How to Snag an Agent
Or my big fish story
Disclaimer: I signed with my agent, Linda Epstein, in 2015. In publishing years, that’s like fifty years ago. Just like Ferris said: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you’ll miss it.” In this case, if you don’t do your research for today’s industry, you’ll miss your chance. But I can give you some suggestions that stand the test of time.
First, most likely you will need to write a query letter. Cold querying is not the only way to get an agent’s attention but it’s common practice. In some cases, if you attend writing conferences, you may get the chance to meet agents or editors face to face, which is a huge benefit to you. I highly suggest giving that a try because even if you don’t sign with someone, you get the practice. It’s just like applying and interviewing for a job; the more you do it, the better you get at it. You also begin to realize that agents are just people looking for a great opportunity—just like you!
I’m not going to go through the mechanics of the query letter. All one needs to do is Google. But Jane Friedman is one of the most respected people in the business and she lays it all out in this post. So go brush up and maybe take her query writing class if you still feel at a loss.
What I want to share with you is a bit more nuanced, a bit more personal. And perhaps a bit more honest.
Very often, who you know is just as important as technical accuracy of a query and a great pitch. I know, no one likes to hear that or say that, but frankly, networking is important. I hate the word “networking” though. I think of it as a “community”. Community is invaluable.
When I began querying agents, I did exactly what I’ve already mentioned here: conferences, conversations, cold queries. All of it gave me a ton of practice, I got a lot of partial and full requests, and a ton of insight on what worked and what didn’t to grab an agent’s attention. Some of them had great feedback for me, and were very kind. Some sent canned rejections. The more personal I got, the more likely the response was more personal. So if an agent represented an author I loved or a book that felt connected to mine, I would mention that. I would tell them how I found them or why I felt they were the right agent for me/my book.
My partner (now husband), landed an agent first. He was one of those lucky dudes who just had an incredible new concept (Peanut Butter and Brains) that hooked the agent immediately and he was signed. (See! It can happen, so hone those queries!) That agent was Linda, mentioned above. Over the next year or so, we all became friends, but I didn’t want to query her because I didn’t want to be perceived as getting my agent just because my partner had signed with her first. I was determined to do it ALL BY MYSELF.
So I went on my merry way. Fast forward about a year, I had a new book ready to query. Linda loved the concept, but I wanted to query more agents. In that round, I got three offers of representation. And in the end I signed with Linda. Why? Because I knew her already and I really liked her. I set aside my silly pride because I knew we’d work great together—and 7 books later, I can still say I was right. Side bar: that initial book she signed me with did not sell, neither did the next two. We both had our work cut out for us, but that’s a story for another time.
What I want you to take away from this is that making authentic connections is hugely beneficial to you for the entire length of your career. Make friends. Create community. Don’t burn bridges. Be professional, always. Take the time to learn about the person you want to work with. Authors, agents, and editors frequently connect, refer, recommend and help each other out. Most recently an editor friend offered to refer me for an editorial job. Job referrals are a commonly accepted and respected manner of employment; you still have to be the right fit. Many people tend to look at book publishing simply as a dream come true that we should be grateful for, (which is, in my opinion, why authors are taken advantage of—again, story for another time) but keep in mind publishing is a job.
You still have to be the right fit. You must have a stellar product/concept, however, so if you haven’t finished your manuscript your first task is to make it the best book you possibly can. I know it’s hard to know when your work has reached that level, or whether anyone else will agree, but that’s when more community comes into play. Critique groups, workshops, MFA’s, online contests and classes—all of these are at your fingertips to take advantage of and learn from. And not everything costs your firstborn child. (The MFA comes close)
I know there are some (maybe many) who have done all of this and more, and still have not signed with an agent. I see you. I hear you. I wish I had a quick explanation for you. I suppose the only answer is that there is also a dash of luck involved, be it timing or personalities or whether or not there’s a full moon—I really don’t know. Plenty of talented writers go unseen. Plenty of published authors fizzle out. It’s a hard track to be on sometimes. I suppose what it comes down to is whether or not you love what you are doing. If you were told you would never land a publishing deal, would you still write? Because business aside, writing is art, expression, processing, communicating, so much more than publishing, and something I know I’d be doing regardless. Publishing is just an unexpected perk.
I’d love for it to be more, and maybe someday it will actually pay off, but I’ve stopped expecting anything from publishing and gone back to the virtue of writing. It’s at the core of who I am and why I went through decades of hoops to get where I am, and why I keep at it every day.
