How to find a Literary Agent and write a Query letter.
What is a Literary Agent
A literary agent is a person who represents the business interests of writers and their written works. Some Agents will work with new writers acting as business-minded intermediaries between the writer and book publishers. Naturally , they are in it for the money, so get your query letter and manuscript spot on. (more about query letters later)
What Are the Benefits of Working With a Literary Agent?
Literary agents know how the publishing industry works and have in-depth knowledge of the publishing world. They also have connections to publishing houses, providing their client access to both major houses and independent publishers. Agents know what kind of novels booksellers want, and where the writers work will be best suited.
A literary agent knows everything you need in order to get your book accepted and published.
How to Find a Literary Agent
There are plenty of agents, but not all will be the right agent for you. During your agent search look for ones that have experience in your genre. Here's how to find a literary agent
1. Do research. Before you reach out to any literary agencies, research them thoroughly check-out there website and feedback. Create a wish list of the ones you think would be the best fit for you. If you are lucky enough to find an agent to represent you, you’re going to spend a lot of time communicating with the person now and in the future.
2. Check agent listings. There are lots of websites with databases listing agents and community resources geared towards helping new authors to find representation. Some sites let you sort by genre or keywords like narrative nonfiction, literary fiction, picture books, or science fiction to help you narrow down the search to find an agent in the right field.
3. Start querying. If the contact information for the agent is available, send them a query letter.
How to write a query letter.
A query letter is a condensed version of a book proposal: a brief, one-page letter containing all of the relevant information pertaining to who you are, what your novel is about, and who its target audience is. A good query letter is essential to capture an agent’s attention. Once you’ve hooked the agent, they will ask to read your full manuscript. If they like what they read, they may make an offer of representation, which means you’re that much closer to having your novel in front of a publisher.
The query letter has one purpose: to persuade the agent to request to read your manuscript. See It a very important sales tool. it requires a firm grasp of your story premise. Not extracts from the book or a list of chapters. Think about your book in a different way, see it as a product to be sold. Think about your books unique selling point (USP) and sell sell sell it.
Novelists should have a finished, edited and polished manuscript before they begin querying. You have got one chance, take it!
Your query include these elements, in no particular order (except the closing):
The housekeeping: your book’s genre/category, word count, title/subtitle
The hook: the description of your story and the most critical query element; 150-300 words is sufficient for most narrative works
Bio note: something about yourself, usually 50-100 words
Thank you & closing: about a sentence
The query shouldn’t be more than 1 page, single spaced, somewhere around 200 to 450 words. I recommend brevity. The more you try to explain, the more you’ll squeeze the life out of your story.
Opening to a query letter.
lead with your strongest selling point. Here are the most common ways to begin a query:
If you’ve been referred by an existing client; mention the referral right away.
If you met the agent at a conference and your material was requested, then put that upfront.
If you haven't been referred. Immediately follow the information bit, word-count, genre and title etc. with your story
Most first-time authors don’t have referrals, conference meetings or award to fall back on, This isn’t a problem talking about yourself is not the hook. Your story IS!
Personalise your query letter: yes or no?
Your query is a sales tool, and good salespeople try to develop a rapport with their target. It can be helpful to show you’ve done your homework if it’s done meaningfully. If you personalize the query by saying, “I found you in Writer’s Market,” or “I see from your website that you’re seeking mystery,” and you add nothing else, that’s not all that meaningful. Saying “The acknowledgments of (name..) mention you with praise, and (name's..) masterful work partly inspired my own novel." IS meaningful.
What is the Hook in a query letter?
The hook Describes your story.
For most queries, the hook does all of the work in convincing the agent to request your manuscript. Two formulas that may help you get started.
A Who is your main character (protagonist)?
What problem do they face?
What are the choices they must make? What tension drives the story forward?
B What does your character want?
Why do they want it?
What keeps them from getting it?