There are hundreds of literary agents, so how do you begin to search for the right person to work with and to best represent your work?

Here are a number of places where you might begin your search:

Read the acknowledgement section of your favourite author’s books. Generally, they will thank the agent who represents them. The chances are that you will write in a similar style to your favourite author and so this can be a great place to begin your search. Ensure though that the agent who represents your favourite author(s) is still with that agency and too that they are open for submissions.

Look up agents in Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, Jericho Writers also publish a list of UK literary agents. You will need to do your homework with both lists because agents do move on and retire etc. Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook also has some great articles, which will help you to prepare for submission. Here are some do’s and don’ts:

Don’t just send your manuscript to the top literary agents, these are the agents who will be targeted most often and will therefore have the biggest slush pile.

Do send your manuscript out to around five to ten agents at a time. Keep all the details on a spreadsheet and make a careful note of the number of weeks you should wait before expecting a response – most agencies will list this on their website:

It used to be the case that you could only submit to one agent at a time and that your manuscript needed to be printed and sent by hand to an agency. This is no longer the case. Email and lockdown has made a tremendous difference to agencies and authors alike. A few agents still insist on receiving a printed manuscript through the post. Ensure that you adhere to each agency’s specific submission policy and check your spelling carefully before you send your synopsis and covering letter.

Don’t choose an agent based on their proximity to your hometown. You will likely only visit your agent in person once a year, so they are not someone you need to be able to visit in a hurry. The most important thing is that your agent is located close to publishers and this means they will likely have offices in one of the big cities.

Do research the agents you send to and send to a mixture of big and smaller agencies. Keep an eye on social media – Twitter and Instagram are used a lot by the publishing industry and agents will often post if they have space for submissions. Look out for details of new starters at lit agencies because they will very often begin with an empty list.

Do check the agency’s website and make sure that you only send your submission to a specific agent within an agency, don’t send a blanket letter to one agency with multiple agents. Ensure too that you have checked they are open for submissions and that they take your genre.

There are lots of synopsis and covering letter writing examples and templates online, Curtis Brown give a great deal of support, as do Reedsy. Here are some links for synopsis writing blogs from:

Reedsy, Curtis Brown, Jericho Writers,

Additionally, here are similar links for covering letters: Curtis Brown, Writers and Artists, New Writing North.

Finally, here’s some advice from  editor and psychological thriller author, Phoebe Morgan.

Importantly too, don’t just pick on the first agent or publisher at the top of your online search. It’s so important to do your homework. Look on their website, at the authors they’ve worked with and look up those books they have worked on. You can really find out a lot with a little digging around.

Importantly too, what do authors say about the agency in their reviews? Not just the reviews the agency or publisher produces on their website but the ones that are on more general review sites. Remember, this relationship should last a lifetime for the right reasons, so doing your homework now is invaluable. You can look up the agents you identify online on the Association of Author’s Agents (AAA) to ensure they are registered.

Consider joining Society of Authors (SOA) or Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLI), both of these organisations have got legal advisors whose experience and know-how are available to you free of charge once you’re a member. They will look at and advise on a contract you’ve been offered and it’s important to take advantage of this service before you sign anything.

These blogs warn of some of the pitfalls to avoid: Self-Publishing School, Reedsy another from Reedsy and another from Reedsy, finally, one from Jericho Writers. Additionally, please read my blog about avoiding vanity publishers.

Sounds like a lot of work? It is. At Author’s Pen, I have compiled a database of all the agents in the UK and can narrow down your search for the agents who are looking for your genre of story. I can’t promise representation but I can make searching easier.