R. Leib's Blog: Dream State - Posts Tagged "literary-agents"

I have to say that my experiences with literary agents has not been the best. Out of the dozen or so that I wrote to, only two had the courtesy to respond. I have no problem with their not wanting to represent me. I just think that if someone takes the trouble to follow their guidelines, they should also take the trouble to let you know what their decision is.

Here are a few things I have learned while looking for an agent:

Read the agent's guidelines carefully. Some agents do not want to consider submissions, if they have been submitted to other agents at the same time. Others do not care. Some want your sample work to be an email attachment. Others will not read attachments and want sample work to be incorporated into the body of the email. If you do not follow the agent's guidelines, expect your submission to be discarded without consideration.

Be polite. Looking for an agent can be frustrating and discouraging. Do not let that seep into your cover letter. You want the agent to feel your enthusiasm for your book right away. Although it is not advisable, if you write back to an agent, do not be argumentative. It is okay to ask for advice. It is not okay to vent.

Read the fine print. There are people out there posing as agents who disguise their vanity operation as real representation. You should not have to pay an agent to get represented. By the nature of their business, a real agent expects to make money by representing you to publishers. Otherwise, they would say yes to everyone. (Yes. I made this mistake. I submitted to a supposed agent who did accept my work for representation. The catch was thousands of dollars up front from me as a retainer for a "publicist". Needless to say, I said "no thanks".)