How to find your dream agent

Where to look and what questions to ask

A few years ago we signed with our dream agent and it’s made such a massive difference to our careers.

If you want to be traditionally published by one of the big publishing houses who don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts (sent by people who don’t have an agent), then agents are the gatekeepers.

They are also people who will champion your artwork/writing and hopefully guide you as you navigate a long career.

It’s so important to find an agent you can have a brilliant working relationship with because the hope is always that it will be a long, fruitful relationship for both of you.

But most literary agents only take on a few new clients each year from thousands of submissions.

Publishing is also incredibly subjective and agents like everyone else will have different personal tastes. They will also have different working styles, different ways of communication and different expectations.

A lot of the content we share on Words and Pictures is about how to develop your writing/artwork and write a cracking query letter so that it’s as good as it can possibly be to help you get an agent’s attention.

We’ve written about how to know if you need an agent and how to tell when you’re ready to submit to one.

In this post we’re going to share how to find your dream agent.

We’ll explain where to look and what questions to ask before you sign on the dotted line.