Finding a Literary Agent

April 11, 2009 in Agent, Queries, Site Stuff | No comments

One of the most important, monumental milestoles that most writers look forward to nowadays is getting a literary agent. Not only is it deeply satisfying and great reinforcement — somebody loves your work! they believe in you! — it is the start of a more professional business relationship that could very well lead to publication!

I’ve had the rare privilege of working for two literary agencies, with agents from the adult sphere and the kidlit world (and a few who’ve transitioned between them). I’ve read slush, read full requests, read client manuscripts and looked at revisions.

While the latter part of my duties — the manuscripts — is my favorite, the slush was also a completely amazing experience for me. It taught me so much… mostly what NOT to do as a writer, which is even more valuable.

I haven’t posted anything about agents or slush or query letters or submissions yet, but I wanted to give you guys some background about where I’m coming from. I’d love to answer questions and critique queries for you.

As a writer, I’ve had the great privilege and experience of a) being an unagented writer, b) being an agented writer and c) working very closely with literary agencies, their slush piles and their agents. Since I can come at this from both perspectives, I think I’ll have some cool insights for you.

I’ll be posting a lot about this process because, from what I’ve learned, it is SO easy to make mistakes. And in 90% of cases, those mistakes are completely avoidable. So read on, and head over to my About page to find my e-mail address and ask me questions. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.