How I Got My (New) Literary Agent

There is no one way to land a literary agent. While luck and talent help, it often boils down to hard work. I believe some writers land their query and pages in an agent’s inbox at the most opportune moment, while others of us find ourselves in the midst of a pandemic…

I’m happy to share my success story with you. My offer arrived for my middle grade fantasy, THE KEY TO FALLS TOOTH WOODS. This eco-thriller features an adventure-thirsty girl who sets out to prove she’s over her fear of the woods. Until she learns they’re alive. That CALL offer came the night of the election when I was stress-eating chocolate chips and obsessively refreshing the vote count on my phone.

Two days later, I spoke with Rebecca Angus with Howland Literary. We aligned over the submission process (we both love spreadsheets!), and her vision for my story and enthusiasm over my writing helped as well. Before accepting her offer, I considered her skills and our potential relationship with care and patience, taking the requisite two weeks to notify agents with my query and pages.

Let me keep this as short as possible and start with two essentials querying writers need to know:

1. Don’t query until you have polished your manuscript.

2. Immerse yourself in research on agents and agencies—take part in Discord chats; connect with writers on social media; be discreet and use DMs; attend any free [or paid] webinars/conferences that talk about querying.

With that said, here’s my story. It’s one of thousands about how I got my agent (the second time around). Remember, every journey is unique. May my offering provide hope, useful information, and humor. This isn’t my first rodeo, but I admit to taking the scenic route to the arena.

Backstory: In 2018, I won RevPit on Twitter. Jeni Chappelle runs this contest, along with a collection of talented editors. The prize is a free developmental edit followed up with a showcase featuring the ten winners and their pitches. Editor/agent Kaitlyn (Johnson) Katsoupis selected me and my MG baking fantasy, THE MAGICAL LEMON TREE RECIPE BOOK. Long story short, after the contest, I queried for a hot minute until Kaitlyn suggested I submit to her colleague, Kortney Price. I signed, we fit well for a while, went on sub with three books, but parted ways four years later.

My story is not unique. It happens. It’s okay. She’s AMAZING, and I love her, but we didn’t sell any books. Remember, your art is your art, but this is a business, too.

Jump to 2022: Following my separation from Kortney, I reworked various works-in-progress, some of which were joint efforts. I rejoined Query Tracker (highly recommend!) and started a new list of agents.

Side note: I’m a fast drafter and have a talented team of critique partners and beta readers. With one story written per year, my collection by 2022 comprised four fresh stories plus some older ones. I queried one at first, but soon started sending out another and another. By the time I signed with my new agent in 2024, I had SIX stories out with agents.

That might not be so typical. However, all but one of those stories earned full requests.

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Scroll through my query stats and feel my pain

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Let’s get to essential strategies for querying writers:

TAKE-AWAY 1: Stick to those two steps I mentioned earlier (polish & research)

TAKE-AWAY 2: Even if you use Query Tracker (which is an excellent database), keep your own spreadsheet or whatever works so you know who/when you queried and what was their response. For one, this prevents you from accidentally querying multiple agents at one agency.

TAKE-AWAY 3: Query in batches. I usually had five or six queries out at once. Depending on the response, I’d send one or two new ones after a rejection.

TAKE-AWAY 4: Revise your query and opening pages if … You get specific feedback from an agent, a few quick rejections, don’t get any requests for new pages after maybe four or five rejections, or you reread your pitch/pages and find a glaring issue.

TAKE-AWAY 5: Write your next story. I keep hearing that many authors don't land an agent with their debut novel. Of course, an agent doesn’t want to sign someone who only has one idea.

TAKE-AWAY 6: Practice self-care. Enjoy your family, the outdoors, other hobbies … Do whatever it takes to be normal while you wait for responses.

TAKE-AWAY 7: Understand that agents are humans with their own needs (see TAKE-AWAY 6). They only (usually) get paid when they sell your book. They aren’t getting paid to read your query. Be nice.

TAKE-AWAY 8: Take a break from querying if it’s too much. Rejection hurts. Remind yourself why you want to write, why you want to get published, and who you’re writing for.

TAKE-AWAY 9: Read. Read in your genre. Read outside your genre. Read good books. Read bad books. Read books by authors of agents you’re pitching to. Read, read, read!

TAKE-AWAY 10: Keep learning. Listen to podcasts on writing and publishing. Read writing craft books. Check out available free webinars and conferences. Support authors at book signings, readings, or fairs.

Honestly, these tips apply for when you’re agented and on submission. The waiting, the learning, the excitement, and the anxiety don’t go away. Agents, while genuinely wonderful people, aren’t magic. You’re the magic. Your writing is magic. Together, you two can make new magic.

Good luck, and happy writing!