A couple of weeks ago, I discussed how querying an agent can be a waiting game. This week, I want to give you a comprehensive list of places you can go to find an agent. So, here is how to find an agent: From a basic web search to specialized events (and a few helpful tips I’ve picked up along the way), you will find everything you need to get started in your hunt for the perfect agent.
Querying:
How To Find An Agent
While self-publishing is always an option, sometimes what you want as a writer is to be able to reach a larger audience and benefit from the support of an established publisher. Or maybe you’ve previously self-published a book, but now you want to be picked up by a traditional publisher. There are many reasons why traditional publishing is best for you. Typically, the only way to do this, however, is through a literary agent.
So what is a literary agent?
A literary agent is an agent who represents you and your book to publishers (and even films studios, if they handle subsidiary rights). An agent is responsible for selling the rights of your book to publishing companies and negotiating the terms of your contract. Agents often have more responsibilities than just those two things, but for the purposes of this post, we’ll stop there.
You’ll want to ensure that your literary agent has your best interest at heart and that they are capable of helping you reach your goals as an author (and level expectations, if needed). Finding the right literary agent for you is very important. It’s like a second marriage. You need to make sure the agent you choose is right for you, and this starts early on in the process.
So where can you find a good literary agent?
There are a number of websites designed to assist you in finding the agent that will fit best with your needs. The first step is to know your genre (i.e., fantasy, horror, romance, etc.) and your audience (i.e., middle grade, young adult, adult, etc.). You will need to research each agent to see what genre they represent.
Do NOT send your query to everyone– you will be wasting both your time and the agent’s time and you’ll end up frustrated with the process.
Before sending a query, there are several do’s and don’ts you should follow, but the most important thing is to always follow the submission guidelines.
AGENCY’S WEBSITE
The easiest way to find an agent and find out if that agent is right for you is to check out the agent’s website. There you can see what they’re looking for, whether they represent the genre/audience of your book, and what specific submission guidelines you have to follow for your query.
The implication here is that you have names of agents whom you know who represent an author who writes similar books or that you met at a writing conference/seminar.
Tips: To find agents that represent your genre, read the acknowledgments of published books similar to yours. Agents are often mentioned in those lines. Now, a word of caution – these agents may no longer be accepting submissions. This is why looking them up is important. Also, if you’re a debut author, these agents may not be your best bet since they already have an established list of clients, but it’s worth a shot if they’re accepting submissions because these agents already have the right contacts to put you on the path to success.
ONLINE DATABASE
If you don’t have names of specific agents or would prefer to target agents open to receiving submissions, the following sites are your best bet. These are all essentially online databases designed to connect literary agents and authors through a trusted resource.
The site usually requires that you first create an account, but the subsequent search process is pretty straightforward. Sometimes you will also have the ability to look up projects an agent recently sold, which can give you an idea of the agent’s workload.
WRITER’S DIGEST (WD):
Writer’s Digest is a wonderful resource for authors/writers.
Book – Guide to Literary Agents
Every year, a new edition of Guide to Literary Agents is released. I guess you could say it’s the yellow pages of literary agents. Agents are all classified by literary agency, under which you’ll find a list of agents with details about what they’re seeking and more.
Seminars
Last week, I attended a seminar where an agent read the first 10 first pages of my book and provided feedback. She pointed out a few things I had missed, but her words were encouraging. She also provided insights on the market I’m trying to break into, which was a needed insight for me.
I revised my pages accordingly and sent them back to her. I’m still waiting on her final feedback, but overall the experience has been invaluable. This seminar also provided to all writers attending the opportunity to discuss with the agent about comments from the feedback or questions related to the industry. This live discussion was very informative. I believe attending a seminar like this is a good way to determine if you’re ready to present your work.
The agent also pushed me to think of my book as a product. I found looking at my work from her point of view very interesting. In a nutshell, I highly recommend this type of seminar for new writers.
Blog
Another thing I like about WD is that they have posts on their blog about new agents and what they’re looking for. This blog is a fantastic way to learn more about the industry.
WD Conferences
WD hosts two conferences a year. In August, the first conference is held in New York where they often hold a pitch wars session with numerous agents. It’s a little like speed dating. This is one way to meet agents and pitch your ideas in a short amount of time.
The other conference is held in Pasadena in October. I met agents there who only accept submissions if you’ve attended their class. These conferences are a great opportunity to access agents. You get to meet them and get a sense of whether your personality and work ethic will match.
SOCIAL MEDIA (Twitter):
I would first advise you to start with the sites and the book I mentioned above, but it can also help to get involved in some specific events on social media, especially on Twitter.
For example, PitMad on March 7 is an event not to be missed if you’re querying agents. You’ll have the ability to pitch your book on Twitter using the #PitMad hashtag and agents will be online all day reading all the pitches.
If they are interested, they will like/favorite your tweet. You can then reach out to interested agents (who may have a guideline specific for this event on their website). You should send them an email with “PitMad request” or something similar in the subject line. Don’t forget: agents do not like attachments, so put everything you want to say in the body of your email.
This event is a wonderful way to reach a lot of agents at once. There are many more events like these on Twitter, but the two main Twitter events for pitching are PitMad and DVpit. This year, DVpit will be held on April 23 (Children and YA) and April 24 (Adult).
Here is another article from Publisher’s weekly written by Claire Kirch about events on social media that connect writers and agents. This article also provides some excellent pitch examples.
Another resource to help you find the right agent
Publisher’s Marketplace is another website that provides a plethora of information on how to find a literary agent, an editor, or articles on the various trends in the publishing industry.
This information is very useful and informative. This site is great for authors who want to obtain pertinent information, especially if you are deciding whether or not to sign with an agent. To access this site, you are required to pay a $25 monthly fee (with no long-term commitment). I would say this site is a good way to find out more about new deals that were recently signed and other industry information.
*****
Overall, finding an agent isn’t hard, but it requires time and meticulous research. This is something that can be extremely beneficial for you as an author in the long run. Keep in mind that the querying process can be as challenging as writing the book itself. At the last writing conference I attended, someone asked a published author what set them apart from other authors, what they thought they had done differently that made them more successful. The answer given was “persistence.”
Don’t give up! This week I read Martine Fournier Watson’s article, “How to Find a Literary Agent in 109 Easy Steps” and I highly recommend you read it as well. In the article she shared, “Here are my statistics: I spent more than 18 months querying my book, and in that time I sent out 109 queries. I was rejected 108 times.“
Some of you will be lucky and will find representation quickly, but for the rest of you, remember to be persistent. Figuring out where to send a query is the first step toward success. If your work is the best you can do, and you have had it thoroughly reviewed by enough beta readers that you feel confident the story is flawless, don’t let the pile of rejections tell you otherwise.
If you have any tips or want to share your experience, please feel free to comment. I’d love to hear about your own experience. No writer is or has to be truly alone.
Until next week… Happy writing!
This is great information. Thank you.
My pleasure. Hope it’s helpful.