I’ve found that using Query Tracker at https://querytracker.net/ to be likely the best tool for finding a Literary Agent. So far, I’ve mostly just researched potential agents, but this tool makes that relatively easy. You can find agents based on genre, which is super helpful. I was planning on just using Excel to track everything, but Query Tracker appears to have built-in tools for this and you can submit your queries right on the site, so we’ll see how that goes. It also has a lot of links for researching agents, including links to their manuscript wish list, which I highly recommend utilizing.
As part of my search, I decided to filter genre by “Fantasy, Contemporary/Urban”. This is not the genre that matches my manuscript for Whistle Switch, but I figured that any agent that was open to the above genre would be open to my novel’s setting (which is more along the lines of general “Speculative Fiction”, I think).
I dug through the listings and found likely candidates. As a matter of due diligence, I found authors that had signed with a particular agent (if any were listed), and then searched for that author’s published novel. If I couldn’t find any novels from the authors that had signed with an agent, I disregarded that agent. This may not be the best method, as there could be a number of reasons for an author to not go on to publish their novel (including plenty that have nothing to do with their agent), but I had to start somewhere.
When I run dry, I’ll circle back and expand my parameters or at least change up my process. I think this process can take a long time, but I really believe I’ve created something great with this novel. Wish me luck.
Jonathan Mann 