A few months back, I worked in an internship program at a literary agency, Inkwell Management, LLC. I spent most of the workday writing reader's reports of assigned submissions for my supervisor and her colleagues’ perusal. Through my and other interns’ analysis, the agents would evaluate a manuscript’s worth and determine whether they’d represent it or not. I was to read the entire submission, summarize the plot, provide its strengths and weaknesses, and then give a positive, negative, or ambivalent recommendation to the agent who might represent the novel based on my evaluation. Its merits and demerits were prominent traits or elements that could be literary or purely business--they could be the use of imagery or lack of working transitions. Some elements I definitely kept in mind while reading were:
Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation, etc.
Fitting any copy editor, this was very straightforward: I checked for errors in grammar and the like. However, my job wasn’t to correct but to see how those mistakes affected the manuscript’s clarity and pacing. If a writer had so many dangling modifiers in one paragraph, especially in the first few pages, I wouldn’t bother to continue to read the rest. An obvious negative recommendation. Yet, I still had to point out the specific errors to illustrate what kind of mistakes the writer made repeatedly, as with every characteristic I highlighted.
Pacing
My employers also sought out how well the writer led us through their piece in terms of its pacing. Readability depends on how well the writer wrote out sentences, transitions to new sections, and descriptions. Did long sections and shorter ones alternate, or was most of the novel bits of info--and for the tone and theme of the novel, whatever mood, theme, or style the writer seemed to try to create, did what they write work for that thing? Why or why not? Grammar, spelling, and punctuation also affect how easy it is to read the actual words on the page. Briefly, how did the writer organize the novel, for what effect, and did it work?
Market Fit
Yes, there’s the importance of how well the writer adhered to English grammar rules and the overall readability of the piece, but one thing had me taken aback--how it does or doesn’t follow trends in the industry. (Maybe then as a bleary college student, I’d forgotten how it matters for books to follow the market, but I sure was brought back down to earth!) What themes, character archetypes, genres, or conflicts are most popular right now, and does the current submission fit with the others? Can it be a potential success among a unique audience? Or will it either be a flop and be condemned? To answer these questions, I felt I had to think back on all the releases which got a lot of attention, but I found that I also had to quickly look over publication news articles.
And so, my time was more-or-less spent at the company writing up reader’s reports besides intermittently learning industry practices. Writing was the most intensive part of the experience and one I was glad to do, despite the odd offensive submission (racist, misogynist, etc.).
If you are looking to work at Inkwell Management, LLC and wish to gain some experience and learn some publishing practices, you can find how to apply for Fall and Spring programs at Book Jobs. Check out their website: https://inkwellmanagement.com/. Have that cover letter done and at the ready, and as always do your research!