Generally the query letter comes first, then the outline, then the manuscript. Also, make sure that your manuscript and other material has the exact specifications. Agents want Courier New, 12 pt font, double spaced, a headline on the upper right side displaying book name/page number/author name.
There are some other good websites you can go to for information as well. Try www.writers.net.
Getting a book on how to submit to agents/publishers helps as well. One that I've used is "Formatting and Submitting your Manuscript".
Try to paperclip each chapter together.
Congrats on finishing your book! That's a big accomplishment :)
Here at the University, we use extra-large sized binder clips to hold our grant applications together: http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/Sku.asp?PageType=1&Sku=103564
THANK YOU! I've already known about the type setting and everything, I was just uncertain about how to present it, or whatever. Thanks for the help!!!
All right, I've been writing a book series for about four -- or was it five? -- years now and have finally perfected my book. Now that I've gotten the first book of the series completed, I'm going to send it to an agent. The only problem is, I don't know what I'm suppose to be doing. I bought the writer's market, and there's some really good tips in there, but their information is . . . incomplete.
Writing the query letter seems easy enough, but I'm uncertain where I'm suppose to be putting it. Should it be on top of the manuscript? I noticed that there was a sample query letter in the writer's market, and on the letter was the publisher's (mind you, I'm going with an agent) name and address. It was making me start to believe that the letter should go somewhere on the outside of the envolope, which seems pretty stupid to me.
Next, the agent is asking for an outline. Well, that shouldn't be hard *rolls eyes*. Where should I put this at, though. Underneath the query letter, above the manuscript seems right to me, but I just don't know. I don't want to send the agent everything and have it out of order.
And when it says that you're suppose to paperclip it . . . all right, how am I suppose to put a paperclip on over a seven-hundred paged? I know there are those big paperclips (I don't know how to explain it, but they look like . . . x <--- that, sort of). Am I suppose to be using that, or paperclip with small paperclips. Like, paperclip the first fifty pages together, then paperclip from page fourty-nine to ninety-nine. Then from ninety-eight to one hundred and fourty-seven? I'm just confused.
Apparently I'm an ameture writer [^] And the world keeps turning.