Get a Literary Agent: The Complete Guide to Securing Representation for Your Work

Review by Tal Boldo:This book is a quick read that left me with a clear guide to revising my query, writing an effective synopsis and starting the first chapter of my book right. A later portion of the book talks about interviewing and working with a literary agent, which is a nice ray of hope for later.The author has a knack for whittling down a sea of details into actionable bullets. Do this--which he supports with examples and comments from literary agents. But don't do that--which again he validates, for example with queries that earned the writers both an agent and a book deal. I saw it as the stick and the carrot approach: first the hard-and-fast rules then the proof that they work. A complex task became doable in my eyes.Paradoxically (and logically), this book made it both easier and harder to write the query, synopsis and first chapter. At some point I threw my head back and muttered, "I'm in Hell." But I kept referring to Chuck Sambuchino's simple rules to keep me on track. In other words, I was able to reduce the full book into the actionable bullets I talked about at the beginning of the review, as if I was seeing a picture that was worth a thousand words.So my advice to other writers is this: If you've grown past the point where you think that someone who misunderstands your query is too stupid to get it (yes, I'm embarrassed to remember that I was this young person once), then "Get a Literary Agent" will give you the blueprint for giving it your best shot.

This book was so helpful! It answered my questions before I had to ask them. The query letter examples were such a great resource. I have a literary agent now and I didn’t before I bought this book.

I've read lots of articles and tips online about querying and securing a literary agent. That being said, I wasn't sure how much more information the book could provide. I was wrong -- there were many details provided in the book I hadn't thought to research. In addition to the content, the book was well-written and in a voice that made reading it a pleasure rather than a task (as I sometimes fear guide books will be).

Basic stuff you need to know when seeking an agent. Following the guidelines is no guarantee you'll actually get an agent, but not following them is a guarantee you won't.

This book is exactly what I need right now. Although used, it’s in great condition and arrived before I had even begun to expect it. It’s informative and the information is very accessible. I suspect it will prove an invaluable resource.

Right at the start of the book, the author states that he's only going to refer to literary agents using the pronoun "she" because 85% of literary agents are female. I didn't care for this. I would understand if the book were extremely short or if practically all literary agents were women, but we're talking about 6 out of 7. Primarily using "she" and occasionally "he" would have been the best route here. I know it's not a huge deal, but excluding the 15% of literary agents who are men for 250 whopping pages really isn't cool.

Some useful info, but mostly just a re-hash of info that can be found on the Writer's Digest website. Also, lots of very nonspecific information that's only helpful up to a certain point. The best thing I can say about this book is it collects all the basics of "agent hunting" in one place. But it doesn't tell you anything you can't find by doing a Google search, so it's not too helpful if you've already spent some time looking into the process.

clearly the best book written on the subject. i'd recommend it for anyone who has written a book and is trying to get it published.