People often ask me at conferences, “How do I find an agent?” To that, I say, “Hello. You’ve found one.” But it’s not just about finding an agent. There are agents everywhere. The important part is finding the best agent for your work. So how do you do that?
Publishers Marketplace is an invaluable resource. Essentially, it’s a giant database of recorded book deals over the last decade plus. Everything is categorized and searchable, allowing you to input genre and keyword and get back a list of deals, contacts, etc. This is a monthly paid service, so only use this when you’re ready to submit.
In the meantime, I recommend signing up for Publishers Lunch, which is by the same folks and acts as a free mailing list of all the new deals. Each deal lists the agent, editor, publisher, a brief description of the book, often a rough estimate of how much it sold for, and more.
Websites like QueryTracker and AgentQuery compile agent info. Like PM, they are searchable and customizable, but unlike PM, they’re free and interactive. You can leave your own comments and experiences and read those of the authors who have attempted before you.
Blogs can be excellent as well. Some author blogs post interviews with agents or even the successes and failures of submitting their own work (one more reason to network with authors in your genre). Perhaps the best blog for finding an agent is the Guide to Literary Agents blog, run by Chuck Sambuchino of Writer’s Digest. I highly recommend subscribing to it if only for their New Agent Alert feature. Often times submitting to a new agent at an established agency will be the easiest way to secure quality representation.
The Guide to Literary Agents book is an annual release from Writer’s Digest Books. Few people have a handle on agents like the folks at WD. Their book, as you’d expect from the title, is dedicated to helping you find the right agent and know how to work with them.
Jeff Herman’s Guide has easily the longest title in the list, so I won’t type it here. An annual release like the GLA, this is one of those books that would do damage if dropped on your foot. There’s a lot of good info in there on both agents and publishers. What I like about this one is that it lists each agent’s contact info and areas of interest, and then it has an extensive, 25 question interview where you can learn about the agent’s history, outlook, and personality. It’s more thorough than most single-agent blog interviews, and it’s all in one place. The major downside of this book is that it’s (at least at this point, and I’ve brought this up with Jeff), still only a printed book. Searching for keywords has to be done manually, and what you’re looking for won’t always be in the index, so that means some quality time with highlighters, sticky notes, and a bucket of coffee. It’s still worth picking up, though, if only for the exercise.
Regardless of which resource you choose, always then go visit the agent’s website for more direct and up to date info. There’s an old saying about the annual guidebooks in particular, that “they’re out of date as soon as they hit the shelves.” Though that’s a bit of an exaggeration, if you were to check out any of those guides from 2013, my partners and I would all be listed at different agencies. As with PM, only buy these books when you’re ready to submit.
Another good reason to visit the agent’s website is that sometimes agent info can act a bit like the game Telephone. How quickly the truth gets skewed due to repetition, communication errors, and personal hopes. All it takes is one misinformed tweep or one blogger who wants “high-concept commercial fiction” to mean “genre romance” for the sake of their manuscript, and the game is spoiled. Go to the website. Get the word right from the agent’s mouth.
Follow agents on social media. We’ll sometimes say what we really want but haven’t been finding in the slush. #MSWL is great for that because that’s the sole purpose of the hashtag, and a lot of people participate, both agents and editors. Another great thing about social media is that you can see what our interests are in general. If you aren’t following us on Twitter, I highly recommend it @FuseLiterary.
You’ll also come across agent info on occasion in industry magazines, like Publishers Weekly, Poets & Writers, The Writer, and Writer’s Digest. Authors often thank their agent in the Acknowledgements section of their book, so hang out in your local bookstore and look for this in comparable titles in your genre. And you can also run into us at conferences. Click on the Conferences link above to see where we’re going to be this year.
Best of luck!
