A Chat with Literary Agents: Everything You Want to Know, Part 3 of 3
Literary agents discuss how they find balance in their work and why they love their jobs
Many years ago, before I knew what I was doing, I wrote a book. Like many first-time authors, I was convinced that this first draft was genius, the stuff of legends, and immediately began to query it. The only thing I did right back then? Research the literary agents before I queried them.
The thing is, you can only learn so much about an agent from their agency’s website or from their Twitter page. Sure, they have MSWLs (manuscript wish list), but they’re not set in stone and their taste in books can change as often as what’s hot in publishing does.
This sense of desperation, this feeling that you will never truly understand what goes on in a literary agent’s mind is why too many writers just start firing off queries to whoever is unfortunate enough to appear in their cursory Google search.
One of the best ways to get to know anyone better is through an interview. For anyone who’s a fan of movies, I’m sure you’ve read or watched your fair share of interviews about your favorite actresses or actors. Literary agents, in many ways, are no different.
