Do you have to finish your book before you send it in to a agent/publisher?

Question

I'm writing a book and I'm only on chapter 3. I want to send it to an agent but does the book have to be finished before I send it to an agent or publishing house?

Answer 1

It is advisable to finish your story before you consider contacting an agent or publisher.



Agents and publishers are interested in manuscripts that look as professional and as polished as possible. An incomplete first draft manuscript that is incomplete is neither professional, nor polished.



For your writing to look professional, you will need to write and rewrite your work many times over. It is not the responsibility of an editor to correct spelling or grammatical errors. If you think your first draft will be free from these errors, think again. Even Jack Kerouac who supposedly wrote "On the Road" in three weeks had to go back and reedit his first draft to correct numerous mistakes. And Kerouac's prose is often as perfect as it gets.



If you are up to chapter three on the very first draft of your work, then there is a good chance that you work could turn out very differently to what you first thought. No matter how carefully you plot a novel, characters and situations can sometimes take a different shape once you begin to write them. You will not truly know what shape your work will take until you have completed your manuscript. You will also be unaware of other factors, such as word count, which can be important when pitching your novel to a publisher or agent.



The only writers who can get away with pitching an idea to a publisher are well established authors who have signed a contract to say that they will write several books (perhaps in a series) for that publisher. As you are not an established, best selling author, it is unlikely that a publisher would be interested in your plans.



My advice is to keep working. Maybe your idea is awesome. Maybe it will change the publishing industry as we know it. But for now, you need to concentrate on writing your book, not selling it.

Answer 2

Finish writing your book.

Type it in proper manuscript form (http://www.neverend.com/msformat.htm has the details on what is needed).

Edit it many, many times to make it as good as it can be. Put it in a drawer, and don't even think about it, for a month or two, then take it out and do more editing. Don't try to say "It's perfect. It does not need editing." Yes, it does.

Get it proofread by someone who knows what they are doing (do not rely just on spellcheck).



There are a tiny number of publishers who accept unsolicited manuscripts (those that don't go through a literary agent), so getting an agent is a really good idea.



When your book is edited and polished, come back here and ask about how to get an agent. You can also use the search-bar at the top of this page and ask. It's a popular question.

Answer 3

Yes, it has to be finished.



There are simply so many people out there writing books and trying to get them published that there's no reason for an agent to take the risk that you will be one of the 999 people out of every 1000 who start a book but don't finish it.



3 chapters? You're not even close, I'm afraid. Finish your book. Agents and publishers will still be there when you have done so.

Answer 4

All unpublished fiction authors have to have their manuscript finished before they begin querying agents and the few publishers that accept unagented submissions. 'Finished' here means redrafted several times, critiqued by competent and objective readers, and polished until it's the best you can make it.



The only times it's acceptable to query an unfinished manuscript are:

- You're writing non-fiction. In this case, you submit a detailed proposal describing the book, and if the publisher likes the idea and agrees to publish it, you go ahead and write it.

- You're an established author who writes and sells well enough that you can pitch a novel on outline or synopsis alone, and have the publisher accept it.



Please don't start querying your book at this stage. All reputable agents and publishers will send you an automatic form rejection.

Answer 5

I know it's much easier to say than it is to do, but you might have to figure out how to feel happy and validated without publishing this book. It's time to move on and write another book. Dozens of writers persevere, but they don't do it by clinging to one story. Instead, they let go and start writing something new, something fresh. It's not giving up. Giving up means never writing again. You're just putting this story away. Who knows, your NEXT book might get ridiculous attention from publishers, and you can say, "well, if you liked that, check out what I've been sitting on for a few years." It really stinks when your book is good but nobody takes it, but that's just the business. Thousands of really crappy books get published, and thousands of really wonderful books don't get published. It's not fair, but that's just how things are. You can't base your success as a person and your talents by whether or not you publish your first work. I really hope you continue writing, because you're obviously talented if all these people are devouring your book. But don't waste that talent by focusing on just one story. Best of luck!

Answer 6

Don't mean to sink your boat, but chances are you're not going to finish it.

Wait until you are at LEAST 3/4 of the way through. Even then, you should really wait until you are completely finished editing and reading through it and everything like that.

Answer 7

fiction has to be finished



nonfiction you can get away with a synopsis/outline/plan. I've forgotten the correct word for what I mean.