A caveat: the right literary agent for you is the one who
1. Get discovered! Write articles for major magazines. Submit an essay for the “My Turn” column in Newsweek. Write articles, columns, and op-ed pieces for newspapers. For fiction writers, submit stories to literary magazines. Make sure your byline references
2. Attend writer’s conferences where agents are present.
3. To find lists of agents and the types of books they represent, research the following guides: 2010 Writer’s Market, Literary Marketplace, 2010 Guide to Literary Agents, Writer’s Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents by Jeff Herman, and Literary Agents by John F. Baker.
4. Go to the section of the bookstore where your book would be shelved. Look in the acknowledgments section of a book similar to yours. Reference that book in a complimentary way when you send a query letter to the agent.
5. Read Publisher’s Weekly. It tells you which agents have sold projects for large advances. You can also receive an email newsletter. See www.publishersweekly.com.
6. Look in publishers’ catalogs to see which agents handle the rights for certain types of books.
The common way to query an agent is with a one-page letter. (Be sure to enclose an SASE.) It takes a lot of research and time to find the right agent, but it’s well worth your effort. Literary agents are the gatekeepers to the publishing world. You won’t be able to interest a large house in publishing your book without agent representation. Good luck!