Resources for Writers–
Hitting the Bull’s Eye in Your
Search for A Literary Agent

One of our guest authors mentioned the website Agent Query as the place where she found her literary agent. So I went and checked it out and realized that I have come across this wonderful site before. It’s chock full of information about literary agents and it seems legit. You can search the database of agents with your own terms, and I found that my agent is listed as are other agents I know about. If this website had been around when I was starting out, I would have spent a lot of time on it.

Agent Query claims the database includes more than 900 “reputable” literary agents and their contact information. Agent profiles also include information such as the genres the agents specialize in and some of the authors represented along with the authors’ book titles (although this is not always up-to-date with the agent’s most recent acquisitions). In summary, the listings tell you everything you need to know about the agents short of whether he or she will represent you. And for that you’ll have to get busy querying the agents. For more on that see, How to Find A Literary Agent.

Agent Query has some very good articles for aspiring authors. I particularly like the one called “Beware of Scammers.”

Here’s a short excerpt–

How do I tell a reputable literary agent from a questionable one?
Legitimate literary agents make their professional livelihoods from the commissions they earn through the sale of their clients’ books to publishers. Reputable agents do not charge fees to review manuscripts, they do not refer writers to fee-charging editorial services, and they do not charge their clients up-front fees to cover the costs of doing business. Reputable agents earn their money through a 10-20% commission of the sale of book rights to domestic and foreign book publishers. Real literary agents with real book sales have real publishing contacts. They know editors. They know what editors like to read. And most importantly, literary agents know what specific editors want to buy.

Agent Query also has information about large and small publishers, writers’ conferences, grants for writers and much more. And it’s all free!

More information about finding a literary agent–

Writing Tips: How to Find a Literary Agent

Writing Tips: Literary Agent or Publisher?