Friday, May 15, 2009

The Hunt For an Agent

Sorry for the short post, but it’s been a long day and I just realized my agent tracking spreadsheet is corrupt. Not fun. Now, back on topic.

I’ve come to the point every writer obsesses about…the hunt for an agent. I’ve sweated over my query, rewritten the first chapters of my story a few times and spent more time than I could count on agents’ sites, blogs, AgentQuery and Publishers Marketplace.

Now comes the time to put a plan forward. I’ve made an excel template (that I was going to share with this post except it now seems to be corrupt for no reason) with information I need to keep track of who I’ve queried, when and their response. I also have a section on the agents I would like to send to, what and whom they represent and the format they’d like (query, synopsis, sample pages).

The query process can be daunting. Organization is the key. You don’t want to be the one to put hand to face, sending the wrong information to the wrong agent. Any suggestions from writers who have been around the block with querying, your comments are most welcome! I’m nervous, excited and a little apprehensive!

When I get my excel sheet back on track, I’ll try to post it here for those interested.

5 comments:

Steph Bowe said...

Good luck!

Tami Klockau said...

Thanks Steph!

Alicia said...

Sounds like you are on the right track. Your organization is much more impressive than mine-two spiral notebooks. Advice is difficult to give, because every agent is unique and wants something different. You just have to find that one who clicks with your work. All the best!

Tami Klockau said...

Thanks Alicia for the kind wishes! To be honest, sometimes I'm TOO organized (can one be too organized?) It's like a disease (due to my day job..which is pretty much just organization).

Tracy Belsher said...

Hey Tami - don't forget to post the spreadsheet. I'd love to use it as a template. ;)