Finding the Right Agent

I’ve spent the past few days researching agents for Dark Waters, a middle-grade novel that takes place in 1850. This isn’t the first book I’ve submitted to agents, and it won’t be the last, so why don’t I just use the same list as last time?

Several reasons. First, it is always good to expand the search, especially since I haven’t yet found an agent I click with and who clicks with me. Second, agents move from one agency to another, and a letter sent to their former employer ends up in the wastebasket. Third, even if they are at the same agencies as before, their wish lists can change over time, the submission guidelines may change, or a particular agent may close (or reopen) the submission process. Then there is the possibility of finding someone new. Independent agents who are just starting out rarely have the right connections, but new agents with established agencies can draw on existing relationships and expertise. And sometimes I come across someone I simply didn’t know about before.

So what do I look for when searching for an agent? I need to know which age groups and genres the agent is interested in and which ones the agent won’t consider. Some concrete descriptions of what he or she is looking for can be useful as well (e.g., character or plot driven, importance of humor). I also appreciate information I can use to judge the agent’s personality. That’s important because the agent-client relationship is just that, and if we can’t connect with each other, the relationship won’t work.

One thing I don’t like is the lack of creativity that many agents show when they describe the types of books they are looking for. It isn’t helpful for an agent to tell me that he or she is looking for strong voices; fresh, creative, imaginative, or inventive plots; well-crafted stories; or memorable characters. Those are givens. All agents want them whether they say it or not. And most writers think that’s what they are providing, even if they aren’t. If everything else is a good match, I may submit to that agent anyway, but if there is another decent choice within the agency, I’ll send my query to that person, instead.

When an agency has two or more agents who match my criteria, another question arises. Often, one is experienced and another is still building his or her book. So do I submit to the veteran agent or the hungry one? That’s a question I’ve never been able to answer, so I usually ignore it and pick the person who feels like the better fit.

No amount of research guarantees that I will find an agent. In fact, I’ve gone through this process several times before with no success. And sometimes no research is necessary. I have a friend who sold his first book after an agent approached him. But researching before submitting is the most effective route to a good author-agent relationship.

So I’ll keep it up as long as I need to.