Your query letter is ready to
submit (at least you hope). Now comes the challenge of deciding who to
send it to. The lists of literary agents seem endless, and it can be a bit
overwhelming to determine who is worthy of your submission. It is important to understand that all agents don’t accept all genres. Most agencies staff
multiple agents, and usually, each agent has different preferences and
guidelines for query submissions. It is very important to do your research and
seek agents that are compatible with your work. You can submit 100 queries, but if you send each of them to agents that aren’t interested in
your form of literature or genre, you’ve wasted a lot of time and energy for
nothing.
When seeking out compatible agents,
I suggest using a creditable source for compiling your list. I have used
websites such as WritersMarket or QueryTracker. You can also purchase books like
the 2014 Guide to Literary Agents
or 2014 Novel & Short Story Writer’s
Market, both found on Amazon. Be sure to use sources that are
up-to-date. Information is changing constantly, so you want to be sure you’re
sending your submission to the appropriate address. Once you have obtained a
source, you can start your list.
If you have never been published
(Self-publishing doesn’t count unless you’ve sold a substantial amount. See What is the Best Way to Submit My
Self-Published Book?, by Steve Laube.), you first need to seek the
agents that are accepting new writers. Many agents have a full client list and
are closed to new writers several months out of the year, while others only
work with published authors. If an agent is accepting new writers, the next
thing to look for is whether or not they are seeking your form of literature
(fiction, non-fiction, short stories, poetry, etc.) and genre (romance, drama,
thriller, mystery, fantasy, etc.). Depending on your form of lit and genre,
this is still going to be a very large list of agents. Starting with the first
10 or so, visit each agent’s website and learn a little about the agent.
Agents like to know that you did
your research and sought them out for a reason. You can usually find additional
information about agents just by searching their name on the Web. Learn about
their experience and credibility from other authors they have represented. Do
they have good relationships with creditable publishers? What are their top
sells? Remember, if an agent elects to represent your work, they will be your
voice to the publishing community. In addition, you will have to work with this
person. If they have a reputation for being difficult, you may want to think
twice before querying them.
During this portion of your
research, you will likely narrow the list a little further, and find that you
have listed agents that you consider to be your top picks (your dream agent/s),
and your secondary picks (agents you’d be happy to settle with). I would recommend submitting to four to six
agents to start. Why four to six? I’ll explain my reasoning for that in my next post.
For now, tell me about your research
strategy for targeting query submissions? Do you agree or disagree with my
approach, and why?
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