Question of the day: How did you get your agent?  Did you know someone, or were you from the slush pile? How crucial do you think personal connections are in this business? 

I found my agent - both of them, as I've had two - the old-fashioned way: good old querying my pants off. When my first manuscript was complete - the one I mentioned last week that never sold - I scoured Agent Query, Publishers Marketplace and Google to compile a lengthy list of agents who I thought might be good fits. From there, I fired off my query letter and fired off some more when rejections came in. Eventually, I got some nibbles, and then I got a bite.

And then, after some time, we parted ways. So I was back on the agent-carousel. From there, I revisited some of the agents who had expressed interest the last time around and also went out with another list of agents I'd never tried. After, I don't know, maybe 15-20 queries (much fewer than the first time because this was a MUCH better book), I had several offers and signed with the agent who is still my agent today: an agent I'd never queried the first time around. So it all worked out for the best.

How important is it to be connected? Well, I wasn't connected at all. Yes, I had a lot of magazine and writing experience, so I suppose that helped get my query a closer look, but I didn't have any ins or any referrals. I just put together the query and emailed it off. (Yes, I only submitted to agents who accepted email - that was one of my picky criteria.) Being connected CAN help you, sure, but it only helps you get a toe in the door: from there, your manuscript has to stand on its own, and plenty don't, even with the nicest of referrals.

So my advice is to pinpoint the agents who you really think can work as your best advocates and then query away. It worked for me. Anyone else out there want to share how you got an agent? Blind query or connection?

Question of the day: I know I have writing in my blood. I can feel it. How can I turn this urge to write into a career? What steps should I follow?  Once I have an idea for a book, what should I do to make it published?  

Lots of "how do I get started" emails in my in-box right now - must be the New Year's resolutions! :)

How do you turn this urge to write into a career? Well, if you're talking about fiction - which I assume you are since you refer to a book - you need to start writing. Full stop. The end. So many people - too many people - believe that they have books in them. Guess how many of them actually take the time to write said books? Unscientific data tells me that it's at about 1%. Thinking that you have a book in you doesn't equate to anything - sitting down and writing it might. 

Which leads me to your next question: how to get it published. If you're writing a novel, you actually have to have written the entire thing before you can even consider this next step. Once you've banged out, oh, 80k-100k words, and revised them, and revised them again, and maybe even revised them AGAIN (yes, I know, really), then you start looking for an agent. There are hundreds of great agents out there who are eager to sell good fiction, and you can start your search at Agent Query, Publishers Marketplace, google or the acknowledgment pages of your favorite books. You need to put together a bang-up query letter (you can search the blog for examples of some), email it out to dozens and dozens until one says yes. That agent will then likely help you revise the manuscript again, and then take it to publishers, one of whom you will also hope will say yes while offering you a check in return.

But getting back to my first paragraph: the most important element in all of this is sitting down and writing. I have a few close non-writer friends who want to write books - and who I think would all likely write very good ones - but they talk a lot about writing them without every writing them. You're never, ever, ever going to be a published author if you don't first write the book. I know that sounds obvious but for a lot of people, I'm actually not sure that is. Write the book. Worry about the rest of it after that. And good luck!!

So today....drum roll, please....I am thrilled to be turning the blog over to my fabulous agent, Elisabeth Weed. She'll be answering your questions all week, and she's enjoyed the experience so much, I'm happy to say that she'll be doing the same once a month here at Ask Allison. Without further ado, here ya go.

Question of the day: My question is...we read articles that say now-famous authors with best-sellers were rejected by ten, fifty, a hundred agents before the one who say yes. I'm wondering if persistence is the key or if there's a time that you think it's clear the book is a no-go. I guess it would be the same for agents submitting to publishers -- what's the cutoff? Is there one? I'm jumping ahead since I'm not there yet --- but I am always relieved when I hear that someone queried 100 times before finding an agent. I believe I have that in me too.

I love hearing those stories.  The Help by Kathryn Stockett is one of the best. (I quickly looked in my rejection log after reading her story in The New York Times and was thrilled to know I didn't reject her!)  I think  the key is a combination of persistence and a well as a certain savvy about the market and reading between the lines in terms of feedback.  I've had the pleasure of selling a fair amount of debut fiction, but each author has a very different story on how they got to me and then their publisher. In some cases, the author worked on that novel for many years, as it transformed from one genre to another, based on feedback from her writers group, agents and published writers.  In another scenario, the author had a novel that got rejected from upwards of 50 agents. She realized from the responses that it wasn't her craft, but rather the structure of the novel. So, she shelved it, wrote another book, and was greeted with several offers of representation within weeks of sending it out.  This is all to say that I think stories like Ms Stockett's are much more common that you realize. We just don't hear about them in the NY Times because her success of finding an agent and getting published is only written about because of the real success story, of being a debut novel that for all intents and purposes has been number one on the bestseller list (big brand name authors that get published new books every week are the only thing keeping her from that spot).

In short, I don't think there is one path to getting there but if you believe in yourself, do your homework, listen to feedback and yes, be persistent, you will give yourself and your book the best chance for success.  I hope that helps.  Does anyone want to share their stories of finding an agent? 

Question of the day: When you break up with your agent after your first book was published does the new agent now rep that title or does that stay with the old agent?

I've never been in this exact position but I believe that technically, yes, the old agent reps that title. I know in my case, my agent left her old agency after she sold my debut, but I still get royalty information from that old agency, so technically, they'd get any profits, etc, from that book. THOUGH, since I'm still with the same agent, she still reps this work if, say, we ended up selling other rights than we previously had.

I think the best thing to do in this case - I'm assuming you've parted ways with your agent and are interested in selling additional rights to that work - is simply ask her if she has any intention of ever furthering that book's chances in the marketplace, and if not, ask her if she'd consider releasing you from the contract you signed. It might not be up to her: if she's one of many agents within an agency, she might not have authority to do this, but if she works alone, she might. (I'm guessing here.) If she has no plans of ever making another dollar off of this work - and if she's a reasonable person - she might just let you pass it off to the new agent, who could pursue foreign opportunities, etc.

But as I said, I've never been in this exact situation. Have any of you readers out there? Want to advise our question-asker?