Six ways to elevate your prose so you can catch a literary agent’s attention

As someone who has been a part of the industry for over twelve years and has cultivated a vast network of contacts ranging from bestselling authors to top agents and publishers, there are many things I have come to learn that can help you catch a literary agent’s attention, or quite simply, get your manuscript to publishable standard.

1. Hook

Perhaps the best and simplest way to elevate your novel and make it immediately noteworthy is to have a hook in the opening. Be it via prologue or an interesting main character, your novel must instantly grip the reader’s attention. This is particularly true if you’re writing book club fiction or thrillers. Even with literary fiction, the pressure is mounting to have punchy opening sentences. The industry is swamped with manuscripts and literary agents are having to sift through hundreds of submissions a week, so naturally, their focus will be on the opening pages. Make sure your novel grips them refuses to let go.

2. Light and shade

A major tip I have come to learn in all my years as a writer and editor is the technique of light and shade. When writing book club fiction or genre fiction that revolves around a dark topic, writers can sometimes focus too much on the dark, thereby depressing the reader and potentially leading them to stop reading. No matter how dark your topic might be, it is important to include light moments in your story, because there is only so much tension and turmoil a reader can take. There should always be some light at the end of the tunnel.

3. Setting

If you want a literary agent to take your novel seriously, don’t just focus on your characters. Focus on the setting as well. In some cases, the role of setting can be so immense that it can double as a character. Think of The Haunting of Hill House and how the house becomes a character. Similarly, The Yellow Wallpaper is another valid example. Just like a reader, a literary agent wants to be swept up in the story… they want to be taken on a journey. All of that is only possible if you elevate your setting.

4. Being sure of your genre

A sure shot way of catching a literary agent or publisher’s attention is to be sure of your genre. Write your novel according to the genre. If it’s literary fiction, you don’t need to follow a certain format, like you would with crime fiction. If you’re writing book club fiction, make sure the reader keeps turning the pages, because that’s what the genre demands. If your novel falls within the parameters of a particular genre, you’ve already increased your chances of getting published significantly.

5. Don’t chase trends

Quit chasing trends. Write what you know and want to write, not what’s selling. By the time you finish writing according to a certain trend, it may be that the trend is out of fashion. It happens all the time in the industry, when a particular genre becomes a thing, and after a while, so many books are written in that genre that the market gets saturated. However, when you write from your heart about a topic that is close to you or feels right to you, you are not chasing trends. You are writing your truth as a writer, and that will show in your work.

6. Shock doesn’t sell

Shock doesn’t sell. Going into graphic and gory details only serves to put off readers unless the genre or character demands it. Similarly, graphic language is only acceptable when the plot demands it. Gratuitous use of shock degrades your writing and makes the events in your story a bit unbelievable. Character motivation is what matters; graphic detail of their speech and actions doesn’t.

Awais Khan is a tutor on the Ultimate Novel Writing Programme. To find out more about the course, visit the web page or fill in this form and we’ll send the brochure straight to your inbox. Want to sense-check your story idea? Fancy meeting Awais one-to-one to see how working with him could help you? Book a twenty-minute mentoring session with him here. If you go on to study with us, we’ll credit the cost of the session back to you.