An literary agency requested to see more of my work (a novel). they have some guidelines. please help.?

Question

the agency asked for "A cover letter stating the title and one sentence theme of your manuscript. "
So, the cover letter is just a paper with the title of the novel in big font. what do they mean by "one sentence theme of your manuscript"??
Thanks a lot. (oh, it's a fantasy fiction novel)

the agency is well known and of course they charge nothing. and you are right, the answer is (DUH!!!). i knew it but as you can imagine i want everything to go perfect (which is not always possible)

Answer 1

The cover sheet is the page with the novel name (not in big font, but alll in caps half way down the page and centered, two space and your "by" line, then two more space and the genre (A Fantasy Novel) two more space and the number of words in the novel (70,000 words) And thats it.

The cover letter is a Letter which you need to set up as a letter, with the publishers name and address, your name and address, phone number and email address (and website if you have one)--

Address it to the person making the request, if you don't have a name, address it to the editor (Attn: Mr. Jones;

In the first paragraph you need to give that brief ONE Sentence theme fo the manuscript... as in HP--

"HARRY POTTER is a 70,000 word fantasy novel about a boy wizard who finds he has a hidden past that may be the death of him."

In the second paragraph, you tell the editor a little about yourself, and if you have any publishing credits, give them (be brief and consise), also give any special education or interest that may lend itself to your work as a writer. I write Civil War era fiction, therefore I do give my credencials in that area, but I don't dewel on my schooling beyond that.

Be sure to include a self addressed stamped envelope (business size if you don't want the pages back, and same as the mailing envelope with enough postage if you do) BTW if you don't want the pages back, mark the letter in the last paragraph, that the manuscript is desposble.

NOW if you're sending this email-- again read what the publisher wants, but use the email as your query letter and put the information in it that they request-- and be sure the manuscript is formatted the way the publisher wants, and send it in the rich text format, most systems will accept this.

Good luck to you. I also have a manuscript being read, and its a very trying time-- it can take up to six months, and possibly long to hear from them. DON'T send your manuscript anywhere else, or if one of them wants the book you will be obliged to notify the others and you could cause bad feelings.

Answer 2

You have gotten some good answers. But I wonder if you have checked this agency out. Well known means very little anymore. I know of many agencies that are well known but not legit. I had a guy here about a week ago who said he had checked the name of his agency out. He e mailed me the name. It took me five minutes to find about 8 different sites with information about this agency that was entirely negative. He was shocked. Before you send anyone a single word of a manuscript, make sure you have checked every possible avenue to prove the agency is legit. After all it is YOUR work in jeopardy. Pax - C

Answer 3

First of all I would like to say congratulations because it would be a dream come true to be in your position. now for your questions, it is a duh question and you would be so blind to see it. All it means is what it means. A Title e.g. RAIN
one sentence theme of your manuscript would be like a tagline to a movie. So an example would be: Just because its summer doesn't mean it can't rain. Something to get the reader interested.

Answer 4

Does she have a internet site? if so, look there to confirm if she has formatting standards. sure, you may desire to positioned a conceal letter with it - in any different case how will she comprehend it incredibly is from you?

Answer 5

it might mean a one sentence plot summary, just make sure you dont have to pay them a fee, otherwise congratulations