The Quest for Literary Representation

Querying an agent has always been a numbers game.  If you wanted a response from an A-list agent (and hopefully a request for a manuscript), you had to send out dozens of queries.  It was okay to send along a sample chapter or two, which was great if you had a snappy style and a great opening.  Response times were reasonable, with most agents responding in one week to three months.

These days, many agents want only email queries, while many still want a single page sent via snail mail (but often without any sample chapter).  If an agent is interested, you might get a request for three sample chapters.  If these pass muster, you might be asked to send the first one hundred pages.  Only then might you be asked to send the entire manuscript.  There are, of course, exceptions.

Worse still, more and more agents simply aren't responding at all if they aren't interested in an idea or proposal, even when a query or sample pages are sent with an SASE.  I once got a request for sample pages one year after I had queried an agent.  I'd already forgotten about the submission.  I sent the pages.  Another year passed, and I was asked for another hundred pages.  A year after that, I emailed and asked if the agency was interested.  I was promised a response within three months.  Six months later, I emailed again and never received a reply.  That was three and a half years down the drain.

Is it any wonder that more and more authors are self-publishing and taking their literary works straight to readers and doing their own promotion?  There are great agents out there, but it's harder than ever to land one.

~ William Hammett

Contact wmhammett@aol.com

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