How to Find a Literary Agent

As a serious writer, you will most likely prefer the route of having work published by notable sources to gain experience and build a portfolio. The best way to do this is by finding a literary agent who believes in your writing and has the skills to help you improve it. However, finding a literary agent can be difficult if you don't know where to search, so there are tips to getting work published and finding an agent.

Here are the best tips for budding writers:


Rejection of a writer's work is going to be often and unavoidable, but there are reasons for rejection that vary and can help a writer improve his or her skills by taking the criticism constructively.

1. Work submitted may not be what a literary agent or publication was interested in. It's important to know what agents and sources want in submissions. A great way to figure what what an agent wants is by researching the types of writing their companies are known to publish.

Use: Guide to Literary Agents 2011

It's a yearly publication of agents in various forms of publication that will help a writer find an agent for any genre of writing. Older versions can be used and save a lot of money instead of buying the new edition every year.

2. Start out small. Try gaining a receptive audience by publishing short snippets of a work in progress. By doing so, it gives readers a general idea of a story or character that is more in depth than a simple plot summary. Use online submissions: fan fiction sites, web sites for original works of writing, magazine publications that want personal stories and short fiction or non fiction stories.

Great examples:
J. D Salinger first published a short story featuring the protagonist Holden Caulfield in a magazine publication of Collier in 1945 called "I'm Crazy" that was included in later chapters of The Catcher in the Rye.

Chuck Palahnuik published a short story from his most famous novel Fight Club in a 1995 publication of Pursuit of Happiness that was later used in chapter five of the novel after he had it accepted by a literary agent for publication.

Overall, as a writer always make sure the agency or publication has an interest in the genre of writing you submit, and remember that what might start off as a small part of a portfolio can lead into bigger opportunities, such as interest from literary agents and novel publication if interest is broad enough for a submitted publication.