Before You Contact an Agent... - podcast

Before you try an agent, there are essential tasks to do first. Agent Jill Marsal discusses tips on how to get a literary agent to help you reach your book publishing goals. First, identify the agents who work with your book's genre. This will help you target agents who will likely be a good match for your project. Marsal provides examples of how you can find agents by searching in books or online. Second, take the time to write a terrific query letter. The query letter is what you send to agents, and very often agents will use your query letter as the basis for a pitch to publishers. The content of the query letter is critical to the whole process. Marsal describes what to include in an excellent query letter for fiction and nonfiction books, including a summary, hook, and your writer experiences. For fiction writers, one of the most critical pieces is the manuscript itself. Follow Marsal's tips on how to impress an agent with your manuscript.