A question about query letters

Please do not think these are silly questions, but I have heard so many different views on this. Here is is,

When do I send out queries for a new novel? While I am writing it or after it is completed?

How do I decide if I need an agent or not?

I am confused. All the books I have read and people I have asked give me serval different answers. My English degree did not prepare me for this! LOL

:)

Don't query with a novel unless it's completed and well-polished. Agents get annoyed if they get excited about a story and know just the editor to send it to, only to find that you're just on page 75.

As to whether or not you need an agent, that's a personal decision. I have an agent because I don't want to have to deal with negotiating contracts or trying to sell foreign and subsidiary rights to my books, and because she has contacts and knowledge that I do not. It's also nice to have an agent to play the heavy with your editor if things go runny for whatever reason. But others are happier going solo.

What Marissa said. In today's marketplace, no one is interested in a manuscript unless it is in letter-perfect, finished condition.

The exception to this is for non-fiction. In non-fiction, you send proposals. That requires a different set of steps and the book needs to be completely outlined with chapter-by-chapter outlines and samples.

Thank you! I was NEVER told to wait until I have a finished manuscript!

I agree. You not only want to be finished, but you want to have put it through a few rounds of revisions/edits, and maybe even a Beta reader or two. I suggest you check out some extremely helpful sites like QueryTracker and its forum, or the Query Letter Hell thread over at the Absolute Write forum. Believe me; writing the novel is the easy part!

I'm interested in an agent in the UK and I'm in the US. They want submissions by regular mail with return postage included. This may be a silly question, but how can I obtain return UK postage from here?