Everything you need to pitch your manuscript to literary agents and traditional publishers.
Your book is finished. Your submission is just getting started. You’ve spent months crafting your story, revised until your eyes blurred, and finally worked through those last beta reader notes. Now comes the part no one prepared you for: getting it in front of the right people. The publishing world has its own language of query letters, synopses, and agent research, and getting it wrong means your manuscript never gets the consideration it deserves.
The Agent Submission Package is your complete toolkit for approaching literary agents with confidence. We’ll work with you to create a polished query package that gets agents to request pages instead of ghosting without a trace.
A polished, professional query package ready for submission
Expert feedback and revisions on your first 20 pages, query letter, and synopsis
A personalized submission strategy tailored to your book and genre
A curated list of literary agents actively seeking your type of project
Confidence that your manuscript is being presented at its strongest
We’ll help you refine your query letter to capture your book’s essence with the structure and precision agents expect. We’ll ensure your pitch is compelling, concise, and positioned for your specific genre. The difference between a query that gets requests and one that gets rejections often comes down to knowing exactly what agents need to see in those crucial opening lines and how to position your book within the current market.
A synopsis that captures your entire book in two pages without losing what makes it compelling. We’ll help you identify the core narrative threads that agents need to see and show you how to present your story’s arc in a way that demonstrates both your plotting skills and your book’s commercial potential.
One of our Hewes House editors will review the first 20 pages of your manuscript and provide detailed notes and corrections. Expect actionable feedback on your opening pages, that make-or-break section that often determines whether agents want to request a full. Our editors provide line-level suggestions that strengthen your prose without erasing what makes it yours.
A tailored approach based on your book’s genre, themes, and market position. We’ll identify the submission timing, approach, and positioning that gives your project the best chance. This includes guidance on when to submit, how to sequence your submissions, and how to present yourself as the right author for your particular book.
A researched list of literary agents actively seeking manuscripts like yours. We’ll provide a brief explanation of why each agent made the list based on their recent acquisitions and stated interests. This list will provide you with a concrete starting point to what can often feel like the impenetrable wall of agent directories.
As your first step with Hewes House, you’ll speak with our Founder, Josh Boardman, on a 15-minute phone call to discuss your manuscript and submission goals. We’ll cover questions such as:
We’ll use this consultation to determine if the Agent Submission Package is the right fit for your project and timeline. Our approach works best for certain types of manuscripts and writers, and if we think you’d be better served elsewhere, we’ll refer you to a service that better suits your needs.
A brief 15-minute call with your writing coach to establish expectations, discuss your submission timeline, and clarify any questions about your manuscript or target agents. Your coach will also outline their approach and give you a clear sense of what to expect (and when to expect it) in the revision process. This is your chance to align on priorities, whether you’re most concerned about your comps, your agent list, or your opening pages, so your coach can focus their attention where it will make the biggest difference.
You’ll submit your current query letter, synopsis, and first 20 pages to your assigned coach. These materials form the foundation of your submission package. Your coach will work with what you have to identify strengths, address weaknesses, and ensure everything works together to present your manuscript in the best possible light.
Your coach gets to work on the heart of your submission package: detailed feedback and revisions for your first 20 pages, query letter, and synopsis. The bulk of their expertise goes into identifying exactly what’s working in your manuscript and what adjustments will strengthen your submission, and they’ll start the development of your personalized submission strategy and research your agent list.
You’ll receive your completed submission package along with a 30-minute call to review everything together. Your coach will walk you through the revisions, explain the reasoning behind the submission strategy, and answer any questions about next steps. By the end of this call, you’ll be ready to start submitting with confidence.
The Agent Query Package typically takes about 2-3 weeks, but consult with your coach on submission for a specific deadline.
We work with writers across all genres, including literary fiction, memoir, speculative work, and genre-blending projects. Our coaches understand how to position unconventional manuscripts and identify agents who actively seek diverse voices and experimental work. The key is having a completed manuscript and existing submission materials to refine, regardless of genre.
You’ll receive a targeted list of 5-10 agents specifically researched for your manuscript. Each agent on your list will have a clear reason for being there based on their recent acquisitions and stated interests. This focused approach is more effective than generic lists of hundreds of agents, and we don’t usually recommend you saturate the marketplace with submissions, anyway.
We guarantee professional-quality submission materials, not agent representation. Strong submissions significantly improve your chances, but agents make decisions based on many factors beyond presentation.
You need working versions of your query letter, synopsis, and first 20 pages. They don’t need to be perfect, but they should be complete attempts at these materials. We refine and strengthen what you bring us rather than writing from scratch.
Yes, we work with self-published authors who have new manuscripts they want to submit to traditional publishers. Your self-publishing experience demonstrates your commitment to the craft and understanding of the industry. We’ll help you position your new work professionally and identify agents who appreciate authors with publishing experience, regardless of the path you took to get it.
The age-old question—how do I know my manuscript is “done”? Nobody can answer that question but you. The typical advice is that if you can’t think of any more improvements you can make to your work yourself, then you’re ready for readers. If you’ve already been through multiple readers who gave you feedback that you’ve incorporated into your manuscript, then you might be ready to submit to agents. But remember: you can only submit a novel to a specific agent once, even if you revise it down the road. Make sure you’re ready before pressing send.
Your book deserves a professional presentation.
Schedule your founder consultation call and let’s create a submission package that gets your work the attention it deserves.