So, I’m looking for a literary agent. This is a daunting task, to say the least.
I bought the 2019 Writer’s Market Guide to Literary Agents. It’s an excellent resource. In it, you will learn that, before you can even begin to think about submitting your work to an agent, you must write the perfect synopsis, query letter, bio, marketing plan, platform (whatever that is) and basically justify your miserable existence in two pages or less, double spaced, in Times New Roman.
And by perfect, I mean better than anything ever. Your query letter has to grab them by the collar and be the best thing they ever read, or else, your book will get rejected and it’s back to the factory for you. And you thought you could be a writer. Pshaw.
But the good news is, there’s help out there for the likes of you and me. For a small fee, would-be-writers can take classes, get help with editing, get critiqued, join a group, take a workshop, do a webinar, or try some essential oils. And that’s just for your query letter. There’s more help available for the actual writing, for another small fee, of course.
I am trying not to get taken in by all the hype and scammers out there. For one thing, I don’t have all the time in the world to devote to this. If I believe I’m good enough to write a book (or a series of books in my case) then surely I’m good enough to write a one or two page query letter and a synopsis. On top of my time limitations, my funds for small fees are rather… well, small.
I did join Sisters in Crime and the Guppy Chapter and I’ve only begun exploring everything they have to offer but I really like them so far. The Writer’s Market and Writer’s Digest websites have provided some useful tools and good articles. There are classes available, which I have not taken advantage of yet (again those fees add up). Today I joined Query Tracker, for free. This looks like a very helpful way to search for agents and keep track of your queries. Even so, the bottom line is to visit the websites of the agencies you are interested in and follow their submission instructions, plain and simple.
I shall now begin querying. Wish me luck.
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