Tips on Finding the Right Agent and a Secret Way to Discover Agents You Don’t Know About

Find the right agent with the help of Literary Rambles

by Natalie Aguirre

Thanks so much for having me here, Anne and Ruth.

Finding an agent can be incredibly challenging, and sometimes, it can feel impossible. One thing I’ve learned from my almost 15 years of interviewing debut and traditionally published authors and agents at Literary Rambles is that there is always hope you’ll find the right agent.

You may have to write five or more manuscripts and rack up hundreds or more rejections. But you could still get a “yes” from one or more agents.

To help you on your path, I’m sharing my top tips on how to find a good agent. Plus my secret way to discover agents you don’t know about that could be a good fit for you. While I focus on agents who represent kidlit authors at Literary Rambles, many also represent authors who write for adults. They discuss this in their interviews. The same is true for other resources I’m sharing with you.

#1: Start Your List of Possible Agents While You’re Writing

You should begin compiling a list of possible agents to query while you’re writing your manuscript. That way you can start querying agents right away once you believe your manuscript is ready to submit. You’ll still need to research more agents while you’re querying. But you’ll give yourself a head start if you follow this tip.

Don’t just pick agents for the project you’re working on. Think about your ideas for stories you want to write, including any in other genres or for different age groups. Many traditionally published authors who continue selling books after their debut write across different age groups and genres. Try to find agents who could represent all your books. That way you don’t have to start the query process over for a future project.

#2: Be Flexible When Choosing Agents

Having a list of dream agents you’d love to work with and querying them is fine. But it’s good to be realistic. These agents may have a full client list of authors they represent and could be very selective in who they offer to represent.

I recommend you be flexible in your agent search. Here are good options you might not have thought about:

• Newer agents. Consider querying newer agents who are building their lists and are excited about working with new authors. Nowadays, they often start as an assistant to an agent and are usually mentored by more experienced agents at their agency when they’re promoted to an associate agent. In their agent spotlight interviews, Natasha Mihell at The Rights Factory, Bethany Fulk at Holloway Literary, and Roma Panganiban at Janklow & Nesbit Associates discuss how they were mentored when they became agents.
• Smaller agencies. You may be surprised to discover that many small agencies have the same resources as larger ones. They are often founded by experienced agents who have worked at well-known larger agencies for many years. A few fantastic agents who started their own agencies are Ginger Clark at Ginger Clark Literary and Natalie Lakosil at Looking Glass Literary & Media.

#3: Research Agents Thoroughly

Don’t limit your agent research to reading the information on the agency website if you don’t have to. If possible, you should dig deeper into who they are as an agent. This will help you learn as much as possible about what they’re looking for, their likes and dislikes in query letters, how they work with their clients, and whether they’re a good fit for you. Here are some resources you can use:

• QueryTracker. QueryTracker has a free database of over 1,800 agents. At this site, you can search for agents, find statistics on their response times, read comments from other writers who queried them, and more.
• Manuscript Wish List. You should search Manuscript Wish List and #MSWL for agents on your list. If they have a page on the Manuscript Wish List, you can find detailed information about what submissions they’re looking for. Some also post at #MSWL.
• Publishers Marketplace. You may want to search Publishers Marketplace for recent deals made by agents you plan to query. You have to pay for a subscription, but you can subscribe for a month or however long you want and then cancel it.
• Literary Rambles. I have a database of over 250 literary agent spotlights and interviews that is growing as I interview agents with query critique giveaways every month. You can find a wealth of information about what stories they’re looking for, their likes and dislikes in query letters, their editorial process, how to query them, and more. You can search my database by agent name, agency, and age category. I updated the entire database in 2021 and continue updating some spotlights and interviews every year so they remain helpful to querying writers.

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• Other interviews. Search online for other interviews agents have done to learn more about them. There aren’t as many interviews as in the heyday of blogging because fewer writers and authors have blogs, and agents aren’t as willing to be interviewed. But you may be able to find some helpful ones.
• Podcasts. Also, search to see if the agents you’re considering have been interviewed on a podcast. You can learn so much more about an agent when they’re having a conversation with someone on a podcast. While Robert Kent no longer conducts podcast interviews, he has a database of many author, editor, and agent interviews he’s done over the years on his blog, Middle Grade Ninja.

#4: Query in Batches

When you start querying, send out your queries in small batches and wait to see if any agents respond. Five agents are a good number to query at one time.

You often only get one chance to query an agent or agency on a specific manuscript, so you don’t want to blow your opportunity with them. By querying slowly, you can revise your query letter or pages you’re submitting if you aren’t getting any response or an agent gives you helpful feedback.

You’ll need to keep track of when you can submit to each agent. In the last few years, many who are open to queries now only accept queries on certain days of the week, specific weeks of the month, or periodically.

#5: Use My Secret Way to Find Agents You Don’t Know About

The reason I’m confident it’s possible for you to find the right agent if you persevere? There are so many agents and agencies out there that you may not know about. How do I know this? It’s because I find them all the time when I’m searching for agents to spotlight at Literary Rambles. I’m always amazed at how many agents and literary agencies I don’t know about, even though I’ve been keeping up-to-date on them for almost 15 years.

Here are my secret ways to find new agents:

• Writing and Illustrating blog. Kathy Tieman at Writing and Illustrating has an Agent of the Month series where she conducts a two-part interview with an agent who represents kidlit authors with a first-page contest each month.
• Writer’s Digest. Writer’s Digest has a blog where they sometimes interview agents or post new agent alerts.
• Chuck Sambuchino. Chuck Sambuchino is the former blog host at Writers Digest. He frequently posts new agent spotlights and interviews with agents on his blog.
• Publishing . . . and Other Forms of Insanity. Erica Verrillo frequently has blog posts listing agents who are currently seeking submissions. She also posts about writing contests and writing conferences and has a list of publishers who accept unagented submissions.
• PW Children’s Bookshelf. This free twice-a-week newsletter features author interviews, industry changes, and recent kidlit deals. I see many agents and agencies I’ve never heard of in the recent deals section. You may find new ones for your project even if you write for adults.
• Publisher’s Lunch. This free daily newsletter features industry news, current deals, and a listing of recent promotions and job moves for adult and kidlit editors and agents.
• PW Daily. This is a longer daily free newsletter with interviews with authors, industry news about publishers, editors, librarians, and bookstores, and a job moves section featuring adult and kidlit editors and agents.

You can subscribe to these newsletters and more at Publishers Weekly’s index of newsletters.

#6: Don’t Give Up on Your Dreams

I want to leave you with a quote from Tim Allen in the movie Galaxy Quest: “Never give up, and never surrender!” Don’t give up on your writing dreams. You have other options like self-publishing or submitting to smaller presses that accept unagented submissions to get published while you continue searching for an agent.

And please don’t forget, I’m here to help you on your journey. My mission at Literary Rambles is to help aspiring writers and authors on their path to publication, whatever path they choose. Please take advantage of what I have to offer and let your writer friends know how Literary Rambles can help them too.

Happy writing and querying! I hope you have fun and take control as much as you can on your writing and publishing journey.

by Natalie Aguirre, (@NatalieIAguirre) July 7, 2024

How about you, scriveners? Did you know about Literary Rambles when you were agent hunting? If you’ve self-published, are you still hoping to get an agent someday? Does it help to know there are more agents out there than you’ve heard about? Do you have any questions for Natalie?

About Natalie Aguirre

Natalie Aguirre is a retired lawyer, writer for a web marketing firm by day, and the blog host of Literary Rambles. She is also an aspiring middle grade and YA author and a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Natalie’s mission at Literary Rambles is to help aspiring writers and authors on their path to publication, whatever path they choose. She interviews literary agents with query critique giveaways. Plus she features many middle grade and young adult authors who offer advice to writers with book giveaways.

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featured image by Gerd Altmann for Pixabay