Hi all. I am a new subscriber and looking forward to getting to know as many of you as possible. I am, as yet, unpublished and working on my first project, of which I am so excited about. Can I ask is there a perfect time to approach an agent or publisher?
Also, couldn't not comment on this, does spam usually get through on this site?!
The book should be finished. By that I mean as finished as you can possibly make it without editorial assistance. A literary agent won't want to comment until they can see a whole manuscript, assuming it's fiction. Non-fiction works a little differently.
There are lots of great resources on this site about agents. There was an online course run recently with agents advising on submission. Learn as much as you can about the process before you start it.
Good luck with your book.