Is it ever okay to begin querying before your manuscript is finished?

[quicklime]

Originally Posted by Angela

Oops. I should have clarified. I meant that unless they're the type of writer that can absolutely have a nearly-perfect first draft AND could finish it in a hurry if they wound up getting a quick reply, then they should wait.

Sorry for the confusion SP!

Angi

I'm going to say I would still recommend against it.

anything comes up that "outs" you later for it, then querying before you're done looks bad; best case you have put a little red flag in your now-agent's head about how trustworthy you are, worst case they find out and reject before you've even gotten that far.

[Michael Murphy]

One of the most common mistakes I made when I first became a novelist is thinking the novel was finished just because I finalized the last words of the last chapter. For what it's worth, I found the most important thing about writing is rewriting so 1) finish your novel, 2) let it sit for at least a month 3) go over it scene by scene. When I completed my 8th novel, it had 82,300 words. I set it aside then went back scene by scene. When I finished this polishing procee the manuscript had 93,000 words. Yikes, maybe too many so I'm going through it again. Don't be so anxious to get to the finish line, enjoy the ride.