Top Ten List of YA Agents

Roly · Jun 22, 2010

I know there might be a post somewhere like this on the site, but I can't find it through the search lol. Feel free to link me. Still, for those of you who didn't participate in the last one (if there was a last one).....

Who're your picks and why?

Marzipan · Jun 23, 2010

#1 Nathan Bransford from Curtis Brown because he is an agent that sticks up for the firsties and he is just so amazing.

tutty · Jun 23, 2010

AgentQuery >> select a fiction genre: young adult >> quick search

I'm not a YA writer, so I can't put anyone in order, but I do know the names listed on this site are reputable.

Bewares, Recommendations & Background Check have even more information on agencies.

Sage · Jun 23, 2010

Everyone's going to be different based on their own experiences and the agent's web presence.

wandergirl · Jun 23, 2010

Everyone's going to be different based on their own experiences and the agent's web presence.

Yep. True. I would absolutely say my agent, Michelle Andelman, who's like my literary soul mate and amazes me every time we speak. But I wouldn't have known how deeply we'd click based on her web presence. Unless you've talked and worked with the agents on your list, there's no way to know who your perfect match will be -- that's why querying widely is key, as is not getting your heart set on a small handful of big name agents (aka, agents with big web presence or top-name clients).

Enna · Jun 23, 2010

Ditto everything above.

I really enjoy reading Nathan and Kristin Nelson's blogs from time to time, for example, but I wouldn't trade my agent for anything. One person's "literary soul mate" is different from the next.

suki · Jun 23, 2010

I don't think there could be a universal "top ten."

What do you base it on? Sales? Total advances? Highest Advances? Client lists? Etc.

And the one thing I learned in querying and researching agents is that the best agent is the best agent for you.

Certainly research agents, and pay attention to their client lists, reported sales, size of deals, presence, etc. But in the end, you need to find the best agent for you, and then best agent for me, or my "top ten" would likely be very different than yours or a whole lot of anyone else's.

~suki

kaitlin008 · Jun 23, 2010

I agree with the above who said it's hard to have a universal list because it's going to be personal.

It's all going to depend on what you value the most in an agent, and that's different for everyone.

Shady Lane · Jun 23, 2010

Yeah, there are a million ways to define "best agent," but the bottom line is the best agent for you is not going to be the best agent for someone else.

But for the record, I've had great experiences with Suzie Townsend (my agent), Michelle Andelman, Katie Menick, Taylor Martindale, Nathan Bransford, and many others. And these are based on personal interaction, not web presence.

Top Ten List of YA Agents

Roly

silly puppy monster

Marzipan

tutty

Sage

Our Lady of Parentheticals

wandergirl

~kirsten hubbard

Enna

back for more

suki

Opinionated

kaitlin008

Seeing newness all the time

Shady Lane

my name is hannah