Checking Out Some Agents

Cover Image

By Vladimir Yu. Arkhipov, Arkhivov - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8733781

I promised when I started my blog that I would share what I'm doing to promote and publish my books. Of course, I'm already self-published on Amazon, but I've also worked on trying to find an agent who would help me get a publisher for my books. I've started working through that same process with Merlin & Arthur: The Awakening.

This last week I used a website that I've gone to in the past to find a good agent in the US. The site is agentquery.com. It's been extremely helpful. On the site, I use the Full Search link. Then I select the genre and select YES in the drop down menu for agents who accept email queries, are a member of AAR, and are actively seeking new clients. From the search, I found three pages of agents, of which I sent out 22 queries. Next week I'll be searching for agents in Europe through some other sites.

Every agent seems to want something a little different, but it's a good idea to have at least a couple items ready before beginning. Those are a query letter specific to the book and a 1-2 page synopsis. You'll also need to copy and paste a portion of your full manuscript. Most agents require anywhere from 5 pages, to 50 pages. None of them want the full manuscript to begin with.

In the past, I've received many different types of responses, ranging from stock answers saying that my work didn't fit their particular requirements at the moment to very personalized responses, providing feedback that was valuable. I obviously haven't been able to find an agent yet, but I'm always hopeful and am not going to give up. I've worked very hard to improve as a writer and storyteller. Plus, from the reviews I've received, I know that people that have read my work have enjoyed it.

Wish me luck, and I hope the information that I've included is helpful to other writers.