Agentquery.com: If you need an agent and don’t know anybody, start here.

Posted on June 21st, 2007 by Carlos

Let’s face it: if you are trying to break into the writing business without connections, most likely you’re going to have a rough time. Almost to a one, publishing houses of any size and stature require you to have an agent before they will look at (and most likely reject) your manuscript. But getting an agent is increasing becoming as hard as finding a publisher.

About the hardest way to get an agent is by sending an unsolicited query letter to one who doesn’t know you from Adam. Better ways may include going to conferences, learning the art of the so-called “elevator pitch,” etc. And even then your odds suck salami.

So you might want to add the unsolicited query letter to your repertoire of options. And if you’re going to do that, the first thing you need to do is spend some time finding the right agent to submit to. Not only will this maximize your chances of getting a response, but it will minimize the amount of time you need to spend reading piles of demoralizing form rejection letters — or worse, spending months waiting for form rejection letters.

Enter agentquery.com. It is, I think, one of the best agent search sites on the Web: if not the best. The comprehensive contact information is the least useful thing you’ll get from agentquery.com: much more helpful are the “search by genre” feature and the pretty through biographical information. You can also find agents who will accept queries by e-mail, which I strongly suggest — e-mail makes the whole process faster and cheaper for everyone.

Agentquery.com gives you pretty much everything you need to send an effective query letter — in the top-left corner, be sure to read their advice about getting an agent. Even with all of this help, your odds are crap, but at least you will have avoided amateur mistakes that would make your chances even crappier.

No, I’m not bitter. Why do you ask? :)