BY KATHI KAMEN GOLDMARK AND SAM BARRY

The Author Enablers are here to answer your questions about writing and publishing. Together, Kathi and Sam have more than 25 years of experience in book publishing. Kathi is an author, radio producer and former publicist; Sam is a marketing manager at a major publishing company and a freelance editor. They are also proud members of the Rock Bottom Remainders, the all-author rock band founded by Kathi in 1992.

Unlocking the secrets of literary agents

Dear Author Enablers,

I retired from my career as a social worker for abused and neglected children, and wrote a novel based on the experience. I am quite pleased, and folks who have read the manuscript encourage me to publish. How do I go about finding an agent? Do you refer writers to literary agents? Can I email my manuscript directly to publishers?

Don Carmichael
Decatur, Illinois

Seems like it's time for a review of Manuscript Submission 101.

Some publishers accept unsolicited manuscripts, but most don't, so it's in your interest to find an agent to represent you. Use the skill and discipline you developed writing your novel to research agents who have sold similar books. One little-known trick: read the acknowledgements in recent books in your genre—most authors thank their agents there. The best source for agents' contact information in the U.S. is the Literary Market Place, a directory available at most libraries. Generally LMP listings include a brief description of the kind of work the agents represent.

Once you have a list of agents and/or publishers, read their submission guidelines and follow them meticulously. Then write an excellent query letter. Interested parties will ask to see your manuscript; then it's up to you to impress the heck out of them with your writing. You'll need to think less like an author, and more like a salesman or marketer. This can be a challenging shift and also a lot of work, but you need to be patient and careful about this process if you want to get published.

It is our policy here at Author Enablers not to recommend specific agents, because we know a lot of agents, and none of them has paid us to promote them. Yet.

Dear Author Enablers,

I am finishing a children's book and wondering about writing a query letter. I haven't seen many examples of what they contain. Where can I investigate for those examples?

Wendi Knape
Westland, Michigan

A well-written query letter proves that you have what it takes to write a book, and can be the key to getting the attention of an agent or editor. Write in the format of a formal business letter, addressed to the specific person who will read your query. If you don't know who that is, do some research before sending (see our answer to Don, above). Your letter should be brief (no more than one page), with a compelling opening sentence and enough detail to convey the essence of your manuscript. In other words, if your letter were a movie star, it would look like Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta-Jones strolling into a room together. Or since this is a children's book, perhaps it should look like their imaginary love child. Ask your librarian or independent bookseller to recommend books that will walk you through the submissions process, including query letters.

Newsflash: more on the Great Copyright Controversy, which has overshadowed the presidential campaign in newsrooms across the nation, or at least in this column:

Dear Author Enablers,

I read the initial Q&A in the April 2008 edition of BookPage regarding Carol Perlut's question about copyrighting, and the additional information provided by Jeremy Robinson in the June 2008 issue.

While Mr. Robinson's advice about placing a copyright notice on the work is good, that is only sufficient if plagiarism of a published work does not occur. To be safe, file a formal application with the U.S. Copyright Office before submitting or publishing a work. While a notice does offer some protection as an alert, if plagiarism does occur, the author is not afforded any real legal protection by just having a notice on the work.

Having a copyright on file with the U.S. Copyright Office is the only way to provide the author of a work with a legal recourse to collect damages in the event of plagiarism. Filing is inexpensive (currently $45 per application) and is really not complicated at all. Information on copyrighting literary works can be found at www.copyright.gov/register/literary.html.

Deb McDonough
Highland, Michigan

Thanks for writing,
THE AUTHOR ENABLERS