How to Get a Literary Agent

It’s a one-page letter with three or four single-spaced paragraphs and a space between paragraphs.

Writing a query is as simple as HBC: the Hook, the Book, and the Cook.

They don’t have the right readers to help them, and that’s fatal. Getting feedback on your work and your query letter, which is a sample of your work, is as essential to your career as writing and promoting it. You won’t get your work right by yourself, but you don’t have to. Get all the feedback you need, but do it before you submit your work.

The Hook, the Book, and the Cook: Writing a Must-Read Query Letter

On the other hand, if the assistant falls in love with your work, he or she may become your agent.

Assistants at large and mid-sized agencies will screen your letter and your work for the agent they work for.

The Second Law of Getting What You Want from People Who Don’t Know You: Express your gratitude in a way that they will be glad to hear from you again.

You will encounter gatekeepers in every network you build. Befriend them, and they’ll help you. One day, they may even become bosses, and they’ll remember you.

As you create your career, you will want to contact people without having a referral.

an agency is new, small, or outside of New York, try calling, but be brief and keep time zones in mind.