Locating A Literary Agent

A good literary agent may be the key to a good publishing career if you go the traditional route. This part of the publishing process may seem the most daunting since there are hundreds of agents working for all sorts of different agencies out there. It boils down to having resources to help you search out that agent that’s going to be a great fit.

Resources

In the digital age, looking for an agent is getting easier and easier. There are several websites that allow for writers to look up agents and try to find one that suits them. Two of the most used websites are AgentQuery and Poets and Writers’ Literary Agents Database. Many writers turn to pw.org to look for resources because it not only includes literary agents and contests, but it provides a place to learn about the craft as well. On the other hand, if you don’t have the time to get distracted, AgentQuery offers a place for only looking for agents.

Which literary agent would be the best fit for me?

So now that you have all sorts of resources to look for an agent, there’s a way of going about finding one. The first step to finding a good agent for yourself is to know what you are putting out into the world. Have you written urban fantasy with a romance twist in it? Have you written about a particular historical event that you find interesting with lots of research poured into it? Knowing what exactly you’ve written is a great way of gauging what kind of agent you are going to want to look for.

On the websites I mentioned before, you are able to sort agents by what kind of writing they prefer. On pw.org, you look at overarching genres, like literary fiction, non-fiction, journalism, and autobiographies. There are a few more specific genres that they end up listing, but not a ton. On the other hand, AgentQuery allows you to look deeper into subgenres of the larger genres and give you a better idea of what exactly an agent is looking for, such as fantasy or chick lit in fiction.

Regardless of how you found them, the best way to know if an agent is really truly looking for the kind of writing that you’re doing is by checking out their website. Many agents and agencies even run blogs about the process of being published nowadays.

While spending times on the websites run by agents and their agencies, one important thing to pay attention to is whether or not they are accepting new authors.

This kind of information will either be found on the Submission Guidelines page or on an about page that lists the agents that work for the agency.

Unfortunately for many authors on their journey to become published, the agent that they thought would best fit their work is not accepting any new queries at the time. When, or if, this happens, then the best thing you can do is go back to the beginning and find a new agent. Don’t give up!

Are they accepting new authors?

These two websites are not the only resources out there. Other websites offer some more resources, such as the Writer’s Digest offers a list of new agents that are appearing. Sticking to reputable websites will help make sure that you don’t run into any troubles with finding an agent. A blog post on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America website offers some advice on how to tell if an agent is legitimate or not.

In addition to be able to look up agents in a database, many agencies (whether they have one agent or a dozen) have websites of their own that will become valuable resources to writers as they continue to work towards getting published.

AgentQuery's Webpage

Poets and Writers' Agent Database

Literary Agent Checklist:

Interest in your writing genre(s).
Availability to take on new clients.
Part of, or found on, reputable websites.

BookEnds Submission Guidelines Page