Finding a good Literary Agent?

Question

Without anyone telling me to look in resolved questions or buy the 2007 guide to literary agents (which i have on order), I want to know anyone knows of an agent that will only try to sell your work to the top 5 publishers.

Im interested in getting my book published but I will self-publish before i go with anyone other than the top 5.

To tell the truth, I would rather self-publish, but I am getting pressure from family to at least submit my work to some publishers.

Queenbean, I'm not one of these writers that expects a handout, or is waiting for something to be given to me. I have a very in depth marketing plan for my book already and several back up marketing plans. And as for your comment "If you have to consider self-publishing, you are not apt to be a writer" Well how do you explain Grisham, Redfield, Paolini, and L. Ron Hubbard? All self-publishers.

Loryntoo...All publishers speak the same language...money. If a publisher see's dollar signs in your book it does not matter if you have a track record, but like i said before, i could really care less if a publisher buys my book. I would rather self-publish first and maybe sell out later.

Answer 1

This will take some research on your part and here's what I'd suggest:

Find books published by those top publishers you choose and sift through the author acknowledgments. Find the names of their agents and then look up the agents to find out what literary agencies they work for.

Also, go to the preditors/editors website and sift through the agent listings and find those that are "highly recommended" (noted in pink.)

Off the top of my head, some of the top agencies (and top agencies, in my opinion, mean those who are well-known, have well-known clients) are Donald Maas, The Knight Agency and Writer's House.

Also, check the websites of literary agents to see who their clients are, what books they've published and through which publishers.

This is going to take a lot of work on your part and I'm afraid you're setting yourself up for major disappointment. While I have little doubt you are talented and determined, I'm not sure if you're being entirely realistic in your goals. I'd suggest broadening your submission scope a bit, but you seem pretty decided.

Best of luck! Let us know when you've got some work published!

Answer 2

Your family is correct. Self-publishing means you throw money at your book and what you get are copies you have to sell yourself or store in your garage. Unless you are great at marketing, you will not succeed.

Of course, aiming for the top 5 publishers means you must already have a track record you can tell them about. No one gets in there without having a track record. I assume you have publishing credits already or you have written about a field that you know intimately having worked in it for years. Your book is a real cliffhanger with a great character that people will care about.

What generally happens to new writers is they either self-publish (which does not count as publication in professional circles) or they spend a few years with the small publishers turning out books that do fairly well. They then send their absolute best book into an agent with a list of their publishing credits and hope to break in to the majors.

By the way, there are only THREE major publishers in NY. Kensington is American owned. The other two are split up into several companies, but fall under the roof of one German corporation or the other German corporation. Yup, they have all been bought up and merged together by two multi-media German giants.

Start submitting your work to small publishers. Make sure they are available on www.fictionwise.com and www.amazon.com. If people cannot find your book, they can't buy it.

Answer 3

One hopes you are incredibly talented the top five don't usually bother with first time authors. Arrogance and ability are not synonyms. If you have to consider self publishing you are not apt to be good enough to attract a top publishing house or agent.