I'm finding it frustrating to find agents/publishers because...

Spend the $20.00 on this guy here. Totally worth the money.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/2015-guide-to-literary-agents-chuck-sambuchino/1117710671?ean=9781599638430

 

Local libraries sometimes have Writers Guide books available for reference, or at least they did a few years back. In my experience, however, they were a year or two out of date. Don't know how much of a difference that would make.

 

I would assume that a couple of names are no longer in the business and that a couple of new ones have entered, but I wouldn't image it would be a large factor over a year or two.

 

Kindle Unlimited has had its day. Chopping one half of your body off for three days of nothing is killing your potential. And if you want to do the free promo route, the Smashwords network offers so much more.

 

I'm not a fan of Kindle Unlimited, nor is my publisher, but there are more than a few authors, especially self-published that have done and are continuing to do well via that route. Smashwords is a viable option, but they don't have the audience/reach that Amazon does.

In the end there isn't one single route to success, however an author might want to measure it. Nevertheless, gathering information and making an informed choice does improve the odds.

 

I was just looking at pw.org's agent database and noticed something odd (well, I think it's odd, anyway). In the filter drop-down, there's no science fiction, no fantasy, thriller, mystery... none of the usual genres.

How is this database helpful if everything is lumped under Commercial Fiction?

 

Another option you may want to consider is a pitch conference. If you are in (or can get to) the New York City area, the Algonkian Pitch Conference is held 4 times a year. It includes workshops on what makes a good pitch and then you have the chance to pitch directly to editors, one on one. Also, the Writers Digest conferences include what they call a "pitch slam", in which you have an hour to pitch as many agents as you can get to. I got 5 requests for submissions out of that, including one for the full ms. Chuck Sambuchino, mentioned above, puts the pitch slam together and gives you some tips on pitching to begin the conference.

Good luck.

 

Hi,

Two points. First Kindle Unlimited 2 has been a godsend for me. Last month I had over two million pages read at about half a cent a page. Since the changes of June / July for those of us who write longer fiction it has been awesome.

Second, agents are fine and all, but I hate to say this to those absolutely dedicated to going the trade route, but your best chance of getting an agent publisher if that's your dream will sooner or later be to go indie first. Agents and publishers are now and have for some years been trawling the ranks of the self published and this trend is becoming more predominant.

Cheers, Greg.

 

Hey can you do that for me too? I'm having trouble too!

 

Direct contact with publisher (without agent) is possible, but only if you US/UK resident.
But in my case, where I'm from Russia, and my co-author/artist from Norway (for one book) and from China (for other book - she speaks only Chinese and don't understand English) this is impossible - for example, Baen asks only for snail mail submissions - send mail from Russia to US so expensive.

 

Well, expensive postage doesn't add up to "impossible", though it may add up to "unacceptably difficult."

 

Let's imagine the following situation - publisher likes whe book and agree to print it. How the publisher will sign the contract and provide royalty/advance to my co-author from China, which cannot read standard English contract and don't work with foreigners (from any country) without dealer? How US/UK publisher will provide contracts in this case?
It's work for agent only, who knows what to do in situations like this.

 

I'm not an attorney, so take this as a suggestion of a possibility to investigate rather than a glib answer. In the US, I believe it is possible to enter into a contract with my co-author in which (s)he agrees to name me as his/her agent in all dealings with publishers if I agree to share all royalties and other benefits 50/50 (or whatever other allocation is agreed). That means that all further contractual arrangements are between me and any perspective publisher. I don't know if a similar arrangement is possible under Russian and Chinese law, but if it does, it could significantly simplify your dealings.

Good luck.

 

It's possible for Norway, but not for China.
Chinese artists usual prefer not to work with customers outside China and work only with people, who knows personally. They decline offers from foreigners.
It means, all contracts with artist are signed not with me, but with the dealer.
Artist doesn't know what customer for her artwork from Russia, she thinks it's Chinese client (I only provide money for work, communication and referals).
Sounds not fun, really, but Asia it's very different culture and methods of work.
There is no other way to work with Asian artists besides dealers, who "cheat".

 

Yes, in fact each of you could designate the other as your attorney-in-fact for various purposes.

 

Try Austin McCauley of Canary Wharf, London I am with them and they have been ok!

 

It's a vanity press, according thread on Absolute Write.

 

Go to a few writers conferences if you live near a city. There are usually several who go. I followed a couple on Twitter, and that opened up a bunch more. Also, try this: https://mswlparagraph.wordpress.com/ Not 100 at a time, but seriously, if you're on your 100th agent, it might be time to work on your next project.

 

I agree that writing conferences are the way to go to meet agents. I've been to so many and though it was always premature for me since my MS weren't ready yet, the option was always there. You could ea breakfast and lunch with them and chat over coffee, very informal. It was great.

There is nothing like a good writer's conference. Heaven on Earth.

 

I've never been to a writing conference - I found my agent using either QueryTracker.net or AgentQuery.com (I can't remember which one). They both have long lists of agents that are searchable by genre.

Then make sure you check the agent out at Preditors and Editors and the Absolute Write Bewares and Background Check sites.

 

This is great stuff, thanks for sharing that!

 

Maybe this thread is dated, but here's my input...

When I was on submission for my last novel, I found agents on LitRejections' Agency Database. They have a listing of 100s of agents and links to their websites.

Check it out here:

http://www.litrejections.com/agency-database/

 

Thanks! Very helpful to those of us outside the US. I was just about to ask if there was a UK specific database anywhere, you've saved me the bother.