It’s written.
It’s been workshopped.
It’s had beta readers, including by some folks who will give you unvarnished feedback.
You’ve let it breathe and you’ve come back to it and, wow, you don’t hate it!
In fact, your manuscript is in really good shape.
It’s time to go find an agent.
Because if you’re going after a traditional publishing deal, you need an agent.
Scratch that.
Not need. You want an agent.
Literary agents are not a barrier standing between you and a traditional publisher. They are a valuable partner you both want and need for your career going forward.
How are you going to get an agent?
There are two ways.
- Cold queries
- Everything else.
Let’s cover “cold queries” first.
This means you’re writing a query letter and you’re going to draw up a list of agents to query. You’re going to read up about writing the perfect query letter. You’re going to go to Query Tracker and search for agents who represent your genre and who seem like a good fit. And then you’re going to follow their individual submission requirements to a T, send in your query letter and whatever else is requested, and hope for the best.
There is tons of information out there about writing query letters. Some of the advice conflicts, but for the most part the guidelines are pretty clear about word length and what the query letters need to contain. Stick to these guidelines. Don’t think you’re special.
These cold queries will go into a queue at the literary agency and, one hopes, will snag enough attention that you might get a request to read the whole book. If so, great. If not, you may get a boilerplate “no thanks” note back. And you might hear nothing at all.
For these cold queries, keep careful track of who has declined and keep careful track of those agents who have asked for more. And always keep a few queries out there. And, finally, really listen to any meaningful, detailed feedback you might get. This could be valuable if you start to hear the same thing from a few agents.
Okay, next, “everything else.”
And this comes down to networking. This comes down to all the effort you put in to build your network while you were writing your masterpiece.
And it’s fine to start the “everything else” approach now, when you’re novel is ready to finally pitch.
But why not step back in the time machine and go back a few years when you started writing? There’s no reason you can’t begin laying the groundwork for the agent search before you’ve written “Chapter 1.” Because the “everything else” approach relies on your network. It means you’re working your way up to getting around that query slush pile through a personal introduction from a published author.
And there is no reason you can’t build that network years (and years) before you’re ready to seek out a literary agent.
Join writing groups. Volunteer for those writing groups. Attend book-related events. Become a regular at book-related events. Go to writing conferences. Ask local writers out for coffees. Or lunch. Make friends. Share your work. Read the work of others and give meaningful feedback.
More than anything, encourage and support your writing pals. If you think you can’t do this without a completed draft of your novel or if you think you don’t “belong” because you haven’t yet published, you are wrong. Writers welcome all writers, published or not.
Because that network will pay off. It might not be right away. It might be months or years down the road, but it’s possible one of your new friends will say he or she wants to let their agent know about your new work. And, voila, you’ve skipped the slush pile. Will it work? Of course not. But you’re likely in a better position to at least get some meaningful feedback, which will help when you go back to improve your masterpiece.
There is, of course, a large mountain of information about there about the whole agent search process. But take the time to listen to insights on RMFW’s own podcast channel from Terrie Wolf, Alec Shane, or go search for Angie Hodapp and gain her insights, too.
No matter which track you choose, listen to the feedback. And then incorporate the feedback. And then go out again. And repeat.
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Previous:
Part Three: Before You Query
Part Two: The Mindset
Part One: Say Yes To The 2% Solution
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