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Every year, the Guide to Literary Agents (Writer's Digest Books) puts contact information of agents, publicists, and writing conferences within your grasp.
“The Guide” is compiled yearly through questionnaires sent to agencies and writing conferences. They fill out these questionnaires year after year because they want you to contact them with that brand new best-selling book or blockbuster movie script (or both). So don't be shy about contacting them. However, make sure you read and understand what type of work they're after. They don't specify this to be cruel. Like publishers, each agent or publicist has a genre or group of genres that they enjoy representing.
The Guide to Literary Agents provides contact info for non-fee book agents and script (screenplay) agents. Only non-fee agents are featured to make listing more difficult for people who make more money collecting “reading fees” from writers instead of promoting their work to publishers. This is not to say that reputable agents don't charge fees, only that the editors at Writer's Digest Books can't reliably separate the wheat from the chaff. It's safer not to try.
Editor's Note... I've received a lot of requests for a good listing of literary agents. It seems like people are encountering agents that charge reading fees to review your manuscript. Legitimate agents never charge fees. Visit www.bookpublishingagent.com to get an up to date listing of over 350 agents for free. The great thing about this listing is that you can download it to your computer and it includes full name, address, and emails of only legitimate agents. |
Okay, you've just been published. Congratulations. I guess it's a bad time to point out that over 50,000 books are published in the U.S. each year. There's simply no way publishers can “get the word out” to the public on each new title. If you're not a celebrity author, that could doom your great work to obscurity. Hiring an independent publicist could make the difference between your work being a best-seller or merely “critically acclaimed” (which is usually nice-speak for, “it's good, but no one bought it”). Working from a schedule of fees or fee packages, a publicist ensures reviewers and local media know about your work. They can also schedule book signings and appearances.
Writing can be a lonely profession. Thankfully, there are various conferences to help you stay in touch with the industry down to the genre and regional levels. You can also find mentors (or be one), and gain new tools in the practice of your craft. Attending these events can be just as important to the quality of your writing as your word processor or Style Guide.
As Always, You Should Still Do Your Own Research
Of course, you shouldn't trust Guide to Literary Agents blindly. Once you've decided whom you'd like to send your manuscript to, find out about them on the Internet. If they've gained a bad reputation, other writers will be sure to warn you away. LiteraryAgents.org and FictionAddition.net are two such sites where reputable agents want to be mentioned (and disreputable ones want to be ignored) by their clients. Using the Internet and the Guide to Literary Agents in this matter will be your best guide to success.