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Home Resources How We Did It Philip Marsden


Philip Marsden

Philip Marsden"If you have an idea for a book, read everything you can about your particular genre."


  • • Go and browse in the bookshops and read what the critics are saying. Reviews are a great guide to what’s currently in vogue. I read the Guardian Review section on Saturdays because it’s the biggest and the broadest.
  • • Don’t send manuscripts to publishers. Most have stopped accepting unsolicited material, so instead find yourself an agent. They are now looking for good, new stuff, the next whoever, the next bestseller’.
  • • Do not ‘cold-call’ agents; a letter with a brief proposal is best.
  • • Personal contacts are very important, but knowing how the publishing industry works is also very helpful.
  • • If you have an idea for a book, read everything you can about your particular genre. Go and browse in the bookshops and read what the critics are saying. Reviews are a great guide to what’s currently in vogue. I read the Guardian Review section on Saturdays because it’s the biggest and the broadest.
  • • Don’t send manuscripts to publishers. Most have stopped accepting unsolicited material, so instead find yourself an agent. They are now looking for good, new stuff, the next whoever, the next bestseller’.
  • • Do not ‘cold-call’ agents; a letter with a brief proposal is best.
  • • Personal contacts are very important, but knowing how the publishing industry works is also very helpful.
 

Professional Advice

The gleam in the author’s eye is what quickens an agent’s pulse.

Mark Lucas, Literary Agent


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