How to get a literary agent–a literary agent shares the 4 things that most impress agents and publishers. Learn how to get a literary agent directly from a literary agent!

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I started out in publishing as an editor at a book publisher. And about once a week, I would get rejected. Our acquisitions meetings were on Thursday afternoon, and I’d spend much of that morning preparing a pitch for why everyone should get excited about the book I was excited about.

The meetings would go something like this:

Me: !!!!

Everyone Else: …..

Me: !!!!!!!

Everyone Else: ????

Me: !!!!?

Everyone Else: No.

Doesn’t it suck to have your excitement be met with apathy? I know it’s something writers struggle with every day, and it’s a thing agents and editors have to battle through, too.

But after some comically sad flops, I finally figured out what I needed to say so that the publishing executives would pay attention to the books I wanted to acquire. And now that I’m a literary agent, I’ve realized that the same key elements make me excited about representing an author. So when aspiring authors ask about how to get a literary agent, here’s what I tell them:

How to get a literary agent to pay attention to your work

So what gets the most attention from publishers? And what gets a literary agent to pay attention to a query or book proposal?

A platform-savvy author.

But with that comes a caveat:

Do you need a platform for fiction?

Any great agent or editor will tell you that you don’t need a platform to get a book deal as a fiction writer—an excellent book is all you need. But any great agent or editor will also tell you that you can only avoid these platform-building initiatives for so long. A wonderful book may get you in the door, but only a strong publicity and marketing campaign will get your book back out the door and into readers’ hands.

(And while I represent only nonfiction, I worked on fiction as an editor, work with many fiction literary agents, and have several blogging friends who are fiction writers. I’ve shared everything I believe to be true about why fiction writers should have a platform here, but please know that this is my personal opinion and that other agents may disagree!)

Why having a platform will help you get a literary agent

We have a euphemism in publishing for books that don’t sell: “it just didn’t find its audience.” That means it was a book we were extremely proud of, labored over alongside the author, but we just couldn’t move any copies. Why?

Most of the time, it can be traced back to marketing trouble.

That’s exactly why coming into the publishing process with marketing skills and networks in place can make you extremely appealing as an author. I’ve sat in many strategy meetings where an author’s editor, publicist, marketing manager, and agent put all their expertise together to formulate a strong marketing and publicity campaign. Yet the author’s lack of familiarity with the online landscape, and most often, their discomfort with putting themselves out there, crippled their ability to execute the campaign.

The worst part is that this makes for a miserable, lie-awake-at-night book launch, because the author is forced to battle the fears and anxieties of platform-building at a time when they can’t afford to stumble.

That’s why one of the key things I look for when signing a new author is their level of comfort with marketing.

Getting comfortable with marketing is an emotional growth process, one that’s often tough for introverted bookish types. And sadly, it’s not a skill I can teach an author. So it’s incredibly important to do this hard work before you’re in the emotional quagmire of putting your beloved book out into the world.

If you’re overwhelmed about where to start, don’t try to do everything at once. Instead, start here, with these 4 platform elements that most stand out to literary agents, editors, and book publishers:

How to get a literary agent–the 4 platform elements that impress:

1. Connections

It’s true that you don’t need to be well-connected to break out as an author, but it’s even truer that having connections will help you. Editors and agents know how hard it is to get even an ounce of attention for a debut book, so working with an author who has access to the megaphones of tastemakers is a huge advantage.

In fact, many first-time authors learn how to get a literary agent from their friends who are already published. So getting a referral from a friend is one of the best ways to get a literary agent. (I often sign authors that come in as client referrals!)

But remember that this doesn’t mean you need to live in New York City, attend all the right writing programs, or rub elbows with the literati every day. This isn’t about knowing celebrities, bestselling authors, and high-profile journalists. It’s about forming real connections with the people who are right there with you in the trenches.

Get out and meet writers in your neighborhood; join online communities; reach out to that writer you admire just to say hello. Remember that it takes a tribe to launch a book, and it’s a whole lot easier to make real friends when you’re not plying them with a press release.

2. Press

If you want to learn how to get a literary agent, think about publicity. Press mentions are the foundation of a publicity campaign. So when a book comes in to an editor or agent and the author already has press experience? That’s a big, big plus. I very rarely sign authors who have had no media coverage for their work,

Publishers think of press as a two pronged advantage:

1. The author already has a relationship with gatekeepers in the media (reporters, producers, bloggers, etc.) and can call on those connections to get coverage for the book.
2. The author has already proven that he/she is comfortable with being a public figure and understands that pitching and public speaking skills are essential to the successful promotion of a book. This shows editors that you know how to position yourself and your work in a way that receives favorable attention, and that is always a good thing.

3. Analytics

Ten years ago cold, hard numbers had no place in the acquisition conversation for a debut author. And they wouldn’t have helped you crack the code of how to get a literary agent. But today, they can be the #1 reason why an author hears a “yes” rather than a “no” from an agent or editor, particularly in the practical nonfiction world.

Again, this is something that’s make-or-break for nonfiction, but still a big plus for fiction writers, too. These numbers are a concrete way to show literary agents that you already have a readership—that you’ve spent years building relationships and that those people think what you have to say is worthwhile.

Analytics can be anything from traffic on a website or blog to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other social media followers.

Here are the 5 numbers I look for when thinking about signing an author.

4. Email List

Yes, you could put this under analytics. But I’m breaking it out for a reason—it’s a breakout number. That means that even if your social media numbers are middling, having a significant email list can help you get a literary agent.

This is because email is the most direct way to reach potential readers, and it’s also the only way you can (nearly) guarantee that the recipient will see an important announcement. With so many changes to social media algorithms lately, it’s hard to guarantee that important updates (like a launch announcement!) will actually make it to the people who want to know about it.

That’s why I preach the gospel of the email list to all my authors—it’s the best thing they can focus on building, because it’s the only channel they can themselves own.

 

I know platform-building can be overwhelming, fraught with emotional pitfalls, and overall more pleasant to ignore than to face head-on.

But the business of publishing, in any genre, always hinges around sales, and the sooner you can build marketing and publicity skills, the sooner you’ll find the readers who are going to support your dream. And the less often that your exclamation points (and mine!) will be met with a cold, hard “No.”

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This post was originally published on CarlyWatters.com.

To read more about how to get a literary agent and grow your platform, try:

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What I’m Reading This Week

10 of Our Favorite Literary TED Talks from 2015 (Nikki Steele for BookRiot): If you’re too stuffed with turkey to pick up a book, turn on one of these TED Talks and collapse up on the couch. They’ll make you think, even through the haze of tryptophan.

The Hardest Book Cover Quiz You’ll Ever Take (Daniel Dalton for Buzzfeed): If a game of Scrabble sets your parties into a tailspin of shouting, dictionary-thumping, and letter-throwing (ahem…), try this relaxing book cover quiz instead. Just kidding! This quiz is absurdly hard, and I definitely recommend pitting your family and friends against each other to see who gets them all right. Ultimate victory is what Thanksgiving is all about.

How One Man and His Twitter Army Stormed the Bestseller List (Charley Locke for Wired.com): “Social media for authors doesn’t have to be an additional duty of self-promotion. It can be a way to help people form a community based on investing in the success of a shared friend—a friend made through Twitter, Yo! MTV Raps cards, and the pages of a book.”

Hemingway, Mailer, PewDiePie? YouTube Stars Hit The Best-Seller Lists (Lynn Neary on NPR’s All Things Considered): PewDiePie has over 40 million YouTube subscribers–that’s more people than most print magazines and primetime TV shows reach nowadays. I love to see these reader-driven success stories, because they upend the long-held belief that only certain segments of the population are book buyers.

As Judith Curr, the president of Atria (where I started my publishing career) says: “‘I was very keen on the idea that if all the kids and the millennials were on YouTube and in the digital space, then books needed to be in there,’ she says. ‘Because if books are gonna survive and still be part of a relevant cultural conversation they needed to be where the conversation is, and written by the people who are beginning the conversations and read by the people who are listening to them.'”

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What to Drink This Week:

Turning things over to Jarrett to tell you about a Peak Fall cocktail:

Fall is my favorite season of the year. First, I love the dramatic weather patterns and the colors on the trees. Second, fall is the first signal that the holidays are on the horizon (I mean, who doesn’t love that one-two-three punch of Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas?). Third, some of the best hunting is to be had in the fall (and winter)–you can get everything from deer to pheasants to squirrels. Fourth, it’s college football season. And fifth and finally, fall means apple cider.

But that last point is also the trickiest. As my friends and poor Maria know all too well, the only cider that I tolerate is unpasteurized apple cider. It’s almost impossible to find unpasteurized cider in stores, and pasteurized cider has a cloying sweetness to it that makes it much more like vomit apple juice than real cider.

Since we’ve moved to Northern Virginia, I’ve spent most of my fall weekends trying to figure out how to find unpasteurized cider (again, poor Maria, I know). Finally, this past weekend there was a breakthrough: the Alexandria farmers’ market! Farmers’ markets are one of the few places where you can find unpasteurized cider, but not all of them carry it. So get huntin’!

Once you have unpasteurized cider in your hands, you should first drink a lot of it straight from the carton, preferably accompanied by a dozen (give or take) apple cider donuts. Then, you should make this outrageous cocktail with the rest.

The Peak Fall

Makes 2 drinks

• 3-4 oz. dark rum (infused with cinnamon and orange peel, as described below)
• 3 oz. apple cider syrup (again, described below)
• 1.5 oz. lemon juice
• An orange slice
• Orange peel for garnish

Infusions tend to scare people away, I think, because they sound difficult and time-consuming. But as the good folks who wrote Shake often suggest, you can do quick-infusions that literally take under a minute if you’re in a rush. For the rum in this recipe, buy a dark rum from the store and drop a few orange peels in it and some cinnamon (ground or a stick). Then you can either let it sit overnight to infuse, or you can quick-infuse it by shaking it vigorously in a shaker for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Whatever infusion method you use, just strain out the cinnamon and orange peel by filtering the rum through a coffee filter or paper towel.

Another thing you can do ahead of time with this recipe is make the apple cider syrup. This just requires putting about 4 cups of unpasteurized cider in a pot with a cinnamon stick and some more orange peels (and a tablespoon of whole cloves if you have them). Then boil the mixture over medium-high heat on the stove until it reduces to about half (roughly 2 cups of liquid). Finally, strain out the spices/orange peel, let the liquid cool, and bam–you have apple cider syrup!

After that, you just combine the infused-rum, apple cider syrup, and lemon juice (and I like to squeeze the juice from one small orange slice in as well) into a shaker. Fill the shaker with ice, and shake for about 15-20 seconds. Then strain it into an old-fashioned glass (or other short glass) filled with ice.

In the end, the double-infusion (both the rum and the infused apple cider syrup) make this cocktail burst with the flavors of fall. We served these drinks at a dinner party for friends a few weekends ago, and they got rave reviews!

Recipe adapted from several different recipes in Shake.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and a very special thank you to my readers, who’ve helped this little corner of the Internet have the best year yet. Wishing you happy reading, eating, and drinking this week!