Agents: recommended research sites

There are so many people out there claiming to be literary agents. How do you tell the ethical ones from those who are misguided, ineffectual or straight out intending to rip you off?

I've gathered together a list of resouces as recommended by fellow agent hunters and resources. This does not include the contact details of any individual agents. Please email me if you have any additions/suggestions.

Melinda Goodin's

Blogs from agents:

Please note, I am not specifically recommending these agents. Some of them do not deal with speculative ficition, and you should always research agents carefully before approaching them. Their blogs give you an insight into their professional lives.

• Jennifer Jackson of Donald Maass Literary Agency
• The Knight Agency blogs
• Nadia Cornier of Firebrand Literary
• Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, NY
• BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency
• Agent Kristin
• Agent X
• Jenny Rappaport
• Miss Snark, the literary agent - while no longer updated, this blog is a valuable resource.

Spotting the scammers:

• Writer Beware covers all sorts of scams and pitfalls new writers are susceptible to, including agents who don't really agent and publishers who don't really publish, etc. If you have been approached by an agent wishing to represent you, and you haven't submitted to them, do yourself a favor and read this site before responding.
• Writer Beware's 20 Worst Agents - Bookmark this page, commit these names to memory and never, ever submit to them. They will make your life a living hell and empty your wallet at the same time.
• Writers Beware blogspot
• Preditors and Editors will help you with kudos and warnings. You should certainly visit Warnings and the annotated list of literary agents and those who call themselves agents.

Agent directories:

• Preditors & Editors - keeps a register of complaints against agents
• Agent Query - a free, searchable database that comes highly recommended.
• Literary Agent Research and evaluation - while this is a fee-charging service, the site does offer agent verification for free.
  "Ask us about an agent and we'll tell you if he or she has established a public record, and if we have had any negative reports on the agent's business practices."

Other resources:

• the Locus sales spreadsheet - to identify which agents sold what to whom
• Absolute Write Water Cooler - a message board run by Absolute Write for writers and editors. It has warnings and ask the agent threads.
• Making Light's "On the getting of agents"
• Neil Gaiman's "Everything you wanted to know about literary agents... "
• Why the emphasis on getting an agent? Check out Tobias Bucknell's Author Advance Survey (version 2) to find out the benefits for fantasy and science fiction authors.
• SF author Tara K. Harper provides advice about contracts and agents at her website
• Author James Stevens-Arce has a generous collection of links for writers.

 

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