Getting a Book Published:  How to Find a Literary Agent

Are you an author who has a book that you would like to see published?  If so, you may want to use the services of a literary agent.  Also, if you are an author who has been shopping your book around without success, an agent may be worth examining.  Unfortunately, many new authors are unsure as to how they can find and choose literary agents.  If you are one of those individuals, you will want to continue reading on.

Before highlighting a few of the many ways that you can go about finding an agent to help you publish a book, it is important to examine the pros and cons of using a literary agent.  For starters, if you choose an agent that is well-known or one who has a proven track record, your chances of getting your book published tend to increase.  This is because professional literary agents and agencies know where to look.  As for the cons or downsides to using a literary agent, their cost is the biggest.  

When it comes to finding a literary agent, you will find that you have a number of different options.  One of your options is to turn to printed resources.  There are a number of books that are available for sale or books that may be found in local libraries that can help you.  These books are often how-to guides with information on how to find, approach, and research literary agents.  Books that are updated on a yearly basis are likely to include the names, information, and contact numbers of literary agents that accept new clients.

As previously stated, there are a number of guides that you can purchase.  One of those guides is the Guide to Literary Agents.  This guide is similar to the ever so popular Writer’s Market books.  These Guide to Literary Agent books are just a few of the many available for sale; however, they come highly rated and recommended.  When buying a literary agent guide, be sure to examine contents.  The best guide is one that not only provides you with helpful tips, but also one that gives you the contact information of literary agents that may be able to help you publish a book.

In addition to using a printed guide to help you find a literary agent, you can also use the internet.  When using the internet to find a literary agent to help you publish a book, there are a number of different approaches that you can take.  For starters, perform a standard internet search.  Your search should at least include the phrase “literary agents.”  Your standard internet search for literary agents should produce a number of different results.  These results should include websites that act as literary agent directories, where multiple literary agents and their contact information is listed.  When using this approach, be sure to check for dates, as you will want to make sure that you have updated information.

Another way that you can use the internet to find literary agents involves using business directories.  Many of these directories, such as the ones for Yahoo, also work in conjunction with standard internet searches.  What you will want to do is choose a location, such as a local location or a well-known location like New York.  Then, for the business enter in literary agent.  This will likely provide you with the name of individual literary agents or literary agencies, as well as their locations, websites, and telephone numbers.

As highlighted above, there are a number of different ways that you can go about finding literary agents.  As easy as it can be to find a literary agent to work with, it is important that you don’t just choose anyone.  You need to remember that literary agents have all different experiences and success levels.  Be sure to examine rates, quality of work, success rate, and feedback from past and current clients.  This will not only help to increase your chances of getting your book published, but it will also prevent you from losing money. 

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