I am considering submitting to a handful of agents before self-publishing my WIP. So I started working on writing a query. And man is it a difficult task. With so many queries for agents to dig through you really have to find a way to stand out, represent your work, and catch their interest.
While taking a break for the arduous task of query writing - I started research agents. I did a search on Google for "middle grade fantasy literary agents" and started reading through bios.
Umm.... yawn.
So is it wrong of me to think that if I as a writer have to put in all this work to craft the perfect query that will catch you attention and draw you in - that maybe you should put more effort into your bio then just a list of your credentials and what you want to get queries for?
I read one agents bio that kept me laughing through the whole thing. It showed spunk and personality and I immediately thought - I want to work with this guy. (He is currently number one on my list).
After some thought I have decided to use this agents bio as the standard. I will not submit to any agents that have dry bones boring bio's with not personality. Just like they wouldn't read a query that was a list of events with no voice.
What do you think? Do agent bios need a little more umph?
It really depends - there are a lot of non-interesting bios and then there are the fun ones. Literary agents approach it differently. I've found some I really connect with and others which I didn't, which shows they might not connect as an agent with me and that's okay. Querying is definitely difficult.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a mixed bag out there. But, I think more important than their sparkling personality is their track record for getting books published. Most agencies do list what they are looking for, which saves a writer the time and effort of sending queries to the wrong agents.
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