There’s a wonderful history of indie authors creating a great platform, getting noticed by traditional agents and publishers and landing a publishing deal.
Querying agents
The best tactic is to query on the strength of your work and current accolades. It’s very rare to go directly to a publisher these days as they mostly work with agents. After you query one and secure their services, they will approach prospective publishers for you.
Finding an agent can be a long and tedious process, as they each have their own submission requirements and it can be months before you hear back from each with answers.
Resources for finding agents
With this in mind, here are some of our favorite resources for finding one:
Poets & Writers
Has a great amount of information, including a Literary Agents Database and a helpful Agent Advice column.
Publishers Lunch
We recommend looking over what deals have been made for mid-list authors each day. You don’t want a blockbuster agent because they’re already set financially. Info includes: genre, author, synopsis, agent and which publisher the work sold to. You can sign up for the free daily newsletter that will give you most of this info, or you sign up for a $25/month newsletter which has all of the details.
QueryTracker
This free database hosts plenty of data. Because the info can be outdated, it’s best to use this tool to create a list of agents who represent your genre, then crosscheck with their website to confirm who they represent and which publishers they work with.
Guide to Literary Agents
An old standby, written by Robert Lee Brewer.
AAR – Association of Author’s Representatives
Here’s a list of members, with varying amounts of information about them.
Rights Reports on PW
A great resource for children’s book authors. These reports cite which agents facilitated the deal for upcoming kids books.
Women Writers, Women’s Books
This site also has an Agents Corner column where authors can share their success stories and offer advice.
Writer’s Digest Guide to Literary Agents Blog
They post notices about agents and agencies. There’s not a tremendous amount of information here, but it’s worth keeping an eye out for news.
Manuscript Wishlist
This is a helpful tool designed to help agents share information about the types of books they are looking for. Scan through to see if your manuscript is on anyone’s wishlist!
We also recommend finding books that are comparable to yours in genre and audience, and seeing who the author’s agent is. They may be a good fit for you. We recommend keeping a list and checking their websites, querying where it makes sense to do so.
Cast a wide net
It feels like the possibilities are endless, and it’s not unusual for an author to query upwards of 100 agents. You can make sure your paired with the right one for your book by casting a wide net.
Want to get the inside scoop on what an agent really thinks? Check out our interview with Natalie Lakosil here.
Ellen Whitfield is senior publicist at Books Forward, an author publicity and book marketing firm committed to promoting voices from a diverse variety of communities. From book reviews and author events, to social media and digital marketing, we help authors find success and connect with readers.
Interested in what’s possible for your book sales and building readership? Check out our services, tell us your goals, and get a customized publicity campaign tailored just for you.
