How I got my agent . . .

When I'd written (and rewritten) a good draft of A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT and needed to start submitting it to publishers, I knew I needed an agent. I wanted to be smart about my search, so first I read Donald Maass's book THE CAREER NOVELIST to figure out what kind of agent I wanted.

 

 

 

Then I read Jeff Herman's book on literary agents and editors because it not only told me what each agent was looking for, but all kinds of extras: their hobbies, pet peeves, backgrounds. I listed every...