It occurred to me after reading back over the previous post about finding a literary agent that I neglected to include one vital piece of advice: finish the book first!

It may sound glaringly obvious, but I’ve known so many writers who have an idea for a book and start to pitch it before they’re even at the end of chapter one. They figure that, as it can take so long to hear back from agents, they have plenty of time to write the thing. This attitude, however, can easily backfire.

What if your query letter for child-becomes-robot novel lands on an agents desk just as she’s getting off the ‘phone with Mr Big Publisher who’s been saying that what he really wants is a book about an android that used to be a small boy? Bingo - the agent is going to want to read your book now! If it’s not ready, you’ve wasted both her time and your own. And you can bet you won’t get another chance at that agency.

Even more likely is that your book will change as you write it. Characters will develop, plot twists will happen and, on occasion, the finished book will look nothing like the idea you started with. If you’ve already pitched the book as one thing and it’s become another - you simply can’t send it out.

Years ago, when the movie Ace Ventura: Pet Detective first came out, I was carrying around a vague idea for a comedy screenplay set in a theme park. As soon as I saw Jim Carrey on the big screen it hit me - this story would be perfect for someone with his talents! So, I wrote a query letter and sent it to his agent in Hollywood thinking, at best, I’d end up with a pretty fancy rejection to show around. It didn’t happen like that.

Three nights later - just three - the ‘phone rang. It was Jim Carrey’s agent. Jim liked the idea and wanted to read the script. Sh*t! I stalled for time, saying it was going through another draft at the moment and I could send it over in two weeks’ time. Then I got off the ‘phone and I wrote. I wrote and wrote like my life depended on it, trying to stick to my original pitch - the one Jim Carrey liked, no less - and complete a feature length comedy screenplay in two weeks. The result was a mess and, as you can imagine, I never heard back. Lesson learned.

So, finish the thing before you query. Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it takes time. But it will be worth it.

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