{"id":593,"date":"2015-11-18T12:35:13","date_gmt":"2015-11-18T20:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/linrobinson.com\/home\/?p=593"},"modified":"2015-11-19T22:24:32","modified_gmt":"2015-11-20T06:24:32","slug":"how-to-find-an-agent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/linrobinson.com\/home\/how-to-find-an-agent\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Find An Agent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even If She Doesn’t Want To Be Found<\/span><\/h1>\n

You cringe \"agent\"<\/a>every time you see some newbie bop onto a forum and say, \u201cI\u2019m thinking of becoming a writer. Where can I find a cheap agent who handles gonzo confessions and flash fiction?\u201d
\nAnd maybe refrain from telling them they could have used Google quicker than typing into the forum.
\nBut agent search is a legitimate question and like many such things it\u2019s not secret or esoteric, but takes a bit of work to scour around and find good resources. So once again I do all the work around here while you chill in your BarfaLounger eating cheetos and joysticking.<\/p>\n

ONE THING<\/strong><\/span> — These aren\u2019t exactly fragile resources but every nitwit that clogs them up with frivolous queries is just strengthening the industry barricades that make it harder for everybody to land on a desk. Before you approach agents have a solid query letter and a handle on the etiquette for submitting it. Have something ready to show and a 50 page sample (adaptable to what they ask for on their website) with no formatting so you can paste it into your email. Please?<\/p>\n

COMMON SENSE, LOW TECH<\/span><\/h2>\n

This is the easiest, most \u201cduh\u201d way to search for agents. But it also can be the most effective. Find out who represents the writers whose work is most like yours or appeals to your target audience. This also allows your query to say, I am approaching you for representation of my new novel, \u201cThe Man Who Killed Agents Who Rejected Him\u201d, because of your association with Charles Manson, whose work appeals to my target audience.
\nInstead of, I found your name on some database recommended in some knucklehead\u2019s blog.
\nSearch Google intelligently to try to find the agent who represented the book or author. Also, cruise those books in the bookstore or library. Often writers, especially in their first book, will have dedications to their wonderful agents in front or back of the book.<\/p>\n

AGENT DATA BASES<\/span><\/h2>\n

(Click red titles for links)\u2019
\nAGENT QUERY<\/u><\/a>
\nThis is my favorite, and it\u2019s a beautiful searchable site with a very comprehensive coverage of agents. States what their memberships and status is. Mostly full, solid profiles on the agents and agencies. Search by category of book and keyword.\u2019
\nPUBLISHERS MARKETPLACE<\/u><\/a>
\nThis sort of \u201cslices the agent pool different\u201d. And is thus an excellent adjunct to Agent Query.
\nWRITERS NET<\/u><\/a>
\nThis database is HUGE. Which is part of the problem: it\u2019s so vast it dredges dregs and you have to sort it out. But it\u2019s got a LOT of names in it.
\n AAR<\/u><\/a>
\nThe Association of Authors\u2019 Representatives is as official as it sounds. Not all agents (including some very good ones) are members, but it should be in your top 3 sites to search and is a good checkup to see if people are really members. Anybody who claims to be but isn\u2019t should get your quick dismissal.
\nCHILDREN\u2019S BOOKS<\/u><\/a>
\nA specialized list for kids\u2019 books.
\nThere are many such special lists. Google is ever a friend to those of narrow interests.
\nWRITERS FREE REFERENCE<\/u><\/a>
\nThis guy is a resource\/gadfly\/crackup\/godsend\/nuisance of the first water. It\u2019s a howl to read his approach to the agent market, but there\u2019s a lot of good info here. Call it \u201cGonzo dBasing\u201d<\/p>\n

CHECK THEM OUT\u2019 (Fer Crissakes)<\/span><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s just astounding how many forum questions run like, \u201cHas anybody heard of WritersLitAgency? I signed a life contract with them in blood but now they\u2019re demanding money and my children and I\u2019m wondering if\u2026.\u201d
\nCHECK THEM OUT\u2013on forums BEFORE THE FACT and on these sites.
\nABSOLUTE WRITE<\/u><\/a>
\nHas a whole thread on agents to beware that is often more up to date than the classic checkup sites, has more in-depth reporting form the inflicted. Sign up for the newsletter and get a free list of agents.\u2019
\nEDITORS AND PREDITORS<\/u><\/a>
\nThis is the \u201cmost referred\u201d to watchdog site, and it\u2019s very cool. But also very incomplete and they have to walk a pretty tight rope. Click on \u201cWarnings\u201d.\u2019
\nSFWA\u2019s WRITER BEWARE<\/u><\/a>
\nThese guys don\u2019t dance. You have to know that in contemporary litigation-happy America anything they say had better be bulletproof or they\u2019ll have platoons of winged monkeys with briefcases all over them like a cheap suit. So you can take this stuff to the bank. Unfortunately that also makes it impossible to cover every sleazebag in the sewer. But check here first. The last \u201cDid I screw up?\u201d newbie post I saw was asking about an agency that\u2019s on their TOP TWENTY THUMBS DOWN list.<\/p>\n

GET IT TOGETHER FIRST<\/span><\/h2>\n

This is beyond the scope of this post, but DO check yourself BEFORE you wreck yourself. Many of the sites above, and the agency sites (which are more important to you, needless to say) have guidelines for querying them.
\nQUERY TRACKER<\/u><\/a>
\nConsider this.
\nA POSITIVE ROLE MODEL<\/u><\/a>
\nThis little guide to writing agent queries has been praised by many from both sides of the fence.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Download \"noisecover\"<\/a>a free, illustrated, high quality pdf document of this post with all links and resources, right here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even If She Doesn’t Want To Be Found You cringe every time you see some newbie bop onto a forum and say, \u201cI\u2019m thinking of becoming a writer. Where can I find a cheap agent who handles gonzo confessions and flash fiction?\u201d And maybe refrain from telling them they could have used Google quicker than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[13],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/linrobinson.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/linrobinson.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/linrobinson.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/linrobinson.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/linrobinson.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/linrobinson.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":637,"href":"http:\/\/linrobinson.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593\/revisions\/637"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/linrobinson.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/linrobinson.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/linrobinson.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/linrobinson.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}