Getting a job in publishing...

An agent's assistant tells us how to stand out in the slush pile and gives tips on navigating the early years of the industry. Plus a subscriber discount!

Hi everyone,

Firstly, thank you to everyone who entered my competition last week, and welcome to new subscribers. I am now reading the winning writer’s work and loving it. I’m sorry I could only offer this to one person at this stage, but I will run another competition soon (possibly that one might be for paid subscribers, which you can become if you would like to, and if you do so today, you can get 10% off for your first year. Just use the button below to claim that discount).

I also wanted to say that I am speaking at the Bury St Edmunds Literary Festival next Saturday 11th October, and you can get tickets here! I would love to say hello in person. We are doing an event called How to Get Published, at 4.30pm.

In November I am also going to be at the Stratford Literary Festival, doing a number of events, including one all about book jackets. Do come along if you can. I’m also running a workshop about crafting your perfect hook and offering 121s with writers as part of the Writers’ Weekend.

Onto today’s newsletter! I am pleased to welcome Catriona Paget to the Substack. Catriona is an agent’s assistant at C&W, part of Curtis Brown, and she is now actively taking on her own list of authors, too! Below she talks about the advantages of signing with a more junior agent, how she got her job in the industry, and the ways an author can make their cover letter and pitch stand out in the slush pile…

Hi Catriona. Welcome to The Honest Editor! Can you please tell us about your role at C&W and how you got into publishing?

After university, I took the well-trodden publishing path and worked at Waterstones, completing an online internship supporting the publication and promotion of an Irish poetry book around my shifts in the bookshop. After that, I built up my admin experience in a law firm and continued to gain voluntary experience, doing the publicity for a local literacy charity, and helping run the events for an online charity book club.

I’d initially been applying to publicity and marketing jobs, as I thought that would be an interesting fit for my experience, but the more I found out about agenting, the more excited I got - a role that combines discovering talent, advocating for authors, and editing! I was sold! I got my job assisting Susan Armstrong three years ago, and I’ve loved every second - she is an amazing person to work alongside and learn from, and she has a phenomenal list of authors who I’m very lucky to work with.

I’m now starting to build my own client list, with a focus on fiction, which is incredibly exciting position to be in.

I’m also coming into my third year as part of the Discoveries team. Discoveries is the development programme for unpublished and unagented women writers which Curtis Brown runs in partnership with the Women’s Prize Trust, Audible and Curtis Brown Creative. I love working on the program, as it is all about identifying and supporting emerging talent, which is what this job is all about for me.

If I’m allowed a shameless plug here, Discoveries 2026 is now open for submissions! It’s free to enter, and the manuscript doesn’t need to be complete, so if anyone is reading this and thinking about entering, I’d encourage you to go for it!

As an agent’s assistant starting to commission sign authors, what sort of writing are you looking for?

Regardless of the genre, reading for me is all about getting into other people’s heads, so the characters are always what interest me most. In terms of genre, I’m mostly looking in the contemporary book club, upmarket, or literary spaces, although I am willing to be surprised by other genres. That being said, I’m not a big fan of SFF, horror or Young Adult/children’s so I’m unlikely to be the right agent for projects in that space.

In terms of specifics, I’d really love an energetic and life-affirming contemporary novel that celebrates the joys of existence even as it explores the messiness of it. Or something that combines warm and funny characters, razor-sharp dialogue, and observational character work. Basically, anything that makes me feel like I did when I read ‘Still Life’ by Sarah Winman, ‘Sandwich’ by Catherine Newman or ‘The Wedding People’ by Alison Espach.

To borrow inspiration from TV, I’d also love to see anything that sets contrasting characters on a collision course, and explores the development of their relationship, in the vein of shows like ‘Grace and Frankie’, or Chidi and Eleanor in ‘The Good Place’.

On the more serious side, I’m fascinated by novels that look at characters grappling with the pressures of society’s expectations, or a challenge to their principles of beliefs. I loved ‘Sunburn’ by Chloe Michelle Howarth and ‘Ordinary Saints’ by Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin as examples of this. I also love a sharply observed coming of age story, or literary love story and I enjoy sweeping historical literary stories that are based around an unusual setting or concept, such as ‘Great Circle’ by Maggie Shipstead or ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ by Amor Towles.

When authors are looking for an agent, some will naturally be drawn to those with established lists. What do you think the advantage is to signing with an agent at the start of their career?

It’s natural that some authors may be drawn to more established agents, and there’s no doubt that that will be the right decision for some people. But I think there’s a lot to be said for being a big author fish on a small client list! As a more junior agent, I’ve got much more time on my side to dedicate to my clients precisely because I have a smaller client list. That means I have more freedom to work on projects that might need more time investment or deeper edits than people with 40+ clients that are already working with a lot of big authors.

I’m also extremely lucky as a junior agent to be working in a company like C&W, where there are so many experienced and generous agents around me, as I know I can always turn to them for advice. So, I’m able to offer the time and energy of someone in my position and have access into the bank of experience that I can tap into from my colleagues, which, I would argue, gives an author the best of both!

What does your assisting involve - are you the first point of call for submissions in the slush pile?

As well as handling general admin tasks for Sue’s office, on a normal day I’m working on client contracts, doing edits, tracking payments, liaising with authors, editors and the rights teams, combing through submissions (mine and Sue’s) or reading anthologies. The best bit about agenting is finding new talent and working closely with authors, so any time I can spend focusing on that is my favourite.

In terms of submissions, Sue has a separate submissions email which both of us look at, so depending on the day, I could be the first port of call, or she could be - it really depends! If she likes the sound of a pitch, I might read the opening to see if I think it will be to her taste, and then she will take a look. Otherwise, I’ll be looking through myself and sharing the ones that stand out with to her. It’s a really fun part of the job and has given me an appreciation for the power of a punchy opening!

What can authors do to make submissions stand out?

The single biggest thing that will make a manuscript stand out is a clear and punchy pitch in the cover letter. It’s great to open the letter with the ‘hook’, the 1–2-line sentence that sets out what makes this story distinct and interesting, and then you can develop this in the pitch.

The exact formula for a great hook will be different depending on the genre, but a good place to start is to think about how someone might describe your book when recommending it to a friend. For instance, a good hook might follow a pattern of establishing the status quo of a world and then immediately subverting it or setting up two characters to collide by establishing their conflicting natures.

Are there any common mistakes authors make when contacting agents with cover letters and synopses?

I see a lot of authors who lead cover letters with their personal experience or the inspiration for their story. This information is important, and I’d encourage people to include it in their submissions, but it’s rarely the most engaging part of the letter, and so I think leading with it is a mistake. Instead, it’s best to lead with the ‘hook’ of your story which I mentioned before and then expand that out into the bigger pitch.

I know authors can get confused about the pitch vs. the synopsis, and sometimes I see people repeating word for word between the two. The best way that I would describe the difference is, the pitch is the path that takes you right up to the cliff edge of the story and then stops. Your curiosity is piqued, you want to know more, and the only way to do that is to dive off the cliff straight into the story.

The synopsis, on the other hand, is the staircase hidden round the corner that leads you through the story at a gentler and less dramatic pace. It helps the agent understand the overarching plot, and crucially, includes spoilers! There’s nothing more frustrating than a synopsis ending with a ‘and they face consequences they could never imagine’. Remember, the synopsis isn’t about getting the agent to read the manuscript, it’s about helping them understand what they will see when they do.

And for those wanting to work in the publishing industry, what would be your top tip (s)?

My top tip would definitely be: spend time developing your admin experience! It might sound boring, but admin is the most central part of basically every entry level publishing job, so you’ll never regret beefing up that part of your CV. Obviously, it’s also important to be able to demonstrate a passion for books, and there are lots of great ways to do this - start a bookstagram, working in a book shop, or volunteer with a literary charity - but being able to demonstrate admin experience is often what helps you go from longlist for a job to clinching it.

My other big tip is for a cover letter. You have to make sure you mention at least one, but ideally 2/3 books that are specifically from the imprint or agent’s list that you are applying to! If you are applying to an editorial role, research which books are on the list of the editor you will be supporting. Social media is a great tool to work this out, but you can also get a limited number of free articles on Bookseller.com which will mention who acquired each book and from who.

It might sound obvious, but I’ve seen a lot of cover letters where people haven’t done this, and it’s so painfully obvious they haven’t researched the job properly. It’s not a book report, so you don’t have to give an incredibly nuanced or detailed reflection of what you loved about each book, but mentioning something about them will help your cover letter stand out.

As someone entering the industry and in the early stages of their career, what do you think we can all do to make this industry more transparent and inclusive for writers and staff alike?

It’s a big question, and one with more answers than I can probably give here. I think anything that works to lift the veil on the industry is a positive thing, and things like this Substack can empower writers and publishing hopefuls with the information they need to navigate the industry.

One issue that I do think is particularly stark is that publishing is very London centric, and this can be prohibitive for writers and staff alike. I think there’s still a lot of work to be done to break down these geographic boundaries. Some big publishers have opened regional offices, and there are brilliant writing organisations and small presses doing great work all over the country, but there’s still a long way to go. Diversity in all areas will only strengthen our industry, as it will help bring new voices to the forefront, and enrich our cultural landscape even more.

Thank you so much, Catriona, for sharing your insights! You can submit to Catriona here.

Have a great rest of the week! Don’t forget to claim your 10% discount if you want to become a paid subscriber.

Phoebe x