Ladies, I was told if i want to get my first book to the right place to get an agent. I have absolutely no idea where or even how to start to do that.
Does Genre matter when looking or can one agent take care of all of them?

I did have a publisher interested in ice mistress my erotic story , but was never able to get that edited and sent back, so i am starting fresh and from scratch ,

Can anyone or everyone help me ??

Thanks in advance-

Debi

There's a book, I think the name is Writer's Market that has publishers and agents listed along with the genre they want. There are lists of agents online that you can check.

There's a list called, Preditors and editors that warns about agents--definitely check that before signing with anyone. See below:

http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/

Also stay clear of any agent who charges a reading fee!!!

Another helpful way to find an agent is to belong to writing groups of people who write the same genre you write. Then you can ask questions or you'll hear of agents people are happy with. The library should have books with agent listings.

Also search google for Literary agents, and you should find some information there.

Good luck!

Diane

Thank you Diane

I will look at the site you recommended

Appriciate the help

Debi

Couple things:

-Get any books written by the Hermans about writing. The biggest and best is The Writer's Guide. It is published annually. It's amazing. It's huge, but packed with everything you need to know about book editors, publishers and agents.

-Never query unless you are ready.

-Go to the library or book store and find book that are most like the one you are writing. Look in the acknowledgement section and you are bound to find comments thanking the agent and editor. Write the names down. Go home and Google them. Research them until you've uncovered every earthly thing about them. Then send them the best written query that is exactly like the ones the Herman's tell you to write. Be sure to tell them how you learned about them in the beginning of your letter.

Feel free to ask more questions about this. I'm happy to help.

Thanks Dotsie
I will look into getting that and sanning threw it.

Another fun thing I was thinking of which may or may not happen is writing personalized children's stories. With their name (the child's) it was just something a friend asked me to do for her daughter for Christmas.

Yes it sounds like a lot on my plate to get off the ground. But I like overloading my plate, what can i say. lol.

I can prob do most of it , I'll just be at the table longer.

Debi

Hi Debi - The biggest problem you are facing here is a catch-22. Many of the large NY publishing houses only accept manuscripts from agents - not authors, BUT many agents won't take on someone whos' never published. What to do? You can join some writers groups in your genre to get information and you can attend writers conferences where many times there are agents taking appointments with unpublished authors. Also, have you considered some of the epubs? Not all of them are legitimate, but here are a few I'm personally familiar with: Ellora's Cave, Triskelion Publishing, Whiskey Creek, and my own publisher Wings ePress. My first novel is coming out from Wings in January 2007. Hope this info is helpful to you and I wish you the best in getting your work where you want it to go. It's a lonely and frustrating process, but don't give up.

Hi Debi - The biggest problem you are facing here is a catch-22. Many of the large NY publishing houses only accept manuscripts from agents - not authors, BUT many agents won't take on someone whos' never published. What to do? You can join some writers groups in your genre to get information and you can attend writers conferences where many times there are agents taking appointments with unpublished authors. Also, have you considered some of the epubs? Not all of them are legitimate, but here are a few I'm personally familiar with: Ellora's Cave, Triskelion Publishing, Whiskey Creek, and my own publisher Wings ePress. My first novel is coming out from Wings in January 2007. Hope this info is helpful to you and I wish you the best in getting your work where you want it to go. It's a lonely and frustrating process, but don't give up.

This is excellent advice Renee and others are giving you Debi. You will also find that in talking and networking with other writers, that there will be two sides to the "agent" thing. Some have been given the runaround for a year or more only to find out their agent never really was working for them... then others have paid up front fees to an agent (this is a big no-no)again only to find nothing gets done. And then some have found that the "leg work" the agent actually does for them, the author could have easily done themself. There are so many pros and cons. There are wonderful agents out there and then some who are only interested in serving the writer who has a best seller going on.

My point in all of this is to make sure you talk with other writers, join groups, have discussions, and visit the Preditors and Editors site recommended before you go with an agent. It may save you time and money in the long run!

JJ

Another source of information on agents and publishers is the Literary Marketplace. It's available at the library. There are a bunch of sites on the web that list agents. Different search engines will produce different results, so try a bunch of them. Some of the lists give the agents' web sites. It's a good idea if you find an agent who has a website to go to that site and check them out. Since the book was written or the list was put together, the agent could have changed their minds about what they like or want to represent.

Another key is to write a good query letter. It's critical. There's a book called The Sell Your Novel Toolkit by Elizabeth Lyon. You can read about it at http://www.elizabethlyon.com/books.htm. It's an excellent book. It has how-to information on how to write query letters and synopses for fiction. She also provides samples query letters. She tells you what's good and what's bad about the sample letters. Last I knew she's a writing instructor at a community college. I think the query letters were ones written by her students, letters they submitted to agents.

The key to getting published is persistence, ad infinitum.

Thanks so much for all the info , sorry it took me so long to get back to you, I guess the age thing is getting to me, its either that or the cold is freezing my brain. Lets go with that excuse shall we sounds so much better..

I have looked at the writers market and found it full of info. I am also a member of the writers circle a great group of writers , not to mintion a writers work shop that meets every month this Sat is the meeting for this month , topic "Faith" So I will keep plugging away and not give up.

Another thing that has been tickling my bbrain , is starting or finding an e zine to start or join, I already have a yahoo group which I am moderator of and am collecting info for a disability mag I have been working on,

Again every one , thank you so much.

Debi