What is the best way for a recent creative writing grad to get an agent?

Question

I have a degree in creative writing from a top university, but still have no significant credits yet. How should I go about getting published in a reputable magazine or web site for the first time? Is self-publishing the way to go? I have short stories that are done, but I am not sure where to send them. I know I need an agent, but trying to get one without ever being published just isn't going to happen. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

You do not need an agent until you have a completed book manuscript ready for shopping around to various publishers. If all you have right now are short stories, you need to send them to magazines on your own. I know of no agent that will represent someone who only writes short stories.

Get the most recent Novel and Short Story Writers Market, and start doing some research. Find what publications print the type stories you have written.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Build up your clips. A degree also guarentees you nothing. Publishers care little about degrees, only about how well you write. You can get published in any magazine or online venue, you don't have to break into a huge magazine for it to matter at ALL!
Most writers do not consider self-publishing being published at all. After all we can all type out or work, post it online and it is considered published.
Send your short stories to magazines where they would fit. And send and send and send. Getting published is not "easy" for anyone, even the seasoned writer. There are magazines, online magazines, newsletters etc. Look into them ALL.
You do not "need" an agent. That is a falsehood. It's a small amount of magazines that require them, mostly glossies want those but even then it's a teeny tiny percentage. You don't need an agent for magazine writing If you are looking to write books, write a book first, search for an agent second. Or don't get an agent and submit your book to publishers.

Answer 3

A local library should have a copy of Literary Marketplace - The Author's Bible. It is better than Writers Market because it is much more complete. It also costs 10 times the price at 300 dollars. Spend time with it. Bring a notebook. Start searching for magazines seeking stories, anthologies seeking stories in your genre, any small way you can start to get your name out there. You won't make a lot of money along the way, but you will start building a name and reputation and that will be terribly important when you are ready to sell the next great American Novel.

The next best thing you can do - to borrow from Stephen King - is READ - good and bad. Read everything and anything. Even bad books will help teach you how to be a good writer. When you are done, analyze what you hated about it and remember not to make the same mistakes. To be a great writer, you must first be a great reader. Pax- C

Answer 4

First, forget the agent. An agent could care less about your credentials. All they're interested in is will your work sell? Few if any agents handle short stories. Your best bet is to google 'short story anthologies' or 'publications' and chose among the gazillion that come up which best fit your work. Many accept e-submissions. Unfortunately, many pay very little to nothing at all. They get away with this because so many people, like you and I, need those publishing credits. It's a start, I suppose, but direct your search to paying markets as much as possible. Good luck!

Answer 5

If you don't have time to get to the library, but you want to send your work out fairly soon, try getting to a local bookstore and picking up a literary journal. Most of them have classifieds in the back with calls for submissions.

Also, check out the internet. I often use the Poets and Writers magazine website to browse the classifieds (http://www.pw.org/mag/). Another good source is http://www.newpages.com/npguides/litmags.htm. This site gives a list of a ton of literary journals.

If you want, check out my blog too:http://bekhw.blogspot.com/. If you need anything else, just send me a post!