On a typically messy February morning in Canada, avoiding slush is clearly on my mind. As a writer, this should also be on yours, though the slush you are looking to avoid isn’t the slop at the end of your driveway, but the slush pile your submission is likely to land in when you first share your work with an agent or editor.

I spent nine years working for a Canadian literary agency, and for the first few I was in charge of reviewing the agency slush pile. For those of you who haven’t heard this term before, the slush pile is the stack of unsolicited manuscripts and proposals that agencies and publishers add to every day. The pile is made up of work addressed to the agency, or to the acquisitions team, or to whom it may concern, and is rarely a top priority for anybody to read.

During my time shovelling the slush, two or three out of the thousand submissions I read ever reached the desk of an agent. The material was usually unpolished, poorly directed, and nowhere near ready to be considered by an elite agent. Because of the volume of these types of submissions, rarely could we respond with the type of constructive feedback that would really benefit their authors. This wasn’t the case with more advanced submissions, the ones that were well conceived, carefully edited, and directed at a particular agent whose career track clearly matched the work that was being submitted. While those submissions weren’t always successful, the attention and consideration they received were always more significant. Because they deserved to be; because a real effort had been made.

The biggest mistake authors made during my time at the slush pile was that they felt sending their work off to publishers and agents was the first step they should take, but the truth is, it’s closer to the last, and by the time most of them realized that, it was too late to start over. It had been seen, rejected, and unlikely to ever be read by those they sent it to again.

For many years I felt that authors really needed a guide to help them through the submission process, to take their project from good to irresistible, making sure that the first thing an agent or editor saw with their name on it was professional, well presented, and immediately appealing. That what they needed most was someone to pull back the curtain on this very nuanced business of writing, someone who had been there, successfully, at the highest level.

And then I realized that guide should be me. So while watching the freezing rain fall on this February morning, I want to remind authors that avoiding the slush is incredibly important, and that I have a good shovel if they need it.

I have been asked this questions endless times, especially when I was working at Canada’s largest literary agency, and am always happy to tell an author how having professional help will improve their life, their career and their ability to actually focus on what is important — their writing!
To be brief, the main responsibility of a literary agent is to free their authors from the monotony of the business related to writing, allowing them to focus on the areas of their career that matter most. Publishing is a nuanced, complex business, and I have seen first-hand how advantageous it is to have an experienced guide. But finding that guide is often as difficult as finding a publisher, and just as valuable, so an important part of what I do at Casuccio Creative is help you elevate your work to make the best first approach possible to the agent of your choice. Most agents will only look at your material once, as they are inundated with submissions, so that first impression is critically important. I’ve been there, reading dozens of submissions a day, and I know what it takes to slow down the string of form rejections and get noticed.
A good agent will work closely with you from the start, to create and polish the perfect approach to potential publishers. They will ensure that the first thing an editor sees with your name on it is professional, well directed, and immediately appealing. A good agent knows all of the major players in the business and what they are looking for, and their connections will get your material read and seriously considered at the highest level. When a submission comes from a respected agent, publishers take notice. I have watched un-represented authors wait a year for a submission response (and this will often come in the form of a form rejection), but with representation, your work will be read in a timely fashion by top editors. No longer will your work be relegated to the slush pile! Once an interested editor (or multiple interested editors) step forward with an offer, your agent will negotiate and work to improve the offer, and provide guidance along the way to make sure your work finds the ideal home.
But the work doesn’t end with a deal. A literary agent will also negotiate your contract (publishing contracts can be dense and confusing for the uninitiated) and make sure you receive the best possible terms. They will also continue to liaise with your publisher, have the hard conversations, and make sure that your book gets every advantage.
It is important to remember that an agent represents you, not just your current project. Your success is their success, and as the relationship is often a close and long-term one, the path that they lead you on will often keep your full career in focus, and not sacrifice the big-picture for a quick pay-day.
And while your literary agent is handling all of these important but time-consuming undertakings, you will be doing what you should be doing: writing.