1. Before You Do Anything2. Know What You're Selling3. The Query Letter4. The Synopsis5. Sample Chapters and Partials6. Finding the Right Agents7. Submitting Properly8. The Waiting (and What Comes Next)
Chapter 5 of 8
Sample Chapters and Partials
What agents mean when they ask for pages.
5 min read
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When agents ask for 'pages,' they're asking you to prove that the promise of your query letter is real. The sample is where most submissions succeed or fail. Agents are looking for voice, momentum, and the sense that you can actually deliver — that the story goes somewhere and the prose pulls them forward. Your opening pages are doing a lot of work. This chapter explains what agents want to see and what will make them stop reading.