manuscript, a marketing plan, and perseverance.
  
              The Marketing Plan
  
        Once you’ve completed the final, FINAL draft of your novel (and unpublished novelists should always have a completed novel before beginning to market it), and once you’ve gotten feedback from a knowledgeable reader or two, you’re ready to seek your agent. You’ll need the following:
■   Your manuscript, professionally prepared
■   A short synopsis (2-3 pages)
■   A query letter
■   A list of agents
  
        To prepare a list of agents, you’ll have to do some research because most agents specialize. Some only handle nonfiction, while others prefer a particular fiction genre. There are many agent listings available, including:
■   Guide to Book Publishers, Editors & Literary
     Agents 2008, by Jeff Herman, Three Dog Press,
     Oct. 2007.
■   2008 Guide to Literary Agents, by Chuck
     Sambuchino, Writer’s Digest Books.
■   2008 Writer’s Market, by Robert Brewer,
     Writer’s Digest Books.
■   The Association of Authors’ Representatives
     provides a search engine to narrow your search
     by the type of work:
          http://www.aar-online.org/mc/page.do
  
        In addition to books and agent lists, check the acknowledgement section of recent novels similar in style or genre to yours. Quite often authors use this space to thank their agents and editors. A few hours in the public library or local bookstore can yield a dozen examples. Note the names of the books and authors so you can mention them in your cover letter. Comparing your work to ones that were successfully marketed by the agent can be a strong selling point.
        Another technique for building your list of agents is to network. Attend writers’ conferences and workshops. Join writers’ groups. When you meet someone who has published a novel in your field, ask for their agent’s name and permission to mention your relationship to the author in your query letter. This is particularly successful when the workshop includes critiquing by published authors. If they like your work, ask them about their agents.
  
                    What to Send
  
        Agents vary in their preferences. Some will accept only a query, others want a synopsis and sample chapters, while some will accept nothing less than the full manuscript. Some agents will accept or even encourage queries by email. Others refuse to accept electronic submissions. Study the guides. Check on line to see if an agent on your list has a web site with guidelines for submitting material. The best agents may publicly state that they do not accept unsolicited material. If this is one of those agents suggested by a published writer, send the agent a short note explaining the recommendation and asking for permission to send along your material.
        The one way to guarantee you’ll receive no response from an agent is to send hard copy materials without a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE). Don’t forget to include yours.
        All that said, here are the materials most often cited in guides to agents:
■   A 1-page query letter briefly describing your
     project, your background or other writing
     credits, and the request to send your completed
     manuscript for consideration. Your letter must
     address the agent by name and, if possible,
     should be personalized, mentioning books or
     authors the agent has represented.
■   A 4-8 page synopsis of your book. Check
     manuscript guides for format.
■   A sample chapter or two.
■   Your SASE     

 represent him. The book was  eventually sold, and he’s gone on to sell several more, sharing an agent with John Grisham.
  
               When an Agent Asks
                  to See Your Book
  
        With luck and perseverance, agents will respond with requests to read your manuscript. Package up a copy, along with a short note reminding the agent that the manuscript was requested, and politely ask for a response within eight weeks. Include return postage and a mailing label or self-addressed box for the return of your book.
        If you are lucky enough to have more than one agent request your manuscript, be sure to let each know that this is the case. And if you accept a contract from one agent, let any others currently considering your work know that it is no longer available.
        If you find an agent, keep in mind that publication is not guaranteed. Your agent should circulate your manuscript, and you are entitled to a regular (generally monthly) report on where your manuscript has been submitted and what the comments have been.
        Your agent will probably ask you to sign a contract, and you are within your rights to ask for a list of the agent’s clients and permission to speak to some of them. You may also ask for the agent’s financial statement, and you should check with the Better Business Bureau and the Association of Authors’ Representatives for complaints. If possible, you should meet the agent.
        Keep in mind that a bad agent, one who does not circulate your book, or who is not respected by publishers, can do you more harm than good. Publishers send your royalties and advances to your agent. In turn, the agent takes his/her negotiated percentage (typically 15%) off the top and sends you a check for the rest. In the worst case, a corrupt agent could defraud you of your royalties.
  
         Agents and Reading Fees
              and Other Problems
    
        In your quest for an agent, you will undoubt-edly run into a few who will attempt to charge you fees. Some will charge reading fees ranging from a few dollars to hundreds. Others will charge fees to represent you. Avoid all of these agents, at least until you have exhausted the non-fee-charging ones.
        There are some fee-charging practices, however, that seem to be gaining in acceptance. A few “reputable” agencies have begun charging small reading fees—less than $100 and often as low as $35. The agents claim the fees are necessary to defray the expenses involved in reading and reporting on submissions.
        Other agents are asking for copying and mailing costs. While this may also be acceptable, and is a growing practice, beware. Ask for an itemized statement of costs and try to negotiate an agreement to be reimbursed when your book is sold. It is difficult to determine which agents are defraying costs and which are supporting themselves on the fees of beginning writers.
        As you begin your quest for an agent, understand that the average rejection rate for reputable agents is above 90%. But you only need one good agent, and you will be approaching many. To quote Jeff Herman, in Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents, “At least 200 literary agents are active in America, and their perceptions of what is and isn’t marketable vary widely, which is why a few or even several rejections should never deter writers who believe in themselves.”
        And while you’re waiting for word from the agents, start working on your next novel!   
  

A common lament among authors these days is that it is just about impossible to find a literary agent to represent their work.  Of course, it’s just as difficult to find a publisher, leaving writers between the proverbial rock and brick wall. Many give up, stacking their unsold manuscripts on closet shelves and pursuing less ego-busting hobbies such as playing the lottery. But finding a literary agent can be done. It requires several things: a salable

        Some books on marketing your writing recommend sending queries to ten agents at a time, then waiting for their responses before going on to the next ten on your list. When Richard Parrish, author of several courtroom mysteries, spoke to the Tucson chapter of Mystery Writers of America about his quest for an agent, he told of mailing his package to 200 agents. He found several willing to read his manu-script, and one who agreed to

Copyright © Cynthia Sabelhaus