GETTING AN AGENT AS AN INDIE AUTHOR

When three offers for the audiobook rights for Illusion of Stars fell into my lap, I had no idea what to do next. Do I sell audio? Not sell audio? Should I see if an agent would be interested in helping make that sale? Would an agent even be interested in making that sale? And what do you even say in a query for an already published book? Because I have severe decision paralysis and was overwhelmed, I sat on the offers for days. 

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Then my friend, Alex, suggested I query. "If you ever wanted an agent, now is the time to look for one," she said.  

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Here's the thing. I hate querying. My first go through the query trenches was an emotionally draining slog that I was not excited to repeat. Plus, I had no idea what to even put in a query for an already published book.

 

I fully believe there is more than one way to do this. That said, I have noticed that there is an information gap for successful indie authors who want and are ready to be agented. I'm writing this because this is the information I wanted when I decided to query again, but could not find. I also owe a big thank you to Tessonja Odette who kindly opened her DMs. Without her, I would have been completely lost. 

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HOW DO YOU FIND AGENTS WHO REP INDIE AUTHORS?

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The best way to find agents who rep indie authors is to look at other successful indie authors (or authors who started out indie) and see who they are agented by. Most authors have this information in their social media bios or under the "contact" section of their website. If you have friends who are agented and if you have a good relationship with them, you can also see if they'd be willing to give you a referral to their agent. That is how I received an offer from my agent, Mara. Because I had unsuccessfully queried this book in 2022, I also reached out to two of the agents who had read the full manuscript and passed because they did not feel like they could sell it in the current market. I know typically querying agents a second time with the same book is a big "no-no," but I figured if they said they liked the story, but passed because of market conditions and if I came to them with proof of sales, maybe they would reconsider. That is how I received my other offer of representation.

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WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR IN AN AGENT?

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So I think you need to think about what you want with your career. 

 

I think all of the normal red flags still apply. I would also consider their sales history. If you want someone who to 

 

 Do they have a history of sales? If they're a newer agent, do they have 

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I am Mara's only indie client, and she said she would take learn the indie space for me. I knew from the call that she had the support and industry connections to be able to do this. 

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The QueryTracker forms are not going to be very conducive to