On Finding The Right Newbie Agent

Question of the day: I've been following the thread on pursuing a new agent versus an established one, and it seems the general consensus is that a newer agent at an established agency can be the sweet spot for new writers who a) need to get their foot in the door with an agent who is less busy, and b) can give their book lots of the attention that it probably needs.  But for someone who is a "just hatched" writer like me, how do I know which ones are established?  While I'm familiar with a lot of the "big names" in publishing, I can't say the same for literary agencies.  Should I pay attention strictly to titles they list on their website and length of time in business?  Or are there other things to consider? 

It's funny (well, not "ha ha funny," but "coincidental funny"), but one of the most common questions I'm asked as a published writers is: How do I find an agent? And this is actually one of the easiest things to go about doing. NOT landing an agent, but actually finding out information about them. (And I don't mean that in any disparaging way to the question-asker. Just that this is a relatively basic question to answer. And one that I'm happy to answer, since I haven't addressed it on the blog in a while.)

There is information about potential agents EVERYWHERE. And for this reason, there is no excuse not to conduct a really thorough and exhaustive search - AND there's no excuse to pitch agents who are totally mismatched for you or your type of book. I always recommend that people begin on Agent Query and Publishers Marketplace. Yes, the latter costs $20 a month, but it well-worth it to see who is making deals, for how much and for (and to) whom. From there, look in the acknowledgements of your favorite books (and books similar to what you have written). Search authors' websites. Google exhaustively. There is very, very little that you can't ascertain these days from google. Your job, as an aspiring writer, is to find out everything you can about a potential agent, in the same way that you would about a potential spouse. Ideally, this is a career-long relationship, and you shouldn't go into it blindly. 

As far as finding out where an agent is on the food chain, again, Publishers Marketplace is great for this. While not all agents list their deals on the site, many, many do, and you can get a relatively decent feel for how well an agent is doing. Do you pay attention to the titles they list on their website? Well, yes. But only if they are titles that echo your own book. I couldn't care less if someone represents Stephen King (well, okay, I probably could, but you know what I mean), because I'm not sure how vital his agent's contacts would be for ME. I don't write thrillers, so we may not be a good match at all - regardless of the fact that he'd have SK's deals listed up and down his site. (This is a figurative example - I have no idea who reps SK, and frankly, he probably doesn't need to brag about it on his site. Actually, doesn't SK represent himself? At that level, maybe you can. Anyhoo - I've digressed.)

As far as years in the business, I think there's something to be said for having a few under his or her belt. Mostly for relationship-building with editors. But that's not to say that an agent can't light the world on fire straight out of the gate or that a long-term agent can't have really crappy contacts and not do much for you, regardless of years in the business.

I think my point here is that you have to dig up a lot of dirt, and then, you have to listen to your own inner-voice of reason. What makes sense - experience vs. enthusiasm, big-name authors vs. mid-list? I don't think there's really a formula to it, other than, hopefully, you know it when you find it. But with all of the above resources, you should be on your way to finding a good match. 

Good luck! Anyone else want to weigh in on valuable places to find an agent?

Comments

[Sophie Li]

Well said Allison!

Not much to add except that as an new writer trying to get published myself, searching through Agent Query has become my second job.

[Kristan]

I always start at Google, and I prefer to start with an agent/agency's official site. Maybe it's wrong of me, but I do care about how their web presence reflects on them. Is it clear and easy to follow? Do they have a list of recently sold or recently published books? What do their agent bios say?

After that, I do what you said above. :)