The Great Agent Search Begins Again...

[D.R. MacMaster]

My inability to get an answer out of the publisher whose been sitting on my science fiction novel for 4 years, or from the editor who asked me to let them look at it again last year, has convinced me that I desperately need an agent.

But I hate looking for one.

First, I'm in Canada, and I have several bad agent experiences I had in Toronto. (Ever had one bar a door when you had an appointment for a meeting and they demand you slide your work through a mail slot?) I've given up on Canadian agents, and I'm looking for an American one.

So I spent today putting my work on hold and going through AAR, AgentQuery, Predators & Editors, etc...etc... getting a list together to start the quest once again. I contacted one that I had networked with in the past, and got rejected in about the amount of time it took to write the e-mail. So that's one off the list.

Any recommendations will be welcome.

[Jack Getze]

Get Jeff Hermann's book where the agents tell you what they're looking for, what and how to submit to them. It's very thick, very expensive, and very very good. Many libraries have a copy to can use for nothing.


Product Description
Calling all writers, get your manuscripts out of the “slush pile” and into the bookstore with Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents. More comprehensive than ever before—and now 1,000 pages—this revised edition describes the insider dynamics at hundreds of U.S. and Canadian publishers, with hundreds of names and specialties for book acquisition editors. Nearly 200 of the most powerful literary agents reveal invaluable tips, as if they were having a private conversation with a special friend. With detailed information on what to do (and what not to do) to break the code, break down the walls, and get that first book, second book, or thirtieth book published, bought and read, Jeff Herman’s Guide is the go-to source for writers everywhere.

[Dana King]

I wish I had something good to tell you about the secret to getting one, but I don't. It's a slog. I just checked off the names when rejections came in and went to the next one. Keep your eyes open for targets of opportunity as you work through the process. When you read a book that is similar in some way to yours, check the acknowledgements and contact that agent. That's how I got one a few years ago. We've since gone our separate ways, but I don't question the work she did for me when we were together.

Good luck.

[B.R.Stateham]

Good luck on this one, my friend. The horror stories about agents can be found in US agents as well.