How to Find a Literary Agent + 6 Places to Start Your Search
Sage Kay
Writer, reader, outfit repeater.
What Do You Need Before Querying a Literary Agent?1. Finish your book 2. Write a query letter 3. Have a firm grasp of your book’s themes, demographic, and overall message What To Look for in a Literary Agent1. Their past clients 2. How long they’ve worked as a literary agent3. How they conduct business How To Find a Literary Agent + 6 Places To Start1. Publishers Marketplace (membership only)2. Query Tracker (free and paid versions)3. Duotrope (membership required + a free trial)4. Agent Query (free)5. Manuscript Wish List (free)6. Poets & Writers Literary Agents Database (free)
If you’re looking for a literary agent, that must mean you’ve finished your book and are ready for the next step in the publishing process. Though there are many more steps in this process, you’ve come to a point that many writers never get to. Congrats! But finding a literary agent is no walk in the park. Don’t worry—take my hand and I’ll tell you all about how to find a literary agent (plus six places to start your search)!
What Do You Need Before Querying a Literary Agent?
Before diving into your search for a literary agent, there are several important steps you should complete.
1. Finish your book
Eventually, successful writers can sell books just with a pitch. But for a new writer, you’ll need the whole thing ready to go. Booking a literary agent will eventually involve sending them your manuscript, so it should be in good shape by the time it hits their desk. Whether they request a partial or full manuscript from you, they will expect your book to be finished and ready to present to publishers, should they decide to represent you. If you hit several rejections, you might even hire a professional editor before sending your manuscript out for the next rounds.
2. Write a query letter
A query letter is a succinct pitch of your book that you send to literary agents. It should only be a page long, so be precise in your language while highlighting why your book is 1) publishable and 2) more special than all the other books that the agent is considering. This step technically comes after you’ve researched literary agents that would be a good fit for your book, but it won’t hurt to hone the best way to pitch your novel.
3. Have a firm grasp of your book’s themes, demographic, and overall message
While writing books that are all vibe and no plot is fun, a book with no depth likely won’t cut it for a literary agent, much less a publishing company. So, ask yourself what your book is trying to say in terms of themes—how they relate to each other, how readers can relate to them, and even how they may reflect aspects of your own life.
This isn’t to say that your book must inspire the next great philosophers with its complex message and compelling themes but knowing why you wrote your book and what it’s trying to say to whom will help convince literary agents and publishers that the world needs to read it. It’s also important to let them know who your target demographic are—you might even include comparison titles from your genre.
What To Look for in a Literary Agent
You won’t have much luck blindly sending query letters to every literary agent that comes up in your Google search, so take the time to find a literary agent that best fits you and your book. Here are some things to consider when researching which literary agent is right for you:
1. Their past clients
Literary agents will detail what genre of books they normally represent on their website, but a great way to find out exactly what they might be interested in is to take a look at their past clients. What genre do their clients tend to write in? Do they prefer dark fiction with a serious tone, or more easy-going plots with fluffier content? How long are the books they represent? How similar is your book to others that they’ve chosen in the past? If your book is in a similar genre or tone as their past clients, that agent may be a good fit for you. Ensure that your book isn’t too similar to anything they’ve represented, though, as they won’t be interested in publishing a fraternal twin of a book they’ve already picked up.
2. How long they’ve worked as a literary agent
If you’re a new writer looking to publish your debut novel, you may want to start your search with newer literary agents. Not only will they have a lower commission rate than more established agents, you’ll have a better chance of catching their attention, as they’ll likely have less on their plate. I’m not discouraging you from dreaming big and reaching out to seasoned literary agents—shoot your shot!—but don’t let your pride get in the way of finding an agent. They’re looking for someone to give them a chance, just like you!
That being said, if they’re a newer agent with only a few books on their resume, take a look at their previous clients' sales. If the books they represent don’t perform well, that could be of note.
3. How they conduct business
You’ll be working closely with your agent for the rest of the publishing process and beyond. Consider what type of person you want to work with. Are you looking for a no-nonsense, all-business type or someone that will act more like a friend as you go through the process together? The last thing you want is to land an agent that you can’t stand or that simply does not match your business approach. Think of it as literary agent Tinder with (hopefully) fewer weirdos and (maybe) no romantic ties.
So, you know what you want in a literary agent and have completed your prerequisites to starting the literary agent process. Now for the fun part.
How To Find a Literary Agent + 6 Places To Start
Unfortunately, finding a literary agent is something only you can do for yourself, but I promised to hold your hand, and I love holding hands. Here are six websites that were made to help writers find literary agents:
1. $ Publishers Marketplace$ (membership only)
Publishers Marketplace is a great, comprehensive tool, perfect for any writer looking for a literary agent. They provide a database of literary agents that can be filtered by genre, category, and keyword(s). Plus, they include member pages for each agent that detail their experience, commission rate, and past performance. They even provide a live feed of book deals and news from the publishing industry.
2. $ Query Tracker$ (free and paid versions)
Query Tracker provides a list of literary agents and publishers to research plus a tracking function that keeps your queries organized. The more query letters you send out, the more grateful you’ll be for this tool. You even have access to the number of queries each agent receives, how many they accept/reject, and their response times.
3. $ Duotrope$ (membership required + a free trial)
Duotrope is great for finding a literary agent with its list of over 7,500 publishers and agents, a search feature with over 20 filters, publishing news, a query tracker, and over 2,200 interviews with editors and agents so you can get to know them more personally. They even have options for visual art and poetry.
4. $ Agent Query$ (free)
Agent Query also includes extensive search options for literary agents and informative articles on major vs. smaller publishers, book querying, agent/editor blogs, e-publishing, and more. Each agent has a profile detailing their preferred genres, interests, experience in the field, and past projects.
5. $ Manuscript Wish List$ (free)
This site offers a slightly different approach to matching agents with writers by allowing the agent to fill out their own manuscript wish list—details of exactly what kinds of books they want to see in their inbox. Simply fill in the criteria of your book, and it will generate a list of agents who want to see books within that criteria.
6. $ Poets & Writers Literary Agents Database$ (free)
This database includes agents/agencies that represent poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. Their search filters are rather limiting, with "theme", "electronic subs", and "items/pages" being their only criteria, but they still provide an extensive list of agents ready to represent you and your book.
Now that I’ve told you everything you need to know about finding a literary agent and given you tools for searching for the perfect one for your book, I must let go of your hand and allow you to flourish on your own. Feels like my kid is going off to college.
If you'd like an alternative to side-step the querying process, you might $ consider self-publishing$ !
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