1MiriamVanScott
(I posted this in the wrong group last time ---- sorry!)
Does anyone have any advice on how to find a good agent? The agent who handled my reference books doesn't handle childrens books --- and in fact is now working as an entertainment lawyer so she doesn't have any names to suggest other than a few pulled from an industry list. I've seen the "Writer's Market Guide to Agents" but was really hoping for a more personal touch, especially now because my self-published kids' book Candy Canes in Bethlehem is starting to get national attention and I want to see if I can get a 'traditional' publisher to pick it up.
It's been over 15 years since I went 'agent hunting' and the whole industry has changed since then! So if anyone can offer some 'do's' and 'don'ts' on what to look for, how to tell the real thing from a scammer, ways to make myself attractive as a client, etc. --- I could REALLY use your help!
Thanks!
Does anyone have any advice on how to find a good agent? The agent who handled my reference books doesn't handle childrens books --- and in fact is now working as an entertainment lawyer so she doesn't have any names to suggest other than a few pulled from an industry list. I've seen the "Writer's Market Guide to Agents" but was really hoping for a more personal touch, especially now because my self-published kids' book Candy Canes in Bethlehem is starting to get national attention and I want to see if I can get a 'traditional' publisher to pick it up.
It's been over 15 years since I went 'agent hunting' and the whole industry has changed since then! So if anyone can offer some 'do's' and 'don'ts' on what to look for, how to tell the real thing from a scammer, ways to make myself attractive as a client, etc. --- I could REALLY use your help!
Thanks!
2adeptmagic
You might want to start here:
http://www.womenofmystery.net/2007/04/resources-for-unpublished-writers.html
That has some great resources listed, including Writer Beware's "How to tell a scammer" page. Our blog does, if I do say so myself, have quite a few interesting posts on the topic of agents, etc. There are about four of us who write for it regularly (and another three or four who come and go) and some of us have agents and some don't. We don't write children's books, though, so we can't be specific about agents who represent that.
You're also in a different position than most. You're looking for a traditional publisher for a book that you originally self-pubbed, which makes your relationship with your publisher different than someone whose work isn't out there that way. Not better or worse, just different.
I also don't know where you live, but it might be worth finding out if there's a children's writing group in your area anywhere. You can often pick up good information that way.
Good luck!!
http://www.womenofmystery.net/2007/04/resources-for-unpublished-writers.html
That has some great resources listed, including Writer Beware's "How to tell a scammer" page. Our blog does, if I do say so myself, have quite a few interesting posts on the topic of agents, etc. There are about four of us who write for it regularly (and another three or four who come and go) and some of us have agents and some don't. We don't write children's books, though, so we can't be specific about agents who represent that.
You're also in a different position than most. You're looking for a traditional publisher for a book that you originally self-pubbed, which makes your relationship with your publisher different than someone whose work isn't out there that way. Not better or worse, just different.
I also don't know where you live, but it might be worth finding out if there's a children's writing group in your area anywhere. You can often pick up good information that way.
Good luck!!
3zette
I would start with a search of http://www.agentquery.com and see what you can find based on your genre, etc. Check out each agent's website and see whom they represent and if you think you would be a good mix. Many of them take online query submissions, which can be a real time saver and cut down the costs.
4yonderboy777
I'm not sure if this is fully functional yet, but it looked promising when I bookmarked it:
http://www.webook.com/literary-agents/writers.aspx
http://www.webook.com/literary-agents/writers.aspx
6DavidHFears
I wish I could give you a magic key for finding an agent, but I don't think there is one. Once I got referred to a top NY agent by a great guy I interacted with online in workshop. At least they read my stuff, the first 3 chapters in one case, the whole novel in another. Ultimately they said no and gave no more feedback.
I think finding an agent is the SINGLE greatest obstacle there is to being a published fiction writer.
Now, as for non-fiction, well, that's a different matter. Sometimes, in either case, however, one can find small publishers that can make the risk, or, one can go it alone and self-publish.
I wish you luck, because that's an element that definitely falls into the achievement of finding an agent.
David
I think finding an agent is the SINGLE greatest obstacle there is to being a published fiction writer.
Now, as for non-fiction, well, that's a different matter. Sometimes, in either case, however, one can find small publishers that can make the risk, or, one can go it alone and self-publish.
I wish you luck, because that's an element that definitely falls into the achievement of finding an agent.
David
8varielle
This thread has been quiet for a while. I’m in the US but am considering approaching an agent in the UK. Should I reformat the entire manuscript to British spelling? Or will they be ok with an American author using our spelling since as George Bernard Shaw said we are two peoples divided by a common language?
9Keeline
I've often seen the advice about looking at books similar to what you want to issue and seeing which agents are named in the acknowledgements.
Some agents will specialize in a given genre or publishers. But I also wonder if there becomes a conflict of interest if someone is representing author A in a certain subgenre and author B comes along to create competing works.
In terms of reworking a story to localize it, you might look to something like Scrivener as a writing tool where you can take snapshots (software programmers call this "version control") and make major changes such as you are contemplating.
Of course I would think that the first step is to get an agent/publisher interested and THEN you could do the detail work to conform to their standards.
I think about the "two spaces after a full stop" tradition that many still have. It is a matter of a couple minutes' work to copy-paste that to remove the extra spaces. But it is hours of work to add them when they are not there but are wanted. The reason a copy-paste does not work as well for that is the mid-sentence abbreviations like Dr. and Mr. that need to be accounted for. Everything needs to be looked over to make sure there is not something unwanted. That takes time.
James
Some agents will specialize in a given genre or publishers. But I also wonder if there becomes a conflict of interest if someone is representing author A in a certain subgenre and author B comes along to create competing works.
In terms of reworking a story to localize it, you might look to something like Scrivener as a writing tool where you can take snapshots (software programmers call this "version control") and make major changes such as you are contemplating.
Of course I would think that the first step is to get an agent/publisher interested and THEN you could do the detail work to conform to their standards.
I think about the "two spaces after a full stop" tradition that many still have. It is a matter of a couple minutes' work to copy-paste that to remove the extra spaces. But it is hours of work to add them when they are not there but are wanted. The reason a copy-paste does not work as well for that is the mid-sentence abbreviations like Dr. and Mr. that need to be accounted for. Everything needs to be looked over to make sure there is not something unwanted. That takes time.
James
