How to Find

the Right Agent

You don’t want

just any agent; you

want the one that’s

right for you.

By Joëlle Anthony

When looking for an agent most writers

ask the wrong question: “Where do I find

the agents?” But you don’t want just any

agent; you want the one that’s right for

you. Assuming your manuscript is one

hundred percent finished, you’ve got a

synopsis ready, and your hook is a real

grabber, then you’re ready to start the

agent hunt. First of all: read! Once you’ve

compiled a list of books in your genre

that you love, and are similar in style to

your writing, it’s time for a little detective

work on your part.

Who is repping that fab author?

Look for a mention of a writer’s agent

here:

The dedication page

The acknowledgments at the end of

the book

The author’s website

Publisher’s Marketplace

Do a search for “[author’s name] +

agent”

Email an author directly and ask. (If

you don’t know the author, don’t take

it personally if she doesn’t respond!)

8

Kind of like speed dating

There’s lots of quick information to be

had about a prospective agent online.

Agent blogs are a great way to get to

know an agent’s wants, needs, and desires.

They also blog about:

Their dream project

Pet peeves

How far along they are in the slush pile

reading

Their colleague’s needs

What editors are looking for

Trends

New agents looking for clients

Their author’s books (so you can read

them)

Publisher’s Marketplace

Publisher’s Marketplace (www.publishersmarketplace.

com) is an excellent resource.

You can get the free version, or take

advantage of the $20/month subscription

which enables you to:

1Read the daily sales that pertain to

your genre and make a list of the

agents who sold those books.

2Go to the agents’ sites, read more

about them, find out which authors

they rep, and read some of their clients’

books.

3Include one or two sentences in your

query that say something like: “I

read about your sale of Fluffy Bunny on

Publisher’s Marketplace to XYZ Publisher.

I’ve often thought that I might fit

in at XYZ Publishers, and that is why I’m

choosing to query you.” (Please only say

this if you’ve read Fluffy Bunny!)

Ask Around

Read your favorite writer’s blogs and if

they link to their friends, check those

out too. Making the occasional comment

can’t hurt either, and once they get to

know you, it’s probably okay to ask the

writer who reps her. Remember, this

isn’t a referral; it’s just someone being

nice to you.

Conferences

If you have the opportunity to attend a

conference, find out which agents will be

there ahead of time and use the above

tips to get to know if they might be right

for you. Set up an appointment if you

can, or just say hello.

Agents all seem to agree that a simple,

friendly, “How’s it going?” will always

be appreciated at conferences, as long

as it’s not followed by, “I just happen to

have my manuscript here.” And then you

can mention their cat, or whatever you

talked about over lunch, when you query

them. Who knows, they might even remember

you!

Number crunching

Don’t stop querying when you receive

the first request for a partial manuscript!

Query widely until you’ve signed on the

dotted line. If an agent requests 1-3 partials

a week, that’s roughly 50-150 partial

requests each year. If they only take on

0-5 clients in a year, that’s a lot of partial

reads that don’t go anywhere.

Be your own best friend

You are making a serious business commitment

when you sign with an agent,

one that will affect you for a very long

time. Do not take the research lightly,

don’t ask someone else to do it for you,

and don’t be sitting at home waiting

for the call when you should be either

querying or digging deep to find out more

about both the agents you have queries

out to, and agents you want to add to

your list to query next.

Joëlle Anthony spends her time evenly between reading

and writing young adult fiction. (Okay—who is she

trying to kid? She reads more than she writes.) Visit her

website at https://joelleanthony.com.

Don’t stop querying when you receive the

first request for a partial manuscript! Query

widely until you’ve signed on the dotted line.

The Agent’s Angle

Clearly, Joëlle did a great job

finding an agent (me!), so her

advice here is solid. As an agent

who’s had many clients, I’d add

that chemistry is a huge part of

the equation. Before you sign with

an agent, it’s a great idea to spend

some face-to-face or phone time

with her. An agent is someone you

want to be with for your whole career,

so you want to make sure the

person representing your work to

the world is someone that you feel

you can trust and rely on.

Your agent should be someone

you can call with both good and

bad news, when you need to vent,

or when you don’t know if the last

third of your new novel is brilliant

or crap; when you need a shoulder

to cry on or a sympathetic ear, but

who can kick you in the butt when

you need it. Remember, it’s a partnership,

so you want to make sure

you’ve got the right partner.

Michael Bourret is a literary agent with Dystel

& Goderich Literary Management. He reps

a broad range of books from adult fiction &

nonfiction, to middle grade & young adult novels

for clients like Joëlle Anthony. Visit the Dystel

agency blog at http://dglm.blogspot.com.

November/december 2008 SCBWI