Finding a literary agent is a process, not a lottery. Yes, there's subjectivity involved. Yes, agents pass on books that go on to be bestsellers. But the writers who find representation are not the luckiest ones — they're the ones who queried the right agents, with a polished manuscript, and a query letter that communicated what the book was and why readers would want it.
This guide covers every step: how to find agents, how to evaluate them, how to submit, and how to manage the process without losing your mind.
Before you query: make sure you're ready
Agents can tell within the first page whether a manuscript is ready to submit. Most are not. The single most common reason queries fail isn't the query letter — it's that the writing sample attached to the query isn't strong enough yet.
Before you send a single query:
- Your manuscript should be complete (agents don't consider partials for most fiction)
- You should have done at least two full revision passes after your first draft
- Beta readers in your genre should have read it and given you consistent positive signal
- Your first 10 pages should be the strongest pages in the book — agents read these first
If you're not confident in the manuscript, querying early is costly. Form rejection doesn't give you feedback, and agents who reject you once generally won't reconsider the same book.
Where to find agents
The most useful agent research tools:
- Manuscript Wishlist (MSWL): A database where agents post exactly what they're looking for — often down to specific tropes, subgenres, and comp titles. Search it before you search anywhere else.
- QueryTracker: Tracks agent submission data including response times, offer rates, and query history from writers who've submitted. Invaluable for understanding which agents are active and responsive.
- Publisher's Marketplace: The industry database of agent deals. A paid subscription ($30/month) lets you search by genre, see what specific agents have sold recently, and verify that an agent is making deals in your category.
- AgentQuery: Free database of literary agents with genre specializations and submission guidelines.
- #MSWL on Twitter/X: Agents frequently post real-time wishlist items here during open query windows.
How to research an agent before querying
Do not query agents based only on their name appearing in a search. Research each agent individually before you send:
- What have they sold? Look up their deals on Publisher's Marketplace. An agent who has never sold in your genre is not necessarily a bad choice — but you should know this going in.
- Are they open to queries? Many agents close their query inbox periodically. Check their agency website and QueryTracker before submitting.
- What are they currently looking for? Check their MSWL page and recent tweets. Don't send a dark romance to an agent who's explicitly said they don't represent romance.
- Do they represent the clients you'd want to be alongside? An agency that represents authors you admire is a signal about editorial taste and connections.
Comp titles: what they are and how to use them
Comp titles (comparable titles) are recent published books that share an audience with yours. Agents use them to quickly categorize your book and assess its commercial potential. Getting comps right is one of the most underrated parts of a query letter.
Rules for comps:
- Published within the last 3–5 years: Comping to Harry Potter tells an agent your genre awareness stopped in the 1990s. Comp to books that are recent enough that agents will recognize them as current market indicators.
- Actually comparable: Your comp titles should share your book's genre, tone, and approximate audience. Don't comp up to massive bestsellers as an aspirational comparison — "My book is the next Twilight" is a red flag.
- Two to three comps is enough: "X meets Y" is a widely used formula. It's clear, economical, and tells the agent immediately whether your book is in their wheelhouse.
- Can be television or film: "For fans of The Bear who like literary fiction about professional kitchens" is a valid comp if it accurately describes your book's audience.
Submission strategy: batching and timing
Don't send all your queries at once. The standard approach is to query in batches of 10–15 agents, wait 6–8 weeks for responses, evaluate what you're hearing (even form rejections can reveal patterns if you're paying attention), revise your query if needed, and send the next batch.
This approach has a practical benefit: if you're getting full manuscript requests from your first batch, you know the query is working and can send more aggressively. If you're getting only form rejections, it's a signal to revise before sending more.
Simultaneous submissions
The vast majority of agents accept simultaneous submissions — meaning you can query multiple agents at once, which is standard practice. A small number of agents (it's declining) ask for exclusive reads. Unless you have a specific reason to grant exclusivity, you don't have to honor these requests — you can simply choose not to query those agents or decline the exclusivity.
If you receive an offer of representation while other queries are outstanding, you're generally expected to notify all agents who have your material and give them a brief window (typically 1–2 weeks) to respond before you accept.
What your manuscript needs to be ready
Before you start querying, make sure your manuscript has had professional eyes on it. Most agents can tell on the first page whether a manuscript has been seriously edited — the prose quality, the pacing of the opening, and the absence of mechanical errors all signal whether the author has invested in the work. See our guide to writing the query letter itself, and consider getting a professional editorial review on your opening chapters before you submit.