The 2017 Writer's Digest Conference in NYC is four days away and coming fast! With all of the Pitchwars prep, and the wedding, I feel like I blinked and suddenly it's here, looming in the not-so-distant future and waving at me. It's my first writing conference, and I'm going at it alone. Not only that, but I'm pushing out of my comfort zone and trying out the Pitch Slam. For those not familiar, the Pitch Slam is speed dating with agents and editors. You get three minutes to sit down and tell the agent/editor why they should be interested in your work, and then they get to ask you questions. So how did I pick the agents I want to pitch to? Well, I started by narrowing it down to agents that wanted Young Adult Fantasy. No sense pitching to an agent who isn't interested in the genre you write, right? Well, that still left me with about thirty agents. It's like the real world of querying, but on a smaller scale. There's lots of options, but only a handful will be able to provide you and your MS what you need. So how do you figure out what you really need? I decided to think about what was most important to me in an agent. What did I want in the person who was going to be representing me and my manuscript to the big world of publishing? God I miss Bernie... ANYWAY: Diversity! I want an agent who actively seeks diverse works by marginalized authors about marginalized characters. Especially given the place the United States is in today. This country is trying to strip POC and LGBTQ+ voices, and I want an agent who will hold up a megaphone and let marginalized people scream through that silence. To me, if an agent lists that they're seeking writers of color, and LGBTQ+ writers, that means that the diversity in my story will be celebrated rather than washed. That, for me, is the most important thing an agent can offer me. NOW, I am in no way implying that an agent does not value diversity if it is not directly listed in their MSWL or bio. To know if an agent is right for you requires a ton of research. It means:
That's the takeaway here, folks. When it comes to picking agents to query, or Pitchwars mentors to sub to, or who to pitch to at a writing conference, find the most important piece of your MS. Boil it down to its essence. Is it about disability? Overcoming adversity? Love? Joy? Conquering fear? Find the theme in your story that would leave your words empty if you stripped it, and then find an agent who will nurture that. Sure, I don't have representation yet, so maybe it's not perfect advice, but I feel as though I've never been closer once I realized that. Don't settle for any agent that offers representation. This manuscript is your baby, so find someone who will love it just like you do. Have any other advice on how to narrow down if an agent is right for you? Leave it in the comments!
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