How Does One Find An Agent ???

[Monyd]

I was going to post this question tomorrow, but there's no time like the present! 

So, how does one go about finding a reputable agent? I've checked out a few websites, but am hesitant to begin querying.
I really have no idea what to look for in an agent, so I'd never know or not if I'd hired a hack! 

A suggestion that Writer's Digest had was to research the authors of the same genre of book you are writing and find out who their agents are, but very few books have that info listed in the jacket.  And I haven't really checked out the Writer's Market thoroughly -- does anyone know if this is still considered a good resource?

Although I am proudly Canadian, I think I'd prefer to publish in an American market. Perhaps some of you have opinions on this as well. In the couple of publishing workshops I've taken, they all said the New York Market is "where it's at".

Would this mean I need an American agent? Would they or wouldn't they be better connected?

Truthfully, I would feel so much more comfortable getting a recommendation from someone I knew or someone in the business -- but wouldn't everyone?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Ramona.

[Nadine L]

Sounds like you are on the right track. Finding an agent isn't a very quick process (most of the time). 

When I was looking for an agent, I cross-checked the names I found with this website...which I didn't recognize since they updated it!  http://www.aar-online.org/mc/page.do  (The Association of Authors' Representatives)

US agents have to meet sell requirements etc to be in AAR.  There are some good agents that haven't agented long enough to meet the AAR criteria...but this is one place to look to verify agents who are NOT scams.

Yes, people still do use Writer's Market and Writer's guide as a means of finding agents who have specific genre interests.

Finding an agent is a long process, full of rejection notes.  The main thing I did was to pace myself and carry on.

You have to learn to write a killer query letter...regardless what you think, the first one is not all that great. 

Hope this helps.  Every now and again someone is selling something as a sure fire way to get an agent, but I can tell you it is a lot of research, and some luck to send what they are wanting when they are wanting it.  Don't give up.

Nadine

[Jena Grace]

My friend and I recently attended a writers conference and she was scheduled for a one on one consultation with an agent. Although she walked in with NO query and really, no pitch at all, lol (nerves!) he did read her first five pages twice. It wasn't exactly the kind of fantasy he handles, but since he was the only fantasy agent there, she didn't have much of a choice. However, he did like her story and was impressed by her style, so he gave her the name of another agent and told her to use him as a referral. Interestingly enough, this agent also told her that he finds new clients via cold queries ONLY about 20% of the time. The majority are from referrals, and from authors he meets at, yes, conferences!