Sample pages format

[Andre_Laurent]

Yeah, I know...this is a stupid question.

When you send those first five lovely pages to an agent...can you use the entire first page or do you have to blow a third of it for proper ms formatting? Can I send it with the chapter heading at the top or a third of the way down the page?

Told you it was a stupid question....:tongue

[Ziljon]

Andre, I think there's a little flexability. If your chapter ends on page six, send all six pages. If you wrote it in courier and the chapter's eight pages long, you can switch it to Times New Roman, and it may fit on five.

Still, I do think it's important to keep the first page formated correctly.

But what about when you e-mail an agent with the first five pages not attached but embedded into the text of the e-mail? Have you ever tried that, Andre? I started two threads about this and still haven't found a satisfactory answer, but the jist of it is: when you e-mail your pages, they lose all their formatting! Yes, single spaced, no paragraph indents, even the wrong font sometimes!

Check out these threads to not find an answer:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1355869#post1355869
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65276

[Andre_Laurent]

I'm going to send the first batch by snail mail. I know email can do evil things to your work, lol. I put together a test email and sent it to myself and everything was okay. Still, email is just to easy for them to hit the delete key without giving it much of a look.

[ORION]

At the risk of getting slapped around in cyberspace - I must comment. If a sample comes in on crayon -- on a brown paper sack and it is a great premise with good writing then an agent will ask for more!
Snail mail - TNR (- double spaced - my agent says she doesn't really care about the font as long as it is easy to read and double spaced so she has room to jot comments down in case she wants to).Full page? --half? four, five or six pages? It doesn't matter. Only the writing matters.
I did email queries (that is how I got my agent) and I know many writers who sucessfully do. Yes it IS easy to delete and send and screw up text but snail mail may get someone in the mail room to read and toss so it all evens out in the end.
You can't obsess about formatting. There are tons of threads with the email -- snail mail -- text -- formatting questions asked.
My agent said that she speaks for many agents (at WMA) when she says if a premise makes her hesitate and if the writing is good she will ask for more whether there are little Russian marks where apostrophes should be or not. I found out later that the text in my email query was all messed up but she asked for the full anyway because THEY ALL KNOW THIS CAN HAPPEN WITH EMAILS!!!
If you still wonder about this question and want an agent's opinion ask Nathan down in "agents" thread.
My advice would be to focus your energy more on the writing sample.
JMHO

[Andre_Laurent]

There's some jerk in the mail room looking to do me in before the agent gets a peek? Places head in sand and says the hell with it! :D

[Jamesaritchie]

At the risk of getting slapped around in cyberspace - I must comment. If a sample comes in on crayon -- on a brown paper sack and it is a great premise with good writing then an agent will ask for more!
Snail mail - TNR (- double spaced - my agent says she doesn't really care about the font as long as it is easy to read and double spaced so she has room to jot comments down in case she wants to).Full page? --half? four, five or six pages? It doesn't matter. Only the writing matters.
I did email queries (that is how I got my agent) and I know many writers who sucessfully do. Yes it IS easy to delete and send and screw up text but snail mail may get someone in the mail room to read and toss so it all evens out in the end.
You can't obsess about formatting. There are tons of threads with the email -- snail mail -- text -- formatting questions asked.
My agent said that she speaks for many agents (at WMA) when she says if a premise makes her hesitate and if the writing is good she will ask for more whether there are little Russian marks where apostrophes should be or not. I found out later that the text in my email query was all messed up but she asked for the full anyway because THEY ALL KNOW THIS CAN HAPPEN WITH EMAILS!!!
If you still wonder about this question and want an agent's opinion ask Nathan down in "agents" thread.
My advice would be to focus your energy more on the writing sample.
JMHO



It matters very much to some agents. It matters so much to a number of agents that they won't read anything not formatted in a reasonable manner. Never assume your agent is like all others, or like any other. There's nothing at all wrong with obsessing about format. Doing so does no harm, and may save you rear.

[MidnightMuse]

If something comes in on brown paper written in crayon, what makes you think it's going to be read, brilliant or not? Following submission requirements is as much about showing you can read and follow directions as anything.

[Andre_Laurent]

Okay, so I take it that means I need to give up that one third of the first page with the chapter heading and be proper. I really wanted to use that space but oh well.