Keep on swimming!!

Even where the choices are limited, you'll find that some agents will stand out to you - some will seem more like the kind of people you'll want to work with. Start with those, and keep querying. When you find someone who falls in love with your work, they're likely to match you in other areas too.

Thank you Barbara. It's funny how easy it is to forget that agents are people when you're in the querying process. Most of the agents I've met are delightful people once you get to know them - with personalities as varied as the authors they represent. It's something I wish more authors remembered during the querying process, because it helps a little when someone doesn't connect with your work if you can remember that agents have differing tastes in books, but it's really not personal.

Thank you Elaine! You're smart to hold out and keep looking for the right match, and for an agent who truly loves and believes in your work. Even if it takes a long time to get there, it's definitely worth the wait (and I spent ten years and five manuscripts in the process, so I know what it's like to wait!).

This is absolutely true, Holly. My agent is also a "career agent" and she's been amazing when it comes to helping sift through ideas and talk about all kinds of possibilities for my books and my publishing career. That kind of partnership is one of the most valuable parts of working with an agent (and also a huge part of the reason why it's so important to find a good match from the start).

I love the advice you (and all of the other regulars and guest bloggers) post here at WITS. This is such an amazing resource for authors, and I'm both humbled and honored to get to be part of it.

Great point about professionalism and respect, Eric. No one can tell the career arc of a yet-to-be-published author, so I believe that even though you may not have the publishing clout of a NYT bestseller yet, everyone should be courteous and respectful to everyone else in this industry regardless of clout or career arc.

I'm with you on the rejections, too. I appreciated honesty, especially when it came with comments, because it helped me learn where I needed to change things to succeed.

Thanks Sharla, I think information is so important - it's the only way we can figure out whether we're making the best possible decisions for our careers.

Thank you - I'm glad it was helpful!

How could we go wrong with people like you two, and Chuck Sambuchino in our corner? 🙂