Question: Where to find agents?

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Adrian Bagley

Adrian Bagley

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Jul 17, 2023
Surrey
Hi all, just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for where to find reputable agents? I've gone through QueryTracker and only came up with 26 names interested in SF - there have to be more than that, surely??

Edit: I should have added, in the UK. Though is there any reason not to approach US agents, if I think the work would have appeal there?
 
Adrian Bagley said:
Hi all, just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for where to find reputable agents? I've gone through QueryTracker and only came up with 26 names interested in SF - there have to be more than that, surely??

Edit: I should have added, in the UK. Though is there any reason not to approach US agents, if I think the work would have appeal there?
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Hi, Adrian,

@AgentPete has a UK list on his website: Redhammer Management
 
Also, you can subscribe to Writers & Artists from £22 a year and get links/info to lit agencies and publishers. Writers & Artists click on the 'Resources' function once you've subscribed for details of UK lit agents and publishers - they have lots and lots listed and usually they state the genre, etc.
 
Also look in the acknowledgements section of books you like in your genre. Authors usually thank their agent by name.
There's also MSWL (manuscript wish list). Most are US agents, but you find some UK ones there too.
If you think your novel is a good fit for a US audience, go ahead. Look there too.

But 26 is a lot to start you off! That's a lot of agent research before submitting!
 
Hannah F said:
But 26 is a lot to start you off! That's a lot of agent research before submitting!
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In a way, I wish I hadn't researched agents before starting the submission process. I feel like I've learned a huge amount along the road, but I burned through 12 fantastic agents by pitching with a title that wasn't right for my book (I've changed it now), and a blurb that wasn't quite there yet.

It was getting those rejections that made me realise I needed to change things. If I'd sat on my hands for fear of failure, I wouldn't have learned a thing. But now there's an ever-diminishing list of agents left to approach, and most of the ones who specifically love SF have already said no.

I just wish I'd found Litopia sooner, as I could have got the feedback I needed right at the start. Ah well, better late than never!
 
Adrian Bagley said:
In a way, I wish I hadn't researched agents before starting the submission process. I feel like I've learned a huge amount along the road, but I burned through 12 fantastic agents by pitching with a title that wasn't right for my book (I've changed it now), and a blurb that wasn't quite there yet.

It was getting those rejections that made me realise I needed to change things. If I'd sat on my hands for fear of failure, I wouldn't have learned a thing. But now there's an ever-diminishing list of agents left to approach, and most of the ones who specifically love SF have already said no.

I just wish I'd found Litopia sooner, as I could have got the feedback I needed right at the start. Ah well, better late than never!
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Hey-go back to those other agents. IF they remember they will be more impressed at your willingness and ability to change and learn. You would be surprised by how many say that is rare. Chances are tho-they wont remember. But you might want to look at the self-publishing-hybrid houses that are coming out. Your voice is strong enough. and your subject has enough commercial appeal that you could do well at Head of Zeus or other e book publishers for a start. The reality is you may be shopping for a buggy whip on the internet highway.
 
Pamela Jo said:
Hey-go back to those other agents. IF they remember they will be more impressed at your willingness and ability to change and learn. You would be surprised by how many say that is rare. Chances are tho-they wont remember. But you might want to look at the self-publishing-hybrid houses that are coming out. Your voice is strong enough. and your subject has enough commercial appeal that you could do well at Head of Zeus or other e book publishers for a start. The reality is you may be shopping for a buggy whip on the internet highway.
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Head of Zeus only take solicited manuscripts. i.e. through an agent.
 
Adrian Bagley said:
In a way, I wish I hadn't researched agents before starting the submission process. I feel like I've learned a huge amount along the road, but I burned through 12 fantastic agents by pitching with a title that wasn't right for my book (I've changed it now), and a blurb that wasn't quite there yet.

It was getting those rejections that made me realise I needed to change things. If I'd sat on my hands for fear of failure, I wouldn't have learned a thing. But now there's an ever-diminishing list of agents left to approach, and most of the ones who specifically love SF have already said no.

I just wish I'd found Litopia sooner, as I could have got the feedback I needed right at the start. Ah well, better late than never!
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with that learning curve. I'd say we've all been there, many of us still on it. If the agent turned it down, it won't have been the right fit for them (title alone won't kill a wanted submission), or they already had a too similar one and don't want conflict of interest when pitching to publishers, or they figure in about 18 months, they niche your book will slot into will be over-saturated so the time to sub to publishers isn't right (but the right time will come round again). Or they might have snapped up your work but your opening chapters didn't make them fall in love with it enough (a very common problem).

But as you improve, re-submit, improve, re-submit, your work should be getting closer to that sweet spot, and there's always another agent to try. However, if you have tried and failed more than three rounds of effort, you're probably best to put that book aside and write a new one and try again - you can go back to your favoured agents. If they ask what else you have or are working on (which they allegedly often do when you get the real interest after a FULL request), you will have this WIP sitting there waiting. Or, as @Pamela Jo suggests, consider self-publishing or going directly to indie publishers.
 
Adrian Bagley said:
I burned through 12 fantastic agents by pitching with a title that wasn't right for my book (I've changed it now), and a blurb that wasn't quite there yet.
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I think most of us have been there. I have. Just put it behind you.

The answer is to sit on your hands and keep polishing till you're sure your book shines as much as it can. Title, blurb, first 3 chapters – polish them all.

For the agents you think you've burned, you might be able to go back in about two or three years with a different title, blurb, letter about why you're submitting to that person especially (which is where the graft comes in)... Don't say it's a re-submission – many don't accept those – just go for it and see. Good luck.
 
Hannah F said:
Well, if you are a quarter winner you get forwarded to HoZ for consideration. No guarantees.
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Nor did I say guaranteed, but getting published or finding agents is an area where I think it is wrong to pronounce judgements. The only wrong thing you can do is not try. In all areas of life I've seen people who do everything "right" not get anywhere and those who do everything "wrong" end up sitting pretty. In fact doing it"wrong" is another sign of a creative person using their creativity to solve a problem.
Finding an agent is not even a guarantee of any kind of success. They are simply someone who has decided they can pick the right horse in a race and make some money betting on it. But more and more the races are fixed. Time to look at other ways of winning.
 
Thanks for all the great advice everyone :) Approaching publishers direct is an avenue I'm very open to, though I feel I should keep trying for an agent initially, if only for the extra editorial input. Though @LJ Beck is giving me an excellent beta read at the mo - wouldn't it be great to publish a novel with the finishing touches entirely courtesy of Litopia!

Great advice about re-submitting. I'm also working on a second novel, still under the speculative fiction umbrella but different enough that hopefully if one doesn't sell, the other will. As Hannah rightly says, if the second book sells, I can use that to have another try at getting Electropop read :)
 
Hannah F said:
Also look in the acknowledgements section of books you like in your genre. Authors usually thank their agent by name.
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A great but little-known tip. Has the advantage of pre-selecting agents that are already interested in the genre of the book concerned. Also reputable. Plus, it gives you a great ice-breaker for your initial contact...
 
AgentPete said:
A great but little-known tip. Has the advantage of pre-selecting agents that are already interested in the genre of the book concerned. Also reputable. Plus, it gives you a great ice-breaker for your initial contact...
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This was how I first discovered Peter @AgentPete...and the community at Litopia back in...2012? Through reading a novel called "Dark Matter" by his client author Michelle Paver.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxywUNQXiHU
 
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Pamela Jo

Dandelion Break If it didnt happen-it should have

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Emily

Last day!

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