Short takes from DFW Con II: who’s the best agent for you?

As usual, this year's DFW Writers Conference was packed with classes and panels about finding/keeping literary agents. We could grill them at panel discussions, listen to what they like/hate about query letters, what they really look for when they read our pages and more. What I went for was the lecture about how to find, not just an agent, but RIGHT agent. The speaker was Nikki Terpilowski whose agency represents my favorite genres, but her tips could apply to agents of all genres.

Realize, Terpilowski said, that the best agent for one writer will not be the best for all writers. “It’s like a marriage (because) you’re working very closely together.” 

Her five commandments for finding that best agent:

1.     Write a really good book!

2.     Know your genre

3.     Know appropriate word counts for that genre

4.     Provide relevant "comp titles"

5.     Write a good query letter.

image: geralt from Pixabay

The first profile we see at the online dating site may not signal a sure-fire Mr./Ms. Right. Terpilowski's point could equally apply to finding literary agents -- put your best stuff first.

“Write a really good book! You have to learn your craft. Your first book is a practice book. Your second book may even be a practice one. You have to go through the process. Don’t feel that you wasted the time.”

Terpilowski was equally adamant about the “know your genre” commandment. “Don’t email an agent and say, ‘I don’t know what genre this is – you figure it out.’ (If) you think you’ve written a mystery and it’s a thriller, you’re going to waste your time sending it to the wrong agent.”

And for all the multi-genre, crossover books out there, Terpilowski's advice is "Pick one... Pigeonholing, in general, is not a good thing, but in writing, it is." (Although she was OK with adding that a multi-genre story "has elements of" one of the minor genres it includes.)

Writers still uncertain about the genre they've written in may find it helpful to browse bookstore shelves or even Amazon listings to see where the books they like to read – the ones that will probably most resemble what they've written – are shelved, whether physically or digitally.

Her third commandment, appropriate word count, “will be simple once you’ve done numbers 1 and 2.”

(Information about appropriate word counts for genres is readily available online, although I have found one article particularly helpful.)

The fourth commandment is to provide list titles of books equivalent to ours. Bookshelf or online browsing will help. Terpilowski warned that these titles should be current – no older than the last five years, although she was willing to relax a bit on the importance of comp titles when presented with a firm genre declaration. And for those still uncertain, say the writer with the genre-bending book, a simple “my influences are” statement is acceptable.

So, we've done all things – at least through commandment #4. Now to find places where agents congregate and do the fine-tuning needed for a query letter.

Terpilowski likes Publisher’s Marketplace, which lists sales by agent names. (A stripped-down version, Publisher’s Lunch, is free to subscribers.) Other sources are Manuscript Wishlist and Query Tracker, both free. And of course, the agent’s website.

“I don’t think stalking on social media is a good thing, but you can use research on social media to do your detective work. You can also use your research to remove agents from your list (because) you want to find somebody you feel comfortable to work with.”

And to follow the fifth commandment -- knowing how to write a query letter. If uncertain, "there are five billion titles on the internet about how to write a query letter. . . and have your query letter critiqued!"