You’ve written your manuscript and had beta readers or an editor offer feedback. You’ve revised until you feel it’s the best version of the story you can write. If your goal is to be traditionally published, your next task is securing a literary agent who will be your partner and pitch your book (and perhaps future books) to editors at publishing houses. But the challenge then becomes: how to get a literary agent. Here is a very basic breakdown of how to get a literary agent. Keep in mind, many of these steps are often the subject of individual classes, articles, or books, giving much more detail about best practices and resources.

How to Get a Literary Agent Step 1: Research literary agents and make a list of the ones who are looking for manuscripts in your genre.

You would also be smart to consider what genres you may want to write in, in the future. If you’ve written a thriller but might also want to write historical fiction, you’d be wise to find agents who represent both. After all, you want a literary agent who will, with any luck, represent you for a significant portion of your writing career, and literary agents want to build their roster with who also take the partnership seriously. Here are a few places where you can find literary agents and what they’re looking for:

• Manuscript Wish List (free).
• Publishers Marketplace (subscription required, but monthly available).
• Association of American Literary Agents.
• com posts profiles of agents searching for all types of fiction and nonfiction.
• The September/October issue of Writer’s Digest magazine always features 20+ literary agents open to queries.
• Attend in-person or online conferences where literary agents will be in attendance.

How to Get a Literary Agent Step 2: Identify the materials the agents want in the initial query and how to query them.

After you’ve made your list of agents, you’ll want to visit their agency website or personal website to see how they want you to query them (some prefer an email to them or to their agency, others prefer using Query Tracker) and what they want you to submit. Some agents might want just a query letter, while others might want a query letter plus first XX pages or XX chapters. Agents representing nonfiction will likely want a nonfiction book proposal.

How to Get a Literary Agent Step 3: Prepare the materials the agents want in the initial query.

After you’ve figured out what the agents want to see, you’ll realize many of them want variations of the same thing. So, you can prepare basic versions of the documents, and in them leave room to personalize them for each individual literary agent. This will include writing a query letter which includes who you are, details about the manuscript you’ve written, comp titles, and even a note about what caught your eye about working with this particular literary agent. Writing a query letter is a task not to be taken lightly; entire classes and books exist about crafting query letters because they are your first introduction to the agent.

Likewise, if you’re writing a nonfiction book, nonfiction book proposals contain much of the above information plus a chapter outline, target audience, details about any charts, maps, photographs, etc. that will need to be included. Again, entire classes and books are dedicated to crafting what are essentially business plans for the book.

How to Get a Literary Agent Step 4: Send out your queries in waves.

Agents receive hundreds, sometimes thousands, of queries each week, so it is unlikely (though not unheard of) that your first round of queries might be rejected. If you’re lucky, you’ll receive some type of feedback from the agent about why it was rejected. With this information, you can revise your query materials to improve them. That’s why it’s important to not send out queries to all of your target agents at one time. If you get critical feedback from an agent you query early on, you can incorporate it and increase your odds of success with the next batch of agents you query.

If an agent requests more information, like a partial or full manuscript, don’t rush to send it right away. Make sure you’ve taken the time to review the agent’s requested formatting and that you’re sending the best possible version of your manuscript.

How to Get a Literary Agent Step 5: If you receive an offer of representation…

If one or more literary agents say they want to represent you and your work, you’ll need to let the other literary agents you’ve not yet received replies from know and give them two weeks to review your materials. In the meantime, have a phone call or Zoom with the agent/s who have offered to represent you. Get a feel for their personality and their working style. Ask questions about the agency they work for. You’re interviewing them as much as they’re interviewing you, so make sure it seems like a good fit and no red flags pop up.

How to Get a Literary Agent Step 6: Accept an offer of representation.

If you get an offer of representation and the agent seems like a good fit for you and your writing, and you feel they will be an enthusiastic advocate for your work, congratulations! Accept their offer and you now have an agent. If you had phone calls with other agents, be sure to let them know you’ve accepted another offer and thank them for taking the time to review your writing. Publishing is a small world and good manners can make all the difference in the future.