Finding an Agent

teacherdrama · Nov 24, 2009

Maybe it's been asked on here, but any advice in finding an agent for young adult fantasy? I have been sending out queries and seemingly mostly getting ignored, though I have gotten my share of form rejections.

The problem I'm having is getting a decent synopsis in my letter. My plot is fairly intricate, but I feel I've finally gotten it to a point where, though I don't cover the whole thing, I cover enough to get the gist across. Still, it was a fine balance between covering plot, character and theme, any of which I could easily focus on...

Any advice? (Or better yet, any agents?)

Kitty Pryde · Nov 24, 2009

Post your query letter in the Share Your Work--Query Letters and Synopses subforum here on AW and you will get more helpful feedback than you ever imagined possible!

Also read everything here: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2008/08/faqs.html

Sage · Nov 24, 2009

I have advice and a way to find agents.

Welcome to AW

You can test out your query letter in Share Your Work, where there is a dedicated section to query letters. People will give you crits. Listen to them and decide for yourself whether they're right or wrong, but it's a great place to find some fresh eyes who've been looking at good and bad queries for a long time.

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=174 and the password is "vista."

As for how to find YA agents, there are several good sources. Agentquery.com is my personal favorite. You can search for specific genres, even combinations of them, and also look at if they accept e-queries. Another one I hear people talk about is querytracker.com. You want to check any agents you find against listings here on AW (in Bewares and Background Checks) and Preditors and Editors to make sure that they're legit (and have sales in your genre).

Hope this helps.

Red.Ink.Rain · Nov 24, 2009

Definitely head over to Share Your Work and let them read over your query and synopsis. They will whip it into shape.

Agentquery.com is a great resource for finding agents. And also, don't forget to edit, edit, edit your book! If there is ANYTHING in that intricate plot that doesn't need to be there, but you're adding it because you like the dialogue or the character or whatever - kill it. It's useless, and in YA you can't afford to have anything useless.

teacherdrama · Nov 24, 2009

Wow, wasn't expecting so quick a reply! Thank you! I posted my query letter...

Marzipan · Nov 24, 2009

Welcome to AW Teacher!

teacherdrama · Nov 24, 2009

Thanks

I've been lurking on and off for a while now, but decided time to jump right in (after one too many rejections, I guess!)

Finding an Agent

teacherdrama

Kitty Pryde

i luv you giant bear statue

Sage

Our Lady of Parentheticals

Red.Ink.Rain

Not your kid brother's YA

teacherdrama

Marzipan

teacherdrama