2019-10-01_Writer_s_Digest

AGENT ROUNDUP

ILLUSTRATION ©

EMILY ILES

The End

Is Just the

Beginning

Our annual agent feature

includes 27 wish lists

proÅ les of agents

o read your work

ure

and full

eager to

s

.

BY KARA

GEBHART

UHL

I

n publishing, “Th e End” is just a lie. Once those

words appear on the page there is celebrating to be

done, for sure, but also an acknowledgment that new

work is just beginning. Writers are, generally, not salespeo-

ple (although you may be surprised by how good a sales-

person you someday become). Some stereotypes: introvert,

quiet, humble, listens more than talks, observes, bad with

numbers, cringes at obvious marketing ploys, points out

their own mistakes, dreamer, more right brain than left , a

bit mystifi ed with the entire pitch process.

Maybe you’re all of those things, none of those things,

or one of those things. But with “Th e End,” no matter

how much you’d rather just write, comes the beginning

of the business side of things. We’re here to make this

next step a bit easier.

First, know this: Your book is worthy. Th ink of the

hours, days, months, years you’ve spent conceptualizing

your idea, writing, writing, writing, reading, sharing,

editing, editing, sharing, editing, thinking about, dream-

ing about, dare we say, obsessing over? All of that is

worthy of this next step, no matter how daunting it may

seem. Your work deserves a shot at success. And while

there is an unfair amount of luck in this industry, hard

work, determination, and sending queries knowledge-

ably and correctly will separate you from the rest.

Here you’ll fi nd 27 agents—carefully chosen aft er

researching hundreds of them—who are actively seek-

ing new clients. Th eir wants have not been copied and

pasted from their websites—you can handle that. Instead,

I contacted each agent and verifi ed all the information,

asking them to update their wish lists and provide extra

details and tips so that you can fi nd the perfect fi t. Th ese

agents are looking for diverse works in all genres. Th ere

is someone here for (almost) everyone.

22 I WRITER’S DIGEST I October 2019