One of the ways you can catch the attention of a traditional publisher is to work with a literary agent. You may be asking yourself, what is a literary agent? A literary agent usually works with traditional publishing houses to get manuscripts published. Therefore, a literary agent can help you to access traditional publishers who usually don’t accept unsolicited queries. They can also offer an insight into what can sell and what may not.
Even better, they can negotiate the right deal on your behalf with the publisher and assist you to understand the terms of your book contract. There are several things that a literary agent can do for you. But before you decide to get a literary agent, you need to make sure that you find the right one. This article provides the tips to help you find the right literary agent.
Finish writing your book
You should never try to get a literary agent unless you have completed writing your book. Unfortunately, many writers usually like to send out queries with an unfinished manuscript. In most cases, a literary agent tends to ask for a sample from the manuscript. And, if they like your work, then they can want the entire manuscript right away. Remember that literary agents don’t like waiting.
Also, after you complete your book, ensure that it is in the best shape before you submit a query to the potential literary agent. A manuscript sample that is poorly written can lead to the potential literary agent rejecting your query.
Therefore, make sure that you edit your manuscript yourself. You can then hire a professional editor to handle your manuscript to get it into the best condition. Sometimes, you don’t need to pay for the services offered by a literary agent, but it makes sense to invest in your unpublished manuscript. Hence, ensure that a professional editor goes through your final draft.
Research literary agents
It’s crucial to find a literary agent to query, so you should take a look at your favorite books. You can also create a list of books that are similar to your manuscript. When you have this list, find out the representative of these authors.
The best way you can find out the writer’s literary agent is to just go through the book’s pages. Most writers usually acknowledge their literary agents, so you can find this information in the first pages of their books.
Follow the submission guidelines
This is a crucial step and it’s often overlooked. Take note that different literary agents can have different submission guidelines. Therefore, it’s important that you follow their rules.
When you choose to send many inquiries each week, you don’t want to overlook specific guidelines. Therefore, if you fail to follow the literary agent’s submission guidelines, there is a chance that your query can be disregarded right away, even if your manuscript can be exceptional.
Focus on your query letter
No doubt, your query letter is considered to be the most crucial letter you can ever write. This is because your query letter can assist you to get a literary agent and then have a top publishing deal.
It’s worth mentioning that you may not be the only author who is querying that specific literary agent. Therefore, you must write a letter that can stand out from the rest and blow them away with your unique presentation.
It’s a good idea to think of the query letter as your best chance to get a publishing deal. You just need to write a single page with at least 300 words to convince a literary agent to take your manuscript. This can be the hardest part of being an author, particularly if you don’t have great selling skills. But if you desire to work with a quality literary agent, then you need to create an engaging query letter.
Personalize your query
There are times when you can write a good query letter, but it can be generic. Therefore, you need to make sure that you personalize your query letter. Besides following the guidelines of the literary agent, let the person reading it know that you have done your homework. If you spend enough time finding a literary agent’s email address, then you can also take a couple of extra minutes to learn about the literary agent as well as the writers they represent.
In other words, you need to address the literary agent using their name. You can also begin your query letter with reasons why you are querying a specific agent. This can be because they represent a writer or even a book that you admire a lot. It’s worth it to mention such minor things at the start of the query letter. This type of personalization may ingratiate you to the potential literary agent and motivate them to read your query letter.
Be prepared for rejection
You should note that rejection is common for many writers. Therefore, you need to understand that there are good chances that the literary agent may reject your query. You may get rejection letters from some literary agents who just don’t get you. But you should still follow the submission guidelines, offer a polished manuscript, and maintain a professional demeanor.
All you can do is to keep on pitching to other literary agents. Over time, you may find a literary agent who appreciated your manuscript and is ready to represent you. Ideally, you need to be patient and don’t give up. After all, writing your manuscript was the most important step that you had to take, so finding a literary agent is just a simple huddle that you have to overcome before your manuscript can be published.
And, if you get an offer for representation, you should avoid accepting it right away. Instead, you need to think through it carefully. You should note that your literary agent serves as your business manager, so you must ensure that you are making a great choice. You need to make sure that the potential literary agent has represented authors who focus on the genre of your book.