Courses

To maximize your chances of landing a great agent, it’s crucial to prepare a complete and compelling submission packet that stands out. At the start of this course, we will hear from a top literary agent about the best approaches to queries and what agents wish writers would stop doing (or do more of!). We’ll look at pitches that work before doing exercises designed to help you create your own. Perfecting your pitch will enable you to talk about your book in a succinct way—an important skill when approaching prospective agents. We’ll also discuss how to find the perfect “comp” titles for your book and how to incorporate those into your query letter.

For fiction writers, we’ll go over synopses: how to write them, what is expected, what works, and what doesn’t. For nonfiction writers, we’ll talk about proposals and what an agent and publisher hope for, from building a social media platform to what belongs in sample chapters. We’ll also determine how to create a list of agents best suited to representing a book like yours, how to track your submissions, and when it’s appropriate to follow up. By the end of the course, you will have a submission packet to be proud of, ready to send to your list of dream agents.