Email or Snail Mail an Agent?
Synopsis:
What is the best way to contact a literary agent? Several New York Literary Agents are interviewed about their preferences and surprisingly some prefer snail mail, while others prefer email.
The article was written with information from my own search for a literary agent and interviews with agents on what they prefer and why. One agent went so far to say that agents' preference for email or snail mail is a generational issue. "First of all, opinions about email are definitely colored by generational considerations. Younger editors and agents prefer it as the communication method of choice to us older fogies ..."
The piece is also a snapshot into the busy life of a literary agent and how they deal with the avalanche of email and mail queries from the increasing number of hopeful writers.
Book Excerpt:
Ok, after several months or years of hard work, your novel is complete. You've proofread it several times, your spouse, relatives, friends, and maybe some professionals in the writing business have read it and they all agree it's ready for publication. You've written your professional query letter, a synopsis, and a short biography. You are now ready to find an agent to represent your work.
It's not impossible these days, just a bit harder than it used to be. Agents are buried in queries – some report over 500 queries a week – that's roughly 100 queries a day. You need a small army just to open all the mail and read it in a timely manner. So don't fret when you read that an agent will respond to your query in six to eight weeks; consider that a quick response.
Topics/Categories:
Agents, Books, Email, Mail, publishing, Queries
Genre:
Type of Work:
Publishers:
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Original Published Source:
The Bulletin, official publication of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
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Formats:
PDF Printed
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