How I Found my Literary Agent

Three years ago, I was a freelance writer with an extremely long Word document chilling on my hard drive. Today, those 98,000 words mark my shift from aspiring writer to fiction author: The Lost Night is coming out from Crown. My novel is a thriller about a woman uncovering the dark truths surrounding her best friend’s apparent suicide in a Brooklyn loft, and people seem to be liking it: Library Journal called it “captivating” and “whip-smart.” It made best-books-of-2019 lists on Marie Claire, Glamour, and Real Simple. Talented authors whom I admire wrote lovely, flattering blurbs for it. Mila Kunis is adapting it for a limited TV series.

But before any of that could happen, I had to get my book out into the world. And for writers who have their sights set on traditional publishing, that means obtaining a literary agent. It’s a funny hinge-point in a multi-year process: You’re hiring a salesperson who’ll take a cut of your earnings, yet you feel like you’re the one auditioning—trying desperately to win an agent over. (In other words, though it feels like you’re yelping, “Pick me!”, you’re technically calling, “Let me hire you!”)

I’m a client of the wonderful Alexandra Machinist at ICM, who represents some amazing authors, including Tomy Adeyemi and Kevin Kwan—and I didn’t find her by accident. There are so many resources out there about how to write a book, then how to market it before and after its publication, but the agent-querying process rarely has its moment in the spotlight. So I thought I’d share how I went about targeting agents, writing a query letter, and selecting one to represent me.

Phase 1: Info-gathering

I wasn’t well-versed in literary agencies, so I subscribed to Publisher’s Lunch for a month or so before I narrowed my search. It’s a daily digest of what deals are being made, and by whom. It was an easy, nearly passive way to start noticing patterns: These agencies tend to have huge deals, these agencies keep selling psychological thrillers like mine, etc.

When it was time to start researching in earnest, I signed up for a subscription to Publishers Marketplace, which allows you to poke around in their database of “dealmakers.” I looked up authors whose work felt similar to mine and found their agents. I delved deeper into those agents’ track records to see how many deals they were making per year, how long they’d been in the game, how many debut authors they seemed to be working with, and whether or not they were seeking new talent. (If Publishers Marketplace isn’t in your budget, you can also find authors’ agents listed on their websites, in their Twitter bios, or in the acknowledgements of their books—so a trip to the bookstore with a notebook isn’t a bad idea.)

I used AgentQuery to find more detail on different agents and how they prefer to be queried. I tried searching for specific terms like “female psychological thrillers” or “Gillian Flynn”; some agents are looking for the next X and make that very clear. #MSWL, which stands for Manuscript Wish List, is another great resource for authors seeking representation: Agents use the tag (primarily on Twitter) to share what kind of manuscripts they can’t wait to read. My agent had tweeted, “Literary thriller, psychological suspense like Tana French, Gillian Flynn, Megan Abbott. #MSWL”, so I knew she’d be a good fit.   

I created a spreadsheet to keep track of which agents I’d like to query, why I thought they’d be interested (which I mentioned in my personalized query letters—more on that below), and what they wanted to see with a query. Then I sorted my list into two tiers: Dream agents I’d query first, then excellent agents I’d try in a second wave, if need be. I decided to target agents at big, blockbuster agencies, but there are advantages to signing with a boutique agency, too; especially for a debut writer, a young, hungry agent who’s had a few big deals is a great target.

Phase 2: Perfecting the query letter

Query letters are HARD. You’re taking this thing you’ve been working on for years and condensing it down to one snappy, intriguing nugget. I spent weeks fiddling with mine and soliciting feedback, and you should do the same: After all, you only get one shot at nabbing an agent’s attention.   

Here’s the letter I used when I first reached out to my agent:

Dear Ms. Machinist,

Based on your interest in Gillian-Flynn- and Megan-Abbott-esque suspense, I’m excited to share with you my character-driven psychological thriller, THE LOST NIGHT.

Lindsay is content with her life: She has a solid magazine job, a devoted best friend, and her own Brooklyn apartment, complete with a fully stocked (and frequently used) liquor cabinet. She’s certainly moved on from the bizarre night ten years earlier when she got blackout drunk and her frenemy, Edie, committed suicide. Until Lindsay discovers an unsettling video that forces her to ask if Edie was actually murdered—and if Lindsay herself was involved. As she races to untangle what really happened, Lindsay must face the demons of her own violent history—and bring the truth to light before she, too, suffers Edie’s fate.

THE LOST NIGHT is THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN meets HBO’s GIRLS, a 95,000-word literary mystery that explores friendship, identity, and obsession against the backdrop of Brooklyn’s raw and ever-changing Bushwick neighborhood.

I’m a Brooklyn-based journalist and co-author of the blog-turned-book STUFF HIPSTERS HATE (Ulysses Press, 2010), which The New Yorker called “depressingly astute.” My work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Women’s Health, Martha Stewart Living, Redbook, Elle, and many other outlets, and I’ve held editorial positions at Glamour, Psychology Today, and Self, among other titles.

I’ve pasted the first 10 pages below.  Thanks so much for your time and consideration.

Best,

Andi

That’s the After. Now here’s the Before:

Dear [AGENT],

THE LOST NIGHT, a character-driven psychological thriller, follows a Brooklyn woman whose world comes crashing apart when long-buried secrets force her to question whether her best friend’s decade-old suicide was actually a murder—and if she herself was involved. Based on your interest in X and X, I’d love to share it with you.

Back in 2009, then-23-year-old Lindsay Bach was having the time of her life. She and her gang of merry pranksters were partying and loving and hating their way around north Brooklyn—especially Calhoun Lofts, the labyrinthine refurbished factory they called home. Until things fell apart at the seams: Lindsay began to have bickering fights with Edie, the group’s ringleader, who tried to edge her out of the group. Then one sweltering Friday night, Lindsay took a few too many shots of whiskey at a Calhoun pregame and blacked out before she’d even made it to the concert a few floors up. A few hours later, Edie was found in her apartment with a suicide note on her laptop and a bullet in her head.

Ten years later, Lindsay’s a research chief at a men’s magazine, bright and bored and lonely but getting on just fine. Then one otherwise ordinary day, an unsettling exchange with someone from her former Calhoun life pushes her to reexamine Edie’s mysterious suicide. Armed with her new fact-finding skills, Lindsay dips into her past, unearthing hidden alliances, affairs, and memories from that odd, deep-recession era. Before long, she turns up evidence that not only was the death not a suicide; she herself may have been involved. As she races to untangle the knot of what really happened during those blackout hours back in 2009, Lindsay must face down the demons of her own violent history—and bring the truth to light before she, too, suffers Edie’s fate. This 95,000-word novel is GIRL ON THE TRAIN meets HBO’s GIRLS, exploring friendship, identity, and obsession against the backdrop of Brooklyn’s raw and ever-changing Bushwick neighborhood.

I’m a freelance writer whose work has appeared in many outlets, including (deep breath) the Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Vogue, Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan, USA Today, Shape, Women’s Health, Dr. Oz The Good Life, Redbook, Details, Refinery29, Elle, Martha Stewart Living, Fitness, Health, Harper’s Bazaar, Money, USA Weekend, and Seventeen. I’m also a former magazine editor who’s held positions at Glamour, Psychology Today, Self, Natural Health, Fit Pregnancy, Martha Stewart’s Whole Living, and other titles. My nonfiction book, STUFF HIPSTERS HATE (Ulysses Press, 2010), is a humor/culture book based on a Tumblr of the same name. The blog and book, coauthored with Brenna Ehrlich, gained hundreds of thousands of followers and garnered praise from The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and the Sacramento Book Review, among others.

Per your submission guidelines, I’m attaching XYZ. Thanks so much for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best,

Andi

See how much snappier the former is, and how flabby my first attempt at a query letter is in comparison? Agents get dozens and dozens of submissions to their “slush pile” each day—so you only get a few lines to grab ‘em. The worst thing you can do is make their eyes glaze over.

Phase 3: Putting yourself out there!

Over the course of a few days in late 2016, I sent out 27 query letters, personalized to the agent’s taste and what materials they requested, ranging from 10 pages of the manuscript to the first two chapters to a one-page synopsis. (Is 27 a lot? I guess so. I also applied to 13 colleges as a teenager, so at least it’s on-brand.) One of those agents forwarded my query to a colleague, and about a week later, that agent made an offer. Querying etiquette allows you to go back to everyone else you’ve queried and let them know you have an offer of representation; I wrote, “I’m checking in regarding the status of my manuscript. If you’re still interested, I’d be delighted to give you an additional week with the full.”

In the end, about a dozen agents requested the full manuscript, and three offered representation. I talked to all three about their vision for the book, what edits they’d want me to make, what their agencies could offer, and so on. I also spoke with some of their current clients. I was lucky to have three wonderful options, but in the end I followed my gut, and I’ve been so happy to have Alexandra and ICM in my corner.

A great agent won’t just sell your manuscript; they’ll actually manage your career. That’s why it’s so important to really invest in the agent-querying process. As I celebrate The Lost Night’s book birthday, I’m sure glad I did!

—

BIO: Andrea Bartz is a journalist and the author of The Lost Night. Previously, she was a senior editor at Glamour, Fit Pregnancy, Psychology Today, and other magazines. Her second novel, The Herd, will be published in 2020. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @andibartz or visit her website at andreabartz.com.

About THE LOST NIGHT

“Tightly paced and skillfully plotted, The Lost Night is a remarkable debut.”—Jessica Knoll, New York Times bestselling author of Luckiest Girl Alive 

What really happened the night Edie died? Years later, her best friend Lindsay will learn how unprepared she is for the truth.

In 2009, Edie had New York’s social world in her thrall. Mercurial and beguiling, she was the shining star of a group of recent graduates living in a Brooklyn loft and treating New York like their playground. When Edie’s body was found near a suicide note at the end of a long, drunken night, no one could believe it. Grief, shock, and resentment scattered the group and brought the era to an abrupt end.

A decade later, Lindsay has come a long way from the drug-addled world of Calhoun Lofts. She has devoted best friends, a cozy apartment, and a thriving career as a magazine’s head fact-checker. But when a chance reunion leads Lindsay to discover an unsettling video from that hazy night, she starts to wonder if Edie was actually murdered—and, worse, if she herself was involved. As she rifles through those months in 2009—combing through case files, old technology, and her fractured memories—Lindsay is forced to confront the demons of her own violent history to bring the truth to light.

 

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