Finally, the post where I talk about my list of agents!
I took a break from plotting out MysteryNovelSequel (some might say this is a bit early; pshaw, I say!) to make a little post about how I’m going about sorting through this whole agent business.
The method I’m using is one that I shamelessly stole from my critique partner Bitchcicle, who just finished (what we all hope is) the last draft of her novel before she starts querying for it. It’s all quite exciting.
But yes, the method that I didn’t come up with.
I’ve divided the agents I want to query into three categories: A Agents, B Agents, and C Agents. All the agents I’ve selected, no matter if they’re an A agent or a C agent, represent the genres MysteryNovel could fit under and also the genres that I want to eventually write. But specifically, the A Agents are agents who represent authors who I respect highly and who also write similar types of novels that I want to write. B Agents are agents who represent authors who I like, but who don’t necessarily write the types of novels that I want to write/am currently writing. The C Agents, on the other hand, were agents I chose based on what they were specifically looking for in terms of queries and based on how they marketed themselves. But all in all, the C Agents are usually agents I haven’t heard of before.
The choosing process wasn’t the most organized thing. How I decided on most of my A Agents was by plucking books from my bookshelf and scanning the Acknowledgements page until I found the agent mention. But I did end up finding almost every agent and their bio on AgentQuery.com. I certainly did for all my B and C Agents.
So what am I going to do with this list? Once I finish the third draft of MysteryNovel (*sweats nervously*), I’m going to first start off writing my query letter (I’m sure I’ll make a post on that later). Then, like every good storyteller, I’ll begin at the beginning. And by beginning, I mean the C Agents.
Then (hopefully), I’ll get to gauge responses. If they’re mostly positive, ie: they look something like this:
Me: blah blah, query letter, blah. *attaches pages of MysteryNovel* Can haz representation?
C Agent: I wept, loudly and audibly. Much pretty words, such characterization. Yes, can haz! Haz many virtual ponies!
Then I’ll move on to querying the B Agents (more on that in a minute). But we all know said above scenario is my imagination being a caffeinated toddler. Yes, I said caffeinated. So, if the responses look more realistic, something like this:
Me: blah blah, query letter, blah. *attaches pages of MysteryNovel* Can haz representation?
C Agent: I used the pages of this novel to wipe up my spilled coffee and then tossed them in the trash where they belong. Not even worthy of recycling. Back to the drawing board, penmonkey. Don’t come to me with this snit. Negative virtual ponies for you.
(I’m kidding; literary agents are very kind creatures. I’ve met several of them). If the responses look more like rejection form letters or even personalized rejection letters, I need to go back to the drawing board. If that scenario happens, then I’ll clean up my query (maybe even rewrite it) and compile a new list of C Agents. And start all over again.
If the first scenario happens (or more realistically, if I receive letters that are generally positive) then I’ll move on to querying my B Agents. Then I’ll gauge their responses. If Scenario B (rejections) occurs, then it’s back to the drawing board to figure out where I screwed up. If Scenario A (positive words about my words) occurs, then I’ll move on to my A Agents.
I haven’t exactly figured out what to do after I get to my A Agents (if I ever get there). There’s really no end-all-be-all agent for me, no MacDaddy of Agents that I want as badly as some people want to get into Harvard. So, to be honest, if it comes down to choosing an agent (which it won’t), I won’t have any clue what to do (which is fine, because in all likelihood you won’t have to choose).
Right now, I have four A Agents, five B Agents, and seven C Agents.
Let the games begin.
Progress:
Still meh, deadline. We’ll see about this deadline.
WC: 9,305
PC: 28
Oh look at that, not a lot of progress at all.