In last Monday’s post, I mentioned that I was in the process of querying agents, and I received a lot of questions about what exactly that means and questions about the importance and benefits of having a literary agent. How this process works differs a little bit from person to person, so keep in mind that this is all from my own experience and research.
As I was writing this post, I realized that there’s so much to cover, so in today’s post we’ll talk about literary agents, and on Thursday, I’ll tell you more about query letters.
Currently, there are two main ways to get a book published: traditional publishing and self publishing. I’m planning on writing a post that goes over the differences between these two in more depth sometime soon, but I am currently pursuing traditional publishing.
Something that helps a writer traditionally publish a book is having a literary agent who helps submit the book to editors and negotiate with publishing houses. Depending on the circumstances, you can still get traditionally published without an agent, but if you’re dealing with money negotiations and contracts, it’s better to have someone in the business in your corner. Especially as a debut author.
Having a literary agent is a lot like having a realtor when you are buying or selling a house. You have someone who knows the industry, and who can help you spot if you’re making a good deal or not. A literary agent is the middleman between the writer and the publisher. A literary agent will also sometimes help you polish your manuscript before submitting it to editors and publishers.
So how do you get a literary agent? And how do you know which one may be a good fit for you?
The simple answer is: a lot of research.
There are lots of different resources out there. My favorite is a site called Manuscript Wish List, which is a list of literary agents that you can sort through based on what types of books they represent. They also typically have a profile that goes into more detail about what they are looking for in a story–or things they are not looking for. When I’ve found someone I think may be a good fit, I also like to double check on their agency’s website to learn more about them, and learn more about what titles and types of books they represent.
You can also look the agent up on social media and do further research that way. Like I mentioned previously, you want to find someone who will be a good champion for your work. For example, Veritas is a young adult novel set in a small town and has a little mystery and suspense, so I’m looking for agents who are specifically looking for young adult mysteries or young adult contemporary novels. Bonus points if the agent is also looking for a small town setting.
Literary agents who represent mostly adult fiction, nonfiction, or young adult fantasy aren’t going to be the best fit.
Another way to query literary agents is by attending writing conferences. At some of these, you can set up ten-minute meetings with agents and pitch them your novel. It usually costs a little bit extra, but it’s usually worth it. If they like what they hear, they’ll have you email them and include your manuscript. A meeting face-to-face with an agent tends to help your chances because they’ve already made that personal connection with you, so you’re more than just an email in their inbox. Even if they end up passing on your project, the chances are also higher that they will give you specific feedback on why they are choosing to pass on your project.
At other conferences, they’ll have you submit your query letter and a sample chapter to an online portal. Agents will review submissions and reach out if they are interested in hearing more.
I’ve got two writing conferences lined up in the next couple of months that will allow me to pitch to literary agents both of these ways, so I will do post-conference wrap ups and let you all know how those go.
I hope this post helped answer some of your questions about literary agents, but please let me know if you have more!
Britnie Jenkins 