Keen to get peoples reactions on this one,
Agent first then Editor through the Agent (preferred) or Editor first then Agent (perhaps maximising chances of being picked up)
?
Keen to get peoples reactions on this one,
Agent first then Editor through the Agent (preferred) or Editor first then Agent (perhaps maximising chances of being picked up)
?
I agree with Kate. Submitting to an agent is basically the same as to a publisher direct, in that your manuscript wants to be as good as you can get it. And the most obvious mistakes to any reader are those of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
I'm fortunate enough to be pretty pedantic about that sort of thing so I mostly self-edit, but plenty of writers aren't, and if you're one of them get an outside editor involved before submitting to anyone. I suspect a poorly spelt (or is it 'spelled', lol!) and punctuated opening chapter will get you rejected faster than anything else, however great your manuscript is.
Editorial services can be paid for, so I'm not sure there would be an issue with "getting an editor." They get paid for their service regardless of how fantastic or how awful a book idea is. Agents, however, will only get paid if the writer gets paid, so they have to be more choosy.
I assume that spelling and grammar mistakes would put off an agent from reading more than three chapters. If this was an area that someone needed help with, then I guess editor first might be worth the money.
Submitting to an agent doesn't cost as much though.
Sorry, no answer there; just some more thoughts to consider.
Sadly, the path is such that, we need an Agent, unless your work gets picked up from the slush pile, which take up to a very long time(years) and is highly rare. :(