3 Low Cost Distance To Meet Agents & Editors
Posted by Essay Help on August 27, 2009These days it’s common knowledge that it’s hard to meet an agent or an editor finished an uninvited mailing. They are more likely to pay attention to a compliance coming from individual they have met in person. Thereto end, writers flock to conferences so they can get any face time with real live agents and editors. And that’s great. I believe writers should get out and network. But those conferences can be pricey. It’s best to combine attending conferences with a few other strategies that are easier on your wallet. Here are 3 you may find functional.
1.) Attend Author Readings
Make a point of keeping belt of writers who do activity similar to yours. When they’re in the locality go hear them read. Sometimes–not all the time–but sometimes the author’s agent and editor will be in the audience. If they aren’t, accompany if you can move a few moments with the writer and ask with whom he or she works and whether they have been pleased with the experience. You can either ask for an introduction or contact the people on your own. If you’re going to do the former, first develop a rapport with the writer and act in adjoin. They may not feel comfortable referring you to their agent or editor right off the bat, but in time as they get to know you and your activity, an introduction may be a possibility.
2.) Attend Classes Offered by Continuing Education Groups Much As The Learning Annex
Agents and editors are in the business of looking for the next hot writer and making a name for themselves in the publishing class. That’s why you’ll often find agents and editors commandment classes related to their activity at places much as The Learning Annex, which has locations in New York City, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Chicago, Atlanta and Boston (.learningannex.com). Recent instructors include literary agent Katharine Litoral, editor Marcela Landres (formerly of Simon & Schuster) and Vickie M. Stringer, founder and CEO of Triple Crown Publications. The courses can cost as little as $30 or $40 and last about III hours so you have any time to find out if the instructor can help you or point you in the direction of individual who can.
Remember the agent or editor probably has aspiring authors handing them manuscripts all the time, so make careful you excel from the pack. Have a killer query letter and abstract (if your book is a novel) or book proposal (for non-fiction works) at the ready. You’ll make a great impression simply because you’re not making them lug a 500-page behemoth home in their briefcase!
3.) Look for Agents and Editors Who Have Their Own Personal Websites
When you come across the name of an agent or editor who may be appropriate for you, Google them to accompany if they have their own websites with email addresses that may be different from their corporate mailboxes. Any are authors themselves (like literary agent Donald Maass, author of Writing the Breakout Novel) and have books of their own to promote. Email them and, again, attempt to develop a rapport and get a meaning of what they’re employed on and what they’re looking for. It’s best to know as specifically as possible before going finished the ail of making a compliance. I recently heard about a writer who submitted to an agent looking for African American authors, but in fact the agent was looking for African American authors who wrote urban romance–which was not the writer’s genre at all.
One Last Note: These ideas should get you started and I hope they’ll inspire you to attempt other creative routes. It does get easier because you will find that as you go to more events and tell more people what you’re doing, the more likely you will be to find the connector that will build the path between you and your future agent or editor.
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