Maybe I missed it, but...

You know Shadow, this is a really great question. I remember being on a different writing forum and asking that question, and all I got were flaky, "Go with the best agent for your book" answers. I'd like to see a tangible list! Anyone?

Look for an agent that suits you and your work. Then see if they have any negative reports to worry about.

One thing to remember is even agents with good track records have failed on some books. I'm looking for someone that feels good and isn't a crook.

Regarding the "top". I went to the top neurosurgeon on the east coast. He spent 30 seconds on 70 images from 2 MRIs and declared me healthy. I saw him all of 3 minutes. "Top" doesn't mean $%$@ to me anymore.

ETA: This so called healthy body is considered permanently disabled by the SSA.

I think it's a valid question - and I have no answers, obviously. For me, I consider agents who repped books I've really enjoyed as "top" and desirable. And when I'm checking out their web sites, if they've repped a lot of books I recognize, they go to the top of my wish list.

But surely there are certain agents out there that people talk about and desire to have represent them. Maybe not a top list, but who are people's dream agents then?

Every time someone mentions an agents name I am certain they become inundated with submissions. Where would this lead other than an overworked agent. The top agents on a list are going to have an overload also. Your likely to not get a thoughtful effort on your work, more of a once over looking for what ever would trigger their immediate interest.

I'm not saying don't look for the best. This is just an opinion. I just think once they've achieve a top rating it is inevitable that their efforts will lessen. I'd rather have someone who is excided about their work and still trying to make that name.

Shadow_Ferret said:

There has to be some agents or agencies that are at the top of their game, that when you think of an agent, that's who you think of.

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Sure, but that doesn't mean they're the best agent for you.

To narrow it down, my current WIP is an urban fantasy. Now I can do a search on agentquery for that and get a list, but again, I don't know those agents from Adam. It doesn't give their reputation in the field.

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You could read trade papers, follow blogs and message boards, and you can get a decent feel for it. "Start at the top" doesn't mean "find the number one absolute best agent in the entire known universe" and query her, then find number two. There are lots of great agents.

(P.S. Try Jennifer Jackson. She reps Jim Butcher.)

I think all Shadow is looking for is something like that last sentence "(P.S. Try Jennifer Jackson. She reps Jim Butcher.)" I'll list some top UK agents, but I don't know if that is helpful at all:

Curtis Brown (also in the states, hi Nathan!)
PFD
ICM (also in the states)
Christopher Little has become immensely popular now that he reps JK Rowling
Ampersand Agency
My agency, Darley Anderson is pretty darn good too.

Anyone want to chime in with some american ones? Come on people.

Shadow_Ferret said:

I thought it did mean start with the absolute bestest and work your way down.

That's how I've always done my submissions of short stories. Started at the absolute bestest highest paying market and worked my way down.

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Short story markets are a different animal. Yes, start at the top and work your way down. Top can be gauged by pay and circulation.

You have to gauge an agent by his track record. How do you compare one to another? It's deeper than just the number of books they place. Some get higher advances but your book is going to earn what it earns. If your book doesn’t earn out that high advance can actually hurt your career. And then some agents have a foothold in film. That’s a plus if your novel is suited. Then there is simple preference. An agent might take your book on but it isn’t really their cup of tea so their effort goes to the other guy that hit closer to their interests. In comparison suppose this lesser agent is really hot for your story. He’ll give it a harder push.

Maybe it is like getting quotes on construction. You get three and take the middle one.

It's a good question, Ferret.

I'd still love to see a list formed, because I think it'd be a useful thing, but my method for looking for agents (apart from listening to people around here talk) is to find books I really adore and see who the agent is.

My first choice of agent, for example, would be Neil Gaiman's agent, except that in her agency's submission guidelines, you have to tell them what is special and unique about your book, which scares the beejeepers outta me.

But you get the idea.

Shadow, I'd venture to say that's an extremely difficult question to answer. Something along the lines of "Who would make the best wife or husband?" It's pretty easy to make a list of things to avoid: drug users, drunks, philanderers, spendthrifts. But who is right for one isn't necessarily right for another.

First of all, you have to narrow it down to genre. Then you want to weed out the ones with obvious flaws (fee chargers, crooks, ones with no sales record). After that you'd look for someone with either a good track record or, in the case of a new agent, who has a background that would have provided proper training. And then you want one who is excited about your book and with whom you feel at ease. There is no "one size fits all" even if there is a "one size fits nobody".

In your case, if you're writing urban fantasy, I'd suggest researching the agents of some of your favourite authors and also going to the Fantasy forum here and asking about the agents of participants on that board.

Look for agent blogs also to see if you like their mindset. Most of them - with the notable exception of Miss Snark - use their real names.

Caveat: I'm unpublished and unagented, but I've been reading up on this a lot. Take my suggestions for what they're worth only.

Reasons not to have a "best agents list":

- The best agent for one person can be the worst agent for another. Agents specialize. You don't just need an agent who's successful, but an agent who is successful in your subject/genre/market. Also, business styles and personalities vary. My agent might be appropriate for you in terms of her interests, but a poor fit in other ways.

- Some people love their lousy agents. The threads at B&BC are full of people who are very happy with their scam or marginal agents. If you started a thread on "best agents" you'd inevitably get posts from these people. That's information not worth having.

Good agents are easily identifiable by their track records. They regularly sell books to publishers you've heard of.

- Victoria

So how about instead of a best agents list, a most famous agents list. This whole sort of thing really infuriates me, because while I totally understand where everyone is coming from, when you are new to the industry and have no names at all to looks at, and youread through the lists of names everyone seems the same. Which agents are the ones that typically people go, "ooh you've signed with them? Awesome!" Because there are such agents out there. I know that there are with acting and that when you talk with other writers there are such agents with writing. I know in the end the best agent is the one that is perfect for you. And Victoria I totally 100% agree with you. But seriously people, there have got to be the big famous agencies out there.

I don't see why it is so hard for people to list their particular dream agents. We agree. There is no top 20 list because everyone has different needs. So why not just individually give a shout out to the agents you personally admire.

Agents usually have web-sites on which they lsit their recent sales. That's a good start. And I bet you could get away with e-mailing the authors from there and asking genreal questions about the agent. (though I may be incorrect on this second point.)

Friends don't let friends query drunk.

Shadow, there are a LOT of comments on agents and agencies in the Bewares and Background Check forum. There are numerous threads asking about specific ones, and in many cases the responses are favourable. You might spend some time reading over there.

Other than that, I can only suggest starting a thread asking, "Are you happy with your agent and why?" Again, probably best done in the Sci Fi/Fantasy forum for your purposes.

And FWIW, I have always thought those lists of most eligible and sexiest whatever were a bunch of hooey.

Shadow_Ferret said:

Yes, but even then, there are Most Eligible Bachelor and Bachelorette lists. There are Sexiest Person Alive lists. So it is done. I guess I'm having a hard time understanding what's so hard about suggestions on who is the Most Eligible Agent.

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Those Most Eligible and 10 Sexiest lists aren't meant to be useful. They're intended as entertainment. You're looking for something useful. And a 10 Best Agents list wouldn't be useful.

Say you've written a literary novel. Your Most Eligible Agent might be Nicole Aragi. Say I've written a fantasy novel. Nicole Aragi would be one of the last people I'd want to query. Agents specialize. Nicole Aragi doesn't want to see my fantasy epic. Lucienne Diver of Spectrum Literary, who might, wouldn't want to see your literary novel. You can't make a useful 10 Most Eligible Agents list because your 10 Most Eligible Agents wouldn't necessarily be mine.

ANd how do we identify these track records?

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Invest in a good print market guide (I like Jeff Herman's book, but there are others). Identify agents who are interested in work like yours, and do a websearch on them. If they have a website, info on their track records should be there. You also might find newspaper articles that talk about their sales, or see them mentioned on clients' websites.

Other ways to find agents: Do a search on AgentQuery. Read general trade journals such as Publishers Weekly that announce recent sales (if you write genre fiction, there may be a journal that covers that field, such as Locus magazine for SF and fantasy). Subscribe to Publishers Marketplace, which puts out a newsletter that lists sales. Identify books that you feel are similar to yours and see if you can find out who agents them (the info may be in the Acknowledgments).

I've written an article that discusses track record research.

Identifying and researching agents is hard and sometimes tedious work. There's no getting around it, though. Deciding which agents to approach is a very, very individualized process, different for each writer. There's no one-size-fits-all approach, and you can't look to someone else's list to help you.

- Victoria

I guess I am just the most illogical person here, as everyone seems not to want to try any of my suggestions. It's okay. I get why people aren't. Still, I thought people posting their dream agents might still be interesting. Ah well.

I don't have a dream agent. I find one suitable and query. When I get a rejection I find another to query. I may one day become frustrated with the time I take but for now I spend most of my time on my not ready for prime time WIP.