All this week I'm going to post notes from my AACBWI Workshop, HOW TO LAND AN AGENT: STEP BY STEP. These are the seven steps that I implemented to get my own agent. *Post Update* - This is how I obtained my former agent. However, when I do start querying agents again, I will definitely use these steps again. :) To kick things off, let's talk about what an agent does, dispel some myths, and alert you about red flags. What does an Agent Do? At the basic level, the agent acts as the … [Read more...]

This week I'm sharing notes from my workshop, HOW TO LAND AN AGENT: STEP BY STEP. Today I'm going to talk about Steps 1 and 2. STEP 1: Finish Your Manuscript This is the most obvious but it bears repeating. You HAVE to finish your manuscript first. I’ve had several writer friends who write 3 chapters or 10 chapters and then send it off to an agent. They get a great response and then guess what? The agent wants to see the whole manuscript. They end up rushing to finish and lose a great … [Read more...]

This week I'll sharing notes from my workshop, HOW TO LAND AN AGENT: STEP BY STEP. Today, I'm discussing Steps 3 and 4. STEP 3: Research Agents You’ve finished your query letter and/or your synopsis. Now you’re ready to do some research. There are several ways to do this. Here are some of the places I did my research. Favorite Books/Authors I either went to my bookcase or to the bookstore/library and looked up all my favorite books or authors. I then went to the acknowledgment … [Read more...]

Today, I'm continuing my week-long theme from my workshop, HOW TO LAND AN AGENT: STEP BY STEP. I'm now going to share Steps 5 and 6. STEP 5: Create Agent Tiers You've finished the manuscript. Completed the query letter and/or synopsis. You've done the research. You have target agents. Now you’re ready to query. Some people say you should query widely and I agree but I think you should use the tier approach. What’s the tier approach? The tier approach strategy is what I used. … [Read more...]