Another topic about submitting queries

Take a look at the authors they represent and the books they've sold. That might help you reach a decision.

WinterDusk14 said:

I just saw this agency with a number of agents, all of them are open for submission and has no preferred genre.

So, do I send my MS to all of them? Or just the ones I know who often represents my genre?

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Do any of the agents have a list of works they have previously sold? If they do, then yeah, send your query to the agent that's represented work similar to yours in the past.

But even if there isn't any information listed, I would still be wary of just mass-querying the entire agency. You should probably just e-mail them and ask which one is best suited for your genre. No need to waste your time on agents who simply aren't going to be interested.

I agree with Brandon about looking at the books / authors the agents represent. I don't agree that you should email them and ask them which agent. I wouldn't think that this would receive a reply.

Do each of the agents have their own email address? Usually, when I see something like what you describe, there is just one slush pile email address for queries. Perhaps they don't want you to specify an agent in email queries.

Another tactic that I've found useful is to bing something like, "[exact agent's name] literary agent blog", or "[exact agent's name] literary agent interview". Not only will this help you to appropriately personalize your query letter, you will probably find out in these interviews exactly what the agent is looking for.

hth

Honestly, I'd be concerned about any agent who doesn't have preferred markets and genres. Agenting is a very specific, contact-driven profession. Be wary until you can identify specific sales in the genre and market you write for.

Then, if you do find one or more of them legitimate and effective, then research which would be most likely to connect with your work.


~suki

suki said:

Honestly, I'd be concerned about any agent who doesn't have preferred markets and genres. Agenting is a very specific, contact-driven profession. Be wary until you can identify specific sales in the genre and market you write for.

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Ditto.

In addition, most agencies don't allow you to sub to multiple agents at once. An agency that's okay with that and has zero preferences listed strikes me as... very unusual.

Definitely do not sub to all at once--the agents may all be open to submission, but most agencies do not allow you to sub simultaneously to all. I agree with the above posters who suggested researching the agents, find the one who seems like the closest fit in terms of prior work represented, and submit to him/her first. If you're rejected, and if the agency permits you to query another (some agencies have a rejection from one is a rejection from all policy), then move on to the next. Best of luck!

I know an agent who doesn't rep any specific genre, and she's one of the best agents in the UK. This isn't necessarily a red flag, but it is worth considering.