In my last post, I wrote about book proposals and why they fail. But hey, maybe you just wrote a good one for a cookbook, memoir, reference book, travel guide, etc. And you’re ready to send it to a literary agent or editor at a publishing house. Where do you get the right list of names?
Susan R. Friedland can help. A former executive editor and director of cooking publishing at HarperCollins for almost two decades, she wrote “Before You Write that Cookbook” for Food Arts magazine. In addition to excellent advice for chefs on the pros and cons of writing a cookbook, she includes a contact list for prestigious agents and editors. That’s gold. Thanks to David Lebovitz for sending me the link.
My agent, who prefers that I not mention her by name, is not on that list. The best way to find her, as well as many other agents, is by referral, or by looking in the acknowledgments of books by authors you like (hint: She’s in both my books). She’s also listed in the Food & Lifestyle and Cookbook categories in Agent Search.
A blog by the editors of Writer’s Digest magazine, on the Guide to Literary Agents website, holds many keys to successful querying. Guest bloggers tell success stories of how they got their agents and the blog profiles agents too. The editors post real query letters that have led publishers to buy books, then post commentary about what worked and why. Thanks to Jane Underwood at the Writing Salon for passing on this terrific resource.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Thank you so much for this. You’re right – that article link is gold!