorite madmen: I adore competent writers.
Now the competence I'm talking about isn't merely the ability to write in complete sentences. Most third graders can manage that. I'm also not talking about being mentally replete with the minutia of feudal Korea when writing about that, or able to properly parse the taxonomy of the virus you invented for your tech-thriller. Those things are all well and good, but they are not the key to an agents heart or an editors checkbook. The key is hidden in plain sight. In fact it has got blinking neon signs a color guard and quite possibly its own cheer leaders telling you to pick it up.
The key, that Secret Handshake is thus: Do the basics properly. For example, use either a standard font like one of the Times family, or Courier if the publisher doesn't express a preference, or pick something that is easy on the eyes like Arial. Then, make sure you've got your contact information on the first page of your manuscript. The header space should contain your name and the book title (shortened if need be) and the page number.
Now why, oh why is Competence important? A better question is why isn't it? I'm pretty forgiving of one or two basic mistakes. But when someone has clearly shown by missing all the basics, or even just more than half, the book inevitably gets rejected fairly quickly. Why? Because people who put little or no effort into the things they don't feel are important when submitting a book show the same type of effort in writing the book itself. I doubt my experiences are unique. Ask some of the brighter critters on my f-list, there are half a dozen agents, several editors, and other people who are clue burdened.
To paraphrase one of my favorite madmen: I adore competent writers.
