How to Get a Literary Agent

How to get a Literary Agent

Most writers sweat blood over their manuscripts. Their characters sometimes become more real than their families and they’ll agonize over the placement of a comma late into the night. That’s the easy part. The hard part is convincing a complete stranger to stake his or her reputation, time and money on getting you published. At the same time agents depend on fresh talent to keep them inspired, in touch with new writers and in business.

There’s no single way to get an agent but there is a well-defined process (either submit a query letter, meet one at a writers’ conference or get an introduction from an agent’s colleague or a current client). Many times a writer will find an agent through some combination of the three so a persuasive query letter is always a key element. Some points we will cover in this class:

1.)   What agents do, and don’t do, for writers.

2.)   The benefits and drawbacks of working with an agent.

3.)   The query letter: basic format; examples of successful query letters; and what not to do.

4.)   The approach: targeting agents and choosing a strategy.

5.)   What to do when they ask for additional pages, a proposal, or your entire manuscript.

6.)   How to handle an offer of representation.

You will also get hands-on practice crafting the all-important query letter, plus time for questions. Whatever your specialty you will gain a realistic understanding of how to get published.

Joseph Chinnock secured representation for his first novel after querying over 800 agents; 8 of those requested pages and 7 turned him down. He is currently at work on his second novel.