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Query letters to literary agents

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Ckingteacher View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ckingteacher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Query letters to literary agents
    Posted: 26 May 2020 at 11:40pm
Just thought I'd ask the experts in this group -- I see that some agents ask for the first 10 pages of your manuscript along with the query letter, and my OCD brain is wondering: is that the first 10 8.5X11 Word document pages? Or do I need to format it to a standard novel page size?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 May 2020 at 11:46am
I always send ten pages of my novel-sized pages, which are 5.25" x 8". But I wouldn't stress over it! Any approximation would work, I'd think. They ought to be more specific by giving a word count, and I'm not sure why they don't go that route, but that's on them!! :-)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jennifer.quail Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 May 2020 at 2:28pm
Industry standard is a normal 8 1/2 x 11 page with 1" margins, double spaced, 12pt Times New Roman (some places still accept/want Courier or will take Courier or TNR, though I've seen more places saying they don't like Courier, as it's hard on the eyes.) .5" indent on paragraphs (do not use tab) and NO extra spaces between paragraphs. That's aka Shunn Format, and almost everywhere accepts it unless they have specific guidelines, which is why you have to read the agent or publisher's website itself in detail very carefully to see exactly what they want.

No one wants colored paper, colored font, creative fonts of any kind, or anything cutesy. They don't really want unconventional sizes.  


Edited by jennifer.quail - 27 May 2020 at 2:29pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ckingteacher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 May 2020 at 4:56pm
Thanks so much for this info. I’ll read their guidelines very closely when the time comes. I’m getting ahead of myself, as I’m only on chapter 6 of what I’ve outlined to be a 22-chapter novel!
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