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Book Review & Contest Insights from Real Reviews and Submissions
What separates great books from the rest? Below are articles with insights from real reviews and contest submissions—what works, what doesn’t, and how to improve your book. You’ll also find a wide range of articles covering writing, publishing, marketing, and more. Each article has a Comments section so you can read advice from other authors and leave your own.
Why Some Books Win Awards (And Most Don’t) — Insights From Real Contest Submissions New!
What separates award-winning books from the rest? After evaluating contest submissions across a wide range of genres, certain patterns become clear. Some books consistently rise to the top. Others, even with strong ideas and clear effort behind them, fall short. The difference is rarely dramatic—it...
What We’ve Learned From Reviewing Hundreds of Thousands of Books (And Why Most Don’t Stand Out) New!
After reviewing and evaluating books across thousands of submissions over the past two decades, certain patterns become impossible to ignore. Some books immediately stand out to reviewers. Others—even well-intentioned ones—fade into the middle or fall short. The difference is rarely luck. It comes down to...
How to Easily Find a Literary Agent for Fiction
After you have completed your manuscript, you need to convince a publishing house to consider your work. In this article, you will learn more about some of the ways to find a literary agent for fiction.
You should get your own copy of the latest list of literary agents who are currently interested in working with fiction writers. You can find most of these resources in a bookstore or the local library. Other locations that you can check out are the online databases of reputable organizations.
Another way to find a literary agent for fiction is to ask people you know about some of the literary agents that they may know personally. If you know published authors, fellow writers, and editors, you should ask them first because they usually work closely with literary agents. Some writers who have already established a strong working relationship with their literary agents can provide you with lots of helpful information on how you can pursue the same goal for yourself.
Based on your acquired list of potential literary agents from word of mouth and from your resources, another way to find a literary agent for fiction is to pick out those that can handle your writing style effectively. You should select those with contact details that include telephone numbers, addresses, and links to their official websites.
After selecting from the larger list of literary agents, you should visit their official websites to confirm the authenticity of their identities. This will also help you determine if these literary agents are legitimate and capable of marketing your work to publishers properly.
A good method to find a literary agent for fiction is to verify if these agents are currently members of the Authors’ Representatives Association. This organization is founded for independent dramatic agents and literary agents. Membership of this organization is not considered a requirement to working in the industry. However, this can indicate if the literary agent that you have been eyeing is bound by the code of ethics of the association.
You should also be aware of the presence of bad reviews given to literary agents in the past, if there are any. To help you do this, check out official sites that feature complaints against literary agents as well as cases of fraud.
Before trying to find a literary agent for fiction, you should make sure that the manuscript you want to market is already complete and ready for reviewing. Once a literary agent shows interest in receiving and examining it, you should comply with the requests of the agency in a timely manner.