[Agent Listing] Agent Query / AgentQuery.com

I, an American living in Australia, have noticed a number of words that befuddle me ... whilst is on that list. Does that make me a gormless expat? And I also like and use Agent Query. However the agent and agency I am inquiring about is not listed there, nor as far as I can find, here. Can anyone tell me a bit about Erin Bauer of Writer's Representatives? ( ww.writersreps.com).
As they say down here, good on you if you can ... until then, see you lata! (Aussies do not never ever use the letter 'r' at or near the end of a word.)

AussieBilly said:

(Aussies do not never ever use the letter 'r' at or near the end of a word.)

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Unless it doesn't belong there, of course. As in the Mexican food items "enchilardar", "tarco," and "tostardar."

It's the law of conservation of "R's". Also seen in Boston, where the R's missing from "Hahvahd" and "pahk the cah" show up in "Ameriker", "Cubar" and other unlikely spots.

Well, I'm off to check out Agent Query...

(PS I've always thought the opposite of gormless was well-gormed. cf. Futless and well-futted.)

David I said:

(PS I've always thought the opposite of gormless was well-gormed. cf. Futless and well-futted.)

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Okay, I'll bite. What is futless? What is well-futted?

Gee, I hope asking doesn't make me seem grastinopolistic.

Jkorzenko -- Any updates to report on your AQ Connect experience?

kap

KAP said:

Okay, I'll bite. What is futless? What is well-futted?

Gee, I hope asking doesn't make me seem grastinopolistic.

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"Futless" is a lot like "gormless" in that why lacking futs or gorms would be a problem isn't clear.

"Futless" I first heard in Hawaii, but it's now pretty widespread in bureaucracies in denoting someone who is sort a of whirlwind of incompetence. It generally means unsteady, agitated, a bit clumsy, and sort of without a clue or at loose ends.

Well-futted is just sort of a joke--as I hope grastinopolistic is as well.

OK, I created an account at AgentQuery.

I filled out the required info (a surprising amount, actually) and then it showed me three people - count 'em, three - that they considered "matches".

I saw no way other than the chat room to talk to these people...
no way, that is, other than to try and arrange a face-to-face meeting. Oh, yeah. That's gonna go over well. "I don't know you, you don't know me, but we both write in the same genre...wanna drive across a couple of states to get together?"

So far, I'm not impressed...though I LOVE Agent Query.

David I said:

Well-futted is just sort of a joke--as I hope grastinopolistic is as well.

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Hey, grastinopolisticity is no joking matter. Well, maybe it is to the well-futted.

Thanks for sharing your experience, Monkey. Doesn't sound too encouraging.

kap

Kap -- it appears to be a home for the young and new writers. At least, that's who have been emailing me with questions such as "any insight..." "what do you think I should do..." "how do you get published..." I have no problem with the pay-it-forward attitude, but I definitely felt pounced upon. What I did was put together a little blurb sending people here, to the Snarkives, P&E and several other sites to enlighten themselves. It's hard work and my writing time is precious so, for me, it's not a very beneficial site.

I still LOVE AQ, though. Maybe in time, it'll develop and become a great reference. For now, I'm laying low and praying people will ignore me. LOL.

jkorzenko said:

I still LOVE AQ, though. Maybe in time, it'll develop and become a great reference. For now, I'm laying low and praying people will ignore me. LOL.

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Ha. Sounds like you were quite helpful to those who caught you before you ducked for necessary cover. They'll pay forward what you've already offered, so you did a good thing.

Yeah, I love AQ, too, but I'll remain disconnected from AQ Connect. Thanks for sharing your experiences, and good luck.

kap

AgentQuery.com

Are they current with their listings? I had some agents write back saying they're not accepting new writers even though AgentQuery said they are.

Thanks!

No website is as current as the agent's own, but AgentQuery is top notch. FWIW, the agent or assistant read your query and in nearly every case would have asked for a sample if interested. Keep poppin' them out there. Luck.

Thanks! What's FWIW by the way?

For what it's worth...?

bluebeard said:

Are they current with their listings? I had some agents write back saying they're not accepting new writers even though AgentQuery said they are.

Thanks!

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AQ is only as good as the information they receive.

The agent is responsible for the information that AQ rely on, if they don't tell AQ they are closed, then the only way AQ are going to know is by people telling them. So if an agent tells you they are closed to queries they it would be sensible to let AQ know.

NDZone said:

No website is as current as the agent's own, but AgentQuery is top notch. FWIW, the agent or assistant read your query and in nearly every case would have asked for a sample if interested. Keep poppin' them out there. Luck.

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Some agent websites don't get updated from one year to the next

I like Agent Query. Also, if you are obsessed with agenty stats, try Querytracker.com.

waylander said:

Some agent websites don't get updated from one year to the next

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Websites containing submission guidelines?

Yep.
Take a look at Sterling Lord's for example

[Agent Listing] AgentQuery.com

I'm coming to the end of a first batch of query letters, and I think I've pretty much exhausted the list of agents who might be interested in my work from AgentQuery.com.

My question is this, if an agent is worth querying, are they definitely going to be on AgentQuery, or should I pony up some cash for another option (writers market for example)?

Writer's Market is out of date before it is even printed.

Try preditors and editors, too.

Have you tried querytracker? I've found it to be very helpful!

www.querytracker.net

No, there's no guarantee they will be on Agent Query even if they're legitimate. Even their site says that. I used agentquery, preditors & editors, this site, and the free Publisher's Lunch emails to find agents when I was querying. I never used any paid sites/services.

I use top deal makers on Publishers Marketplace for $20 a month. Since I subscribed, I've been better able to target my queries. I've had three requests for my nonfiction proposal and three requests for partials on my novel just this month. No answers yet, but much better than I was doing previously.

I wouldn't pay for a book just for a list of agents, but Herman's Guide had some great informative articles that can give an insight into the business, and while it doesn't have an exhaustive list of agents, it goes into a lot of detail on likes and dislikes. If you can find it at the library, check it out.

I've found this forum to be a great place to find out about new (as in 'new to me' as well as 'new to agenting') agents.

happywritermom said:

I use top deal makers on Publishers Marketplace for $20 a month.

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$20 a month??? I know some people swear by this, but how many months could this go on? Especially when searching for an agent could take upwards of two years or more?

The more information, the better. Scour as many sources as you can find and afford. Using scientific method, you can't rely on one result; you need to find as many as you can to find a pattern, if there is one.