I NEED A GOOD AGENT!

HollyB said:

Go here:

Association of Agent Representatives

login as "guest,"

then click on "accepting e-mail queries."

Voila!

Click to expand...

You don't have to login (as a matter of fact, it won't take a login without a password). However, go here: http://www.aar-online.org/mc/directory/viewsimplesearch.do and do your search. There is a link on this page to click on to search for agents who accept e-mail queries.

Looking for an agent to represent my Police Procedural

To date I have 4 rejections, albeit nice ones, out of 13 queries sent out. Can anyone point me in the direction of a good agent that represents Crime fiction/Police Procedurals. Preferably one that responds back within a few days and not a few months. Thanks.

BTW, it is a completed novel, 81000 words, and I have started on a second book in the series.

You're asking for the moon. Getting anything other than a scam agent is a long-haul process. You shortcut that process at your peril.

Ken Hoss said:

To date I have 4 rejections, albeit nice ones, out of 13 queries sent out. Can anyone point me in the direction of a good agent that represents Crime fiction/Police Procedurals. Preferably one that responds back within a few days and not a few months. Thanks.

BTW, it is a completed novel, 81000 words, and I have started on a second book in the series.

Click to expand...

Do your own legwork.

gothicangel said:

Do your own legwork.

Click to expand...

I am doing my own legwork. I just thought someone here would have a suggestion. Is it wrong to ask for a little assistance from the community? I just started the query process last month, and I am still searching agents on my own.

Gravity, it isn't my intention to "short cut" the process. As I stated above, I just wanted to see if any one had a suggestion.

So far I have queried:

Bent Agency - nice rejection
Henshaw Agency - nice rejection
Trident Media Group - still waiting
Fine Print Literary - still waiting
Dominick Able Agency - not accepting new clients
LJK Literary Agency - nice rejection
Marianne Strong Agency - still waiting
Laura Langlie Agency - nice rejection letter
Artist and Artisans - still waiting
Signature Literary Agency - still waiting
Larson-Pomeda Literary Agency - still waiting
Dunow Agency - still waiting


Okay, so it's 12 and not 13. I miscounted. I am currently researching 5 additional agents.

Ken, check out www.querytracker.net and www.agentquery.com. You can search agents by what genres they say they represent.

As for wanting an agent that responds back within a few days, good luck. Responding to queries is at the very bottom of an agent's to-do list and if you follow the agent threads here, you will see that every person who queries has a different experience with agents. An agent who responded promptly to my query took six weeks to respond back to somebody else. It all depends on what the agent's workload is and how far behind they may be with their signed clients' work.

And one final word of advice - be patient. It can sometimes take years for a writer to find an agent. It took me 11 months of serious querying before I signed with my agent.

Anaquana said:

Ken, check out www.querytracker.net and www.agentquery.com. You can search agents by what genres they say they represent.

As for wanting an agent that responds back within a few days, good luck. Responding to queries is at the very bottom of an agent's to-do list and if you follow the agent threads here, you will see that every person who queries has a different experience with agents. An agent who responded promptly to my query took six weeks to respond back to somebody else. It all depends on what the agent's workload is and how far behind they may be with their signed clients' work.

And one final word of advice - be patient. It can sometimes take years for a writer to find an agent. It took me 11 months of serious querying before I signed with my agent.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Anaquana, this is just the feedback I was looking for. I really appreciate it. As for waiting, yes I understand that it takes time. I guess I'm a little over anxious. I had one agent reply back withing 2 hours! It really surprised me. Granted it was a rejection, but it was a very nice rejection. I'll check out the links.

*laughs* I know what you mean about being overly anxious. The very first *serious* query I sent out (I was a dumbass and had queried several agents when I knew I wasn't ready so I don't really count those queries as part of my totals) netted me a response within fifteen minutes. That agent requested a partial and then a full. She ended up passing on it several months later, but what a way to get my hopes up.

Yes, best advice, keep on querying and don't anticipate a swift response or, indeed any response. When you have a look at an agents website, you may find they have a 'no response means no' policy.

My advice is to query and while you're doing that bury yourself in the next book. Watching for emails is addictive, frustrating and may lead to heavy drinking.

Ken Hoss said:

Thanks, Anaquana, this is just the feedback I was looking for. I really appreciate it. As for waiting, yes I understand that it takes time. I guess I'm a little over anxious. I had one agent reply back withing 2 hours! It really surprised me. Granted it was a rejection, but it was a very nice rejection. I'll check out the links.

Click to expand...

You get a range around here of anything from ten minutes (for both requests and rejections) to more than ten months (for both requests and rejections). It really depends on the agent, the house and the time of year you send.

I even had one quick responder come back almost immediately because she opened her email to scan a few during lunch and mine happened to pop into her inbox at that moment, so she read it first.

There's no real pattern, but do check Query Tracker's comments on each agent to see how long it took for others to get responses.

It may also be helpful to look at successful query letters here in the Query Letter Hell section of SYW (it's a sticky) and in the Ask the Agent section. It may be that your query letter isn't as strong as it could be. You could always post it in Query Letter Hell, but please read the stickies first. Good luck.

I have to third, fourth, etc. query tracker. I also check back on the bewares thread regularly and if I don't recognize the agency in a particular thread, I check to see if the agents rep my genre.

Thanks everyone for the assistance. I didn't know about Query Tracker until today. I got out 8 more queries, including one to a publisher. Now the waiting process begins.

You might also want to try Pubisher's marketplace. $20 a month for subscription to access their database but well worth every cent. Once you short-list your agents, it is still best to cross check against their websites for the most updated information on agent reps and submission guidelines. Third party sites, though excellent sources, may not update their information quite as regularly. All the best!