A writer once told me she felt she was out on the market three times: first for the agent, then for the publishing contract, and finally, after the book had sold and she was able to relish the boost from the publisher’s enthusiastic marketing department. Every agent/author/editor relationship is different, but that collaboration at its best is a Venn diagram: Writer, agent, and editor work toward the shared goal of getting a fantastic book published and into readers’ hands.
You’ve heard it before: Good writing is all about your voice. Have you read your writing aloud? Can you hear your voice? When reviewing a manuscript, if potential editors’ names start popping into my mind, then I know I’m caught, hook, line, and sinker—and all because of that voice. I know the manuscript is one I want to take on. To develop such a voice, read, read, and reread. Copy lines down from books you adore. Find out how the writer did that. Edit, edit, and re-edit. One writes to tell the truth. Good writing is dangerous. Start a story mid-sentence. Begin at the end.
—Malaga Baldi, agent, the Baldi Agency