Bump...unfortunately no sage advice yet.
Anyone ever gone through the process of trying to find a literary agent? Seems like one approach is to look up people based on the genre of your book and cold call (e-mail) them. Curious to see if any of you have gone through this process and have any advice for someone about to head down that path.
Thanks!
Bump...unfortunately no sage advice yet.
If you write a blog and agents like what you write, they will contact you about a book. Publishers too. They all love a pre-established "platform." You may also visit writers' workshops. Agents and publishers frequent them too. In many cases, part of the workshop is the ability to have a piece of your work read by an agent. My favored approach is to get to know authors in your genre (via workshops, social media, etc.). Once the relationship is built and they know your work a bit, you can ask about an agent and/or a publisher. Sometimes they will even make a recommendation or introduction.
Good luck.
You can also try to hit up linkedin, if you're on it. It's not far removed from a cold call, but if you're networked with agents (depends on your connections, I guess), you can query them. One colleague got work editing for a prominent book series by messaging the publisher there. It took a while, but eventually she got a contract. You can also join groups there that would be specific to your interests.
Some message boards also have advice--I know that some authors I enjoy got their start while seeking advice/support from the Amazon writers board. There's a good deal of information out there, so definitely dig around. Good luck!
(On the off-chance that you're writing anything related to manga or the like, PM me, since I have contacts in that industry.)