Building your Agent List is the gift your Writing Career needs

Why you Need an Agent List

I was just a couple of thousand words into the first draft of my manuscript that is currently on submission, when I started to build a potential agent list. With my previous manuscript, I was finished it (or so I thought) before I started thinking which agents I might query. The difference? 75 rejections for my previous manuscript before publication, with my latest one - 10 agents queried, three offers of representation.

What is an agent list and why do you need one?

An agent list is a list of your dream agents, the ones you would most want in your corner as you attempt to secure a traditional book deal.

But, here's the thing. To secure an agent you need a strategy. This is not online dating, it's not a numbers game. Sending your manuscript to one hundred agents and hoping one will pick it up, is not only pointless, it's a waste of your time. Time you could spend writing and honing your craft.

To begin building an agent list, you need to know who the agents are that represent your genre, who is actively building their list and who is likely to take on a debut writer. You need to learn everything you can about them... see what I mean about needing time?

One agent I know hates to read spoilers in a synopsis, another loves manuscripts that remind her of her favourite TV series. How do I know these things? From stalking them online, reading and listening to interviews they've done, checking their profiles on Manuscript Wish List and their bios on their agency websites. All of which takes time, something us writers are almost always pressed for.

It will take at least a year to get your manuscript into a fit state to query agents, so why not set aside a half hour once a week to do some online research, check our their social media profiles and begin refining your list.

Here's how I started my agent list

I set up a Word document and every time I came across an agent on social media, or elsewhere, seeking submissions in my genre, I put their details into the document, along with a note as to why they might be interested in my work. With each agent who made it onto the list I asked the following questions:

1. Do they represent writers in my genre?

2. Are they new to agenting or a long time in the game?

3. Is there something they are specifically looking for that aligns with what I am writing?

As you write and add agents to your list you're actively prepping for the next step, which will be a deep dive and refining of your agent list as you prepare to begin querying.