It's so hard to get an agent!

AnthonyJones:

I had been trying for about a year now, and came to the conclusion that I'm not going to get one until I have an author profile.

I have a free ebook out, and a blog. Do you guys think that is a good start or is there something else I should do?

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Are you writing fiction or non-fiction? If it's non-fiction then depending on what you're producing, a platform proving your expertise and giving you something to draw in a readership can be useful.

If you're writing fiction, then you'd be better off honing your query letter (you can post it in the SYW Forum to get feedback) and polishing your manuscript and then working on another manuscript while you're on submission.

A free ebook and a blog isn't going to be sufficient unless you literally have thousands and thousands of visitors (and even then, you're in danger of an agent/publisher thinking that you've tapped out your market).

MM

A year! Took me 6 years to get an agent.

AnthonyJones said:

I had been trying for about a year now, and came to the conclusion that I'm not going to get one until I have an author profile.

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No, you're not going to get one until you have a book that the agent you are querying like enough to take on.

I have a free ebook out, and a blog. Do you guys think that is a good start or is there something else I should do?

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Keep querying, and start writing the next book.

waylander said:

A year! Took me 6 years to get an agent.

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Took me 10. TEN. And I finally got one on the third manuscript I submitted to agents, which was the sixth manuscript I finished.

Just keep writing and submitting. The key to getting an agent is to have a book they think they can sell. It must be very good. It must be original and interesting and well-written.

That's all there is to it.

Just keep writing. It wasn't until my third manuscript that I started getting offers of representation (nearly three years after I started writing).
do noi y do noi y do so sinh tron goi quan ao ban buon quan ao ban buon chup anh studio
Take the craft seriously, and do everything you can to improve both technically, and in how you deliver the story.

AnthonyJones said:

or is there something else I should do?

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... you might try short stories. Getting a few pub'd in some good-sized venues would help a bit though isn't a requirement, by any means. It'd just give you a bit of an extra edge, which is what you seem to be looking for. As to the freebie book and blog I wouldn't count on those too much. Everybody and their brother has got one or both of those. G'luck.

Ken said:

... you might try short stories. Getting a few pub'd in some good-sized venues would help a bit though isn't a requirement, by any means. It'd just give you a bit of an extra edge, which is what you seem to be looking for.

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I'm not entirely convinced when I hear this bit of advice.

Short stories are very different from novels. I think write shorts if you want to write shorts. But why write shorts if you want to write novels?

I mean, sure you could write shorts, spend time trying to get them published somewhere, and get some legitimate credits to your name, but that is time that you AREN'T writing and subbing the novels that you really want to be writing.

AnthonyJones said:

I had been trying for about a year now, and came to the conclusion that I'm not going to get one until I have an author profile.

I have a free ebook out, and a blog. Do you guys think that is a good start or is there something else I should do?

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Blogs are fine, but not something that's really going to matter one way or the other. With your e-book, you've just stripped yourself of your debut status, which would have been a valuable marketing tool for an agent to use.

As others have said, sometimes it takes years to get an agent. The blunt truth is, you may never get one.

Yes, it's hard to get an agent. There are thousands upon thousands of writers trying to get the attention of a very few people.

Okay, I've gone and taken a look at your book on Smashwords (you should really link that in your sigline, btw) and I can nearly guarantee you that an "author profile" isn't going to help you.

Your issue is with the writing itself. (though the cover is very well done, IMO)

Your writing is solid tell with no show. You need to work on your voice and structure, otherwise, it's not likely that an agent is going to read more than a sentence or two. You'll lose them inside the first paragraph because your novel reads more like a summary.

On top of that, Smashwords lists the word count at 3304 - that's an essay, not a novel. Novels start in the 50,000 word range.

shaldna said:

I'm not entirely convinced when I hear this bit of advice.

Short stories are very different from novels. I think write shorts if you want to write shorts. But why write shorts if you want to write novels?

I mean, sure you could write shorts, spend time trying to get them published somewhere, and get some legitimate credits to your name, but that is time that you AREN'T writing and subbing the novels that you really want to be writing.

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... have read about numerous writers who got agents and subsequent book deals as a result of having short stories published. Agents even scout notable magazines for potential talent. So it can work. And being able to say in your bio that you had a stories pub'd in this mag and that can't hurt when querying.

The point you make here is valid too about the benefits of focusing on novels exclusively. It's up to the individual writer to decide which course to take. As long as they obtain their goal all is fine and well.

The best way to get published is to write a book so compelling that no matter what's going on with the economy, what the current trends in publishing are or what else they have on their list, agents (and ultimately editors) will be unable to resist. Agents and editors are passionate about books; if they weren't, they'd be working in a better-paying field. But their standards are way high. Hone your craft--that will help whether you publish or self-publish.

Good luck with the ebook---hope it does well.

Ken said:

... you might try short stories. Getting a few pub'd in some good-sized venues would help a bit though isn't a requirement, by any means. It'd just give you a bit of an extra edge, which is what you seem to be looking for. As to the freebie book and blog I wouldn't count on those too much. Everybody and their brother has got one or both of those. G'luck.

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Do you think it's easy getting a short story published?

Ummm, no. And writers who've had both shorts and novels published have reported it's just as hard to get the shorts published. Fewer markets for them. (Pro-paying markets.) And a ton of competition. Some magazines get 100+ submissions a week. That's 400+ stories competing for a magazine with perhaps 10 slots (a month).

Edit Add: I'm wishing, hoping for JAR to post here as he has done both. (shorts, novels)

Ken said:

... have read about numerous writers who got agents and subsequent book deals as a result of having short stories published. Agents even scout notable magazines for potential talent. So it can work. And being able to say in your bio that you had a stories pub'd in this mag and that can't hurt when querying.

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But you can't prove a causal relationship between writing short stories and getting an agent to represent one's novels. Some writers can write both forms, but most can't.

As Shaldna said, someone should write short stories if writing short stories is what they want to do. If one doesn't have the skillset to write publishable short stories (raises hand), spending time writing short stories won't help in getting an agent for one's novel nearly as much as spending time writing novels will.

The strategy of writing shorts to bump one's recognisability only works if one can write short stories that magazine publishers will actually buy.

I like how Jay Lake put it in his blog yesterday:

"One comment I make about the connection (or lack thereof) between short fiction and novels is that they’re like cabinet making and framing carpentry. Related in some obvious ways — wood, saws, hammers, whatnot — but very different arts requiring very different skills. Some transference of skill is possible, but there are people who are cabinet makers, there are people who are framing carpenters, and there are certain people (myself included) who can do both. One does not, however, inherently or readily lead to the other."

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A year is nothing in publishing time. The only slower might (might) be geological time.
I am working on 12 years years here- don't see me giving up.

Cyia said:

Okay, I've gone and taken a look at your book on Smashwords (you should really link that in your sigline, btw) and I can nearly guarantee you that an "author profile" isn't going to help you.

Your issue is with the writing itself. (though the cover is very well done, IMO)

Your writing is solid tell with no show. You need to work on your voice and structure, otherwise, it's not likely that an agent is going to read more than a sentence or two. You'll lose them inside the first paragraph because your novel reads more like a summary.

On top of that, Smashwords lists the word count at 3304 - that's an essay, not a novel. Novels start in the 50,000 word range.

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Seconding this.

Agents have a '30 second' rule. You don't grab them within 30 seconds, you have lost them. I had warning bells with the first sentence.

IMO, this isn't the correct sub-forum for this thread.

It can certainly be hard to get an agent. But not being able to find a good agent is never a reason to settle for a bad one--one that has no track record of selling books to reputable publishers, or charges upfront fees, or makes you buy a critique as a condition of representation.

A bad agent is worse than no agent at all.

- Victoria

On the short story front: Yes, having stories in the same genre published in noticable magazines might make your query stand out more, or might make an agent check out your website. In fact, just last month, an editor who saw a story of mine at Strange Horizons contacted my agent asking to see my novel. Cool, right?

HOWEVER:

1. The odds are very, very slim.
2. No amount of credits will get you a request, let alone representation, if your book is no good.
3. Getting a story published in a magazine agents will care about is damn tough.

CONCLUSION: Only write short stories if you enjoy doing it. If you don't, you're better off focusing on your novel and honing those skills. It's a much better investment of your time. People without any sort of publishing credits get published every day.

Write a better book!

That's what worked for me. I queried my first for a year too, then I moved on, wrote with the mistakes of the past in mind and little things agents had said. Took another five months of querying, but it worked.

This is not the first time I've heard this said about getting and agent, or that getting trade published is easier with an author profile. It's on your blog and 'I've been told' often precedes the statement. Who is saying this?

From what I've learned, it's much easier to do both with a compelling story than an okay story and author profile. Concentrate on writing rather than promoting yourself. That comes after.

The only thing you have to do to get an agent is write a story they love and that they believe they can sell. That's it. All the author profiles and short stories in the world aren't going to help if you don't write an amazing, salable book.

Whoever told you otherwise is dead wrong; I wouldn't listen to them again.

I'd start by spending a lot of time on AW . Once you get fifty posts, you'll be able to post in Share Your Work-the feedback is invaluable. Like everyone else said, keep honing your craft, and good luck!

There are 47,936 members on Query Tracker and 688 success stories. That's 1 in 70. Since members of QT are arguably better informed and motivated than average the odds of a given writer finding a decent agent is probably more like 1 in 100 or worse.

Think about it. You have to run a race against 100 other people and beat them. Being 'good' is not good enough. At least 10 of those 100 are 'good' writers.

So, sit down and think about high concept (read up on it if you're unsure what exactly it means). Think about what's been done in your genre and where there are gaps. Then you need to write a book that fits comfortably in your genre, yet stands completely apart from all the others next to it on a bookstore shelf.

Then do an awesome job of plotting, writing, editing, finding good beta readers, editing again, picking apart your weaknesses as a writer, editing again, finding more good beta readers, editing again and then give it one more go, just for fun.

If you followed all the steps and you're a good writer you'll get an agent. 90% of your competition does not know what it TAKES so you can write them off. Learn what it takes to sell, and I mean REALLY learn. Then you're in the top 10%, do an awesome job of writing, that takes you to the top 5% or so. Keep at it and you'll get there.

My natural bent is toward the novel, but I think learning to write shorts (even short-shorts!) helped me learn how to tighten my work in general. I like to write short stories between novel drafts and while researching the next novel, and I like the occasional check and the creds.

Breaking in to the pro short story markets is indeed tough. And as for a year being a long time in publishing? Today is the anniversary for one of my shorts at a certain pro mag -- it's still under consideration, they tell me. Another short's been on sub to a pro mag for fifteen months, just hanging out in the queue.

Yeah, so, write shorts if you like them. Otherwise, stick to turning out as many novels as it takes.