For Writers

"Mr. Hunsicker's clever writing and intriguing plot keep the pages of STILL RIVER turning quickly right up to the slam-bang ending, which leaves us eager for the next Lee Henry Oswald adventure."

--DALLAS MORNING NEWS

for writers

How to Get a Literary Agent for a Novel:
A Five Step Process

1) Write A Great Book. Finish the book. Edit and polish as necessary. Make sure it's full of fresh, believable characters, taut plotting, and conflict on every page. Have someone other than a family member read the manuscript and offer constructive criticism.

2) Write A Killer Query. Make your hook compelling, use lots of action verbs, and avoid telling what happens, point by point. Again, solicit constructive criticism. My query letter ended up being the jacket copy for the hardback edition of my first book, word for word (except for the very last paragraph).

For the above two items, be sure the writing is flawless, with zero grammatical or spelling errors, especially in the query letter. Avoid the passive voice, cliches, etc.

3) Develop a List of Reputable Literary Agents who represent your type of novel. Use Publishersmarketplace, Agentquery.com, the Writers Digest Agent Book, Jeff Herman's Guide, and other reputable sources. Another good way to meet prospective agents is to attend conferences. (I highly recommend the annual agent conference sponsored each summer by the Writers League of Texas.) In any event, verify the legitimacy of EVERY agent you contact with Preditors & Editors. Remember to NEVER pay any upfront fee to a literary agent. They earn a commission only when your book sells.

4) Send Out Queries in batches of ten or twenty at a time, following whatever guidelines apply for any particular agent. If, after 20 or 30 queries, you get no requests for additional material, then it's safe to assume you have a problem with your query letter.

5) DON'T GIVE UP! I was rejected almost 120 times before finding an agent. As thriller writer J. A. Konrath likes to say::

"There's a word for writers who don't give up:
it's called published."

Other Thoughts: The process for getting an agent for a work of fiction appears simple. Follow the steps as outlined above. That's it; there is no magic formula or nepotism involved.

Simple doesn't mean easy however, as anyone who has ever tried can tell you. If you feel you've exhausted the list of potential agents for your type of book, (don't even think this is the case until you're well into the triple digits) then maybe it's time to write something new and start again with Step 1.

The final bit of advice I can give is this: Do not worry about things over which you have no control.

Don't worry that the market for your genre is dead right now. Like most things in life, the popularity for various types of literature follows cycles, ebbing and flowing depending a variety of issues outside of your control.

Great writing, excellent story-telling, and well-constructed characters never go out of fashion though.

Don't worry that consolidations are hurting the industry. The industry has been in an upheaval since Guttenberg invented movable type. Besides, there's nothing you can do about it.

Do worry about your manuscript and how you present it. This is what you control. Make the most of it.