Publishers and Agents?

Question

Hi all. I have finished writing and revising my first novel. My resolution for this year is to send letters and e-mails to as many agents as possible.

Question 1: Does ne1 know of a website with a list of agencies, agents, etc?

Question 2: If you use a publishing agency as a subsidy (you pay for a certain number of books to be published, but they mail, advertise, and stock your book for a minimum of 2 years..if the books depleated in those 2 years, they will re-print for free) are you still considered a "published author?"

Thanks for the help!

Happy New Year!

Answer 1

Go to your local book store and ask an employee for books about literary agents. There is one called, "Novel and Short Stories Market." I don't know if it's still around, but there used to be a new one every year.

There is a website you can go to here:
http://www.wrhammons.com/index.html
It may help also.

Try to get a literary agent first. I self published my first book and later landed an agent(ironically not really because I self-published). Going the traditional route takes longer, but is safer, doesn't cost any money really, and is easier. Self-publishing is good for some people, usually the kind that have a business sense or don't mind having to do all the marketing.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

I can give an answer to question 1. The most well-known reputable list of publishers comes from the editors of Writers Digest - Writer's Market. You can join http://www.writersmarket.com for $3.99/month. It has the same listings as in the Writer's Market book, as well as options for saving manuscripts and tracking your queries.

I have just joined, and I think it's possible to get all the information you need from just one month of membership if you use your time wisely.

If you'd like a little advice on querying, I've just downloaded "Mugging the Muse: Writing Fiction for Love and Money" by Holly Lisle. It's bug free.
http://www.envisionsoftware.biz/hollylisle/muse2-new.pdf
Pages 112-114 give advice on how to query an agent with a sample letter.

Good luck!

Answer 3

no but good luck!