I haven't seen anyone mention it here yet, so I'll toss out the Acknowledgments Gambit: Pull together a stack of books similar to yours, as well as a few you really enjoyed even if they aren't similar. Go through each book and read the acknowledgments. Authors (almost) always thank their agents. That's a short list you can start with--the agents who have worked on books like yours, or books you like. And if the same name comes up again and again, that's the one you try first.
My heart flapped & twinged at the mention of your feeling "behind", as you put it, dear questioner. I felt similarly when I was your age, that I was "behind" and miles away and, oh, when would I catch up!, until I came upon something that the great John Cheever said, which was basically that writing, for whatever else it may or may not be, is not a competition. By which he meant that you are where you are, and that where you are is exactly perfect. And that where you are along your path has nothing to do with anyone else. As Ezra Pound put it, it doesn't matter who wrote it (or at what age), only that it is written. They may card you at the bar or at the polling station or the DMV; you may or may not be offered an AARP membership, asked if you remember Watergate or are eligible for Medicare, but you will never be asked your age if what you put down on the page is your truest heart as best as you can manage. This, to me anyway, is one of the glories of writing: doesn't matter the age at which you do it, only that you do. At which point you will have arrived.
When I read today’s question (s) I had a rush of love. The love peaked when the parenthesis were mentioned. Does that ever happen to anyone else? It’s just so truthful and sweet, both the questions and the answer.
WOW Sorry off-topic but out of curiosity I put all three of those samples into Chat GPT last week and asked the source. In complete confidence it told me they were;
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2. One Hundred Years of Solitude Cien años de soledad by Gabriel García Márquez
Thank you George, and questioner, for this question. Any and all of us who are interested in publishing are diddling about looking at or contemplating looking at agent lists. I've been to a few recent writers/editors conferences (Atlanta 2022, AWP in Seattle 2023, NW Editors Guild Red Pencil Conference 2023) and talked with agents and editors. In response to almost any question, the agent says, "It depends ...." so much so it's become a joke for those on the podium. AWP conference was amazing - a must-attend event for any newer would-be writer.
Oh and questioner, I just turned 60 and feel like I'm at the start of my writing career. Behind the curve doesn't even begin to explain what I feel. But also full of hope because of Story Club.
I'm old school (I think I had the original Fiction Writers Market, dated sometime B.C. - or B.C.E. now).
As I jumped the gun and got ready to enter the fray, I tracked down a copy of a Writer's Market book, looked up every agent in my genre (memoir), and created a spreadsheet with name, address, submission guidelines, etc. etc. etc. Have to follow the rules. One wrong comma, one erroneous capitalization - a lifetime of dreams dashed. These names were Greek statues, Aphrodites and Adonises, Winged Victories, David, not people.
Ha! Please, put my bloated manuscript on your slush pile. It will call your name.
The cool thing about Manuscript Wishlist is each entry shares a bit of the human side of the agents and what they are looking for. The one that made me smile the most was the young agent looking for "The next George Saunders." Sorry, George. Guess your time is up. :)
In reality, all at SC know you're just getting started! Thanks so much for Story Club. It really is the highlight of my literary week.
I've stepped back to retool my memoir. Something about energy pulses and little engines, and the next line, and the next. So I'm not in the fray right now, but sometime soon again.
I hope this info is helpful. If not, I have a copy of Writer's Market around here somewhere....
Thanks for this. Speaking of reminding agents of an earlier interest -- Back in 2005 I queried my current agent by quoting from an encouraging letter she'd written me -- in 1982! (That's 23 years and 3 moves of holding onto old snail mail.) She'd used the words, "Oh, drat", which always stuck in my mind. And I quoted them to her. She got a kick out of it and, as luck would have it, she took me on for my 4th novel, The Abortionist's Daughter, and has been representing me in all her wisdom ever since. I feel very, very lucky and am grateful beyond words. Good luck to all you authors in your searches! Hang in there!
I cannot offer you advice on getting an agent because I don't have one. But I'm 42 and have that same "this is too old" feeling pretty often. I have a note on my phone with a list of authors who published their first work in their 40s, some of them people I really admire: Elizabeth Strout 42; Ruth Ozeki 42; Douglas Stuart 44; Isak Dinesen 49...
So many years ago now it seems I surely was a different person, late one night in the garage that was my bedroom studio at the back of a student flat, I wrote a story that was due in to class that morning,
(I'd returned to an open college at age 40,) It won a national school magazine prize and some nice words about keeping going from a top editor. I kept not going, traveled the world of heartbreak hotels for a couple of decades. Found material for stories sketched out in garrets along the way. I aged.
Aged well, I think as I sit here at Dahls Board typing this. We writers do age well, along with wine and cheese had at the launch of a book. Your book! Write on!
"Old age should burn and rave at close of day: Rage, rage against the dying of the light.'
I've had three agents. The first was many decades ago, when I was a young writer just getting started. He was a young agent also just getting started. He sent my book to 22 publishers and, when it failed to sell, connected me with another publisher for whom I did a book on contract. I met him through a class I was taking at the New School in NYC. The instructor was excited by a story I'd submitted and read from it in class. A fellow classmate was an editor who tried to get her publishing house interested, without success. She knew the agent and recommended me to him.
The second was fewer decades ago, the cousin of someone in my writing group. He sent the book to a few places and then stopped communicating with me. He was the son of the agency's founder and seemed more interested in recreation than working hard for his writers.
The third was a decade ago. I found her by scouring numerous listings of agencies, making a list of 100 who seemed like possibilities, based on their descriptions of what they were looking for. Then I queried 5 - 10 /week. Most didn't respond, a few said, "Sorry, not for us," and around letter 34, three said they were interested and I picked one. She sent the book (essays and related photographs) to 14 editors. About half were interested, but my online platform, they figured was not sufficient for an expensive book. I ended up self-publishing and selling a couple thousand copies (back when Amazon advertising was cheap).
I do plan to look for an agent for my current book, a novel, but if none is forthcoming, I'll self-publish.
I wish I had something helpful to offer. I've got an agent--but it was mostly luck and timing, I think. My agent was new at the time, and looking for clients. All I can think is that sometimes I see workshops or book fairs advertised where agents are present to chat with. Might be worth a try...? Speaking to someone face to face in that way seems a better strategy than blind queries. Good luck to you. (Also, keep sending your work out! When i had my first story published a million years ago, an agent reached out--but i didn't have more to show her at the time. You do!)
Lee mentioned and linked Publisher's Marketplace, which is the one I think of as the powerhouse of that group of good listings. I just wanted to additionally point out that one can sign up for their free newsletter, Publisher's Lunch, but that the pricey monthly subscription is also worth having for a month or so to study up about the current state of the industry and who's where and doing what. Certainly, when ready to query a polished book project that subscription is worth the cost.
I just deleted a very, very long paragraph about losing my agent after 2 published novels and having to start all over again to find another but the writing sounded so whiny I couldn't bring myself to hit Post.
Of all the exercises you’ve posted (and they were all helpful), the most recent one had the most impact on how I think about writing. It really rearranged my brain in the best way possible.
I used Duotrope.com when I was querying agents (no luck, unfortunately). It seems pretty conprehensive.
I haven't seen anyone mention it here yet, so I'll toss out the Acknowledgments Gambit: Pull together a stack of books similar to yours, as well as a few you really enjoyed even if they aren't similar. Go through each book and read the acknowledgments. Authors (almost) always thank their agents. That's a short list you can start with--the agents who have worked on books like yours, or books you like. And if the same name comes up again and again, that's the one you try first.
My heart flapped & twinged at the mention of your feeling "behind", as you put it, dear questioner. I felt similarly when I was your age, that I was "behind" and miles away and, oh, when would I catch up!, until I came upon something that the great John Cheever said, which was basically that writing, for whatever else it may or may not be, is not a competition. By which he meant that you are where you are, and that where you are is exactly perfect. And that where you are along your path has nothing to do with anyone else. As Ezra Pound put it, it doesn't matter who wrote it (or at what age), only that it is written. They may card you at the bar or at the polling station or the DMV; you may or may not be offered an AARP membership, asked if you remember Watergate or are eligible for Medicare, but you will never be asked your age if what you put down on the page is your truest heart as best as you can manage. This, to me anyway, is one of the glories of writing: doesn't matter the age at which you do it, only that you do. At which point you will have arrived.
When I read today’s question (s) I had a rush of love. The love peaked when the parenthesis were mentioned. Does that ever happen to anyone else? It’s just so truthful and sweet, both the questions and the answer.
WOW Sorry off-topic but out of curiosity I put all three of those samples into Chat GPT last week and asked the source. In complete confidence it told me they were;
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2. One Hundred Years of Solitude Cien años de soledad by Gabriel García Márquez
3. The Overcoat written by Nikolai Gogol
And gave me a thorough description of each 😱 🤣
Thank you George, and questioner, for this question. Any and all of us who are interested in publishing are diddling about looking at or contemplating looking at agent lists. I've been to a few recent writers/editors conferences (Atlanta 2022, AWP in Seattle 2023, NW Editors Guild Red Pencil Conference 2023) and talked with agents and editors. In response to almost any question, the agent says, "It depends ...." so much so it's become a joke for those on the podium. AWP conference was amazing - a must-attend event for any newer would-be writer.
Oh and questioner, I just turned 60 and feel like I'm at the start of my writing career. Behind the curve doesn't even begin to explain what I feel. But also full of hope because of Story Club.
I'm old school (I think I had the original Fiction Writers Market, dated sometime B.C. - or B.C.E. now).
As I jumped the gun and got ready to enter the fray, I tracked down a copy of a Writer's Market book, looked up every agent in my genre (memoir), and created a spreadsheet with name, address, submission guidelines, etc. etc. etc. Have to follow the rules. One wrong comma, one erroneous capitalization - a lifetime of dreams dashed. These names were Greek statues, Aphrodites and Adonises, Winged Victories, David, not people.
Ha! Please, put my bloated manuscript on your slush pile. It will call your name.
Three resources I've found invaluable:
Manuscript Wishlist - https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/
QueryTracker - https://querytracker.net/
Publishers Marketplace - https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/
The cool thing about Manuscript Wishlist is each entry shares a bit of the human side of the agents and what they are looking for. The one that made me smile the most was the young agent looking for "The next George Saunders." Sorry, George. Guess your time is up. :)
In reality, all at SC know you're just getting started! Thanks so much for Story Club. It really is the highlight of my literary week.
I've stepped back to retool my memoir. Something about energy pulses and little engines, and the next line, and the next. So I'm not in the fray right now, but sometime soon again.
I hope this info is helpful. If not, I have a copy of Writer's Market around here somewhere....
Hi, George,
A wonderful post about agents. Thank you for this one.
About Fiction Writers Market-- I've been using https://querytracker.net and https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com
Thanks for this. Speaking of reminding agents of an earlier interest -- Back in 2005 I queried my current agent by quoting from an encouraging letter she'd written me -- in 1982! (That's 23 years and 3 moves of holding onto old snail mail.) She'd used the words, "Oh, drat", which always stuck in my mind. And I quoted them to her. She got a kick out of it and, as luck would have it, she took me on for my 4th novel, The Abortionist's Daughter, and has been representing me in all her wisdom ever since. I feel very, very lucky and am grateful beyond words. Good luck to all you authors in your searches! Hang in there!
To the person who wrote the question,
I cannot offer you advice on getting an agent because I don't have one. But I'm 42 and have that same "this is too old" feeling pretty often. I have a note on my phone with a list of authors who published their first work in their 40s, some of them people I really admire: Elizabeth Strout 42; Ruth Ozeki 42; Douglas Stuart 44; Isak Dinesen 49...
When I feel it's too late, I check that list.
On Age. And Ageing. On Getting Aged.
So many years ago now it seems I surely was a different person, late one night in the garage that was my bedroom studio at the back of a student flat, I wrote a story that was due in to class that morning,
(I'd returned to an open college at age 40,) It won a national school magazine prize and some nice words about keeping going from a top editor. I kept not going, traveled the world of heartbreak hotels for a couple of decades. Found material for stories sketched out in garrets along the way. I aged.
Aged well, I think as I sit here at Dahls Board typing this. We writers do age well, along with wine and cheese had at the launch of a book. Your book! Write on!
"Old age should burn and rave at close of day: Rage, rage against the dying of the light.'
Dylan Thomas.
I've had three agents. The first was many decades ago, when I was a young writer just getting started. He was a young agent also just getting started. He sent my book to 22 publishers and, when it failed to sell, connected me with another publisher for whom I did a book on contract. I met him through a class I was taking at the New School in NYC. The instructor was excited by a story I'd submitted and read from it in class. A fellow classmate was an editor who tried to get her publishing house interested, without success. She knew the agent and recommended me to him.
The second was fewer decades ago, the cousin of someone in my writing group. He sent the book to a few places and then stopped communicating with me. He was the son of the agency's founder and seemed more interested in recreation than working hard for his writers.
The third was a decade ago. I found her by scouring numerous listings of agencies, making a list of 100 who seemed like possibilities, based on their descriptions of what they were looking for. Then I queried 5 - 10 /week. Most didn't respond, a few said, "Sorry, not for us," and around letter 34, three said they were interested and I picked one. She sent the book (essays and related photographs) to 14 editors. About half were interested, but my online platform, they figured was not sufficient for an expensive book. I ended up self-publishing and selling a couple thousand copies (back when Amazon advertising was cheap).
I do plan to look for an agent for my current book, a novel, but if none is forthcoming, I'll self-publish.
I wish I had something helpful to offer. I've got an agent--but it was mostly luck and timing, I think. My agent was new at the time, and looking for clients. All I can think is that sometimes I see workshops or book fairs advertised where agents are present to chat with. Might be worth a try...? Speaking to someone face to face in that way seems a better strategy than blind queries. Good luck to you. (Also, keep sending your work out! When i had my first story published a million years ago, an agent reached out--but i didn't have more to show her at the time. You do!)
On age, Cormac McCarthy didn't publish Blood Meridian until he was 52. That's well beyond the 30 under 30 curve.
Lee mentioned and linked Publisher's Marketplace, which is the one I think of as the powerhouse of that group of good listings. I just wanted to additionally point out that one can sign up for their free newsletter, Publisher's Lunch, but that the pricey monthly subscription is also worth having for a month or so to study up about the current state of the industry and who's where and doing what. Certainly, when ready to query a polished book project that subscription is worth the cost.
I just deleted a very, very long paragraph about losing my agent after 2 published novels and having to start all over again to find another but the writing sounded so whiny I couldn't bring myself to hit Post.
Here's the beautiful line I love in this weeks lesson:
"the great game of persuasion that the writer is playing"
Of all the exercises you’ve posted (and they were all helpful), the most recent one had the most impact on how I think about writing. It really rearranged my brain in the best way possible.
I used Duotrope.com when I was querying agents (no luck, unfortunately). It seems pretty conprehensive.