Guide to Getting a Book Agent

Make sure your book is really finished

You only get one shot with an agent so make it your best one. Consider hiring a professional editor. These are often published writers themselves who make extra money helping other writers get their manuscripts ready. They might be writing teachers, or people who have worked as editors for a publishing house. A good editor can suggest changes to your manuscript that make the difference between a really good first effort and a book that grabs the attention of an agent and makes them want to take it on. It is well worth the investment. Keep in mind that you can work with your editor by phone and email so location is not much of a consideration.

I recommend: If you have a trusted writing teacher, go to them first. But be sure that they have done this kind of work before, and don’t be afraid to ask for their editing experience. If they can’t help you, they might know someone who can. Or go to book-editing.com for a list of editors working in various genres. ForWriters.com is a good resource as is Poets and Writers Magazine at pw.org. These sites have loads of information for writers and links to other good resources. Make sure you arrange fees with your editor in advance and know what services you are getting.

Attend a writer's conference

Although they cost time and money, writer's conferences are rewarding on many levels, not just for networking but also as a way to improve your writing. There is something magical about spending a week or two in a place where everyone is talking about writing, exchanging ideas and information, and critiquing one another's work. As a bonus, conferences are often held in beautiful natural surroundings. But do your homework. Attend the conference that is right for you. Some are all about the business of publishing while others focus more on improving your work. Still others have a little of both, panels and discussions with editors and agents, as well as workshops in which participants get feedback from writers and hopefully one-on-one with an editor or agent. I went to a conference when I was just beginning to work on my book and, not only did I make many contacts with agents and writers, the experience gave me confidence and a sense of what work I still needed to do. It was invaluable.

I recommend: Ask your writer friends about conferences they have attended and can recommend. Search lists of conferences at agentquery.com and at writing.shawguides.com. Check out the list of panelists and workshop leaders. At the conference, give out your business card, and more importantly collect them. Make a point of connecting with agents and editors at the conference and make sure you have their contact information. It may be a while before your book is ready to send out, so hold onto the information. Agents move around from agency to agency frequently so make sure keep contact information current at agentquery.com.

Write a good query letter

The first point of contact with a literary agent is the query letter. Crafting one is a skill in itself which you should learn (there are books written about how to write a good query!). The query letter is a one page introduction to you and your book. It should never be longer than one page. It needs to be professional and concise, not friendly or cute, not funny or particularly inventive. If you have a personal connection to the agent, or have met him/her at a conference, make sure to mention this in the first line or two. Then you will need a one-sentence tagline for your book which is a lot more difficult to write than it seems. A tagline needs to hook your reader and make them want to know more. It needs to tell us the genre, who the main character is, the central premise and dramatic action of the book, all in one sentence. You can spend hours and hours drafting a good tagline, and it is worth every minute.

I recommend: From there the query letter gives a one paragraph synopsis of your book and then a short bio of you, the writer. The bio should include your publishing history, if any, and other relevant experience. If you’ve been teaching English literature, for example, that’s something to mention. Or if your book is non-fiction and you can show inside knowledge of your subject, this is obviously useful information.

Your editor may be able to help you with you query letter, but it’s a good idea to give it a try on your own. Coming up with a good tagline, for example, is very good practice. It helps distill your concept to one line which can reveal weaknesses in the story. Go to agentquery.com for more extensive advice on how to write a good query letter.  Look at samples. Keep in mind that the type of query letter may vary according to genre, so do your research.

Submit your material

Make a list of agents. The best way to make a submission to a literary agent is through personal contacts so start with who you know. Agents you met at a writer's conference will most likely be open to hearing from you. If you don't know any agents, ask your writer friends to refer you to theirs. If that doesn't pan out, branch out to people you know in other fields. I once mentioned to a theater director that I was looking for a book agent and he put me in touch with a friend of his at a major New York agency. People who are influential in their fields often have contacts like these so remember to let people know what you are up to. If you can't get a personal referral to an agent, find out who represents the authors you like and start from there. Do a search of agents who represent books in your genre. Remember to follow their guidelines.

I recommend: Some agents accept queries only by email while others accept them only by snail mail. If the query gets them interested, they will usually ask for either the first chapter or three sample chapters of your book. Do not send this material to them unless they have requested it. They have guidelines for a reason, so follow them carefully.

Search agentquery.com’s list of literary agents. It is free and provides a profile of each agent from who they represent to what genres they work with and what recent deals they have made. Make sure to send your query only to those agents who you know are interested in your kind of work. If you have a science fiction action adventure and an agent only deals with memoir and self-help books, approaching that agent is obviously a waste of time and shows a lack of professionalism on your part. Do your homework.

Submit cautiously

Now might be a good time to take up yoga. The submission process is achingly slow in part because you can only submit your work to one agent at a time. Of course they won't know if you're submitting to more than one agent, but it is considered bad practice to do so. While it may be a nice fantasy, you don't want to be in the position of having to tell an agent who has decided to represent you that your work is out to another agent. Agents take time to respond, anywhere from six weeks to three months if you have sent them any sample chapters, and you will just have to wait it out. If you happen to be getting rave rejections (agent responses that are so positive you are ready to break out the champagne until you get to the part where it says "Unfortunately, in this difficult marketplace..."), and you're stumped as to why they are rejecting you, go ahead and ask politely.

I recommend: If they are truly complimentary of your book in specific terms, they shouldn’t mind guiding you a little further in the right direction. They also might refer you to another agent if you ask. I once got an extremely nice rejection from one agent who was happy to give me the name of a colleague of hers who she thought might be more inclined to take me on. Gently and respectfully, enter a dialogue with an agent who has opened the door. By all means do not try to do so with an agent who has sent a short, curt form letter rejecting your book.

If a stream of rejections comes in all giving the same criticism, you might want to have another look at your manuscript. While it is true that successful writers sometimes receive hundreds of rejections before they get an agent or publisher,  it’s also a bad idea to burn through a long list of agents when your manuscript needs another pass. Always look for ways to make your work better. Regard the submission process as another way to improve your work, rather than as the final leg of the journey.

Beware the scam artist

No agent should ever ask for up-front money and the only contract you should be asked to sign is the standard author-agent contract. Make sure any agent you deal with has a track record of making sales to publishers. Again, do your homework. Avoid possible scam artists by not submitting to them in the first place.

I recommend: Writer Beware at sfwa.org/beware keeps an ongoing list of agents who have received complaints or have judgments against them. Agentquery.com also keeps a beware of scammers page.