How to Build an Agent List as a Querying Writer
It’s a new year, which means a lot of people are querying again. If 2022 is anything like years past then most agents will open to queries within the next month or so.
I’ve had several people ask me how to research agents and build a query list so I decided to consolidate the information.
There are plenty of ways to do this and your strategy may vary depending on your genre, the type of book you’re writing, whether you’ve queried previous books, etc. I write adult SFF so I’m writing this post from that perspective.
Read Widely in Your Genre
This is one of the most effective things you can do as a writer. It’s my first suggestion because it helps you on multiple fronts. Even if you don’t have time to read everything on your TBR, you can always flip to the acknowledgements section and look for the agent’s name.
Another strategy: google “[author name] agent” and the answer usually comes up. Do that for your favorite books in your genre. I guarantee the same agencies will keep coming up, especially if you’re in the adult SFF space.
“But [big name agent that everyone has] isn’t accepting queries right now.” Check the other people at the agency. There may be an associate agent who is open. Chances are, the associate agent is working closely with the big name person you’re familiar with.
As you make your list of comparable titles, figure out who represents those books and use that information as a starting point. That’s how I found the agency I’m at now.
Agency Client Lists
Many agencies have a list of current clients or recent titles. If you read in your genre this information will be very helpful.
As a general tool, scan through and figure out if you recognize any of the names at that agency. If you read extensively in your genre but don’t recognize anyone that is something to note.
Manuscript Wishlist
Also known as MSWL. There is an MSWL website you can check but not every agent updates their MSWL page on the actual site. A lot of people use the MSWL hashtag on twitter, which can be an easier way to search for topics.
Using someone’s MSWL is great when you need to personalize your query, but don’t get too caught up on whether your work perfectly matches someone’s wishlist. An MSWL is not a guarantee someone will be interested in your book but it’s a good sign.
However, a lot of people self-reject because of hyper-specific MSWLs. If you can’t figure out whether someone would be interested in your work based on their MSWL, go ahead and query so long as you don’t have anything in your book that’s a hard no from that agent.
Join a Writing Group
If you can’t find one you can also make one. Finding some friends who are at the same stage as you or just ahead of you can be immensely helpful because you can pool information. If you have a friend that’s also been through the querying process they can give you details about their experience.
A lot of people assume “writing group” = “critique partners” but there are plenty of groups that are more casual and focused on support or sharing information.
My only advice for finding a writing group is get to know people. Writing doesn’t have to be a completely solitary activity. Don’t discount starting your own group, especially if you want to make something tailored to a specific genre or age category.
Mentorship Programs
There are several programs like this, the most well-known being Pitch Wars, Author Mentor Match, and RevPit. All of those happen at different times of the year so depending on when your book is ready you can apply to different ones. A mentor will be able to help you build an agent list and develop your submission package.
Picking the right mentorship program for you can really depend on what you’re looking for. Not every program has a showcase or a deadline for revisions. Some of these programs are more tailored to specific genres than others.
Filter Genre Categories on QueryTracker
Overall, I’m a fan of QueryTracker. It’s a free website designed to track queries.
It’s much easier to track everything there than with a spreadsheet. You can set up alerts so as soon as someone opens to queries you get an email. If you get the paid version (which I believe is around $20 a year the last time I checked) you get access to agent timelines. You can see what queries someone has responded to, what genres they’re requesting, which submissions are in the maybe pile, etc.
For some writers that much information may be anxiety-inducing. If it doesn’t help you then forget it exists.
However, searching for agents is still a useful feature even if you don’t pay to access the timeline. You have to create an account or log in to do any searching. There is a free account option.
Click on “agents” at the top. It will give you a list of agents. On the right go to “basic search filters.” You can “select a genre” from a list or click the box to exclude anyone who is closed to queries. Once you pick your genre it gives you the list of people open to that kind of book.
When I pick “science fiction” there are eight pages of agents. When I pick “thriller” there are fourteen pages of agents. “Horror” only has five pages. The number of people open to certain genres can tell you something.
A note about QueryTracker comments: sometimes writers will share relevant information in the comments. People will copy and paste form rejections there so you can figure out if the response you got is personalized or not. If you’re really interested in someone go ahead and scan through the comments but take the information with a grain of salt.
Other writers can DM you on QueryTracker. This is a weird feature.
Lastly, there are specific agencies who’ve taken themselves off the website. You can draw your own conclusions about why an agency would do that.
Follow Agents Online
I’m not encouraging anyone to pick an agent based on someone’s twitter presence, but I am saying that how people behave online can be very revealing.
When I started doing this I followed a bunch of people just to get a feeling for what publishing is like, what people are discussing, what books are other people interested in, etc. That’s the slow, passive way to learn things. It’s not great if you’re trying to learn something specific.
Please keep in mind that just because someone has a large twitter following that does not necessarily mean they are the right agent for you.
Scroll Through Pitch Contests
You can figure out which people are looking for books like yours by scrolling through pitches on twitter and making a list of the people who like concepts that are similar to your own. Even if you are not ready to query or do a pitch contest you can start building an agent list that way.
I didn’t actually do this but I know it’s worked for other people. There are genre-specific contests you can look through. I personally think that’s a better use of your time than looking through every tweet for PitMad.
DM Your Friends
People will tell you all kinds of information privately that they won’t share publicly. If you have a list of potential agents already there’s no harm in approaching a friend in private to get their opinion.
As always, use your best judgment. Meaning don’t bombard people you have never spoken with and ask them for sensitive information, especially if they are a marginalized writer and you are not. Strangers don’t owe you that.
Lists of Problematic Agents
These lists are designed to help you exclude people from your query list.
The information on these lists may or may not be accurate. Do not assume that one person’s experience is 100% transferable to your own. Writing and publishing are very subjective so what works for one author may be horrible for another. If someone sends you a list of problematic people with zero context I highly encourage you to do additional research.
That being said, I’ve had some information on these lists turn out to be totally accurate.
Pay for Publishers Marketplace
I’ll go ahead and tell you I never paid for Publisher’s Marketplace because I had a friend with a subscription. Every time I wanted to look someone up I just asked that friend to do a search for me. If you are close to the end of your querying journey (meaning you have gone through most of your agent list and have a decent number of fulls out) you can always pay for a month of access to do research.
Last time I checked it’s about $25 a month. That gets expensive fast, so it’s up to you whether the price is worth it. One of the cool features you get access to is the ability to look up specific imprints and see who recently sold books to that imprint.
This Sounds Like A Lot of Work
It is.
No one ever says it like that but querying is a ton of work. Researching agents takes a lot of time. Even when you make your agent list you have to personalize every query and that takes time and individual research.
The jump from writer to agented writer is a chasm and you will fill that empty pit in the ground with all your free time if you don’t force yourself to take breaks. Don’t do this all at once.
I started passively trying to learn things as I was drafting my first book, so I didn’t try to learn everything about publishing at the same time.
If you have an offer (or you’re close to getting one) and you’re trying to research specific people, I recommend this blog post from Mike Mammay I agree with his advice here.
If you are a marginalized writer trying to learn about the industry and make connections I highly recommend DVCon. I attended in 2021 and learned a ton of useful information. If you want to learn about publishing in general check out the Print Run Podcast.
And you can always hit me up on twitter @meredithmwrites if you have specific questions.