So, got a (personal, wow) email from Laura Cecil saying she enjoyed HADES and found it interesting, but isn't sufficiently enthusiastic enough about it to represent me, as she feels without enthusiasm she won't be able to do it justice. What a nice lady. Agents don't bother to bullshit or flatter people they're not taking on (they don't get any money out of it, for one thing, and they don't have the time, for another) so I'm taking this as the most positive rejection so far. (I will when I stop fighting the urge to weep, anyway.) Conville and Walsh are next on my hitlist!
Anyways, I promised to unveil my agent-choosing process, and *drumroll* here it is:
1. skim the writer's and artists yearbook for 5 agents who accept your genre (eg children/YA and fantasy is my priority, general commercial fiction is standby). No more than 5 at a time, or your head will explode.
2. research the agents (google!!) - what authors do they represent, their submissions policies, and does it sound like an actual human being put up and maintains their website, or a robot.
3. can you find at least one author in their rota who has written in your genre/style/similar subject matter. if more than one , jackpot. if not it's ok, but it really helps to be able to say 'you represented so and so and I feel my book is similar' in the cover letter. all of this is time consuming, but so worth it.
3. if all of above checks out OK, the agent earns a spot in my special Agent Book (as an author, your Agent Book will become your dictionary and your bible all mixed into one. Any old notebook will do, but a sparkly cover will lend it grandeur, if not authority.)
4. this bit's crucial, find out which agent in the agency you're aiming at. If it doesn't say online, contact them and ask. The don't mind - it shows that you took the initiative. Cover letters addressed to 'to whom it may concern' or 'dear agent' should never be sent. Ever. But don't ask which agent to write to if it is clear that there is only 1 agent in the agency. You will look thick.
Well, TIZ is finished (that's Zeus, by the way, but I love the abbrev so much I'm going to be using it a lot) and I'm currently back to tinkering with H3. Will update with useful resources for writers next time...
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