The 10 Best Ways to Get an Agent's Attention
1.Make your query letter the perfect sales pitch for your project.
Don't be afraid to sell yourself. Remember that the letter has only one purpose: to make your book look like a good business proposition so the agent will ask to see your proposal or manuscript. Intrigue and charm them, but don't waste their time.
2. Present your book idea in both your query letter and your proposal so that the agent can clearly see its commercial potential.
Show that your book has an audience, distinctive characteristics, a strong rationale, and a highly promotable and experienced author.
3. Show that you've done your homework.
Describe your book in terms that demonstrate that it is a compelling new entry into its market, that you're well aware of the competition, and that you've found a way to make it stand out.
4. Sell yourself as the perfect author for this project.
Highlight your expertise, experience, education, previous writing credits and publications, speaking engagements, consulting practice, high-profile clients and contacts, and ability to promote and sell the book yourself. Include sales figures for previously published books so the agent can gauge your level of success. If the numbers aren't impressive, say so and explain why.
5. Do a dynamite book proposal.
The proposal is an extended sales pitch for your book - make sure it does a great job of showing the agent why people need your book and why it will sell to publishers. Publishers need the proposal to prove to them that your book is a viable commercial proposition.
6. Put yourself in the agent's shoes.
Agents are often in business for themselves, running offices on their own or with an assistant. They are flooded every day with queries, most of which they will not represent. So respect their time, be clear and crisp, be patient with their response time, and realize that you may hear a lot of “no's” before you get a “yes.” And please don't take the rejection personally.
7. Look for a good fit. Your book is special, and all agents are not alike. Make sure any agents you are considering have the potential to be interested in the kind of book you are writing. See Writer's Resources for the available guides to literary agents so you can begin your search for the right agent for you and your work.
8. Avoid form letters and mass mailings.
Generic letters tell agents that you have not taken care to target your project. They may think that an unfocused search for an agent may be matched by the quality of the manuscript that follows. Besides, how can you track and follow up on those you've contacted with a generic mass mailing?
9. Pay attention to details.
Grammar, spelling, format, paper, and font style all count. Agents are so overwhelmed with queries that they may reject yours on the basis of a bad first impression. Unfair? You would too if you were receiving hundreds of queries and proposals every year. And how can you claim to be writing a book if you don't write a credible query letter?
10. Don't fax or email queries, proposals, or (heaven forbid!) manuscripts unless an agent specifically says it's okay (most hate it) - and always enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE).
Why an SASE? It not only makes replies easier, but also respects the agent's budget. Most agents do not respond if the query does not come with a SASE. And they will definitely be turned off by unsolicited email or fax queries.
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