At the risk of writing something akin to reinventing the fountain pen, I want to share some truisms that you probably already know—even if you don’t realize you know them. Finding an agent isn’t all that difficult. You found this website, didn’t you? That’s one way. Checking the various reference books listing literary agents is another. Both will get you some names and contact information.

But you mustn’t stop there. Literary agents are as different as aromas. Some pass the sniff test and make you heady with desire to hook up. Then there are the stinkers, ones you’ll want to keep at arm’s length. Or farther.

What you really need to consider is the “fit” between the agent you select, the kind of person you are and the kind of writing you do. In this blog or in the reference book listing, you’ll discover that we each have certain preferences. We can’t handle ALL genres—we’d be crazy to try—so we typically list the ones we like the most or the ones we’ve successfully represented in the past.

I’m our agency’s go-to gal for fiction. I love a well-told story about multi-dimensional characters involved in intriguing dilemmas that pull me along page by page. But that doesn’t mean that ANY fiction book will get me salivating. To interest me in your novel, place those characters and that plot in today’s world, not the distant past or the far-off future. I’m also not crazy about storylines that involve a particular religion, but I feel strongly that nearly all the best plots revolve around characters struggling with moral or ethical alternatives.

I do not handle fantasy (werewolves, vampires, witches and wizards, paranormal, shape-shifting—you know what I mean) or science fiction. Why not? you may wonder. Because I am unfamiliar with the standards by which such books are judged (wouldn’t know a best seller from dreck). I also do not have relationships with the editors who acquire such books. Much as I’d like to be all things to all people, I just don’t have the time or inclination to climb yet another steep learning curve.

Okay, so you’ve written the kind of book you feel I’d love to handle. Next to determine is whether our personalities would mesh. I’m serious in my professional commitments but otherwise love to joke and speak/write double entendres. Not all people can handle my sense of humor. If you’re staid and stolid or have a pessimistic world view, we probably won’t get along. If you can’t write a decent sentence and punctuate it according to standard usage, or if you don’t take pains to be sure your query letter contains no typos, don’t bother. I’ll judge your professionalism by the quality of your query letter.

Make your query letter sing a siren’s song. Tell me enough about your protagonist and his/her wants and needs and the major hurdles to be scaled on the way to the goal that I can make an informed decision about whether to ask for material to review. Don’t be cutesy. Do be thorough and professional in your presentation. The definition of a “pro” is someone who gets paid for what s/he does. Getting a publishing contract is your payment, so don’t be surprised that agents and editors expect you to know your stuff. That includes knowing how to write a superior query letter—and knowing not to send me excerpts from your novel until I ask for them.
Finally, please don’t take it personally if I elect not to read your material or, once I do, not to offer to represent you. I have to feel confident that I can entice editors I know to read your manuscript. Like all other agents, I turn down more than I accept. Many more. Yet I’m always looking for compelling new voices in fiction, whose take on the world and their professional manner of presentation will make editors say, “Yes, I want this book.”

If anything I’ve said in this article makes you cringe, I’m not the agent for you. But the next one you research might be. Keep looking. Keep hoping. Keep writing. I wish you success in all those endeavors.