There tends to be a lot of talk in the publishing biz, especially among those trying to break into it, about query letters. How formal should the letter be? How long? Should one include a blank check in the envelope? Email queries versus snail mail?
All important stuff to address, but say you’ve moved past that initial stage. (I know, some folks are saying to themselves, “It gets better?”) After you send a query, if the agent likes it, often enough they will request a partial of the manuscript. Often this includes the first 30-50 pages of the story, or first three chapters. They do this so, 1. You don’t have to print up and mail in a whole manuscript right off the bat and risk rejection after using up a ream of paper and an ink cartridge. 2. Because a partial, just as it saves you paper and ink, saves an agent time. They don’t have to read the entire manuscript to know whether they like your story. Of course, if they like the partial, they’ll want to make sure the rest of the pages live up to that standard, but this is the big first impression (after the small first impression of the query).
Big-time agent blogger Nathan Bransford gives a few rambling thoughts about his take on partials.
When I like a query, 99% of the time I request the first 30 pages, which I’ve found to be an uncannily accurate chunk of a manuscript. For all of the clients I’ve taken on, I had a really, really good feeling after those 30 pages that I was going to like the whole thing, and most of the time I was right. On the other hand, when I was wavering on a project after 30 pages but requested the full anyway, I’ve never had an “ah ha” moment where I realized I was wrong about those 30 pages. I’ve found them to be an extremely accurate microcosm for the whole book.
I believe 30 pages is the perfect length because you can’t really hide behind that length of a manuscript. Some people have a fantastic opener only to fade when the novel gets going because they can’t sustain the plot, some people have a quiet opener that builds into something gripping by page 30. But if nothing is really keeping me going after page 30 I’m guessing that nothing is going to keep me going after page 60, 90, or 100.
So yes, that query letter is vital to getting your foot in the door. And yes, those first five pages need to be polished to a shine so the sparkle catches an agent’s eye…but don’t forget that eventually, after all your hard work, they’re going to want to see more. And if you let the rest of the story languish while you revise the first few pages obsessively, it’s not going to live up to the same level of quality.
I see that smile.