Why I Won't Recommend Other Agents

I know this might sound like it is a bit harsh, but I will not be recommending other agents if I pass on a project from you. I understand when you get a rejection, you want to turn that down moment into something positive. Maybe getting a little nugget for your next direction would be great. For me, I can give you some ideas of what to do with your story, but as far as getting advice for who to send it to, it will not come from
me.

The reason for this is simple. Finding an agent is not simply like finding a gas station to fill up you car. You aren't just finding any person who can send your project to the editors you can't get to. You aren't just looking for someone to review a contract. You are finding a partner for your career. You are finding someone who you can work with for the long haul.

When you are looking for an agent, you want to find the perfect relationship. You want to find someone who thinks like you do and has many of the same beliefs and visions as you do. This is a marriage. When you get into a relationship like this, your agent will be able to think of new projects or find you new directions because they "know" who you are. Without getting overly wordy here, this is more than simply finding someone who acquires your genre.

There are a lot of agents I think the world of out there. We hang out at writing conferences, we exchange ideas, we chat back and forth on social media, we know what each other loves to cook from our discussions on Facebook. But out of those agents, if I were a writer, there are only a handful that I would work with. Not because I don't like their work ethic or think they are pathetic at their job. It is the simple reason that they don't think the way I do.

While you might think asking that agent "I know you passed on my project, but do you have a recommendation of who I should send this to" sounds like a great professional approach, it probably will not get you the answer you need or want. Our answer will be just like your INITIAL (please note the word here) search for an agent when you get on those databases and type in the genre of your book. You still need to do your homework and learn who this person is. Figure out his or her personality. The right match is out there, but it is going to be up to you to find the person.

Think of it this way. Those marriage sites such as Match.com can only pair people up so far. It is up to you to do the rest of the work and learn more about this person.