How to Get a Literary Agent

Finding an agent is vital in today’s traditional publishing landscape. “If your goal is to be published by a traditional [publisher], then an agent is still key to open those doors,” says literary agent Amy Levenson. Most publishers won’t accept a submission unless it has first gone through an agent. An agent will be a partner for you and connect you to resources that you need to set your book up for its best chance.

So you’ve decided you want an agent! Now what? You’ll need to do your research, write your query letter, and get picked up by an agent. That last task is informed by what you do for the first two. How do you go about researching agents? What should you discover? In the clip below, industry professionals give tips and tricks to finding an agent through research and getting an offer through your query letter. When you write your query letter, you’ll need to know how to structure it so it doesn’t get caught in a publisher’s slush pile.  How much should you personalize your query letter? What is the goal of your query letter? How much of your book synopsis should you include in your query letter? Our experts answer these questions and more in the clip below.