How To Get An Agent Without Really Trying

Ha ha ha, fooled you!  There’s no such thing as getting an agent without really trying.  You need to be willing to put in some long, painful work to get an agent to even give you the time of day, much less sign you.  However, it is possible to get an agent even if you’re an unknown debut author.  I repeat:  it is possible to get an agent even if you’re an unknown debut author.

Why Do I Need An Agent, Anyway?

Even a cursory glimpse at the vast amount of information on writing and publishing on the Intarwebs will reveal a very vocal subsection of the population who thinks agents are a lying pack of thieving, unnecessary fools.  I beg to differ.  Here are five reasons you need an agent:

1. Because I’m going to bet money you have no idea what a favorable advance or subrights package looks like.
2. I’m going to bet you don’t know any editors at major houses personally, either, let alone have lunch with them on a regular basis.
3. Many publishing houses don’t accept unagented work.  Period.
4. Once you get a deal, you’re going to need an advocate.  Large or small, the publication process can be overwhelming, and a good agent can be your guide.
5. You need a career.  Great agents think in terms of careers, not dollar signs. Though good agents also love dollar signs.

What Does An Agent Do?

Okay, so you need an agent.  In short, an agent is your representative, your broker.  He or she helps get the deal, brokers the contract, makes sure your interests are represented in conversations about rights, acts as your advocate with your editor and the other parties at the publishing house once your deal is made, and shepherds your career over time.  If your agent is my agent, he can also do thrilling things like get your proposal on the desks of 20 plus high-caliber editors, all of whom read it over the weekend, explain confusing things like audiobook rights, act as a very wise editor, and send you exciting articles and books on topics that make your head spin and buzz.

For the privilege of doing all of the above, building upon years of experience and hundreds of hours of connections and personal relationships, your agent will receive in return…15 percent of every penny paid to you from the publishing house who buys your book.  This is industry standard, and completely fine by me.  You can’t buy that kind of expertise, honestly, and I know my agent has more than earned his cut.

Even more than his expertise and connections, I value the fact that Larry took a chance on me, my writing, and my career.  He stuck with me through a truly painful editorial process on my first proposal, even when the proposal died in marketing and the book didn’t sell and I didn’t produce a salable piece of writing for him for another three years.  And his patience paid off:  an email conversation we had in January 2009 sparked the idea that became The Heroine’s Bookshelf.

How To Get An Agent (Some Trying Required)

1. Get an idea and write the proposal.  I repeat…write the proposal. I wrote my proposal in haste after sending off a query letter…wrong order, people, and highly not recommended in terms of life-shortening stress production.  I repeat…get an idea and write the proposal.
2. Swallow your pride.  Not every idea is one that will sell.  In order to snag an agent, you need to hook him, sell him, make dollar signs appear before his eyes.  You probably are not going to do that with a carbon-copy of everything else that’s out there.  Push yourself to really analyze your work (with a writing partner or critique buddy, if possible) and steel yourself for a long road ahead.
3. Research agents.  There are many ways to slice this one.  I firmly believe that the right agent is one who’s willing to show up for you and your work, and since that’s so intensely personal it’s going to mean different things for different people.  A great way to find appropriate agents is to look in the acknowledgments section of similar works.
4. Do your homework.  Reputation, sales, and legitimacy are the three things to check off your list at this point.  Is the agent well-respected in the industry?  Does he or she have a track record of legitimate sales, especially in your genre?  Does he or she behave ethically (this means NO UP-FRONT FEES, EVER)?  If you’re new to the game, please, please check out Preditors & Editors and the Bewares & Background Checks area of the AbsoluteWrite community.  You owe it to yourself to entrust your work to someone worthy of the privilege.
5. Write the query.  Ah, the elusive query letter…a kind of combination of olden-timesy introduction and come-on.  You want your query to be short, sweet, personalized, and juicy as all hell.  Duplicate the voice you use in your proposal and give the agent a tantalizing glimpse into the high points of the book you’re going to write.  Include appropriate credentials (did you win a respected contest?  Talk about it.  Did you win the essay contest in eighth grade?  Might wanna pass.).  Click here to read the query that landed my agent.
6. Wait.
7. Wait.
8. Wait.
9. “The Call” isn’t always the call.  My Call came in the form of a two-sentence email. Take a deep breath.  Agents are human, too.
10. Don’t give up.  I was fortunate enough to find an agent very quickly (selling a book, however…that took years).  However, not many are that fortunate.  Query widely and wisely, and use the feedback you will hopefully garner along the way to your advantage.  If your query isn’t generating interest, swallow your pride and ask for feedback from other writers.  Tweak and reformulate.  Differentiate.  Just don’t give up.