What Agents Are Really Looking For in Your Sample Pages
Insights from publishing experts Jane Friedman, Karin Gillespie & Erin C. Niumata
Hey friends,
Welcome to another edition of Tell Us Something We Don’t Know… where we source a panel of literary experts and ask them questions about whatever the heck. Today, the heck is sample pages and our instructors are a trio of publishing mavens:
The Experts:
Jane Friedman — Decodes the publishing industry for writers who'd rather not learn the hard way. Featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and the BBC.
Karin Gillespie — Simon & Schuster novelist, Substack bestseller, and a working writer who tracks the industry at Pitch Your Novel. 20+ years in the trenches.
Erin C. Niumata — A literary agent at Folio who's been reading queries for decades and representing NYT bestsellers when she finds the good ones.
The Takeaways:
Why dramatic openings sometimes don’t work
The line-level test that separates strong writers from polished ones
The synopsis tell that gives away an unfinished manuscript
Why overpolished sample pages can backfire
How to know if you’re querying agents too early
By the end of this workshop, you'll spot the same red flags agents do (before your manuscript hits their inbox).
What agents wish writers knew about sample pages
Sample pages are an important part of your submissions package when sending your novel to agents, along with a query letter and synopsis.
Your sample pages are there to showcase the opening of your story, your fascinating protagonist, your intriguing plot, and the quality of your writing, along with demonstrating you understand structure, pacing, tone, voice etc.
If you get them right, your first few chapters should entice agents to read on, request the full manuscript, and hopefully offer representation. A lot of pressure to put on just a few thousand words, huh?
“As agents, we read so many submissions that certain patterns jump out quickly.” — Erin C. Niumata
So, here’s what agents are actually looking for in sample pages — and the red flags that make them say, “no, thank you.”
