How to find a literary agent: tips and resources for researching agents

You’ve finished your novel, got it into the best shape it can be and now you’re ready to send it out to agents. But where can you find them and how do you know which ones are a good fit for your work?

Agents are busy people. They receive hundreds of submissions and they don’t have time to read them all. They are also specialists. There are many different types and subjects of books; to be successful, an agent needs to target a specific corner of the market and work hard to build contacts and a reputation in that field. They are not going to bother reading a manuscript that isn’t relevant. In order to ensure your manuscript the best possible chances of getting signed by a publisher, you need an agent with specialist knowledge of the market you are aiming to publish in. There are three main things to consider:

1) Do they represent your genre?

There is zero point in sending your steamy historical romance novel to an agent who only represents sports memoirs. Agents will often state which genres they represent in the submission guidelines on their website, on their Twitter profile or on their manuscript wish list (more on these later).

2) Will your book appeal to them?

As well as specialising in a particular genre or genres, each agent will have their preferences of the type of book they are interested in hearing about. You can get a sense for the sort of books they like by looking at their Goodreads profile, by following them on Twitter and seeing the type of books they get excited about, or by looking at the books they have represented in the past. 

3) What is their track record?

It’s not just about finding an agent who will agree to take your book on; it’s about finding an agent who gets results. Ideally you want someone who already has a strong track record in the relevant genre. However, don’t dismiss the idea of working with a new agent. Sometimes it can be easier to get your foot in the door with a newbie who is still building their list of clients. If they work for a reputable agency that has a good track record for sales, then it doesn’t matter so much that they are new to the field because the agency’s name will appear on all their submissions. You can also take a look at their previous experience in publishing: for example, were they formerly an editor in a related field?

Now that you have a clearer idea of who you are looking for, it’s time to start your research. The following is a list of resources you can consult, with tips for how to narrow things down.

X (Twitter): You can search X (Twitter) for literary agents in your relevant genre. If you already know about an agent, their Twitter account is a good place to garner more detailed information about the books they like and publishing deals they’re making.

Manuscript Wishlist: Check out the Twitter hashtag #MSWL, in which agents and editors announce the type of manuscripts they are looking for.

Unofficial aggregator of Manuscript Wishlist tweets: https://mswishlist.com

Official site for Manuscript Wish List: https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com

Publishers marketplace: This is an excellent resource for understanding what sells and will give you a deeper understanding of the real-time commercial publishing market. You can buy a month-long subscription to PublishersMarketplace.com and monitor the deals that are announced. It’s also a great place to research literary agents as many agents have member pages there. You can also search the publishing deals database by genre, category, and/or keyword to pinpoint the best agents for your work.

The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook: Updated annually, this print publication includes a complete list of UK-based agents, as well as a wealth of advice and resources about writing and getting published. There is also an online subscription service which can be used to search for agents: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/resources/listings.

Online agent directories: Various websites have collated agent listings into online directories and databases. Some are free, and some have a subscription service with additional features. I have not personally used these services so I can’t vouch for how effective they are, but they might be worth considering. A few examples:

• QueryTracker: A free searchable database of literary agents. It includes information about agents’ typical response times and response rates, and it offers a service that helps you to track your queries.
• Duotrope: A subscription-based service with extensive listings of agents and publishers.
• Jericho Writers AgentMatch: A searchable database of over 1,500 literary agents from the UK, US, Canada and Australia. It’s a paid subscription, but they do offer a free trial.
• Reedsy: A free database of over 600 agents, searchable by genre and location.

Acknowledgements: Check out the acknowledgment pages of books that are similar to yours to find out which agent represents the author.

Search engines: You can go to Google or another search engine and type in “literary agent” plus your relevant genre. However, this can be time-consuming as it involves trawling through reams of results.

Comprehensive lists of agents: A methodical approach is to find a comprehensive list of literary agents for your territory and then work your way through the list, crossing off any that don’t represent your genre and highlighting any that look promising. You can type in “complete list of literary agents UK” on a search engine and it will bring up several options. One such example of a comprehensive list is produced by Jericho Writers:

https://jerichowriters.com/uk-literary-agents/#Literary-Agents-The-Complete-UK-List

https://jerichowriters.com/us-literary-agents/#US-Literary-Agents-The-List

However, this is also a fairly laborious and time-consuming method.

It’s not just a case of finding a literary agent; it’s about finding the right one for your book. By doing careful research and producing a targeted shortlist, you will increase your chances of success and avoid wasting your time and money submitting to the wrong type of agents.

Submitting to literary agents: a guide to the querying process

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