I think it's time i get a literary agent.
I have been actively writing for 10+ years.
(in truth, writing as long as i can remember)
I have completed and revised one novel and am on the cusp of finishing my fourth.
(three have not been edited/revised)
I have completed scripts for stage and screen.
I have completed many short stories.
I have worked with other writers.
I have ghost-written novels, scripts for stage and screen, and short stories.
I am excited to participate in my first book festival and hope to sign all of the inventory I take.
AND, probably most significant at this time is that I am unemployed (in a traditional sense) and can focus on writing full time.
SO>>> Having said all that, does anyone know how to go about getting an agent?? I will take all the help I can get!
(My google is not broken, but it's an overwhelming process for me. If anyone has been successful finding the right fit of an agent for them and their work, I would be interested in knowing as much as you are willing to share.)
Thanks in advance for reading my words and sharing yours. 8)
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One of the most important things to keep in mind is to be sure any agent you approach deals mainly in the genre of your work.
Many of these folk are members of an agency, but if the agency is legit they will have a listing of each agent along with his/her specialties. Follow the agent's or agency's instructions to the letter and be sure to address your desired agent by name. Some want a specific part of your ms and will ask for the rest if interested. Others want the entire ms.
Inquiry letters are usually quite brief. 5 paragraphs max. First paragraph, let the agent know that your work is worth their time and do it in as few words as possible. The remaining content summarizes your story, again with brevity. Make sure you describe the whole story, beginning, middle, and end while keeping it all within say 150 words. More if it's absolutely necessary.
Above all, be courteous.
As for finding an agent, you'll have to peruse the listings, and there are many. Caution, if any ask for some sort of reading fee, run -- agents make their money by selling books to publishers, not by charging authors.
evidentialist
Level 8
Feb 7, 2019
3
Thank you!
Try the yellow pages? No idea
Cutiebeauty
Level 9
Feb 7, 2019
1
That's where I am with the google route. Ha!
I feel like I've done a lot of work myself. It's not like when I first started and thought, someone should hear my idea and give me an advance and a deadline.
I also know there is this perception that just because one book is complete doesn't mean a writer has another in them. But at this juncture, I can justify my desire to move into a full-time gig.
This community may just have to bear with me while i do some digging and figure out the agent part myself as well.
(And honestly, I only want to go the agent route because I am so bad at selling myself. I'm great at selling the story. I just don't know where the market is and I can't really afford financially to figure out all the wrong things.)
@Lillyfield41 -- There is more reason for the agent route than selling yourself. Most publishers are no longer taking mss over the transom. The majority use agents as a means to keep the slush pile to a minimum and the success rate at a maximum. Can ya blame 'em?
@evidentialist exactly!!!!
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