Writing a novel is hard work, and anyone who has completed one should be congratulated. Yet more work lies ahead. Now the problem is not plotting, revising, and rewriting, it is how to find a literary agent and how to get published.
Before researching and finding an agent, a fiction writer needs to have a well-written query letter and synopsis ready and a non-fiction writer should have a book proposal prepared.
Step One: Begin with a Writer’s Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents
This is the first step in finding an agent. There are many such guides available in bookstores, through Writer’s Digest Publishing, and at the library. Using a current issue is essential, for publishing houses change staff all the time, and even in the space of a few months, the information in a guide to literary agents could be invalidated.
There are also many guides to literary agents online, both as databases and as blogs. One well-respected blog is the Guide to Literary Agents, known as the GLA. Two excellent searchable databases are QueryTracker.net and AgentQuery.com. These three are a good starting point. There are many more resources online.
Look for writers' agents in the correct genre. For example if writing children’s books, research children’s literary agents, or if writing science fiction, stick to science fiction literary agents. They will have expertise in their genres, and will know the pulse of the book publishing industry in their specialized area.
Place all the prospects into a list of literary agents to research.
Step Two: Researching the Literary Agents
This second step of researching each individual agent takes time but reaps huge benefits. The following three things will help to uncover the perfect agent and writer match.
- Consider the clients the literary agent represents. Most agency websites have lists of clients and books sold. Are the authors ones that are well known and respected? Are the books being sold to large publishing houses, or to smaller, less well known ones? Has the agency sold foreign rights or movie and television rights for some of the books?
- Find out about the agent's background and experience. Agents do not need a special credential to open an agency. Therefore, look for experience showing what other agencies they have worked at, who they interned with, and lists of recent sales. Many agents also post their educational background on their profile pages. Agents who belong to the Association of Authors Representatives, AAR, must follow a code of ethics that protect writers from unfair business practices. If the agent is at a writers conference, try to make an appointment to meet him or her.
- Read the agent's blog. If the agent has a blog, a Facebook page, or is on Twitter, read what he or she is posting. This will open up a window into personality, work philosophy, and character that may be appealing to a writer. Look for agents that give a feeling of confidence to writers. This also is a way for a writer to learn more about the industry, as agents routinely give advice online.
Step Three: Send Query Letters to the Agents
By now, the writer should have a good idea of who to query. Querying and using the proper format in submitting manuscripts is the third step. Sort the final list of literary agents into three categories: highly desirable, desirable, and acceptable. Send out the queries with a well written pitch five or ten at a time, beginning with the highly desirable list. Personalizing query letters for each agent is always advisable.
Caveat: Avoid Book Agents Who Ask for Money
A book publishing agency may sound good, but they are usually self publishing enterprises. Consult the Preditors and Editors website for warnings about agents to avoid. The Science Fiction Writers of America, SFWA, also keeps an updated list of agencies that are thumbs down on their Writers Beware page. These are agencies that follow disreputable practices, such as charging up front, or charging huge fees for editing to make a manuscript marketable.
Once all that hard work has been done, and the queries have been sent, a writer mustn’t rest easy. Waiting for a response may take weeks, and sometimes even months. Efficient writers use that time to plan the next book, work on other projects, and otherwise keep on writing. In the end, a writer’s work is never done.
Suzanne Pitner - Suzanne Pitner is a teacher and published writer. A member of RWA and YARWA, she writes fiction as Suzanne Lilly.
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