Do you guys know any really good tips for how to get an agent? How do you know if the agent is going to be good. Also, does anyone know what percentage of books that have an agent get sold to publishers? I heard something like 1% of the un-agented books that get submitted to publishers gets picked up, and I was wondering what percentage of agented books that get submitted to publishers gets sold. I assume its a lot more than 1%
Getting an agent - put as much effort into your query as you do your book - and write a good book. Whether an agent is good - research. Check their client list; google their name/agency to see what people say about them. Percentage - yes, a lot more. Agents are more familiar with publishers and what they're looking for, plus publishers know agents are the first step in the vetting process, so what agents send them is typically of better quality to begin with. Of course, that will vary depending on the agent, which is why you do your research on them.
go here for basic info on agents: http://www.invirtuo.cc/prededitors/pubagent.htm and do a search on our site, as these questions have been amply dealt with in many other threads...
Well I had a thought a few months ago about this - what if you googled the agents that are mentioned in published books? Assuming the publisher is a good one, and the book you read was a good one, the agent that helped sell that book surely can't be too bad - definitely wouldn't be a shark and definitely has contacts with at least the publisher who published the book you're holding. It's just another way of searching for agents anyway.
This website is awesome for finding agents as well: http://www.agentquery.com/default.aspx You can also find several books about how to get an agent and agent lists at your library.
Check out the websites of agents and see what types of books they are interested in representing and do represent. Query agents who represent books similar to your's or are in your genre. You can also follow agents on twitter, which I have found very insightful.
