Q&A - The Writer's Ally™

How to Find the Best Literary Agent for Your Genre

If you decide to go the traditional publishing route, it pays to do some research to find a literary agent who reps your genre, and who has the right experience to back that up. The Internet is a great resource, but conducting searches using broad terms like “literary agent” is like searching for that proverbial needle in a haystack.

If you’re ready to seek out an agent to represent your book, you’ve reached a significant milestone. You’ve poured your heart and soul into your writing, invested a considerable chunk of time and money in professional editing services, and spent lots of time revising and rewriting (if you haven’t, it’s time to get very honest—is your work ready to compete with the pros?). After this much work, you’re not handing over your baby to just any old literary agent, and why waste time submitting to people who aren’t interested in your type of book?

To help you out, here are some more productive ways to find a literary agent who is right for you.

Read Acknowledgements

One of my favorite tips is to browse the acknowledgments of other novels in your category or that seem similar to your book in themes, style, or target audience. Authors often thank their agents in the acknowledgments. If you go this route, be sure to mention in your query letter that you’re submitting to this particular agent because he or she represented Author Smith for her book TITLE. It’s always good to show agents that you’ve done your research!

Target Specific Publishers

Another great way to approach the agent search is to figure out which publishers would be a good fit for your book, then do an Internet search cross-referencing the publisher’s name with phrases like “book deal” and “sold novel.” This often turns up press releases and blog mentions announcing new book deals, which in turn will feature the names of agents and a brief description of the book he or she just sold. This will help you see which agents have an established relationship with the kind of publishers who might be interested in your book, which means those agents might be interested in representing your book.

If you don’t have any luck with an organic search, you can also join Publishers Marketplace, a website that allows you to browse archives for details on book deals. Archives are only open to paid subscribers, but if you’re actively submitting, the information you receive will be worth the price of access.

Ask Fellow Writers

Don’t forget about your fellow writers. Get recommendations! If you belong to any writers’ groups or associations, post a brief description of your novel and ask folks if they have an agent or know of one who represents books like yours. Attending conferences or conventions that focus on your genre or category can further lead you to published writers and staff editors who may have agent suggestions. Many such events also bring in literary agents to do panels or meet with writers one on one, which is one of the most effective ways to find a literary agent who reps your genre—once they’ve met you, they are more likely to read your work and, even if they’re passing on it, to offer some valuable feedback.

Search by Category

Finally, there are several print and Internet resources that will allow you to search by categories when you want to find a literary agent. The most well-known of these is the Literary Marketplace, a multi-volume set of reference books found in any library that will detail different agencies, the agents who work there, and what kinds of books each represents. There are dozens more resources available online, including:

Note that there are some services out there promising to review your work and identify a targeted list of agents for you. Some, such as Writer’s Relief, will even manage your submissions entirely. This sounds like a great time-saver, however, I have no experience with these and don’t know if they’re worth the money, so as usual do your homework, ask around, and read the fine print.

Let me know how your search to find a literary agent is going—what problems are you running into?

And if you need help with your query letter, consider the Writer’s Ally Query Letter Review service. Sign up for your Free Project Review to discuss it here.

Founder of The Writer’s Ally, Ally E. Machate is a bestselling book collaborator, award-winning editor, and expert publishing consultant who loves using her insider knowledge and experience with the publishing industry to lead serious authors toward success. She and her team live to help make great books happen, whether that means showing a writer how to improve a manuscript, get an agent, or self-publish; or coaching an author on growing her platform to sell more books. Since 1999, she has supported hundreds of authors on their publishing journey and takes pride in serving as their books’ best ally.

Q: Should I use a non-disclosure agreement?

I recently corresponded with a gentleman who wondered whether he would stymie his submission efforts if he sent an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) along with his query letters. Every situation is different, and I’m certainly not a lawyer, but here are some thoughts I shared with him that might also help guide you.

You’re Not That Special

More authors get NDAs out of paranoia than necessity or as the result of informed advice. Would sharing some of your story ideas or research be enough for someone else to reproduce your work? Not likely. It isn’t so much the concept that makes something awesome, but how it’s executed. How many times has a new product or movie or whatever come out and left you feeling, “Aw man, I thought of that first!” Among billions of humans, many have similar or even identical ideas simultaneously. Not all follow through, and among those who do, each brings his or her own talents, skill, experience, and perspective to create a unique expression. Try to consider your work from this perspective and ask yourself if you really need that NDA and, if so, at what point you’d really need it signed. The more concrete material you can give a prospective agent or editor, the more willing they’ll be to sign an NDA, since they’ll be better able to judge if the project is right for them without wasting time.

First Impressions Count

Publishing is a tough business full of quirky personalities, so agents and other professionals will pick up on certain things about an author as signs that he or she will be difficult to work with—sometimes this is fair, other times it’s based on broad assumptions. Agents and editors are wary of authors who require them to sign NDAs before they can read the full submission because it strikes everyone as paranoid and unnecessary. It also can sometimes indicate an overblown ego (an example where such assumptions are unfair). Cases where an NDA is actually justified are so rare that the knee-jerk response to reject and simply not deal with it can overcome any curiosity an agent might have.

Time Is Not Your Friend

Agents and editors are extremely busy and overburdened, especially these days with so many imprints closing and people getting laid off. If you send a vague query and proposal making a lot of huge promises about how groundbreaking your discoveries are without actually telling them anything, they aren’t going to bite. They’re going to think, “Ugh, how many steps am I going to have to take just to figure out if I’m actually interested in this project?” Or worse, “Yeah yeah, another author who thinks he’s the next greatest thing.” This is your biggest challenge. You need to be able to put enough in the query letter that they will see a real need for the NDA and understand it as a practical decision on your part—that you aren’t just another author who erroneously thinks his ideas are the most amazing and unique ever. You have to give them something real so they’ll be willing to be a little patient and sign papers before they can peer behind the curtain.

If you’re uncertain, do yourself a favor and talk to a lawyer specializing in intellectual property law and preferably with some experience in book publishing. It’ll cost you, but they won’t shy away from signing your NDA, and then they can offer you professional advice on whether they think you need it and/or when to implement it. You can find templates for NDAs online, but that’s no substitute—if you feel you need legal protection for your work, you really should get legal advice.

Q: Do the pros ever get it wrong?

My client Patty recently sent me the following note: “You know I get what agents and editors have to say. They want to make sure any book they take on has a fighting chance, an audience, and is going to make them money. But do you ever think they get it wrong? I hope so. I think what counts are your readers and from what I’ve received so far they love the book.”

Despite all the veils of mystery and weirdness that can surround the gatekeepers of traditional publishing, editors and agents are still just people. Sometimes they do get it wrong. I remember several coworkers at Simon & Schuster who passed on a project, only to kick themselves later when it hit a bestseller list.

Sometimes it isn’t so much getting it wrong as saying, “This isn’t right for me.” Agents and editors have to really love a project to take it on, and sometimes they say no to projects they like and see potential in but just don’t love enough, or don’t think is marketable enough. Agents and editors may also be carefully curating their lists and have specific slots to fill, and if your book doesn’t meet their needs, they’ll keep looking for one that does. Sometimes a project is too small for a publisher to take on because the audience is very specific and the numbers just don’t work out for the accounting department. None of these things mean your book isn’t any good.

It’s great to get wonderful feedback from your beta readers, and getting them on your team early can mean more mouths talking about your book when it’s out. This is especially important for self-publishers. At the very least, they can post reviews on Amazon.com and other sites, which will help you sell books. Do keep in mind, however, that a discrepancy between your beta readers’ reactions and professional reactions doesn’t mean the readers are right and the editors/agents are wrong. There are other factors at work here.

For example, no matter what they say to the contrary, the fact is that the large majority of beta readers you send your manuscript to won’t feel it’s their job or place to criticize your book—that doesn’t mean they’re lying when they say they enjoyed it, but it’s human nature to be kind and polite when you’re doing a favor for someone. They may not be 100% honest about their impressions or they may choose to comment only on what they liked, leaving out mention of what they didn’t like. They may also not be capable of identifying problems or weaknesses: A pro will be much more critical and analytical about your plot and characters. You may ask, “Well, who cares if the average reader thinks it’s fine?” But the weaknesses experienced industry folk identify can mean the difference between a good read and a great read, even if the average reader can’t identify or articulate the difference more specifically than that.

Do you use beta readers? How do you choose them? I’d love to know! Please comment below and share your thoughts.

Why Are Agents Still Rejecting Me?

My client Tara tells me she’s sent queries to forty-nine agents and nine have asked for partial or full manuscripts. But after reviewing the manuscript their interest ended with the agents rejecting her project. She writes, “I’ve gotten kind rejections, but I haven’t received any offers. I’m at a loss as to what to do next. Please advise!”

Though the rejections hurt, in reality, Tara has about a 20% success rate in terms of her query letter, the goal of which is to tempt an agent to ask for material. That’s not bad. It’s not uncommon for a writer to submit to lots of agents or editors before finding the right match. Stephen King got thirty rejection letters for Carrie, which he threw away (his wife pulled it out and forced him to keep going). Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen, authors of Chicken Soup for the Soul, received 134 rejections. For his classic, Roots, Alex Hayley received a whopping 208! (Check out this encouraging post for more famous stories about agents rejecting authors who became big sellers.)

Since a good number of agents are asking for partial manuscripts, my feeling is Tara’s query letter is doing its job well. So what’s the problem?

You need to balance what you can control (great opening, excellent writing and storytelling, choosing appropriate agents) with what you can’t (market changes, agent enthusiasm, timing). There are many elements that must come together in just the right combination, like a potion for publishing success. If any one of these elements isn’t present, you won’t get an offer and agents rejecting you will start to feel like the norm.

What You Can Control

If agents are requesting sample material but then passing on your project, consider whether your manuscript is truly the best it can be. Agents may be rejecting you because:

the story doesn’t live up to the promise of the pitch
the material is good, but not exceptional enough to warrant an offer
you have a great story concept, but your execution isn’t quite there yet
your writing skills aren’t as strong as your imagination
you’re submitting to the wrong agents

Pay attention to the responses you’re getting. Are you receiving rejection letters very shortly after sending the partials? This probably indicates a lack of enthusiasm and/or marketability, both of which an agent can determine pretty quickly reading the first chapter and a synopsis. Lack of enthusiasm is often a result of the above mentioned characteristics. However, lack of marketability is a bit stickier: on the one hand, you can control what you write about and how well your story plays into trends, genre expectations, and potential media hooks; on the other hand, you’ve got to write your story the way you receive it from the Muse, or it will be soulless drivel.

What You Can’t Control

Again, if you’re getting rejections fairly quickly after sending your sample chapters, the culprit is probably lack of enthusiasm and/or marketability. This is mostly the result of issues you can control, but not always. Have you ever fallen head-over-heels in love with a book and recommended it to a friend, only to have your friend return it half read, with a “Meh” response? A great book may still fail to ignite an agent’s enthusiasm because of issues beyond your control. For example, the agent may not:

be taking on new clients right now
be confident in her network of editors who acquire in your category
feel the current market is friendly enough to your type of book
be in love with your style or subject matter

The last item—a lack of love—is key. The publishing industry can be very subjective. This is why you hear stories of huge bestsellers that got rejected over and over (check out the link above or just Google “famous author rejections”). An agent wants to be totally bonkers about your book before offering to represent it, and provided you’re submitting excellent work to appropriate agents, there’s nothing at all you can do to force that level of enthusiasm.

So What Do I Do About Agents Rejecting Me?

If you’re getting requests for sample chapters but no offers, keep submitting. I recommend a reassessment every 50 rejections. Consider the potential issues cited in this article and be really, really honest with yourself. Is your writing skill up to the challenge of your concept? Is your book’s opening effective and engaging? Are other books like yours getting acquired? Like the prayer goes, have the serenity to accept those things you cannot change and the courage to change those things you can.

As for the wisdom to know the difference, keep learning about the industry and working on your craft. The most common reason an agent or editor will reject after reading a partial is that they love the concept pitched in the query, but find your sample pages underwhelming. Pick up some books on writing at the library or browse the Internet for techniques you can apply to your manuscript.

If you’re unsure of the problem, consider hiring a professional freelance editor to review your manuscript. Many freelancers offer a variety of ways to get your work in front of experienced, savvy eyes, with feedback ranging from “Yeah, this just isn’t good enough” to “Here are some specific ways I think you can improve…” Fees vary, but you can get a ballpark from the Editorial Freelancers Association rate chart. Another way to get professional insight is to attend writers’ conferences, many of which offer one-on-one sessions with visiting agents and editors. A frank conversation may reveal the key—better still if the consultation involves a review of some pages.

Most important of all, don’t give up! As Richard Bach (140 rejections) would say, “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.”

Get a Unique Edge: Complete Your Rough Draft First

Every writer has his or her own preferred method for writing a book. Some will tell you they write a little every day at various times of day; others sit down when the muse strikes and churn out page after page. It can take months or years to write a book. Some edit as they go along while others like to push through until the end before revising. There’s no right answer. I find there are many reasons why it’s better, though, especially for beginning writers, to complete your rough draft before you begin revising it.

Opening up the creative floodgates and letting the words pour out of you may seem easy at first, but how easy does it feel after 10,000 words, or 40,000? It can be difficult enough to get your characters or argument from point to point without stopping to tweak sentences or reorganize things, which is why new writers tend to begin more books than they finish. If you can use that initial burst of creativity to rough out the entire book, however, you can at least get the bones down before the juice runs out. I see writing as a messier rush of magic and revising as the more meticulous sculpting. You gotta let the magic run its course before you try making sense out of it all.

Stop Signs are Just Suggestions

I’m not alone in this opinion. In fact, a whole movement has grown up around it: ever hear of NaNoWriMo? The idea is to write a 50K word novel in the month of November, and no editing is allowed! You must complete your rough draft, and at a pretty quick pace, too. Editing definitely slows things down. Just try writing at that speed and you’ll see immediately that to maintain the pace (approximately 1,600 words a day), one really can’t pause to revise. Stephen King advises in his memoir On Writing that you shouldn’t even stop to look up definitions or spelling—it’s more important not to interrupt the flow of creation. King suggests using a simple placeholder like brackets or parentheses around a word approximating the meaning you’re looking for. I’d take that one step further and say you could make notes to yourself this way, too, so you can keep writing and have a handy way to spot places you wanted to revise later.

The Forest for the Trees

It’s another truth of writing that you sometimes can’t see what isn’t working until you’ve seen it all the way through. This is especially true in novels, but even with nonficion you may not realize that you haven’t laid the proper foundation for a certain concept until you’re writing that particular chapter (one reason why I advocate for the use of outlines). Waiting to revise until after you complete your rough draft will help your revision be more effective because until you know for sure where your book is headed, you can’t effectively shape your earlier material.

Procrastination Nation

Last but not least, I’ve found that writers (including myself!) sometimes turn to revising before a story is finished as a subconscious, or conscious, method of procrastination. You could spend those same months and years it would take to finish your book rewriting the same chapters over and over again past the point of conscientiousness and into the realm of neuroses. Especially if you feel it’s keeping you from finishing the story, I recommend you complete your rough draft before revising, even if the final chapters are only outlined.

But Don’t Complete Your Rough Draft First In This Case (The Exception)

I can think of only one real exception to this suggested plan of attack: if you feel you’ve totally lost direction and need to rethink the material you’ve written before you can get the ending back on track, then you may want to pause to revise and get your bearings. At this point, I would recommend you make some notes about the decisions you’ve already made and any new decisions you make as you get your house in order. If you find yourself in this situation and haven’t already made an outline, consider writing one: It will serve as a roadmap when you return to writing, and help avoid veering off course in the future. Some writers don’t like outlines because they feel they’re inorganic or somehow stifling, but you can change an outline as you go along to reflect any new developments in your story or new ideas you’ve had for your nonfiction. You needn’t view your outline as confining or set in stone.

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Rather than taking time out from writing your rough draft to revise, why not just make a note to yourself either in-text as suggested previously or in a notebook so you won’t forget your brilliant idea? When I realize I’ve just written something that requires a change earlier on, I make a short note in the text AND jot down lengthier explanations and thoughts in a notebook, then keep moving forward as though I’d already made the necessary change. That way I’m still on the right track with the story or thought, and I’ll remember what needs to be fixed in my early pages when I’m ready to revise.

Do you often find your writing going astray from your initial idea? Is it a happy surprise, or a source of frustration? Tell us about it in the Comments section below!

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How to Find the Best Literary Agent for Your Genre

Read Acknowledgements

Target Specific Publishers

Ask Fellow Writers

Search by Category