Customer Reviews

2007 Guide to Literary Agents

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Landing an agent may seem like something only the "big name" authors can do. The annual Guide to Literary Agents makes it easier for you by helping you find a literary agent who is actively seeking your type of writing.

Over 400 literary and script agencies are included in the guide. Listings contain contact names, phone numbers, mailing addresses, Web sites, Email addresses, recent sales to publishers and the listing even lets you know if the agents are members of the Association of Authors' Representatives (AAR).

When you find an agent you're interested in, check out the "How to Contact" section of each listing. This area shows you exactly what they want to see from you. For example, an agent may want you to submit a query, the first three chapters, a synopsis, brief bio and a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE). The listing also tells you how they want you to submit, such as by fax, Email or regular mail.

Plus, you can immediately weed out an agent based on the type of work they represent. This helps ensure you're submitting to the right agency who's going to be the most interested in your writing and is the best fit to represent you in the competitive world of publishing.

Expert articles also show you how to make your work stand out from the crowd, what to do before and after you sign with an agent and even offers help for finding a script agent. The goal of the book isn't to just put you in direct contact with an agent but to put you in direct contact with a quality agent.

Searching to find all of this info on your own would take an impossible amount of time that takes you away from your first priority: writing. With this guide, it's all laid out for you so you can submit your work and get back to your love of writing.

Don't write this book as off as a telephone book for literary agents. The Guide to Literary Agents editors work diligently all year long to verify contact information and agent needs to make sure the guide is 100-percent updated every year it's published. If you're looking for an agent, there's no better way to find one than in the 2007 Guide to Literary Agents.

This book guided me in the best possible way, correcting the mistakes I had been making as I was not fully aware of the book publishing field. It was a time-saver, an energy-saver and a money-saver! I only regret not purchasing it earlier.

Once I began reading this book I could not put it down. The reason? Not only will this book provide you with 450 listings including information on more than 750 literary agents in the US and internationally, but it also has sections providing in-depth steps to preparing your manuscript, writing your query letter, completing your synopsis or book proposal, understanding publishing jargon, what to expect from an agent, and much more! The book includes an easy to use index to help you find agents by name, company, or genre. I cannot imagine starting the path toward publishing without using this book.

This book is only good for starting a fire in your fireplace. The agents listed change their criteria so often, most of them don't even bother opening your query letters..or they have moved and the forwarding address has expired or they have gone completely out of business.. Let's suppose you follow the guidelines and enclose a SASE with your query and sample chapters, you are allocating $8-$10 for each agent you submit to ( postage, copies, etc.)......when you get the packages back unopened, you assume they were sent to the wrong address...then you call and find out that you sent it correctly, but they have changed their guidelines a year or so ago....the data (at least in the agent section) is old and outdated. Even if you go on line and look up the submission requirements, they do not parallel what is in this book....for example the book may tell you to submit a query, a synopsis and 1-3 chapters, then the website tells you something entirely different. Then when you call the agent's office you get another list of requirements. Very discouraging.

You really have to dig for this information on your own since these books tend to be dated as soon as they are published. Use other sources, meet people in person...there isn't any easy way or master list. I wish there was....

This is a must buy; had I bought it sooner I would have saved a lot of time and money. One important thing that new writers need to know is that you don't have to spend any money to get your manuscript published. That is what the publisher is for. This book gives you detailed instructions of how to write and present your manscript in the form of a proposal to agents who then work to get you published through a publisher. I paid close to in all $4000.00 to become self-published; although, I retain all the rights to my work, promotion is the hardest thing for me and sales for me aren't very good because marketing a book cost a great deal of money and having "key persons in key places". Though you still have to be careful with agents as well as publishers with your work, this books is a must have for new authors.

Even if a writer doesn't get an agent from this book, it's a great guide to understand how to go about getting an agent. It covers terminology, the proper way to contact or write a letter, what to look for when researching an agent, et cetera.

I knew very little about agents before I got this book. Now I think I'm equipped to handle the melee, whether I succeed or not.

Confidence like this has no price.

Joanna Masterson's Guide is an excellent resource for first-time authors. She strives for accuracy in her very extensive list of literary agents. Her list is very easy to follow and one can peruse the list to quickly obtain any number of agents to contact. While any new author trying to break into the publishing world should have at least two updated literary guides, having Materson's is essential.

I was a bit disappointed because I didn't find many more agents listed in here that I haven't already found on the Internet.
But if you're new to the writing world and looking for an agent, then it might be helpful.

When you write a book for the first time, you come to realize that you can't just send it to a publisher and expect it to be published. You need an agent. However information as to the right agent is hard to come by. This book fills that need.

I doubt that unestablished writers -- or lot of established ones -- could get along very well without "Writers' Markets" products. As far as I can tell, they're still the best.