Sunday, February 27, 2011

Searching for Literary Agents Online

Based on my "vast" experience researching and querying agents, I’ve compiled a helpful list of the top online places to obtain information on literary agents. This includes information on what they’re looking for, if they’re open to submissions, how to query them, how to look up books an agent has sold, etc. Plus, I’ve listed a few sites where you can go to check out the good and the bad about agents.

Agent Databases:
Agent Query — Database of Literary Agents -- Self-Proclaimed “The internet's largest and most current database of literary agents”: www.agentquery.com

QueryTracker — Agent Search and Submission Tracking -- You must register to track submissions, but it’s free: www.querytracker.net. Or you can pay a small yearly for Premium Membership which grants you a few additional perks.

AuthorAdvance (formerly LitMatch) — Agent Search and Submission Tracking -- You must register to track submissions, but it’s free: www.authoradvance.com

The Association of Authors’ Representatives: www.aar-online.org

Publishers Marketplace — you don’t have to have a subscription to search an agent, however, it’s well worth the $ to read about the publishing deals agents are making: www.publishersmarketplace.com

Preditors & Editors -- A great database that lists agents and potential agent problems. It’s always a good thing to check an agent against this list to see if there are reported problems: www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubagent.htm


Other Popular Sources:
Absolute Write Water Cooler – for all genres -- Bewares and Background Checks: www.absolutewrite.com/forums/index.php

Verla Kay “The Blueboard” – for Children and Young Adult: www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php

To Search for books an agent has sold and may be mentioned in the book acknowledgements:

Google — Search in “Books” Category -- Type in search box: “agent name of agent”

You can do the same at Amazon: www.amazon.com or Barnes & Noble: www.bn.com


General Information:
Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America — Writer Beware -- General, but valuable information about agents, scams, questions to ask, links to more information etc. -- www.sfwa.org/beware

Guide to Literary Agents Blog -- http://guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog