Trying to Find An Agent

[Provrb1810meggy]

Even though it seemed like a long time, what with the rejections and submitting three separate books and the fact that when you're my age everything seems longer, I got an agent last month after I started querying in summer 06...so somewhere around a year and three months.

And I consider getting an agent in that amount of time to be fairly lucky. Though some people get agents quicker than that, a lot of people--some of them have posted here--have spent much more time querying before they got an agent.

If there's one thing I've learned about the publishing industry, it's that it's slow. Though it's hard and you will probably obsessively check your email, you have to at least try to be patient.

Also, you have to be persistent. My first novel did not get an agent. My second novel did not get an agent. My fourth novel written (third novel submitted-the novel I wrote third is resigned to a spot in the drawer) did, however, even though I felt far along in the submission process and was worried that it wouldn't get an agent either. You know what I would've done then? Polish the next ms. and send that one out!

[Horseshoes]

If you sent 100 queries and got four requests, then there may be a query problem, story problem or agent-picking problem. Also, if you sent 100 queries in that amount of time, you were shotgunning, which used up all your query-ables before you had a chance to tweak based on direct, pertinent feedback.
If you sent 10 queries and gout four requests, you're doing fine, except in the patience category.
Hang in there. To answer you question, some folks get an agent in less than a week, some never do. So that's how long it takes: somewhere between an hour and never. See? For the individual, it doesn't matter how long it takes someone else, it matters how long it takes that individual. My first took over a year, over 100 queries. @nd was same number of qs, about 4 months. Both were reputable, one is on most novelists top ten dream list. Neither got a sale. 3rd took a few weeks, about 40 queries. YM-will-V

[honeycomb]

Originally Posted by Birol

You mean every agent, not every author, right? What I'm hearing you say is you took the shotgun approach?

Beyond finding out what the agents accepted work in your genre, did you do any type of research as to what they represent? You stated that your query letter had been reviewed by several people. What were their qualifications?

Sorry all for not responding earlier. I'm still new to AW and sometimes I can't find my posts, but I figured out how to find them.

Okay. Yes, I did mean agent. Before I query I search AgentyQuery, Publisher's Marketplace, Agent's websites, Google and AW for works rep'd. I even contacted a couple of authors who were rep'd by some of the agents.

Anyway as far as the Query Letter goes, I had a friend of mine who is an author of children's stories and fantasies to take a look at it. Also I had one of my co-worker's daughter look at it. She is an editor for a magazine.

[ACEnders]

Originally Posted by Chumplet

Please, pleeeeeze be careful not to declare your novel a masterpiece to agents. They get a little snarky when they hear stuff like that.

I'm unpublished, but from what I've read on publishers' blogs and agents and authors' blogs - this statement is fair advice.

Originally Posted by scarletpeaches

Yes. You could be me.

One partial request in all my thirty-one years. Get over yourself. Four requests in a matter of weeks? I'd kill for that sort of hit rate.

I haven't started querying yet, but I would have to agree from what I've learned so far. 6 weeks is nothing, and you already have four requests? Congratulations!!! I liked whoever said to dance in the streets, but look out for cars! lol (I forgot to quote them, sorry!)

[honeycomb]

Originally Posted by ACEnders

I'm unpublished, but from what I've read on publishers' blogs and agents and authors' blogs - this statement is fair advice.



I haven't started querying yet, but I would have to agree from what I've learned so far. 6 weeks is nothing, and you already have four requests? Congratulations!!! I liked whoever said to dance in the streets, but look out for cars! lol (I forgot to quote them, sorry!)

Again, thanks for the advice from all. I'm so new to submitting my work and calling myself an author so I get discouraged at times.

As for my statement about "masterpiece", "Pulitzer prize", etc. Of course, I'm professional enough not to aggrandize my MS when querying. That was my little attempt at humor. Ha ha! That's why I chose women's fiction instead of comedy :-)