A Tale of Two Agent Searches
A Tale of Two Agent Searches
How I signed with my literary agent, and how you can find one, too
How I signed with my literary agent, and how you can find one, too
I have a good literary agent search story, and a bad one. Let’s start with the bad one first and get it out of the way, okay?
The Bad Agent Story
Several years ago, I’d written a novel that I had a lot of confidence in. It was funny and brash and featured interesting characters. It wasn’t just me who thought this — I’d workshopped the novel in my long-time critique group which was led by multi-published author Karen Karbo.
The book was ready to submit, we all agreed.
And so I began my agent search. Karen recommended me to her agent, who passed. She recommended me to a few others, who also passed. I found a long list of agents on my own, and doggedly kept sending the manuscript out.
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I got tantalizingly close so many times. Agents commented on how much they liked my writing, and the story, and certain scenes. But my main character, they said, was too unrelatable. My search continued. Eventually, I’d sent either a query or the full manuscript out to at least 70 agents. (This is not at all unusual, by the way.)
Finally, a friend recommended I send my novel to a small press based in Florida and they accepted it.
So my book got published, but my first agent search ended without an agent.
The Good Agent Story
Fast forward several years, and I’d completed another novel. Again, I was excited about it. Enthusiastic, even. This would be the one! As I finished revisions on it, I scoured the internet for potential agents. As a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, I got mailings that often featured agents open to submission. One in particular caught my eye.
She seemed tailor-made for me and my work. I carefully crafted my query letter, and sent it off to her. I got a response back so quickly I thought it was an out-of-office reply. But no. It was Erin, requesting the full manuscript.
That was on a Tuesday.
I sent it to her on Wednesday.
I got an email from her saying she wanted to represent me on Sunday.
The next Tuesday, we talked on the phone and I accepted her offer of representation.
This kind of thing simply doesn’t happen in the literary world. Yet it happened to me.
Let’s Review:
First agent search — 70 submissions, 70 nos or no responses.
Second agent search — one submission, one yes.
I know. It’s crazy. But the good agent story is repeatable. It happens all the time. It can happen to you, too.
How To Get an Agent
Make Sure Your Work is Ready
Yes, I know you love it. And so does your mother! But make sure to get some objective opinions on your manuscript. Join a critique group if you can, or find a one-on-one critique partner. Find beta readers (they don’t have to be writers) to read your work and comment on it. Or hire an editor.
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Write Your Query Letter
Your query is your sales pitch. It is your introduction to your potential agent. It can make you or break you. It can make an agent sit up and say “yes” or make her slump over and say “pass.” Write this baby, and then rewrite it, and then rewrite it again. Let others read it and edit. Make sure it is as good as it possibly can be before sending it out.
Do Your Homework
A woman in my critique group is having excellent results sending out her critique letter for a non-traditional mystery set in an atmospheric small town here in the west. Her query letter tells enough of the story to interest an agent, it is specific (word count, genre, potential audience) and it is tailored to each agent to whom she submits. She does her research before she sends her queries out. This is vital. She knows to whom she is sending, and so should you. Do not send out blanket appeals to any agent whose name you’ve found on the internet. Make sure they are represent your genre, and are interested in your topic.
Finding Agents
You can find lists of agents at Query Tracker, or the Poets & Writers Database, or Agent Query. You can also subscribe to the Writer’s Digest Writer’s Market database, or hit your bookstore for print guides (but be aware that they may not be as up to date.) Once you’ve got a good list, check out the links to their website to confirm that they’d be a good fit. Make up a list of 10–20 agents that you think will work.
Submitting
Now the fun begins! Read the agent’s website for their submission policy. And follow it to the letter. This is not the time to be clever or cute.
Do exactly what the submission guidelines say.
Some agents will want the query only. Some will want the query plus ten pages of the manuscript. And some may even want the full novel. Doesn’t matter — send them what they want.
And Now You Wait
Here’s the deal — response time varies widely. Some agents will send you a polite no very quickly. Check him off the list. Some agents may take a long time to get back to you. And when I say a long time, I mean a long time. I sometimes heard back from an agent months after I’d despaired of ever hearing from her. The worst thing is that many agents now have a policy of simply not responding if they aren’t interested. So you end up in this weird sort of limbo, unsure if they are just taking a long time to respond, or aren’t interested. But there’s nothing you can do but wait.
Don’t Give Up
Finding an agent can take awhile, and it is not unusual to send out dozens of queries before finding one who works for you. So don’t despair. Because one lovely day, you’ll open your inbox to find an email from an agent who is interested in talking to you about representation. And your agent search will be over!
