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Because I was asked this by a friend and the email turned out to be, basically, a blog post…
Not exact, but a good start on the path if you are Jon Snow and know nothing.
When searching for an agent, do the following:
1. Search:
www.agentquery.com
www.1000literaryagents.com
2. Look for the exact kind of agent you want:
MG, YA, SFF, Fantasy, Romance, etc…
3. Look to see if they are open for submissions.
– Should say on their profile
4. Go to their agency website:
– Make /sure/ they are open for submissions (most up-to-date, hopefully)
– Make /sure/ you understand what their sub guidelines are (IE: first 10 pages, first 3 chapters, etc…)
5. Make some decisions:
– Sub to one agent and wait?
– Sub to multiple agents?
(IE: are simultaneous subs allowed? or is it exclusive?)
6. Submit your query (whatever the guidelines say)
– Follow the guidelines to the letter
7. Wait.
– This is the hardest step.
– Write something else while you wait.
8. When you get an answer either:
– Rejection: mourn, repeat the process
– Acceptance: panic, follow what the agent is asking for in a timely manner
9. Wait.
– Again, the hardest step.
– Seriously, write something else while you wait.
10. Final answer:
– Rejection, mourn, begin again
– Offer of Representation: panic, realize the agent works for you, have questions ready. If you don’t know what questions to ask, consult author friends and social media.
Good luck!
Jenn
As of this week, I have survived ten years as a fulltime freelance author/editor and created a career I am proud of. The past decade has been nothing like I expected it to be. When I began, I wanted to “just write” and to see if I could make it as an author. Within the first year, I started editing. Time has flown by as well as taken forever. I had a plan and a series of professional goals to meet. I have met every single one of these. Though… the last one, “get an agent,” happened in the last couple of months.
Ten years later, I have discovered there were a whole lot more professional goals I wanted to achieve that I didn’t know I wanted to achieve when I started out. Some of them shocked me when they happened. (Honestly, some of them still surprise me when they occur.)
It’s been ten years. I’ve achieved so much and I’m so grateful to the people who have helped me along the way—editors, publishers, other authors, fans, cheerleaders, shoulders-to-cry-on, friends, family, and my husband. I’m not going to stop now. I just have to set goals for the future. Here are the ones I know I want to achieve:
The more I know about the publishing business, the more I can narrow down what I really want out of my career. Now that I have a wonderful agent, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me.
In celebration, and out of duty, I have filed ten years worth of editing and writing contracts… much to the enjoyment and annoyance of my cats. (The red folder is filled with 10 years worth of editing contracts and the black one has 10 years of writing contracts.)
Jennifer Brozek is a multi-talented, award-winning author, editor, and media tie-in writer. She is the author of Never Let Me Sleep and The Last Days of Salton Academy, both of which were nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. Her YA tie-in novels, BattleTech: The Nellus Academy Incident and Shadowrun: Auditions, have both won Scribe Awards. Her editing work has earned her nominations for the British Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and multiple Hugo Awards. She won the Australian Shadows Award for the Grants Pass anthology, co-edited with Amanda Pillar. Jennifer’s short form work has appeared in Apex Publications, Uncanny Magazine, Daily Science Fiction, and in anthologies set in the worlds of Valdemar, Shadowrun, V-Wars, Masters of Orion, Well World, and Predator.
Jennifer has been a full-time freelance author and editor for over seventeen years, and she has never been happier. She keeps a tight schedule on her writing and editing projects and somehow manages to find time to teach writing classes and volunteer for several professional writing organizations such as SFWA, HWA, and IAMTW. She shares her husband, Jeff, with several cats and often uses him as a sounding board for her story ideas. Visit Jennifer’s worlds at jenniferbrozek.com or her social media accounts on LinkTree.
