Tips and tricks to help you finally land your dream literary agent!

1. Write the best book you can
2. Create a Full Publishing Plan
3. Craft your query letter (or two or three)
4. Get feedback on your query letter
5. Research like crazy
6. Read the Latest

We all dream of the moment and what it will be like. After months or maybe (in my case) years of querying, you finally get that fateful call or email from a literary agent: They want to talk about representation! But for so many writers, myself included, it is a long, winding, exhausting journey filled with enough rejections to wallpaper our home offices. And with the accessibility to agents thanks to the internet, it seems that the competition to get an agent to even look at your manuscript is stacked against you.

Signing with a literary agent is a major step in any writer’s career, yet it can feel nearly impossible. So what can you do? How can you rise above the insurmountable slush pile and not only get your manuscript requested, but get the dream call or email?

There’s not a single list of tips or advice that can guarantee that you’ll land an agent or a publisher. BUT, after years of querying, listening to podcasts, getting feedback and doing research, I do have a few things I did differently this time around that I think helped.

Write the best book you can

Work on your craft. This has to be said first, and believe me, I know it’s annoying. But you have to write a lot and work on your craft. Your book needs multiple rounds of revision, feedback from other writers and/or beta readers, and it needs to be the best possible work you are capable of doing. How will you know? It’s kind of like falling in love: you will just know. (I’m sorry, it sounds so stupid and unhelpful.)

Get feedback. I’ve worked with multiple critique partners, beta readers, and I’ve even hired editors to have eyes on my manuscript. An agent should not be the first person who has ever read your book.

Follow formatting guidelines. This is basic advice, but make sure that your have formatted your manuscript properly. Things like double spacing, choosing a standard font like Times New Roman, and 10 or 12 point font. Have everything ready to go so that the moment an agent asks for the full, it’s done, polished and ready.

Create a Full Publishing Plan

This was something I learned after my first round of querying. Some agents are pretty straightforward and they want just a query and the first 5-20 pages of you manuscript. Easy peasy, right? But some agents want a lot more with your query, and it’s helpful to have all of that already typed up and figured out prior to hitting submit.

I kept one document with everything in place so that I could just copy and paste my bio or pitch as needed. Some of the things to keep in your publishing plan:

• Bio – a brief paragraph all about you. Include any relevant information like degrees, awards, previous publications, etc.
• Synopsis – I had a one page synopsis, some agents may ask for a longer, but most want no more than a page.
• Pitch – a one sentence pitch of your book
• Short synopsis – It make also be called an elevator pitch, but this is a one paragraph pitch of your book
• Comp titles – a list of around 5 fairly current titles that your book is similar to in genre, audience, theme, etc. What would your books sit next on a shelf? Just make sure they’re accurate and current.
• I also had a list of tag lines or loglines, word count, genre, themes, and potential audience

Want help keep track of your queries? Get my exact spreadsheet that I used to track my queries and eventually land my literary agent!

Craft your query letter (or two or three)

I wrote an entire post on about writing a query letter and breaking down some of the parts of it. I wrote several drafts of a query letter to choose and revise my favorite. I also sent out multiple queries to see which one got more agents responses. There’s plenty of information on how to write a query letter (check this article for more), but here are the basics:

The Address. Pretty basic, just address the query to the agent you’re sending to. If you’re worried about whether you should address the agent as Mr. or Mrs. or Ms., just use their first name or both first and last name: “Dear John Doe.” Whatever you do, don’t write “Dear agent.” Just don’t. (And DON’T send a mass email to a bunch of agents at the same time. Rookie mistake.)

Specs. Some disagree, but I like to give the stats of the novel write up front. Tell the agent what your pitching: genre, word count, and a brief one sentence pitch. It’s also a good idea to include a personalized note if you have one, for example, you’re a fan of one of the writers they represent.

Pitch. This is the back cover copy of your novel. You goal is to make it sound as interesting as possible so an agent will want to read it. Keep the pitch focused on the basic plot of the story; no themes, no side plots. Strip it down to the major elements of the plot and if you can try and imbue your voice in it, even better. (Tip: I often write my pitch in first person since my novels are often in first person and I try and capture the voice of that character. Then I’ll edit it into third person.)

Bio. Very similar to the bio I mentioned above. Give the relevant details about you as a writer, and any details that might be relevant to the story as well. For example, since my main character was a runner and drank a lot of coffee, I mentioned that briefly in my own bio. Don’t stress if you don’t have a list of publications or awards or a degree in creative writing. Just tell a little bit about yourself.

Closing. Keep it polite and positive. I always liked leaving with a slight call to action that made the assumption I would hear from them: I look forward to hearing from you! followed by a thank you or a sincerely.

Get feedback on your query letter

Like your manuscript, it’s helpful to have other eyes on your manuscript with the purpose of answering one question: Do you want to read the book?

Critique partners can be a huge help with this, but there are also services that will give you feedback from agents on your query letter. I actually went to Manuscript Academy and paid for a query critique, and I found it very helpful and insightful. If you have the money, it may be worth it to have professional feedback on your query.

Research like crazy

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you may not skip this step. Research took a long time for me, and I continued to do it throughout the querying process. I’ve written about this before, but you really do need to choose the right agents for your book. You’ll have a much better success rate if you query agents who are actively looking for your type of book instead of just going down a list of agents in Writer’s Marketplace.

Again, check my previous post for more details, but some places to find and research agents are: Manuscript Wishlist, QueryTracker, the #MSWL hashtag on X or Bluesky, and (my personal favorite) reading the acknowledgements in your favorite novels or novels similar to what you have written. Many if not most authors will thank their agent in the acknowledgements, and if the book is similar to yours, it’s worth a shot. Just know that agents do change their wish lists depending on their lists, what they’ve recently sold, and what areas they want to break into. Always check an individual’s submission guidelines before submitting.

Stay tuned for part two! I had so much to share that it was getting too long for one post and needs to be two! Was there anything I missed or anything you want more information on? Shoot me a comment and I’ll do my best to answer it in part two.

Where are you in your querying/writing/publishing journey? It can be such a long and daunting road, and it can feel very lonely,. But it doesn’t have to be! I’d love to connect with you on Instagram! It’s where I show up pretty consistently and share updates on Something Bright and Beautiful. And believe me, you’ll want to stay in the know… 😉

Read the Latest

• Boost Your Writing With These Must-Know Literary Devices
• What to Do When Your Draft Isn’t Working
• Querying Mistakes I Made (So You Don’t Have To)
• Big News! My Book is Being Published!
• How to Land a Literary Agent: Part Two

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