How to Get a Literary Agent to Represent Your Work

       How to Get a Literary Agent to Represent Your Work

    Getting a literary agent is a Catch Twenty Two proposition. If you have not been published most literary agents will not consider your work. On the other hand, most traditional publishers will not consider your work if you don’t have an agent. First you have to find an agent that represents the kind of work that you want to publish. Next, you have to write a query letter that meets the specifications of the agent. Then, you have to polish up the sample of your work that the agent requests.

    Finding an agent is not so hard, but finding the right agent for your work is a lot more difficult. There are many excellent sites on the Internet that list literary agents. The site that I like best is Predators and Editors. Not only do they list the editors and give their web page address, they also warn you about agents who charge reading fees and agents who are not reliable. Such agents are marked in red not recommended. They let you know which agencies have web sites, and which agencies have a proven record of sales.

   They list agents alphabetically. You can scroll down the list, and check out the agents’ web page. After you have spent a couple hours shopping, you can leave the site and later go back to where you left off by alphabet. I’ve found that it is hard to remember just where I left off without this aide. There are other sites that list agencies that you can find on Google.

    When you read the agencies’ web page introduction, you get a basic idea of what an agent is interested in. If I’m trying to get representation for a literary novel, and the agency specializes in romance and mysteries, I look no further. Some times and agent will say that he or she only represents authors who have been referred. Again, you can go to the next listing. When I find an agent that represents literary fiction and unpublished authors, the next thing I do is read the agent biographies. Here you can find specific interests of individual agents.

   Some agencies have a page called “What we are looking for.” For example, one agency that I am currently investigating has the following paragraph. “Our doors are always open to new writers and illustrators. Currently we are looking for children’s books for every age – picture books, middle-grade, and young adult – and adult fiction and non-fiction in a wide range of genres. If in doubt, just query us.”  Since I have middle school fiction and adult fiction that I want to publish, I bookmarked this agency.

    The next thing I look at is how to submit. If an agency does not accept email submissions generally I won’t send my work to them. Also some agencies are overly technical and specific on what they want in a query letter. Usually I skip them too.

   It is very important to look at the list of writers that the agency represents. Is it a large varied list? Do they represent both men and woman? Are most of their authors’ college professors or business executives? Do any of the authors write material similar to what you write? If you find that a number of the agency’s writers are writing material similar to yours this might be the agency for you.

   Next, have to make a submission of your work that will really spark an interest in the agency. This the most critical part of your attempt to land an agent. The first thing most agencies require is a query letter. A query letter is a one-page letter in which you catch the agent’s attention, give a short synopsis of your work, and give writer’s biography.

    The following is a sample of a query letter that I recently sent to an agency: I would like you to consider representing Driving Cab my competed novel of aprox. 114,000 words. Driving Cab is a work of autobiographical fiction about an aspiring writer who evolves from a man totally identified to one who is beginning to awaken.

    I am a retired middle school teacher, and I have been writing for the past forty some years. Several chapters of Driving Cab were published in Predicate, a literary journal put out by Brown Paper Publishing. The editor of Predicate compared Driving Cab to George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London. I have two other completed novels, Homeward Bound, and Moments of Awakening that need final editing. You can view excerpts of these works on my Author’s Den web page.Driving Cab will appeal to readers who are familiar with authors like Henry Miller, Castaneda, Gurdjieff, and Krishnamurti. My competition is the "beat writers" of the early fifties and sixties, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, HenryMiller. Driving Cab is special because it goes one step beyond the spiritual level that the "beat writers" reached. 

   I appreciate your taking the time to read my query, and would be happy to send you the complete manuscript of Driving Cab.

     This query is a little long, but I answered specific questions that the agent wanted answered.

    Often an agent will want to see a sample of your work. Some times they ask for a little as two pages. Other times they ask for as many as fifty. Before you send in a sample of your work you must make sure that you edit it from top to bottom. It should have no spelling or grammatical errors. Make sure it is neatly typed. When I send as many as fifty pages, I some times cut several passages. I always read it over several times before I send it. It should be your very best writing.

    After you submit your query letter, you have to wait for a reply from the agent and a reply may take as long as two months. Though I always expect that I will be accepted after each query, I go right to my next perspective agent and write a query letter that fits their requirements. I put it on save, but I’m ready just in case I get a shot down.

   Finding an agent to represent your work is not easy. However, if your writing is worthy of being published, an agent will eventually accept it.