Let me reiterate that I'm not an expert. If you're here looking for an expert, you belong at agents' blogs, especially Query Shark, Nathan Bransford, and other reputable agents (well, Bransford dropped a bomb late last year when he left agenting and went into the tech world, but he still maintains an excellent blog)--many I have in my blog roll on the right-hand side--who are out in the trenches and KNOW the ins and outs of the industry.This whole multi-post has been to my friends and family who aren't part of the writing world, who wonder what the heck is taking so long. *I* (and probably 95% or more other writers out there) want/need an agent, and there's a lot that goes into finding one. As stated in Part 1, there's no such thing as going out and *hiring* a reputable agent; finding representation can be a long process, from beginning to end.
Writing the manuscript is the easiest part. Once it's screamingly polished, it's time to work even harder on the bag of tricks that will (hopefully) land the agent.
Research: Time consuming but necessary. Sites like Literary Rambles and The Guide to Literary Agents are awesome places to start looking for agents, but it doesn't end there. The writer must go to each agent's agency website, read interviews, blogs--everything possible--to get a feel for the agent, figure out if s/he is a good fit personality-wise, business philosophy-wise, and every other "-wise" that needs to be addressed when considering a long-term partnership. But wait, there's more! Just as one with heart related symptoms wouldn't seek out a dermatologist for answers, a YA writer can't seek an agent who reps only mystery, for instance. Part of the research is to find out what material each agent reps, who current clients are, and if everything's a fit. Thousands of agents whittle down to a lot less. While the research is plodding along, the various submission guidelines fuzz together, but before the real querying is done, those guidelines have to be re-examined; shirking them can be a sure way to get deleted right out of the proverbial gate--some don't take email queries; some take only email queries. Some want only a query. Some want a query letter and the first 3, 5, 10, 30, 50 pages. Some want all that and a synopsis. Oy vey.
Query Letter--250 words is optimal, but definitely no more than one page. 250. Find the hook in that 90k word manuscript, and turn it into a succinct little package of awesomeness that's going to make it stand out among the other HUNDREDS of queries that the agent will have in her inbox along with it...a little magic dust for luck and timing sprinkled on it wouldn't hurt, either (remember from Part 1: THOUSANDS a year). Good times. A decent query will personally address the agent--no "to whom it may concern" or "Dear Agent." A smokin' one should have a touch of personalization appropriate to the agent, showing that the homework's been done and that she's not the forty-third one to receive the same bulk email that all the agents in New York City have in their inboxes (of course, some of them don't want the waste of words! Back to that research!). It has to present the protagonist's problem/quest and why it's important, what stands in her way, and it should also give a glimpse of how she seeks resolution...all with the voice/flavor of the character/story. It should also, if applicable, let the agent know of previously published work and/or awards and relevant special qualifications. The smart writer reads everything she can before, during, and even after writing her query, and she won't make rookie mistakes that will land her on SlushPile Hell or the others like it. My first query letter could have easily put me there (maybe it did, and I just didn't know that the sites existed at the time), and I wouldn't claim it, even with the threat of torture (I can also, unfortunately, own up to the fact that in my zeal to get a query to an agent that excited me, I hit the send button at the precise moment that I realized I'd addressed HER as "Mr." Instant stomach cramps).
Synopsis--Sometimes 1 page, sometimes 3-5 page (I've even seen directives for 10 pages--it's all over the place) complete, give-your-ending-away summary--say it with me...in the voice and flavor of the big old novel it's condensed from. Comforting to know I'm not the only writer paralyzed by it. My beginning agent searches hinged on whether or not a synopsis was part of the submission requirement. Ah, but then the first request for my full manuscript came along with a synopsis request. Sheer panic and more research. Tick tick tick. I constructed several drafts, beginning with summarizing each chapter of my manuscript. Once I was done with that, I combined several chapter summaries into smaller chunks. I then made it my goal to shrink that into 10 pages. Then 10 down to 7. 7 clipped itself to 3. 3 is now 1 1/4 pages. Oddly enough, I felt pride when I finished it. I'd learned the process, tackled it, and completed it. I am, to this day, thankful to the agent who nudged me, panicking, into that synopsis.
See how the timeline is working here?
While most agents can be queried simultaneously (though some can't...re...yeah, that word again), once the query is submitted, there's the wait for the response: hours, days, weeks...sometimes months. Sometimes "no answer means 'no.'" If patience isn't already in the arsenal of the person deciding to take writing beyond a hobby, into a career, it better quickly be developed, in spades.
Almost there. One more posting to go. This one became so long, out of necessity, I have to break it up. Ah, the waiting. ;)
See also: I've Got Some 'Splaining to Do; 'Splaining to Do Part 2: Don't Put the Cart Before the Horse, & 'Splaining Part 4: This Is It.
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