When is your book ready to send to an agent? It is a tough question that all writers must answer.
Eddie Schneider, a literary agent at JABberwocky Literary Agency, answered Ask Me Anything questions from readers on Reddit. His enormous digital interview fielded questions about queries, common mistakes and he had some great advice about deciding when your book is ready. Check it out:
If you’ve edited to the point where you feel like you’re just pushing words around and your eyes are going to melt out of your skull and pool between the lines, you’re getting close. I would not do this in isolation, though. Get. Writing. Friends. Believe it or not, I’m a firm believer in the utility of writing groups, and running your book past the eyes of people who also read a lot and are serious about getting into novel writing is a great way to edit for things you’re not going to see yourself. There are also the books Writing to Sell by Scott Meredith and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. They’re helpful and worth tracking down. I wouldn’t fall into the trap of reading too many books about writing and being a writer and so on, but they’re useful.