Agents & Editors: What Has Changed About the Submissions Process?
At Writer’s Digest Books, we’re in the process of updating our popular title Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript and are looking for insight from agents/editors on how the industry is…
At Writer’s Digest Books, we’re in the process of updating our
popular title Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript and are
looking for insight from agents/editors on how the industry is
changing. Here are a few things we’re interested in knowing.
- How
have queries and submissions changed for you in recent years? Do you
request different information? Do you accept email queries? If so, do
you prefer electronic or paper queries? How important is format and
formality in electronic communication? - What are your pet peeves and turnoffs?
- What are your do's and don'ts for writers?
- Have
you changed how you select authors? How many of your authors are found
through queries, and how many through other means? Do you want to hear
about an author's platform? - What recent changes in your market do you want writers to know about?
Writers are also welcome to comment and offer tips.

Jane Friedman is a full-time entrepreneur (since 2014) and has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. She is the co-founder of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and is the former publisher of Writer’s Digest. In addition to being a columnist with Publishers Weekly and a professor with The Great Courses, Jane maintains an award-winning blog for writers at JaneFriedman.com. Jane’s newest book is The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press, 2018).